partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Loyally,
he nodded and flipped his hand over to reveal another perfectly colored
and opaque skin, no veins had popped up over time nor did it seem like
there was any to be harvested. Most people in Night Vale usually had
something odd about them, but for someone to not have veins was..
something nearly bizarre.

“Well..?”

Carlos just poked at the skin, but he felt nothing. “I… have no idea,” he said. “I don’t see or even feel any veins. Huh… I thought that since you were an outsider this might be easier.” He looked at Skip. “I’m afraid I can’t draw blood without taking a really long needle into your heart. Though you’d have to be dead for that… and I don’t think that’s what you want, huh?” He wasn’t saying this in a mean sort of manner, just stating fact.

Skip laughed forcefully, “Haha- yeah..! I’m certainly not dead and I definitely don’t want to be dead, that would kind of end my career wouldn’t it?” Things were surely getting harder to avoid when it came to this specific testing, he only had so many excuses, and he really did want to help!

“Maybe we could.. Try anyway?” He offered as he fumbled with his hands, glancing up at the dark haired scientist.

“And give you a bunch of bruises?” Carlos asked. “Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.” He thought about it. “I can try a simple blood sugar test… that way I can also see how your blood flow is. Honestly, I’m a little worried.” Carlos reached over and removed the rubber strip. He noticed that there wasn’t any discoloration of the skin underneath. Well that was weird.

He mentally rolled his eyes, going more impatient and tense by the moment, this stuff was taking forever and all due to a roadblock or two that may have been caused by Skip? Bah. This was ridiculous! “Why don’t you just save your energy and just take the bone marrow or whatever it was, that you guys needed..”

Carlos looked at Skip. “Look, I don’t wanna cause you any uneccessary pain,” he said. “Going straight for the bone marrow at this point doesn’t seem like a good idea. But at least I can test your sugar and your white cell blood count from a finger prick. That’ll be much less painful than a bone marrow extraction, okay?” Carlos reached over to get the finger prick tool. “Have you ever had your blood sugar taken before?” he asked.

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Loyally,
he nodded and flipped his hand over to reveal another perfectly colored
and opaque skin, no veins had popped up over time nor did it seem like
there was any to be harvested. Most people in Night Vale usually had
something odd about them, but for someone to not have veins was..
something nearly bizarre.

“Well..?”

Carlos just poked at the skin, but he felt nothing. “I… have no idea,” he said. “I don’t see or even feel any veins. Huh… I thought that since you were an outsider this might be easier.” He looked at Skip. “I’m afraid I can’t draw blood without taking a really long needle into your heart. Though you’d have to be dead for that… and I don’t think that’s what you want, huh?” He wasn’t saying this in a mean sort of manner, just stating fact.

Skip laughed forcefully, “Haha- yeah..! I’m certainly not dead and I definitely don’t want to be dead, that would kind of end my career wouldn’t it?” Things were surely getting harder to avoid when it came to this specific testing, he only had so many excuses, and he really did want to help!

“Maybe we could.. Try anyway?” He offered as he fumbled with his hands, glancing up at the dark haired scientist.

“And give you a bunch of bruises?” Carlos asked. “Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.” He thought about it. “I can try a simple blood sugar test… that way I can also see how your blood flow is. Honestly, I’m a little worried.” Carlos reached over and removed the rubber strip. He noticed that there wasn’t any discoloration of the skin underneath. Well that was weird.

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Loyally,
he nodded and flipped his hand over to reveal another perfectly colored
and opaque skin, no veins had popped up over time nor did it seem like
there was any to be harvested. Most people in Night Vale usually had
something odd about them, but for someone to not have veins was..
something nearly bizarre.

“Well..?”

Carlos just poked at the skin, but he felt nothing. “I… have no idea,” he said. “I don’t see or even feel any veins. Huh… I thought that since you were an outsider this might be easier.” He looked at Skip. “I’m afraid I can’t draw blood without taking a really long needle into your heart. Though you’d have to be dead for that… and I don’t think that’s what you want, huh?” He wasn’t saying this in a mean sort of manner, just stating fact.

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Quickly,
his head jerked up and he shook his body of anything anxious or stress
enduring. Simply sighing and stuffing the ideas of pain into a dark
space in his mind, “Yeah.. I’m alright, sorry about that..”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Carlos said. “Let me know if you get light-headed. I wanna make sure you’re going to be well and not have any avoidable issues, okay?”

Was this what children felt like?

Anxious and tense? Poor children. “Uh-huh- gotcha..” He murmured under his breath as he glanced over at the needle, Skip had done things like this many times a week for sure, but he was never at the receiving end of it.

Carlos looked at Skip. “Wanna look at that poster over there?” Carlos asked, pointing to a poster depicting Nikola Tesla standing on top of a cartoonishly beaten Thomas Edison with his arms up in triumph.

His eyes glanced over to it but they closed only soon after, a sigh leaving his stiffened chest as he eased himself into the rubbery faux leather chair and whispered through the sigh. “You can just get in there.. I’m an adult I guess, if kids can do it so can I..”

“I’m not going to think any less of you if you can’t,” Carlos said as he pulled on his gloves. He took a strip of rubber and reached for Skip’s arm. “Hold your arm out like this with the inside of the elbow facing up.” He went to work tying the rubber strip around Skip’s bicep to help his vein bulge.

But it didn’t? There wasn’t any prominent veins that Carlos could see in fact, his skin may have just been a bit darker but that shouldn’t have stopped the veins from being seen. “Get anything yet?” Skip pressed urgently, peeking back at the scientist. “Did you do it?”

Carlos frowned at the skin. “No, I haven’t yet,” he said. He cleaned the area with an alcohol pad and felt around, but it was very nearly impossible to find a good vein. “Can you clench your fist for me? I’m trying to locate the vein – I’m not going to stick you until I’m sure of where it is.”

Though even as the acrobat stiffened his hand and clenched it with his fingers curling up, there was simply nothing. It was scientifically impossible not to even have a slight bulge in his veins, it was like he had no veins at all- or blood. “Any better? Can you take the blood another way?”

Carlos poked in the joint, but felt nothing. “Well, I can look somewhere else. There’s a vein on top of your hand that I can look at. Go ahead and turn it over for me.”

Normally he shouldn’t draw blood from the top of someone’s hand, but if he couldn’t find a vein then it was probably his best shot.

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Quickly,
his head jerked up and he shook his body of anything anxious or stress
enduring. Simply sighing and stuffing the ideas of pain into a dark
space in his mind, “Yeah.. I’m alright, sorry about that..”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Carlos said. “Let me know if you get light-headed. I wanna make sure you’re going to be well and not have any avoidable issues, okay?”

Was this what children felt like?

Anxious and tense? Poor children. “Uh-huh- gotcha..” He murmured under his breath as he glanced over at the needle, Skip had done things like this many times a week for sure, but he was never at the receiving end of it.

Carlos looked at Skip. “Wanna look at that poster over there?” Carlos asked, pointing to a poster depicting Nikola Tesla standing on top of a cartoonishly beaten Thomas Edison with his arms up in triumph.

His eyes glanced over to it but they closed only soon after, a sigh leaving his stiffened chest as he eased himself into the rubbery faux leather chair and whispered through the sigh. “You can just get in there.. I’m an adult I guess, if kids can do it so can I..”

“I’m not going to think any less of you if you can’t,” Carlos said as he pulled on his gloves. He took a strip of rubber and reached for Skip’s arm. “Hold your arm out like this with the inside of the elbow facing up.” He went to work tying the rubber strip around Skip’s bicep to help his vein bulge.

But it didn’t? There wasn’t any prominent veins that Carlos could see in fact, his skin may have just been a bit darker but that shouldn’t have stopped the veins from being seen. “Get anything yet?” Skip pressed urgently, peeking back at the scientist. “Did you do it?”

Carlos frowned at the skin. “No, I haven’t yet,” he said. He cleaned the area with an alcohol pad and felt around, but it was very nearly impossible to find a good vein. “Can you clench your fist for me? I’m trying to locate the vein – I’m not going to stick you until I’m sure of where it is.”

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Quickly,
his head jerked up and he shook his body of anything anxious or stress
enduring. Simply sighing and stuffing the ideas of pain into a dark
space in his mind, “Yeah.. I’m alright, sorry about that..”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Carlos said. “Let me know if you get light-headed. I wanna make sure you’re going to be well and not have any avoidable issues, okay?”

Was this what children felt like?

Anxious and tense? Poor children. “Uh-huh- gotcha..” He murmured under his breath as he glanced over at the needle, Skip had done things like this many times a week for sure, but he was never at the receiving end of it.

Carlos looked at Skip. “Wanna look at that poster over there?” Carlos asked, pointing to a poster depicting Nikola Tesla standing on top of a cartoonishly beaten Thomas Edison with his arms up in triumph.

His eyes glanced over to it but they closed only soon after, a sigh leaving his stiffened chest as he eased himself into the rubbery faux leather chair and whispered through the sigh. “You can just get in there.. I’m an adult I guess, if kids can do it so can I..”

“I’m not going to think any less of you if you can’t,” Carlos said as he pulled on his gloves. He took a strip of rubber and reached for Skip’s arm. “Hold your arm out like this with the inside of the elbow facing up.” He went to work tying the rubber strip around Skip’s bicep to help his vein bulge.

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Quickly,
his head jerked up and he shook his body of anything anxious or stress
enduring. Simply sighing and stuffing the ideas of pain into a dark
space in his mind, “Yeah.. I’m alright, sorry about that..”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Carlos said. “Let me know if you get light-headed. I wanna make sure you’re going to be well and not have any avoidable issues, okay?”

Was this what children felt like?

Anxious and tense? Poor children. “Uh-huh- gotcha..” He murmured under his breath as he glanced over at the needle, Skip had done things like this many times a week for sure, but he was never at the receiving end of it.

Carlos looked at Skip. “Wanna look at that poster over there?” Carlos asked, pointing to a poster depicting Nikola Tesla standing on top of a cartoonishly beaten Thomas Edison with his arms up in triumph.

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

Quickly,
his head jerked up and he shook his body of anything anxious or stress
enduring. Simply sighing and stuffing the ideas of pain into a dark
space in his mind, “Yeah.. I’m alright, sorry about that..”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Carlos said. “Let me know if you get light-headed. I wanna make sure you’re going to be well and not have any avoidable issues, okay?”

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

The
acrobat couldn’t help but feel like such a swine, he was so hungry yet
none of the things that Carlos was offering would help, he wanted to
speak out but found himself possibly being yelled at or discriminated
against, being a blood sucker wasn’t exactly the most welcoming thing.
He reached in and grabbed one of the juice boxes, whichever one had the
darkest red color on it, quickly popping the top and stuffing in the
straw.

“Thanks- sorry I didn’t prepare, I usually try to eat before I get
too far from my apartment.. I guess it slipped my mind.” But it hadn’t,
it was just harder to catch a meal lately.

“That’s okay,” Carlos said. “Do you want anything else? The juice will pick you up, but I’d feel better if you had a fuller meal.” Carlos kept the fridge open, making it inviting. Something seemed weird again, but Carlos couldn’t put his finger on it at all.

“Uh, I guess..” Why couldn’t he just deny this man? Probably because he acted like a dad, and that was just the nicest way anyone had acted towards him in a long time. It was at least awkward for the acrobat as he grabbed out some pudding, unable to help the gluttonous feeling that he was stealing the food that wouldn’t even make a difference.

“A-are you sure no one else might need this stuff? I’d feel awful bad if someone was looking for this..”

“I stock the fridge,” Carlos said as he shut said-appliance. “I make sure there’s food in here because there’s nothing worse than trying to work while your stomach’s growling. Also, you’ll need a pick-me-up after I take some samples from you, so I just decided to go ahead and provide that too.” Carlos moved to the counter and opened a drawer to pull out a spoon, which he offered to Skip.

The acrobat took the utensil and put it to use to the chocolate refrigerated pudding, minding his bite sizes to hide his fangs that Carlos had already seen, doing it simply out of habit. He had to admit, the pudding wasn’t half bad it was something like you would find in an old cafe. He finished it quickly and sucked down the juice box soon after, he felt it all hit his stomach but none of it gave him energy.

Skip then gave Carlos a gentle thumbs up, “Okay, lets do this..”

Carlos smiled at him. He sure ate all that quick, but Carlos just chalked that up to him not having breakfast. “Alright. Let’s go get things ready… c’mon, then.” He gestured for Skip to follow him.

They went back out to the lab and Carlos offered the same chair as before. “I’ve got to go grab some cloves and other sterile equipment, so just give me a second, okay?”

Skip nodded enthusiastically, but in fact loathed the idea of a thick fat needle jabbing into his body and right into a vein and stealing away blood that he had rightfully stolen too! He sighed worriedly, slouching into the chair and glancing out the window.

Waiting for Carlos to return was like waiting for the world to end, he tapped his foot nervously as he picked at his torn up jeans.

Carlos came back carrying a box of gloves and a few sterile packages. He tilted his head in curiosity when he noticed that Skip seemed to be anxious.

“Hey… how you doing?” he asked as he started to get things settled in place. He wondered if Skip was really up for it – it wouldn’t do to have him faint during the procedure.

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers:

the-perfect-scientist:

partyplanningforsuckers

the-perfect-scientist:

Carlos hadn’t been to a circus in years – not since he was little. But there had been a raffle at work and Carlos had won a coupon for a free ticket. He kinda hoped that his brother and/or his dad were in town so he could invite them to go with him.

Carlos made his way to the ticket office that was set up, standing in the line with his coupon as he looked at everything around him. Some things were different than what he remembered or imagined a circus to be like, but not everything could be a dated cliche trope he supposed.

Once at the ticket office he smiled and offered the coupon. “Hey… this any good?” he asked in a joking manner.

@partyplanningforsuckers

The
acrobat couldn’t help but feel like such a swine, he was so hungry yet
none of the things that Carlos was offering would help, he wanted to
speak out but found himself possibly being yelled at or discriminated
against, being a blood sucker wasn’t exactly the most welcoming thing.
He reached in and grabbed one of the juice boxes, whichever one had the
darkest red color on it, quickly popping the top and stuffing in the
straw.

“Thanks- sorry I didn’t prepare, I usually try to eat before I get
too far from my apartment.. I guess it slipped my mind.” But it hadn’t,
it was just harder to catch a meal lately.

“That’s okay,” Carlos said. “Do you want anything else? The juice will pick you up, but I’d feel better if you had a fuller meal.” Carlos kept the fridge open, making it inviting. Something seemed weird again, but Carlos couldn’t put his finger on it at all.

“Uh, I guess..” Why couldn’t he just deny this man? Probably because he acted like a dad, and that was just the nicest way anyone had acted towards him in a long time. It was at least awkward for the acrobat as he grabbed out some pudding, unable to help the gluttonous feeling that he was stealing the food that wouldn’t even make a difference.

“A-are you sure no one else might need this stuff? I’d feel awful bad if someone was looking for this..”

“I stock the fridge,” Carlos said as he shut said-appliance. “I make sure there’s food in here because there’s nothing worse than trying to work while your stomach’s growling. Also, you’ll need a pick-me-up after I take some samples from you, so I just decided to go ahead and provide that too.” Carlos moved to the counter and opened a drawer to pull out a spoon, which he offered to Skip.

The acrobat took the utensil and put it to use to the chocolate refrigerated pudding, minding his bite sizes to hide his fangs that Carlos had already seen, doing it simply out of habit. He had to admit, the pudding wasn’t half bad it was something like you would find in an old cafe. He finished it quickly and sucked down the juice box soon after, he felt it all hit his stomach but none of it gave him energy.

Skip then gave Carlos a gentle thumbs up, “Okay, lets do this..”

Carlos smiled at him. He sure ate all that quick, but Carlos just chalked that up to him not having breakfast. “Alright. Let’s go get things ready… c’mon, then.” He gestured for Skip to follow him.

They went back out to the lab and Carlos offered the same chair as before. “I’ve got to go grab some cloves and other sterile equipment, so just give me a second, okay?”