#my guy my dude blue badger is here

[blue-badger-spotted]

blue badger spotted

Halloween icons from the official 15th anniversary keychain designs

‎

Feel free to use (w/ credit) ♡

[eiraeths]

y’all know janitor from scrubs? he gives me ghost vibes. if y’all don’t know who janitor is just know this: he’s a pathological liar (but it’s over minor things for his own entertainment) and two he actively tries to make the main character of scrubs, JD, life harder over a small little incident. dude can hold a grudge.

anyway here’s a bunch of janitor quotes from scrubs except replacing it with ghost being janitor and soap is JD because it honestly made so much sense in my head. I also think a lot of dr cox quotes fit price or ghost so some of those too. actually price could also be dr kelso in a lot of this good lawd.

———

Ghost: [mouths] I'm going to kill you.

Soap: [silently] What?

Ghost: [gestures and mouths] I'm going to kill you.

Soap: Why?

Ghost: [shrugs]

———

Price: Look, you and I are alike in a lot of ways.

Ghost: We both harbor an internal struggle between the desire to do good, and the urge to become a master criminal.

Price: We don't.

Ghost: We do.

Price: You hate people, and I hate people. What nobody gets is that we never hate indiscriminately.

Ghost: That is so true. I only hate those that have wronged me. Like if they stole my stuff, or put a penny in a door. Or... that guy. See this look he shot us, like he's so much better than we are.

Price: Plus, he's only 25, and earlier I heard him use the phrase "Back in the day".

Ghost: Well, he's dug his own grave, hasn't he? Let's do this.

———

Soap: Did you lose something?

Ghost: No, why? Did you take something?

Soap: No.

Ghost: What'd you take?

Soap: Nothing.

Ghost: What'd you take?

———

[Soap walks out of the elevator as Ghost mops the floor]

Ghost : Hey!

Soap: What? I didn't say anything. I didn't do anything. What imaginary slight have you concocted in that paranoid brain of yours?

[Ghost looks down to the trail of muddy footprints trailing Soap]

Soap: [internally] Crap.

Soap: Well, shouldn't there be some sort of sign... Oh, look at that. Well, you should put it back down before someone slips and falls.

Ghost: Oh, is that what I should do? Good, because I make most decisions based on your opinion. You know what, I'm thinking of splitting up with the wife. Maybe you could mull that over, get back to me, maybe pow-wow. [a woman slips] Floor's wet, ma'am. Little help over here. Little help.

———

Gaz: Cap’n, what's our plan of attack?

Price: When I crush a person's spirit, I like to use a combination of intimidation and degradation.

Soap: I prefer to create an environment in which the subjects end up crushing themselves.

Price: Uh-huh.

Ghost: I like to pick one person and torment them relentlessly for no reason. If I could find them I'd show you.

[poor rookie of the day walks up behind Ghost and wisely decides to back away]

Ghost: He's near.

———

[Ghost sprays a window with blue cleaning fluid and wipes it. He then aims the spray in his mouth. Price takes a second look as he passes by.]

Ghost: I filled it with blue Gatorade. I just do that to freak people out.

Price: Scintillating

———

[As a boy plays with a toy car in his bed, he accidentally knocks over his juice carton]

A Boy: Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!

Gaz: Hey, it's okay.

A Boy: But now the Ghost Who Hates Spills is gonna come.

Gaz: Who?

Ghost: You're right, boy. He might come this very night. And as you know, that ghost's entire family was killed by a careless spill. Just like yours. Just like yours. Hmm.

———

Gaz: Oh, hi. Are we going out? What's with the jumpsuit?

Ghost: Okay, first of all if we're gonna make it, not a jumpsuit. Shirt, belt, pants.

Gaz: Oh. Ok.

Ghost: Secondly, I think it's time that you knew the real me. All right, here we go. I'm not like normal people. I don't have superpowers, but I'm working on it. For instance, watch me move this pen. [looks at pen, which doesn't move] It worked at home. I don't know. Maybe my table is slanted. Um, anyway, in my spare time, I also enjoy stuffing animals. Usually with other animals. For instance, a badger will hold five squirrels. A squirrel will hold most of a cat. A mouse will hold a shrew and a vole. You get the idea. Circle of life. I have broken the sound barrier, but you must never ask me how. I don't believe in the moon. I think it's just the back of the sun.

Price: Ha! I love a good train wreck.

Ghost: Furthermore, I think if you look closely a monkey-

Soap: Stop it, you. he doesn't know you're joking.

———

Ghost: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoa. Watch your step, there, Gaz.

Gaz: Thanks, Ghost.

Gaz: [internally] He is so sweet. But why doesn't he just put up a sign that says "wet floor"?

[Soap screams as he slides across the floor and crashes]

Ghost: Wet floor.

———

Soap: [gasps] Why do you have to jump out and scare me all the time?

Ghost: I don't jump out and scare you. I follow you around all day. I only got about an hour-and-a-half worth of work around here, and the rest of the time, I track you, like an animal.

Soap: You're kidding, right?

Ghost: [chuckles] I don't know. Am I?

———

Soap: Holy-

Ghost: [whispering] Calm down. I didn't mean to scare you.

Soap: [whispering] Why are we whispering?

Ghost: [whispering] I wanted to see if you would whisper because I whispered.

Soap: [whispering] I think I would.

———

Ghost: I convinced everybody in on base that's afraid of me to go outside and spell out the score of the game.

Price: Really?

Ghost: No, you idiot. I'm just gonna tell you the score of the game. Maybe knock your head against the glass.

Price: Look, I was way out of line telling you how that movie ended, but, God save me, watching sports is one of the last pure pleasures I have left in my life, so you tell me what's it gonna take for you to let me go home, sit in my massage chair, and enjoy the game?

Ghost: I would like to perform open heart surgery.

Price: No.

Ghost: How about you perform surgery on me so that I can breathe underwater?

Price: No.

Ghost: I would like a shark that read minds.

Price: No.

Ghost: You and I trade lives for a year.

Price: No.

Ghost: How about a home-cooked meal and an hour in your massage chair?

Price: Done.

Ghost: Done.

[Ghost walks over to the window and looks outside, where a large group of rookies have arranged themselves to spell out "98-97"]

Ghost: Hey, guys, it's off.

[He looks again and they have rearranged themselves to read "Why"]

Ghost: Wow! You guys are organised.

———

Ghost: Look, if I learnt one thing from my parents, it's this. The key to a good marriage is keeping your emotions bottled up until they finally explode and you have to lash out physically.

Soap: You mean, beat each other up?

Ghost: I mean beat yourself up. My mother once snapped her own index finger because my father was late for church. She dented the car, he threw himself down the stairs.

———

Gaz: Soap, you're not that self-destructive.

Ghost: Really? I was gonna suggest he seek professional help. Would you be interested in seeing a cognitive therapist? 'cause I know a guy, he's good. I'm going to give you his card, then I'm gonna bash your head in. I'll see you in the morning.

Soap: I'm in at 7.

Ghost: Wear a helmet.

———

okay that’s it

[danganronpafan777]

*makes u read danganmon*

Alright, Anon! Just read the prologue (I’m probably not going to write x reader for this fangan, and even if I do, I’m gonna have to finish my current DRA and SDRA2 requests first)

As a heads up: I know little to nothing about Pokémon. I’m basically this guy:

So yeah, here’s my opinions so far based on just the prologue:

Kami’s design is cute. Her character feels kinda bland, but good

Zoro seems really cool! I like him so far, and his talent shows a lot of blackened potential ngl

Mari seems sweet! Ultimate Sheep herder is a new one lol

Kami: “Ah, that’s where you help sheep to their pens, right?”

Mari: “You don’t say-“  

(I lowkey wish she said that)

Juno sleepy boi-

“Ultimate Wish Granter” 

My honest reaction: :0

I want to give him head pats

Roxanne (I can’t be the only one who heard the song-) 

Her design is really cool, and idk I just really like her. Not sure what the pipe on her back is though 

(ITS A SYRINGE?!)

Okay, but she might be one of my favorites, I like her sense of humor and how she cares for Juno. I wanna say just like me fr, but there’s still the chance she might turn out to be psychotic

Lillie looks like a jellyfish, and Stella reminds me of that one girl from Yttd 

Stella’s cupcake swirl hair is so goofy I love it, but some of her sprites remind me of Celeste. I have a feeling she’s gonna die in chapter 2 or be a victim in 3, and/or turn out to be psychotic

Ultimate human subject?? Reminds me of like Mikan mixed with Kanata. Hope she doesn’t die, but she gives off first victim energy or ch3 killer

Amnesia gang ✨

Cyrus seems like a cool dude. He’s kinda like Kokoro but more expressive

I already love Flidgey, and you can’t tell me they aren’t the child of Satsuki and Haruhiko 

Reminds me so much of Kaito’s personality with Kokichi’s jokes

Fry’s hair is simple, but it just stands out to me. Maya got a cool design, but I’m kinda neutral about her. Don’t feel like I really know either of their characters enough for a solid opinion

Cyrillo’s design is easily one of the best, but I had no idea what his talent means

Wimessir is a lot like Akane, and the two of them kinda give mastermind energy 

Idk why they’re singing and dancing, but their designs are top tier

I was thinking of a surfer dude joke, but Sam is actually the Ultimate Surfer-

Looks like we found the game’s Yasuhiro /pos

(Or twist mastermind-)

Faust is kinda like Taka mixed with Teruya. (Love both of them) His face reminds me of Murder Drones. Hope he survives cuz I really like him so far

Apollo: “I have the power of the sun and anime on my side!”

Pyromancer boi seems like the antagonist, and I’m here for it

Is he flirting with Zoro??

I like his banter with Sapphire, whose design is also amazing. She reminds me of Kirumi in terms of personality and being passionate about her talent

WHY DOES CENTURY LOOK JUST LIKE THE BLUE BADGER FROM ACE ATTOURNEY?? 

Undersea lamplighter makes me think he just chills underwater while ppl use his light to look around lmao

He feels like that one guy who never knows what’s going on

Monoloin??? Of all names 😭

The design is really pretty tho and I’m all for her mastermind personality

Overall: Roxanne, Faust, Apollo, and Flidgey are my current faves

[sonicboomseason3]

🐚🎹🎮

The whole gang :D (Sonic, tails, knuckles, Amy, sticks, shadow)

ask game: send me AT LEAST 3 emojis (the more random the better) and AT LEAST 2 characters from sonic boom and i’ll come up with a little drabble mini story in response!

On this particular Friday night, Team Sonic and Shadow for some reason are all sitting around Amy's house playing a kart racing game on her television. Given that the game only allows for a maximum of four players at once, Sonic, Tails, Sticks, and Shadow are currently in possession of the controllers, while Amy sits off to the side watching the race unfold in earnest. Knuckles, meanwhile, has opted to leave his place on the couch to play Für Princess Elise on Amy's piano to pass the time. And to provide some horribly unfitting background music that clashes heavily with the game's OST.

"I still don't understand why you lot are forcing me to play this pathetic game alongside you," Shadow says as he passes Sonic, much to the latter's frustration.

Sonic groans at both the loss of his spot in first place and Shadow's obstinacy. "Shadow, for the last time, us asking if you wanted to join us for Game Night, and you saying you had a million better things to do before showing up anyway isn't called forcing you. Now quit making stuff up."

"Yeah, not cool, Shadow!" Knuckles calls out from his place at the piano as he continues playing. "I bet you're the type who makes fake callouts for people on social media!"

"Not surprising. I'm telling you guys he's secretly some alien-hedgehog hybrid thing bent on ruining the rest of us in every way imaginable, starting with our online reputations," Sticks remarks as she picks up an item box. She grins maniacally when she realizes which power-up she now has at her disposal. "And someone like that doesn't deserve to be in first place! Take this, ya filthy stinker!"

Shadow snarls when the spiny blue shell comes down on his motorbike, stunning his character long enough for the other three to overtake him and then some. He barely even notices Knuckles abruptly playing an off-key scare chord before resuming his classical music without missing a beat. "I will personally make sure your end is slow and agonizing, waste of space masquerading as a badger."

"Wow. Barely three hundred words in and Shadow's already threatening to kill off one of my teammates," Sonic deadpans, picking up an item box. "Why are our fans so hung up on him becoming our sixth member again?"

"Sonic, don't pretend like you haven't thought about it yourself," Amy reprimands. "You said once, and I quote, 'He'd make a great addition to Team Sonic.'"

"Amy, why would you say that out loud when he's right here?!" Sonic complains. The sound of Shadow's derisive snort is all it takes for him to toss his red shell behind him, hoping that it makes its way past Tails and Sticks and hits this jerk in his (character's) dumb face. "I said he'd be good if he wasn't such a hard case!"

"I'm not a hard case, Blue Boy. I simply find no merit in joining a team named after you. Makes me sick just thinking about it."

"The fact that you can't even admit that you're here right now out of your own free will is literally the definition of being a hard case, dude."

"Whatever. Once I defeat you at this wretched excuse of a racing game—" Sonic's red shell finally comes around the corner, and Shadow expertly dodges it. "—I will ensure the same fate befalls you in real life."

"Yeah, maybe say that when you're not in sixth place and I'm not in first."

Shadow's expression darkens again at the reminder of his current placement and the reason behind it. "That is not my fault. It's your idiot badger friend's for unleashing her equally idiot shell on me."

Sticks huffs. "Rude. What was I supposed to do with it then, not use it?"

"Ignore him, Sticks. He's only salty because he just found out that he's bad at gaming."

"Ooh, here we go," Knuckles mutters under his breath as he switches from Beetleoven to some generic tense-sounding music. You know, the kind that plays when a fight is about to break out.

Small cracks begin forming at the edges of the buttons of Shadow's controller as he begins to press them a little too hard. "Huh? Care to run that by me aga—"

"Okay, we're not doing this. You guys stop it right now," Amy commands, a certain edge creeping into her voice. Sonic and Shadow will not be ruining Game Night… or her house. "That includes you, Knuckles."

Knuckles immediately goes back to what he was playing before. "Sorry."

To Sonic and Shadow's (especially Shadow's) credit, they both fall silent. No one says anything as the race moves on to the final lap. Shadow passes the two NPCs in front of him. Sonic maintains his lead. Shadow picks up an item box as he passes Sticks. So does Sticks as she falls into fourth. Sonic continues to maintain his lead. And then—

"Sonic, I'm making you pay for your disrespect by crushing the annoying fox into the dirt."

Right as Shadow is about to pass Tails, he activates his Mega Mushroom power-up, making his character grow three sizes bigger. He stays true to his word and runs over Tails's kart, settling into his newly obtained spot in second place.

Knuckles plays another scare chord to punctuate Shadow's hit-and-run.

"Oh, come on, I've been minding my own business all race!" Tails shouts, dismayed at his reduced speed. "Why am I getting punished for what Sonic said?!"

"Seriously, Shadow, can you stop taking your anger out on my friends every time you have beef with me? It's not fair, clever, or even funny—"

"Heads up, Sonic!"

Sonic's jaw drops when Sticks ambushes him with another blue shell right when he's about to cross the finish line.

Scare chord.

"Sticks, how in the heck are you getting all these blue shells?!" he demands to know, feeling utterly betrayed as Shadow zooms right by him and even more so when he cinches his victory on that stupid bike of his.

"I dunno!" Sticks says cheerfully over Shadow's laughter. She passes the still flattened Tails and immobile Sonic within seconds of each other, effectively nabbing the runner-up spot. "I just didn't want Shadow to stay mad at me."

"Great, you guys are just about done! Perfect timing, too," Knuckles says as he finishes his song, standing up and walking over. "Finish the race and gimme the controller, Tails."

Tails and Sonic exchange a look as they finally recover and pass the finish line, getting third and fourth respectively. Sonic slumps in his seat and holds his controller out for Amy to take. Tails sighs and hands his over to Knuckles.

"Oh, don't be so upset, Sonic," Shadow says smugly. "No one can help it if you're bad at gaming."

Shadow is so not invited back next time.

[kay-claire]

I used to have a lot of comfort movies that I’d watch two or three times a year back when I was a teenager. As I’ve gotten older that list of films dwindled, and now the only two movies I watch probably twice a year are Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.

I recently listened to the audiobook for Howl’s Moving Castle for the first time. I’ve never read the book before, and I’d heard mixed reviews of it, but I decided I wanted to give it a shot myself. I really enjoyed it! The narrator of the audiobook, Kristin Atherton, did a fantastic job with bringing the characters to life. My favourite thing about the book was the fact that we got to see more about Sophie’s sisters (plural, since in the film they cut it down to her only having one sister), and we see that Sophie has some magic ability herself, and all the talking she does to her self actually gives magical enchantment to the things around her. There was also a bit I was not expecting - which was that Howl was actually from a world similar to ours (he lived in Wales), and he was just Some Dude that learnt magic and figured out how to get into the magical world Sophie lived in, and somehow became a powerful wizard. But back home in Wales he’s just this guy, and his sister is really annoyed with him because he’s a total free-loader and when is he actually going to do something with his life??

But there was one aspect of the film - the thing that lives in my mind rent-free, that I think about all the time - that wasn’t in the book. And it’s this:

The first lines we hear from Howl in the movie (at least in the English dub) are:

[ID: Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle standing in an alleyway, wearing a green dress and a straw hat. She has a surprised look on her face. Howl is standing behind her with her hand on her shoulder. The ring on his finger glistens. The subtitles read: There you are, sweetheart. Sorry I’m late, I was looking everywhere for you. /End ID]

And then, near the end of the movie, Sophie sees a vision of Howl as a young boy, swallowing a fallen star so he can have immortal life or more magic or whatever, and Sophie gasps. The ring on her finger, the ring that Howl gave to her, breaks into pieces, and a black hole opens up under her and swallows her. And she calls out to Howl: “It’s me, Sophie! I know how to help you now! Find me in the future!”

[ID: Sophie with grey hair in a blue dress with a white apron, falling into darkness. Subtitles read: find me in the future! /End ID]

And like. It was probably only on my tenth viewing of this movie that I actually connected the dots between these two scenes. And yes, other people on Tumblr have made posts about this - I’m not inventing the wheel here by talking about it. But it’s just SO GOOD!

I want these two scenes from Howl’s POV! I mean, from his perspective - he’s just a young boy or a teenager or whatever, lonely and scared, and he’s just swallowed a falling star and given it his heart in exchange for immortality and stronger magic, and he thinks he’s alone in this wide field,when he hears his name being called out, and it’s just thing random woman that disappears right away.

Tell me you wouldn’t be thinking about that for the rest of your goddamn life.

Howl is known to be a womanizer. He’s rumoured to eat women’s hearts. He’s charming and vain and selfish and still lonely - wouldn‘t he have spent his entire life looking for Sophie?

And then one day he’s in this random little town, probably got his eyes set on some pretty girl he’s trying to seduce, and the ring on his finger glitters. And he hears a woman getting badgered by some guards in an alley way, and - well her hair is different, but that’s her!

But he can’t stay and talk to her, because FFS the Witch of the Waste has been after him for years, and her minions are just around the corner, so he takes Sophie by the shoulders and shows her some magic, and leaves her in a safe place while he goes on to distract the minions or run away,whatever. He’s probably planning on finding Sophie again when it’s safe to.

But then shit hits the fan. A war breaks out. He doesn’t have time to go look for Sophie. He’s seen horrors on the battlefield, and his own kind have turned into monsters and are attacking him.

And there’s this random old woman has appeared in his house and she’s asking for a job, and he says yes because he doesn’t want to make a fuss, and he’s kind. And he sees her sleeping in the bunk downstairs, and, well:

[ID: Sophie, sleeping, looking young with brown hair. In the next image, Howl looks down at her, dirt on his face, a vacant look in his eyes. /End ID]

That’s the girl he met in town! That’s the girl from his memories as a child! But it’s too late. He isn’t going to do anything about it, because there’s a fucking war. And he’s a little selfish and he doesn’t want to make his life more complicated than it already is, so he doesn’t mention it to Sophie. Doesn’t let her know that he knows that she’s not actually an old woman, but a young woman with a bad curse on her.

He’s got other things he has to worry about.

[amazing-spiderling]

Top 5 superheros?

Hopefully these answers aren't too cliche. ;)

#1 - Nightcrawler

What can I say? Even thought Batman was my introduction to superhero comics way back in the 90's, it wasn't long before my friend started introducing me to X-Men and Excalibur. She was really into Kitty Pryde but I immediately fell in love with this blue dude. (Thankfully they appeared in a lot of comics side by side so she had lots of books for me to read.) I had a pirate phase because of this guy. I watched a lot of Errol Flynn. I have Flaming Carrot comics on my shelf because of that one time he had a FC t-shirt in one scene. He's my rotten soldier, hes my sweet cheese, my good-time boy.

#2 - Honey Badger (Gabby Kinney)

Maybe the only Marvel comic book gal I've ever cosplayed? She's just... fun. I appreciate that even at her young age, she's really been through it. As a clone "granddaughter" of Wolverine, she's got that tragic backstory down pat, but she looked at all that trauma, and how Logan and Laura responded to it, said, "nah" and went on about her life caring about animals and being besties with Deadpool. There's probably a metaphor in there about generational trauma or something, but needless to say, I'm just glad there's a superhero girl out there who wears pants and looks and acts her age.

#3 Spider-Man (all of them)

I know, everyone is so surprised. The most popular superhero in the whole world. XD As a middle schooler, I lived on a steady diet of Gargoyles and the Spider-Man animated series, both of which introduced a lot of (dubious) scientific concepts before my science class got anywhere close to talking about stuff like genetics or cloning. I know Peter Parker is written to be this supposedly relatable everyman, so it's not hard to project on to him, but that means there's a lot of *there* there. I think Spider-Man is also one of the heroes who best understands his position as a symbol. Other characters go about their super-lives, making choices that they think are right, but in the back of his head, I think Spidey is always aware of the fact that kids look up to him, and that holds him to a stricter code than a lot of heroes. He walks this razor thin line and is stressed out about it all the time, and that's what the kids call a complete mood.

#4 Foggy Nelson

Putting up with Matt Murdock's crap is a super-power, actually.

No, but seriously. I LOVE a best friend type (see also: Nightcrawler) who provides that pragmatic (but not gloomy) perspective that other "more exciting" hero types need. They're not just there for comic relief, or so bad things can happen to them when shit goes down, they're essential, and Foggy performs his role admirably in basically every incarnation.

#5 The Bowler (Mystery Men)

Shut up, I'm putting a Mystery Men entry on here because that movie kicks ass and more people should watch it. I was vaguely aware of this movie when it came out (because of my aforementioned interest in Flaming Carrot comics) but I wasn't in a position to go out and see it. A few years later I picked it out of a bargain bin and it rocked my socks off. Mystery Men's greatest crime is being ahead of its time. It's a pastiche that came out before the world was oversaturated with big budget super-flix. And the Bowler is easily best of the bunch. I have a soft spot for Janeane Garofalo who brings the exact energy this role needs. I love her for being a competent hero who is still flawed and has her own shit going on, and I love that she's just... a woman out there doing her best... FOR REVENGE. I painstakingly made her costume for Halloween one year and literally nobody got it and actually I do not care, it's dope.

[wisteria-lodge]

exploded bird + lion secondary (badger model)

Good afternoon Wisteria! I was hoping for your input with my sorting. This MAY become a novel, and i apologize ahead of time for that. Hopefully its interesting, if nothing else.

I am having trouble with both my primary and secondary. Ive thought i had it figured out so many times and then i would reanalyze myself and get confused. So i guess ill start with primaries. I can tell you for sure that i am not a snake primary. I just cant love another person quite like that. I grew up in a very snake primary environment and never felt i really fit in. I really appreciate snakes and i understand them, but i dont think i am one. I also very much pride myself on my individuality and dont bond to groups so i believe that may rule out badger. I think ive narrowed it down to exploded bird or really confused lion.

Interesting. So far so good. Let’s hear what you’ve got.

Right now in life, with all the information coming at me, all the data, all of the twists and turns, media bias, conspiracy theories, rabbit holes and objective realities, i cant figure out the truth.

… sounds like an Exploded Bird to me.

I think all theories are worth investigating and rabbit holes are fun. But i hate hypocrisy. And its everywhere.

I mean, everyone hates hypocrisy… but I think Birds find it *unforgivable.*

I cant organize all of this information.

Exploded Bird.

Dude. Whats gonna happen if deep fake becomes the norm?

eh, Photoshop has been the norm for a long time and we do okay. Some fakes have always been better than others, and there have always been fakes.

I feel like the safest thing to do is to fully understand myself. Then i can analyze and understand the world.

I would agree with that.

I would say that hands down i was an exploded bird, but i feel very strongly about things right away. But then i learn about them more and if my feelings were wrong, ok. Whatever.

This is still Bird. It’s not that Birds can’t feel strongly about things right away. They do, they just don’t feel safe TRUSTING those feelings. Instead they do… exactly what you’re describing here. Learn more, and then if it turns out their initial feelings were wrong… that’s fine, actually. The feelings are of secondary importance.

BUT i also WANT black and white. I want right and wrong. Grey, though necessary and true, bugs me.

… there’s a reason why I call young Birds Black-and-White Birds.

Deep down i crave to just understand something as it is. But one persons truth is not anothers. I get that. But it still bothers me in my bones.

That’s a very Bird primary angst. Birds can have this *fantasy* that if only everyone had all the information and thought it though properly, that everyone would come to the same (correct) conclusion. And then have to grapple with the fallout when they realize things don’t work that way. As a Lion… I’ve never had to fight that particular monster.

I can also seem like i make snap decisions based on feelings to others, but i just know what i want. If something sounds good, i want to do it. At that moment. No hesitation… i think im meshing into secondary territory here

I agree. Improvisational secondary, sounds like.

so ill just go with it. So my bedroom walls are lilac purple and my kitchen is BRIGHT yellow, because those colors sounded interesting. At that moment. I tend to jump into a project having no idea what im doing. I just thought it sounded like fun.

Comfortable making decisions on a whim, just jumping in. Very improvisational.

But thats not really a way to problem solve. When i start said project and then run into a problem, usually ill read about it, or ask someone who knows more than me. The “i know a guy” bird kind of applies here. I know how to make connections within my community and i plan for that. I think about who would be useful to know, based on my goals.

You know, this could be Bird. But I’m kind of skewing more Badger because of the emphasis on community and asking for help. And keeping an eye on ‘who is powerful, who is useful to know’ is a pretty common Badger secondary model manifestation.

But i dont think i build tools like a bird. In fact, binge watching videos on how to do something annoys me. Takes all the fun out of it.

I still think you’re an Improvisational secondary - and a Badger secondary model is *more* likely than a Bird secondary model.

I am always honest with people and i like that about me, but its not out of some need to stay true to myself. Its just because i have learned that honesty works the best most of the time.

So not Lion *primary* then. This is all about method. You don’t lie, because you don’t find it to be a very practical problem-solving method. Being very direct does work, so at this point… Lion is more likely than snake.

Now, dont get me wrong, i am an excellent liar. But only if its on the fly.

Hmm. Maybe a Snake who’s in neutral all the time?

This conflicts big time with my primary, however, so i rarely ever do.

Interesting. Lying conflicts with your (hypocrisy hating) Bird primary, so you don’t do it. Instead you are very direct, and that works well for you. You *can* lie (on the fly) but you generally don’t. Neutral Snake? Snake secondary model? Depending on how you define lying, could even be Courtier Badger. (I am ruling out constructed Actor Bird.)

I feel like ive gone all over the place in a highly disorganized way, so i will state that now i am going to give some anecdotal data. One time, as an adult, i was hanging out with a bunch of kids on a hayride. A little boy killed a butterfly. I was outraged. I called him out. I told him that he just took away the only life that creature would ever have and that was cruel.

Very loud Idealist primary.

This somehow turned into a question and answer school session about human biology, mammals and why on earth is water in a cup clear, but when you dive into the ocean, its blue?

Some kind of social secondary… and I know the obvious thing is to say 'trotting out a lot of facts, that’s bird.’ But I’m seeing you defuse a situation by leveraging your immediate community (Q&A session)? Badger.

I like being the person that gets the scary bugs out of the house because i feel brave when i do.

Sounds pretty Lion secondary.

When in an emergency situation i completely disconnect and become a calm, knowledgeable person.

This is actually a pretty common just, human thing. When things get bad enough, your lizard brain takes over, and everything is very calm and dreamlike.

I suddenly magically know what needs to be done and work with my environment.

Improvisational secondary.

Im also very aware of how everyone else is doing in that situation and i have an innate need to make people feel better so im usually the first to lighten the mood. Ill focus on others before myself if im hurt. Im more aware of how they are doing than how i am doing and i will make an effort to help them first.

Ah yes, the 'tend and befriend’ threat response. Very familiar. And yeah, going from this description I’m going to say very social badger.

In video games… skyrim is best here i think. I want to be a sneaky mage thief. But when something attacks me, without thinking i run right up to it and hit it with my fists without armor.

lol lion. (The classic Badger secondary strategy is BUFF ARMOR. I always play tanks.)

But i get really sad if its an animal.Those wolf whimpers get to me every time.

No one likes the wolf whimpers.

Ok. Ok. Ive rambled enough. Thank you for reading! Any input is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Exploded Bird, easy. And probably a Lion secondary with a very social Badger secondary model that’s working well for you.

[morningstarinwinter]

🌜Moon wish upon the star✨

Roleplaying between me and @twins-born-in-a-new-moon

CW : Swear words, Sexual harassment

Word counting : 5,078

It was just a day after the announcement of the celestial ball. Everyone was very excited for it, they were already searching for a partner or thinking on the clothes they would wear that date. Artemis and Danique were not an exception to the excitement the ball bringed.

Artemis himself was already being questioned by his twin sister “Are you going to bring Danique as your date?”

“I don’t think so” he answered ��she wouldn’t come with me anyway”

“Oh are you sure?” his twin asked.

“Yeah, she kind of hates me...” he said sadly.

You dork , Selene thought.

Meanwhile Danique and Penny are at the Hufflepuff common room.

“I’m so excited about the upcoming event!! What would you choose as a dress? Who would you bring?” The blonde haired girl squeals and shakes her amber eyes friend.

“Woah woah, calm down Penny! Professor Dumbledore just announced  this! Who would already think of that?” Danique said and shook her head at her lively friend.

“But you would go with Artemis right? Since you two are a thing” the blonde haired girl teases her friend.

“Wha-what do you mean by that?! Why would he like me? He is so perfect and me? No, we are not a thing. We just have a verbal war game..” said the amber-eyed girl with a  hint of sadness in her voice.

“Oh no, Dani! He has never done anything like that to anyone! You are special to him, you know?” Penny said with a serious face.

“Sigh, I don't feel like that Penny. Anyway, I may go with Barn since he seems so clueless about this” the white haired girl said, then stood up from the couch and walked off the common room.

Don't give me hope Penny, he deserves better. Someone like you. The white haired thought to herself.

“Oh, I need to tell Barn before some hungry girl snitched him before me”

Artemis himself was already moving to the great hall to eat, ignoring all the questions his sister asked him on the way.

Once there he could see many people already asking each other to go to the ball. Tulip herself asked him if he would go to the ball with her. He politely denied her petition and continued with his food.

It’s not like I don’t want to go with someone.. she wouldn’t come with me, would she? he thought.

Entering the great hall, Danique saw the boy she's just frustrated about, rejecting the mischievous red haired girl.

Huh! See? as I thought. He would have a girl by his side for that night already. The amber-eyed girl thought to herself and looked around for her hunky Slytherin friend.

“Excuse me” There is a tall Gryffindor boy appearing at her sight.

“Yes? what can I do for you?” said the girl with frowned eyebrows.

 Is he the chaser from the Gryffindor team? I think we only talked once

“It would be an honor for me to have you as my date in the celestial ball. Danique Winter, would you go with me?” The boy said with a smirk then used Orchideous to conjure a red rose bouquet and offered it for her.

Ahhhhhh, the hell? Why would he have to cause a scene here?!

“Ah...umm...that's very nice of you to say, but I already have someone on my mind. And I have to go now, Sorry…” She said and gave him a forced smile. Then she walks off the scene as quickly as she can to the Slytherin table to meet her hunky friend.

The rejected Gryffindor boy stares, following her back, and clenches that poor bouquet.

Artemis looked at the little scene the Gryffindor boy make to try to ask Danique to be his date

You fool, she would never accept a petition like that.. so flamboyant…

He can see how the boy gets rejected but the words that came from her mouth make him... sad. Someone on your mind? he thought Of course, I should have guessed it before…

Meanwhile at the Slytherin table.

“Do you have anyone you want to go with, Barn?” the white haired girl asked.

“Noh...do I have to? There were some girls that asked me, but I don't know them so I rejected” the brunette boy answers.

“Will you go with me then? Since I don't want to go with some weird dude like that” She nods her head at that Gryffindor boy.

“As a friend tho, we could have fun together without those love interest feelings” she looks back at her Slytherin friend.

“That sounds nice. I'm happy to go with you Danique!” The brunette boy smiles brightly at the white haired girl.

“It's a deal then” she smiles at him and changes the conversation  to another topic.

Since Artemis was away from the two of them he doesn’t get to hear the conversation, but he can guess. Were you referring to Barnaby?

He decided to just finish his plate and go back to the common rooms. We have astrology tomorrow, I can ask her there!

The next day in their last class of the week, astrology, Artemis waited peacefully till the class finished to talk to Danique. Once the class is dismissed.

“Excuse me Danique?” he called her “Can we talk?”

“Does it take time? since I promised to help the first year on charms” She answered the boy.

Oh no, what would he want to talk about?

“It would only be a few minutes…” he replied.

“Hmm...it's okay then I guess…” she said hesitantly. Why do I feel like he is nervous now? Why would he feel that?

“Well... mmm-” he said a bit blushed “Will you... go to the Celestial Ball with me?” he said playing nervously with one of his hair strands.

Wha-what did he just say?! Celestial ball? me? But why? The girl was surprised by his words.

“I'm sorry Artemis, but I already promised to go with Barn…” she answered.

“Oh! Do you get asked by many people and don't want to go with strangers like Barn? I'm sorry I can't help you with that now” she seems to think of her Slytherin friend and answers to him guiltily.

Hmm..maybe I was wrong when he rejected Tulip, maybe it's just her joke

“No-! I” I genuinely wanted to go with you. he thought. “N-never mind... Hope you and Barn have fun in the ball” he said sadly

 “See you soon Danique”and he left.

“Oh no! He seemed disappointed. Maybe I could check on him at the ball if he didn't go to anyone” The amber-eyed girl said to herself and then walked to the courtyard to meet the first year badger.

Artemis got out of the room and quickly went to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

There Rowan was sitting, reading a few books, so Artemis sat next to her.

“Hello Rowan” he said quite sadly.

“Well, someone is sad? What happened?” The girl asked softly.

“Danique is going to the ball with Barnaby…” answered the boy.

“Ouh- Well…” she looked at him. “We could go together, you know just as friends so we don't go alone?”

“... Sounds good for me” he smiled

When Danique finished helping with the first year, she went back to her dormitory and found that Penny and Tonks were there.

“Wotcher Dani! I hope to hear good news from you!” The pink haired girl said with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Yeah! We saw that Artemis talked to you and wondered if he finally asked you for the ball!!” The blonde hair squeals.

“Oh...um...he did ask me, but I need to tell you guys that I asked Barn to go as a friend yesterday” The white hair answered and smiled sheepishly to her roommates.

“Why would you do that Dani! Oh, I feel so helpless about you” Tonks said then facepalms.

“Look at you Danique! I said that he would ask you and you won't believe me” Penny pouts at her white hair friend.

“Now you guys make me feel guilty. Look, it's already happened okay?” the amber eye said then threw her arms up.

“Anyway let's talk about other things, you're gonna be the head of decoration right Penny?” She said, then sat on her bed.

Her 2 roommates just look at each other and thought She changed the subject again

“Oh right! I was thinking the theme could be ‘star’, what do you think about that?” Doesn't want to push on her friend, the blonde hair girl just goes with the flow.

“What can I say? I'm the star myself, you know?” when she answered and the room was now full of laughter and they continued to talk about it.

The days passed softly and so finally the night of the ball arrived, Artemis was wearing a fine and fit white suit with golden and lilac details, which helped his thin but slightly masculine appearance to stand out, he used a beautiful purple cape over his clothes, his hair was down but kept with a half ponytail, and changed his usual black glasses to a golden ones special for formal gatherings.

Thanks to all of this, and his albino appearance, he really looked like a moon prince.

Rowan, who was at his side, was wearing a beautiful blue dress with silver details, her black hair was in a side tail, she looked so pretty that night.

After finishing dressing, the amber eye girl walked to the great hall to meet her brunette friend at the gate.

“Wow...you look so beautiful Danique! It's not like you don't look good on the other day, but today you look much more beautiful!” the hunky boy said with sparkling eyes.

Before him, Danique dresses in a gold ankle-long dress with a high neck and revealed back. There are golden glitters starting from her neck to her waist. Below that, the fabric is a see through start from her tight. Her shoes are white high heels with strips around her ankle. Her hair is done as loose curls with one small braid at the left. The hair was tucked on the left side to show her silver star earring. She did her make up with a rosy cheek and brick pink lipstick.

“Thank you so much Barn, now let's head in the ball shall we?” she smiles back at him and they walk into the room decorated in star theme.

Rowan and Artemis were already sitting down waiting for everyone else to join, they were keeping a simple conversation until Danique and Barnaby walked in... She looks.. wow His eyes shone as he looked at her. She is sunning…

Rowan looked at him and then smiled to herself when she noticed who he was looking. “Shall we dance Artemis?” she asked and pointed at the couple with her head.

“Oh! Sure, my lady” he answered smiling.

Danique spotted Artemis and Rowan on the dance floor.

Woah...he looks...like a moon prince… The amber eye girl keeps staring at him for several minutes.

“That boy really looks good tonight” the voice from her brunette friend snaps her from the thought.

“You look so smart too Barn, I almost fell for you when I saw you back then” she flirts and winks at him as they always did.

“Well, sadly your heart is with that man” Barnaby said then make a fake sad face

“Sh-shut it Barn! Let's dance with others!” the white hair girl said with a reddened face and dragged her friend to the dance floor.

After a few songs our two dance couples ended up quite close to each other, enough to be able to see them dancing with their respective partner.

Artemis was completely mesmerized with how Danique flowed softly on the dance floor, but looking at how Barnaby holded her so closely made him... jealous.

“Hey Rowan, I had an idea,” he said with a smirk.

“Do tell” the girl in his arms said.

“Would you mind if...?” and he pointed at the couple with his head, Rowan understood immediately and put her arms around the boy's neck.

“Who will tell! Our dear Artemis can be jealous” she laughed.

“Oh shut it, Ro!” he laughed as well, as they continued their dance.

Seeing Artemis like that made Danique snapped.

Why would Rowan do that? Oh I see, he just wants to start a game huh? bring it on boy

“Hey Barn, when I twirled next time, hold me reallyyyy close okay?” she smirks at her friend.

“Okay...but why?”

“Just do it!” She lets out a whisper-shout

When it comes to the swirling position, Danique swirled then leaned her back on Barnaby's chest then placed her head on his shoulder. She grabs both or the boy's hands to place on her waist. Barnaby, flushed by this, quickly swirls her back to face-to-face position.

Both Artemis and Rowan looked at the other couple with surprised eyes.

“Crap” Rowan muttered “Any plan?”

“...None” the boy answered.

“Well, fuck” she then cursed.

The two of them  just stayed dancing close to each other for a while.

Meanwhile at the sass queen's couple

“Looks like they are done with this game. Ha! that boy never learned who is the champion here” the white hair girl peeks at the Ravenclaw couple and smirks.

“Sorry Barn, I went a bit too far right? Also, how about we stop dancing now and go to eat something?” the girl asked her blushed partner.

“Yea-yeah a bit too much. Speaking of eating, that's a nice idea! I'm starting to get bored of this” the brunette boy stops the dance and leads his partner to the table.

“Do you want some butter beer? I could grab it for you” he asked. 

“Sounds great! I may sit here since my feet are sore a bit because of these stupid heels” the girl replied and sits on one of the chairs.

Artemis and Rowan find a place to sit down after a few dances and they peacefully chat with each other. 

"So.... would you like something to drink?" Artemis asked

"No, I'm fine for now, don't worry" she answered.

After a few minutes, Barnaby was gone. Danique looks around to see how the ball is going.

“You look stunning today Danique” without looking, she already knew it's that Gryffindor chaser.

OH SHIT THAT BOY

“Thank you. You are looking good yourself” she turns to face him and notices that leans his hand on the table to lower himself to talk to her.

Don't get close to me you jerk

“Well, I would look better if I had you by my side tonight…” he smirks and places his other hand on her small bare-skin back.

Feeling disgusted by his action, the girl quickly stands up and steps away from him.

“Come on, one dance wouldn't hurt right?” still pestering, the boy grabs one of her wrists.

Oh no, it's so disgusting. Why did it take you so long, Barn? Please hurry up and comes help me

Doesn't like to be touched herself, the poor girl is shocked from those actions and stands still.

Artemis was very concentrated talking with Rowan until he saw how a boy got extremely close to Danique, the girl was surely disgusted by the actions of the man so he stood up quickly.

“Excuse me for a second Rowan” and as fast as he said these words, he went in Danique's direction.

Rowan quickly notices the scene before her as well “Don’t worry, go ahead”

“My darling,” He said, holding the girl's hand softly.

“Is everything ok?” he asked looking with clear angry at the gryffindor 

“If he is making you uncomfortable, say so. I will get him off in a few seconds” he whispered to her ear.

The amber-eyed girl only nods her head and looks at the ground.

“Excuse me, sir” He said, getting Danique behind him so the boy wouldn’t get to keep touching her.

“I think the lady has been clear on her actions that she doesn't want to dance with you, or even have you around" he said frowning his eyebrows "I recommend you to leave her immediately unless-”

“Unless what a pretty boy?” He laughed “What will you do, as if you could do anything to me, now move a side”

“So that's your choice huh?” there was not only anger in Artemis' eyes, he was... infuriated. “Let me guess, your name was... Daniel Roberts correct? I think your father works at the ministry of magic?”

The boy flinched “You wouldn't dare-”

“Oh of course I will!” Now was Artemis who laughed 

“Don't ever mess with Clair de Lune, your father should have taught you that... how unfortunate he is... to have a son that treat womans like a beast”

“Please don't do it!” He begged “I will do whatever you ask me but please, don't do anything to my father”

“Everything I asked?” Artemis smirked “Then apologize to the Lady immediately and leave, don't ever talk to her again!”

“P-please, forgive me miss Winter!” Trash in its place. And as soon as the boy said those words he ran away.

Artemis took a deep breath to calm himself down and then looked camly at Danique. “Are you alright Danique?” he asked softly

“Yeah! yeah...I...I guess…” she answers him softly and tries to move her hair to cover her back.

Artemis noticed the action of the girl so he softened his eyes, grabbed his cape and put it around her shoulders. “There we are”

Still not fully recovered from that physical touch, the girl flinches a bit.

“Ah- sorry I didn't mean to make you feel uneasy” the boy apologized.

“Oh no! It's not your fault. I just....Sigh, Can we get out of here…?” She hugs herself and looks at his eyes, her amber eyes still have a hint of fear in them.

He looked at her softly. “Surely, my lady” he offered the girl his arm so she could grab on it if she wanted.

Even though she was feared by that man, she feels safe around his presence. The amber-eyed girl then grabs his arm.

Then the two of them walk outside the great hall and go to the fountain yard where the sky is with a full moon surrounded by stars.

Artemis and Danique then sit together at the fountain... Looking peacefully at the beautiful night sky. Artemis hadn't said a word, he just wanted her to feel comfortable.

“Thank you for helping me back then” the amber-eyed girl broke the silence.

“I really appreciated that, really. I looked so pathetic right? A sass strong girl like me can't fight back that jerk” she let out a small painful laugh.

“You weren't pathetic” the boy said with a worry in his voice.

“That jerk didn't have any intention of backing off, until I menaced him of course…” he paused.

“And it's ok don't worry, I couldn't have stayed there just watching how that asshole made you uncomfortable” he then said softly to her.

Danique looks at him and is stunned by how his albino skin and white hair reflect the moonlight. Moreover,with the outfit , he looks like a real moon prince. She stares at him silently for a while.

Artemis looked at how the amber eyes shined thanks to the reflection of the stars of the sky, he felt he could lose in those eyes. He got close to her face. She looks so pretty right now but...She will hate me if I kiss her right? he thought and closed his eyes.

Huh? wh-why he lean in and closed his eyes, don't tell me he wanted to ki-kiss me?! Oh no my heart can't handle this now

“Umm..the-the sky is so beautiful tonight, isn't it?” She turns her head away from him and looks at the sky.

Artemis quickly gets back to his original position noticing what he was about to do “Ah- yes is indeed pretty” he answered, That’s not the only pretty thing in this place.. then looked at the sky, flustered.

“The full moon is so beautiful. I like the scenario when the moonlight shines on it” she said and looked around.

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it...?” the amethyst eyed flick to look at the girl beside him, looking at her with longingly as the owner spoke the sentence that seems to have hidden meaning in it.

“It always is” She looked at him and smiled.

“Oh! let me show you one of my favorite spells!” she said excitedly and looked at the boy.

He tilted his head “Ok?” He said a bit confused.

“Watch this and keep it a secret okay?” she smiles and winks at him.

Danique moves her right index finger and mutters some spell. Suddenly, there are many littles stars surrounding them. They are twinkling and moving around slowly.

“My father always did this for me when I was young, since he calls me 'little star' and I really like it” she let out a small chuckle.

“You are the first one I showed this to, you know? No one ever saw me doing wandless magic before” she looks at him and smiles softly.

Artemis felt his own heart melted by her words and actions. If the place was already pretty before, now it was definitely dreamlike, he sighed.

“Thanks for this honor” he smiled at her, flustered.

He got closer to her “This is truly a beautiful scenery” he paused.

“Yet the only thing I can look at right now is at the beautiful star shining right in front of me” he admitted.

Holding her hands in his, he said “You have truly mesmerized me Danique... and all my heart can seem to think about, is you” his cheeks were in a tone of bright red.

Stunned by his words, the girl now speechless and her face is all red.

Wh-why is he suddenly like this? I'm I dreaming right now? What-what should I say?

Then the music started playing again, Artemis standed up and offered a hand to her.

“Will you spare me this dance, Danique?” He asked, still felt a bit nervous by his own actions.

“Of-of course!” she quickly stands up, with a bit of awkwardness, then takes his hand.

The dance was a slow one, they danced and marveled at each other's appearance under the night sky. Artemis was feeling quite nervous, but happy at the same time. Holding the girl so close to him during the dance felt like a dream.

Meanwhile Danique, feels safe, yet nervous in her crush's arms.

Oh no he holds me so gently, my heart beats too fast like I'm gonna explode..After that thought, she steps on his foot.

“Oh! I'm-I'm sorry” she looks down at her feet.

“It’s ok. Don’t worry” he softly laughed.

Artemis could feel his own heart beating faster. I hope she doesn’t notice

He honestly feels like he is flying, but at the same time bound to earth by the beautiful lady in his arms.

The song went sweetly and slowly as it began and they stayed in the dance position for a few seconds when they realized it was over…

“That was such an amazing dance” She smiles at him, still not letting go.

“As expect from the perfect boy”

“Perfect boy?” A sad tone was perceived in his voice “Is that all I am to you?” He asked softly, looking at her eyes.

“Oh, no! You-you are more than that…” the amber-eyed girl answers nervously. She looks at his eyes and feels like they are luring her in. Her lips part a bit because of those dreamy purple eyes.

“More than that?” He leaned close to her face again. I may be misinterpreting her but..He once again closed her eyes and  gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

He could smell her hair clearer than ever before. The smell of peach and the soft lips of the girl, he couldn’t think of anything else for a moment. His heart felt like skipping a beat and he is.. so happy.

Being surprised by his action at first, the girl then closes her eyes and kisses him back. She could smell her favourite scents from him stronger than before. She wraps her arms around his neck and tilts her head to make it easier for the kiss. Her mind goes blank and her heart beats so fast as if it's going to explode.

Artemis just let himself melt in the girl's soft lips for a while, putting his arms around her waist. Good things couldn't last forever and their lips parted from each other. Artemis keeps his eyes closed, feeling his own heart beat hard on his chest, as he keeps holding the amber eyed girl in his arms.

After they parted, Danique opened her eyes and pants a bit from that sweet kiss. She saw that Artemis still closes his eyes and holds her delicately. The blush begins to creep all over her face since she gains her consciousness back.

Oh Merlin...We kissed?! And-and we are not even a couple! What have I done?!

She let go of his neck and hides her face in her hands because of shyness.

Artemis slowly opens his eyes and sees how the girl is hiding herself “Danique…” He softly calls her.

Still hiding her face, the girl squeaks. “Yes?!”

“Look at me, please” he asked, keeping a soft tone.

The girl finally gathered her courage and let her hand down.

Artemis gave her a warm smile and finally says “I love you” Feeling his heart beating faster than it was before “I understand If you don't feel the same I just.. wanted you to know how i truly feel about you”

“I-I..” Getting kissed and listening to her crush confess his love to her, the amber eyes girl seems unable to handle these. Her legs kind of give up themselves, the girl is now sitting on the floor and hides her face again.

These are too muchhhh, I feel like I'm dying. Then she remembered that he told her to look at him so she peeks through her hands.

"Can-can you give me some time? There are too many events happening today and I feel like my brain has stopped working. Also that was my first kiss, I..." she whispers the last sentence shyly.

Artemis helps the girl to stand up again. “Ah- of course” he was now the one being shy “Wait- your first kiss?” he whispered. So it was her first kiss as well?

“Yea-yeah, sorry if I was not good” she glances up at him and presses her lips.

“No- is not that... It was my first kiss as well..” Artemis said letting his cheeks become pink.

“Really?! but you are so...good..” she said with a dreamy voice.

Artemis became completely red by that commentary and covered his face with one of his hands. “Well, thank you..” he said in almost a whisper. 

“You did it pretty good yourself…” He felt like he is meling.

“Tha-thank you..” she replied softly.

Seeing him blushed, the girl teases. “As expected from the perfect boy, you really are good at everything, oh also I think it's almost the curfew time” the amber eyes girl said with a smirk and looked at the clock.

“Good at everything huh?” Artemis now teased back "I will only do my best display for my lady after all. And, yes indeed" he said looking at the clock as well “We should go back” Artemis offered his arm to the girl “May I have the honor to escort you?”

“Oh yes, thank you my prince”she smiles and takes his arm.

There are a lot of conversations and laughs on the way to the Hufflepuff common room. And now they arrived at the barrel gate.

“Thank you about everything tonight Artemis, I would cherish this night for the rest of my life..” She smiles softly at the white hair boy.

“I could say the same, Danique” He said and gave her a kiss on her hand "Have a peaceful sleep, my princess” And with these words Artemis left to his own common room.

Artemis arrived at the Ravenclaw common room and was intercepted by Rowan “Well then... how was your secret date with Danique”  she asked, making the boy blush at the memory of the girl's lips on his own.

“I kissed her” he said “And I told her- yes, in that specific order”

“OH FOR MERLIN'S BEARD!!!” Rowan squealed “What did she tell you?!! She accepted you?!!”

“She... asked me for time to think and... process it all” he answered.

“Dank, so close yet so far” Rowan muttered “Don't worry I'm sure she would accept you in the end!”

Artemis put his hand on his heart “Would she?” he whispered. She doesn't even know about this after all..

After a few minutes of conversation each one went to their respective room.

Artemis hugged one of his pillows and smiled to himself remembering clearly all of the night before falling asleep.

Meanwhile at her dormitory. The other girls are already in the room.

“Seemed like someone got a secret date” the pink haired girl whistles.

“Yeah, how was it Dani?!” the blonde hair girl asks loudly.

“Ughhhh, Why do you guys always see this?” the white hair girl groans.

“Artemis is a good guy tho, get him Dani” the white wolf girl said

“EVEN YOU CHIARA?!” the amber-eyed girl now yanks her hair.

“Spill all of it morning star!!” Tonks then jumped at her.

“Ahhhh okay okay! Geez...”Danique told everything that happened between them.

“MERLIN'S BEARD DANIQUE!” the pink haired girl screams, followed by 2 squeal voices.

“Shhh, Tonks! you are too loud!” Danique lets out a whisper-yell.

“Why don't you just accept him, Danique? He had a feeling for you for a long time and you also like him” the blonde hair girl asked curiously.

“Sigh, he is a noble, remember? Also, he is hella perfect. Do I really deserve him tho?” the amber-eyed girl said with a sad voice.

Basic half-blood and noble pureblood huh? Sounds like Cinderella's story for me. She thought and looked outside of the window to see the moon surrounded by thousands of stars. The moon and the stars? Probably more like that.. She then excused the other girls to go for a shower and all of them knew right away not to ask about it anymore.

[occasionalstorytelling]

Summary: While the Teen Titans (Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven) are taking down some of Slade's robots, they bump into a robot that isn't a robot--in fact, it's a kid, about their age, with black spiky hair and a domino mask under the Slade black-and-orange faceplate. It's Slade's apprentice, Dick Grayson, rescued from the circus after his parents' death when Batman wasn't around for him. Dick (or his villain name, Apprentice) has never tangled with heroes before, but he's not going to let Slade down. If only someone had warned him that nobody can stand up to the Teen Titans.

Excerpt:

“Okay, Titans, just like we planned,” Cyborg raised his sonic cannon and pointed it at the door.

Whoever Slade was, he’d sent villain after villain to destroy the Titans, but now he’d changed tactics, and was trying to steal a series of computer chips from tech companies around the city. The Titans had staked out Wayne Tech, ready for Slade’s next robotic army assault. Cyborg and Beast Boy were down on the main storage room floor, ready to fight off the creepy robots with their identical forms and blank masked faces. Starfire and Raven were both in flight, covering all possible other entrances and exits to the room.

They could hear a loud, repeating banging sound as the robots beat on the door. Starfire powered up, eye glowing green. Beast Boy nodded at Cyborg and turned into a T-Rex, ready for whatever was coming through.

“Here it comes!” Cyborg said. “Raven, shield us!”

Raven’s magic washed over them, a black shield against which shrapnel from the door scattered harmlessly. The shield flashed away, revealing an army of Slade’s robots standing in the doorway.

“Titans, go!” Cyborg yelled.

Beast Boy roared and stomped into the fray, tearing robotic limbs to shreds with his T-Rex teeth. Cyborg stood behind him, firing blast after blast of his sonic cannon into the robots. One of the robots was different than the others, he noticed. It was smaller, more agile. Most of the robots were big, lumbering tanks that would keep charging forward until they met their goal or got destroyed. This robot was light, and Cyborg watched it cartwheel one-handed out of the way of one of Beast Boy’s swiping attacks. Cyborg pivoted to face it, but it was fast. It almost danced around him, the way it moved. It leapt into the air, making a grab for the chip, when Cyborg finally caught it in the leg with the sonic cannon. It wasn’t a good enough hit, though. The robot still had both legs, and it kept coming. It reached into a pocket and threw something at Cyborg. The something exploded on contact, clogging up Cyborg’s sensors with smoke and ash. It almost destroyed his power cell in one hit.

“Star!” Cyborg coughed.

“I see it,” Starfire said. She flew over Cyborg’s head and attacked the smaller robot. It turned and ran from her, towards one of the walls. She threw starbolt after starbolt at it as it ran, then it ran up the wall a few steps, did a backflip over her head, and threw another something at her. The explosive force slammed Starfire into the wall as the robot jumped away, heading for the chip again. Cyborg fired another few sonic cannon shots, but it rolled and ducked like none of the other robots could.

Raven swooped down, putting herself between it and the chip. The robot froze for a second, as if sizing her up. “Azarath metrion zinthos!” Raven said, and the floor panels under the robot’s feet began to rise, shoving it away as they formed a protective wall around the chip. The robot pulled out another device, one that looked like a gun. It shot at Raven, and she threw up a shield to protect herself, but the robot hadn’t been aiming for her. It was a grappling hook, and the robot used the line attached to her makeshift wall to swing under it and grab the chip out of the security force field.

“It’s got the chip!” Cyborg yelled. “We can’t let it take it!”

The robot launched itself back towards the crushed lab door and the safety of numbers, but Beast Boy had left the robot army not much more than a pile of parts. He was now an octopus. “Got you!” Beast Boy said, grabbing the little robot with a few of his arms. The robot pressed a button on its belt and Beast Boy yelped and twitched as electricity flooded through him. He dropped the robot and collapsed, shifting back to himself as he did. Raven used her power to raise the rubble into the air, blocking the robot’s escape. The robot turned to face the Titans, the only one of its peers left standing. It pocketed the chip and raised both fists, ready for a fight.

“This one is…smaller than the others?” Starfire frowned.

“That doesn’t mean it’s any less of a threat,” Cyborg scowled. He fired another sonic cannon blast, but the robot had already moved. It had used the grappling hook to connect to a vent close to the ceiling, and was making a run for it. Before any of the Titans could stop it, it was inside the vent and on the move.

“Throw me!” Beast Boy said. Cyborg picked him up and launched him. Beast Boy turned into a mouse mid-flight, and landed inside the vent. “It’s heading for the roof!” Beast Boy yelled back, already on the move following the robot.

“Then let’s go get it,” Raven said. She raised her teleportation raven to encircle the three of them.

“Wait,” Cyborg frowned. “Did any of us get hit?”

“I for one was hit most strongly, but I am fine,” Starfire said.

“Beast Boy’s blood is green, Star’s is orange, Raven’s is black, mine is blue,” Cyborg said, tracing one finger through the sticky red pool on the chip platform. “So whose is this?”

“The robot… It’s not a robot,” Raven said.

“Do you think it is Slade himself?” Starfire asked.

“Cyborg to Beast Boy, it’s not a robot,” Cyborg spoke into the communicator. “We’ve got to try and take him alive. We’ll meet you at the roof.” He nodded at Raven, who cloaked them. They reappeared on the roof. It was night, and the huge WAYNE TECH sign glowed white in the darkness. The vent clattered open as Beast Boy emerged as a badger holding onto one of the not-robot’s legs with his teeth. The not-robot landed a solid kick to Beast Boy’s face and tried to escape, but it was surrounded by the Titans, with weapons hot. The not-robot raised a weird-looking gun of some sort, attached to his wrist, but Starfire swooped down and crunched it into useless dust with one hand. “I believe we have caught you,” she said, keeping her grip on his wrist. The not-robot suddenly tensed and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her head-first into the ground and leaving a crack in the rooftop cement. He ran at Cyborg, fists raised.

“Dude, you do not want to fight me!” Cyborg said. “We know you’re hurt, and your fists won’t—hey!” After a few futile punches from the not-robot, he’d given up and tried his electrical attack on Cyborg, who just barely managed to dodge it. The not-robot didn’t even pause, he just ran for the edge of the roof and threw himself off of it.

“Raven!” Cyborg yelled.

“Got him,” Raven said. Her eyes glowed white as she held up a sphere of energy, trapping the not-robot inside of it. He struggled against it for a few moments, tried out a few gadgets on it, before seeming to give up. He slumped on the floor of the sphere.

“So…what do we do now?” Beast Boy sat up, rubbing a bump on his head.

They took the not-robot back to the Tower, careful not to let him out of the sphere until they were ready. They dumped him in a secure room, but nobody wanted to be in the same place as him. He was tough, and probably strong enough to take any of them down in a one-on-one fight. The not-robot sat in the secure little cell, and the Titans watched him from a connected window.

“Should we…turn him over to the police?” Beast Boy asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cyborg frowned. “We’ve been fighting Slade for so long, I don’t think we can afford to miss out on whatever we can learn from this guy.”

“Who is he?” Starfire asked.

“He’s not Slade, that’s for sure,” Raven grumbled. “Maybe Slade finally decided to find some new friends.”

“He looks like a robot,” Beast Boy shrugged. “With the faceplate and all…are we sure this isn’t just one of Slade’s fancy new toys?”

They looked down into the room, where the not-robot was ripping his shirt sleeve into pieces and tying them around his leg. There was a little red stain on the floor below him.

“Huh,” Beast Boy said. “Well…okay.”

“He is injured. Should we not help him?” Starfire asked.

“We can give it a try,” Cyborg shrugged.

“Not it!” Beast Boy tapped his nose. “I do not need to be alone with that guy. My head’s gonna hurt for a week.” He rubbed the bump where the not-robot had kicked him.

“Starfire, you think you can handle him?” Raven asked.

“Surely,” Starfire said. “Though I may require additional instruction in your Earth medicine.”

Loaded up with a box or two of medical supplies, Starfire opened the door to the room. Without even taking a moment to hesitate, the not-robot stood and leapt at the door, but Starfire held him back with a starbolt. The not-robot faltered, and took an awkward step back onto his hurt leg. The security door closed, the the not-robot slumped sadly.

“For your leg,” Starfire said, as brightly as she could. She held up the boxes of supplies. The not-robot didn’t move, he just seemed to stare at her from behind the faceless mask.

“You are hurt,” Starfire said, pointing at his leg. When he’d tried to escape, he’d ruined his own makeshift bandages. He took a hasty, nervous step away from her, holding up his fists.

“No, I am not here to fight you,” Starfire shook her head. “I am here to help. I will not hurt you.”

The not-robot froze for a long, horrible moment, considering her. Then he sat against the wall and tucked his hands behind his back, as if promising he wouldn’t hurt her, either. Starfire came closer and examined the injury.

“I will have to remove some of this material,” Starfire said. The pant leg was torn and bloody, and the armor was preventing her from seeing much more. The not-robot didn’t comment one way or another, so she removed the metal plate armor and used a thin beam of energy to slice away the torn fabric. The not-robot stayed very still as she did so, clearly not entirely convinced she wasn’t going to hurt him.

There was a long, angry slice of red where Cyborg’s sonic cannon had grazed him. “You are lucky,” Starfire smiled. “If you were less agile, you would be missing the whole leg.”

The not-robot continued his silence as she gently wiped the wound with a damp cloth and bandaged him. “There you go!” Starfire said. “Does that feel better?”

The not-robot nodded carefully. “…Thank you,” he said, after a long hesitation. His voice was muffled behind the mask.

“Oh! You can talk?” Starfire tried not to sound as surprised as she was.

The not-robot nodded slowly.

“Um…” Starfire looked up at the window for help. Cyborg just shrugged. “Um, my name is Starfire! It is nice to meet you,” she said.

“I’m Apprentice,” the not-robot said. He took off the faceplate mask, revealing a secondary domino mask beneath it. He looked about 15 years old. His hair was black and spiky, but a little misshapen after being under the helmet for so long.

“It is…nice to meet you,” Starfire said again, awkwardly. She looked back up at the window, where the other Titans were kind of flailing around unhelpfully.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?” Apprentice asked dryly.

“What? Of course not,” Starfire said, confused. “We—”

“Don’t talk to me,” Apprentice said. He pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest, with only a slight wince of pain as he did so.

“We can help you,” Starfire said. “Are you inured anywhere else?”

“You don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” Apprentice said, glaring at her from behind his knees.

“Perhaps I could—” she reached towards him and he visibly flinched away from her. She looked back up at the window once more. The Titans had disappeared. She squinted, trying to confirm this, when the door opened again and Cyborg came into the room, leaving Beast Boy and Raven outside. The Apprentice turned back into a ball of rage and energy until the door sealed shut, trapping him once more.

“My dude, we caught you, fair and square,” Cybrog crossed his arms. “You’re not getting out of here.”

“So I’m supposed to stop trying to escape?” Apprentice spat angrily.

“I’m Cyborg,” Cyborg said.

“I know who you are,” Apprentice glared. “I know who all of you are. The Teen Titans…” he scoffed and shook his head. “You’ll never stop Slade. No one can.”

“So are you a showoff, or do you have a broken arm?” Cyborg said.

“What?” Apprentice went white.

“You do all your fancy cartwheels, but you haven’t been putting weight on your right arm,” Cyborg said. “You keep it held close to your chest as much as you can. You’re doing it right now.”

Apprentice hastily dropped his arm and held it behind his back.

“Did we do that?” Cyborg said, a little softer. “I’m sorry. I thought you were a robot, and, you know…”

“Robots don’t stop until you break them,” Apprentice sighed. “Yeah…I know. But it’s fine, and anyway, you didn’t do it.”

“Wait, you came to the secure weapons facility with a broken arm? Why?!?!” Cyborg gestured angrily.

Apprentice just glared back at him in silence.

“We can hook you up with a cast,” Cyborg offered.

“I can’t fight in a cast,” Apprentice said.

“You can’t fight like this, either!” Cyborg gestured again. “What is your problem?!?”

“Cyborg,” Starfire said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “perhaps we should try a different approach.”

“I won’t talk,” Apprentice interrupted quickly. “I may not be a robot, but I won’t—I mean, I…I won’t…you can’t—”

“Woah, woah, slow down. We’re just trying to help you,” Cyborg said.

“No, you’re trying to soften me up so I give away Slade’s secrets,” Apprentice said. “I won’t do it. So you might as well kill me now, because I won’t talk, no matter what you do to me.”

“No one’s going to kill anyone,” Cyborg started to say, but the door opened again as Raven and Beast Boy entered with the x-ray machine, and Apprentice launched himself at the Titans with complete disregard for life and limb.

“Titans, careful!” Cyborg said. “Beast Boy, don’t—”

“I can take care of myself,” Apprentice wrenched his broken arm away from Beast Boy and ran for the door, which Raven sealed with her magic just before he got there. Apprentice beat his fist on the door, just once, and leaned against it heavily.

They were finally about to coax the dejected Apprentice into the x-ray machine. “Dude, you’re covered in broken bone scars,” Cyborg frowned as he looked at the readings. “Half your ribcage is messed up.”

Apprentice just grit his teeth in response, staring pointedly up at the ceiling.

“Slade sure sends you on a lot of missions, doesn’t he?” Beast Boy shrugged.

Apprentice refused to answer, he just kept glaring at the ceiling like it was personally responsible for his failures.

“I’m not sensing any kind of mind control,” Raven said, touching her temple as she felt around with her magic.

Apprentice snorted at that, laughing a very teenager-y laugh. The hollow sound echoed in the secure room. It made the Titans shiver. Apprentice wasn’t some evil adult villain, he was the same age as them. He might as well have been laughing at one of Beast Boy’s jokes, he sounded so normal.

“And I’m not detecting any kind of mechanical control, either,” Cyborg continued.

“Maybe I just work for Slade, okay?” Apprentice sighed. “Maybe, just like you all chose to be ‘heroes,’ I chose to work for Slade.”

“How did that happen?” Beast Boy scoffed.

Apprentice clammed up again.

“Wait, I’m picking up something,” Cyborg frowned. “A signal of some kind, originating outside the Tower. We—”

Apprentice rolled out of the examination bed, took a small device from his ear, and smashed it onto the ground with one heavily armored boot. He didn’t stop until the device was completely destroyed.

“—and, the signal’s gone,” Cyborg sighed, snapping the plate on his arm closed again. “Let me guess, that was so Slade could communicate with you?”

“I don’t have to talk to you,” Apprentice raised his fists.

“Let’s end this,” Raven frowned. She drew herself up to full height and stood in front of Apprentice, who glared up at her as he held onto his fighting stance. “Apprentice, was it?” Raven raised an eyebrow.

Apprentice just glared up at her and clenched his fists a little more tightly.

“Raven, you do not have to do this,” Starfire said quietly.

“If anyone has a better plan for figuring out what Slade wants before he blows up the whole city, I’m listening,” Raven said.

“Do it,” Cyborg nodded.

“Whatever it is, I won’t let you,” Apprentice said desperately, backing up against the wall. “I won’t talk. It won’t work. Don’t—what are you doing?”

“Best Boy, can you hold him?” Raven asked.

Beast Boy turned into a gorilla and grabbed Apprentice in a hug, holding him still.

“Don’t! Stop! Let me go!” Apprentice struggled in the tight grip.

“Ow! He bit me,” Beast Boy grumbled.

“Azarath metrion zinthos,” Raven breathed, and she closed her eyes as she drifted into Apprentice’s mind.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing in a circus tent. Everything was tinged brownish-grey, more with Apprentice’s emotion than with age. Raven looked around. It was a strange, creepy place. There was a tightrope, but the netting below it had been replaced with a pile of crushing gears. There were gears everywhere, Raven realized—they lined the floors of the animal cages, they made up platforms and audience seating…

It was deathly quiet, except for a repeated shing…thunk sound. “Hello?” Raven called. “Apprentice? Anyone there?”

The shing…thunk sound stopped for a moment, then it picked back up again. Raven followed it around a corner, to where a boy in a blue uniform sat on one of the giant gears. He had spiky black hair. Raven watched him draw a small, thin knife from one of his pockets—shing—and throw it across the room, where it landed in a wooden target with deadly accuracy—thunk.

“Apprentice?” Raven asked.

“Huh?” the boy looked up at her and smiled. “Are you looking for someone?”

“Are you Apprentice?” Raven asked.

“My name’s Dick,” the boy shook his head. He jumped down from the gear and did a lazy backflip towards her. “Who’re you?”

“I’m Raven,” Raven said. “What is this place?”

“You don’t know?” Dick’s smile dropped. He gave her a sad look. “You should probably go, then. You don’t belong here.”

“I can’t go until I find Apprentice,” Raven said. “I need to talk to him.”

“I can show you around, I guess,” Dick shrugged. He led her through the circus, pointing out the attractions as they went. If he noticed the creepy stillness, the emptiness of the circus, the dark energy flowing around them, he didn’t say anything, and it didn’t seem to dampen his smile.

“This is where I grew up,” Dick was saying. “I used to do an act with my parents, before.”

“Before what?” Raven asked.

“Just before,” Dick said, smile never dropping. Now it looked more like a facade, though. Like an act. Like he was performing for her benefit. “Anyway, after it, Master found me. He’s been training me. That’s what I was doing when you found me.”

“Training?” Raven asked.

“Yeah,” Dick said, and he moved quickly then, the way Apprentice had. Knives appeared in his hands like magic, and he threw them at her. She raised both arms to shield herself, but they whizzed harmlessly past her. She turned, and saw Dick had made a perfect outline of her in knives behind her on a wall.

“Can we have some applause for the audience volunteer?” Dick beamed and raised his hands wide, turning to face an invisible audience like he’d performed an excellent trick. Then a shadow slammed into him from the side, hitting him in the chest and knocking him to the floor. “Ouch,” Dick winced from where he’d landed in a pile of rubble.

“You know the rules,” Apprentice growled.

“I know. I’m sorry,” Dick hung his head.

“Get up,” Apprentice held out his hand and helped Dick to his feet. “Sorry doesn’t matter.”

“I know,” Dick said, accepting the help and standing up.

“Apprentice,” Raven said. “Why are you working for Slade?”

“I already said, I don’t have to talk to you,” Apprentice growled. “What makes you think I’d be more willing in here?”

“Tell me what he’s planning, and I’ll get out,” Raven said.

Apprentice crossed his arms. “It’s my mind. You’ll get out anyway.”

Dick pulled a short stick from a pocket, which extended into a long bow staff. “Sorry,” Dick smiled apologetically at Raven. Then he leapt at her with the staff.

Dick stabbed and jabbed at her again and again. It took all of her concentration to fend off his attacks, even though as far as she could tell, he didn’t even have powers. Dick somersaulted away from her and grabbed a chair and a whip. “The lions have nothing on you,” Dick grinned. Raven flew up into the air, out of his range.

“Now that’s what I call high-flying!” Dick said. He dropped the props and clambered up one of the tightrope poles like a monkey. “But can you do this?” He swung down at her, and kicked one of his shoes to reveal a knife coming out of one of the toes. Raven dodged it and used her magic to detach the ropes holding up the bar. Dick fell, and Apprentice leapt into the air to catch him before he hit the gears below.

“Look, I don’t know what Slade’s planning. He doesn’t tell me that stuff. Will you just get out of here?” Apprentice set Dick down and glared up at Raven.

“No. Why are you working for him?” Raven asked.

“There was nobody else after,” Dick said.

“Shut up,” Apprentice said.

“Slade said he could be like a father to me,” Dick said.

“I said shut up,” Apprentice growled at him.

“He protected me,” Dick said, looking up at Raven.

“He’s going to hurt a lot of people,” Raven said. “That’s why my friends and I need to stop him.”

“This is why we’re not talking to you!” Apprentice said. “You’re just going to stop me too, like you stopped all those robots.”

“No…the Titans don’t kill people,” Raven said.

“Oh, sure you don’t, you just invade minds and try to poison me against Slade,” Apprentice rolled his eyes. “Much nicer.”

“Master could hurt a lot of people, though,” Dick said quietly. “He cares about you, and he still hurts you. Imagine what he could do to people he didn’t care about.”

“You know that was for training!” Apprentice rounded on Dick angrily. “Once I’m good enough at fighting, he won’t be able to hurt me anymore. That’s the whole point.”

“Slade can’t hurt you while you’re with the Titans,” Raven said.

“Wanna bet?” Apprentice scowled.

“If that’s why you’re working for him, because you’re scared of him—”

“I’m not scared,” Dick said, at the same time Apprentice said “Of course I’m scared.” They looked at each other, then both looked up at Raven.

“Keep talking,” Dick said.

“Shut up,” Apprentice said.

Raven made a solid attempt. “You don’t have to do what Slade says anymore. You’re safe from him here, we can—”

“We’re not listening!” Apprentice roared. He grabbed Dick by the shoulders and threw him into the gears, then leapt down after him. “This is what happens to us because of you! You make us weak!” Apprentice pummeled Dick with punch after punch, not giving him time to get up.

“Stop it!” Raven swooped down and tried to pull them apart.

“You’re the one who’s weak!” Dick got a grip on Apprentice and pushed him into the pile of gears. As they fought, they began sinking into it, like quicksand.

“I’m not the one who says ‘thank you’ to my captors,” Apprentice pulled Dick’s hair.

“I hate you!” Dick jabbed an elbow into Apprentice’s side.

“I hate you!” Apprentice got the upper hand and put it around Dick’s throat, squeezing, seeming not even to notice as they sunk deeper between the gears.

“Let him go!” Raven yelled, trying to get a grip on them with her magic, but they slid out of her grasp. She tried to grab Apprentice’s shoulders, but his head turned around backwards and he grabbed her with both hands, pulling her down into the gears. She struggled to pull away, but more hands appeared, grabbing her, pulling her down into the darkness and the crushing weight—

“Get out!” Apprentice yelled, and Raven opened her eyes. She was back in the secure room with the Titans and Apprentice, still being restrained by Beast Boy.

“Slade can’t hurt you in here,” Raven said. “He can’t even hear you.” She gestured at the broken communications device where Apprentice had crushed it on the floor. “Why are you so desperate to get back to him?”

“He’s all I have,” Apprentice said, giving her a pleading look behind the domino mask. “Why won’t you let me go?”

“He’s not training you for anything, he’s just using you as a punching bag,” Raven said. “At best, you’re a human shield.”

“I’m not listening to you!” Apprentice screamed and slammed his head backwards into Beast Boy’s forehead.

“Ow!” Beast Boy couldn’t keep hold of him, and Apprentice dropped to the floor. He lunged at the door, trying to figure out how to open it.

“You’ll never get out,” Cyborg said. “That door is reinforced with the best security I know how to make. You’d have to be some kind of genius to hack out of—”

The door opened and Apprentice bolted down the hall like a scared rabbit.

“Get him!” Cyborg said.

“What happened to ‘he’ll never get out?” Raven raised an eyebrow.

“We can update the security after we catch him!” Cyborg groaned.

Apprentice was learning his way around their powers. He dodged starbolts, anticipated Beast Boy’s animal changes, and sealed himself in their living room, jamming the door mechanism to buy himself some time.

He had to shield his eyes against how bright it was. The room was basically all windows. He went to their massive communications screen and controls, trying to open a line to Slade.

“Slade, it’s me,” Apprentice said. “I need help. The Titans got me, but I can escape, I know it. I need—”

“Whatever you need, you must hope the Titans will provide it,” Slade’s face appeared on the screen, larger than life and imposing as hell. “You are no longer welcome, my old apprentice.”

“What? But Slade, I did everything just as you said. I didn’t tell them anything. I’ve even still got the chip!” Apprentice took it out of his pocket and held it up.

“You’ve been with the Titans for multiple hours now. That is more than enough time for you to have been compromised,” Slade said. “We had a good run, but I’m afraid I can no longer trust you.”

“Master, you can trust me,” Apprentice said, almost in tears. “Please, I—”

“If I see you again, I will kill you, Dick,” Slade said. “Goodbye.”

“No,” Apprentice fell to his knees as the computer screen turned off. “Wait, don’t…” But it was too late. Slade was gone, and he didn’t want Apprentice back, even if he could finish escaping from the Tower. Which didn’t seem likely, as the Titans were already busting down the door to the living room.

Apprentice stared down at the chip. If he’d just refused the mission to go after it, the pain from Slade’s punishment would already have gone away by now. He clutched it close to his chest. Surely, he could still deliver it. Even if Slade didn’t want him, he’d want the chip, right?

“Drop it,” Cyborg said, pointing the sonic cannon at him. It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order. There would be no more orders from Slade anymore. Apprentice dropped the chip and stared down at it. In a matter of hours, Apprentice had become less valuable to Slade than this piece of computer technology. Apprentice was envious. He wanted to smash it into a million pieces.

“Hands in the air,” Cyborg said.

Apprentice obeyed. “This is your fault,” he said quietly, staring at Raven. “If you hadn’t captured me—”

“Then Slade would be one step closer to taking over the city,” Raven said.

“Guys, I think we really took out Slade’s second in command!” Beast Boy beamed. “Titans rule!”

“So,” Apprentice sighed heavily, hands still raised. “What are you going to do with me now?” Unfortunately, it was seeming increasingly unlikely that they were going to kill him.

“Um…” Beast Boy looked at Cyborg.

“That’s…a good question,” Cyborg said.

Apprentice just sat there, motionless, keeping his hands raised, staring down at the chip. Apparently, he had all the time in the world to wait for their answer. It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to go.

I hope you enjoyed! This was just chapter 1. You can read the rest on my AO3, @OccassionalStorytelling. Link above!

[ask-the-riders]

Just an ordinary night

So uh... yeah. There's numerous things going on here. To kick everything off, Ret was more than likely under the light of a full moon and now Famine has to deal with the shift in his personality. Meanwhile, Pest and War are getting increasingly awkward because it's movie night, and right in front of them, it's like Ret's a completely different person with one goal: seduce Famine

This bit is mildly suggestive ^^" and I apologize in advance. Ret says some things in Spanish to mess with Fam, he's formed his ecto body, and there's a little grinding at one point, but it doesn't go further than that. Sex is also a subject that's brought up, but it's mostly Pest that's talking/joking about it, because he's being immature and picking on the other riders

On the plus side, Pestilence has a great time being a little shit and teasing not just Ret, but also War (and Death, just a tiny bit)

The rest of the stuff that happens has to do with Death, Connie, and Abrael. Namely,, Connie's way of trying to teach Abrael how to get stronger and be able to use her magic, followed by Connie receiving a bit of a lecture from War on how she needs to take a break from all of it. We also catch just a glimpse of the feelings that Connie still has for Death, too

**I used google translate for a few of Ret's lines, since I myself don't speak the language. Hopefully google translate didn't somehow mess any of it up ^^"

Famine's cheekbones were dusted the faintest shade of faded denim blue and he continued staring straight ahead, intent on watching the movie that everyone had agreed on. Pestilence and War were cuddled up to each other in the spare recliner, with War lying on top of her soulmate, neither one of them the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Retribution had agreed to join in on movie night as well, which was a bit odd to Famine. Usually, he either declined or brought a book and read while everyone else watched the movie. He hadn't brought a book this time though, which was also a bit odd. The shorter of the pair was seated on Famine's lap, snuggled as close to him as possible. Famine had his arms gently wrapped around the former prince, who currently had his face buried in the crook of his neck.

Everything was fine, right up until Famine felt the other begin to kiss along his neck vertebrae, occasionally nipping. At the unexpected sensations, Famine froze in place, his sockets widening the smallest bit. Keeping his voice low as to not disturb Pest and War, Famine mumbled, "Ret?... What're you doin'?..." Retribution's own voice almost sounded like a purr as he murmured back, "Tempting you. Is it working yet?"

The taller rider's blush darkened a small bit and he arched a brow bone, "Ret... seriously. What's up with ya? You've been actin' weird ever since sundown." Retribution hummed softly, remaining completely casual as he began to form his ecto body, "The full moon's out, that's why. I'll explain it better though if you kiss me first~" Famine unconsciously began to fidget, seeming hesitant, "Uhhh... I would, but Pest and War are here. Last time I checked, bein' lovey in front a' people wasn't somethin' you're a fan of."

Retribution made a face, almost pouting as he turned to fully face his partner, now straddling his lap. Feeling the other's formed body beneath his clothes as Ret leaned forward and pressed his chest against him, Famine's blush darkened even further. Immediately noticing this, the former prince laughed softly, his hands gently gripping Famine's shoulders as he began to kiss along his jaw. The taller of the two squirmed again, instinctively moving his hands to hold onto Ret's hips, and Ret let out the smallest gasp in surprise.

Famine briefly met his gaze and the shorter smirked, mischief flickering in his now hooded sockets as he purred, "¿Preferirías que lleváramos esto al dormitorio?~" Famine had no idea what Retribution had just asked, but upon seeing the rather sultry look he was wearing and recognising the language he just spoke as Spanish, Famine's single eye light momentarily vanished, leaving both of his sockets dark. His blush became much more obvious and Ret laughed softly again, clearly amused as he murmured, "It seems you like it when I talk to you like that... That's interesting."

Famine's eye light began to return and Ret smirked again, grinding himself down into his lap, "¿Te prende?" At the sudden pressure in his lap and against part of his pelvis, Famine clenched his jaw shut, trying to bite back a startled groan.

Glancing in their direction curiously, War's eyes immediately widened and her cheekbones burned blue; Unless her eyes were betraying her right now, it looked like Retribution was in the midst of trying to seduce Famine. What in the ever loving fu-

She lightly tapped on her soulmate's sternum with a finger, making sure to get his attention before whispering, "Please tell me you're seeing this too." Pest made a face, visibly confused, and War nodded toward the sofa. Shifting his gaze to the other couple and seeing the position they were in, Pest's cheekbones dusted a soft shade of green and he was silent for a moment before mumbling back, "Well damn... I wonder what's going on with Ret. There's no way in hell he'd actually be ok with doing this in front of anyone."

War sighed, making a face back at him, "Exactly. It looks like it's all him doing it, too. Fam looks like he's kinda just... sitting there and taking it." Pestilence glanced at the pair again and hummed, "Not anymore, it doesn't. Not when Fam's totally caved and is currently swapping saliva with him." The glitch glanced at the pair again and her blush began to spread down to her shoulders, in turn earning a soft chuckle from Pestilence.

Pest sighed after a moment, feigning disappointment, "Too bad that's not us... I'd love to be making out with you right about now." War scoffed, trying to hide a small, embarrassed smile, "Oh please, in this chair? We'd probably end up breaking it." Her soulmate snorted in amusement, rolling his eye lights and grinning. War had really begun to come out of her shell, and he was loving every moment of it.

Catching the sound of a soft moan coming from one of the two skeletons on the couch, War's blush began to glow faintly and she snapped, now feeling completely mortified, "Could you guys maybe NOT do this right now?! Some of us are trying to watch a movie!" The pair on the sofa separated, both of their faces stained with their own respective colors. Famine shifted Ret in his lap, now having the shorter sitting sideways again, and he cleared his throat, shooting a tiny, apologetic smile in Pest and War's direction, "Y-Yeah, sorry 'bout that, guys. Got a little carried away, I guess."

War deadpanned and rolled her eyes, "We noticed that." Sensing the steadily increasing awkwardness in the room, Pestilence arched a brow bone and spoke, "What's going on, anyway? Ret would've never done anything like this before. Not in front of us, at least. Is he doing alright?" Famine shook his head, clearly at a loss, "I have no idea, Pest. He just started comin' onto me outta nowhere, I swear. I didn't do anythin' to encourage him, either."

Pest's gaze shifted to Ret, whose face was now a bright shade of cyan as he looked up at Famine with heart shaped eye lights. Humming, Pestilence tilted his head, "You still with us, Apple Boy?" Retribution made a sound of confirmation and Famine let out a flustered sigh as the former prince moved, once again straddling his lap. Not even bothering to look at Pest and War, he spoke just loud enough to be heard, "Yeah, I'm still here. Obviously." Pestilence cracked a tiny smile, the other's sarcasm giving him a small amount of hope that he was fine, "You're not acting like yourself, dude. Are you feeling ok?..."

Ret made a face, wrapping his arms around Famine and hugging his head, pressing the taller rider's face into his chest, "For crying out loud, Pest, I'm FINE." At his face being pressed into his smaller partner's chest and feeling the soft ecto beneath his clothes, Famine's blush darkened several shades. Pestilence decided to push the issue, "Ret, come on. This isn't like you. Since when have you ever been the type to make out with someone with other people in the room?"

The former prince scoffed, appearing very minutely embarrassed as he pouted, "I'm fine, I swear. Is there really something so wrong about me being affectionate with the one I love?" War's brow bones lifted at the wording he used and she jumped into the conversation, "'The one you love'? What is this, a sudden declaration of love to him? This REALLY isn't like you." Ret shot a look at the glitch and she unconsciously shrunk back under his stare.

Absentmindedly petting Famine's skull, mindful of his head injury, Retribution let out a deep sigh, beginning to grow agitated, "He's my Honey Badger. If I feel like declaring my love for him, I will!" Pestilence immediately caught the nickname Ret had used to refer to Famine, and he grinned mischievously, a teasing tone to his voice, "Wait, wait, wait. Hold on. You're his cute little firefly, and suddenly, he's also your big handsome honey badger? That's great, oh my god."

Retribution scowled at the teasing, beginning to tremble the smallest bit. Feeling the former prince's trembling, Famine frowned, immediately becoming concerned as he spoke, his voice muffled, "Ya ok, Moonbeam?... You're shakin' like a leaf." Instantly refocusing his attention on his partner, Retribution released his head, sliding down his body to affectionately nuzzle the side of his face before making a sound of uncertainty, "They're giving me a hard time, Famine. All because I'm trying to show you how much I love you." Famine sighed, his expression softening, "...Should we turn in for the night, then? We can go back ta my room and crash. Or yours, if you'd like that better."

Retribution immediately gave an answer, nodding his head eagerly, "I'd love that a lot... It'd be really nice to have you in bed with me again." Famine smiled softly, his grin turning sheepish as Ret leaned closer and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. The former prince was quiet for a moment before he delicately placed a hand on Famine's chest and lowered his voice to a purr, just as he'd done a little bit ago, "Por favor hazme el amor esta noche también, Famine."

Famine still had no idea what Ret was saying, but damn, he'd be lying if he said it wasn't doing something to him. He cleared his throat, smiling sheepishly, "Ret... c'mon. Ya know I don't speak Spanish. If ya want somethin', you're gonna have ta tell me again in English so I can understand." Retribution made a face, looking shy as he slowly nodded again and glanced away from his taller partner. Now much more interested in what was going on with the pair, War and Pest exchanged glances, both silent as they tried to listen in and hear what was being said.

Retribution squirmed, his brilliant cyan blush spreading down to his shoulders. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking, his voice only slightly louder than before, "I...I was asking you to make love to me tonight, too. If you'd be ok with that, I mean." Famine's eye light momentarily extinguished and his face somehow erupted into an even brighter blush than before.

Pestilence and War's faces were now also stained with their respective colors as War suddenly choked on air, her body jolting. Pest snorted in amusement, gently caressing War's side in an attempt to soothe her as she worked on recovering from what she'd just heard. Retribution's form twitched in surprise as War choked on air, his sockets widening the smallest bit. Famine took a deep breath, trying to collect himself as Ret cuddled close to him again.

Just as War began to catch her breath and breathe normally again, Pest lightly nudged her, a stupid grin plastered on his face as he teased her, speaking louder than necessary, "So what do think, War? Should we have sex tonight?" War screeched, her body beginning to glitch harder than usual as she pulled away from her soulmate and lightly swatted at him, visibly mortified, "OH MY GOD, PEST, COULD YOU NOT CONSTANTLY TRY TO EMBARRASS ME?!"

Pestilence erupted into a fit of giggles, completely unapologetic, "Aw come on, you're so cute when you're embarrassed though, babe!" War growled, her threads snatching a pillow off the couch beside Famine. Once the pillow was within reach, the glitch roughly smacked Pestilence with it, "I'm warning you, Pest. I'm about two seconds away from smothering you to death with this pillow!" Pest wiggled his brow bones in a suggestive manner and playfully cooed, "That's unfair, babe. If you're gonna kill me, can I at least be suffocated by your ecto instead?" War shifted, landing another smack with the pillow to Pest's face, "Are you seriously asking that right now?! There's no way in hell I'd reward this kinda behavior, mister!" Pest laughed, reaching around his soulmate to lightly swat her rear, in turn earning another screech from her.

While the pair of soulmates went back and forth, Famine sighed deeply and shook his head, wearing a tiny smile with one of his arms loosely wrapped around Retribution. Ret remained pressed as close to him as possible, attempting to hide his face out of immense embarrassment. Wanting to spare his partner of any further teasing, Famine gathered him up into his arms and stood, beginning to carry him back to his room. Just as the pair slipped out of the living room, Death appeared, looking utterly exhausted as he began to glide across the room, seeming to float.

Settling on the now vacant sofa and stretching out, he let out a soft sigh of relief, practically sinking into the softness of the cushions. Seeing the reaper, Pestilence called out to him, still wearing a wide grin, "What about you, D? You gonna get laid tonight, too?" War spat out a small string of expletives at Pest, and Death only looked at him with a raised brow bone, his expression otherwise blank, "Excuse me?" Before Pest had the chance to reply, War pushed the pillow over his face to muffle his voice before speaking over him, "Feel free to ignore him. He's just being an idiot right now."

Death hummed in acknowledgement, letting his sockets drift shut, "I gotcha. May I ask why he chose this particular subject?" Pestilence jabbed his soulmate in the side, not quite hard enough to hurt, but only to make her loosen her grip on the pillow. As she let out a surprised yelp, he stole the pillow from her, placing it behind his head as his grin became mischievous again, "Maybe you should go ask Fam and Ret. I'm sure they'd have an answer for ya."

Death let out a low, long hum, the sound completely monotone. As he pieced together what Pestilence meant, he cracked one of his eyes open the smallest bit and sighed again, "I'm just gonna assume I know what they're probably doing right now." War made a soft sound, trying to push away her annoyance as she questioned the reaper, "Do you know what's going on with Ret? He's been acting really weird. Like... way more openly affectionate, and he was being super casual about attempting to seduce Famine when they were here with us."

Lying down and making himself comfortable, Death shrugged his shoulders, "The full moon's out. From what I know, that does something to him. Being more lovey is to be expected, but trying to seduce Famine?... He must've been outside under the direct moonlight or something. I don't really get how it works, but eh. As long as he's not being an ass and causing problems, I don't care what he does."

The front door opened and Conquest made her way inside, muttering to herself as she tugged Abrael inside after her, her orange magic closing the door. The former pirate appeared unconscious, not moving or speaking, and Conquest was very obviously less than impressed, one of Abrael's arms over her shoulders while one of her own was firmly wrapped around the other woman's waist as she used her body to support the other's weight.

Naturally, Pestilence was the first to speak, "Well damn. What'd you do to her, Connie? She looks pretty roughed up." Conquest let out a deep sigh, shifting Abrael and settling on hoisting her up into her arms, her magic appearing again to make it easier to carry her, "We've been training for a while, and I've been trying to teach her how to use magic and conjure things." She was silent for a moment, glancing at the former pirate and furrowing her brow bones, "Perhaps I should've started off slower and allowed her more time to work on the warm-ups."

War tilted her head, arching a brow bone, "Was she slacking off again or something?..." Annoyance seemed to very briefly take over Connie's expression, before it quickly faded to exhausted acceptance, "Yeah... As usual. It still hasn't dawned on her that she needs to be taking this whole thing seriously. I've tried approaching it from every possible angle, but so far, nothing's worked." The glitch made a face, able to sense Conquest's frustration, "...Y'know what, Connie? You're taking a break from training her. I'll take over for a while."

Conquest was surprised at War's words, both of her brow bones lifting, "War, that's very kind of you, and I really appreciate it, but I-" War growled lowly in agitation, and Conquest stopped speaking. Whenever War made that sound and had that look on her face, the conversation was officially over. There'd be no more debating the issue unless she wanted to risk upsetting the glitch, and Conquest wasn't about to take that chance. She trusted War enough to leave Mortem with her every so often, but at the same time, she knew what those blue threads of hers could do. Maybe she hadn't seen the full extent of what they were capable of, but she'd heard stories from the others.

She knew that, much like with Error's threads, their purpose was to capture and ensnare targets, right before shattering their souls. Connie knew War would never do that, but with her temper, sometimes it worried her a bit.

War had made the offer to take over training Abrael for a while so that Connie could take a break from it and rest, if need be. She was concerned for her, in her own roundabout way, but Connie understood, and she was thankful. Offering the glitch a soft smile, she sighed, "Alright then... If you're sure it won't be a problem, then go for it. I appreciate it very much." War hummed, "Yeah, sure... I know that you're trying to help Abrael get stronger so she's more capable of handling herself, but you're not taking into consideration what all the extensive training is doing to you, too. Nobody here wants to see you push yourself too hard and get hurt."

Conquest's disposition seemed to soften and her cheekbones flushed a faint shade of orange; She was so used to looking after others that it was always a surprise when anyone expressed any sort of desire to look after her. It was unexpected and a bit odd feeling, but it made Connie smile again, "I know... Thank you for being concerned about me, War. It really means a lot to me."

War's own face became a soft shade of blue and she waved off Connie's words, "Yeah, yeah, sure. 'M glad you're happy." Conquest rolled her eye lights and resisted the urge to giggle at the sudden shift in the other rider's attitude; From openly concerned and worried, to awkward and embarrassed... Yeah, that sounded about right for War.

She stole a quick glance at Death, who was still sprawled out on the couch with his eyes closed. He looked so peaceful and relaxed... It was nice to see him looking that way, instead of stressed and exhausted. She attempted to be subtle, appreciating his outward serenity. Although he looked completely at ease, there was always something going on in his mind, and she never knew what any of it was. Before her own mind had the chance to begin wandering, she hummed, offering Pestilence and War a tired smile, "I'm gonna take this one to her room and get her situated, then I think I might call it a day... Goodnight, you two."

She paused, hesitating a moment, "And goodnight to you too, Death... I hope you sleep well tonight." Death opened his eyes, his sockets still hooded as he looked up at her and smiled faintly, "Thanks for that... Goodnight, Connie."

[beetlegoose01]

Frostbite (Chapter 2- Suspire)

AN: Chapter 2 is here friends! I appreciate all the kind feedback I received last chapter! Without further ado...

Previous Chapter: https://pepperimps01.tumblr.com/post/644922844412854272/frostbite-casetello-an-do-these-two-have-a-ship

~~~~

"So, can I go now?" Casey asked impatiently, trying to flex his arm. "I've got places to be, slowpoke."

Donnie glared at him, irritated. He seemed even more frustrated that Casey had made that semi flirty jab at him.  "Like where?"

"You know...around." He gave a toothy grin.

"Very specific, Jones."

"I like to think I'm very pacific."

"That's-"

"Actually..." Casey wiggled his eyebrows. "Red wanted to talk to me about something. Maybe a bit more than talk if you know what I mean..." He shrugged. "Can't exactly blame her. I'm a catch."

'We aren't there yet, Jones.'

'Is it about April? Because it's not my fault, she ...y'know likes me more.'

Donnie's heart plummeted, dropping the scalpel he was holding. It crashed by his feet loudly, but he didn't bother picking it up.  "You better go then." He said coldly.

"Are you sure? Because I wanted to tell you some-"

"Just leave!" He snapped. "Can't you tell I'm busy? I've got retromutagen to work on."

"Jeez, okay. Don't get your tail in a knot." The teen raised his hands in surrender.

Casey stumbled out of the lab, dazed and confused. His arm thankfully didn't hurt anymore, but he still felt a bit uneasy and sick to his stomach. He really just wanted to take a nap, forget about everything that happened and maybe never work with Donatello again. Couldn't that turtle take a joke?

He needed a distraction...

"CJ!" Mikey exclaimed, leaping towards him with a stupid grin on his face. Casey yelped, taken aback by the orange turtle's enthusiasm. At least that was a distraction alright.  "You won't believe this, dude!"

Casey smirked. "You know, I'm starting to think everything is believable at this point. What's up? Did you discover a new pizza joint?"

The smallest turtle looked about ready to explode with excitement. "Nope! Can't tell you yet, bro.  Come on, Leo's explaining everything at the dojo! I'm just getting you and Donnie! I'm ...Mikey the messenger!" And then he was off again, no doubt badgering Donatello.

Casey shook his head, laughing. Though he was somewhat curious about whatever the leader in blue had to say.

He entered the dojo, checking if Master Splinter was behind him. He trusted the old ninja master, and couldn't deny he was a big help...but that didn't stop him from flinching every time they made eye contact. Rats still gave him the creeps.

Raph and April were already there, chatting amongst themselves. Raph was currently practicing opening and closing April's tessen.

"I dunno, it just seems a bit..." He trailed off.

"A bit what, Raph?" April's eyebrows furrowed. "Go on, finish that sentence."

"It's not very sharp, that's all." As he said this, the tip of the fan poked his finger and he let out a squawk of pain.

"Not very sharp, huh?" April swiped the fan back. "Remember this from me: don't judge everything by its outer appearance."

"Touché." Raph waved at Casey, and the pair did an elaborate secret hand shake.

"What's this about anyway?" He folded his arms.

"Beats us." Raph shrugged. "All Mikey said was-" He changed his voice to a high pitched, cruel but accurate impression of his youngest brother. "Dudes you've gotta hear this! I'm gonna cry on the floor if you don't come to the dojo right this second!"

"It must be big if Leo wants to tell us." April said. "I mean, all Raph and I dealt with was the Purple Dragons graffiting a stop sign."

"It was a slow night!" Raph protested.  

"Maybe they saw Karai?" Casey suggested. That was really the only thing he could think of.

Mikey bounded into the dojo, followed by an extremely disgruntled Donnie, who made a big show of standing as far away from Casey as possible.

"What's all this about?" Donnie asked.

The single light bulb above them started to burn out. The team heard shuffling from behind the large tree, and a shadowy figure approached them, stepping into the dimly lit middle area. He dramatically raised his head, looking grim.

"You're probably wondering why I called you here this evening." Leo said, glancing at Mikey, who of course already knew and was wiggling with excitement.

"Well, yeah. Spit it out, already." Raph said impatiently.

Leo ignored him. "Mikey and I encountered something tonight.  Another mutant. We thought we caught them all or made allies with them but..."

"What?" His emerald eyes widened.

"What is it?" Donnie pressed.

"A dragon!" Mikey interrupted. "A humongous dragon! He had razor sharp teeth and claws!" He paused. "Actually he kinda reminded me of Leatherhead but way less friendly."

"Dragons aren't real, meathead." Donnie grumbled. "They're completely made up fictional stories."

"Have you ever seen a dragon before? Huh? Have you Donnie?" Mikey retorted, cloudy blue eyes filled with a sense of innocence that truly believed dragons were real- but also with a stubborn pride to prove his genius brother wrong. A common occurrence between the two youngest brothers.

"No but-"

"See?" Mikey looked triumphedley at Donnie, then turned back to Leo. "Continue,"

"Like I...and I guess Mikey was saying, we know it's some type of reptile. Not a dragon for sure, but something."

"Any distinctive features?" Donnie asked, snark evident in his tone. "There are over 8000 living species of reptiles, so you might need to be more specific."

"Ah, shut up Brainiac." Raph groaned.

"He's got a point though." Casey pointed out. "Not that I'm agreeing with him- I mean...there are like, a lot of reptiles out there."

"We didn't get a close look at it, I'm afraid. We had to retreat. Whatever it was, it was tough."

"And...kinda scary." Mikey said, hiding behind his oldest brother wearily.

"Fear is the path to the dark side, Mikey." Leo said firmly, patting his head. "Don't let your fear cloud your judgment. We can take it on. Just like we always do."

The group stared at the leader blankly.

"Did you really just quote Yoda?"  April said, covering her mouth to stop her giggles.

"Wh- nooo..." Leo blushed, leaning against the tree in a failed attempt to seem casual. "Why would I do that? That's totally ...lame." Clearing his throat, he continued: "Tomorrow we'll hold a stake out to find this mutant. I'm thinking they may have a chance to be an ally. Any questions?"

Mikey raised his hand. "Are you sure we can't have a pizza out instead? I'm not really a fan of steak and-"

"Any relevant questions?"

"Has it done any actual damage?" April tilted her head.

"It looked more scared than anything, actually." said Leo. "That's why I think we can convince it to join our allegiance."

"And if it isn't willing? Suppose it isn't up for prancing through a meadow with us and decides to kill us all?" Raph said. "Because our track record with friendly mutants tends to be a mixed bag."

"You didn't answer my question, did it do any damage?"

Leo chewed on his lip. "So...don't freak out but, it- she- he? Er- they looked very hungry and did attempt to spit on us. With acid. Or venom or whatever." He pressed on, despite the horrified looks of his peers. "It'll be okay! I have full confidence we can handle this as a team."

"So let me get this straight, Leo." Raph said, moving forward to his brother. "You almost got killed by this monster and your next course of action is: let's be friends! Are you out of your shell? That plan works just as well as Casey and Donnie baking cookies together!"

"For once I agree with Raph." Donnie said, earning a very disgruntled look from his brother.

"I didn't say friends, just figure out their motives." Leo mumbled.

"Whatever you say, Fearless." Raph pushed his brother aside roughly. "Good luck with that. I'm gonna check out Bloody Deaths III, anyone wanna play with me? Casey?"

"Sure," Casey felt his phone buzz. An anxious text from his twelve year old sister Riley snapped him back to reality. "Ah...actually can't. My little sister is getting worried. See you guys tomorrow?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"No worries. Older brother duties call." Leo nodded.

"Don't worry Raph, I'll play with you!" Mikey

"So will I." Leo agreed, happy to relax for a little bit. "How about you guys?" He glanced at Donnie and April, the last remaining members still inside the dojo.

"Just a moment. I'll be right there." April confirmed.

"Don't keep us waiting," Raph cracked his knuckles.

As they were leaving the dojo, Donnie felt a tap on his shoulder. Spinning around, he faced the beaming freckled face of April O' Neil.

"Hey!" She said cheerfully, blue eyes bright and curious.

"Er, um, hey!" He echoed, voice raising several octaves as puberty decided to betray him. He was grateful his brothers were in the other room, babbling about the video game Raph found in the dumpster. No doubt they would be teasing him about his failed attempt at flirting.

"I wanted to talk to you." April said.

"About the new mutant? Because I didn't get a chance to see it-"

"No, no." She interrupted, nudging his shoulder playfully. He blushed at the contact. "I meant about you and Casey. Everything turned out okay?"

Donnie fought the urge to groan. Of course it was about Jones. Instead, he bit his tongue, smiled sweetly and said: "He was...okay." he waved his hand vaguely.

April grinned, relieved. "Wow, that's way better than I expected!"

Donnie narrowed his eyes.

"What I mean is, you two are my closest friends. Seeing you two butt heads, act like you hate each other-  it hurts." She explained. "So it's nice seeing my two best buds get along.

'Best ...buds.' Donnie thought to himself, analyzing each word carefully. 'So maybe she isn't interested in him. That boy with his cocky grin and his stupid egotistical-'

"Casey mentioned you fixed his arm up too!"

"Huh?"

"His arm...he sprained it and you patched it up."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh, that." He chuckled. "Wait...he told you?"  

"Yeah, he seems grateful but obviously too 'macho' to admit that."

"It wasn't really anything special."

"But it was, Donnie." April's eyes twinkled. "It was a really nice thing to do. I'm just...so happy you two are finally getting along. Thank you. I knew you would eventually!"

"Heh, well you know."

April chuckled, taking his hand as they walked to the pit.

Mikey sprung up from his beanbag chair. "Yuck, did you two kiss?" He gagged.

April rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Raph pretended to throw up into his bowl of popcorn while Leo just laughed fondly.

"Take a seat you guys." He said. "We're about to start the game!"

"Actually I think I might call in early tonight." Donnie faked a yawn. "I'm so ...tired."

"You? Sleep?" Raph snorted. "If you didn't want to hang out with us, you could just say that. I don't think I've seen you go in your room since you were thirteen, Don."

"That's not true..." Donnie's cheeks flushed.

"Aw, leave him be." April said, grabbing a handful of popcorn despite Raphael's protests. "He needs his rest."

"Yeah, you do look significantly greener than normal, dude." Mikey pointed out.  "So to speak."

"Go get some rest." Leo said, raising a comforting hand to Donatello's shoulder. "That's an order from your leader."

"Well...goodnight then. Have fun." Donnie added an extra fake yawn for added effect, then retreated to the lab when they looked the other way.

~•~

Donatello checked his very messy notes, examining each point with precision. If he wasn't exact, weeks, heck, months of research would be a waste. He wasn't going to let anyone, let alone Casey Jones ruin his process. The lack of sleep already made his work sloppy.

"Add the dose of norepinephrine, stir carefully with the calibrated mutagen..." He mumbled under his breath. "Then wait ten minutes before..."

But he couldn't get that terribly charismatic smirk out of his mind. That no nothing, cocky little son of a-

"Focus Donnie. Don't think about him."

"Talking to yourself again I see."

"Gah!" Donnie yelped, practically doing ballet leaps as he grabbed the nearly fallen canister. He turned around to face his older, but significantly shorter brother. "Hamato Raphael!" He squeaked shrilly.

"Ooh using the full name on me." Raph snickered. "What did I do to deserve that?"

"How long have you been here?"

Raph shrugged, poking the bunsen burner. "Eh, long enough."

"Weren't you suppose to be playing that dumb game with the others?"

"Yeah, and we beat it." He said, piercing green eyes staring him down with a sense of judgement. "And I thought you were supposed to be sleeping. Shoulda have known you'd be back in your Nerd Cave." He flicked Donnie's arm.

"Why are you here?"

"Okay, twenty questions, is it against the law to see my baby brother?"

Donnie folded his arms. "Since when do you ever visit me for no reason?"

"Because I'm such a kind, caring brother?" He looked away guiltily. "Who simply wanted to check on you? Is that such a terrible thing, Donatello?" He leaned forward, dropping the act to return to his usual deadpan tone. "Also my motorcycle needs fixing."

"Ah, there it is."

"Watch the snark, I need it fixed soon."

"Fine, fine." Donnie sighed. "I will."

"Good, 'cause Casey and I are gonna hit the streets with that baby." He said smugly.

Donnie wilted. "Jones?"

Raph raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, Casey Jones. Human, dark hair, lots of missing teeth...this tall? Ring any bells? Oh, right. Forgot you and him had this thing going on..."

"It isn't about that." Donnie said quickly. "We...him and I..."

"You know, seeing you two act like idiots around each other isn't gonna help the team out. Even Mikey thinks it's stupid."

First April, now Raph? And apparently Mikey too...

"I don't care about what you and Jones do, it isn't really my business." Donnie cooled down, trying to tame his temper. "And we're trying, truly trying, at least I am to be civil."

"Hmph, yeah right."

"And ...I don't care if you two spend time together. Why should I? We aren't even friends!"

"Okay, okay." Raph raised his hands in surrender. "I'm going to bed. You should too by the looks of it. After my bike is finished, of course."

Donnie grunted.

"And Donnie?"

"Hm?"

"Who exactly are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?"

Donatello didn't have an answer.

~•~

Everything hurt. From the depths of her scaly toes, to her ferocious gaping mouth.What was she? She didn't know anymore. A monster? A freak? Any humanity she had left, was a clouded memory and there was no turning back. She struggled to move, still becoming accustomed to her new features. Four legs were harder to maneuver than two, but she made do.

She slivered across the murky water, pains in her stomach growling from lack of proper food. She couldn't recall the last time she had a warm meal. She lifted her head, silver grey eye slits opening. . In what she lost, her human form, her hair, and sense of a normal life- she had gained quite a few things too. A keen sense of smell, for one. Her eyesight had improved too. She had also gained an olive green tail, which helped with her balance.

'As long as I don't need those pesky glasses anymore.' She thought to herself bitterly.  Those horrid things were the cause of her harassment when she was a human. Now she would have the last laugh. They would cower in fear if they saw what she looked like now.

Her stomach grumbled again.

But yet...those turtles she encountered. So tasty looking...so delectable. They would satisfy her pain.

She stared at the mutant's reflection. It blinked when she blinked. It moved its tail when she flicked it.

This was her life now. She might as well make the most of being a monster.

She had work to do.

[naturesgender]

hello!!! i keep discovering this post in my drafts and forgetting to finish posting it so. here y'all go

for clarification, none of these rats are alive still. these are photos of rats i've had in the past. this was supposed to go up on april 4th but tumblr kept being a bitch so i just saved the post to drafts and forgot about it so here it is now! happy rat time

also also!! this is my first time writing image ids cause i barely ever post pictures on here so i hope i did ok!! ok now u get happy rat time

HAPPY WORLD RAT DAY BITCHES HAVE SOME PICTURES OF MY SWEET BOYS

[image IDs: three pictures here. the first is a closeup of a black dumbo-eared fancy rat with black eyes. he sits up on his back feet on the back of a maroon-ish colored couch, holding the end of a piece of string cheese between his front paws and nibbling on it. the second image is of a white dumbo-eared fancy rat curled up in a hammock made of a blue, white, and green piece of cloth. the hammock is pinned to the barred roof of a cage via safety pins which are out of frame. he is sleeping with his head tucked into his tummy and his tail wrapped around him. his face is hidden. the third image is of the two rats from before lying next to each other in the same hammock (in this image, more of the cage the hammock is in is seen below them). the black rat lies on the left and the white rat lies on the right. both rats lie on their stomachs facing away from the camera. their tails cross over each other (like they're holding hands but with their tails} and extend onto the green plastic platform behind them. end ID]

these were my two most recent boys, onyx (black with black eyes and white tummy and feets) and opal (white with red eyes)! they were such sweeties, nyxie was just about the cuddliest rat i have ever known and opal was a little darling i miss them both very much. these are the first rats i ever had full responsibility for! they weren't biological brothers, but we got them from the same breeder so they were buddies. the previous rats have been family pets but these guys were all my own!! i miss you my dears

[image IDs: two pictures here. in the first, two older fancy dumbo-eared rats (about a year old) stand in a cage made of green wire. they stand with their noses poking out of the open door, unobscured by the bars. the rat on the left is a beige hooded rat with red eyes (although his left eye looks black due to lighting). he stands at an angle with his tail poking up into the air behind him. the rat on the right, light gray with black eyes, faces more forward. in the second image, a white child about 9 years old with short brown hair to their shoulders stands at an angle facing the camera. the same cage from the previous photo can be seen behind them. they are wearing a light pink hoodie. in the right pocket of the hoodie, facing the camera, they have their right hand gently touching the face of a gray baby rat with a white face (the same rat as the rat on the right from the image before, back when his coat was darker). the child's left hand is cupped around the rat's body from the outside of the hoodie, supporting him. end ID]

these sweet boys were the first rats my family ever got! the rat on the left in the first pic is loki! he was a white rat with a beige hood and he was a shy lil dude. the one on the left is gandalf when he was an adult, and the next picture is him as a baby! he was what's called a badger rat, which is where they start out as a darker color and lighten up over time! these guys also weren't brothers, loki was about a week older, but we also got them from the same breeder. good good good boys 10/10

[image IDs: three images here. the first image is taken through the bars of the green wire cage from the previous photos. in the frame is an adult himalayan dumbo-eared fancy rat (himalayan rats are white with grayish brown smudges on their noses and black eyes). he is peeking his nose and face out of a hammock made of the cut-off end of a leg of a pair of jeans, facing the camera. the hammock is hung from the top of the cage. in the second image, a baby himalayan dumbo-eared fancy rat sits up on his back legs in the corner of a tan-colored couch, facing the camera. he holds his front paws in front of him and looks slightly off to the side. in the third image, two baby himalayan dumbo-eared fancy rats are standing in the same corner of the couch. one is standing parallel to the back of the couch, facing to the side; one is standing parallel to the arm of the couch, facing the camera. end ID]

these guys are pippin and merry! they were brothers, so it was very very hard to tell them apart - merry had a darker and bigger smudge on his nose than pippin did, so i think he's the baby rat in the second picture and the rat in the back in the third picture, and i think pip is the rat in the hammock in the first picture and the baby rat in the front in the third picture. pippin was super adventurous and loved to climb on things, merry was shyer and more cuddly. absolutely wonderful boys, only wish i'd appreciated the lord of the rings names at the time

[drariellevalentine]

Medically Inevitable

Chapter 5- Heartfelt Housewarming

Warnings:- Alcohol

Characters:- Arielle Valentine, Ethan Ramsey, Sienna Trinh, Landry Olsen, Elijah Greene, Jackie Varma, Aurora Emery, Ines Delarosa

Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey x Arielle Valentine

After a night of restless tossing and turning, you get up skipping your usual morning routine and head into the shower. Stripping yourself of your clothes, you step into the shower, hoping the hot water washes away yesterday’s events. You close your eyes and everything comes flooding into mind.

“Dr. Valentine, your post-op patient is in distress!”

“What happened? She was fine two minutes ago!”, you say.

“Fluid buildup in her lungs, she can’t breathe!”

“Heart rate’s above 160. It’s in atrial fibrillation!”

“BP’s crashing, she’s hypotensive!” Everything swirls around in confusion. You’re frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

“What do you want us to do?” Your mind is jumbled. You can’t focus.

“Dr. Valentine! What do you want us to do?!”

You’re wrenched out of your reverie as your bottle of body wash drops to the floor.

“Arielle? You okay?” Sienna asks.

“Yeah, just dropped something. Be out in a sec.”, you pull back the fogged glass door and grab your blush coloured towel, which matches your room’s aesthetic. You remember the day you went out shopping with your brother’s girlfriend who also happens to be one of the huge fashion icons and designers, to buy everything you needed for your apartment. After drying yourself off, you slip on a silk robe and leave your bathroom to see Sienna and Landry waiting for you.

“Hey.”, you say plopping down on the furry bench at the front of your queen sized bed.

Si comes and gives you a hug. “What happened yesterday isn’t your fault, okay.”

“I know. I just can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if the nurses hadn’t bailed me out yesterday.”

“You can always go over your cases. It helps to be prepared.”, advises Landry.

“Thanks Landry.” They exit your room as you head into your closet to get dressed. Deciding on a teal wrapped top, a navy blue pair of leggings, matching boots and accessories, you grab your mini backpack which you packed last night and head to the kitchen.

“Okay. I have 15 minutes.” You throw some strawberries, a banana, and vanilla almond milk into a blender and grab a straw. Pouring the smoothie into you regular glass, you pop a straw and grab a protein bar. You have breakfast as you scroll through your messages with 10 minutes to go. Washing out the cup and placing it in the dishwasher, you head out to your car, protein bar in hand. You play a few tunes as you drive all the way to Edenbrook, singing along.

You park your car and head towards the locker room to drop your belongings. Heading into the atrium, you notice a huge crowd of interns. Entering the atrium I find it full, some interns scattering around, while the others are pushing each other to get in front of the crowd where Dr. Ramsey is standing with a piece of paper on his hands.

"Gather around interns," Ines's cheerful voice rings through the atrium.

"Back! Back! Christ! You all are like a bunch of rabid dogs!" His angry voice announces.

Sienna, Landry and I go and join the crowd where Elijah and Jackie are already present. Tiptoeing I try to get a better look at the paper. But it's really hard to see it from here.

"Wow! It looks like everyone signed up for the competition," I state shocked seeing the huge list in front of me.

"Of course they did. It's an opportunity for a lifetime!" Landry says excited.

"Yeah exactly, only a complete jackass would think about passing it," Jackie smirks .

"Gee, thanks!" I roll my eyes playfully.

"How about this? Whoever ranks the lowest picks up the keg for tonight's party?" Elijah suggests.

"I like the way you think," Jackie says and then turns around to check the list.

"Great! Sienna already whipped up a few treats and she’ll be going shopping to pick up the rest of supplies while we decorate the house. I told everyone to come by 8," Elijah grins and Jackie turns around to look at him.

"What do you mean by everyone?" Landry questions.

"My question exactly," Jackie adds.

"You know the other interns," Elijah smiles.

"I have told a few residents about it too," Sienna says, "And also a few nurses." Sienna kinda blushes? You make a mental note to ask her later.

"Guys, our place is nice but not that big! We have to keep it small," Landry states.

"You have a point," I start to say and look over at Elijah whose expression turned into a sad one. "But it's about tonight only! And it's not like everyone we invite is gonna show up," I smile a Landry, "Chill out dude."

"Famous last words..." Landry says, his voice low.

"I can't believe I am about to throw an party at last!" Elijah chimes.

"Ooh! Are you talking about you homecoming party tonight?" Ines asks from behind him.

"You've heard about that?" I ask surprised.

"Everyone's heard about that," She smiles.

"Cool. So are you coming?" I return the smile.

"Yeah. And do you guys mind if I bring Zaid along?" She asks sweetly.

Dr. Mirani. In a party! That's beyond my imagination.

She must have seen the hesitation on our face so she starts to explain, " I know his sense of humor isn't everyone's cup of tea but he's loads of fun at a party. Trust me."

"Of course," I smile trying to remove any trace of the hesitation from my face ," The more the merrier."

"He has a sense of humor?" Jackie acts shocked after I Ines leaves and I nudge her playfully. And the rest of my roommates shoots looks at me.

"What? What'd you expect me to say?" I ask shrugging.

They all give me a fake angry look before looking forward where Dr. Ramsey just pinned our score sheet.The crowd of interns moves forward threatening to cush him.

“Now you can stop badgering me with quest about where you stand.”, Dr. Ramsey’s cold voice announces. “If you would like to challenge your rankings, fell free to swing by my office and I’ll immediately disqualify you. Good day.”, his nonchalant voice adds before walking away after pining the ranking sheet.

“Is it just me or is he more grumpier than usual?”, Sienna asks quietly so that only the five of us can hear.”

Jackie shrugs, “He’s probably annoyed cause he has to pick an intern.” The crowd of interns slowly disappear leaving the gang and a few other interns in the atrium. We look towards the board to check our rankings.

“Let’s see who’s number one.”, Landry says looking at the list.

“It’s Aurora, that little-", Jackie stops when she sees her but it’s too late.

“Please continue!”, she sneers.

“That little colleague whose aunt signs my checks.”, Jackie painfully finishes.

“Jackie...keep reading.”, Sienna nudges her.

“I’m fourth. Fine, I guess. Landry’s seventh, Elijah’s tenth.

“And Arielle you are- nineteenth," she says kinda surprised.

"Nineteenth? Looks like you are on the keg duty Valentine," Elijah says.

"It's okay. I just need to work harder," I say.

"Are you sure? I mean you are not me but you aren't that bad," she says playfully trying to lighten up the mood and at the same time establishing a point- I deserve more than the 19th ranking. "Are you sure Dr. Ramsey doesn't have it up for you?"

“No, I think it's what I deserve. I just need to work harder and it'd pay off," I force a smile.

You rush after Dr. Ramsey to update him about Shonda.

“Dr. Ramsey!”

“Yes?” He turns to look at you but he seems rather distant.

“I wanted to update you on my post-op patient from last night.”, you tentatively say.

“You mean the ones that the nurses had to intubate? I’ve already been informed.” You wince waiting for his berating...but it never comes. You’re surprised.

“Aren’t you going to berate me?”

“No. I have work to attend to and by the look on your face, I gather that you already feel bad.” He turns to leave.

“Wait!” He turns to look at you. “I wanted to invite you to a housewarming party my friends and I are hosting later tonight. It’ll be a nice breather from work.”

Ethan’s PoV:-

You’d never thought an intern would invite you to one of their parties. You’re about to agree when you remember that you have work to do. “I’ll have to decline.” Her face falls. “But I appreciate the invitation.” She turns to leave.

“Rookie. Wait.”, you find yourself saying. “What the hell are you doing, Ethan!”, you think. She turns to look at you.

“All my patients are stable. What do you need?”

“Radiology just received a new f.M.R.I machine a week ago but they haven’t tested it yet and I’m getting impatient.”, you reply.

“You want me to stick my brain so you see all my deepest secrets? Alright!” You laugh.

“Follow me.” You lead her to the equipment room. You’re about to tell her what she needs to do until you realise that she’ll need to take off her shirt. “Shit!”, you think. We’re doctors, surely this is normal! you try to convince yourself.

Arielle’s PoV:-

“You can keep your shirt here any make sure you take off all jewellery.” He gestures to your earrings, necklace and many rings. Then it hits you. “I’m going to be half-naked in front of my boss. Why did I agree to this?!” You turn around, facing the wall and take of your shirt, revealing your matching teal lace-up bra. Great day to wear a lace-up bra, thank god it doesn’t have any metal! You turn sideways and take off all your jewellery, shoes and ID. “Done. Now what?”, you turn to face him.

Ethan’s PoV:-

You gulp at the sight of her. You’ve never seen someone so pretty in just a simple pair of leggings. The sight of her long violet ombré tresses cascading down her shoulders- “Shut up Ramsey! She’s your intern!”, you think. “Have you taken off all metal?”, you gesture to her very lacey bra.

“My bra isn’t wired so I won’t have to take it off.” You’re thankful for that. You bring the syringe of gadolinium near her. “Sit here and lean back.”, you instruct her. Palpitating her veins, you inject the gadolinium, trying not to focus on the scent of vanilla and cinnamon from her. You dispose the syringe. “You help her onto the machine, instructing her not to move.”

“Why do they make these damn machines so high?”, you hear her mutter. You stifle a laugh.

You head into the adjacent room, turning on the machine. “Is my voice audible?”

“Yes. It’s loud and clear.”

“Okay. Can I start?” She agrees. “If these questions are too personal, tell me and I’ll ask something else.”

“You do realise that I’ve already told you a lot about my personal life, right?” You ignore that.

“What is your middle name?”

“Cerise.” (Cherry in French)

“Cherry?”, you ask. Your lips quirk up.

“My mother named me Cerise for two reasons. One, her main pregnancy cravings were cherries. Two, apparently my lips were the colour of cherries when I was born.”, she answers. You see her temporal lobe glow.

“Do you have any favourite childhood memories?”

Her hippocampus, neo-cortex and amygdala glow. “I do. When I was little, I would visit my godfather every Friday evening and stay there until he would drop me off at school Monday morning. I would enter the house and he would have all the ingredients lined up for some kind of dessert or pastry as long as it had chocolate. We would bake together, laugh and talk and I would tell him about all the stupid things that would happen in class.” You smile at the thought of a little Arielle baking.

“Okay. Tell me about one of the happiest days of your life.”

“Probably when my niece was born.”

“You have a niece?” You’re surprised. Her prefrontal cortex glows very brightly.

“Her name is Arabelle, Belle for short. It was an unplanned pregnancy and there were some ups and downs, but the moment she came it was absolutely beautiful. To become an aunt and hold your niece in your arms for the first time, it’s one of the most beautiful things in life. She turned 4 years old a few months ago... Is the machine working properly?”

“Yes, it works alright. That’s enough questions.” You power down the machine and go back to the equipment room, when you hear a thud. You rush into the room to find Arielle getting up from the floor.

“Ooh! Very hard floor!”, she rubs her arm.

“How did you manage to fall down from the machine?”, you ask while helping her up.

She shrugs, her lips widening into a grin. “There’s a reason why my brother calls me Calamity Cerise!” She pulls her shirt back on, along with her jewellery, ID, and shoes. She saunters over phone in hand and shows me a picture. “This is my niece Belle.” She pulls up a picture of an adorable 3 year old dressed in a powder blue fluffy gown. Beside her is Arielle, wearing a beautiful matching dress with a huge smile on her face.

They look absolutely adorable.

“She’s cute.”, you respond.

“She is, isn’t she! She wanted a photoshoot for her birthday. This was one of the pics.”

“Thank you… for the assistance, Dr. Valentine.” You turn to leave. You’re about to ask her when the party starts, but you stumble on your words and leave.

Arielle’s PoV:-

You’re just finishing your shift as you notice the time. Your shift ended early, so you decided to go with Sienna to help shop for the party. You text her and meet her at the parking lot.

“Hey Si, ready to go?”

“Yeah! I made a list of all the things we need to buy!” You take your car and drive towards Walmart.”

“Okay, so I’ll pick up the plates, cups, and other stuff. You pick up all these snacks.” We’ll meet at the dairy section in 20.” You head towards the snack aisle and pick up tortilla chips, crackers and a few other snacks that Si told you to buy. Hmm... we need drinks! You head towards the drink aisle where you find Bryce.

“Hey Bryce! What are you doing here?” He whirls around, his face breaking into a smile when he sees you.

“Elle! I thought I would buy a little something for the party.” You notice the bottles of tequila in his hand.

“Aww Thanks! Now, help me in getting those Sprite and Fanta bottles up there. I can’t reach.” He laughs and picks them up from the shelf with ease, placing them in the cart. You lead him to the dairy section, where you find Sienna waiting for you.

“What took you so lo-Hi Bryce!”

“I found Scalpel Jockey in the drinks aisle.”

“Okay, so I already made a bunch of desserts, we just need different cheeses and meat. I’ll head towards the deli and you two find some blocks of cheddar and gruyere.” She heads off.

“Okay, let’s go for cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere and pepper jack. I’ll get some vegan versions.” You slide over to the non-dairy section and pick up a few items and drop them into the cart. “All done, Bryce?”

“Yeah, found everything! I’ll stand in the billing aisle, you go bring Sienna.” You go to the deli section and bring Si over.

“Did we get everything Si?” She goes over the list. “Yeah, Jackie and Elijah said they’ll bring the beer and a few other drinks so we should have everything.” You finish billing and head to the parking lot. Bidding goodbye to Bryce, you head to the apartment to find the place fully decorated.

“We were wondering when you guys would show up. We decorated everything already!”, says Landry.

“Great! Elijah, you can help me whip up some dips while Landry and Jackie set up the rest of the food.”

“I’ll go pick up the keg stand and a little something special.” They give you a questioning look. “It’s a secret!”, you sing as you head out to your car. Picking up the keg stand and karaoke machine takes longer then you expected. By the time you come home again, the apartment is packed. Bryce comes and helps you with the very heavy stand.

“What’s in there?”, he asks pointing to the other box I had in my hand.

“I called in a favour and got us a karaoke machine. Give it to Elijah, he’ll hook it up.” You head to your room to get dressed. You pull out a fitted black crop top with a sparkly violet miniskirt. Brushing on a little lipgloss, you decide to focus on your eyes and add a little eyeshadow to your usual makeup. Lastly, you take your your hair from the Dutch braid you purposely did this morning, your hair falls in thick curls. Spraying on a little hairspray, you quickly take a pic and post it with the caption ‘Housewarming party ready!🥳’

By the time you come out of your room, the keg stand is completely set up.

“Arielle! You’re going first!”, Elijah yells.

“Hell No! Scalpel Jockey can go first.”

Bryce saunters over and starts while Elijah sets the timer. “1..2..3...........25...28”- Bryce flips over, as the people cheer.

“I’m feeling a little woozy.”, he sits down. You step up, putting you hair up in a loose bun.

“Ready Arielle, 1..2..3..Go!” You flip over, planting your hands on the ground and kick you feet up in the air as you guzzle down beer. “1..2..3..4.................30..”, You’re getting really lightheaded. “43..44..45”, You flip back to the ground and sway like a pendulum until one of the surgical interns steady you.

“Damn Arielle! 45 seconds! Anyone want to top that?”, Elijah shouts.People line up after you’re lead by Ines to sit down. She gives you a glass of ice cold water as you turn to see Zaid at the keg stand. You nearly spit out the water in your mouth at the sight. He surprisingly managed for 20 seconds. He takes a seat beside you as the surgical intern who steadied you goes next.

“I don’t know why you youngsters do this to yourselves!”, Zaid grumbles.

“Me either!”, you answer as your stomach rumbles. You forgot to eat lunch.

You head over to the snacks area where you have a few of Si’s mini treats.

“Yo Arielle!” You turn around to see Elijah yelling from standing on a ‘stage’. You head over and see the karaoke machine fixed up.

“How in the world did you manage to get a karaoke machine at this caliber?” You smile.

“I have friends in high places. Now who’s going first?” Bryce and a few surgical interns hold a riff-raff as you and a few others cheer them on. Bryce wins, that guy has got pipes. Now comes duet rounds. Jackie saunters over, partly drunk.

“So this was the surprise you were talking about.” You nod. She suddenly drags you to her the stage. You see Elijah manning the controls.

“Now for the one and only, Jackie and Arielle! What song will it be?”

“None Of My Business” You laugh, she still manages to choose a sassy song when drunk. “You ready Arielle?” They’ve never heard you sing, so they’re in for quite a surprise. You turn to the screen, blue for Jackie, pink for me and purple for both of us... sounds good.

She starts, her voice bold and sassy, a little bit of her accent shows through.

“Damn, I heard you and her been having problems”

“She likes to fight, I guess you both have that in common”

“Go Jackie!”, Si yells.

“Started at the top but now you at the bottom”

“But baby, this is none of my business”

“You think you can top that Arielle?”, Jackie asks with a smirk. You don’t know if it’s the alcohol coursing through your veins from the keg stand or the sugar rush from Si’s treats, but you know one thing for sure, you’re going to give them a show. You keep your voice sultry and sassy.

“You moved on, that a wrong, been a while, baby”

Jackie’s shocked. “Damn Arielle, where you been hiding those pipes!”, Bryce yells. You smirk and flip your hair.

“So did I (so did I, so did I)”

“Took her home to your home”

“But trust me that ain’t on my mind (on my mind, on my mind)”

You start slowly moving your upper body to the beat, flipping your hair for extra flair.

“I-I-I-I-I, I-I-I-I-I”

You and Jackie both belt out, her taking a lower range while you hit that high. Elijah and Bryce whistle.

“I saw on my feed”

“She looks a little like me”

“I-I-I-I-I, I-I-I-I-I”

“I can’t help but see”

“It’s not jealousy, no”

You both finish off the song receiving a huge applause once finished. You saunter over to Jackie, “Is that up to your standards, Miss Varma.” She smirks and heads off.

You decide to get a drink and enjoy the rest of the duets. A while later, someone taps your shoulder. You turn around to see Bryce. “Elle, you have to sing with me. I may have bet a 100 dollar bottle of whiskey to Mark and Rosa that i would sing much better than them but I can’t find a partner.

“Fine. What song?

“Trampoline.” You give him a look. “Please?” You let him drag you towards the stage for the second time.

“Looks like you found a partner Lahela.”

Elijah announces the rules in the mic to the huge crowd, “Listen up! Bryce and Arielle will sing the same verses as will Mark and Rosa. It’s up to you guys to decide which pair is better!”

You know you’ve had one too many drinks, and Bryce had to choose one of the sultry songs. You turn towards the screen. Pink for the girls, blue for the boys and purple for all. You and Bryce are up first.

You start singing in a breathy but sultry tone.

“I’ve been having dreams”

“Jumpin’ on a trampoline”

He matches your tone, going just a bit deeper.

“Flippin’ in the air”

“I never land, just float there”

“As I’m lookin’ up”

“As I’m lookin’ up”

“Suddenly the sky erupts”

You both sing together, his voice hitting those deep notes while you hit those whistles.

“Flames alight the trees”

“Spread to fallin’ leaves”

“Now they’re right upon me”

The alcohol in you takes over, you start swaying your hips to the sultry beat gaining the attention of the crowd. The surgical interns whistle.

“Wait, if I’m on fire”

“Then how am I so deep in love”

“When I dream of dying”

“I never feel so loved”

You and Bryce reach the peak of the song, him singing that low bass as you match his tone at a higher pitch, leaving the crowd in awe. Bryce sings the next few lines, leaving you to sing the beautiful breathy chorus.

You both finish after alternating lines and earn whistles and applause from the crowd. Bryce saunters up to Rosa and Mark, “Think you can top that?” Mark forks over a hundred dollar bill and walks away.

“I believe that you owe me a thank you.” He sweeps you up into a hug.

“Thank you so much Elle. Come over some time, I’m sharing this with you.” He heads off. You sing a few songs with Sienna, Ines, Jackie and Elijah until you find yourself winded.

You’re heading out to catch a breather when you notice the crowds of people laughing and drinking. You see Si standing alone and head over. “Hey Si, where’s Wayne?”

“Oh! He had to go home. He has work tomorrow morning.” You frown.

“Si.” You give her a pointed look.

“I know, he was really rude. But I promise he isn’t always like that!”, she says.

“Okay Si, I believe you. But if you need someone to talk to, I’m here okay?” She nods and heads inside as Elijah wheels past.

“Hey Elijah, don’t you think the party’s getting a bit out of hand?”

“Sienna cleared it with Farley until midnight.” You look at him.

“Which is in 10 minutes.” He’s about to respond when a girl about your age walks near.

“Could I squeeze through?”

“Yeah, of course.”, you respond.

“Are you guests of this rager or...” You smile. “It’s ours. I’m Arielle and this is Elijah.”

“Hey...”, you can see him blush. He totally likes her.

“I’m Phoebe, I live right down the haul.” You can’t stand to witness anymore of this cuteness and decide to play Cupid.

“Hey Elijah, why don’t you show Phoebe around and let her play a game or two.” You turn to Phoebe. “He’s really good at beer bong.” They nod and head inside as you smile. Suddenly Landry rushes towards you, followed by Jackie.

“Someone just ratted us out! I saw Farley entering the building!”, Jackie says.

“What are we going to do? We can’t possibly get this in control by the time he gets here!”, Landry says.

Shonda’s advice comes back to you. “Okay! Here’s what we’re going to do. Landry, break out the board games and sit everyone down. Jackie, tell everyone to go inside and quiet down. I’ll placate everyone with leftover treats. Go! Between the three of you, with some help from Sienna, Elijah and Phoebe, you manage to get everyone under control. You rush towards your room and slip on a robe just as the doorbell rings. You open it and act nonchalantly as your roommates shush everyone. “Hey Farley, is everything alright?”

“Miss Raines, I received a complaint about your party extending the duration of time and the level of noise.”

“What? Everyone already left and I was getting ready for bed.” You ‘yawn’.

“My apologies Miss Raines, carry on.” He turns around and leaves. “Mission Accomplished! Now, everyone stay quiet please.”, you say as everyone cheers quietly. The party slowly dwindles down until your roommates and Bryce are the only ones left.

“You don’t have to help clean up, Bryce.”

“It’s alright Elle. Also, how come you never told me you could sing? I actually thought that you were lip syncing.” You laugh.

“I learned to play the piano at a very young age. Singing just came naturally. It was one of my mother’s favourite hobbies.”

He smiles. “I think that’s the last of the trash. Goodnight Elle.” He kisses me on the cheek and leaves. I smile thinking I might have just found another brother.

After locking the doors, you head back into your room to sleep. You slip off your clothes and drop them in the hamper. You put on a silky white pajama set and enter you bathroom. You wash your face with a face wash and pat it dry. Skincare has always been something that is very important to you, especially when Naveen has taught you so many tips and tricks from his Indian heritage. You start with your usual eye cream to get rid your dark circles, eyelash serum and lastly a night moisturiser.Then you lightly braid your hair and flop into bed, tucking yourself deep under the fluffy blush coloured blanket.

You wake up to ‘Dancing With Your Ghost’ by Sasha Sloan. You slip on a matching robe and head out to the kitchen for your tea.

“Good Morning Ari!” You notice Elijah at the dining table and greet him back. “Look who was up all night.” He points to the sofa. You walk over and notice Danny sleeping, Sienna lying on him peacefully. You take your phone and take a photo without them noticing.

You tiptoe back towards Elijah and show him the picture. He smiles. “Honestly, Danny would be a much better match for Si, Wayne wasn’t like anything Si described.”, you say.

“Ari, that’s enough playing Cupid. You’re going to be late if you don’t get ready.” You notice the time, no tea for me today! You head towards your room to get ready.

Later that day, you’re walking in the pristine white halls of Edenbrook when you get a page. 911 for Mrs. Turner! You run to the stairs.

I charge into the room to find her in respiratory distress, the nurses running around to help her.

"She's crashing again?" I ask the nurses, shock and fear clearly noticable in my voice.

"Yeah, just like last time," Marlene answers.

"Body temperature is skyrocketing. She's in AFib, her B.P. is crashing and she's got a pulmonary edema," Danny informs me her condition but barely a word enters my brain.

My mind's got blank the second I saw her lying unconscious in the hospital bed.

Get a hold on yourself Arielle! She's your patient, you need to help her. She'd die under your watch if you don't act quickly!

"What do you want to do doctor?" Sarah asks.

"I-I-" I try to say something but my brain gives up. I can hardly form a coherent sentence.

"I want to... breathe," I say, panic rising with each passing second.

"What?" The nurses stares at me shocked. But despite that I take a moment to myself and breathe.

I close my eyes.

I can do it. I have to do it. I just think.

I just have to guide the nurses. Calm down Arielle. You've got it.

I count upto three, to calm down and subside my tension.

"Here's what we need to do.”, I open my eyes.

"Sarah prep the I.V. We have to get fluids in her. Marlene get the ice packs and cooling blankets. Cool her down so that she doesn't get heat stroke."

"Right away Dr. Valentine," Sarah moves to get an IV stand.

I turn to Danny then. "And Danny get the defibrillator. Then we intubate."

"On it doctor," he says and rushes to get the equipment. After dealing with the patient, you head towards the ER. Later, when you’re heading for your lunch break, you come across Dr. Ramsey.

“Rookie. I heard you kept Mrs. Turner alive.”, he acknowledges.

“I did.”, a small beam of pride hits you. He turns and walks away when one of his files fall down. You reach down and can’t but help notice the quizzical patient name, ‘Patient X’ as you pick up the chart. He quickly turns around and quite rashly pulls the CT scan from you.

“Thank you.”, he hurries down the hallway. You wonder who it could be, and why he is so secretive.

[thesterekcollection]

The Sterek Halloween MasterPost

Hallow's Warmth by raisesomehale | 6.8K

Derek and Cora own the little coffee shop downtown, Stiles is the regular and talkative client that Derek may or may not be infatuated with, and the cold weather is extremely inconvenient considering it dusts Stiles' cheeks with a rosy shade of red and causes his breath to frost over in white puffs whenever he laughs.

Pining and Halloweenie things ensue.

Just a Little Hocus Pocus by secondstar |16.8K

On All Hallow’s Eve when the moon is round, a virgin will summon us from under the ground.

Stiles lights the black flame candle, bringing three witches back from the dead who need his soul to survive the night.

Little Red Riding Hood (you sure are looking good) by aohatsu | 10.2K

Stiles hangs out with werewolves. Stiles dresses up as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween. It's supposed to be ironic.

Masque by JenNova |3.5K

Derek's not sure he can remember what he was trying to achieve here.

“That's not really a costume,” Stiles' voice returns, curling into Derek's ear. Derek suppresses a shiver.

“It's a costume,” he says, shocked by how rough his voice sounds. He needs to get out of here.

Disco Cops by GotTheSilver | 3.1K

“You don’t need to protect me, Stiles.”

“Officer of the law here,” Stiles says, his smile twisting into a dirty smirk. “That’s my job.”

“Not in those shorts.”

“How about out of these shorts?”

bonfires burning bright (room in my coffin tonight) by  hito | 12.2K

Stiles may hate Halloween, but he loves working at the Haunted House -- at least until the new girl steals his cushy job in the office. But she also introduces him to the guy he's had a crush on for years, so he supposes she can't be a total witch. That doesn't mean Derek isn't a vampire.

Marked for Later by  hazelNuts | 5K

The Hale and the McCall pack have an uneasy truce. Now, when a witch has been killing people in both their territories, Derek and Stiles have to go undercover and actually work together to stop her.

‘We’ll go as a couple, of course. Then we either ask her if she wants a threesome, or I complain to her about my dick of a boyfriend. That role shouldn’t be too hard for you,’ Stiles grins, delighted at Derek’s horrified expression. ‘Now all we need are costumes.’

‘No.’

always the sidekick (never the superhero) by  mirrorkill | 44.4K

Wherein Stiles wears spandex, Derek does too, and "convince" doesn't mean what Lydia thinks it means.)

And Also, I Love You by alisvolatpropiis | 7.1K

Derek didn’t look at all like Stiles expected. After all, he deliberately chose a school where being a nerd was cool, so he certainly wasn’t expecting his hotter-than-a-thousand-stars roomie to be an actual cool person. 

borders and horizon lines by magneticwave |14.8K

“Let me do this nice thing for you, Derek, no strings attached,” said nobody ever.

Dude, Werewolves by mysecretashes | 29.6K

Stiles gets partnered with Cora for a history project, and they become bros. Also, he kind of falls in love with her older brother, Derek.

Intermediate Braiding Skills by  apocryphal | 10.4K

In which Lydia assembles her Halloween costume, learns to make friends, and shamelessly exploits her father's crush on Stiles Stilinski.

reason to stay by  bleep0bleep | 12.5K

It's the last week of October, and a small town baker has run into his first crush again. Fate might have other ideas. Stiles tries for romance with a little help from what Beacon Hills does best— Halloween.

sure to lure something bad by  lazulisong | 4K

Stiles has the best worst ideas, or so he thinks. Derek isn't so sure about that.

Stiles dresses up as a werewolf, Derek dresses like Red Riding Hood, NOTHING ends in tears.

There is a Brotherhood by minusoneday | 21K

Or, the one where pledge brothers Stiles and Scott start a prank war with Derek Hale's fraternity.

wishing to be the friction in your jeans by thatworldinverted | 3.3K

Stiles is just trying to go to work every day and earn a paycheck. It's not his fault he keeps getting distracted by six feet of muscle and the angriest scowl this side of the Cascades.

I'm Your Boogie Man by  Jmeelee | 4K

Five times Derek and Stiles ended up accidentally wearing couples costumes on Halloween, and the one Halloween they ended up a couple.

Everybody Make a Scene by  skoosiepants | 4.4K

Stiles and Derek have some kind of unspoken Halloween decorating competition that also involves baked goods and flirting.

The One With the Treats by  mikkimouse | 1.6K

Stiles really hadn't wanted to go to Satomi's inter-pack Halloween party. He'd spent the past week trying to summon up a horrible illness or some other excuse, but all he'd managed was a slightly scratchy throat that lasted all of two hours.

Veils and Moonbeams by  kaistrex (weishen) | 2.6K

Because if anyone would become an (illegal) Animagus to surprise the boy they liked, it would be Stiles Stilinski.

Treat Cute by  Cobrilee | 1.2K

Derek loves Halloween because he gets to let his wolf out. This Halloween gives him a different reason to love the holiday. (It gives him Stiles.)

The Accidental Hale Brood by  Julibean19 | 42.3K

The one in which Stiles and Derek have been BCPD partners for years when they are assigned Halloween duty and run into a couple of kids from the orphanage. One fake marriage and two real adoptions later, they somehow become a family.

Little Red Riding Hoodie and the Sourwolf by  SourWolfie (pieprincess_andthe_fallenangel) | 7.2K

The one where Stiles wears a revealing little red riding hood costume to Lydia's Halloween party.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by  Acherona, trulywicked | 13.3K

“I’d rock a dress and heels better than you ever could but no. I have an appointment to watch paint peel.” Stiles started to walk away with Scott.

“Prove it.” Jackson smirked when that made Stilinski freeze.

A Boy in Wolf's Clothing by  kyaticlikestea | 5.2K

Five times Stiles turns to the wolf for Halloween, and one time the wolf turns to him.

Something Spooky, Something Blue by crossroadswrite | 2.4K

Derek sighs and boredly stuffs a handful of gummi bears in his mouth, straight out of a Halloween candy bowl Aunt Olivia insists in buying every year even if they never get trick or treaters this far into the woods.

He tilts his head and tunes back into the boys’ conversation, which has been the prime time entertainment of the Hales for the past ten minutes or so.

Can I Keep You? by  wearing_tearing | 16K

After practically being raised watching Buffy, The X-Files, and Ghostbusters, Stiles liked to think his reaction to seeing a shimmery shadow resembling a seventeen year old boy floating ten inches above ground and glaring fiercely at him wouldn’t be to let out a high pitch scream, try to karate chop him, and then, when that obviously didn’t work, throw a basketball at him.

A basketball that just went right through the boy’s stomach.

or, the Sterek Casper AU.

You’re the Only One(sie) for Me by  mikkimouse | 8.4K

Stiles buys Halloween costumes online and badgers Derek into wearing one for a party at the Preserve, because they're friends now and friends do those kinds of things. It's all fun and games until he and Derek turn into their costumes.

Stiles probably should have done a little more research on the seller.

[thisentertaining]

As the Blue Spirit Howls - Chapter 3

STORY SUMMARY:

Zuko was not a good shifter.

Azula could switch between her wolf and human skins between steps. Not Zuko, he needed several minutes before he even started the shift, and that was on a good day. If it had been Azula who Animal Control found in that alley, they would have walked away convinced that their eyes had played a trick on them. There had never been a dog there.

But Zuko’s long transformation would have only revealed his kind to the world. Father may think he has no honor, but he wouldn’t stoop so low as that. Even if that meant being dumped in animal shelter, trapped as much by the 24/7 security cameras as by the cage bars.

He had the worst luck. -

“Come on guys!” Aang said as he lead his friends through the clamoring barks of the shelter. “I want to show you my favorite dog! He’s a sweetheart.”

Aang lead the pair to where a monstrous beast of a dog was growling with raspy barks loud enough to drown out the rest of the shelter. His bright white teeth contrasted against golden eyes and a bright red scar that stretched over the side of his face as he lunged against the cage door.

Sokka laughed nervously. “Did the word ‘sweetheart’ change meaning when I wasn’t looking?”

Chapter 1

Chapter 4

Read on Ao3 

“He’s actually being a pretty good dog.” Katara said as Zuko paused to sniff on a bush right outside the door. Her leash was lightly looped around her wrist, as was Aang’s. The other boy had a death grip on the ugly nylon.

“Maybe hold that judgement after we’ve been walking him more than five seconds, sis.”

The girl scowled at her brother. “You know what I mean! When we say him going crazy in there, I didn’t think he would ever calm down. Especially not this quickly.”

“He’s really a good boy!” Aang said. “Once he calms down at least. He’s just kinda... spirited at first, but look how happy he is to be outside! Now he’s all wags, no growls.”

Zuko flicked an ear and took a longer sniff at the bush. As the first plant directly outside the shelter, it was covered in… messages from other dogs. Fairly typical. Mostly healthy, some fear or aggression but not much. It was a pretty good shelter. You know, assuming you were actually a dog. He wasn’t enjoying his time.

The good thing was, he now had plenty of examples of 'good-dog' behavior to copy. He thought back on what made a 'good dog' that would convince them to take him home. First of all, he couldn’t actually escape. Not pulling on the leash at all would be suspicious (not to mention a test of self-restraint that Zuko knew he could never pass) but he had to make sure not to pull so far that he was actually at risk of escaping.

Second, he had to put away any lingering pride he’d managed to retain. Dogs were… silly. Foolish. They played games and begged for attention and touch and made messes. He hadn’t acted like that since he was a child with his mother. If he’d even done it then. He doubted it though, Father would have disapproved.

He eyed one of the other dogs as they were bundled into the car of a little girl with large, poofy pigtails. The English Bull Terrier pup wiggled happily in her lap as he went on to his forever home, licking the giggling child’s face. Zuko sighed impatiently as the children holding onto his multiple leashes continued to talk instead of actually walk him anywhere. He couldn't act like that. This was going to be impossible.

A new car pulled up as the girl with the bull terrier left. This one was fancy, new, and streamlined. It was the kind of money that almost never darkened the halls of a shelter. Despite himself, Zuko watched with interest, curious at who it was. When the door opened and a familiar scent wafted out, he felt a growl start rumbling at the base of his throat, going steady at the sight of the familiar girl exiting the luxury car.

The teen’s behind him stopped their chatter, Aang kneeling beside him hesitantly and running a soothing hand down his back. “Hey bud, you okay?” He pet Zuko with steady, careful strokes that would have calmed any actual dog quickly, but the beast’s steady growl didn’t falter. “It’s okay boy, you’re okay. You’re okay. Guys do you-“

“What are you doing with Snarly?” A young, feminine voice demanded.

Aang looked up, seeing a short unfamiliar girl in green overalls and a matching headband standing over them. Despite being several inches shorter than the rest of them, she seemed to tower as she crossed her arms and scowled.

“Snarly? Do you mean Blue Spirit?”

The girl scoffed. “That’s a stupid name. Naming a dog after a bar? Can you say ‘lacking imagination’?”

Behind Zuko, Sokka hummed. “Snarly does kinda fit him better.” The boy mused, ruffling the top of his head. The dog snapped at the hand. Nowhere close, but enough that the teen jerked his hand back.

Well. Being a good dog was going great.

“Exactly.” The girl said with a grin as she reached out and pet his head just as Sokka had. The boy made a noise in warning, but for her Zuko simply turned to that his unscarred side was by her searching fingers. “That’s why he’s my favorite. I can always tell where he is.”

The Avatar and his friends shared a confused glance at that comment before realizing as one that the girl hadn’t looked at them once through the whole conversation. Filmy-white eyes stared over their heads as the girl tucked the previously-unnoticed cane under her arm and knelt to pet Zuko with both hands. “Don’t tell him though.” The girl continued with a wicked grin. “Don’t want him getting a big head.”

Zuko barked in protest, never once halting his continuous rumbling growl.

Aang perked. “Does that mean you’re here to adopt him?”

The girl, Zuko had never gotten her name, frowned with a heavy sign. “No. My parents won’t let me. They’re worried that getting another dog would distract Badger-Mole.”

“Right, right.” Sokka said, “And that is a…”

“He’s my seeing eye dog. And it’s stupid because tons of people with guide dogs have pets too. I even asked the trainers, and they said it’s perfectly fine. He’s trained to work with distractions. But no.” She drug out the word sarcastically. “My parents know better than the professionals.”

“That stinks.” Katara said genuinely.

“Yeah. But whatever. Apparently, he was adopted anyway. Sorry I yelled at you, I know they said that it would be hard to find him an owner so I overreacted. Probably not a great way to convince people to keep a dog.”

“Probably not.” The Avatar laughed. “But it’s okay. We aren’t adopting him though, just fostering so that he can be in a home until someone does come to adopt.”

“We are talking about foster- you know what, I give up.” The eldest boy sighed. “I know we’re getting the dog.”  

The girl scrunched her nose before eventually shrugging. “Fine, as long as he’s out of Long Feng’s grubby hands. That dude gives me the creeps.”

Zuko barked in soft agreement as the other kids laughed.

“Name’s Toph.” The girl introduced herself, sticking a hand out nowhere near the other three.

Katara moved to take and shake the hand. “My name is Sapphire.” She lied. Zuko’s ears perked, recognizing that the name was very different from the one that the others had used for her earlier. If he was to complete his mission, learning their false names could only help.

“Wang,” Sokka added with a useless wave. Zuko committed the false name to memory.  

Aang jumped to his feet to shake her hand. “I’m Kuzon. It’s great to meet you. We’re going to take Spirit-“

“Snarly.”

“For a walk if you want to come with.”

The girl’s head cocked to the side, as though listening to something. After a moment, she simply shrugged. “Why not?”

From behind them, a loud clearing of the throat sounded from the front of the car, where a driver glared at them from behind a window. Toph sighed explosively. “Give me a second, I have to go check in before my busy body parents call the shelter.”

She stomped her way into the building, cane swinging wildly as she grumbled.

The group watched her, Aang’s hands still running down Zuko’s back as the growling petered out. “Awww,” Aang cooed. “Such a good boy.”

“That’s really impressive though.” Katara cut in. “He realized that she was blind and made sure that she could hear him. He must be really smart.”

Sokka made a disagreeing noise. “He probably just realized that she was happy when he was growling, gave him extra treats or pats or whatever and accidentally trained him to growl. Dogs can be taught to do anything these days.”

Zuko was offended. As he wasn't an actual dog, he wasn’t sure he should be.

“It’s still smart.” Katara argued with the passion of a sibling arguing against another. “He’s only been here a week or so and already trained himself to do that? That’s really smart for a dog.”

“Hey, I’m just saying. He’s a dog, he was trained to do a trick. Congratulations, you and Pavlov can compare notes.”

Aang glanced between the pair nervously. “Calm down, we don’t-“

Katara wasn’t listening. Zuko was just hoping that she wouldn’t have the same resources his sister had when angry to sit on. “You are such a-“

“Fight! Fight! Fight Fight! “ Toph chanted as she made her way to the group. She had a leash coiled in her hands, and when Zuko started growling again she managed to find his collar and attach it with little fumbling.

The other teens scrambled to explain their argument, but Zuko was getting tired of waiting. With a loud bark, the wolf started towards one of the walking trails, dragging Sokka, who had somehow wrapped the leash around his wrist enough that his was significantly shorter than the others. The boy yelped.

“Well, guess we’re going.”

“Sorry buddy.” Aang laughed. Zuko flicked an ear towards him but otherwise ignored the apology. He stuck to the cement path running through an open field rather than the wooded paths that called to his wolf blood. It wasn’t because that would be easiest for Toph. Really. He’d barely even noticed that. Really. He just thought that if the path was easier they would talk more and he would get more information out of them.

Really.

That was it.

“So, if you can’t get another dog, why are you at the shelter?” Sokka asked the stranger.

“Volunteering.” The girl answered, “Duh. I’m homeschooled and I was going absolutely insane sitting at home every day. I was sneaking out but,” She shrugged. “I knew eventually that they would realize that those pillows under my blankets weren’t breathing. I threatened to run away for real if they didn’t find a way to let me out of the house sometimes, and so.” She shrugged. “A compromise. For now.”

“That’s cool.” Aang said sunnily. “This is a great shelter, I come here every Tuesday and Thursday to volunteer too! I’m kinda surprised that we hadn’t seen each other before, but I’m usually here a lot earlier.”

That was good information. Wait. Was it though? If Zuko revealed himself or ‘ran away’, he probably wouldn’t come back. But it did mean it was a time that he was alone and out of their house fairly consistently. If Zuko could arrange for someone to go after him at the right time…

He really wished he had anyone he could trust to do that without taking the glory for themselves and leaving him out to dry.

Okay, so that wouldn’t work. But it still would be a good thing to know. This wasn’t going well. He wasn’t getting any good information on his actual targets and- rabbit!

Zuko stood stock still, nostrils flaring as he followed them to see a fluffy furry brown ball chewing at a clump of clover in the corner of the path. He ceased the low rumbling he’s been admitting since Toph joined, going stock still as he crouched into a predatory stance. Ear’s up, head close to the ground, feet carefully placed, Zuko slowly stalked forward towards the entirely unaware prey creature.

A predatory wolf’s blood was running through his veins, begging for the chase and hunt that he had been denied for the weeks he’d spent in a form born in it. He licked his chops, ignoring the babbling distractions behind him as the predator centered on prey.

“Hey!” Aang suddenly yelled behind him with a laugh. “Run Bunny, Run!”

Startled, the rabbit took off. With a growl, Zuko lunged after it, jumping forward on strong, muscular legs. There were a myriad of cried behind him as the group was sent sprawling by the force of his leap, but as the shelter administer had said, he couldn’t exactly drag four people across the yard. Well, he could. He was strong enough. He just wouldn’t be fast enough to catch the rabbit so what was the point?

He stopped after a few steps and whined as the rabbit disappeared into the woods.

Toph, miraculously the only one to keep her footing, laughed uproariously. “Why did you think it was a good idea to make the rabbit run, idiot?”

“Oops.” Aang mumbled from his place on the ground.

Sokka spit out a mouthful of grass. “Well. Are you ready to sign some papers? This seems like a great idea.”

[thomas-reynolds]

CAUGHT UP // 001

WHO: Griffin x Jamie x Thomas WHERE: The apartment. TW/NOTES: Nsfw. Griff and Tommy-boy come home early from the bar thanks to Griffin’s heavy drinking, and catch Jamie in the act with some dude. Things get heated and not in the fun way, and they end up a little worse for wear.

JAMIE ::

"My place doesn't work." Those four fateful words would normally leave Jamie shrugging and moving on to the next guy. It was a night out, after all, and he didn't have to take home the first hot guy he found. But this one was so hot. Taller than him, but just slightly. Bright blue eyes and a come and get me grin. Maybe it was more the attitude than the looks, and maybe James had downed one too many gold rushes. Maybe it was the fact that it was the beginning of summer, and hot was taking on multiple meanings here. James couldn't put his finger on what the hell it was that made him say these bolds words, but he heard himself saying them all the same. "Let's go back to my place." A husky whisper in the other guy's ear, and the two of them tumbled out of the club and into a cab.

Jamie lost his shirt at the front door, a solid thud echoing through the place as he was backed against it, and then a moan as his hookup- David? Daniel? kissed along his neck, his hands moving lower. "Don't leave a mark." He was already living dangerously. Odds were that Thomas and Griffin wouldn't randomly end up coming back home, but you could never be too careful. Now that he'd gotten that one stipulation out of the way, it was all too easy to let go and focus on the feelings. This would only ever happen once, and since he was already damned anyway, he might as well make the most of it.

More clothes were shed as they made their way to a bedroom. He didn't stop to shut the door, his hands too busy roaming Daryl's body to think of such a mundane detail. He didn't need to prepare himself much before he situated himself on top, sinking down onto the beautiful man's cock and thoroughly enjoying the view. He was close when everything went south. It was nice, having the place to himself, not needing to bother with being quiet. He was breathing hard by this point, choosing expletives that he wouldn't be caught dead saying in church instead of accidentally moaning the wrong name.

GRIFFIN ::

Getting kicked out of a bar was not new for Griffin Rollins, but getting kicked out just after nine o’clock was impressive. Or embarrassing, if he had any shame left, but he didn’t seem to, not with the way Thomas’ lecture was just rolling off his back. He could probably recite the speech back to him at this point - y’know, when he could string a sentence together without slurring. It probably meant something that the barkeep knew to call Thomas - his roommate, yes; his buddy, sure; but decidedly not a loved one, not his significant other - but that was the nice thing about being this hammered: Griffin could blissfully ignore all the flashing neon signs from the universe that he was, in fact, still a fuck-up.

That same universe was spinning by the time the men reached their front door, the dark-haired one making a valiant effort to retrieve his keys only for his hand to be impatiently batted away. As they stepped into their place, Griffin moaned out a curse - or, he thought he did, but it didn’t sound like himself. And it was coming from the wrong direction.

His eyes flashed over to Thomas’ face, trying to decipher what the fuck was going on, and he looked as far from happy as he had when he’d showed up at the bar, but now the daggers weren’t being directing at Griffin. The blonde was looking past him, and it took a carefully-executed turn to discover what he was looking at: a naked hottie riding a cock in Pearson’s bed. Griffin’s liquor-fogged mind took what felt like an eon to realize that was bad, for two reasons. 1) The naked hottie was not Thomas’ sister, and 2) The naked hottie was Pearson.

Griffin’s fingers immediately fisted in the front of Thomas’ shirt, partially in an attempt to keep him exactly where he was, and partially to keep himself upright. “Hey, hey, Tommy, hey -”

THOMAS ::

Getting the call shouldn’t have come as any sort of surprise. After all, Thomas took more phone calls regarding Griffin’s health and well-being than he’s sure Griffin’s own mother ever took. Picked him up from enough bars, enough gutters, even football practice when they were teens and his mom conveniently ‘forgot’ him at the school. Typically, Thomas wore the eternal baby-sitter badge like a medal of honor - used it to badger and annoy Griffin into some semblance of shame when he was even a modicum of sober. Now though, when Thomas himself had been getting his feet wet at the bar, a young brunette with too dark lipstick and overly straightened hair, but big enough breasts to be worth his effort practically hanging off of his arm - now it was annoying.

Even when it was more tolerable, Thomas didn’t let Griffin think otherwise anyway, but still. The point still stands, he thought, staring at the doors of a crusty old bar that screamed ‘burn your clothes when you leave here’ and definitely had enough bikers and hookers outside to make your grandmother faint on impact. Convincing the bouncer to not knock his friend’s head in was simple enough, it was actually the waitress whom Griffin palmed on the way out that seemed to cause the most trouble - and by the time they were on the way back to the apartment, drunken hands pulling at the collar of Thomas’ shirt (and stretching out the goddamned hole), Thomas had almost begun his ranting on auto pilot.

A little, “You’re a real piece of shit, you know that? Like a fucking gutter rat. What the fuck were you drinking anyway? You smell like fucking paint-thinner --” The words died on Thomas’ lips, cheeks, ears and chest heating in a way that would make him worry that he’s finally going six feet under (and maybe he is, if his blood pressure could go any higher), and it reminded him of the time he got incredibly crossfaded at Brittany Deering’s party back in 10th grade and blacked out in her bathtub for a few hours, barely avoiding being puked and pissed on by fellow students in the same position as him. It took him entirely too quickly, Thomas’ body moving on its own accord, Griffin’s hands pawing at him like a cheap stripper, and Pearson’s wide open door looked like a gateway to Heaven, or at the very least a convenience store with the automatic slider-doors jammed.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Thomas’ voice didn’t sound like his own, but he supposed that it was difficult to even hear properly with all of the blood rushing through his ears, “I will kill you.” The thump in his chest had nothing to do with the fact that his best friend was clearly cheating on his sister with some...some fruity weirdo with floppy hair and stupidly blue eyes, but he was bound and determined to ignore that little fact - ignore the voice that said just tell him already and instead, encouraged the one that said, he’s got a nice neck for strangling.

“This is what you do when we’re not here? Fool around with discount Matthew McConaughey?” It definitely wasn’t a snarl, if you asked Thomas, but the clenching fist at his side, the one not hanging onto Griffin’s half-dead body, promised something lethal.

JAMIE ::

“Fuuuuck-“ turned into “Oh, fuck” entirely too quickly for Jamie’s liking. He was off that dick quicker than he’d moved in a long time. Hastily looking over his shoulder and seeing Thomas’ face twisted in rage should have killed his hard on in an instant, but it didn’t. He’d blame that on how hot Damon was and how far along into their hookup they’d been. “Fuck off Thomas, you two were supposed to be out, anyway!” He stepped into his underwear quickly, pulling on a pair of pants hastily as well. “What the fuck?” Danny was dazed, understandably confused that all of the sudden their hookup for two was now a foursome. Then, “Is that your boyfriend?”

“No!” James replied immediately, forcing a look of disgust at the mere thought of it. Or at least, his best attempt. “You need to go.” There was no salvaging this hookup, unfortunately, and he was just glad that he’d managed to make it to his own room so sweatpants were readily available.  Damian had apparently gotten the point and was quickly getting redressed as well. Thomas was still mad, and honestly it was probably best to just let him be mad instead of trying to placate him. Trying that would only make it worse. Nah, he was gonna let the anger run its course and then let it go. But then it hit him, and all the color drained from his face. “You can’t tell her.” The thought of that happening made him want to throw up, and he moved a little closer, eyes wide and a little scared even as he tried to hide it. “It was nothing. Just blowing off some steam, and it doesn’t even count, you wouldn’t have known because you two were supposed to be out!” His gaze turned accusingly to Griffin for a second, and it didn’t take long to piece together what had happened. “And besides, Griffin is drunk, clearly we have bigger problems to worry about.” Yeah, pull focus. Dawson could sneak out while the two of them had a serious talk with Griffin about substance use. Jamie’s gaze flashed to Griffin again. He couldn’t decide which one of them to look at at this point. Griffin was most likely to take his side here, so he probably shouldn’t have just thrown him under the bus.

GRIFFIN :: 

Griffin managed a small, two-finger salute to Jamie’s date as he passed by, clothing in his arms - or maybe it looked like he was putting a gun to his own temple, which also seemed applicable. His eyes followed the stranger’s naked ass until it disappeared into the bathroom, just in time to detect his name tumbling into this shitshow. “‘m always drunk,” he shot back in what he genuinely believed to be a solid defense. “Dsn’t count.”

God, he just wanted to be on a horizontal surface, even if it was Jamie’s bed of iniquity, and he considered making a move toward it until his last brain cell insisted that his deadweight was likely the only thing keeping Thomas anchored in place. If he could just defuse this disaster of a situation, he knew the blonde would get him into his own bed. Or the couch. Or at least onto the kitchen floor with a towel for a blanket.

“Tommy, Tommy, TommyTommyTommy, listen ... listen t’ me ... your sisterdsn’t have a dick!” he offered, finally releasing the other man’s shirt in order to wave his hands in a messy what’re-ya-gonna-do gesture. By his incredibly flawed, alcoholic logic, if Pearson wanted to fuck a dude - and understandably so, dudes being as hot as they were - he couldn’t go to Thomas’ sister. No harm, no ... whatever.

THOMAS ::

Thomas steadily ignored his own feline-reminiscent hiss as Hunky Brewster walk-of-shame’d his way out of their apartment, passing it off as some sort of controlling his temper, or silently letting out a prayer to the God he didn’t believe in but heard enough about from Jamie. The heat turned to ice in the pit of his glorious, god-like abdomen after every single ‘Tommy’ that left his friend’s mouth, “Griff, shut your fucking mouth -- and you,” He practically spit, pulling both himself and Griffin closer to the blonde in the bedroom like a boat and a buoy toward the middle of a storm, “It’s not cheeeeeeating as long as you don’t get caaaaught.” Thomas mocked his friend as the storm seemed to settle inside of his own chest, thunder and lightning begging to be let out through some sort of violence.

“I’m going to kick your ass - and then, I’m going to call my sister, and she’s going to come over here and kick your ass, you stupid, useless moron.” The dark feelings seemed to bubble and burst all in one quick second, and if Thomas could have taken a breath and really looked at the situation for what it was, and the jealousy that seemed to eat at him, the conflict likely could have been avoided. But the thick stench of sweat and alcohol from Griffin, and the same aroma from Jamie’s room seemed to override any sort of consideration that Thomas could have provided. And with that, he dropped Griffin like a sack of fucking potatoes and darted for Jamie’s face, hissing when his hit landed. Thomas was too busy cradling his knuckles to know if he’d even hit his damned target, but the swelling would be worth it if he’d gotten to cause Jamie some sort of agony he’d have to live for the next few days too. Once the blind rage passed and Thomas was left shaking, clutching his wrist like grandmother’s prized fucking pearls, he finally bit words for Griffin instead, “I don’t care that my sister doesn’t have a goddamned dick - she’s - he spouts all of this holier-than-thou bullshit that he doesn’t even follow! He just committed sodomized, pre-marital sex! And he wasn’t even on top!”

The words felt hysterical, and the laughter that left Thomas wasn’t one filled with any sort of joy; it was hollow and empty, or maybe not empty, but only filled with envy and anger. He darted for Jamie again, hissing between his teeth.

JAMIE ::

James wasn’t sure when he realized that there wouldn’t be any coming back from this. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Thomas this pissed, and that was saying something. Hell, in the past, he’d helped talk Thomas down from being this pissed at someone else. Now the fury was totally directed at him, and he fought the instinct to move back as Thomas dragged himself and Griffin closer. He wasn’t a coward. “It’s not cheating if I don’t even know his name!” It was. It absolutely was, but he’d learned from the best how to navigate with a broken moral compass. This was quite literally a situation of how what someone didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. He’d done this for years, from hurried hookups behind the bleachers to an empty dugout, sneaking out at midnight and meeting someone he’d used to go to Sunday school with. It was a sin, sure, but he wasn’t gay. He went to confession after every incidence, and he was forgiven. It was just that simple.

“Don’t,” he warned, his expression going from worried to murderous. “Tell her, Thomas, and I swear to God.” Might as well add taking the Lord’s name in vain. Today couldn’t possibly be any worse. In that moment, the bubble burst. It occurred to him briefly that Thomas could have set Griffin down nicely, but then it was too late as he felt pain exploding across his cheek. Thomas packed a pretty decent punch, even if he didn’t much look like it. For the moment, he resigned himself to it, didn’t hit back even though his fist balled up by his side and he wanted to. He’d stumbled back after the initial punch, but he regained his footing. And then Thomas was talking again, listing off all the big sins, sins that were meant to be kept in private, in the confessional booth, just him and the priest. That alone made him itch with rage, but he held back. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he didn’t really want to hurt Thomas. But then he laughed and it all went to hell. He surged forward at the same time Thomas did, and they collided. “Fuck. You!” He threw the next punch, hoping to land a matching shiner, putting his full force behind it. He didn’t care anymore. “It doesn’t count as pre-marital,” he growled, “if it’s not a possibility to marry.” He still couldn’t make himself use the right pronoun.

GRIFFIN ::

Now, granted, he had been wanting to lie down, but hurtling to the hardwood without any warning hadn’t exactly been ideal. Griffin laid there, still more or less grateful to be off his feet, listening to an argument that probably would have seemed a fuckton more intense if it hadn’t sounded so underwater. He even missed the first punch, arm thrown over his eyes as he willed the room to knock it off with the spinning - but he did here the telltale sound of two bodies colliding, and forced himself up onto his elbows. And then onto his knees. And then onto his feet.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey -“ The man had exactly one word in his vocabulary at the moment, which he repeated as he stumbled over to a mound of limbs made up of his two best friends. He was already pushing it, with the walking, but the attempt to pull one of the guys off the other almost knocked him right back of his feet. He survived, though - until a rogue fist that may or may not have been meant for him caught him right in the gut. He reeled back, taking one, two, three steps towards the door before doubling-over and vomiting in the corner of Jamie’s room.

Well, it had been inevitable. At least now that part of the night was over. “HEY.” There he was. Still just as unsteady on his feet, but with renewed frustration, Griffin threw himself back into the mix.

THOMAS ::

"You probably wish you could! I'm pretty fantastic!" Thomas screamed over the man, attempting to shove Jamie, and petulantly ignoring Griffin until the guy practically took an arrow for him, projectile vomiting in the same space as them. "Nice fucking job - punching the fucking drunk. Want to talk to God about that too? You like things in your ass and you hit your best friend!" 

Griffin managed to get between them and Thomas couldn't help the muttered, "You fucking reek, dude-" that left him, his arm reaching out to swing wildly at Jamie over the other man's shoulder. How ridiculous, they must have looked, three grown men throwing punches and shouting expletives at one another in the middle of the night. If the neighbors banging on the wall were anything to go by, they probably agreed with him. 

"Don't touch me - don't you fucking," Thomas hissed as a spare slap managed to get him right in the nose, rust immediately dripping over the bottom portion of his face, "I'm going to tell her so fucking hard, you son of a bitch," He whined around the hand cupping his nose and mouth, practically shielding himself with Griffin's larger body. "I can't stand you two - I - it smells like shit in here," The babbling continued, even though he really couldn't smell anything with his nose full of blood clots.

JAMIE ::

“I was on top!” Jamie insisted, shoving back at Thomas. He really hadn’t intended to punch Griffin, but he was the one who’d ended up throwing himself in between the two of them. What did he think was going to happen. “I was aiming for you, asshole!” His blood was really boiling right now, and Jesus, how had this night managed to go so horribly wrong? It had started out hot and fun and devolved into, well, whatever this shit show was.

“Oh, come on,” he groaned as he heard Griffin lose his dinner in the corner of his room. Add that to the list of shit that he didn’t want to deal with. He’d be cleaning it up, of course, because Griffin clearly wasn’t in any state to, and he didn’t want his room to smell like puke while he waited for Griffin to sober up and handle it. The one last slap was admittedly satisfying, but he had to calm down. He had bigger problems on his hands. He had to convince Thomas not to tell her.

It occurred to him way too quickly what he had to do, the only way he was going to appeal to Thomas’ sense of reason. “Fine!” He shouted numbly. “Tell her. But who else do you think is going to be with her? We break up, she ends up an old fucking spinster for the rest of her life. Is that what you want for her? Huh?” He gave one more shove to prove his point. “You tell her, and you break her fucking heart. And for what? Because I’m getting a little on the side that she can’t give me? I’m the perfect boyfriend, Thomas. She won’t get better than me, and you know it.”

GRIFFIN ::

Somehow managing to dodge what could have been a really unfortunate elbow, Griffin was perfectly content with standing between his roommates now that things had boiled over and resolved into a simmer; still hot, still able to burn, but not quite as active. The shouting, he was pretty desensitized to. Between the three of them, someone was perpetually shouting at the other two, or two were shouting at each other, or two were shouting at one (he was usually the one, and he was usually inebriated). It was a special occasion when the trio were all shouting, though, which is normally what got the neighbors involved. Griffin reached over to land his fist on the wall three or four times, acknowledging their neighbor’s participation.

His back was turned to Thomas, who, though taller, was probably less of a real physical threat. As a result, he missed the bloody nose, but he did catch sight of Jamie’s split lip and the scarlet mark that was going to bloom into one hell of a bruise. “Better tell ‘er ya got mugged,” he suggested, finally throwing over a glance over his shoulder to survey the damage that was Thomas’ face. “Botha you. Ah, fuck, are you bleedinon my shirt?!”

Griffin was quiet for the rest of Jamie’s tirade, mostly because this was not his fight, but also because he was on both of their sides, so far as thinking the other was a royal fucking asshole. Kate was the closest thing he had to a sister, and he didn’t love the idea of her getting fucked over, but he would have been smart enough to not let an asshole like James anywhere near her to start with. And furthermore, he’d mean what he’d said, inarticulate as it may have been; monogamy was a societal construct, sexuality was a spectrum, and this was probably the best case scenario for both of them, really. Kate got to seriously level up in the boyfriend department, and Jamie got a doting woman on his arm for the sake of appearances.

“I think,” he opined on a big sigh, running a hand through his hair as though he was going to lay down some actual wisdom - but that wasn’t his brand. “I think that we should get nachos.”

THOMAS ::

Clicking his tongue, Thomas swished the copper around in his mouth, glaring daggers at his roommate. He probably looked like he'd been bobbing for apples in fake blood at this point, but it felt oddly satisfying to look a little deranged compared to his normal well-kempt state. "Should I let her be with a cheater and a liar anyway? Yeah, real fucking smart, asshole --" Even with Griffin's knocking effectively breaking the tension, the neighbors yelling back through the wall, there was something still boiling under the surface. 

Something volatile, something that went by the name Jade. 

"You don't need any nachos," He murmured, somewhat numb, yet manic. Auto-pilot had taken over, his palm running over his face, and Thomas wiped the mess on the back of Griffin's shirt. Eyes never leaving Jamie's, Thomas slowly slipped forward face impassive, blank. "One more thing," Oddly calm, Thomas reached out with a gentle, blood-smeared hand and laid the palm of it on Jamie's shoulder. He let the moment settle, let the silence take over for a moment, until it was bordering on confusing, before throwing himself forward and headbutting the man in turn, immediate pain blossoming behind his forehead, and spraying them both with his now-unclotted nose. "Bitch," he snarled under the waterfall of blood, before groaning and taking a hasty step back toward his drunken friend, ready to use him as a shield again if need be.

JAMIE ::

"Why, so you can throw 'em up in a different part of my room?" He usually had the decency to at least make it to a communal space, and yeah, James was still a little pissed that he needed to be taken home at all when the two of them had planned to be out and about for the night. It was a valiant effort, trying to get the two of them back on the same side so they could stop with the arguing, but deep down, Jamie knew this wasn't the kind of fight that Thomas would just get over. He'd fucked up, big time, and now instead of facing the music, he was doubling down. It had all seemed so innocent, harmless even, when it was just him and the flavor of the night. If what's his name that started with a D hadn't been so fucking hot, maybe this whole thing could have been avoided.

He ventured a glance at Thomas, partially hating himself for the fact that he'd messed up such a pretty face, but a small little part of himself was satisfied at the damage done. Served him right. How fucking hard would it have been to just turn around and go somewhere else for ten minutes? By that point, the hookup would have been kicked out, and they could all pretend that it had never happened. Jamie could have been blissfully ignorant, and honestly, that was one of the most underrated states a person could be in.

When Thomas put a hand on his shoulder, he tried to keep his expression neutral. As much as he hated to admit it, that hand on his shoulder had grounded him many times in the past, and its presence was all tied up with feelings of comfort and safety, feelings he definitely wasn't getting just now. Sure as shit, next came the sucker punch in the form of a headbutt, and the "Ow!" was almost equal parts pain and surprise. "Asshole!" he groaned, and he couldn't even get to him without Griff getting involved again. "Griffin, just get out of here. This is between me and him, and some of us can't take a hit." Unfortunately for him, all of the hits were starting to take a toll.

GRIFFIN ::

“Ahhrgh, God damn it,” he growled as he felt Thomas’ hand smear his bodily fluids down his back, rolling his shoulders in discomfort before yanking his shirt off, rolling it into a ball and tossing it out into the hall. At least the blonde’s shirt was just as fucked, he noticed, attention on the slightly taller man as he approached James. Good, fine, Thomas would say his final piece and then everyone could just - “Fuck!”

Before he could fully process the sudden movement and the accompanying spray of gore, Thomas has slipped behind him and he was staring down Jamie, the youngest of their dysfunctional little crew. “C’mon, Jay, jus-go lay down,” he muttered, intending to give a good-natured push to the kid’s chest, but still intoxicated enough to not know his own strength. The adrenaline he didn’t realize had been streaming through his system turned it into a fully aggressive shove, and Griffin felt the muscles in his shoulders tense as some part of him anticipated retaliation. Blue eyes flashed. “Go ta’ bed, Jamie.”

THOMAS ::

"Suck my dick, Pearson--" Dark pupils dilated at the shove, watching with intense interest. It wasn't often that Jamie and Griffin disagreed wholeheartedly, or at the very least enough to get into a physical altercation. Usually it was Thomas gravitating toward the violence, toward harsh words that stung and bit at insecurities - usually he was the flint and steel basking at either of his friends' heels.

Still, it ignited something in him, to see Griffin shove the younger man, even if unintentionally. While they all agreed to disagree at who really was whose best friend, Thomas liked to believe he was just as much of a fire as he was the glue keeping them together. "You shoved him, man," The words were weirdly tense, odd even to himself, in the quiet of the room. "You gonna take that?" Blue eyes flick to Jamie's.

JAMIE ::

For a second, he considered it. He wasn't going to just lay down, but getting himself to a different room, where they kept the cleaning supplies probably, and doing something else was probably the best way to handle this. But then he shoved him, hard, as if to make sure to drive his point home. "Seriously?" he demanded, his own gaze accusing.

"You're seriously gonna take his side? I woulda come to get you too, and then none of this would have happened." He shoved back, not knowing or caring if Thomas was close enough to catch him. "You go to bed. I have someone else's mess to clean up, as usual." The puke in the corner of the room wasn't going anywhere, after all.

GRIFFIN ::

As he stumbled back into Thomas, Griffin’s ego maintained that he never would have budged if he’d been sober. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn’t; really, how often was he truly sober, so there wouldn’t be exactly an opportunity to find out. If he’d been sober, he also probably wouldn’t have lunged for Jamie, taking him out at the waist and forcing him to collapse onto his own mattress. “Said, LAY DOWN,” he repeated, scrambling to straddle the man’s hips, and trying to grab at his wrists. “Enough!”

The word was paired with a death glare to Thomas, who may not have been pinned under him, but only because it was physically impossible for Griffin to sedate both of them at once. “You’re both douchebags!”

“I called you,” he muttered after a moment, still slap-fighting James for submission. “You were busy.” It was completely lost on the brunette, of course, that his current position wasn’t terribly different from the way they’d stumbled upon Jamie a few minutes before.

THOMAS ::

Despite the urge to cover his throbbing nose from any more of the crossfire, Thomas stood back from the other two men, eyes dark and irritable. Thomas was the reliable one - was the man you called when you needed someone to get you out of a mess, or pick you up at the bar on a Friday night at 9pm because you were so drunk you couldn't see straight. He was the ultimate provider, the best friend any guy could ask for. Clearly, Griffin appreciated that more than Jamie.

"Am I interrupting?" He blinked his eyelashes prettily, words mocking as they left his lips. His shirt was the only one left on, and it was...incredibly sticky at that point, if he was being honest. With a grimace, he plucked at the collar, hissing when his hand came away sore. He would be bruised and battered, and rough the following day - no amount of cover-up was going to suffice to hide the giant bowling ball of a bruise on his head, or the massive swelling of his nose. He'd talk like a fucking Lollipop Guild member for a week at this rate.

"I went to pick up this clown while you were out here blowing some guy." Thomas stuck his chin up, defiant despite the angry look sent to him by Griffin, who was oddly being the sensible one (not that Thomas would ever admit that. To anyone. Ever.)

JAMIE ::

James was honestly taken aback by Griffin's sudden lunge in his general direction. He was stupidly effective for being drunk, and Jamie wanted to be mad about it, but he was suddenly distracted by how Griffin was just on top of him like this. He blamed that on the surprise of it all as well. Griffin never would have gotten him into this position if James had seem him coming.

Ignoring the insult, he frowned when Griffin mentioned that he had called him. "Well, what the hell." He could have sworn he would have noticed a phone call from his best friend, but apparently hookup's dick game was too strong. Usually he was much more reliable than this. "Shut the fuck up, Thomas," he said, and the only reason that Griffin was still on top of him was because he didn't want to hurt him on accident. Again.

His face hurt and he wanted to either drink or take some ibuprofen or both and clean up the fucking mess that was still in the corner of his room. "Christ, get off me, Griffin." Why was he the one being restrained instead of Thomas? Thomas started this shit. He gave a considering expression before going for Griffin's ticklish spot instead, hoping the sudden distraction would give him some leeway to get out from under him and back toward his original target who couldn't keep his mouth shut to save his own damn life. "I didn't blow him, I was on fucking top!"

GRIFFIN ::

If he’d been able to read the other man’s thoughts, he probably would have chuckled, the low one that was particularly disarming when it was paired with his trademark sideways smirk. Sure, they’d blame it on the “surprise” and not the decade of running tackle drills before and after school, five days a week. Drunk as he was, muscle memory was a hell of a thing.

That, and puking up a stomach full of bourbon.

“Wash up, look like a fuckin’ horror movie,” Griffin ordered in Thomas’ general direction, not moving a muscle, not just yet. If the two of them were going to lunge at each other again, he could sit right there all night - or at least until the hazy, spinny kind of sleep that went along with being this sloshed came to claim him. “You, jus’ stop talking,” he muttered, quieter considering that James was only so far away from him. “Nobody cares ‘fya sucked a dick, Pearson.”

When he eventually slid from the younger man’s waist, Griffin moaned in relief at the feel of a mattress beneath him, bribing his body to move with the promise that if he stretched out just the slightest bit, he’d finally be able to close his eyes. “Why’s yer bed so nice?”

THOMAS :: 

A flash of something dark flickered over Thomas' face, his struggle with authority desperately trying to rear its head. With a calming breath, he tried to pull that little voice inside of his head that sounded like his dumb, quack sister that reminded him about breathing exercises and adrenaline. After counting to 10, Thomas gingerly pulled his collared shirt over his head, the polo wet with moisture and a stink of dried blood. Scrunching his nose, he dropped the offending garment into Jamie's hamper, on top of clothes probably covered in some dude's jizz. "Looks like you have a roommate tonight," He pointed out helpfully, making his way toward the bathroom.

He was back a quick moment later, having procured the small cleaning caddy from under the bathroom sink, including the hand-held spot cleaner. It was uncanny, how many times they'd had to clean up 90% alcohol-vomit, and Thomas hated that he'd grown so used to it after 15-odd years of knowing these morons. "Take your shoes off, you heathen," Thomas spit at Griffin without much effort behind it, focused instead on cleaning the puddle out of the corner of Jamie's room.

After scrubbing for a few odd minutes, and one glare in Griffin's direction later, Thomas picked himself back up, knees aching with the effort of the movement. He was getting old. He stored the cleaning products back in the cabinet and found himself leaning against the doorframe when he re-entered the room. "What food do you want, Griff?" Thomas asked, placated and quiet after the fall-out of so much drama. Getting his face bashed in was a reset button, apparently. Annoying, but effective. "I'm not dealing with the whininess when you're hung over tomorrow."

JAMIE ::

"He started it," James muttered in response when Griffin told him to stop talking. It was juvenile, but he couldn't help it. This whole thing could have been avoided about six ways to Sunday. If Griffin hadn't gotten drunk, if Thomas hadn't immediately started raging about it, if he hadn't brought someone home in the first place. It was pretty clear that they were all partially to blame for this shit show, but the petty side of him wanted to be the one that ended it.

He still had no idea if Thomas was going to tell Kate, but that seemed like a problem for future Jamie. For now, he just wanted to wallow in his failed hookup. He figured that since he hadn't even gotten the chance to get off from this one, there wasn't really a need to do any sort of confessional. Jamie scoffed at Griffin's next words. God cared if he sucked a dick, which also, he hadn't. "Don't tell anyone." These words were directed at both of them, quiet, yet deeply meaningful. He didn't know what he'd do if people found out. Hell, his two best friends had just found out, and he wasn't exactly sure what to do about it.

Jamie had no idea where Thomas was going when he headed out of his room, and a part of him wondered if he was going to make that phone call. Anxiety prickled all over his body, and he had to remind himself to breathe. A moment before he was going to get up and follow him, Thomas came back with the cleaning supplies. A begrudging "Thanks," rolled off his lips as he sat up in bed to address Thomas' next words. Rolling onto his knees, he took off one shoe and tossed it out into the hallway, landing with a thunk. The other came next, tossed in the same general direction. "PB&J?" he asked Griffin, knowing that it'd be best to go for something easier on the stomach.

GRIFFIN ::

This was how the world worked for Griffin Rollins, the way it had always worked. He did what he wanted to do, it made a fucking mess, he smiled and fumbled his way into some unintentional wit, and it all ended up being taken care of ... usually by one of the two bloodied men who were currently milling around the room, no doubt accomplishing just that. He didn’t open his eyes to check. That was the way he preferred it, really; if he never fully noticed just how much other people did to save his ass time after time, he never fully needed to thank them.

“Nachooooos,” he moaned at the mention of food, knowing full well he’d likely pass out before anything that required delivery would arrive at the apartment. As it was, he was already slipping in and out of consciousness. The bed smelled like sweat and Jamie’s shampoo, the sortakinda expensive stuff he got frustrated at Griffin borrowing when his own had run out. It still came from the drug store, but from the higher shelf; not the 3-in-1 body wash bullshit that Griffin smeared through his own hair.

“Go shower,” he mumbled to both and neither of them.

THOMAS ::

With narrowed eyes, Thomas turned to retreat into the kitchen, slapping together a few hastily made sandwiches (which were still entirely too neat, cut diagonally into two separate pieces) and brought them back to the bedroom, just in time for Griffin to begin bossing him around again. "What, this isn't doing anything for you?" Thomas pointed to the bloody mess on his face, chest, and arms.

Rolling his eyes, Thomas passed Jamie the plate, their hands brushing as he released the paper to him. Always something unbreakable, when Griffin was involved. Thomas would have loved to frequently use real plates and cups, but when a bumbling, drunk idiot was constantly falling around your apartment, it was better to have something that couldn't accidentally kill you. "If anyone needs a shower here, it's you. The landlady lives 5 miles away and I'm sure she can smell you from here."

Despite his deflections, Thomas really did need a shower. His blood had become caked and sticky on his skin, drying into flakes that made him want to scratch at his skin like a mangy dog. "Just...eat." With a tired sigh, Thomas ran a bruised hand through his hair, closing his eyes for just a moment. How did he always end up back here?

:: END ::