[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/SR52k84p/54b4e63d635603b22d80f72a4ba2be54.png[/img][hr][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019c02b1-4686-759e-93a8-ec58d0ea6ae8.webp[/img][hr][@Achronum][@Blizz][@Forsythe][@Kirah][@PatientBean][@Trainerblue192][hr][h3][color=AC3EFF][b]Morning - Sat. January 15th, 2039 - Los Angeles, California[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr]

[@Forsythe][@Kirah]: Abby giggled, considering Vicky’s invitation for a moment. They were a little worried about their energy intake lately, finding it easier and easier to siphon off of others, and needing more amounts to get similar effects. But when a cute android offered… who were they to refuse? Abby reached out, putting a hand on Vicky’s shoulder - and a moment later, the electrifying feeling of energy rushed through them, their eyes sparkling with it. “Oh yeah, that’s that good shit,” they exhaled. 

They whistled, looking on with admiration as Vicky worked her science magic, dropping a load of snowballs on top of the other team - a relatively harmless action, one that left the Mighty Marvels screeching, squealing with laughter. 

“Et tu, Brute?” Arsene called out, his hair powdered with Vicky’s fresh onslaught. 

Gideon didn’t even wait for the Mighty Marvels to catch their breath, cackling with mad glee as she lobbed snowball after snowball, pelting Xènia Papadopoulos in the face - only for the siren to fume. 

“Oh, Gideeeeon. Won’t you come and give me a kiss? Won’t all of you?” Xènia cooed. She started to sing, a song that sounded different to Andy, Gideon, Vicky, and the rest of their team - an irresistible song, one that propelled them forward, promising their hearts’ desire. 

For Gideon, it was a song of conquering - of finding greater and greater foes to slay, more impressive feats to perform. Xènia told her that she was destined for greatness, that she would be the fiercest warrior to ever live, that entire nations would tremble when her shadow fell upon them. She would have legions at her back, all sworn to her, prepared to die at her command. And in her wake, there would be naught but blood and destruction, her sword having carved a gash across the galaxy. 

“Fuck… Yeah… I will…” Gideon murmured, dazed, as she started to move towards enemy lines. 

[hider=Note]Andy and Vicky both have a siren vision of their greatest desire in this post. Be creative and have fun! :) You can roll to try to break free at the end of your post.[/hider][hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=42A9FF]April Kingston-Gray[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019b2a42-176d-736d-87cd-e80ef331aa59.webp[/img]
[hr][b][color=42A9FF]Location:[/color][/b] Margaret Carter - Winter Carnival 
[b][color=42A9FF]Magic Items:[/color][/b] Kingston-Gray Bracelet, River Styx Water, Hair Dying Comb
[b][color=42A9FF]First Day Fit:[/color][/b] [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019c0288-fffb-75e9-a893-c52428fffbb6.webp]Denim jumpsuit and shorts[/url], [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019c0289-6076-72bb-aa81-e8cae051d70b.webp]pink streaked hair and orange tinted sunglasses[/url][hr][/center]

April did a double take, as they noticed something on Leah they hadn’t somehow seen a moment before, as distracted as they had been with Marlena. Danni’s hyper squeals had helped to draw their attention to the giant-ass sword in the room. Something a bit further down than their stomach clenched for a moment, as their brain briefly felt like it stuttered, short circuiting.  [color=42A9FF]“Oh, woah!!! Dori said you got a cool sword but I had no idea it was [i]this[/i] cool!!”[/color] Their eyes were wide, and had Danni not been all over Leah, they would have gone to ask if they could try to hold it - even though it looked heavy enough to break their entire body if they tried. [color=42A9FF]“Does it have a name? All the best swords do. Do you know any cool moves yet - maybe you can do a real fast spin move or something? Ooo, oo, what about posing? You gotta come up with some fun poses to do, maybe a signature phrase - did you watch She-Ra yet? She’s got some great poses.”[/color]

Not only were they feeling a little hot with Leah being here, but Marlena was [i]also[/i] going to be tagging along. For a brief second, they had a flashback to their Pops telling them that they were going to make their Papa proud, after they’d confessed to messily kissing their ex-girlfriend a few times during the Contest of Champions. Maybe they’d be making their Papa proud again pretty soon, if both of these girls were hanging around. 

They had a brief reprieve, though, from the avalanche of sapphic content in their brain as the sleep deprived boy from the Court of Two Sisters showed up - Chase. They still weren’t exactly sure how they felt about him. They’d never spoken to him, but they’d talked about him as siblings. He’d done some fucked up shit in the past, and yet, Danni said he wanted to reform. Half of their family friends had been evil at one point, so it was certainly possible… But ultimately, April didn’t feel it was their place to make a call on whether or not Chase could be redeemed, whether or not the desire to be good was enough for things to be forgiven. They weren’t the wronged party. 

And their attention was then diverted once more by the arrival of their ex-girlfriend (and ex-messy situationship), as well as one of the nieces of family friends. Despite Millie having known their brothers, April hadn’t actually met them before the Contest - the last visit had been before their adoption. They waved at Millie, offering her a smile. [color=42A9FF]“Nice to see you again!!”[/color] 

Before they could have a proper conversation with Millie, however, they smelled something on fire. They smelled the telltale smoke of synthetics burning - and heard Danni screech and scream, demanding for someone to grab Amelie, for Percy to stay away as his clothes were too nice, for Beanie or April to put him out. They spun around on their heel, snatching the baby dragon as fast as they could - Danni’s flames weren’t out of control, it was just him and… oh fuck. Someone’s jacket was on fire. [i]Again[/i]. Was the theme of this year’s carnival deja vu???

[color=42A9FF]“I got Amelie!!”[/color] April confirmed, about to grab the nearest source of water and fling it at Danni and Chase, only for Dorian to step in, using a handy can of EZ Spray to put out their brother. They let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Danni’s clothes not being ruined would be [i]huge[/i] for his mental state for the rest of the day. With the dragon cradled in one arm - she was almost too heavy for April to carry, they could feel their muscles aching - they reached out for the nearest water - the hot chocolates - and tried to drag it out, aiming to use it to douse Chase. Dorian hadn’t had enough in his container to finish the job. But maybe it was the sudden panic of the situation, the thousand pound dragon in their hands, the horny thoughts on full blast in a way April had never experienced before, the nervousness of the new school year… but they couldn’t quite get a grip on the water, the molecules dancing just out of reach. 

[color=42A9FF]“Oh fuck, I can’t get him wet!!!”[/color] they screeched. [color=42A9FF]“Chase, you gotta drop and roll man, now!!!”[/color]

His stacking skills were impressive - they did want to ask him about his strategies and techniques, but it wasn’t the time. They thought they’d mastered the art of stacking, but even the height they’d managed to achieve with their cocoa had been a struggle, and Chase had easily doubled it. They hadn’t remembered to introduce themself to Chase, either - the fire taking precedence. 

[hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=ed1c24]Percy Novikov[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019b29ec-87e6-745e-afed-c64ed081c458.webp[/img]
[hr][b][color=ed1c24]Location:[/color][/b] Margaret Carter - Winter Festival 
[b][color=ed1c24]Magic Items:[/color][/b] Mystery watch from Agatha Harkness, Dorian sex bracelet
[b][color=ed1c24]First Day Fit:[/color][/b] [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019c0287-4435-7608-82b5-0b29272f9040.webp]Black Hoodie, Jeans, and Vans[/url] [hr][/center]

Percy raised an eyebrow, simultaneously impressed and horrified with the way Leah knocked back hot chocolate the way he used to knock back shots of bourbon. Her behavior was a little odd compared to how she’d been just minutes ago, but he didn’t understand why. Maybe she had just really been craving some hot chocolate. He made a mental note to gift her some for her birthday or the next gift-exchange themed holiday. 

Others were starting to join, including a vaguely familiar looking girl with dark hair, but his attention was pulled away by his boyfriend, wrapping him into a hug and wishing him a happy birthday. He really didn’t like the idea of an entire festival oriented around celebrating him, and he winced slightly, as he remembered how he had behaved towards Dorian on his birthday… another thing that he needed to apologize and atone for, then. That had been part of the process with the rehab program he was currently in, having transferred from the one at CAGE and switched to one with VEIL. He was supposed to reflect on how his actions had hurt people and apologize. 

He would apologize to him later, when it was less crowded. He didn’t believe in public apologies. They were performative and insincere. It was the same reason why he had refused to film an apology video. He was willing to apologize to Wiccan, but doing it in a video took away any sincerity. He would prefer to do it privately, where there wasn’t any social clout for him to gain. 

[color=ed1c24]“Merci beaucoup,”[/color] he returned the hug, his face flushed. [color=ed1c24]“Peut-être on regarde un film ce soir? Un film d’horreur?”[/color] He didn’t enjoy them as much as Dorian did, but he wanted his boyfriend to have a good time, and he’d been so supportive to Percy throughout rehab and all of it. Besides, the excuse to cover his eyes by curling around Dorian as he screeched at the content on screen was its own reward. And if others felt the need to celebrate his birthday, it was an activity that wouldn’t be too stimulating - god forbid the others want to go ice skating or sing karaoke instead. 

Dorian went over to fuss over one of the newcomers - a blonde girl that Percy didn’t recognize but he seemed to know - leaving him open for Danni. If Percy had to name a best friend who wasn’t his partner right now, it would probably be him. [color=ed1c24]“Erm, yes, I did. Did my reply back not send?”[/color] he frowned, pulling out his phone and navigating to Danni’s contact, and confirming it had sent. He winced as Danni started cooing and fawning over his outfit, and as much as he very much appreciated Danni using the handkerchief to touch him, his cheeks were already sore from the pinching his mame had done earlier. 

His face turned bright red as Danni described the gifts for him, as he emphasized how much his boyfriend would enjoy the cut of the wetsuit. [color=ed1c24]“Merci,”[/color] he said, unable to say much else as Danni continued prattling on. His eyes widened as he showed off the piercing. It [i]did[/i] look good. And at the invitation to get pierced together, he couldn’t help but smile slightly. On some level, he felt he should’ve been embarrassed about wanting his ears pierced… but the idea had continued to come back to him. His mame would kill him for piercing his ears. [color=ed1c24]“Let’s,”[/color] Percy agreed. [color=ed1c24]“As long as we can find a way to hide the piercings from my mame. She would kill me, find a way to bring me back, and kill me again if she could.”[/color]

Sabine wished him a happy birthday and he grimaced, clearly uncomfortable with all the attention. His scowl only deepened as she asked his permission to post content for his birthday on the team socials. [color=ed1c24]“Is it another attempt to rehabilitate my image?”[/color] He sounded more aggressive than he meant to. [color=ed1c24]“I don’t really celebrate my birthday. Not since…”[/color]

The words died in his throat, as their subject suddenly appeared. 

Chase, still looking like an extra from one of Dorian’s movies, appeared out of the shadows behind Danni, along with a small boy. He put his hands around his eyes and Percy’s heart stopped, terror coursing through him - terror for himself, but mostly terror for his friend. If Chase did [i]anything[/i] to hurt him… 

But… he wasn’t threatening Danni… 

He was being… friendly? 

The behavior was familiar. It dug up old wounds, old hurt. And new ones rapidly started to form. Was Danni…? After he had…? The fear on his face made way for feelings of hurt and betrayal. He thought… but he was… 

And then, the next thing he knew, Danni - [i]and Chase[/i] - were on fire. 

Just like the start of the school year. 

Danni was screaming, yelling for Percy to stay away to protect his clothes, but he felt frozen in place, as if the world had suddenly started spinning in the opposite direction. Dorian jumped into action, dousing Danni’s flames - but not Chase’s. Percy hated the way his stomach lurched, hated the way he was afraid of him and for him. April had grabbed the dragon, but didn’t manage to put him out. And Dorian stood by his side like a shield. He tucked himself into Dorian’s side, his entire body shaking as he felt like he was about to cry, even as Dorian wrapped an arm around him securely. 

[color=ed1c24]“Y-you’re… you’re friends? Even after… even after I told you what he did to me?”[/color] his voice broke, and he couldn’t keep the tears at bay any longer. [color=ed1c24]“I… I thought we were… I…”[/color]

April cursed under their breath. This was the exact situation their brothers had wanted to avoid…