Because I am falling in love with Jungle Fury, and it is awesome.
I made a new icon in honor of Weesta, who helped me develop my Ninja Color Philosophy theories, and because she was so excited when Jungle Fury proved her right. Isn't it pretty?
And because I must squee, *squee*! In A Taste of Poison, they totally eliminated any chance of Casey/Lily, because she sees him as her little brother! Meanwhile, Theo complains about Lily getting too protective and mothering over Casey. Jealous much? ^_^
May slash fans everywhere rejoice.
I have also have more Little Brother, which will now have a third part for sure.
Little Brother: The Response (Power Rangers Jungle Fury, K)
Fandom/: Power Rangers Jungle Fury, slight crossover with Dino Thunder and Ninja Storm
Characters/: Conner, Eric, and Ethan
Pairings/: Conner/Ethan and speculation of Casey/Theo.
Rating/: K
Disclaimer/: If I owned Power Rangers I'd be working this into a script, because it amuses me.
Summary/: After becoming a Ranger, Casey instinctively wants to turn to the two people who have always been there when he needed them most.
Author's Notes/: Conner and Eric were surprisingly fun to write. I enjoyed this. ^_^ Also, the couples Eric names are just ones he's making up to torture his brother with.
"Hey Conner, it's Casey. Look, I uh ... I'm in Ocean Bluff right now. I just moved here - something happened at the school and I got sent to a different teacher. Um ... You know they have Power Rangers here now? Pretty wild, huh? Reminds me of when you were telling us about the Dino Thunder Rangers in Reefside. The Red guy's pretty cool, don't you think?"
There was an awkward pause, and a soft thump in the background. "I guess ... I'm just going through some things right now, and I thought you might be able to offer some advice or something. Since you've been through some similar stuff and all. Um, if you talk to Eric any time soon, ask him if he can e-mail me some tips on fighting in groups of three or against large groups. Y'know, in case I need to go up against one of those Rinshi things they've got running around here. Just to be on the safe side."
Another long pause, followed by a defeated sigh. "Well ... Call me back when you get a chance. Don't freak if I don't call you right away - I've been busy and all. And I take back everything I ever said about you and Ethan." The last line was soft and rushed, almost as though he was trying not to be understood.
Conner grinned, tossing his cell phone lightly into the air and catching it. "Casey's got a boyfriend!" he sang out.
His twin rolled his eyes. "You don't know that for sure."
He offered his cell again. "Want me to play that last part one more time?"
"Dude, just 'cause he said he takes back all his jokes about you and Ethan doesn't mean he's got a boyfriend," Eric argued.
Conner folded his arms, still smirking. "You checked the news out of Ocean Bluff recently?"
Eric huffed in annoyance. "Okay, Dude, I agree Casey's gotta be a Ranger. But that doesn't mean he's dating his Blue!"
"Leo and Kai," Conner interrupted, holding up a hand as he counted off on his fingers. "Nick and Maddie. Me and Ethan." He paused, frowning. "I swear there's someone I'm forgetting ... "
Eric rolled his eyes again. "Mack and Dax?" he offered. "Carter and Chad? Wes and his Blue? Jason and - "
"Dude!" Conner broke in, looking horrified. "Do *not* go there!"
Eric grinned. "Sorry to sully the name of your original idol."
Conner gave him an odd look. "Sully?" he repeated. "Dude, you have been spending *way* too much time around Cam lately, Bro."
"Whatever," Eric dismissed, already putting the argument out of his head. "So? What are we gonna do?"
Conner's smile faded. He sighed, flopping in a chair and leaning his head back. "I don't know," he muttered.
"You're not gonna help him out?"
"Should I?" Conner returned. "I mean, most Reds have to figure it out on their own. Why should I let Case be special?"
"Because he's Case," Eric pointed out. "And dude, you *know* Case. He's gonna freak out about all this because he can't deal. He'll end up giving himself a stroke or something."
Conner lifted his head just enough to give him an odd look. "Dude, are we talking about the same guy here? Case doesn't want to deal with something, he just forgets about it until he can."
"No, he *pretends* to forget about it," Eric corrected. "You both think you get away with it when you're so obvious it's pathetic, Dude."
"Hey, we're talking about Casey, here - not me!" he protested.
Eric smirked. "'Cause you'll never admit to it either?"
"Casey. Not me," he repeated.
Eric sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever, Dude. Look, the point is this isn't everyone else. This is Case." He paused, giving his brother a considering look. "Can you live with yourself if you *don't* help?"
"Could I live with myself if I give him special treatment?" Conner countered. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Case has to work things out on his own, even if I *do* show him the ropes. And what worked for me might not work for him. He's not the same kind of Ranger, and he definitely doesn't have the same team."
"Thank god for him," Eric muttered.
Conner gave him a dirty look. "Dude, you *like* the guys."
"Doesn't mean I want Casey to put up with them. He's not you, Dude. They'd intimidate him into doing something stupid."
Conner frowned. He had a point. "You don't think his team's gonna do that to him, do you?"
Eric shrugged. "Don't know who they are, Dude. No way to know. If he thinks they're better than him, then yeah, they will. Unless they catch him doing it and make him stop."
They exchanged a look and sighed.
"He's really a McKnight, isn't he?" Conner asked at last.
Eric smiled faintly. "Where it counts. I still don't get why he ended up with the girls instead of us. He *totally* should have been our brother. Biologically, anyway." Not that it had ever mattered to either of them that he wasn't.
"What are you two up to?"
Conner jumped, craning his neck around to give Ethan the brightest, not-guilty smile he could manage. "Nothing!"
"Welcome home, Dude," Eric added quickly. "Conner said you had to work late tonight."
Ethan eyed them both warily. "I ended up finishing sooner than I than I thought I would."
Conner bounced to his feet, quickly moving in to try and kiss him. Ethan ducked, holding him back with a hand on his chest. He gave him a suspicious stare that made Conner squirm. "What were you two talking about?"
"It's nothing," Conner insisted, trying to pout at him for the missed kiss.
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "You said something about Casey and his team doing something do him. What's going on?"
Eric scowled. "Ethan, dude, why do you ask what we're doing if you've already been listening long enough to know?"
"Because I came in at 'you like the guys', and I wanted to know what I had to do with the conversation," Ethan returned, looking annoyed.
Conner shifted enough to wrap an arm around Ethan's shoulders and shoot his brother a pleading look. Ethan and Eric weren't quite friends, but they got along well enough for his sake. Every once in awhile though, their different personalities rubbed each other the wrong way. "Casey called asking for advice about being a Red Ranger, and we were trying to decide if I should give him some or not," he said quickly.
Ethan gave him an odd look. "Why wouldn't you?"
He sighed. "But is that really fair? I mean yeah, we had Dr. O and all, but most Reds have to make their own choices on how to work with their team. Should I give Case a heads up just because I can?"
Ethan bopped him on the forehead, ignoring Conner's affronted look as he grabbed either side of his face and made him look him in the eyes. "Conner, I never thought I'd say this, but you're spending too much time with me. Thinking is my department - not yours. You react."
Conner frowned. "But - "
"Is your Ranger Spidey Sense tingling? Or is this just your regular Casey Sense?"
He hesitated. "Not sure. Maybe. Kinda ... could be either one."
Ethan kissed him quickly, pulling back to offer an understanding smile. "Then go. Because you'll be impossible to live with until you do."
Conner's expression softened. "You're the best, you know that?"
"Of course I do," Ethan scoffed.
Eric looked away quickly as they kissed again. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "I'll uh, go get my stuff. Meet you outside, Dude," he muttered.
The couple behind him didn't stop to answer, and he made a hasty retreat.