i bet on losing dogs ⋆ joining

[PETER ⋆]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; width: 410px; text-align: justify; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 125%; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 2px;"]this was it, this was finally the day that he got to see his favorite person again. it had been so long, he craved to see that charming smile on his face once more. the way he said his name, whether it be annoyed or enthusiastic, he didn’t care; he was being acknowledged by the man he looked up to so much and that was enough to make his whole week. peter could barely contain his excitement, giggling practically escaping him every time he thought about it.

teddy invited him to the badlands. invited him. he wanted to see him! pretty much once a week peter would write to teddy, always anticipating a response. while they always took.. a lot longer than he would like, it was still contact with the other man. he stored each and every letter, finding hope in every single word that he would write. it was just something to look forward to, especially given how much of a bore his life had been since he had last seen teddy.

peter’s eyes caught a glimpse of what appeared to be the entrance into the badlands. teddy had mentioned hills and what looked to be old fashioned beach homes. he could practically hear the ocean now. his steps picked up speed until he was basically running. everything was going smoothly until, just at the entrance, peter’s foot got caught and he tripped and fell to his knees dropping the satchel with the letters inside and his glasses falling off of his face. he scrambled for his frames, finally finding them and shakily putting them back on his face.

“teddy!! teddy i’m here!”

[TEDDY.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: new times roman; font-size: 8pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px;"]Teddy couldn't treat people like shit and then expect them to worship him. Except, sometimes he could. Peter Ivanov had always been such a person impressionable enough to take Teddy's word as gospel. He had alluring eyes and a smile that could kill, and yet Teddy retained a louche quality that suggested an unspoken iniquity. Loving Teddy wasn't hard; in fact, he made it easy for most. He was captivating when he wished to be, so untouchable — if not unnerving — that one could easily hallucinate his holiness if they were so entranced by him.

And if love was religion, Peter would die for it.

It began with a letter from New Orleans. Perhaps Peter had heard news of the Knope brothers' successes in The Badlands, their names often whispered throughout the streets of their old neighbourhood with a reputation that lent itself to the boys' triumph. They were always made for something more than a life of destitution, some would recall. The two young boys that most felt sympathy for because Mama had died and Papa was never there — the boys that had to learn the hard way how to survive in a ruthless world.

It felt that a great part of Teddy's life somehow involved his old friend, Peter, one way or another. A confidant — almost — for the man who had only been a shy and desperate boy when Peter had first met him. As a boy, all he wanted was some attention and so he had promised himself that he'd stop at nothing to get the world to notice him. And it worked, almost too well.

Teddy was notorious for taking advantage of the kindest of hearts. They gave him the attention that the self-absorbed were often unable to provide, and so Teddy loved Peter's dedication to maintain their seemingly one-sided friendship. On one side, Peter would spend a great amount of time inscribing letters so thoughtful and altruistic. On the other side, Teddy would skim over the words before tossing the letters aside, only caring to return the favour whenever he could remember to (which was not very often).

When Teddy chose to invite Peter to The Badlands, it had merely been a temporary offer to boast about his eventual glory. He wanted to show off the life he had created for himself, all the parties and jazz music, the day trips sunbathing on his yacht and the fierce reputation he had invented because this had once been nothing more than an unrealistic dream for a kid living on the wrong side of town.

Teddy was once nothing but a bystander, observing others incapable of appreciating the life that Teddy wanted. They lived the dream and never once batted an eyelid. Now, Teddy wanted to show Peter that he had finally made it. He wanted the attention. He wanted the praise. This was the type of love that was long overdue for Teddy. 

Upon hearing the all too familiar voice of Peter's, Teddy wandered into the hotel lobby before clapping his hands together with a grin. ❝ Aren't I glad to see ya! ❞ Teddy chuckled, unaware that this anticipation would be short-lived. Wandering over towards his old friend, Teddy shook his hand before pulling him in to give him a friendly kiss on both cheeks. ❝ Tell me now: how's the big easy treatin' ya? ❞

[Shiloh !]

text

SALEM

ENTRY #01

8.15.16

BL ENFORCER

[div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 333px; min-height: 347px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; font-family: georgia; font-size: 7pt; color: #000000; line-height: 99%;"]Oh, no. Not another innocent soul for Teddy to manipulate.

Salem had been reserved and cautious ever since her mother kicked her out of her home. However, when she arrived, there was a certain allure to Teddy that made her subconsciously lower her guard. Perhaps it was their mutual love of cats, or the way he flashed his smile, but he made her feel protected. And she was, for the first few months.

When she realized that Teddy's rule could be a touch oppressive, and when he robbed her for the sake of the Badlands, she saw the full picture: this man wasn't a protector of all. He kept his friends close and his disciples closer. At the time, she was furious, but in hindsight, Salem supposed that having her rose-tinted glasses broken had allowed her to develop a semi-genuine friendship with Teddy, something that not many people got to do.

And look where that got me. Salem rolled a cigar between her lips as she squatted in front of the casino, watching Jasper crawl around in the sand and gurgle with happiness. She knew most people would be proud of gaining the administration's respect, but at this point, she was just trying to avoid Teddy. She still didn't like looking at his face - it was too similar to the one crawling in front of her. Moreover, the bigger Jasper got, the more Salem worried that Teddy would connect the dots about his paternity. So, when she saw the leader emerge from the hotel, yelling to an apparent old friend of his, Salem ushered Jasper back to her side, hugging him closely as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

VITALS

> overall status: 100%

> physical status: stable.
> physical health: 100%
> physical afflictions: none yet.
> minor injuries: none yet.
> major injuries: none yet.

> mental status: stable.
> current status: stable.
> mental health: 100%
> mental illnesses: None
> mental damage: None

TAGS

━ ━xGENERAL
> Elisa Barone | "Salem"
> Female
> 24
━ ━xAPPEARANCE
>Human
> Dark brown hair that varies in shade, pale, blue green eyes.
> Carries at least 2 cigars at a time, a small handgun, and a small switchblade.
> tall, lanky and a bit awkward physically.
>
━ ━xABILITIES
> N/A
> N/A
━ ━xCONFRONTATION
> medium physically | easy/medium mentally
> non-violent power-play allowed
> no kill | request maim/capture
> ask to attack in bolded, underlined and italicized black
━ ━xRELATIONSHIPS
> Lionel King x Melissa Barone
> Son Jasper
> Half brother Rafe
> Half niece Gigi
> Cat Chrisanthymum "Chrissy"
>Bisexual | no crush
>
━ ━xOTHER
> this text + this color = this meaning

I'VE COME TOO FAR TO SEE THE END NOW

━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ even if my way is wrong

a small everyone. | beware hidden scrolling

[PETER ⋆]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; width: 410px; text-align: justify; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 125%; font-family: arial; letter-spacing: 2px;"]it was easy to fall in love with someone like theodore knope; he made it easy. when he looked at you, it felt like you were on top of the world and it was just the two of you. he couldn't quite explain it, but he was always so drawn to teddy despite them being total opposites. teddy, a man with a thirst for the grand things in life and peter, his sidekick who would do anything help him make it happen. if he had to kill a man, peter would do it in a heartbeat. if teddy asked him to kiss his boots, he'd do it without a second thought. that was just how peter worked.

peter had always been like this, always surrounded by people who would never give him a second thought. the middle child of six kids, raised in new orleans by a mother who could give less of a shit about his existence and a father that was always out on "work trips". well, those work trips ended up being secret affairs and explained where all their money was going. no matter what accomplishments he made musically, his mother would never bat an eye in his direction. if he were to ever really think about it, he'd come to the realization that he had never been told "good job" for anything. a sad life, but a reality for the man that was peter ivanov.

but when he was teddy, he felt like that he actually mattered. he meant something to someone, even if that feeling was all made up in his mind; something to tell himself when he found some nights harder than others. peter loved teddy, more than life itself. upon receiving the invitation, something told him that there was more to it. maybe teddy had something to tell him? sure, he was excited to see just what teddy and laurent had come into possession of but he was also expecting something.... special.

he was getting trapped in his thoughts again as he looked around the giant hotel lobby. then he heard him. that voice that peter had missed so damn much, that he could almost get choked up. peter's face became flushed and warm at the cheek kisses, his left hand coming up to gently wipe at his cheek as he stumbled through his words. he was already making a fool of himself and it hadn't even been five minutes of being with his old friend. "uh- um. well! ma is doin' pretty good.. and all my brothers and sisters, y'know?" he started off meekly, meeting teddy's gaze and melting underneath it. peter could hear his heartbeat in his ears, and he wondered if teddy could as well. "i'm okay!! but i'm happier now that i'm here! i missed you."

he fully expected to see other people practically worshipping the ground teddy walked on, so seeing salem moving away from the reunited duo confused him. he wasn't going to question it, but he sure was curious about what a baby was doing in a place like this. knowing teddy, there were probably parties galore happening and it didn't seem fitting for a child to be near something like this. but he wasn't going to question it! peter flashed a nervous smile and a tiny wave at salem, laughing nervously under his breath.

[NIKOLAI]

[align=center]

Shouting was... usually a call for alarm. The volume of the unrecognizable voice slicing through the mellow ambiance of the casino immediately triggers a fight-or-flight response, in which Nik ( of course ) chooses fight. Clad in monotone clothing and combat boots, as per usual, the young adult turns the corner to the lobby and fixes his dark gaze onto the stranger. Had he... mentioned Teddy's name? The leader knows a lot of people, he's sure of it, but there were also a lot of folks who wished to bring harm upon the irksome, arrogant boss. Now, Nikolai wouldn't particularly care if Teddy keeled over either way, but he would probably be looked upon more favorably if he at least attempted to act as a guard dog to the higher up.

He was about to order the stranger to calm the hell down before the man of the hour arrived promptly, confronting the stranger who supposedly knew who he was ( and was practically jumping for joy to see him ). The friendly reunion was oozing with warmth and joy and euphoria; it was sickening, really. When one spent so much time in a glum, rough-and-tumble atmosphere, such displays tended to make one feel... uncomfortable. Or maybe it was just Nik.

The mercenary, noticing Salem and her young one also observing from her own corner, slowly gravitated towards her. An odd choice, considering how anti-social he tended to be a lot of the time, but he wants to know what her thoughts are on this situation. "You know this guy, or... ?" He murmurs under his breath in the direction of Salem once he arrives at a comfortable distance between them both. Nikolai can only assume that this is an old personal friend of Teddy's, or perhaps even an old member of the Badlands wishing to rejoin. Not that he particularly cares either way, but he felt a little awkward and out of place at the moment, which was a feeling he didn't particularly like. Nik wants intel on as many things as possible; he's been away for a while, after all, and it wouldn't do him any good to be clueless about the happenings of this group.