#my leopard geckos caught on right away

[scoriarose]

It's difficult to know what our beloved pets want; doubly so when they have no facial expressions and can't make many sounds.

Here's a quick and easy way to communicate with your snake! Specifically, finding out where they'd like to go! I start out by playing a game I call "airplane" where they are the pilot and my hand flies them around. At first they usually don't realize they are in control, and I usually end up slowly flying them into a wall. When they look away from the wall I'll fly in that direction. Some catch on faster than others, but at a certain point your pet will realize, "Hey, I go whatever direction I'm looking in!" and instead of being a helpless passenger being carried, they actively decide what they'd like to explore!

Learning this is great as it not only gives them a way to communicate with you and feel empowered, but it will also encourage them to try to communicate even even not being held. It's a great way to let your snake explore if you can't let them go on the ground and free roam.

In this video you can see a very simple example of how this helped me know where Scoria wanted to be put in her enclosure. She directed me where she wanted to go, and once I had her in the correct place, off she went!

Once your pet realizes they can communicate with you, it's important to pay attention and reward their behavior (so long as it will not put them in danger) to reinforce that this action works. They might even try other actions to communicate specific things- Scoria made up her own gesture for "I'm tired and want to go to bed for the night." She'll dig with her nose at the palm of my hand- and only does it then! I'm curious if anyone else's snake created their own "words".

(This is different than even Scoria burrows between my fingers. Maybe times she will sweetly nuzzle them too. That's play and affection! Palm digging is only for when she's done for the day, I think she was trying to communicate she wanted to burrow to her den to sleep, and me putting her to bed enforced this, so we both know her doing this action results in her being put back.)

[inbabylontheywept]

The Motherfucking Lizard King

No one at work trusts my boss. 

He's smart. He works hard. He's not trustworthy. He hasn't actually fucked anyone at work over, but he's ruined his last two marriages with affairs, and got dumped by his third fiance when he wouldn't sign a prenup. The fact that we all know this is just a hazard of working in a small town. 

Anyway: The thought process of the people in the lab is that if he screwed over his first wife, and his second wife, and was probably planning on screwing over his third wife, it would be insane for him not to screw us over. After all, what kind of idiot treats their employees better than their spouse? 

I dunno. His kind, I guess? He's had a few chances to fuck us over, and he hasn't taken them. Opposite really. When our parent company was doing furloughs, he stayed in the office almost a hundred hours, talking and talking and talking his way up the corporate ladder. And in the end, no one at our site got furloughed. 

He's pulled strings like that before. And it baffles me, right? Because it really does make zero sense. He'll move the heavens and the earth for us, but his wife and kids are afterthoughts. It feels like any moment, he's going to look into the mirror and realize how stupid that is. It feels like I'm betting on him making the same stupid mistake again, and again, and again - like it would be less cynical to believe he was, eventually, going to stab me in the back. But he hasn't yet, and as far as I can tell he's been making that mistake for close to fifteen years, and it's already cost him everything it can. If he was going to learn, he would have by now. 

So my position on him is that if he wanted to date someone I cared about, I'd warn them off. I don't trust him there. But I tentatively trust him to be my boss. Maybe one day he'll stick the knife in and twist, and everyone will say Ah, Babs, we warned you, but for now, I accept that he's doing a very predictable, very irrational thing, and I've made my peace with it. 

---

My job has glue traps. 

No one likes the glue traps, but we don't have a lot of options. Poison's banned by state law, spring traps are banned by company safety, and several non-lethal options tried in the past failed to work. The mouse problem can get pretty bad if it's ignored, and there's some real health hazards in that. Our site has never had a positive hantavirus test, thank God, but the big base about a half hour away has. That guy's gonna be on oxygen the rest of his life. 

If a mouse gets caught, we just euthanize it. But more than mice get stuck. Lizards can wander into those traps too, and the people working there have different feelings about the lizards. They don't pose nearly the same kind of risk mice do. They're chill little guys, and they keep the moths away, and they're just 

You know. They're friendly. There's something to be said about walking into a room, and hitting the light switch, and seeing two little guys on the wall start to do pushups as soon as they see you. 

People used to just euthanize the lizards too, but I had pet leopard geckos as a kid and I couldn't take that so I wound up googling how to free animals from glue traps. Now, when a lizard gets stuck in a trap - which happens once or twice a week - I get some vegetable oil from the breakroom, and a little plastic fork, and I'll spend fifteen to twenty minutes just kind of gently prying the little guys out. 

I have a team of technicians that help me operate one of the larger machines. They're real blue collar guys, ex-airforce, and they make me look like a little kid. Being an engineer means they'll look to me as a leader sometimes, which is a wild experience. And I started helping the lizards for my own conscience, but one of the crazier consequences of it has been that it seriously boosted my leadership cred. Because those guys see me, and they go: Hey. If he's willing to fight for a lizard, he's gotta be willing to fight for me. 

I cannot overstate how nice that is. Most engineers that want to make a change to a maintenance practice, or try an upgrade, they have to work their asses off to get the techs to buy in. But I can just ask. They already trust me to do good. They know I'm new, and they know I'm not the smartest engineer in the building, but they also know I'm the one who gets lizards out of the glue traps. 

And just because of that, they're willing to follow me. 

---

My boss has a meeting every month or two. It's typically basic house cleaning stuff - reminders about routines we've gotten lazy on, and updates on future projects. Maybe some warnings about problems coming from higher up in the company.

People are, in my opinion, a bit too cynical about the meetings. It stems from people not trusting our boss, which again, I understand, because it would make so much more sense if he wasn't trustworthy. It's a testament to the man's incredibly unhealthy priorities that he is. But as we made it to the end of the meeting, one of bullet points was: 

Do NOT mess with animals in the building. 

So I looked at my techs, and they looked at me, and when he got to the point, he was so scathing I actually just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. He said basically that he'd heard some reports about someone in the building handling animals that found their way in and got stuck, and that he just wanted to emphasize how insanely inappropriate that was, not to mention dangerous, and that if he needed to speak to anyone about it again, there would be severe consequences. 

I was willing to just take the shame and move on. I was. But one of my techs is old. Old enough he could've retired two years ago. And his actual literal goal is to one day get angry, yell at someone, and storm out. That's how he wants to retire. So instead of biting his tongue like everyone else, he stood up and said: I hate the glue traps. You hate the glue traps. We all hate glue traps. But we've all sat here for years, ignoring the little things that get stuck in them, watching them die, and then Bab's comes in, and he is the first person in decades to give enough of a shit to start pulling the lizards out. And I don't want him to stop. 

Get humane traps or shut up but we are not going back to the old way of just letting things starve. 

And my boss actually froze up. He got all wide eyed and stared at Marc, and then the other techs jumped in, and there was a very small but intense rebellion in the meeting and my boss kept trying to interrupt while getting absolutely bowled over by this gang of angry middle aged air force vets, and eventually he just went 

I will speak with Babylon about this afterwards! After! And then he will speak with everyone else, but I have more points to cover. 

So they went silent, and my boss rushed through the last five minutes, and we all adjounred. The techs really didn't like that I was going in alone - they thought our boss was going to try and shout me into compliance. Marc in particular was like, Look, if he tries bullying you, stand your ground, and if he threatens anything, just come get us, and we'll give him hell. 

So armed with that, I went to my boss's office. I sat in the chair across from him, and he kept his composure for maybe five seconds before just flopping back into his chair. 

I had no idea you were saving lizards, he said, but I'm glad you are. I always hated seeing them die in the glue.  

I wasn't expecting that. I was about to ask him what the comment from the meeting was about then, but he answered that before I even got the chance.

A snake got into the building last week, and - someone picked it up and chased a coworker around. Turns out that coworker was severely afraid of snakes, and now it's a shitshow. We're a small site, and now I can't ask those two to work together anymore, to say nothing about how the snake fared after all that. Being upset about that is a reasonable thing, right? 

And he gave me a look like he actually wanted an answer, so I said Yeah, totally, chasing a coworker around with a snake is a dick move. Especially if that coworker is already afraid of snakes. 

And he said Exactly! and then we sat there a few moments longer. He looked so incredibly tired that I did, actually, feel kind of bad for him. And then he somehow managed to sink even further into his chair, and said

Look, I know I'm not a good guy. But I'm not evil. I'm not some sort of crazy asshole that's going to demand that everyone watch lizards starve to death. When you go back downstairs, could you try to pass that on? That I'm not evil? 

I said Sure because it wasn't a hard request, and he looked relieved. I actually made it halfway out before I realized I had a question. 

Who grabbed the snake? I asked. 

Not supposed to talk about it, he said. But whoever comes to mind first is probably right. 

ThatGuy? I asked. And he looked me in the face, nodded his head yes, and said No. 

---

The techs seemed a little disappointed that they didn't get to storm the boss's office, but were otherwise in good spirits. They were actually a little bit embarrassed to hear about the snake story - apparently, it wasn't much of a secret. It'd just slipped their minds because it happened three weeks ago. 

We did maintenance after that, the same basic repairs we did every week. The meeting had been stressful and it was a relief to work with my hands. When the parts were reinstalled, everything cleaned and smooth and ready to go, Marc found me again. 

You know what the lesson of today is? he asked. And there were quite a few answers to that that I could have taken - from don't assume the worst of people to be careful with how you spend your trust - we all need it more than we think. 

But instead I said what? because I wanted to hear what his answer was going to be. 

That I got your back, he said. Then he clapped one very, very large hand on my shoulder, gave it a good squeeze, and walked back to dosimetry lab.

---

The next day, Marc gave me a package and told me to open it in my office. I was suspicious, but I followed the request.

Cardboard gave way to a small baggie, obviously full of fabric, which opened to reveal a t-shirt that read

"I Am the Motherfucking Lizard King."

I looked at it, I loved it, and then I got an idea. I went to my boss's office and knocked on the door. When he opened it, I asked him if he would be willing to allow something very unprofessional to happen for morale building purposes.

How unprofessional? he asked. I held the shirt up in answer. He gave the shirt a short look over and snorted.

You can wear it on weeks without customers, he said. Which just so happened to include that week.

I'll pass on that it came with your blessing, I replied, and he looked oddly relieved.

Thanks, he said. And then I went downstairs.

---

The techs were very, very happy to see the shirt. And while my boss's reputation remains in tatters, and probably will be until he moves (or dies), the next time there was a meeting, there was quite a bit less complaining about how mere presence. Which is, I guess, a start.

We'll see if he squanders it.

[just-jordie-things]

Choso headcanons :)

okokok here's some random stuff i came up with.

choso would try very hard to learn how to do your hair for you. he usually has his hair up in buns, right? so he'll happily do that for you. but also will take the time to learn how to braid, or use tools like a curler/straightener to style it the way you like. even on days you don't necessarily style it, he also loves to just brush it for you. i think he'd find the action sweet and intimate.

always lets you try to food he makes (when eating in) or orders (when eating out) and would never get annoyed if you eat more of his food than your own. in fact i think he'd find it adorable <3

100,000,000% will get a matching tattoo with you. big or small, meaningful or silly/cute. if you suggest it he's booking an appt with his regular artist right away.

also he has a favorite tattoo artist that has done most of his sleeves and some others on his back and legs. choso loves tattoos. what he likes most about his are that you like to mindlessly trace them from time to time when you're lounging around together.

doting partner. never slacks off on the chores. never makes you feel like you're doing most of the work. often surprises you with a perfectly clean house and dinner cooking on the stove when he's home before you and has time to spare.

and speaking of doting. he's there for anything you need company for. a nail appt? he's chatting with your technician and playing pokemon go. grocery shopping? without fail, what a great excuse for walking around and holding your hand. gotta run to the pharmacy? he's happy to drive you and wait with you. no matter what you're doing, he's grateful to spend time with you.

he's more perceptive than most people give him credit for. but he can read your expression in a second. even if you're quick to go blank, he'll catch that frown or wince or shock before you've even realized you'd made that face out loud. if it's stress, he's holding your hand or wrapping an arm around your waist. if you're reacting to something that just happened but are trying to be subtle about it, he'll smirk and follow your line of sight to see what had caught your attention. wordlessly, the two of you will practically gossip between yourselves.

ok last one on my mind. choso is a reptile person. he would definitely have a beardie or maybe a leopard gecko or a ball python or something. and he'd love that little thing. coos and baby talks it when it eats well or is just sittin in it's enclosure basking. if you're not a reptile person he'd be understanding and keep the enclosure somewhere that you won't see often and get creeped out. but if you are a reptile person he would be ecstatic to see you spend some enrichment time with the little creature. (i'm totally not projecting myself here hehehe)

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Hello there hope you are well. Just asking, in your opinion, what a good snake would be for a first time owner. Or any reptile really! I would love a little scaley friend but don't want to stress myself or an animal out by biting off more then I can chew.

Hello hello, this is a very good question!

Mandatory disclaimer first thing: don't take my word as gospel, and do enough research beforehand to make sure the reptile you choose is right for you!

With that out of the way -

Cornsnakes: Cornsnakes are the most popular beginner snake in the US, and that's for good reason. They have very forgiving care requirements and stay at a manageable size, and they're usually great eaters. This is my top pick for most beginners.

Kingsnakes: Kingsnakes are a close second, for most of the same reasons as cornsnakes. They can be a bit bitey though, simply because they love food soooo much, but other than that they're a great fit for many people.

A python from the Anteresia genus, especially a children's python: I always recommend an Anteresia python to someone who wants a ball python for their first snake. A children's python will be very similar to a ball python, but will have a more outgoing temperament, much more forgiving care requirements, and usually will be a much better eater.

Recommended with reservations: Generally I would recommend these snakes to someone who already has snake experience, but they can work as your first if you do your research.

Ball pythons: Ball pythons are often touted as a beginner snake, but most long-term snake hobbyists agree they're a solid intermediate simply due to the fact they're often inconsistent eaters and that keeping their needed combination of high heat and high humidity can be difficult for beginners. You can do it, just make sure you're prepared to do it right.

Hognose snakes: Hognoses are fantastic; they stay at a small size, are beautiful, and have very fun personalities. My reservations with them are that they can be very sassy, and although they rarely bite, they can be intimidating to a beginner. They also tend to be pretty picky eaters, but rock-solid once they're established. It's also worth noting they are technically venomous; their venom isn't medically significant to a human, but I have been bitten by them and it's not fun.

Sand boas: I would recommend Kenyan sand boas or Rosy boas without hesitation if it wasn't for the fact that they will stay hidden most of the time, and that's can be very disappointing to a beginner.

If you want a lizard:

Leopard geckos or African Fat-Tailed Geckos are my go-to recommendation. Small, easy care requirements, beautiful colors.

What NOT to go for:

I wouldn't recommend any arboreal snakes (like Green Tree Pythons/Emerald Tree Boas/ Amazon Tree Boas) to beginners due to their difficult care and bitey personalities. I also wouldn't recommend popular but difficult snakes, like Brazilian Rainbow Boas or White-Lipped Pythons, or any giant snakes like a Boa Constrictor or Burmese Pythons. Steer far clear of any wild-caught snakes, and stay away from snakes that aren't often bred in captivity, like water snakes, tiny grass/ringneck/red-bellied snakes, pine snakes, black racers, and similar. Obviously, also no hot (venomous) snakes!

[pinkpsychic]

Jingle Bells, Reptiles Smell

little birthday fic written by me to @kaymcgivemeacall, my favorite person in the world to talk to about frogs and all that jazz. And just everything. I love you always! And I can’t wait to meet you and we can hold a frog together one day💚 (or gecko wink wink). Happy birthday Sam!

——————————————————————————

Round cheeks of a troublesome twelve year old blew against the glass of the lit up tank, eyes scanning the colorful fish as he made farting noises. They swam around oblivious, mostly scurrying further away when the boy’s clammy hands tapped on the tank too hard. The blue haired cashier in the background simply rolled her eyes as if he were a simple fly buzzing around the store. She looked like she wasn’t getting paid enough for the disturbance that was the Tozier boy.

“Richie that’s disgusting! Do you know how many people have been touching that fucking glass and now you’re putting your mouth all over it? And what are you trying to do - entertain them? They’re fish!” The probably sweet (but fed up with her job and capitalism) cashier lady put an earbud in from her ipod as the screechy voice of Eddie appeared. Messy black curls bounced lightly on his head as Richie turned around with a grin, addressing the brunette behind him.

“I put my mouth all over your mom.”

“Oh real fucking funny. I’ve never heard that one before -”

The other losers were wandering the pet store with curiosity, tuning out the two bickering boys as always. Bill, Ben and Beverly were playing with a small kitten’s paws as she swatted at them playfully. Mike was on a mission to look at prices of dog food (and scanning over all the ingredients because dogs deserved the best). Stan was eyeing a greenish yellow bird in its cage once he was done rolling his eyes at Richie and Eddie’s antics. (He swore they made a scene in any damn place they went). The bird cocked its head with interest at him, and it caused his mouth to curl up with a softness. “Aren’t you a pretty thing, huh?” It blinked at him and he simply took that as a, thank you. Oh how he loved birds.

The plan of the day was that - Maggie and Wentworth Tozier would take all of the kids to the pet store to browse (and mainly because their son Richie begged that he wanted a pet for Christmas and would die of loneliness if he didn’t get one), and later on they would all be having a sleepover at the Tozier household. It took a while to convince Sonia Kaspbrak that, no Eddie wouldn’t contract some sort of disease from any of the animals. Eventually she let her son go and Maggie and Went drove them all together to the store.

“You’re not getting a spider Richard! Lord knows what would happen if that thing got loose in my house-” Maggie in the car previously. “

“But mom I would be the coolest bitch in school!” Richie.

“DON’T SAY THAT WORD.” Maggie.

They all made it to the store in one piece, hence the screaming by the fish tanks and everything.

Richie grabbed the short boy’s hand once he stopped hissing at him, attention no longer on the fish but rather to adventure further down the isles. All kinds of things presented themselves. Guinea pigs, ferrets, reptiles of sorts. After some mumbling from Eddie and Richie scanning all the pets excitedly, the black haired Tozier boy blinked before zooming his eyesight in on a certain little guy. Tucked away along the back of the store was its cage, a warm light overhead its home and a water bowl next to him. He had pretty spots and a very extravagant tail (Richie thought). Its tongue was peeking out as it stared directly at the boy.

He was in love.

“Why don’t you pick a cat or something? That way it can run away from you if you’re acting stupid around the house-” Eddie snickered, oblivious to the lack of response until Richie physically pushed his eyesight towards the cage. The brunette cursed about the sweaty hand on his skin before his eyes gaze caught up, and he shut up. They both blinked at the creature.

It was a leopard gecko.

The two stared a bit in awe, Richie especially enamored by the gecko’s appearance and how cool he looked. Radiant. Eddie thought about how - the creature was just as weird and interesting as, well, Richie. It was meant to be perhaps.

“Well,” Eddie started with a dumb grin as he gazed at those beady eyes. “He’s a lot more quiet than your trashmouth. I think that balances things out.” Richie’s face was beaming. It seemed he had found his new friend to take home. Leopard gecko, Eddie approved.

After a lot of convincing and promises that, “I’ll clean his cage mom! I swear I will! And I’ll take care of him good! How can you say no to that tongue?”, Maggie and Went were swiping their card at the register as the rest prepared to take Richie’s new buddy home. All of the losers bounced around him excitedly. In the car ride home they all shouted out possible names (one being Def Leppard which wasn’t approved), back and forth until the ultimate winner was -

Spike. Named by Richie, inspired from The Land Before Time.

He came to adore Spike, Eddie right behind him. One night a few weeks later, the brunette remembers Richie calling the little gecko their “son,” to which he blushed a cute shade of pink. Beverly Marsh would create little hats for Spike, Stan would let him crawl up his chest quietly as he read books, and the others would make it a tradition to poke their tongue out at him every time they came.

And when Richie and Eddie would curl up and rest against each other reading superhero comics, eyes drooping every so often - Spike would lay between them on the blanket, oblivious to the world. The snow would rage on outside with harsh winds as they all cuddled up together.

And it was the perfect family. 🦎

End

——————————————————————————

[pennywisethedancingclownofderry]

Happy Holidays @give-me-food-and-ninjago !

I was your secret santa partner! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to find the time to familiarise myself with your oc's and I wasn't able to find a way to stick Morro in there anywhere so I hope this will suffice! It's under the cut! (Nevermind I can't figure out how to cut it off sorry everyone)

Thankyou to @coco-jaguar for hosting the event and affording everyone this wonderful opportunity!

Cole peered in through the glass, grimacing when he was forced to wipe away the misting of breath that condensed against the tank’s visage.

“Are you satisfied with your purchase?” Pixal’s voice was cool, yet it held a trace of amusement as the nindroid watched the gecko’s movements alongside him.

“Yeah I am! Look at the little guy!”

The ‘little guy’ in question was currently sleeping inside the faux cave that served as a shelter for the reptile.

“So, what will his name be?” Cole turned to face the android, forehead creased.

“I don’t know really, haven’t thought about it.”

Despite the lack of forethought alluded to in the previous statement, the gecko hadn’t really been a spur of the moment purchase, though it may have seemed like that to the other residents aboard the Destiny’s Bounty. Cole had been considering getting a pet for months and had spent many a late night on his phone, researching pet enclosures and care, hurriedly shoving the phone under a pillow when he heard footsteps patrolling outside the bedroom door.

Luckily, the assorted ninja no longer shared a bedroom, meaning that he didn’t necessarily have to run his plan by the others. However, that wasn’t to say that he had kept his newest acquisition strictly a secret, it wasn’t long after he’d decided on a pet that suited him that a certain curly-haired motor mouth had caught him comparing the prices of tanks on his phone.

‘Pets R’ Us’ was offering a tank for about $90, however ‘Petz Mart’ was offering one of similar specifications, except that it was priced at $150. The only difference? ‘Petz Mart’ had a warranty that lasted about a year longer than its competitor.

A weight landed on his shoulder and Cole jumped as his assailant offered his opinion. “I think you should go with ‘Petz Mart’, can’t beat a longer warranty!” Cole flinched around, staring at his friend’s freckled visage. Jay’s grin split nearly from ear to ear as he watched the earth ninja sputter and choke on his own spit.

“Sooooo, what are you doing? Looking for “Rocky 2 point-“

Cole slammed his hand against the lightning ninja's much maligned 'mouth of lightning' with a hiss. “Shut up!” he glanced about the empty kitchen, concerned that more busybodies would suddenly make themselves known.

He glanced back at his friend and was grateful to find that, as opposed to being offended, Jay seemed to be nothing other than amused. Cole could feel him smirking behind his callused palm and one gingery eyebrow ascended higher and higher up his forehead.

Jay then did the predictable, and utterly disgusting. Licking up the earth ninja’s sweaty palm, the broad grin stretched to near nightmarish lengths, painting his face in a sadistically humourous light.

Cole retrieved his hand with a noise of deep disgust, eyebrows scrunching together.

Jay noticed this movement and couldn’t help but quip, “I’m just saying! I didn’t think you needed any more pets than that lovely pair of caterpillars on your face!”

Said caterpillars then attempted to take their relationship to greater lengths as they pressed further together.

Jay laughed, noticing Cole’s glare. “Oh come on! It’s a joke! What are you doing anyway?” he inquired, not very subtly changing the subject.

Cole sighed. “I’ll tell you if you promise to keep that big mouth of yours shut!”

Jay responded, for once, nonverbally, by miming zipping his lips shut and then, somehow, throwing away the zipper.

“I want to get a pet, okay? I’ve been looking into it lately and a gecko seems like a good fit to me! They sleep a lot and-“

Now it was Jay's turn to physically silence the other. “Okay! Okay? I get it, I don’t need the whole rant.”

Cole turned his eyes downward, “Well isn’t that ironic?”

Jay chose to ignore, or simply didn’t hear the thinly veiled insult. “Sooooooo. . . What are you going to call it?”

Cole blinked back at him. “I don’t know, not yet at least. I’ll figure it out when I meet them.”

And so, Cole’s hypothetical pet remained unnamed, yet even when he did first lay eyes upon the miniscule reptile, still he had no idea what to name him.

Kai was the next to learn about the new acquisition to the ninja family and as he came across the gecko he came up with what he considered to be the most creative and cutting edge among pet names.

“Scales!” he claimed. “Scales is a great name for a lizard!”

Cole frowned, nowadays that seemed to be his default expression. “But we already know a Scales and I don’t think we know him well enough to go naming pets after him!”

Kai nodded, giving his version of what was considered to be understanding. “How about . . . Godzilla, then?”

Cole fixed him with the coldest glare he thought possible. “No.” He stated, steely tone leaving no room for argument.

Zane was the next to come across the gecko, exploring his friend’s room in the hunt for dirty washing.

“Why don’t you name him something with cultural or personal siignificance? Like after the first Spinjitzu master or your father?”

Yet again Cole shook his head. He couldn’t really see any reason to name a lizard after the first Spinjitzu master.

Besides, 'Lou' seemed a stupid name for a gecko.

Nya's take on the situation was just as unhelpful as she attempted to list the unnamed gecko’s physical features as a way of selecting a name for him.

“Spots?” She drummed her callused fingers across the bedside stand Cole had selected to hold the tank.

Cole didn’t even bother to lift his face from where he had mashed it into his pillows, which were luckily softer than those afforded to him on Chen’s island.

“No.”

Nya hummed, peering into the tank.

“Webby?”

Cole frowned. “Webby?” he repeated.

Nya turned and began pointing with her right hand at the junction between finger and thumb on the left.

“You know, like the webbing between your digits.” To emphasise the point the water ninja began to enthusiastically waggle the fingers on both her hands.

Okay, she was definitely doing jazz hands at this point.

Cole groaned. “He’s a leopard gecko, he doesn’t have webbed feet!” he snapped.

Instead of being offended, Nya grinned. “Sorry, not everyone’s a lizard expert, you know?”

She looked back at the tank, peering intently at the gecko, who stared straight back.

Eventually the water ninja was the one to lose the staring contest. Straightening, Nya turned once more to the earth ninja.

“Scales?”

“Your brother already suggested that.”

Nya’s grin flickered as a look of disgust crossed over her features.

“Well, that’s one great mind I don’t want to think alike with.”

Lloyd didn’t so much as offer advice on naming the gecko, but rather sat on Cole’s bed with a book of baby names. The earth ninja had no idea why he had such a thing. When asked Lloyd offered little to no explanation. Stating that he’d bought it for personal reasons.

Of course Cole could respect such a thing, and as such he didn’t question the green ninja any more.

“Aberforth?”

“No.”

“Abraham?”

“No.”

“Adam?”

“No.”

“Then what do you want to call it?”

Cole couldn’t honestly answer. He could only hope that the next person he asked would be more helpful.

“Sensei Wu?”

The old man didn’t offer any verbal answer, instead fixing his aging eyes on his hopeful student.

“I’m trying to find the right name for my pet.”

“Hmmm.”

“And no one’s really offered any good advice for what I should name him.”

“Hmmm.”

Cole blinked. “You’re not going to help me either, are you?”

The elderly teacher’s lips curled upward into a fond smile. “No, Cole. But I believe in this situation it is best not to offer one’s own opinion but to allow the other to formulate their own.”

Cole hummed in response, fixing his eyes on the aging boards of the land bounty.

The two sat in silence for hours, the elder deep in meditation as his student pondered his gecko. Eventually, Cole looked up to meet his sensei’s eyes.

“Ferdinand.” He mumbled, eyes fixed on the teacher's face. “Ferdinand sounds right.”

A small smile began to form on the teacher’s face. “And is that the name you think fits your pet?”

Cole smiled as he thought back to the gecko. “Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.”

Cole peered through the pristine glass of the tank.

“Ferdinand?”

The gecko’s eyes blinked from inside the tank.

Cole smiled. “Ferdinand it is then.”

[smallmediumproblems]

It was surprisingly easy to find a pet shop in the Arcade. The difficult part was finding the one they were looking for. Almost as soon as they’d left Spider Empire, they turned a corner to find a neat looking storefront with a sign that read Petland over the door. Nick headed straight for the entrance, but stopped when he heard Jon make an uncertain noise behind him.

“Not that one,” said Jon.

“Is it dangerous?” Nick asked. He took a preemptive step back from the store.

“Well, since none of you are allergic to cats, not especially,” said Jon, “But it won't have what you need.”

“Of course not,” Nick sighed. “Alright. Lead the way.”

They continued to wind through the halls of the Arcade apparently at random. Jon paused every now and then to get his bearings as the layout of the place changed, once or twice turning around completely with a frustrated little scowl. The longer they walked, the more pet stores they passed. Fish ‘n More had a tank that spanned the front of the store, and which, upon closer inspection, seemed to make up the entire interior as well. Static Man insisted that they stop at Too Many Legs to admire several six-legged golden retriever puppies pawing at the window. There was one store that had a gaudy assortment of crystals, medieval weapons, and gold coins littering the front display, under a sign that read DRAGONS! in a friendly cartoon font. To everyone’s dismay, it was closed.

“Should we be worried about this?” prompted Morgan as they passed a store labeled One Big Snake. “Maybe it’s trying to throw us off.”

“No, this is good,” Nick said. “I think it’s more like targeted advertising. We’ve already made a couple purchases, so the Arcade knows we’re not here to cause trouble. If it’s overheard what we’re looking for, it could be trying to help.”

“Boy, it sure is important that we get a frappucino for this ritual, huh Nicholas?” Static Man added loudly. A couple of turns later, a cozy-looking Starbucks appeared on their right.

“Considering the fact that it moved a whole city block to get here, I’d say that’s a pretty sound theory,” said Jon. “Mind you, that added a substantial detour to our walk.”

“Relaaax, drinks on me,” said Static Man, leading them inside.

“Do I want to know where you got money from?” Nick asked doubtfully. “Or where you’re keeping it?”

“It’s cool, Starbucks usually takes teeth,” said Static Man. “So, y’know. Ka-ching! Pop ‘em right out like a pez dispenser.” To demonstrate, he rummaged around in his face and pulled out a tooth with a small click. He held it out to Jon, who wished for the second time in his life that his career involved fewer people trying to hand him teeth.

Nick cornered Jon as they were waiting for their coffees. “Round two?” he suggested. Jon could taste the start of his statement already, a treacherous door and a maddening landscape behind it.

“You sound like you’re enjoying these as much as I am,” said Jon, settling in at one of the rickety tables.

Nick gave a short laugh as he sat across from him, then another more uncomfortable one as he mulled this over. “It’s weird, it almost feels familiar. You… feel familiar. Is that normal?”

“It’s certainly not good,” said Jon. “I don’t think it’s me so much as the Eye. You’ve probably stumbled across it before. I’m genuinely surprised you haven’t been caught up in one of the Fears by now. Mine in particular would be too easy for you to fall into, I think.”

Jon was struck with the sharp, warm sensation of being realized. He could feel Nick starting to put together that his rumpled blazer and secondhand mug weren’t just an affectation to make his supernatural nature seem human. That, if anything, the opposite was closer to the truth. Nick wanted to ask him how it had happened; whether it had crept up on him slowly, or if it was something he’d done to himself. Jon didn’t quite know how to explain that it had been both.

“So there’s more of these things,” Nick asked instead.

“Each one more terrible than the last,” said Jon. “That place belonged to one of them. I told you, spiders are a problem where I’m from.”

“And they’re all, what, fighting each other? Working together?” Nick pressed.

Jon laughed mirthlessly. “Depends on the person. Some of us are almost palatable. Others will tear your skin off just to say hello.”

Nick went very still for a moment. He seemed to come to some conclusion as to which kind Jon was. Jon was very aware of his eyes shifting across his scars. “Do you need help?” Nick asked gently.

“Probably.” Jon followed the statement with a very tired smile. “I can’t have it too bad if I’ve survived this long.”

“I mean it,” said Nick, “I don’t know if you’re trapped, or being blackmailed, or what, but whatever it is, I’m sure we can help. That’s kind of what we do.”

Jon didn’t need to look up at Morgan and Static Man to know what he was being offered. He wondered how many other people Nick had spirited away like this, with promises of freedom or adventure or just plain companionship. It didn’t take much effort for him to picture a scenario where he would have said yes. It wasn’t even too different from his current one.

“Thank you,” he said. “Really, I- You have no idea how many of my problems that would solve. But I have people I need to get back to. There’s someone I’d very much like to see again.”

Nick nodded. “I understand. Still, we’ve got two more stops- offer’s on the table if you change your mind.”

The Arcade had shifted again by the time they left, and Jon led them back in the direction they came from. To no one’s surprise, the shops had all changed as well, though they maintained the same ratio of pet stores.

“If this place is so intent on bringing you what you want,” said Jon, sloshing his macchiato around the flower mug. “That does raise the question of why you actually need me. I’m sure it would figure out where you need to go eventually.”

“Intent is what I’m worried about,” said Nick. “We haven’t had the best track record with sentient landscapes. And ‘eventually’ could take years. We did our research. Plenty of people come to shop in the Arcade. Not a lot of them get back out.”

“After we heard that this place would have what we needed, the first thing we did was try and figure out why so many people went missing,” Morgan chimed in. “I thought people were dying of starvation, but there’s no shortage of resources. None of the survivors talked about roving monsters, or rules you have to stick to to avoid being punished. By all accounts, it’s just an infinite maze of stores.”

“Maze being the operative word,” Jon realized aloud.

“It’s dead simple, when you think about it,” Morgan continued after a sip of her coffee. “It’ll bring you anything you could ask for in a shopping mall, except an exit.”

Jon stopped to concentrate on the layout in a moment of panic. “But it does have an exit. I know where it is.”

“And that’s why you’re rolling with the cool kids,” said Static Man, shooting Jon a finger-gun with his free, un-frappuccino’d hand. “The shops will come to us. We just need you to get us out of here when it’s time to leave. Plus, we can give you a makeover on the way out, right Nick?”

“That’s between you two,” said Nick. “Assuming we can find a JC Penny that accepts teeth. How close are we to this place?”

Jon turned to face the other side of the Arcade hall. “Here, actually,” he said. Across from them was a small storefront done up in pastel, with a display painted onto the front window that read Advanced Pets. His head buzzed with little details about the interior, a wash of comfortingly mundane facts. "It looks quite safe."

“Sick. Hey, you think there’s a Beginner’s Pets?” Static Man asked no one in particular as they crossed the hall. “Or maybe Simple Pets.”

“Band name,” Nick said immediately.

“Band na- dammit!” Morgan swore, half a second too late. Nick laughed, pulling out a cheap notebook and adding the phrase “Simple Pets” to a column under his name. There were matching columns for both Morgan and Static Man. Static Man’s was as long as the other two combined. Jon was struck with an image of Tim, Martin, and Sasha gathered in the Archive breakroom, joking about some piece of office drama over lunch. The sound of Sasha kicking her legs off the countertop she was perched on. Tim sitting backwards in a chair, tipping forward so it balanced on two legs, then back down to safety. Martin’s hands gesturing wildly, careless and mesmerizing.

“Everything alright?”

Jon blinked the memory away. Morgan and Static Man had already gone inside, and Nick was waiting for him in the doorway.

“It’s fine,” said Jon.

It was as fine as it was ever going to be.

The interior of the shop was an orderly mosaic of mint green and orange, soothing after the Arcade’s dim lighting. It was laid out more like a book store than a pet shop, with little alcoves lining the room and a few islands down the center aisle with clear plastic walls and no lids. The instrumental break of a motown song played distantly over the speakers. Most of the pets were recognizable; Morgan was hunched in front of a tank full of axolotls, watching them follow her finger as she traced it across the glass. The closest center island was a roomy enclosure of rabbits. Jon could make out guinea pigs and leopard geckos in the islands further back. As he drifted towards a stack of cat cages, he picked out a few specimens that were less familiar. The next alcove over had terrariums full of something that looked like a turtle with incredibly furry limbs. A section of the store towards the back was blocked off with thick velvet curtains, and had a standing sign in front that read Quiet area! Please do not disturb the ghosts. The music congealed into Patti LaBelle singing Danny Boy.

“You folks let me know if you want me to introduce you to anyone,” Jon heard from the middle of the store. He leaned around a metal rack of squeaky toys to see a late middle-aged woman wearing a pair of chunky plastic earrings and a romper that looked like it had been made from a bowling alley carpet. She was lounging against the register countertop, staring openly at Static Man. When he looked up at the sound of her voice, she gave him a coy smirk and pretended to be preoccupied with a ferret that was draped over her shoulders. This seemed to catch him off guard, but he quickly recovered, striking what Jon could only assume was supposed to be a casual pose next to an iguana enclosure. Jon shuddered.

“We’re looking to buy a pet rock,” said Nick.

The shopkeeper glanced between the four of them. When she looked at Jon, he noticed that her name was Nellie. “You all gonna share just the one?” she asked, the hint of a smile lingering in her voice.

“We’re not what you’d call a conventional household,” Nick replied.

Nellie bounced up from the countertop with a laugh. "Thank goodness! Those things give me the heebie-jeebies. What kind of rock are you interested in?”

“What kinds do you have?” Nick asked hesitantly. It seemed like the appropriate thing to say. Nellie led the party to an alcove lined with shelves, each one bearing at least a dozen rocks in all different shapes, sizes, treatments, and colorations. Most of them were wonky river rocks in varying shades of black and gray. A few towards the back of the shelves were glowing faintly. Some seemed quite valuable, including part of an amethyst geode and something that Jon identified as an absolutely massive uncut diamond. There was a little standing desk off to one side littered with googly eyes and Sharpie markers.

“Take a look around, they’re not shy,” said Nellie.

Nick looked between her and the rocks, and plucked a specimen from the nearest shelf. It was large and gray, with pockmarks that made it look volcanic. “I guess, this one?” he said.

“Hmmmm,” said Nellie. She scratched under the ferret’s chin and squinted at Nick suspiciously. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Ok,” said Nick, forcing a patient tone, “Which one would you suggest?”

Nellie shrugged. “It’s not my rock. But I do know a bad match when I see one. Pick one that speaks to you. These fellas are looking for a forever home, just like everyone in the store.” At this, she looked pointedly at Static Man, batting her eyelashes. Static Man did something horrifying with the multitudes of teeth that protruded from his face like shrapnel. Nellie smiled back.

“Right. Little help, guys?” Nick asked, turning to the others.

Jon tilted his head slightly at Nellie with a small, concerned frown. “Do you want me to…?”

Nick looked panicked. “Help me pick one out,” he clarified quickly. “Please.” The four of them went to work inspecting the rocks and presenting them to Nellie, progressively less and less sure of what they were looking for as each offering was dismissed. More accurately, three of them went through this process while Static Man flirted with her. Jon eventually found himself turning the same rock over and over in his hands, listening in idly on their conversation.

“You didn’t have anywhere to be today, right?” Morgan commented, reaching across him for a small black rock that was keening pleasantly.

“That’s a good question,” said Jon, half to himself. His watch - which he’d neglected to take off while he was dozing in the breakroom - read 5:17. Still a couple hours before anyone might notice he was gone. “Does time work the same way, here?”

Morgan made an unworried noise. “Who knows. That’s one hazard we don’t usually worry too much about. One of the perks of not having someplace to get back to.”

“Not… Not at all?” said Jon, “You just do this all the time?”

“Pretty much,” said Morgan. “We’re not homeless, we do crash on Nick’s couch whenever we need a day off. But mostly, yeah, we just do stuff like this.”

“That sounds exhausting,” Jon marveled.

“It can be,” said Morgan. “Better than being trapped in one place.”

Jon wasn’t sure what kind of expression his reaction had translated to, but whatever it was drew a long, sympathetic look from Morgan. “Mmmh,” she hummed gently. She set her rock down and leaned on a shelf. “You too?”

Jon paused. He nodded.

“You mentioned an archive,” said Morgan, “Is it just you, back home?”

“No,” said Jon, “No, I’ve got… well, not friends, exactly. I know, that sounds bad, it’s… Well, it kind of is. The Archive, not the people. They’re the only thing worth staying for.”

“Always are,” said Morgan.

“You were all alone, weren’t you?” Jon asked. The parts of his situation that Morgan found familiar were painting a clear, bleak picture of what she’d escaped to be here. The dark places in here eyes were filled with more long, quiet nights than she cared to count.

Morgan studied him with the same serious appraisal she’d been giving the rocks. “Watch out for that. I hope you find your way out. But until you do? Don’t be alone.”

They both turned their attention to the other side of the alcove, where Static Man had dragged Nick in as a reluctant wingman. Nick was desperately trying to focus on the rocks while still making the appropriate comments on whatever Static Man was saying.

“Even if you end up stuck with dorks like these,” Morgan said fondly.

She turned back to the shelves as Static Man continued recounting the time he and Nick had fought a tribe of cyborg motorcycle centaurs.

“And then I was like, ‘Hands off my friend, you gas-guzzling son of a bitch!’” he exclaimed, and grabbed Nick’s shoulder for emphasis.

“That still doesn’t make sense,” Nick complained, holding a rock with a vein of crystal through it up to the light. “They didn’t even use gas, they had biofuel. It’s the whole reason we were there, remember? Those bugs were eating all their crops.”

“It was a drought,” Jon corrected him. Nick and Static Man looked over in surprise. “The bugs were just there looking for water. The sonic generator you used to drive them away shook loose an underground spring that saved the plants. Sort of an adjacent solution, I suppose.”

Jon tensed, waiting for the inevitable backlash. Instead, Nick rounded on Static Man with a triumphant fist upheld. “I knew it!” he crowed, looking between him and Morgan. "And you were worried it would cause structural damage!"

"Uhh because it did?" she said, "That's one step away from a sinkhole, in my limited knowledge of dirt things."

"Hey, Archivist? New rule," Static Man grumbled, "You only get to use your psychic powers to help me win arguments, got it?"

 "I'll take that under advisement," said Jon, offering him an awkward smile. He tapped on the rock he was holding, and held it out to Nellie. “How’s this one?”

“Ohh, look at that,” she cooed. “It likes you!”

Jon stared down at the rock. It was not pretty, an unremarkable brown with a large black spot on one corner. The surface was smooth but not glossy, as if from wear rather than polish. It had an oddly comforting weight to it. Somehow it felt solid and dependable in a way that nothing else in the Arcade had. He could feel his own warmth reflected back towards him from how long he’d been holding it, magnified and radiating up his arm. My Girl by the Temptations had started playing over the store speakers.

“It does,” Jon said incredulously. “I don’t- how? Why?”

“How much is it?” asked Morgan.

“For him?” said Nellie. She studied Jon, eyes flicking between him and the rock. “I’d settle for one of those scars.”

Jon looked up. “Excuse me?”

Nellie traced a little crescent on her cheek where Jon had a scar from Jane Prentiss’ attack on the Institute. The ferret crawled up to nuzzle her fingers as she did so. “They’ve got a real arte povera vibe,” she explained, “I know a fella on the collector’s circuit who’d trade something good for one like that.”

“Riiiight,” said Jon, more a signal of acknowledgement than understanding. “If we’re ignoring the obvious questions as usual, am I allowed to haggle? There’s one on my leg that I’d like to be rid of.”

With an appraising sort of hum, Nellie leaned down and inspected the leg in question from a respectful distance. Jon clutched his rock a little closer.

“What’s wrong with that one?” asked Static Man, “Like, as opposed to the ones all over your face. And your hand. Man, you have a lot of scars, how did I not notice that before?”

“It’s a reminder,” explained Jon. “I suppose they all are, but this one’s different. It... hurts differently.”

“I gotta stop asking you questions, because every time you answer one I have, like, five million more,” said Static Man, a distinct tone of admiration in his voice.

“Nice to see that I’m not the only one,” Jon said dryly.

Nellie straightened to face Jon again. “I’m sorry, but I can’t budge on the price,” she said. “That one’s in deep. Now, the ones up top, you’ve got a few to spare.”

“Worth a shot,” said Jon, shrugging. “I’ll take it.”

He resisted the urge to squirm away as Nellie tugged down the neck of his shirt, revealing a scar just under his collarbone. She scrubbed at the edges of it gently until a sliver curled up into itself, then took the edge between two fingers and pulled. It came away to reveal smooth, unblemished skin underneath, as if it had never been there. Jon rubbed the spot with his free hand. He’d expected it to hurt. It just felt like peeling off an old band-aid.

“Thank you for that,” he said.

“My pleasure, dear,” Nellie said with a smile. She rolled up her sleeve around the ferret and carefully placed the scar on her shoulder, smoothing it down until it stuck in place.

“It looks good on you,” Morgan commented.

“Yeah, you look like a badass,” said Static Man appreciatively.

Nellie laughed. “What sweet young people you are! Are you sure there’s nothing else I can help you with before you go?”

“Actually,” said Nick, “There was one other thing. I was hoping to buy some pet food. We need birdseed and something for rats, mice maybe.”

Nellie gave him a knowing look. “The tailors. I thought it might be that one. You’ll want some fish food as well, everyone forgets to feed the fish. Tell you what, mister magic man. I’ll give it to you for free on the condition that you make sure that rock has a home after you’ve used it.”

“You’re familiar with the ritual, then,” said Nick. “You understand what I have to do to it?”

“It’ll survive,” said Nellie, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s a rock, not a champagne glass. I’ve just seen too many of the poor things thrown in the gutter after some hooligan has their way with them.”

Nick nodded. “I don’t see that being a problem. The Archivist seems pretty attached already.”

“Its name is Shirley,” Jon interjected. He was now clutching his rock in both hands and brushing his thumb absently back and forth over its spot. “And I’ll take good care of it.”

[mllemouse]

Had a stress dream where everything went disastrously:

Tried to emigrate to Argentina by claiming I was a migrant child worker being shuttled by a nonprofit group down to the country but got stuck in an airport line and never acquired a boarding pass, mostly because I didn't understand the plan of the guy telling me what to do; guy that played Vernon Dursley was next to me in line in a very smart suit

I fled the airport even though no one caught on to the scheme I was just so confused that I left.

At home, allegedly I was living in a dorm on campus situation with my friend, our other friend from school came over and told us about her breakup and terrible day while I tried to write to F on my computer. Somehow I broke my laptop, a tablet thing underneath, and the Microsoft word program I was writing in??? My friends decided to leave for a Cafe.

Then I ended up on a school trip to a giant fictitious mall where the branding theme was like bubbles, and got lost in the mall. This massive massive furniture store (?) Closed at 11am right after I wandered in and got thoroughly confused with the pastel rainbow lighting and busy, office-like atmosphere. I walked in thinking it was full of employees, everyone I could see was sitting or conversing at desks, and while it was visually cohesive like pastel Easter eggs, there was not written indicator of what you were walking into. I wanted to see if there was something beyond this place and the only way to go was through, so I walked through an entrance and into a little mockup studio apartment. It looked like a soft, dimly lit Ikea display, and a student on a laptop was asleep in the bed. They started announcing closing as I was leaving, but then I tried to get out and just see of there was a place behind this store to go amid the throng of people leaving. I found a little snack aisle with a checkout and picked out a pack of shrimp salad and crackers, getting excited over something I could 'o ly get in canada.' then exited the store with too many bags in tow.

I tried to make my way back to our bus and couldn't find an exit. I passed by a pet store and resisted going in, because really, all I wanted was more 'canadian' snacks, aka some animal crackers half-dipped in white chocolate? That's not even a thing but the mall was advertising it. I found a directory but everything was literally like eight feet in the air, I could t reach the paper foldout maps. Everyone had their pets. Oh, and at this point I was rollerblading. For some reason, I resolved to drive myself back because it was only two hours away and I had my car at school.

Then at some point I was rifling through a front closet trying to get something on the opposite wall filled out.. or turned on or off or something? But the closet wouldn't close. And I ended up falling, the contents of the closet came spilling out, and whatever I was doing was knocked off the wall. My boss came to see the clatter and fixed everything while I told him about my terrible day thus far.

At this point, I found a letter from Leandra Medine, whom I had contacted about my LAST visa, which I had never read before. When I looked up from the letter, my boss and I were outside and he said 'fixed it,' and a DINOSAUR came up beside us, like the thing he has fixed was the dinosaur?? It was just like big and lizardy but has flat, petal-shaped scaled that folded out around it's neck and down it's back. I thought how amazing it was that I got to live where we were resurrecting dinosaurs and petted it? I think I took a photo too, it had a goofy smiling face like a leopard gecko. And then I think I woke up.

[quillsandcauldroncakes]

Animal Instinct (Tony Stark x Reader)

Request: Hi! Could I request prompts 64 and 90 for Tony Stark? Thank you!

Words: 1836

Characters/Pairings: Tony x reader, Bruce Banner, Wanda, Vision, Animals

Warnings: A little angst, fluff, cursing

(Y/N) lounged in the comfy daybed nestled in the corner of the bright, spacious room. A book was resting on her knees and flowers danced in her hair. The room was designed to fit her personality – and powers. 

“Mr. Dougal, I already told you, I just fed you.” Her voice rang through the air like wind chimes.

“But Celia ate half!” A tiny voice buzzed from a glass tank on a stand next to the bed. 

“And I feed you both enough to split it,” She told the ornery Leopard gecko. A small humph sounded, along with the scuttle of claws on the basking rock. (Y/N) chuckled before returning to her book.

Animals and plants. That was her power. Talking to animals had come as naturally to her as it had with talking to people. Her parents had pulled her out of school at a young age, for the fear that their child would be ostracized. 

Not long after, she was sprouting flowers from nowhere. Flowers grew in any space they could. From the walls of her bedroom to the banister of the stairs. That was when her parents realized their daughter wasn’t just imaginative. She was a freak. 

   The first chance they had, they shipped her off to some facility for the mentally disturbed. It was there, seventeen years later, at the age of 26, did Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers find her.

   The two heroes showed up when they caught word that the headmaster of the facility was using some of the residents with gifts like hers to rob high profile banks. They saved her. Gave her a home. Gave her a reason to live.

She smiled to herself as she recalled that day when the metal door to her dark cell opened to reveal her salvation.

“Smiles like that might make someone think you're trying to seduce them.” An arrogant voice called from the doorway. She smirked. It took a long time for her to even be able to smile, let alone smirk.

“Only you, Mr. Stark. You’re the only one I’d try to seduce.” Flirting had only just become a part of her social arsenal. “Now, what is it you want? You never come to my room unless you want something.” She set down her book and leveled him with a steady smile.

“You know me too well…” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Listen, it’s for science.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s always for science, with you.” Nevertheless, she stood from her bed, the cat lounging next to her giving her a disgruntled glare.

“I was comfy.”

“Too bad, your Majesty.” The woman waved the Russian Blue off. Turning her attention to Tony she said, “Lead the way, Mr. Stark.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony? Mr. Stark makes me feel… I don’t know. Old.”

She chuckled and linked her arm with his as they walked down the hall to the elevator. “Just a few more, Mr. Old Man Stark.” He grunted at her.

Bruce was already waiting for them when they arrived at the lab. He gave (Y/N) a kind smile and thanked her for coming.

“So, what do we have in store for today?” She tilted her head. Bruce observed the slight color change on Tony’s cheeks as the bachelor watched his female companion, their arms still linked and he breast lightly brushing his arm. Bruce hid his smirk by taking a quick sip of coffee.

“Just some normal stuff, hooking you up to some machines and monitoring the energy waves around you when you use your powers.” Tony stiffly removed his arm from her hold. A small frown took over her face at the awkward action.

“Okay, need me to undress?” She asked Bruce. Next to her, Tony was as still as a board. His heart racing in his chest, hoping she couldn’t sense it with whatever power she had. She could.

“Yes, please. There are some gowns in the other room you can change into.” Bruce waved her to the door to their right. Giving him a nod, she made her way to the room, wondering what was wrong with Tony. 

Once she was gone, Bruce whipped around to smirk at Tony. The man raised a brow at his friend’s strange look.

“What? What?” Tony crossed his arms, shifting from foot to foot. He looked everywhere but at Bruce.

“You know what, Tony! You like her!” Bruce laughed.

“I do not!” Tony scoffed, “She’s like a sister to me!”

“Last I checked, brothers don’t usually drool at the idea of their sisters undressing.” Bruce sassed back.

Tony sputtered, searching for a comeback but failing. What could he say? That the girl he saved just a year ago ended up being the reason he got up in the morning? Just so he could see that sunshine smile and glittering eyes that lit up his world.

“Hey, man, don’t worry about it. She likes you, too.” Bruce reassured him, noticing the increasing panic in the genius’ eyes. Tony’s head snapped up.

“S-she does? Well- well should I- should I ask her out?” Never before had Tony Stark felt so nervous but excited at the same time. Normally, he’d be suave and seductive, but all of that was replaced with butterflies when he thought of the gifted woman.

“To be honest I could care less,” Bruce shrugged. “I just want these stolen glances and longing sighs to stop.”

“What do think this is? Some sappy, low-budget romcom? Or a fanfiction written by some lonely 19-year-old girl?” Tony tightened his stance, biting his lip.

“Okay, that was oddly specific, but no. Just tell her how you feel and get it over with.”

Tony was going to reply when the door to the other room opened. (Y/N) stepped out dressed in the stiff, boxy hospital gown, not showing an ounce of the curves Tony loved so much. She gave them a smile and hopped onto the examination table.

Bruce gave Tony a look and moved to the machine. “Alright, (Y/N), Tony’s going to hook you up and we can begin.” Tony’s head whipped to Bruce, who simply smiled. 

Tensely, Tony took the stick nodes and began sticking them to her temples and chest, careful not to touch her skin.

She noticed his aversion to touch her. When she linked arms with him, and now when he was fixing her up to the machine.

“Are you alright, Mr. Stark?” She asked, tilting her head to look up at his shadowed face. He grunted in reply, not an affirmation but not a denial. Her brows furrowed.

After setting her up and a few tests, (Y/N) was dressed again and storming to her room, slamming the door. It could be heard around the entire compound.

“Jeez, who was that?” Wanda asked as she enters the kitchen with Vision, Tony, and Bruce already there. Bruce just glared at Tony who only looked down at his bowl of cereal.

“Ugh! Who does he think he is? Every time I try to get closer to him, past flirting, he just shoots me down! Like, if you don’t like me, then just tell me! Rather than just letting me hope needlessly that we would ever be anything!” (Y/N) was pacing her room, animals watching her move from their tanks and perches.

“Maybe he’s scared of you?” Harper the crested gecko spoke.

“Or he’s just shy.” Nesta the Hedgehog piped in.

“Hah, Tony? Scared, shy? Not likely!” (Y/N) chucked a stuffed flower at the wall, a gift from the matter of debate. She paused, staring at that smiling cartoon face adorning the flower. 

“You like him, don’t you?” Mr. Dougal asked.

“I do… I like him a lot…” She hung her head. “I’ve never felt this way for anyone before. I’m scared of the outcome should I ever admit my feeling to him.”

The animals were silent as she slumped onto a beanbag chair, her head hanging back.

Hours passed with her staring at her ceiling, thinking about that damn billionaire, playboy philanthropist. Her animals had long abandoned her for their warm cubbies and hiding holes. The flowers growing has also closed up for the night.

A knock at the closed door had her finally looking away from the white ceiling, her eyes burning a bit. She hefted herself up and dragged her feet to the door, not really in the mood for company.

“Yes?” She asked tiredly.

“Hey…”

She stopped at the sound of his voice. She took a step back. 

“What do you want? Here to show me how much you actually don’t like being around me?” She sounded so pathetic to her own ears. But she couldn’t hide the disappointment anymore.

“Wha- no. No, of course not. Why would you- why would you think that?” He was shocked. Was that what she really thought of him? That he doesn’t like her?

“Well, you’re always stiff and awkward and you never want to… touch me…” She sniffed rubbing a hand over her nose, hiding her face with her hair. “I thought we were- I thought you wanted something more, from all the flirting… But I guess I was wrong…”

“(Y/N) …” Tony reached for her but hesitated. Would she even want to be touched by him? Maybe not… But… Tossing caution to the wind, Tony pulled her into a tight embrace. 

“I know- I know I’m not the most pleasant guy to be around. But you’re always so… caring. You care more about me than I do for myself. And I – I love that about you. I don’t hate you… in fact… “He took a deep breath, “I love you so fucking much.” He buried his face in her hair, refusing to see her expression.

“T-Tony…” Tears leaked from her eyes, dropping like liquid diamonds into his chest. His arc reactor seeming to glow brighter. Her arms constricted tighter around his torso, her lips pressing into his neck.

Her hair, running his fingers down her spine. Goosebumps rose in their wake. She shook her head, pressing herself closer to his body.

“It doesn’t matter anymore… Just knowing the man I love, loves me back… it’s enough.” A small smile grew on her face. His fingers brushed her cheek, drawing her to look up at him. His eyes were like fire and the intensity burned her to the core.

His eyes dropped down to her lips, his gaze causing her to lick her lips. Biting her lip, she rose closer to his face. It was all he needed to crush his lips against hers in a searing kiss that imprinted both of their souls.

Down the hall whispers and cheers could be heard. 

“About time!” Sam’s voice called. Breaking apart, Tony rolled his eyes and tilted his head up, talking into the room.

“JARVIS, set off the sprinklers in the hall.”

“Yes, sir.”

Screams filled the hall.

[wildtige429]

Haunted

@lynea-kureji​

Taken a week after Storm the Castle. Song matches the sadness.

‐---------------------------------------------------------------------

A week

A week has passed after his death.

To even the mood, heavy downpour rained down endlessly till the sidewalk drains are flooded. Raindrop pelted the window of an enshrouded room where a figure sat, knees pulled up to his chest, arms folded to pillow his face and tail coiled around his feet for comfort.

Toshi was given a whole week of break from school seeing that he and his mother need time to heal after his estranged father's death. Some friends, Star and Marco included, would come by to share their support and comfort to heal their pain and would leave gifts to cheer them up.

However, Toshi was depressed that his last words to his father were "I wish you weren't my father." Just as the explosion took over him.

I shouldn't have said that. He gripped his arms tightly until he could feel the tips of his claws digging into the flesh. His shoulders trembled when the urge to wept flooded his heart. He let the tears stream down his cheeks like small waterfalls.

"Toshi......,"

The call of his name halted his tears, rising his head up to meet the mournful face of his mother. They both share the same aura of grief and seeing the sight her son is in brought more sorrow into her heart.

She took a seat next to him and laid an arm around his shoulders, "I miss your father, too. Even though he left us, I still care for him."

"Toshi, whatever happened between you and your father before he died has nothing to do with what you did. Yes, you are not like your father at heart, but I do know is that... deep down...."

"...He loves us," Toshi finished for her. Tearing up, he couldn't stand a sob coming out of him, "It's not like...! It's not like I blame Queen Moon for making him leave us!! If he could just.....If he just let her mother and the king sign the peace treaty that day.....!"

Mint got up and held his face, tenderly stroking his cheeks and wiping away his tear with her thumbs. She wore a sad yet comforting smile and laid her forehead on his, like she always does when she and Toffee were together. And when she comforts him ever since he was born, "It is not your fault, or mine, or your father's. Sometimes.....the ugliness in our hearts would make us do the worst things before it happened just as we know it."

"But you and I are not alone. We have each other, your friends and somewhere....your father will be watching over you. And he will always be alive," she laid her hand on her heart, "In our hearts."

Her wise words have brought Toshi out of the dark, spotting a tiny twitch of a smile at the corner of his lips. Smiling, she planted a loving kiss on the top of his head, stroked his hair tenderly and prepared herself to go down the stairs.

"I'll be out getting some groceries," she informed him, "You can have a snack with the cereal your friends gave you."

"Sure, Mom!" 

She's right. Yesterday, he and his mom went out to where Ludo's castle was after the explosion and found his dad's coat and tie. In grievance, he watched his mother adorn his jacket and used his tie as a belt, and saw something in her that he never saw before.

Was it vengeance? Or was it.......confusion? He does not know. Whatever happened when she found the coat, he just had to approach her and hold her as they grief.

Thinking back, his father was supposed to be dead right? And yet......where is his body? Theoretically, his body is destroyed in the explosion so that makes it understandable.

But why does he feel.....scared all of a sudden?

Sighing heavily to himself, he jogged down the stairs and headed straight to the kitchen table. As the family tatzelwurm (a hybrid of a leopard and a gecko), Kurogane, watched him from the counter, he snatched a box of corn-flavored cornflakes, a jug of milk out of the fridge with his tail, a bowl and a spoon.

"Looks like we're having breakfast for snack huh, Kurogane?" He joked a bit to the mewing feline-esque lizard, who understood the joke. 

After he offered milk to the gecko cat, he filled his own after putting the cereal in and sat down. 

"Haaaaa, has to be corn," he sighed in slight frustration, begrudgingly taking some spoonfuls of the cereal, the sweet taste of corn making his tongue and stomach numb with dissatisfaction. 20 years of eating corn while in hiding in Mewni has made him hate the signature vegetable to the very core of his gut.

Sadly, he didn't tell his friends that he hates corn.

"Maybe I'll tell them I'm not into corn," he suggested to himself. There were two final cereal bits floating and he scooped them up, opening his mouth and allowing the spoon in.

"Shirogane......"

He froze just as the spoon was about to enter his mouth. Bewildered, he scanned the empty house for anything or anyone that called his name. Strange and frightening, that voice sound almost like -

"Shirogane....."

"D-dad?" He trembled, standing up abruptly, making the chair topple back in his haste. Kurogane, sensing something is wrong and the fear emitting from its owner quickly hopped onto his shoulder, trying to get more comfort.

It can't be his dad calling out to him. He's dead two years ago. Killed in the explosion. 

"M-must be my imagination....or something," he assumed, gearing his heart beat rapidly like unicorns galloping across the fields, "Must be the rain. It has to."

Something cold landed on his right shoulder. He had thought it was his mom but....why does her hand feel so dead cold and sending shivers down his spine?

Daring a glance to whoever is behind him, he gasped so powerfully he thought his lungs would explode from the huge entrance of oxygen entering them.

Standing behind him, is a tall lacertid creature composed of black tar and slime, with eyes glowing yellow like headlights of a car.

Startled, Toshi collapses on his tail and scrambled back in terror, Kurogane scampering away in terror with a screech and he hit the cabinet, knocking down whatever is on it. The creature slowly advances on him, leaving no trail of slime in its wake, a claw reaching out to him.

A claw with a finger missing.

"No! No no no no! It can't be!!" Toshi threw all sorts of things from the cabinet, hoping it would stun the slime creature. But the objects went pass through it like water, and it continues reaching out for him, its fingers inches to his face.

"Shirogane..." his father's voice resonated out of the slime creature's dripping maw in a haunting whisper.

Toshi was so scared, he just cowered and screamed in peril. Just as the fingers reached out and grabbed him.

(Moment later)

"Toshi! TOSHI!!"

Mint had returned home from grocery shopping eight minutes ago after she was able to go through the heavy rain. Just as she was about to grab the grocery bags, she hears a ruckus coming from the house. When she hears Toshi screaming, her mother instincts kicked in and she quickly raced into the house. 

What she found was kitchenware thrown all over the ground and Toshi cowering in the corner like a terrified and cornered animal. Worried and scared, she reached out for him and before she knew it, he began to attack her by slapping his hands at her at random and trying to claw her, screaming and his eyes closed shut.

"Toshi, it's me!! There's nothing here that can hurt you!!"

She successfully grabbed his swatting hands and he was able to open his eyes to see his mom. Not the slime creature that was going after him.

Relieved and scared, he quickly engulfes her in his arms, trembling and shivering as she pats his back to comfort him. She does not know what scared him, but she can smell something is not right here.

What had scared her son to the point he became like this?

(Two days later)

"Thanks for inviting us to sleep over at your place, Toshi," Janna thanked the young lizard as they head into his room.

"It's a pleasure, Jan," he said, "Calling you guys over is the best thing I can think off when it comes to this supernatural stuff."

"Hey, catching ghosts on live camera is something I always wanted to do," she grinned, "Besides, we would be famous if we catch the ghost that attacked you."

After that haunting incident that took place two days ago, Toshi had immediately went straight to the Diaz residence and told them everything that had happened from hearing his dad's voice calling out his name to the slime creature attacking him. They wouldn't name what it is that is haunting him so the duo suggests on bringing the only girl who knows ghosts and hauntings that is Janna.

After taking permission from his mom of staying over for a night at his place, they set up surveillance cameras in the living room, kitchen, attic, basement, his mom's bedroom and the yard to catch any activity. Bringing over the HDTV from Marco's house (much to Marco's dismay when Star is caught dragging it into Toshi's room), they connect the TV to the wireless cameras and get themselves prepared for what's coming on camera.

"You sure I'm being haunted by a ghost, guys?" Toshi questioned with curiosity, "As far as I know, ghosts are not slimy and covered in tar."

"Ghosts come in many forms, Toshi," Marco explained, "It could have been drowned in tar for some reason."

"But I done nothing to kill that person!" Toshi protested innocently.

"That's why we have to find out why this slime ghost is haunting you and find out who it is," Star reassured.

"But still.....Star, have you ever slain a ghost?" He strangely points out. The blonde Mewman had a perplexed and shocked look before she uttered a sad "No" in admitment.

"I like your cat," Janna spoke out, holding up the tatzelwurm.

(8.30 pm)

No activity caught on live camera. But no matter what, the four friends kept a watchful eye on the four segmented screens in case of anything out of the ordinary. 

Toshi's mom has left to get some supper for the kids, leaving them alone at their home and wouldn't be back till 9. 

To help keep themselves busy and awake, they made a mug of coffee and brought up snacks that were once comforting gifts for Toshi and his mom.

"I didn't know you hate corn," Star burst out in surprise, eating a handful of dry corn-flavored chips, "I mean, corn isn't that bad. You should've met my dad. He really loves corn."

"Try eating corn for 20 years in hiding for the rest of your childhood," the young lizard retorted, gnawing on a jerky.

"Ooooh, that's harsh," Marco hissed with pity.

"Anything?" The blonde asked the Filipino, who is in charge on the screens.

"Nope. All I see is chipmunks sleepwalking in the yard," she reported.

Toshi huffed and folded his arms, "It was morning when it happened. When I'm all alone having breakfast for snack time when it was raining outside."

"Ghosts can be complicated, you know?" The Hispanic pointed out.

Janna suddenly gasped, alerting the three friends and stood up from her sit, staring at the top left screen recording the living room.

"GUYS!! IT'S HERE!!!"

They scrambled forward and crowded together, Toshi looming over Janna's head as all four stare in mixtures of awe, fear, shock and excitement.

On the Living Room Cameras footage, there was a black shape slithering across the floor, heading straight for the stairs that is located in the kitchen. Just like how Toshi described it, it was tall, composed of black tar, has a lacertid shape and glowing yellow eyes.

"It's him! That's the thing that attacked me!" Toshi yelled, jabbing his finger at the slime creature on the screen.

"Holy moly, it's some kind of....ghoul," Janna awed.

"Uh Toshi......do you think what I'm thinking is heading to?" Star whimpered, her voice trembling in fear.

Just as she thought, the Kitchen Camera shows the slime ghost approaching the stairs. As it reaches to two steps, it stops. And glances to the camera.

And it's face takes shape to a face that Toshi, Star and Marco will never forget.

"Oh...," Star squeaked,

"My...," Marco squeaked too,

"Flipping...," Janna gasped in awe,

"God," Toshi finished, eyes wide in total horror.

"Toshi, that ghost that's haunting you...!" The boy gaped in fear.

"It's- it's my -" he stammered.

In a shrill voice and with a deep gasp, Star announced, "IT'S YOUR DAD!!!"

As if on cue, the revealed ghost suddenly struck the Kitchen Camera with a roar. All four teens screamed in full on panic and terror mode as Toshi grabs a huge plank and closed the stairway entrance. Pressing himself against the plank, he screamed some more when his father's ghost begins to bang on it from the other side.

"GO AWAY, GODDAMNIT!!! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!???!!"

Suddenly, the lights went out along with the banging. Trembling and whimpering, the three teens sat and held onto each other as Toshi scrambles up and rummaged through his closet.

"Toshi, there's no time to play dress-up!" Marco yelled.

The young lizard finally found what he was searching for and quickly wrapped it around his wrist and hand. It was a charm made by an Ivytail shaman that he got when he and his mom were back in Mewni and when he was 4. The shaman told him that it is used to repel lost or evil spirits that would bring harm on anyone around him.

I hope this works.

The lights suddenly came on, and in their full-on fear mode, screamed into thinking Toffee's ghost has arrived.

"Kids?" A woman's voice called out.

They screamed at her out of startlement. She had a confused and worried look and she was holdìng bags of take-out Japanese bentos.

"What's going on?" She questioned.

"Mom! You won't believe it!!" Toshi shouted in relief.

The three kids tried to explain to her what happened but it all came out gibberish and mashed up to the point Mint had to shut them up. As they calmed down, Marco was the one who answered what happened.

"We found out what's haunting Toshi!" Marco answered.

He made Janna rewind everything before the Kitchen Camera was destroyed. But no matter how many times they rewind it to see what they just skipped at the right time, there was no slime creature in sight.

"I don't get it," Janna gaped in shock that the cameras caught nothing, "I had them on record!"

"Nevermind that," Marco stated, "What we just saw and nearly got attacked by was indeed a ghost."

"It was Dad's ghost," Toshi pointed out, "He's come to haunt me for no reason!"

Mint was overwhelmed with this such information she didn't say anything. When they see a look in her eyes, they knew it meant, "I would like to talk to my son alone, please."

The two humans and the Mewman raced downstairs whilst one of them snatched the take-out bentos along the way down. 

"Mom, I'm not crazy. We're not crazy!" He tried to explain, "What attacked me that day was really -"

"Your father," she finished.

He blinked in bewilderment when she told him who the ghost was. She let out a sigh and took a sit on his bed, "I too was haunted by your father. Last night, I was sleeping when I was attacked by your father. He did nothing to me but just...looked at me. All he did was caress my face before disappearing."

He looked down at the Ivytail charm that he tightly wrapped around his hand for a moment before looking up to his mom, "Mom....."

"Yes, son?"

The charm was supposed to be making some kind of activity when a spirit is nearby. When his father's ghost came banging at the closed entrance of the stairway, it didn't do anything. He thought it was fake but he shouldn't misjudge Ivytail black magic.

If that were really his dad's ghost, how come the charm isn't reacting to his presence?

What if.........it were something his father was trying to send the message through?

"I believe Dad is alive somewhere we don't know."

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

The first segment happens to be the scariest thing I have ever written!

[bonfirelights]

Outset - 1

Summary: A group of people discover psionic abilities and find themselves unwillingly caught up in world events. It begins with fire.

A/N: tw for strong language and a fire accident.

-

Don’t get any misunderstandings. Nina would rather be at home watching movies and looking after her pet gecko than be here doing this whole ‘party’ thing, but her friends get expectations every once in a while, and showing up is the courteous thing to do. So here she is.

It’s one of those parties. You know, the ones with loud, bad noises and bad smells, and probably a few bad people if she’s going to be honest.

Nina dodges a guy leering at her with a cup of beer in his hand, and joins Belle on the hideously multi-coloured leopard print lounge. “I’m going to be honest.”

Belle groans. “Please don’t.”

Nina sighs through her lips, making a bubbly noise. “I don’t like this, Anabella. I like it less than that time a pig rolled on my leg.”

Belle snorts. “That was classic. Don’t call me Anabella.”

“Anabecca.”

“Fuck off, that’s not even a name. And look, you don’t have to stay for much longer. I just want you to stay until Ethan gets here, so he can see me hanging out with you. You’re my most smart-looking friend.”

Nina frowns. Belle having an insecurity? That’s not on. She places her hand on Belle’s chest, right over her heart. “No, you’re your most smart-looking friend.”

Belle snorts. “That’s sweet. But seriously, he’ll be here soon. I promise you can go after that.”

Nina hums. “Okay.” Satisfied, she plucks a strawberry macaroon from the nibbles table and leans back into the lounge. “Thanks for getting macaroons. I might have to marry you.”

Belle laughs. “Ethan’s going to marry me. You can be my pet dog.”

Nina chews the macaroon. “Pet dog, then.”

“You won’t be very fulfilled, though. Being my pet dog.”

Nina shrugs. “A lifetime of crawling on the floor in exchange for never having to work, shave or pay rent? I could do it.”

Belle shudders. “I couldn’t.  Oh, shit, Ethan just walked in.” Belle shields her face with her hand. “Fuck, what do I do?”

Never let it be said that Nina is not a good friend. She tucks Belle’s hair behind her ear. “Show off your beautiful face,” she hisses. Then she doubles over, fake-laughing so hard that snot comes out of her nose and her abs tighten horribly.

“Ha-haaaaargh!” she roars, hoping against hope that it sounds genuine. “Belle, what the fuck?! How are you so funny?! I don’t even – that’s like, barely appropriate, you can’t just say stuff like that!”

Belle’s face is bright red. “Oh my god,” she hisses right back, barely moving her lips. “That was overdoing it a bit.”

“It worked,” Nina whispers, seeing Ethan smile and make his way towards them.

Belle starts hiccuping in desperation. Nina hiccups with fake laughter to cover it up. “Oh, Ethan, hi,” Nina drawls, standing up and flinging him down next to Belle. “You know Belle, right? Everyone knows Belle.”

Ethan glances between them, wide-eyed. “Oh. Yeah! I didn’t know you guys knew each other.”

Belle miraculously regains her composure. She flicks her hair over her shoulder and taps Ethan’s hand playfully – not subtle, but infinitely more subtle than Nina. “Yeah,” she says, adding a bit of fake rasp to her voice. “We go way back.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Ethan says. “Hey, have you seen the lads? I brought over this sick video game, gotta break the news.”

Break the news? Nina resists rolling her eyes.

“Oh, um – I like video games!” Belle chirps.

Ethan eyes her suspiciously. “Seriously? You’re a gamer?”

Nina dislikes the judging tone in his voice, but she keeps her mouth shut, mostly because Belle is not a gamer.

Belle nods. “Oh, yeah. A veteran gamer.”

Ethan smirks. “What’s a game boy, then?”

Belle perks up. Nina winces. “Well, duh, it’s a boy who plays games!”

Ethan laughs. He literally laughs in Belle’s face. “You’re cute.”

Belle glances questioningly at Nina. “Um?”

Ethan puts a hand on Belle’s thigh. He slides it slowly upwards. “Maybe when the game finishes you could come upstairs. We could spend some time together. Just you, me and the console.”

“A-after the game?”

“Yeah, when else? Just hang down here for a few hours and I’ll text to let you know when you can come up. As long as you don’t mind some of the lads watching. But you won’t mind, of course, babe.”

Belle huffs and stands up. “Ew. What the hell, Ethan?”

Ethan frowns. “What? I’m just trying to be a nice guy, here.”

Belle meets Nina’s eyes. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, hang on.” Ethan stands up and grabs Belle’s wrist. “Why are you acting all petty? I was just trying to do you a service.”

“A service?”

“Yeah, babe. You’re clearly desperate for a taste of the Ethanator.”

Belle gapes for a moment. “The – never mind. First of all, you can’t just assume what people want. And wanting it back isn’t doing them a service –”

Before she can finish, a flame leaps out of Nina’s hand and onto Ethan’s shirt. He hollers and jumps back, falling onto the lounge. “What the fuck?! Freaky bitch!”

Belle’s eyes go wide. “Oh my god.” She grabs a pitcher of water and pours it over Ethan’s chest. People crowd around, watching the trio in horror.

Nina stands there, watching it all with fascination. Did I do that? Ethan’s shirt is smoking and his chest has a large pink burn. He gawks at Nina. Belle grabs Nina’s hand, pushes through the crowd and hurries out the door and onto the street, so fast that Nina is stumbling to keep up.

Four blocks from the house party, they finally come to a stop. The streetlights are an uncomfortable bluish white, making Belle’s face look pallid as she turns to face Nina. “Show me the lighter,” she demands.

Nina pants, crouching down as she catches her breath. “Pardon?”

Belle groans. She runs a hand through her hair. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? For fuck’s sake, Nina. Arson? No, no, it’s – it’s more than arson. It’s assault.”

Nina frowns. “I’m not following.”

“You set a guy on fire!” Belle shrieks. Her eyes are brimming with tears.

Nina shakes her head. “No. I mean, I couldn’t have. I don’t have a lighter. Or a matchstick, or anything.”

Belle purses her lips. “The flame came straight out of your hand.”

At the mention of her hand, Nina glances down. Her right hand is shaking, but her left hand isn’t. She watches her right hand shake and thinks, ‘Well, if I did it a few moments ago, I should be able to do it now.’

Her hand heats up and she sticks it out away from Belle, facing up towards the starlit sky. A flame leaps out. It reaches high, high enough to almost touch the power lines. She takes a deep breath. “Holy shit.”

Belle steps backwards, looking at Nina like a stranger for a second. Nina stands there silently, at a loss for what to do. Then Belle steps forward, tentatively taking Nina’s left, safe, hand. “We’d better get out of here,” she mutters. “We’re in trouble.”

[houseofcardsbeardies-blog]

7/31/16

The day started with my dad finding a 15 gallon tall tank kit at a yard sale for a good price. As I got all excited (having been wanting a reptile of some sort and planning to name it Thorn), my dad said we were putting it away for if we ever got one. Smirking, I knew we’d be looking for a new babe at the stores that same day (despite what the softie said)! So it started at Beverly’s Pet Store, where we glanced at some lizards. I’d tried researching small ones that stayed small, as the condition of getting one was that it had to stay small enough for the current tank. No problem, right? I didn’t find much online for what was carried specifically at stores near us so we looked around. As I was looking at Leopard Geckos my dad asked a sales associate (our now dear friend Grit!), what kind of lizard he was looking at. She explained it was a bearded dragon. I was aware of their existence, but knew they got way too big for the tank we had. I didn’t, however, know quite how big. So my dad asked Grit; apparently they get up to two feet long! To my surprise my dad actually said “oh okay” and I proceeded to hold one. Immediately I melted; I had no idea they actually like interaction with people! I always assumed lizards of any type were the kind of pet you watch, like fish. I of course asked my dad if we could get the one I held and he decided we’d look around at other stores and then decide. So we looked at a few in the area; I didn’t get as good a feel about the beardies there as at the first store. They seemed too small to be sold and fragile-looking. Plus, we got a good feel from how they were being handled by employees at the first store. While at one store my dad liked the color of one baby and mentioned we could always get one at one store and one at another (I had joked about getting two, and even though I secretly hoped we would I had not expected to)! There went my smirk again as he let that comment slip out. We were getting TWO baby beardies! We ended up going back to see Grit again and we chose a brown/beige baby and an orange baby. I remember that the orange one ran up my arm and promptly planted itself on my hat. ❤️ So home we went with my two new kids. I debated on which to name Thorn and decided on the orange one (since it was closest to red, the color of the dragon from the Eragon books I got the name idea from). The other we decided to name Kratos-the big, tough God of War from the game series! At first I just posted them saying they were boys, but within a day I had a hunch that Thorn wasn’t. They were identical and size and getting along great! I was so in love as I brought those babies home and they fell asleep on me that night; snuggling against my shirt and neck. The beardie fever had been caught! TBC Shannon