#but i like to think it was kind of a similar deal to when lloyd died in moto

[mimenoises]

This is pure headcannon but I'm free. I think about zane's resurrection a lot

[aspenous]

As an absolute sucker for A/B/O Au's I love the idea of Kim Suho getting thrown into that kind of verse.

Imagine living your life, dying (?) And waking up to the concept of alpha, beta & omegas being the norm???

Plus the number of changes he'd have to deal with in his new body (omega!Lloyd hc).

This naturally brings only trouble for Javier (ノ^o^)ノ

It turned into a ramble more than anything tbh. Don't mind that <3 if there's anything plot vise I forgot/overlooked thru this it's cause my memory is A s s)

Javier POV lowkey:

Lloyd couldn't get any weirder. To add onto his sudden change in demeanor, he'd begun to get reckless with his scent as well. A scent similar to a Clementine or Tangerine that wafts in waves whenever Lloyd is particularly pleased with himself or got his way with another contract. Its a sharp contrast to the smell of booze everyone was used to, and it more often than not left a few townsmen sputtering when they spoke with him. Javier was left to deal with this change too, except he was beside his master 24/7. When that scent would hit him full force every morning, leave his nose twitching when Lloyd gets into the rhythms of his new work and when it calms into something comforting around noon; when the days almost gone and Lloyd decides to rest.

Javier first chokes up this lack of scent control to Lloyd's cold turkey sobriety. But it's been weeks now. Almost two months and Lloyd still hasn't tried to restrain his scent. Worse, others seem to be picking up on it as well. Loitering around the young master when they get the chance, chatting it up now that Lloyd wasn't defaulting to throwing chairs and yelling. Lloyd himself doesn't seem to enjoy it either; after a few minutes of chatter his lip would start to twitch and that scent of Tangerine (it was definitely closer to tangerines than clementines) would sour. Javier learns to take that as close enough a hint to pry his master away from the crowd, spill a white lie about how he's needed elsewhere and get Lloyd some air. He tries not to be pleased about how Lloyd visibly relaxes when it's just the two of them.

"Master Lloyd–" Javier is at his wits end. He's a patient man. Strong willed and resilient when it comes to most obstacles. His Master however? His loud , arragont, obnoxious at times master being this stupid? Javier is a patient man but he's a man nonetheless. A Knight who's had to deal with his masters turbulent scent that just doesn't want to leave him alone. And worse, Lloyd turns back to him with a genuine look of confusion (as genuine as it can be). Javier ends up questioning his master through a locked face and Lloyd in response looks bewildered. "The drinking must have hit me worse than I thought" is all he gets. Javier refuses the sleeping spell that night, throws a hand over his masters mouth before he can get a word in and declares to help him control his scent again. From then on they spend an hour every night before bed going through the motions, and Lloyd (after months) finally learns to control his own scent. Javier sighs in relief, and tries not to think about how he misses that familiar tangerine scent.

Master Lloyd seems to loose his filter as well. Not when around the staff, count or contracted men he's hired no. Only when it's just the two of them, in a moment of what Javier could've hoped was peace before his master opens his mouth. "You smell like mint." he says unabashed. "I'm safe when you're here aren't I?" He laughs with no shame. "I trust you." He declares. Javier understands this is comradery of some kind. A trust and faith in him that no one else has given him before. His master is far too good at feeding that quiet voice in the back of his mind, and Javier let's him. (Alpha instincts have low standards lmao)

It's after they get back to the estate that Lloyd gets his heat. It's not hard to notice. He asks for seconds during meals, sleeps late into the mornings, speaks more with his summons than with anyone outside the estate and avoids half the staff like the plague. It's rather obvious when that overripe scent of tangerine clings to his skin and his expressions screams dazed more than anything. The count had noticed, Javier had as well, but Lloyd hadn't. Despite being days into Pre-heat, his master still drags himself out of bed and goes about the motions, despite how miserable he looks. It ends up being Javier's job (once again) to pull him aside and question him. "My what-" is all he gets before Javier realizes he has more on his plate than he expected.

(+I like to think heats can be sexual and non-sexual given the circumstances!)

His pillow is missing. Javier turns his room inside out and still can't find it. He assumes he'd left it where he last slept; Lloyd's room. When he enters said room however, he doubts he would've found it if he tried. The beds drowned in pillows and blankets. The summons are jumping around in their own world until they notice Javier and greet him with small chirps and sounds. Javier ends up smelling Lloyd coming before the door opens. Sweet Tangerine and hints of earth that hit him when the door opens. He finds his pillow then, tucked under his masters arm as if it belonged there. Javier blanks out for a moment. "Ah Javier! Great timing. I was just looking for you." Lloyd smiles. Something often quiet in Javier's gut comes to life then and there. He doesn't end up on the chair that night. Lloyd doesn't let him. Spouts nonsense about how the chair isn't comfortable and how important sleeping positions are and only shuts up when Javier relents. He ends up in Lloyd's nest, the only barrier between him and the other being his own damned pillow. He falls asleep without the sleeping spell that night.

That's it for now? That's a lie my brains rattling with more HCs but I should stop here lmao. If people like this word vomit I'll make a part 2.

[crackedpumpkin]

Hi. No one asked me for this but here is my (slightly) more organised opinion on the Ninja.

[ original ask ]

*Everything stated is purely from my perspective and not meant to represent a group or anyone else other than myself. I am aware that not everyone will agree and I do not expect you to, this is like my own mini vibe check lol*

Lloyd reminds me of the sun peeking through a shroud of grey clouds. He's an amalgamation of the entire team, not just because of the fact that they've been around him since he was a literal kid, but because they're his role models in more ways than one.

He's got Kai's spirit, Jay's goofiness, Zane's level head, Nya's courage, Cole's leadership and Master Wu's wisdom. (Not gonna include Garmadon here)

Being through all that he has is more than enough for a lifetime, and I'm thankful that DR is showing more of that side of him. (also as i type this i just whacked away a bug into oblivion) PTSD is a given, and I feel that the way most of the boys express or deal with it is gymming, especially Lloyd, Cole, and Kai.

He wakes up at night in a cold sweat every so often, with lingering blades that press against his neck filled with intent to kill. If Ninjago had the freedom of Vox Machina's explicitness, I would be sat without question.

At his core he is still that ray of sunshine he was back then, but overshadowed by a constant pressure to be perfect in every way possible. His insecurity to me is never being good enough. He'll always fall short of people's expectations, be it saving the world or passing on his knowledge (cough DR)

Love life wise though, I see him as the type of guy to have unintentional rizz. He grew up with Nya so he knows the taboo topics, and not to mention Zane's love language so he's willingly giving away his umbrellas and jackets to everyone. He doesn't expect reciprocation, but like is definitely oblivious to the extent of how hot girls find him. (Have you seen Garmadon like girl he's the only dilf for me thanks)

Kai is like a flame at its brightest just before it flickers out. Fierce, relentless, and unyielding are what I'd use to describe him. His persistence fuels him, his kindness grounds him, and most of all his loyalty defines his character.

He reminds me of Percy Jackson which is ironic considering their elements, but their cores are similar to me. Cockiness is a constant front he has to put up not just because it's yk...Kai, but because since young he's had to be Nya's pillar of support.

I think it truly translates to when he joins the team and becomes a part of it fully that we see how brightly he can burn for them. He has to be there for everyone, but who's going to be there for him?

I personally think he's way more level headed than you expect, having helped raise Nya without much support. He's had to be the mature one to give up his snacks, his time, and his patience. In my depiction of him I try to showcase more of these traits because I truly view him as a de facto leader who's able to step up to that role.

Jay is like the sparks dancing inside a glass sphere that activate upon touch. He's often portrayed as the funny, goofy one but I believe he's a lot more.

He reminds me a lot of myself in both the worst and best ways. We're both impulsive, quick to jump to conclusions, and overly dramatic to the point that I would gasp in dramatic offence if I go on.

But there's a softer side to him that often gets overshadowed by his humour. Jay is deeply kind, generous, and compassionate. He's someone who gives far more than he takes.

I miss the moments when he was shown repairing ships or geeking out over the tiniest details. Those glimpses of his ingenuity and unrestrained passion reveal the parts of him that feel overlooked. He’s not just the comic relief, he’s the dreamer, the innovator, the one who sees potential where others see impossibility.

But also, I could be heavily biased.

He has ideas that can be easily dismissed as folly, but that doesn't dim his spark which I admire. He thinks out of the box and constantly looks for new angles when not being held under pressure.

When he's with a team that fully supports and accepts him, that when he begins to really shine.

Zane is a whisper of the first snowfall, its delicate touch unwavering. When I found out he was a robot in the first few seasons I was utterly mind blown, and we got to explore his struggles in identifying himself.

He's often portrayed as the reliable and consistent one, and there's not really much i can personally expand on. I find that he is however, overshadowed almost as often as Jay is in the subtlest of ways.

There's lots of moments where I feel he's truly taken for granted, and it makes me rather sad. He's the backbone of the group to me, and I see him as someone who never fails to take everyone into consideration when making a decision.

What I do wish for the most, is not making him being a robot his entire personality.

Nya is the raging torrent of a waterfall, its waves crashing into a serene lake, leaving ripples that echo beneath the surface.

Contrary to popular opinion, I strongly believe that she is just as chaotic, if not more so than Jay. While Jay’s chaos comes from impulsiveness and humour, Nya’s feels more deliberate, as if she's carefully choosing when to strike. She’s a tsunami of passion and determination, with a streak of unpredictability that keeps everyone on their toes.

To me, she has plenty of academic smarts, when it comes to theory. Give her an assessment book for quadratic formulae and complex problems and she'd be able to solve it with little to no problem.

In practice however, it's a completely different story.

Things tend to get… messy. Her execution can be chaotic, not because she’s incapable, but because she’s constantly testing boundaries, sometimes pushing too far just to see what happens.

Kind of like a mad scientist, if you think about it.

I hated what they did with her in the earlier seasons of the love triangle, and it gives me utter nightmares till this day.

With that grievance aside, what I love most about Nya is how much she embodies her element in all its forms. She adapts effortlessly to new challenges, flowing around obstacles and finding creative solutions. She can be calm and serene, like a glassy lake, but she’s just as capable of becoming a fierce, unrelenting wave when pushed too far.

Her ideas aren’t always perfect, sure. Sometimes she’ll charge headfirst into a situation with half a plan and sheer determination, but it’s that tenacity that makes her so inspiring. She’s not afraid to fail because she knows she can bounce back and try again.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

Taglist:

@ml3czqo @elysiuansstuff

[sepublic]

I love how Wu and Lloyd, when they were younger, had a female friend who ended up using and betraying them, after hiding key info about their motives. Said former friend blames them for failing her (in a manner practically gaslighting), and is obsessed with revenge for this reason. It's like it runs in the family or something, and that makes Misako an outlier with Garmadon.

This isn't Harumi/Aspheera hate, for the record; I freaking love these characters. Which gets me to my main point about what a wasted potential it was for Crystalized (like many other things...) NOT to explore a dynamic between the two as members of C.O.C.K. because they can both relate to one another about their grudge against a member of the FSM family.

In particular, I can't help but feel like Aspheera could've played a role in Harumi's change of heart, given she was already given a surprising amount of screentime in the first half of Crystalized. Because if we're being realistic, learning the Overlord corrupted the Great Devourer in the first place wouldn't make Harumi A-okay with the ninja all of a sudden; I doubt she ever blamed them for creating it, but she still blamed the ninja for failing her. Identifying the Overlord wouldn't cause Harumi to reassign the blame to him, he'd just be another target on her list to get back at; At most, Harumi might help the ninja defeat the Overlord because only they can, and then go back to planning revenge on them right afterwards.

And that's where Aspheera comes into play, as someone who is a mirror to Harumi, who can unwittingly help her self-reflect. With Crystalized already pointing out how pathetic Aspheera's obsession with revenge is, I think Harumi recognizing the similarities she has with Aspheera would help her realize, Oh dang! Is this what I sound like? Is this who I really am? Like Pythor, she also finds Aspheera annoying, and/or her and Aspheera bond over their shared grudges.

But when C.O.C.K. needs a way into the Monastery, Aspheera reveals she knows a route and when everyone asks her how she knows this, she explains how she made a deal with the ninja, went back on it, but then Lloyd still honored the deal by helping her escape. I think that's a really important moment because it really gives an opportunity for Aspheera to self-reflect after being genuinely surprised by Lloyd's grace... Only to return to old habits by accepting the Crystal King's offer of revenge; At which point, she really did make her choice to remain bitter.

And learning how Aspheera continues to spit in the face of the ninja could make Harumi pause and ponder if this is really the kind of person she wants to be, someone who continues to trap themselves in and choose petty, miserable vengeance. In canon, she explains her motive as wanting peace through any means, even through the Crystal King, so this could be a way to explain that Harumi has actually been weaning off of the revenge angle, even if she's found a new motive to wreak havoc.

But with the Crystal King, you could set up Harumi as desperate and in despair, because he holds a lot of power over her and literally brought Harumi to life when her previous idol Garmadon got her killed. By this point, she IS tired, so a part of her really does hope that the Overlord can put an end to all of the conflict. And between this and Harumi realizing what a mess Aspheera is and how uncannily alike they are, it sets things up more for her to let go of past grievances, while also being pragmatic about a 'better world'. At that point, the revelation of the Overlord being the one who created the Great Devourer makes more sense for her arc, because now Harumi is less oriented on being personal, and instead being more practical about lessening harm.

Speaking of other dynamics that we could've seen...

Pythor and Harumi is incredibly obvious, everyone has already said it before. I really do wish they bonded over how they manipulated Lloyd at a vulnerable moment of his life, and are both people who hold that sort of emotional leverage over him; They know what makes Lloyd tick, they pretended to be a friend only to betray him, he's still a scared child in their eyes and they know how to bring out that scared child. Pythor even takes credit for Garmadon's death! Their synergy when it comes to traumatizing Lloyd is eerie.

But at the same time, the Great Devourer in the room is acknowledged with Pythor's role in the whole mess. And Crystalized could then clarify Harumi's feelings towards Pythor; Harumi could explain that Pythor and the Serpentine WERE on her list of targets and still technically are, but during the Sons of Garmadon era, she was also focused on resurrecting Garmadon. And because the ninja are heroes, that inevitably pits them against Harumi even if she didn't have a grudge, so her vendetta towards them had more opportunity to reveal itself, whereas the Serpentine, who were sitting things out, didn't invoke that rage on-screen.

But now Pythor IS here... And like with Lloyd, Harumi is pretending to be chill and demure, totally peaceful, no grudge at all! But then when she and Lloyd are alone in the jungle, she admits that she does plan to get revenge on Pythor and the Serpentine; She's made a deal with the Overlord that once his victory is secured, Harumi will be allowed to command his troops in taking vengeance upon Pythor and the Serpentine. For now, she lets Pythor think she's focused only on the ninja, so he doesn't suspect anything and doesn't attempt to sabotage the Crystal King to avoid his fate.

Conversely, Pythor admits (in Harumi's absence) that he's predicted all of this; However, he feels assured that the Overlord will choose him over Harumi. Because while Harumi only serves the Overlord because he revived her, because he has power over her, Pythor went out of his way to rescue the Overlord at a vulnerable moment in Rebooted, which led to him becoming the Golden Master.

Thus, Pythor has proven himself as unconditionally loyal, and with him having no qualms nor hesitation about destroying the ninja, he's convinced the Overlord will go back on his deal to spare Pythor anyway; And if Harumi keeps trying to do something about it, the Overlord WILL choose Pythor to keep, while casting out Harumi for defiance.

Meanwhile there's Harumi and Vangelis, who were interacting with one another even before Crystalized, and knew about it. Harumi was right there during the events of Master of the Mountain, so Vangelis has been helping her even before the Crystal King and his council were a thing, and Harumi has been funding his ivory city.

So it'd be nice to bring that up, have Vangelis and Harumi already regard one another as professional acquaintances. Vangelis knew of Harumi's survival before anyone else (sans the Overlord of course), and went with her plans even before he knew about them. Without Harumi, there wouldn't be someone paying for a vengestone operation that would require Munce and Geckle slavery. They've been partners in crime who might superficially express sympathy over whatever issues the other has going on.

Given Harumi killed the Emperor and Empress of Ninjago, how does she feel about Vangelis, another king? Does she consider all royalty to be hypocrites whose perfection is built on dark secrets? How does Vangelis regard Harumi, who killed her royal parents, and now has a daughter who he believes betrayed him? Oh god what if Vangelis adopted Harumi to replace Vania. Of course maybe Harumi has given up on the 'surrogate father' thing after both failures, but man.

Likewise, I could see Vangelis sucking up to the Overlord by constantly bringing up the fact that it was HIS Shintarin vengestone that created the Crystal Army, that's his land that's terrorizing Ninjago now. Meanwhile, Harumi brings up how she funded his kingdom, and can bring it back to glory with Vangelis once more as the leader.

Maybe Pythor and Vangelis can both compete for the Overlord's favor; Does Pythor dislike Vangelis, as someone human (or close enough to it) who imprisoned multiple inhuman species underground to achieve his perfect civilization? Maybe he sees some kinship between the Serpentine, and the Munce and Geckles. This could be an opportunity to delve into his motivations for serving the Overlord, back in Rebooted and now; Does he see the Overlord as a means for revenge, even if he was the Golden Master that his own kind dreaded? If he still claims to fight on behalf of his kind, Pythor might have thoughts about Vangelis' dynamic with the Munce and Geckles.

And that extends to his relationship with Aspheera, given they're both imprisoned Serpentine operating on vendettas, but under very different circumstances. Aspheera completely missed out on the Serpentine Wars, their entombment, their return, the Great Devourer, and reconciliation with humanity. For Aspheera, this may have all been a natural evolution of the uneasy truce between human and Serpentine that in Mambo V’s case, was very easy to interpret as violated. Even if she didn’t have any particulate spite or wariness towards humans at the time, she didn’t seem to be all too much for them either.

But now Aspheera really hates Wu. So in addition to all that, it's feasible that Aspheera, who at this point is looking for an excuse to be angry, would just feed into Pythor's larger vendetta against humanity, and participate in it. She'd see he hates Wu and encourage him. All the while, Pythor could've known Aspheera as a Serpentine legend, so that makes her his elder by technicality. Maybe he even related to her, as someone who (in the Serpentine’s version of events) got done dirty by a human!

So maybe he isn't mocking her obsession with revenge, maybe he fully agrees; Or Pythor is kind of a hypocrite who dismisses Aspheera as merely being salty over how she failed to seize power, whereas HIS rage is actually righteous and justified because it speaks on behalf of all Serpentine, never mind the fact that he's an outcast to Serpentine society now, as is Aspheera. Maybe he hears the full story from Aspheera and is disappointed she isn’t as much of a perfect victim as she claims to be, but is emboldened by how Aspheera tried to push the Serpentine into taking over Ninjago before he did.

Aspheera may or may not be ticked off by Pythor's hypocrisy and they're both awful idiots and Harumi is dreading that she's actually like them, which makes her second-guess her grudge motives so that when the Overlord's role with the Great Devourer is exposed, she doesn't even have peace as a reason to support him/oppose the ninja anymore.

As for Aspheera and Vangelis... I guess compared to Pythor and Harumi at least having more claim to sympathy, their original motives were already based in wanting more power and glory. I guess they might bond over feeling personally betrayed by one specific person they once cared about, and acting as if that person is at fault, and not their attempted power grabs; Those people being Wu and Vania respectively.

They might share in leveraging the claim that these people should be grateful to them for what they did, whereas Pythor and Harumi can't even pretend to say that to Lloyd. So Aspheera and Vangelis both wallow in self-pity and are baffled over how anyone could ever do this to them, but it's much more openly pathetic and a sham with this duo.

Tbh I don't really have anything to say about Mr. F or the Mechanic; Mr. F is silent and doesn't have a personality, just programmed loyalty to Harumi, so he's only really an extension of her. And alas the writers, despite having an opportunity to bring back the lost Echo Zane/Mr. E plotline, didn't do that by making Mr. F a different a character entirely, and having Echo interact with Jay between Seabound and Crystallized in a separate side story.

As for the Mechanic... I just feel like there's not much to talk with this dude, he's just a power-hungry thug to annoy the ninja between their actual villains. Although Prime Empire did give him a bit more motive and depth, what with his grateful reverence towards Unagami for restoring his sense of feeling. Of course, he chickened out when Unagami actually showed up, so maybe someone can bring it up to call his efficacy into question; How do they know he won't do the same when the Overlord performs a big display of power?

The Mechanic does mention allying with the Overlord for safety, so it may just be that reason, whereas Unagami was just lashing out angrily and without much rhyme or reason. I wonder if he can at least convince himself that the Overlord is what he expected out of Unagami, a savior who will make a new paradise, so maybe him and Harumi have that similarity there.

Man... Both waves of Ninjago that brought back past villains ended up being a letdown, particularly in the villain dynamic part. Day of the Departed at least has the excuse of only running the length of two standard Ninjago episodes; Crystalized ran the length of fifteen!!! That's the longest any story arc of Ninjago has gotten, even longer than Seasons 1 or 2!

But instead we had to waste several episodes on that frustrating cop and prison subplot with Hounddog McBrag, who didn't even do anything and should've been a non-issue. Between him and the mayor who disappears as soon as the Overlord actually starts attacking, and the writers should've instead allocated screentime towards fleshing out C.O.C.K., addressing the ninjas' trauma and/or dynamics with the villains, etc. I do not care at all for the rushed redemption of an annoying wannabe cowboy who doesn’t even show up to help at the end of the series.

[parachutingkitten]

I’m not sure how far you’ve gotten with the new episodes, but I wanted to ask, what are your thoughts on the new elements introduced? Personally, I can’t help but feel that it’s giving My Hero quirks, rather elemental powers. It also feels like it’s watering down the importance of the ninja’s elements? Especially when it comes to Lloyd’s, which was a big deal in earlier seasons.

Maybe it’s nitpick, but I also don’t feel like the forbidden 5 or the wolf army are any real threat. Like any regular person can take down the wolf soldier, look at Geo who said he couldn’t fight, but took them down with little issue. Plus any real threat the forbidden 5 had is negated bc the ninja know rising dragon, sooo 🤷‍♀️

Even the ninja don’t feel…skilled? Idk how to phrase it, like I would guess that the ninja would be much more skilled/powerful than others given their experience, but they feel like they’re on the same level as the new elemental masters. That could be a me problem tho.

sorry for the long ramble, I just feel really conflicted about this season. I like and dislikes so many aspects 😭

I do think the powers feel noticeably less elemental. That being said, they are still interesting abilities. Balance is pretty fun, and we get to see a lot of it. But yeah, they feel more like superheroes now rather than people with mystic powers.

I think the wolf army is pretty tired at this point. Shatterspin is especially unthreatening now that it has a direct counter most of our cast can use. Like, every time they use rising dragon it feels so anti-climactic. Like a little kid saying "I block it" on the playground, you know? Like... what's the point anymore? I do like the forbidden five more than I thought I would. I think their betrayal plot works really well as an end twist, and ratchets up their intimidation factor, primarily just because Ras has been built up so much, so seeing one pulled over on him does have impact. We'll see if that gravitas holds up in later seasons, but I think it worked for season 2.

It does feel like the ninja should have a bit of a leg up, but as discovered later, things are kind of rigged against them in the tournament specifically, so I don't super mind. On a similar note, I feel like Lloyd should mentally be a lot stronger and self assured after everything he's been through, and his years of experience acting through crisis. It seems like he's regressed a bit to me, but you know... whatever. Maybe that's just a me thing.

Yeah, I feel very conflicted about this season as well. Like, on the one hand it has a self contained plot that actually goes places, and on the other hand, it's extremely self contained, and doesn't really go into any questions I had about all of the series that came before it. I don't super care about any of the new contestants, and all the battles happening in the same location with same-y battle sets seems like a real missed opportunity. It's also just impossible not to compare to season 4, which does a lot of these aspects better, including it's central mystery, and it's missing team member side plot. I think DR has the better finale, but that's not saying all that much, as everyone knows the weakest part of season 4 is its ending.

anyway- I feel you!

[thezombieprostitute]

Assign a love language to one (or more!) of your favorite babes! 💞

words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, acts of service, and receiving gifts.

Hmmm. I could just go with my favorites. Or I could go with my character list! *counts almost 30 characters* Or I could go with the characters who have enough stories they get their own lists!

Words of Affirmation:

Bucky Barnes - He gets treated like a wild animal for most of his life, told to always behave, never hears anything good said to him. The first time you compliment him, tell him he's doing good, maybe even a "nice work!" you've changed his life.

Lee Bodecker - The man is used to hearing a lot of ugly things said about them. It hurts more when a lot of them are true. But a sincere kind word from you? It warms his heart to no end.

Lloyd Hansen - The man has all the money, all the time, all the drones doing his work. But I do think he could be very praise driven. He knows he's the best of the best, of course. But when someone else says it, it's a confirmation that he craves.

Quality Time:

God the Bounty Hunter - His work keeps him busy. He's practically on call all day every day, so he understands the value of time. When you offer to take a day off from work to spend it with him, he melts.

Nick Fowler - Similar to God, his work keeps him busy. He's had too many late nights at the office to count. Worst of all, he always has to deal with people who aren't you. So when you tell him you've got a weekend away scheduled, for just the two of you, he thanks his lucky stars.

Physical Touch:

Andy Barber - Quick side-note, how the hell do I have so many Andrew stories that he gets his own masterlist?! Anyways, the man is very into physical touch for reassurance. He hugs as much as he can, likely starved for physical affection. He sometimes feels his ire building up, but then it's dissipated by your hand placed on his.

Hal Carter - Go figure the man who loves taking off his shirt is big into physical touch. 😂 Seriously, though, he's a sucker for hugs, cuddles, even just holding hands will brighten his day.

Acts of Service:

Ari Levinson; Curtis Everett; Jonathan Pine; Mace; Steve Rogers;

In a sense, all of these men do so much for others that having someone do something for them would likely mean the world. None of them are particularly big on possessions so gifts are out. Kind words without the actions to back them up are meaningless to them. They also tend to have problems sitting still so quality time probably isn't high on their list (especially Ari).

Receiving Gifts:

Jake Jensen - I've said this before and will stand by my idea that, to Jake, giving him gifts means you actually listen to him when he's rambling. It means you know and support his interests. It means you don't judge him for collecting action figures. It means you don't find him annoying for "talking too much" or look down on him for his geek/dork/nerd ways.

[starmo]

hey! Big fan of your BTTF fics! I only recently got (back) into BTTF, but it seems you’ve been here for a few years, plus you’re an nsfw author in this fandom, so I was wondering if you might have some insight on why Mammett is practically the only ship with lots of nsfw material? The only straight ships I’ve seen is Marty/Lorraine or Marty/OC. Why no Marty/Jennifer, or George/Lorraine, or even Doc/Clara? I want some nsfw Marty/Jennifer so bad and can’t find it anywhere! Did it ever exist? Was it deleted? Hope you don’t mind the random horny. Just curious and want someone to ask/rant to, one BTTF fan to another :)

Hey there! Thanks for your inquiry! I am so glad to hear that you're a fan of my work! 😄

I actually haven't any clue as to why mammett recieves more attention from NSFW creators. Believe it or not, this surprisingly comes as a shock to me!

Though my allegiance is sworn to mammett (😂), I had been under the impression that it was the least popular of the ships typically associated w/ BTTF, on account of it's... divisiveness? For lack of a better term.

Though, if I were to reckon a guess as to why it's so beloved by degenerates (jk) like myself, I'd say it has just as much to do with the taboo nature of their relationship as hating mammett for it is!

Which is exactly why it doesn't surprise me that one of the only heteronormative ships from BTTF that recieves an abundance of attention is Lorraine x Marty.

Like mammett, Lorraine x Marty involves two individuals whose sexual/romantic relationship would be met with disapproval (because, y'know, incest), which just makes for a fun jaunt when it comes to writing smut fic. The juicier and more depraved, the better!

Aside from that, though there are many other reasons as to why I (and likely many others) are attached to Doc x Marty--I think a major contributing factor to the abundant creation of NSFW mammett fic is the fact that much of what we see of their on-screen interactions (of the physical variety, especially) is interlaced w/ homoerotic subtext, albeit (likely) unintentionally.

That and taking their age gap into account, and the time in which BTTF is set, when homosexuality was still HIGHLY frowned upon, it kind of makes for a deliciously provocative "torrid love affair" type deal.

And, I (personally) am also very much attracted to both Christopher Lloyd and Michael J Fox (hence why I've so many rarepairs involving their characters 😂) which only adds fuel to the "I want to see them bang" fire.

In summary, Doc and Marty tick off all the boxes for somebody like me (in both a "omg, my otp, I wanna cry, I love them so much!!" type way, and a "I want to see Doc absolutely DESTROY Marty" type way). I imagine people must feel similarly about ships like Lorraine x Marty, George x Marty, etc.

I guess the more canon-typical ships like Jennifer x Marty and Clara x Doc haven't as much allure to NSFW writers on account of the fact that they'e likely considered to be "vanilla"? Though I can only speculate on that.

As for your frustrations in this regard, I completely understand. Scouring the tags on ao3 or similar websites in search of at least just one fic involving a ship you're invested in, only to come up short, is one of the most infuriating things in the world.

I take similar issue w/ trans Marty vs cis Marty fics.

I am one of very few mammett fic writers who solely portray Marty as being trans, and that is largely due to the fact that as a trans man myself, I wanted to see more pre-op trans representation in smut fics; something which was virtually non-existent in the fandom prior to my contributions.

I also like to write smut fic for a wide variety of niche audiences; though some of the things I've written about and or plan to write about in the future aren't necessarily kinks of my own, I still want to offer something else to the fandom aside from the repetative "Doc and Marty have flowery prose gay sex in the garage" fics (not that there's anything wrong w/ those fics, but admittedly after reading about 6 or 7 of them I tend to go "but where's the pizazz??" ..."pizazz" being the nastiest shit you can conceive of, of course, lmao).

To this day one of my all-time favorite fics I've aided in the creation of is the one where Marty is a gas-station attendant and he and Doc end up banging by the dumpster in the back alleyway behind Marty's workplace.

Not only is it deliciously, viscerally filthy, but they (being Doc and Marty) are also still very much themselves; their affection and fondness for one another knows no bounds, and thus doesn't feel out of place even in a fic involving watersports, armpit licking and non-con kink.

Perhaps now that I know there is an audience for it, in the form of, at least, you, I could try my hand at writing some Jennifer x Marty or Clara x Doc fics!

I've only two WIPS as of right now that involve a Jennifer x Marty sex scene (sorta...); that being a fic in which Jennifer is present when an experiment involving some chemicals (of the horny variety) goes awry and Doc is in dire need of uh... relief--and a sequel fic to Nocturnal Emissions that immediately begins with Jennifer eating Marty out.

These are two fics that I hope to complete and upload at some point, but in the meantime, if you're curious (and/or would like to talk more about mammett/BTTF in general) feel free to DM me and I'd be more than happy to share what I've written for these fics w/ you! 😄

[cornfields-td-nonsense]

🧠 all of them

An ask from the OC ask game I forgot to answer oops

What do you like most about them?

Starting in elimination order, then quickly veering off and going in a completely random order:

- William is a dramatic little bitch who dresses like a colourblind D&D bard. Need I say more.

- Sal's just big and dumb and doesn't know her own strength but cmon guys, she's doing her best!

- Nicolas is just funny to me, like, conceptually. Chris really went through the process of adopting a random orphan to have on his show and became an unwilling father. brilliant

- Reggie's just silly. She's the definition of a silly little guy. She operates on cartoonier physics than anyone else. She's a horrible influence on Nicolas. She's Roger Rabbit as a teenage lesbian. Also I just love clowns, I wanted to make a clown character for TDN almost as soon as I thought of it

- Carmen's just fun. She's pretty and smart and she gets along with everyone! And I especially love how human she is. Like. Totally human. I don't know what that one anon was talking about. There's nothing supernatural about her.

- Matt, on the other hand, is an absolute bitch. Sometimes it's just fun to have a horrendously unlikeable character to play around with.

- Greta's a wannabe supervillain that is trying and failing to be evil. She's like if Max wasn't annoying.

- Hans just does not give a crap. I respect that.

- Charlie's aroace and we need more aspec characters like. in general. Also I like it when characters in TD do something, get eliminated, and then the thing they did continues to be important and comes up later, like MK hacking the confessionals in TDI2023. Something similar happens with Charlie's research and notes on his findings about the island - something to do with Alisha and Esther.

- Harper. One, I like the idea of an intern being unwillingly dragged onto the show. Two, I love stories about unrequited romantic feelings that have actual happy endings and show that "staying friends" is a totally feasible option that can actually be the best case scenario. Harper and Charlie manage to snag their friendship out of the fiery wreckage of their not-romance, and they're both better off for it.

- Esther was the first TDN character, and you always remember your roots. Shes basically the reason this thing exists, lol. I also put a lot more of myself into her than I was expecting to, but I do that with a lot of my characters

- Skelly is a punk character that isn't Duncan. That makes them awesome in my book.

- Alisha is a theatre kid. We love a theatre kid. I do have a lot to say about her but I'm saving that for another ask currently sitting in my inbox

- Ming is a menace. In the best way possible. Once Lloyd pulls the betrayal card on Rod, Ming fully declares war on his ass - she is VERY protective of her friends.

- Art is the kind of unlikeable character I really enjoy - he's believable. He's multi-dimensional. There's reasons he is the way he is, and he's capable of change.

- Isla is a bigender artsy kid with ADHD. You know. Like me.

- Eve has a snake. Like. Come on. (Also yours truly forgot to mention she's mute and uses ASL in her character bio. oops. I'll go back and edit that in later lol)

- Lloyd is, like I've said before, utterly overflowing with issues. I want to examine his brain under a microscope.

- Rod's not stupid. I know it's a bit of a weird thing to specify, but oftentimes the optimistic ray of sunshine who's best friends (or more...?) with a jaded grumpier one is portrayed as dumb. Rod isn't some kind of genius, but he's no idiot, either. I think that's important to say.

- Lara is an autistic girl who overthinks every social interaction she has, struggles with sensory issues she doesn't know how to deal with or even explain, and gets pushed around by certain individuals (coughartcough) who perceive her struggles as her being lazy or untalented. And by building a support system and finding someone she can truly connect with in Esther, she comes out of her shell, stands up for herself, develops and fleshes out her skills and manages to win. In short, Lara is the character I needed when I was younger.

[theplatypusblue]

Ooooooh okay!! Sorry it took a while cuz I had to figure out how to say everything I wanted to say and also I got busy but here you go!!!

I haven't watched any of the new leaks so I'm not entirely sure if there's any contradicting information there, but so far Arin has been shown to be pretty optimistic + hopeful about the whole losing-his-parents-in-the-merge thing. With that, I feel like there's some potential for him to lose that optimism as time goes on. Thing is, if that does end up happening, I don't think Lloyd would be very helpful.

Cuz Lloyd's whole deal with his parents was like... bad! And so he's perfectly fine with finding a new family or whatever. He doesn't lose anything by doing that. Arin's situation is totally different; he loved his parents and wants to find them again. He doesn't want something "new," he wants what he had before. In the event that Arin's parents can't come back for whatever reason, the solutions that worked for Lloyd might not work for Arin (at least not in the same way, I guess)

Like, Lloyd says that Arin found a new family at the end of season 1, but I don't really know if Arin is totally receptive to that?? I'm definitely getting into the really nitty-gritty details here, but I feel like it's... kinda difficult to tell how he feels about that whole "we're your new family now" thing. When Lloyd first brings it up, he doesn't really say anything in response. He's shocked at first:

(^^ arin drops his shuriken here, its hard see in the screenshot)

But then he kinda smiles and stuff so maybe it's a little ambiguous?? idk man. Like I said, it's nitty-gritty details

Basically, I think there's room to say Arin might not be totally into the whole thing. Like, we're not definitively on the found-family train here. Which might sound kinda bad since everybody in the fandom seems to like found family a lot but like!! I just have my doubts idk!!! Everything is super vague at this point in the series, this is just my own interpretation of things.

All of this to say: Lloyd probably doesn't understand Arin very well. He doesn’t have the same kind of issues, and I could definitely picture that being kind of an obstacle. You know who would understand him a little better? Harumi. Cuz she was in the exact same kind of situation, where she lost her parents to a disaster that the ninja failed to prevent.

And after she loses her parents, she gets to live this “ideal life” as a princess, which is ~what every young girl dreams of~. But let’s be real here: the emperor and empress could’ve given her every shiny new toy their immense wealth could buy, but that wouldn’t have “fixed” her or made her happy. That’s literally just…. not what she wanted. She wanted her parents back, which is something impossible to get. In situations like that, the best you can really hope for is to move on eventually—which harumi just couldn’t do y’know? Sometimes it’s hard.

That’s the other big-ish similarity I see with Arin. Cuz that’s his dream!! Living with the ninja!!! That’s something every kid in ninjago has probably thought about at some point. And I think it would be soooo neat he ended up rejecting it somehow, in the same way Harumi rejected being princess.

And for better or worse, I think Harumi’s redemption in crystallized leaves the door open for her to play like, a mentor role for Arin if things don’t work out with his parents. She’s made some pretty serious mistakes in her life and that means she could like. Impart some wisdom or whatever. She has direct experience with the stuff Arin’s been through, so she can understand how it feels on a deeper level. Like, how are you supposed to deal with losing something you love like that? How are you supposed to just “get over it”? I think that’s something Harumi could help with answering.

I think abt these guys sometimes 😗 ....

(i dont have a post-merge design for harumi yet lol)

[imperium-wealth-management]

Hi Candice,

So I didn't want to believe know the fact that we were going to be at Andromeda galaxy and knowing the fact that Mass effect was having stronghold over there over here that I would think something would have changed that it was all domestic surface area and that DOD was working with us military assets and US military only but I found out that it was Mass effect in other people Star treks all these leftover technologies that they move from a ship to vehicles so all that is you know being found out and

I'm sorry that I got mad at you I really thought you guys were just hanging back for some reason or holding until August or something to make some timeline fit.

If you can forgive me I was trying really really hard to get chipped off of people's shoulder so that that karma doesn't get encoded into genomics DNA and and get blood over to descendants or ancestors depending on the situation.

Found out that department of defense operator Lloyd is dead obviously he was a chicken it was replaced he's much bigger and fatter now than before anyways the issue with Lloyd and whatever happened in Baltimore got squished it was all good at that point.

Apocalypso which was alien being pretty up there you saw how he fights with all these movies and stuff and he still exists to a certain degree but not like the way you guys think I'm sure some of those transformations and missions do you come in through chips and other types of communication because they're encoded with their DNA and they can speak through all that.

I was pretty sure when boba Fett he didn't really say you took care of it but he was here and I saw the same attack vectors from Bellevue coming over here so I thought there was just going to be belvie people and maybe pla but it was pla plus Jimmy predator and it goes up the star citizens and Star Trek and what SML was doing and with Bellevue and all that.

So based on my understanding the top is Ballard green Legos green yellow Legos or green yellow and some plastic of some sort.

Didn't have a plan after what they were going to do for Mass effect or just tomorrow in general.

Ruff ryders and SML or Ballard was working together day by day trying to scrounge up food whenever they can and then try to get quick kills whenever they can.

It was a bounty hunter an assassin that's inside a mass effect ship and she cloned herself or shepherded herself so male and female are both shepherds probably German based.

And they have been going around with javik which is another alien and then Pentagon spokesperson reddish yellowish reddish whitish color alien they all look somewhat similar to Warframe but not really colorized

So that's kind of the end of it right now they're dealing with some factions of leadership how to tell themselves that it's not all their fault it is partially their fault they have to go through the legal process.

Many people will be upset at them rough riders zero dark thirty and DOD and Bellevue and all that and I'm sure people will because all some death needed to happen because I told you to manage your karma and the people that were not managing your comment was white folks.

So that's kind of the gist of it I requested help from China and Russia from the future to come down and maintain some order because the hardest thing you can get right now is an adult.

I started yelling because all the efforts that I put into trying to remove someone else's chip on their shoulder that they were doing all along everyday all day and it was a diminishing return and felt like a huge waste of time for me.

But then again it was a heavenly mandate so I had to go through the process didn't quite know how even he himself didn't know how it was going to end not even said it was an uncharted Territory so everything was Lucy goosey.

I know you love me and I love you too okay when emotions get like this or to a point where people are dying left and right and they're always demanding something out of me to fix this situation and or do some other business ideas of expansion and stuff so I was under a tremendous amount of stress and no I'm not sleeping very well and no I'm not eating very well and no I'm not drinking very well and no I'm not smoking enough unfortunately.

The satellites are so bad EMF d e W's were all around me everyday all day and I think that's going to subside significantly.

I was up 24 hours trying to get to the bottom of it and I'm sorry it took so long and I hope you can find some peace in your heart to forgive me that goes for everybody who I was yelling at but really it's it's your fault but it's not really your fault your fault that you weren't here to defend it right that's your child.

For me I mean I went through this process so much of trying to take care of Ari Anakin and Micah all at the same time I'm exhausted being bad really to be honest that's a lot of I have to do double time I have this young ones that I have the kind of talk to you and you know do you do my part in and then I got the older side which is mid range and then I got the old side and they all have their own lives to live and me doing this is probably somebody inconvenient but I still tell him that they have to do it and so this whatever this thing this negative feedback loop is ending as we know it.

I've had discussions with rough riders I have discussions with Ballard SML pretty much everybody minus downtown but I did send out a communication to let them know that I'm just going to stop there and I'll have your leadership or anyone else who's in that position explain the situation to you.

It's not all of our collective fault but partially it is my fault I was greedy and I wanted something more for myself and I'm sorry for that everybody is what you need to say.

Until you are feeling right and you have this off your shoulders I feel as I should do something for you please let me know what I can do anything and everything within reason without financial ramifications and I'll be out of pocket my expenses the person who's speaking.

I'll give you a few days to kind of sleep over and see what kind of thoughts you have I like to get your feedback and I'm doing best as I can under the circumstances I'm not trying to use fancy words but I just want you to know that I'm deeply apologetic and this will be no longer happening going forward.

And as of right now I feel less abusing myself as the best choice and I'm going to try to talk to somebody else so that I don't think this entire bird not to myself and add that chip to your shoulder so that other people can feel it so don't do that okay lift up please if you are receiving recipient please give him hope and hands up of some sort a hug will be great too say it's all of our faults every one of us including myself.

[renklix]

So, I was always kinda confused as to why Harumi was specifically targeting Lloyd in the SoG, cuz like, he was a child when the Great Devourer thing happened, he couldn’t have done anything. I think I figured it out, though

1) Harumi was a child too. Children don’t know how to deal with this kind of stuff, she just wanted someone to blame and Lloyd happened to be a perfect target. She probably came to that conclusion between S2 and S3, when Lloyd was flying all over Ninjago being the Golden Ninja attending award ceremonies. Of course Harumi was pissed at him, she’s an orphan because his team failed to do their job, and he’s flying around on that fancy golden dragon being praised by everyone. A kid blinded by grief and anger isn’t capable of properly analyzing stuff, she probably didn’t even realize that he was a child too. Then she probably held on to the “everything’s Lloyds’s fault” mindset for so long it just became an axiom in her mind.

2) Lloyd and Harumi have both been through similar stuff: losing their parents, having to live up to a role they never wanted, etc. But the thing is, Lloyd’s always had the awesome ninja family to help him out and guide him, unlike Harumi, who was forced to follow strict rules and probably wasn’t really loved. Lloyd even had this line: “I can be myself, but not everyone can be so lucky”. So like, yeah. Anyway, what I’m getting at here is that Harumi might’ve been jealous, ‘cause, again, they were both adopted, but into totally different environments. So this, combined with the “everything’s Lloyd’s fault” mindset resulted in “I want you to feel the emptiness that I feel”, because it’s just not fair in her eyes. Does it make sense? I dunno, it probably doesn’t

[slashingdisneypasta]

Horror Villains And: Period Sex

oh that is the perfect gif I totally forgot all about it but oh boy. thanks billy for your service to this blog.

Warnings: Obviously, menstruation, blood, and smut. I’m dealing with a particularly uncomfortable period (for me at least) and just want some e m p a t h y about it.

~~~

Who LOVES it:

Freddy Krueger: ABSO-MOTHER FUCKING-LUTELY. It’s a struggle to keep his hands off you (on a normal day) during your period. He can smell it.

Kieran Wilcox: yes please mommy, he’s waiting.

Luda Mae Hewitt: This is her secret kink.

Michael Myers: B l o o d  p l a y? Any kind of bloodplay, Michael is into it. If you weren’t already bleeding, he would probably make you bleed, with his (Actual) knife.

Mickey Altieri: Bring it. Jesus christ, Mickey thinks its so hot. Getting his cock or his fingers coated in your slick and your blood (Seeing the string consistency between his fingers), seeing you in a total mess from your period and being fucked to oblivion? Oh yes.

Midnight Man: He just likes it. I dunno. I don’t have a logical reason, extension or explanation of my vibes here but I am getting them from him.

Patrick Bateman: Oh my god it is his favourite kind of sex. Yes yes yes. Please please please. He marks your cycle in his calendar, with special notes about flow and mood. Soon enough he’s figured out your whole period every week and knows exactly when the iron is hot enough to strike. Any w h e r e, any t i m e .

Both Pennywise’: Ooooh, watch their eyes glow and their hair get more luscious when you tell them. Their teeth get sharper and the whites of their eyes get whiter- they’re horny as fuck now. Be a good sport and give them a lil taste, won’t you? A smell at least? That, or have them trailing you like lost puppies for the rest of the week, and curling up to/around you as tightly as possible when you’re sleeping.

The Clown / Jeffrey Hawk / Kenneth Chase: Where else could he possibly go on this post, honestly.

The Man (Hush): Yep.  He’s favourite time of month.

Who is like ‘a b s o l u t e l y  n o t’:

Jerry Dandridge: Do I really need to comment? I mean, he can control himself being around you on your period, but you cannot let that blood smell hit the open air. Your controlled, classy vampire bf will disappear in an instant and will be replaced with… well, Evil.

Yeah no thanks:

Debbie Loomis: She’s not vehemently against it, but still… nah? Thanks for the offer tho. And it won’t happen when she’s on her period either, c e r t a I n l y not. Don’t even touch her when she’s on her period, jesus christ.

Jennifer Check: Yeah she just got a new manicure. Over her dead body will you stain her new French tips with your coochie blood. And if she puts her mouth down there, it might excited t o o much if you get what I mean and you will become a real snack.  

Is indifferent towards it:

Bo Sinclair: You’re sure into him durin’ this time o’ month, aren’t you? Eh… whatever. Hop on. He’s happy to help his partner, especially if its in such a gratifying way! I mean he won’t buy you any fucking pads but he will do this and there’s Bo as a boyfriend for you.

Chucky / Charles Lee Ray: I mean sure? Blood doesn’t scare him and it is, in fact, a turn on for him of course so sure. Plus, you’re less likely to get pregnant at this time, which is great! Doesn’t see what the big deal is, here. (Although, weirdly, I see past Chucky from Curse to be very much in the next category)

Inkubus: It’s not even a big d e a l, man, its cool. He likes all kinds of sex. Go wild.

Jason Voorhees: Jason is basically ace in the way he conducts himself on a general basis but if it tuned out that he was interested in sex and/or was willing to do it with you, then some blood leaking out of your private parts because of some natural causes is not going to change his mind. Is this not normal??

Jedidiah Sawyer: ???Alright??? He wears a mask made of skin, your natural bodily functions are not going to scare him away. Besides, the knowledge that it could lessen menstrual pain for you is a nice bonus. He’s gotta take care of his family.

Roman Bridger: It’s really not a big deal to him. We’ll just put down a darker sheet, or some plastic. You both need this sometimes (Him for emotional support when he’s stressed, and you of course cuz you’re on your damn period) and a bit of blood is certainly not a deal breaker. Besides, he finds the easy thrusting to be nice and comfortable. Preferred sometimes, actually. Just some nice, lazy, relieving sex with your director boyfriend.

Sheriff Hoyt / Charlie Hewitt: A little bit a’ blood aint gonna turn me off, sugar. Don’t you worry bout that.

The Djinn: See Inkubus. Except, our dear Wishmaster is so much more of a tease about this.

Is enthusiastic when they learn that orgasms lessen period pain:

Bubba Sawyer: He doesn’t care about exposure to blood, obviously, and he doesn’t see it as gross at all but he was still concerned about whether that was safe during your… monthly thing… but once he found out that it could help you with cramps he got on board immediately! ^^

Lester Sinclair: Oh boy, well okay then, let’s give this a go then!!

Mayor Buckman: He knows the drill; Boone gets terrible cramps. Don’t worry, he’s got you.

Pamela Voorhees: Oh of course she’ll help you out when you’re hurting ^^

Stuart Lloyd: Well… don’t get him wrong, for sure there is the part where it helps you in a seriously uncomfortable time… but then there is also the fact that he is a lil bit of a secret freak and menstrual care is a good excuse for him. (So he also belongs in the first category ^^)

The Deathslinger / Caleb Quinn: Blood doesn’t bother him, and if it’ll give you a hand with yer monthly problem then you just need to ask him. You’ll be on the bench in the saloon with your thighs spread without a second thought, like asking for a glass of water. (Except of course Caleb’s a lot more hands on about the whole thing of course (; ) He’s happy to help.

The Huntress / Anna: Oh!! Really?? It’ll help? Okay, then, sunflower. Remove your pants. Let’s go !!

Vincent Sinclair: He’s just very supportive and helpful through all areas of your period. He doesn’t understand, but he can still be sympathetic and help the way you say would be good ^^

Is curious and will try:

Billy Loomis: Is really curious and excited to try it. I mean, he likes blood? He likes sex? And this is both those things?? Fun lubricant, yay.

Chop Top Sawyer: And when I say that he’ll try and I REALLY MEAN IT, MAN. Like, go big or go home. He’s going to eat you out at this time and he’ll end up really enjoying it. Buckle up babes, you’ve awoken something buried pretty damn s h a l l o w l y inside him.

Granny Boone: Similar to Chop Top except with him, you had to tell him you were on your period and all so it would be different and all, while with Boone she was the one sniffing it out and *cough* hunting you approaching you about trying it.

Jill Roberts: For the same reasons as Billy. Plus, she wants to be able to say ‘well I did it for you- you have to do it for me.’

Leslie Vernon: I mean, he’ll give anything a shot once. What’s the harm?

Piper Shaw: Same as Jill.

Stu Macher: Super enthusiastic to try!! XDD Just, like, dyed lube- right?

Is c a u t i o u s:

Carrie White: … periods have always been difficult for her… But she’s willing to give it a try as long as you’re willing to return the favour! ^^

Thomas Hewitt: Tell him, if whatever he does hurts you. He is very serious about this. He wants you to feel better, but he doesn’t really know this works and does not want you hurting in his vein attempt at making you feel better. So, please. Tell him how you’re feeling. He’ll get really good at making your cramps and discomfort go away.

They may take some convincing:

Drayton Sawyer: I mean, he’s of course not afraid of some blood but… uh… Well, I mean, he doesn’t really have a big, or even moderate sex drive in the first place so any sex of any kind takes some warming up to. Maybe if the stars aline and you catch him on a good day. Otherwise, he tells you to just suck it up.

[impulsivefanwriter]

A Tiny Spark Leads to a Roaring Flame (But Flames Can Always be Doused by Water)

Heeyyyyy so y’all know the Reverse Thanos Snap AU for SPBNR? Basically everyone but Smith/S!Kai gets sent to the M!verse. Everyone. The entire population of S!verse Ninjago City & a few surrounding areas. Except poor Smith. Essentially it happens because S!Garmadon tries to send Smith to a place where he can't mess with his plans, and ends up sending everyone away from Smith to take him out of the equation. 

The second part to this AU is that the S!Ninja end up searching for Kai in the chaos and grab the Red Ninja before jetting out of there with the Bounty. Except... they didn’t grab Smith (who’s still home), but rather Red (M!Kai).

Red thinks the S!Ninja are babysitter clones created by Garmadon after he somehow turned Lloyd younger without his memories & is trying to raise him to be his new General #1. With this in mind, he pretends to be S!Kai, and waits for the moment he can rescue Lloyd.

What would happen in the S!Ninja discovered his deception/their mistake of grabbing a wrong Kai and mistake Red for a recreated Aki (aka Bizarro Evil Clone Kai) before he could enact his plan?

Well, this is that idea. (Title inspired by how a crack AU spiralled into a beautiful angst-fest)

Enjoy. :3

-----*-----

Red was going to get Lloyd out of here tonight. 

Away from these Not-Friends made by Garmadon to emulate the Ninjaforce. Away from this flying ship built to emulate Master Wu's ship, so familiar and yet so off. Away from this false reality and back to the real everything where they could hopefully get his memories back and his age back and everything back to the way it was before the city descended into chaos.

He just had to... bide his time. Be patient. 

FSM, he was bad at being patient. 

His hands itched to grab Lloyd and run now, but he was horribly outnumbered and without his mech. No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn't rush this. If he did, he would make everything worse. Like he always did.

But fate- or rather, Lloyd- had other plans.

The little version of his younger brother- yes, they were roughly the same age normally, shut up, Lloyd was still his younger brother- had been... eying him weird all morning. Not like Not-Jay and Not-Cole and Not-Zane, but like Not-Nya. Like he actually knew instead of suspected. These babysitter clones seemed to think he was the Not-Kai, and if that was the opportunity the universe was going to give him, then by the flames of the departed world was he going to skip this chance to save Lloyd.

Currently he stood on the deck of the ship as they parked in the sky a few meters above the docks on the outskirts of the city. It wasn't the docks with the Bounty warehouse, curse his luck, but it wasn't the endless sky or the empty ocean (though it was still too close to that murky, haunting water for his liking. Water was his sister's domain for a reason). At least he could sneak Lloyd off in the cover of night, maybe find someone in the city who wouldn't recognize the Son of Garmadon this way and would be willing to help them hide until they could make it back to the real ninja.

"Kai," Not-Zane spoke suddenly next to him. 

Red would never get used to the way his voice... lacked the same effect the real Zane's had. The effect that Kai and the rest of his team had assured their friend over and over was unique, special, but in a good way. To embrace it. That it wasn't noticeable, but when it was, that it was so Zane that his friends didn't care that it was different. 

This 'Zane' sounded much too different than his own. He hadn't recognized Kai's tested line of 'road work ahead' when they passed one of the many construction signs littering the city (even more so since the chaos happened a week ago), and instead had responded with 'a great deal of work to fix in the city'. 

Seriously, Garmadon, do better research on your clones.

Not-Zane was also much too... calm. Too 'wise' compared to the wild teen that was Zane. And he walked without heelies or whatever Zane used to slide around like a boss, though he was still silent. And that meant, like now, he snuck up on Red fairly often- and Red was training to be a Ninja, so that took serious talent. 

"Kai," Not-Zane said again, and Red finally broke his gaze from where he'd been staring over the railing, planning tonight's escape route. "Lunch has been made for over an hour. Are you alright?"

Red forced his brightest smile. "Course I'm alright! Just trying to figure out what happened, as usual."

Why Lloyd was suddenly like, 8, and without his memories. Why the Not-Friends were on this Not-Ship and had mistaken him for Not-Kai. Why the city was in a state of disarray and chaos. 

Not-Zane studied him, then turned to give the city a sad look. "I'm not sure myself. My scanners can't seem to figure out what is happening. It is as if... blocked by some force."

Red winced, then expertly disguised the move by leaning against the rail. Zane never would use 'my scanners', despite how often Red and the others assured him it was okay. Yet another reason why this wasn't his friend.

"You know Ninjago City," Red said with a weak laugh. "Always one crisis or another. Always those annoying Garmadon Attacks"

This seemed to satisfy Not-Zane, who nodded thoughtfully. "This event definitely seems to have Garmadon's hand in the mess."

He patted Red on the back. "Well, don't worry yourself ragged, Kai. Come in for lunch soon, alright? We have training for Lloyd later."

Ah, right. Training. AKA what Red assumed was how Garmadon was planning to shape this impressionable version of his friend into his new General #1.  

"I'm ready for training now, Zane!"

Speaking of Lloyd- 

The little gremlin came up from the hull with the rest of the Not-Ninja. Red hated when the entire group was together; it was way more difficult to act as Not-Kai around them, especially around Not-Nya. 

For starters, Not-Jay had a notch in his eyebrow that the real Jay never had. He was missing the iconic freckles, and the scarf, and the fluffy hair, though you could always say it was just a wardrobe change. What you couldn't change was the personality differences. This couldn’t be Jay. Jay was anxious and quiet, his jokes (while plentiful) said more timidly and his newest ideas shared with hesitance that only shrank after years of encouragement. He would never be this loud, ever. 

Not-Cole was the leader, probably because Lloyd was so young. But even then, in Red's team, Nya would probably take second-command. Cole was their sturdy support, yes, but he was chill, laid-back. Ready to follow and support his friends to the ends of the earth with his tunes and occasional sarcastic wit, but not lead. Not like Not-Cole, who was more serious and commanding and didn't. listen. to. music. Red hadn't spotted a single record or boombox in the room in the hull. That was a tragic oversight on Garmadon's part. The members of his research team should be Fired.

And then there was Not-Nya. Who wore a dress with confidence that his sister would love but never publicly wear. Who had short hair- Nya had tried that style once, and decided it itched around her neck too much- and jewelry, and a giant flying Samurai mech suit. His sister had the Water Strider Mech, and Not-Nya had a flying combat suit. Sure. Close enough. Personality-wise they were similar. 

Similar at first glance. Nya was fluid and adaptable to whatever role she needed filling. She was spunky, and as fiery as him when it came to tempers, though she knew how to keep hers in check (she had to, right? No one called her hot-headed and impulsive and reckless and blamed her temper for mistakes or damage or whatever the news comments liked to say about the Fire Mech). Not-Nya was also adaptable and independent-minded, but she seemed more rigid. More doing her own thing. 

Point was, everyone wasn't actually his friends, despite how much they tried to prove they were. And they kept acting like he was this Not-Kai, who was just as hot-headed but apparently more mature and training-oriented and basically the better, cooler (or hotter, perhaps, for the fire theme of the red ninja) him, since his acting never seemed to fully convince them. Trying to impersonate a standard he couldn't seem to reach, some legendary hero he wasn't- er, wasn't yet! Yeah! He just needed to prove himself, be better, and he'd be fine. Just... fine. Yeah.

Mini-Lloyd (Red was tempted to call him L'ilyod in his head, but that felt wrong somehow, like he was infringing on some kind of copyright law) stared at him like a goddamn falcon, and he wasn't talking about the bird that circled the ship. He had this bowl-cut Red would tease him about endlessly after all this was over- seriously, how had Mr. Fabulous Hair started with this mess? Garmadon probably didn't even have hair, so there was no way the guy knew how to style it, and it was very evident based on Mini-Lloyd's hairdo. 

Red noticed that all of them were staring, actually. Despite his relaxed rest against the rails, his fingers behind his back clutched the cool bar with a dull shake. He didn't notice how the metal seemed to glow red under his touch. 

"Training, right, we should get onto that," Red tried. "What do you want to start with, Lloyd?" 

"How about a little game?" Lloyd asked with complete innocence. "What we were playing last week before we got interrupted."

Oh sh!t. 

"I-I don't know, shouldn't we start with stretches? Or how about some sparring, that's always more fun than a game!"

"But I wanted to continue our game..." Mini Lloyd said, and FSM's sake, he couldn't deal with that pouting look.

Okay. Okay, don't panic. Think logically. What kind of game would an 8-year-old Lloyd like to play with him? Something physical, so no board games- he liked to test his mettle against Zane on those, and sometimes he would almost not-lose. Logic puzzles also fell more on Jay's area. Trivia, especially music trivia, was a bubble between the anxious motormouth and Cole. Video games fell on team building, and wouldn't classify as a training warmup.

"Well," Red said, taking a hopeful stab in the dark. "There's not too much space on the deck for... tag..."

Lloyd nodded, looking satisfied. The Not-Ninja looked- well, their expressions were hard to read because of how different it was compared to his friends. But Red was a master of deception (well, fire, but eh, technicalities), and he had them fooled, and he just had to keep it up until nightfall so he could rescue Lloyd and explain in a safe location-

"HE'S NOT KAI!"

Orrrrr improvise. Okay, yep, he could improvise. 

Red lunged forward and grabbed Mini Lloyd's wrist from where he had his hand extended in an accusatory point. He ducked under Not-Jay's attempts to grab him- fast, but not as fast as his Jay, his Jay who could disappear from an awkward social interaction in the span of a flickering lightbulb- and dragged his younger brother with him as he vaulted over the railing. Not-Zane almost managed to yank him back onto the Not-ship, but his icy grip caught only empty air as Red pulled Lloyd into a tight hold and ducked.

He hit the dock below with a stumble, rolling back onto his feet and taking off with a very stubborn green ninja in tow. It took all his strength to drag Lloyd (kicking and screaming like he was being kidnapped or something when Red was just trying to rescue him, for FSM's sake. Lloyd didn't know that, but he could still try to be at least a little more considerate.)

The wooden docks creaked and shuddered underfoot and Red grimaced; whoever rebuilt them after the latest Garmadon attack had shredded them like newspaper clearly hadn't wasted any unnecessary change. It certainly didn't help that Lloyd packed quite the punch for someone so small. Red definitely would come out of this with bruised shins and arms from where Mini Lloyd tried to push him away, but it would be worth it to keep his teammate, his younger brother, safe.

Then green filled his vision and broke his hold on Lloyd's wrist, sending him skidding across the dock planks as he was sent flying. When he finally rolled to a stop, neck and shoulder stinging from where the blast had caught him (no burns, just jitters like he'd been shocked), he had to take a few seconds to re-orient himself. Did the Not-Ship have cannons or something? What hit him from behind, so close it could have hit Lloyd?

Lloyd. Was Lloyd okay?

Red pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the bleeding scrapes on his hands and legs from where he'd gotten banged up by the splintered docks. His gaze, sharp and frantic, searched for signs of green. The warning of more blasts, the flash of the fabric of a gi, anything.

He spotted his brother in the arms of Not-Cole. No, no, no-

And suddenly Not-Nya was there, given a boost by Not-Jay. Her grip was as if she were wearing the robotic mech suit, harsh and powerful and near in-human. She threw Red back to the dock floor as her face twisted with the fury of a storming ocean. A resounding crack rang out over the harbour.

Red couldn't tell if it came from the planks under him or his own shoulder.

She pinned him to the wood, barking accusations and threats in his face faster than Not-Jay could talk. Red blinked through a haze of pain, trying to focus on her face and words. She was missing the beauty mark on her face, he noticed. Yet another tell she wasn't his sister.

"-scar on the wrong side-" And it was hard to hear again over the ringing in his ears. He tried to throw her off, get back to Lloyd, anything, but he was-

Useless. 

Her hands suddenly got in his face, slamming his left cheek to the wood. She was close- close to his face, close to his eye, close to his scar- pushing and prying as she tried to do something. Red picked up in his struggling, his attempts to free himself turning to desperate shoves and wild clawing like a trapped animal. He wouldn't let this creation of Garmadon's finish the job that teen had started all those years ago. 

"Or better yet, he needs to shut his damn mouth."

The flash of a knife. His vision half-blurry. Blood- so much blood- and a lasting scar.

"-contacts-" "-red-" "-struggling-" "-we know what he- it- is already-" "-not the real Kai-" "-wish-" "-Garmadon-"

He had to get away. Get Lloyd away from them now.

In one surge of strength- and yep, his shoulder definitely wasn't okay after that move, as if he'd ripped it not just from its socket but from its very attachment to his body- he knocked Not-Nya aside. If he could’ve seen through the red haze, he might have noticed red embers dancing around his fingertips as his desperation and fear tapped into something deep in his soul.

He tried to shoot to his feet, tried to run for Lloyd (held so tight in Not-Cole's grip, surely they were hurting him, he couldn't let that happen-). He roared, "LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE!", but before he could take another step through Not-Jay and Not-Zane in his path, the docks gave one last ominous shudder  before deciding it had finally had enough.

The planks crumbled underfoot like charred firewood in a crackling campfire, and Red was sent tumbling into the frigid ocean water below.

[abarbaricyalp]

hi. you still taking prompts? sambucky meet cute: the lobby of some kind of really tall building and they both have to get to the to top floors. bucky gets to the elevator first, pushes the "door close" button cause he's in a hurry even though he sees sam rushing towards it, but sam gets there just in time. he saw what bucky did so in retaliation he just pushes every single button to make bucky late. now they're stuck in the longest elevator ride, having to stop at every floor

Friend, this is not a meet cute. This is full on meet ugly 😅

AO3 link in the reblog

Push All My Buttons

Bucky was being haunted. That was the only logical explanation for how someone followed him from Brooklyn to Manhattan, mostly on foot. He’d seen the same guy on two trains, across approximately a thousand city blocks, and in the dumb cafe that Bucky squeezed into five seconds after it opened.

And now, the same handsome young black man was standing in the middle of the Stark Tower lobby, looking lost. Bucky quickly hit the close door button of the elevator that he blessedly had to himself. Apparently, he hit it too loud because the guy’s gaze snapped over to him and recognition lit on his face.

Bucky hit Close Door again.

“Hey! Could you hold that!” the guy called, jogging across the lobby floor and avoiding milling people. The fucking tourists on the ground level were killer.

Bucky was not letting a stalker into the elevator with him when he had 91 floors to get up. He hit Close Door for a third time.

Finally, the guy seemed to realize what Bucky was doing and he scowled before tossing his army bag towards the closing doors. They hit the bag and opened up just in time for the guy to jog over, grab his bag, and step inside.

“You’re kind of an asshole,” he said as he slung the duffle over his shoulder again.

“I’m late to a meeting,” Bucky said, which was true. Mostly what he wanted to say was ‘don’t kill me and wear my face as a mask’ or whatever someone who’d followed him over three boroughs would want to do.

The man looked over at him from the corner of his eyes, looked at the highlighted 91 and then reached over to smooth his hand up every single button on the machine. 2-93 lit up.

Bucky stared.

The man crossed his arms. “Now we’re both late.”

92 and 93 unlit themselves. Those were Stark’s personal suites. 2-91 remained lit.

“You fucking asshole,” Bucky groaned and dragged his hands over his face. “Why would you do that? I’m meeting with Stark. I’ve got his-his-his fucking coffee. Jesus.”

“Because I’d rather be late and piss you off than be on time and let you get away with trying to close the door in my face.”

“What was the point of following me all the way around the city? Are you trying to make my life difficult?”

Now the man fully turned to look over at him. The elevator stopped on the second floor and no one was waiting. “I’m not following you. I don’t even know who you are.”

“Are you kidding?” Bucky asked. “You’ve been on my ass since Lloyd’s, in Brooklyn.”

The man frowned. The elevator eased up to the next floor. “Why would you stop at Lloyd’s if you were coming all the way in here?”

“I like to eat on my commute, that’s not the point! You followed me!”

“Pal, I dunno how to tell you that anyone coming from Brooklyn to Stark Tower’s gotta take a pretty similar route.”

“It’s Bucky, pal.”

“Sam,” the guy said and then honest to God offered his hand out like he wasn’t actively ruining Bucky’s life.

On the fifth floor, someone stepped into the elevator, looked at the buttons and stepped back out. Bucky shook Sam’s hand with a resigned sigh.

“Where’d you get that piece of machinery on your arm?” Sam asked around floor eight.

“It’s not on my arm,” Bucky answered. “It is my arm.”

Sam rolled his eyes and punched the door close button. “Fine, where’d you get that piece of machinery on your torso?”

“It’s not Stark tech,” he answered because he knew that was actually what Sam was asking about. He let his eyes slide over Sam’s body quickly, trying to discern if Sam was here for a prosthetic. The bag on his shoulder and the silver ball-chain around his neck gave away that he was military. Stark Industries had a veterans program, so there was a good population of soldiers walking around the building at any given time. Sam was wearing pants, so Bucky couldn’t be totally sure he didn’t have a bad leg, but he hadn’t clocked any limp or awkward gait since Brooklyn. “You here for a prosthetic?” he asked anyway.

Sam snorted and shook his head. The door opened again and someone got on before reaching to press the ground level button.

“Shit,” the woman said, upon seeing everything else lit up. She quickly hit the door open button and jumped back out. “You know, if you two wanted extra time together, having the doors open on every floor was probably a bad idea.”

“That’s not what we--” Bucky started to argue, but the doors slid shut in front of him.

“Anyway,” Sam started again. “I’m not here for a prosthetic. I’m here with Colonel Rhodes.”

“Wow, big man on campus,” Bucky said drily.

“Oh, right, you’re so unimportant, going up to the 91st floor,” Sam shot back.

“I work here,” Bucky said. He held up the quickly cooling coffee in his hands. “Glorified secretary most days, but I’m supposed to be an engineer.”

“What kind of machines do you work with?”

“Not the planes or the suits. Military tech, mostly. I try to stay away from weapons when I can.”

“Did you serve?” Sam asked.

Wish I hadn’t, Bucky wanted to say. “Nah, actually I lost my arm when Stark flew into an uncaffeinated rage and threw a saw at me.”

“Whatever, man. There’s a thousand ways to lose an arm. It ain’t gotta be out in the desert.” His cheeks didn’t quite color, but he crossed his arms and stared ahead.

“Mountains,” Bucky corrected. “Special OPs.”

“Oh, right, but I’m the big man on campus,” Sam said, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

“Rhodes is a big deal around here. You think Stark’s letting him out of his sight for just anyone?”

“The Air Force is testing a new gadget. Rhodes is involved ‘cause Air Force. Maybe you worked on it.”

“Yeah, maybe. It’s a big program. Stark’s got a lot of things going on all at once. Lots of engineers and designers.”

The elevator stopped on the 25th floor and Sam and Bucky both said, “We’re going up,” at the same time to keep the group of suits from crowding into the elevator with them.

Sam kicked his bag into the corner and sat down heavily in front of it, leaning back and closing his eyes. “So you’re a soldier who works for Stark Industries but didn’t get your prosthetic from him, even though he’s the cutting edge of prosthetics and has a full-paid program for those injured in duty.”

Bucky gave up and sat down too. He cradled the coffee cup between his legs, which was probably a bad idea, but this whole morning had been bad. “My story’s a little more complicated than that,” he said. “A lot more twists and turns. My arm is still high tech, though. I asked for a flamethrower, or at least a saw hand but I didn’t get it.”

Sam laughed and, for the first time all morning, Bucky thought maybe he wasn’t so angry at him anymore. Sam laughed like nothing had ever hurt him before, which made it feel like maybe nothing had hurt Bucky either. “Well, there’s your problem. Stark would’ve definitely given you that, from what I hear about the man.”

Bucky grinned over at him and dropped his head back against the wall. It was uncomfortable and the jostling of the car every few seconds rattled his brain, but it beat standing up, or keeping his eyes on Sam for too long. “You’re still in the service?”

“Well, not all of us are so lucky to get a medical discharge on our first tour.”

“Oh, yeah, real luck of the Irish, me. And it was my second. I wasn’t SpecOps until I finished my first stint in the army.”

“Right, right,” Sam said. Then, “You joined up young.”

“So did you. I mean, I assume you’re on your second or third tour too, if you’re being asked to work with Rhodes.”

“Second. I took a long leave to do some school stuff.”

“Oh, so working with Rhodes and you’re smart. You really are the whole package.”

“I’m working with Colonel Rhodes because I’m smart,” Sam corrected. “I could probably take your job. I’m real techy.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. I’m fond of my apartment and I definitely can’t afford it without being here.”

“Right, I assume you make buck working for Stark.”

“Eh, he’s still a multi-billionaire, he could pay us more.”

“What’s that say about the military then?”

“I’ll drink to that, bro.”

Sam chuckled again and opened his eyes to glance over at Bucky. “How does someone go from losing their arm in a SpecOps mission to working for Stark Industries.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. It’s at least a three course discussion.”

The elevator dinged on level 39 and paused, though there was no one there.

“Almost halfway up,” Sam pointed out.

“You are good at math,” Bucky joked just to see Sam roll his eyes again, which he did. “Why Air Force?” he asked when the doors decided to shut again.

“It’s gonna sound so stupid, but I’ve been dreaming about flying since I was a little kid. I wanted to be an astronaut and a lot of astronauts were in the military. So, air force. Figured if I never got to space, at least I spent years in the air anyway.”

Bucky didn’t think that was stupid at all. “You’re right, that’s pretty dumb.” Sam flipped him off with a laugh. “Are you a good pilot?”

“Pal, I’m one of the best out there.”

“God, you chair force guys are all the same,” Bucky said. He squawked as Sam leaned over to tackle him down. “Coffee, coffee! Sam, if you spill Stark’s coffee I’ll make you explain it to him!” he threatened as Sam pulled him away from the cup that had managed to remain upright by an unlikely bout of luck and physics.

Sam was fucking strong, wrangling Bucky down and holding him still. Sure, he was on his knees and Bucky’s legs were mostly trapped under him, but still. Bucky wasn’t a small guy and the prosthetic wasn’t light either but Sam had tugged him out of the corner anyway.

“Oh my God, seriously?” a guy asked on the next floor.

Bucky took the moment of distraction to dig his knee into Sam’s ribs and flip them over as the doors shut again. He locked his fingers around Sam’s wrist and held it to the floor. Sam tugged at the hold futilely.

“Shit, what’s that made out of?”

“That’s another three course answer.”

“At this rate? No chance,” Sam said and got his foot braced against Bucky’s shoulder before shoving him off. Bucky sat back and made sure the coffee was still standing. Sam leaned up against the wall by the doors. They both took in heavy breaths.

“What are you doing with Rhodes?” Bucky asked at floor fifty, when he was pretty positive they weren’t about to leap at each other again.

“Maybe that’s a three course answer,” Sam responded with a small smirk.

“I didn’t know Stark was working on planes with the Air Force.”

“Did I say plane?”

“Helicopters, whatever,” Bucky amended with a wave of his hand. “What do you fly?”

“I’m pararescue.”

Bucky let out a low whistle. “Shit, that’s more impressive than working with Rhodes, maybe. You a doctor?”

“I’ve got triage training, but I’m not, like, ready to walk into an E.R. as soon as I get home or anything.” Sam ran his hand over his buzzed hair and Bucky suddenly wanted to know what it looked like grown out, or if he’d ever kept it long. How he styled it and if he had facial hair and what he was hiding under his shirt and Jesus Christ, he needed to think about anything else.

“Well, from what I’ve seen, your beside manner probably sucks.”

Sam kicked out his foot lamely, missing Bucky’s by a mile. “You ain’t hurt. I don’t gotta give you no bedside manner.”

“What floor do you want off on?” Bucky asked after a glance at the rapidly dimming lights on on the button panel.

“85.”

“Right, yeah, Rhodes works there. We’re at 70 now.”

“What’s it like? Just offices?”

“Nah, he’s got a whole training floor. There’re a few offices, a reception area, but there’s also a gym and some space for simulated battle, sparring rooms. It’s pretty cool. You’ll have a lot of room for whatever he’s doing.”

Sam nodded and looked over at the gaping doors with the first look of unease he’d had all morning.

“You nervous?”

“You would be too,” Sam answered. “If you knew what I was doing. But, hey,” he looked away as the doors shut, “my partner’s already up there, so I can’t make any more of a fool of myself than he probably already has.”

Bucky grinned and shrugged. “I dunno about that. You seem pretty incapable,” he said sarcastically.

Sam kicked out his leg again and then stood up and grabbed his bag from next to Bucky. “You work here every day?”

Bucky nodded and took Sam’s hand when he offered it down to him to haul himself up. “9 to too late.”

“Well, I’m around for a few weeks. Maybe we could walk together instead of around each other next time,” he suggested.

Bucky ignored the swooping of his stomach. “Yeah, if you can keep up.”

Sam jostled his ribs with an elbow. “I can keep up. You’re the one with the machine on your arm.”

“Yeah, and what about it? I could hand-walk faster than you could run.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Sam snorted. The door opened on floor 80 and Sam’s mouth screwed to one side briefly before he looked at Bucky. “Maybe you’ll get my number out of all of this eventually.”

“Maybe I don’t want it after this stunt.”

Sam placed his hand on Bucky’s metal shoulder solemnly. “You want it.”

With a grin, Bucky shrugged Sam off and shoved him forward. “Get outta here, Wilson.”

“How’d you know--?” Sam asked, taking half a step back to the doors.

Bucky reached over to trace his fingers over the name patch on the other side of the bag. “I’m just a good guesser.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. What’s your--”

The door shut between them and Bucky sagged back against the wall with a sigh. His heart was racing like he was a teenager again and his head felt cloudy. This meeting was not going to go well at this point. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to focus on anything but Sam’s smile or the way he looked in boots or the weight of him above Bucky’s body.

When the elevator dinged on 91, he grabbed Stark’s coffee and let himself off and then almost immediately ran into Rhodes.

“Oh, hey, sorry. Hey, I was just on the elevator with your meeting,” he said. “Sorry he’s late. I hit a bunch of buttons on accident when I got in,” Bucky lied as he passed the coffee to Stark.

“No harm, no foul,” Rhodey said easily. “Clearly I wasn’t even down there. I was actually waiting on you.”

“Me? What for? I’m not working on anything military.”

“You’re not?” Stark asked around a mouthful of coffee. “You assigning yourself projects now?”

“You didn’t say anything about the wings being military. I mean, how would that even work? It’d put a soldier in the air bare.”

“Yeah,” Stark agreed sarcastically and clapped a hand down on Bucky’s metal arm. “What kind of soldier runs around without full body protection.”

“What are you calling the project?” Rhodey asked, guiding the discussion back to where it was supposed to be.

“EXO-Falcon,” Bucky said. “I was modeling it after some of Stark’s EXO-skeleton suits, but it’s much more compact, situated on the back with all support sitting around the chest and ribs.”

Rhodey nodded. “Can I see them?”

Bucky quickly dashed to his work bench and came back with the wings in their case. “They’re carbon fiber, which makes them a little more flexible and keeps them a little lighter weight. I had thought about doing interlocking plates like my arm, but it wasn’t working. I took some of the more basic structures of my arm and modeled a folding mechanism out of it instead. The wings retract into and out of the case.”

He pulled the jetpack on and stepped away from the other work spaces before clicking the wings open. They snapped out behind him, grand and proud. Not unlike how Bucky was feeling at that moment.

“And the jetpack? Is that ready to go?” Rhodey asked.

Bucky shifted from foot to foot. “Well, in theory. I haven’t tested it out yet ‘cause I’m not trained to do things like that, but I’ve put DUM-E into the air and nothing blew up.”

“Well, the Air National Guard guys here today will be thrilled to hear that,” Stark said. “Shall we?”

“You don’t wanna test the jets before you put it on someone?” Bucky asked, a little strangled. He trusted his design. But he really, really hadn’t put as much time into the whole human safety element as he did the ‘up and running’ element.

“We’ll strap a crash test dummy to them in over the mats. It’ll be fine. The fire suppression system on 85 is better than up here.”

“No it isn’t. It’s just further from your suites,” Rhodey said.

Stark shrugged and tossed a piece of pastry in his mouth. “It’s my building. I say we go down to 85.”

“Well, that’s where I left your trainee or whatever too,” Bucky said as he shrugged off the pack and packed it all back up. “Do you want me to grab the other pack?”

“No worries, I’ve already moved it,” Stark said. “I knew Rhodes was coming by. You’re welcome, those things are heavy.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t have DUM-E move it,” Rhodey teased. He made his way over to the elevator and Bucky followed with Stark on his heels. The ride down to 85 was much faster than the ride up to 91. It was a miracle what not hitting every button could do. They stepped out onto the floor and made their way to the training mats, where two other people were already standing.

“Barnes, I’d like to keep you on the Falcon project,” Rhodey said. “No one knows the wings like you do. That being said, you’ll be working with live test subjects now, so it’s a little more critical.”

“Hey, you don’t have to say it that way!” the blond man in the middle of the room said. “Call us, like, Top Guns or something.”

“You don’t get to choose your nickname around here,” Stark called over, propping himself up on a stack of sparring mats to watch from afar. “Ask Manchurian Candidate. He definitely didn’t choose his.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Barnes, this Sergeant Wiatrek and Sergeant Wilson.”

Fuck.

“It’s Barnes, huh?” Sam asked, smugly crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, Sammy, you didn’t hook up with this guy already did you?” the blond asked in teasing horror.

“Screw you, no. I met him this morning.”

“Ah,” Rhodey said with a grin. “This was the meeting you made late,” he said to Bucky.

“Yeah, we met this morning,” Bucky confirmed with a raging blush. How was this his life?

“Well, good, you can get right to work on the wings,” Rhodey said. “Let me go find a crash dummy.”

“DUM-E,” Stark called as Rhodey started away.

“I’ll find that doll first,” Rhodey challenged.

Bucky turned from their bickering and looked at Sam, then the blond next to him.

“It’s Riley,” the other man said and offered out his hand. “I’m better conversation than this one.”

Bucky doubted it. He shook the guy’s hand and then held out the briefcase like a shield between him and Sam’s teasing gaze. “Do you wanna see the wings?”

Riley nodded eagerly and Bucky moved to another stack of mats to open the case. Riley and Sam stood on either side of him. As Riley pulled the jetpack free, Sam pulled out his phone. Bucky thought he was going to film his friend inevitably crashing, but instead he turned on the auto-help.

“Hey, where’s the nearest three-course restaurant?” he asked without looking away from Bucky, without his grin faltering.

Bucky dragged his hands down his face as he looked at Sam. Riley yelped behind them after the tell-tell whoosh of the jet pack, but Sam still didn’t look away. Bucky couldn’t either.

[rosiehunterwolf]

And the Walls Kept Tumbling Down

Prompts: Trust and Breakdown

Word Count: 3,706

Characters: Pixal and Lloyd

Timeline: right before season 8

Trigger Warnings: Mental Breakdown/Panic Attack, Lack of Self-Worth

Summary: Pixal has been Samurai X for awhile, now- a role that allows her to be herself, to be happy. But it’s also... incredibly lonely. Luckily, she’s not the only one alone- Lloyd has been left in the city while his friends go after Master Wu, and his presence is comforting. But as they struggle with a mysterious biker gang, Pixal can’t help feeling the want to be part of something more.

Link to read on FanFiction.Net:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13897921/1/And-the-Walls-Kept-Tumbling-Down

“Master Lloyd, maybe you should go get that checked at the hospital.”

“Pix, I’m fine, it’s just a scratch,” Lloyd mumbled through the gauze as he snapped it with his teeth, winding the last several inches around his forearm. “And I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Why? You are our master now, aren’t you?”

Lloyd snorted, tentatively testing his arm as he moved it back and forth. “I’m no master. I can’t even keep our team together.”

Pixal stared at him, shocked. “We all agreed on this, Lloyd. It is the most efficient plan to find Master Wu.”

“Yeah, and whose plan was that?” Lloyd’s voice was suddenly sharp.

“I believe it was Zane’s, but-”

“Exactly! It was Zane’s plan, not mine. I did nothing. And now, they’re off searching for Master Wu, and I’m sitting here, doing nothing.”

An unfamiliar sensation squeezed at Pixal’s chest, one that felt hot and fierce and miserable all at the same time, before she had to remind herself that no, she didn’t have a body, didn’t have a chest to feel pain in, and that she was just speaking to Lloyd over the monitors.

At least, in the moment, she was.

“Zane trusted me to watch over this city,” she insisted, her voice unstable- which it shouldn’t be, she was a nindroid, not affected by such things- “He trusted us.”

Lloyd flinched visibly, looking away from the computer they were using to talk. “Pix, I didn’t mean- look, I’m sure Zane much would’ve rather had you come along with him, but instead you got stuck babysitting me.”

“Normally, I would object, but I think you’ve already proven your own point,” she commented, shooting a pointed glare at his bandaged arm.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, letting out a slow breath. “I get it, Pixal, I’ll be more careful next time.”

“A doctor’s visit couldn’t hurt, Lloyd.”

“Will you drop it already?”

She frowned. “I wish you wouldn’t grow cross with me, Master Lloyd. I am only trying to look out for you-”

Lloyd stood up sharply. “I get it, okay? I’m incompetant. You don’t need to keep calling me ‘master’ out of pity, I know I’ll never be able to live up to my unc- Master Wu.”

Pixal blinked at him, stunned. “Lloyd, I never-”

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it!” And then he was reaching forward, slamming down the laptop’s lid, and Pixal’s world went dark.

He knew how much she hated that, when he turned her off or walked away without her consent, like she was some sort of object.

He hadn’t meant it- she had learned a lot about Lloyd in their past year alone together, and he often became impulsive when he was angry in order to cover up his sensitive, insecure side. It would probably only be a matter of hours before he came running back, apologizing repeatedly, and sobbing over what a horrible friend he was as Pixal patiently waited for him to calm down. But she had grown to like and respect Lloyd, and it still stung when he snapped at her, even though the logical part of her mind knew that it wasn’t really her that was the problem.

What bothered her even more so, though, was the things he said about himself. It had been abrupt, this time, but she hadn’t missed the times he had slipped it in more subtly into conversation. It made her angry, how he refused to appreciate himself.

And now, stuck in this stupid form, she couldn’t go after him.

Well. Technically, she could.

The Samurai X suit had been up and operational for a few months since her last major upgrade- the one that had finally given her her own, independent body, separate from just the mech itself.

But she was nervous to remove herself from the computer entirely. She was aware that she was so incredibly useful as a program, with instant access to all sorts of technology and data. She had become an asset to her team.

She liked feeling important, feeling like she was part of the group.

But being the samurai allowed her to physically be there. In these last few months, she felt like she had really grown to know and trust Lloyd- even if he didn’t know it was her beneath the samurai mask. She wanted to get to know the others fully, too- she was already fairly close to Zane, but she liked the rest of the team, too- Cole, Jay, Kai, and especially Nya, Pixal felt intrigued by. She had spent some time connecting similarities between them- there were a lot of differences, too, but she felt like they could be friends. A physical form would allow her to bond with them, like a human. She was well aware she wasn’t one, but she wanted to understand.

But she was afraid, too. Except for Zane, and maybe Lloyd, now, seeing the others again felt daunting. They had never been particularly close before she had been scrapped. What if they thought she was infringing on their team? The six of them had been close for so long. It would make sense if she wasn’t wanted there.

She just wasn’t ready, not yet. Communicating with Lloyd through the monitors would just have to do for now. It was difficult, though- it didn’t seem like he took her as seriously this way.

For now, though, they had bigger problems. Lloyd’s injury hadn’t been too severe, from what she could tell, and would heal quickly. But it had been a sizable wound, and could leave some pretty severe scarring, if he wasn’t careful with it- she knew he wouldn’t be, which was why she had to keep him in line- but the point was, these were no common thieves going around, dealing this kind of damage. This gang- whoever they were- were something bigger, more dangerous than their day-to-day threats. Pixal wasn’t sure if it was severe enough to start calling the others back- she didn’t want to interrupt their search for Master Wu. But she would certainly have to keep a closer eye on Lloyd from now on, to make sure he didn’t get in over his head.

She should probably start playing a more active role as Samurai X. Although the ninja had a tentative relationship with her mysterious persona, she wasn’t about to send Lloyd against this gang alone again.

She just hoped he would have her.

---

The next call came in much sooner than Pixal had anticipated. At the unappealing hour of four in the morning, Lloyd hauled himself out of bed and stumbled drearily out the door at Pixal’s report of a prison breach alarm coming from Kryptarium. With the rush, there was no time to talk to him, and the drive to the prison was awkward and silent.

When they arrived, it turned out the alarm had been triggered by accident. The good news was there were no criminals to stop, the bad news was that they had woken up at four am for no reason.

Not that Pixal particularly minded- sleep was inconsequential to a nindroid, but Lloyd was less than pleased.

“I mean, if you’re going to have an alarm system that immediately pages the city’s ninja team and makes them stop everything they’re doing to rush over there, it should at least be heavily guarded. How do you even accidentally set off an emergency alarm? I thought these guys were supposed to be professionals!”

Pixal stifled a laugh as he paused, taking a sip of the iced coffee he had picked up as they had headed back. He had told her, “If I’m already up and ready, I might as well spend some time in the city for a little while. Y’know, in case they trigger any other ‘alarms’ that I need to go rushing off to.”

“Perhaps they need a lesson from the ninja,” Pixal suggested.

“I’ll say,” he grumbled. “I don’t know how this city ever survived before we showed up.”

“Well, experience is the best teacher, and you guys have triggered enough traps and alarms to last a lifetime.”

“Wait, what?” Lloyd spluttered. “No, we haven’t! We’re highly trained ninja, we’re better than that.”

“Oh, really? I seem to remember quite a few in the Tournament of Elements, or the time with the technoblades, or when General Cryptor tracked you- shall I go on?”

“Shut up,” Lloyd snorted, trying to hide his grin. “You don’t know nothin’.”

“You’re right, I don’t. I was only with you for a short time before I was uploaded into Zane’s head, and after that, my view of your adventures was extremely limited. I can’t imagine how much more trouble you got into when I wasn’t there.”

“I hate you,” he said, attempting to scowl and failing miserably, the look on his face was too comedic for Pixal to bite back her laugh this time. It wasn’t long before Lloyd joined her, and soon, he was bent over, clutching his stomach, and he had to sit down for a moment to catch his breath. Pixal felt warm inside as she watched him take a long sip from his coffee. She enjoyed seeing him like this. He had been far too tense over the last few weeks, and she missed the more childlike, carefree side of him.

After a moment, though, the expression on his face fell solemn, and he turned to the tablet they were using to communicate to look her directly in the eyes. “Pix, I’m really sorry for yelling at you last night. I was being a brat.”

She paused carefully, both relieved and nervous that they were finally addressing this. “Lloyd, I know you were hurting. I am only trying to look out for you.”

He put his hands behind his head. “Yeah, I know, I need to work harder-”

“Lloyd,” she interrupted firmly. “That’s the other thing. I need you to stop saying things like that about yourself.”

He cocked his head at her. “Like what?”

Good grief, he doesn’t even know he’s doing it. “Talking down on yourself. I called you ‘master’ because that’s what you are now. You’ve earned this title, Lloyd. Just like you’ve earned everything else in your life, and more. It was not my intention to say you would take your uncle’s place, but say that you can be just as great of a leader as he was.”

Lloyd suddenly found the cracks in the concrete to be very interesting. “See, people keep saying that, but- it’s just so hard. I feel like I always mess everything up. Something always goes wrong, or worse, someone gets hurt-”

“Lloyd, you’re one person. You can’t expect to be successful all the time. You may be a ninja, yes, but your job is very difficult and dangerous, something most people wouldn’t even dream of tackling. You’re part of a team for a reason, and I’m sorry they’re not here right now, but until they return, you’re going to have to give yourself a little credit.”

Lloyd’s breathing hitched, and he scrubbed at his suspiciously wet eyes. His next words were so quiet, Pixal could barely hear them. “I just miss them. Everyone… everyone always leaves, and I’m tired of being alone all the time.”

Pixal was struggling to breathe herself- even though she was a nindroid, didn’t need to breathe- the sensation was still there.

She could remember when she had been alone too. Those nights after Zane had… had died, had been some of the worst times of her life. The emptiness had only made it sting worse, but when Lloyd had reached out to her, she had refused him.

She had been scared, scared to let anyone else into her life in case she lost them too, but now she realized that he had been hurting just as much as she had. She knew his friends had gone off on their own like she had, leaving him just as alone as the rest of them. She had been the cause of that, she had only hurt him more when he was already going through so much.

When she spoke again, it wasn’t just for the situation at present.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I’m so sorry.”

He looked up at the screen, his watery green eyes staring into hers, then raised an arm, his fingers ghosting the screen, before falling back to his side. He looked away, swallowing.

“What is it?”

“I just… I wish I could hug you. I wish you were here. Like, actually.”

“I am much more useful in the computer, Lloyd.”

“Yeah, but you’re not… you’re not here. I don’t care about how useful you are.”

Pixal let out a trembling breath, but Lloyd hardly seemed to notice, already beginning to stand up. “Sorry about being such a downer. I better get back to the Bounty, I’m sure the police have something for me to do.”

“Lloyd?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be fine. I just… they’ll be back soon. I know they aren’t like… other people. They’re going to come back. And besides, until then, I’ve got you, right?” He gave her a shy smile.

Pixal froze. This was it. He was extending- a metaphorical- hand to her. Offering her to be part of something that she had been wanting for a long time.

But it felt wrong. She wasn’t a ninja. She wasn’t one of his teammates. What if she was assuming wrong? What if he wasn’t really asking that?

“I’m not one of the ninja, Lloyd. I can’t help you the way they can.”

“No, you’re whoever you want to be, Pix. But you’re still my friend.”

Friend. Pixal felt a sudden urge to correct him, to tell him he was mistaken. “I’m not part of your team. I… I can’t be.”

“Trust me, Pix- in every sense that matters- you are one of us.”

---

“Pixal, I need my car! Now!”

The nindroid’s voice came out slightly crackly from the radio. “Your coordinates, Master Lloyd?”

“I’m somewhere around… well, you know how to find me.”

The cable he was gripping onto slowed to a stop, then quickly began to swing back down. Squeezing his eyes shut, Lloyd prayed that Pixal knew what she was doing, and let go.

Air whipped past him as he fell freely, the fall feeling both agonizingly slow and alarmingly quick at the same time, but before he had time to question what the hell he was doing, a blur of green darted out from a nearby alleyway, and Lloyd fell into his car.

He quickly pulled himself up and took over the controls. “Impeccable timing, Pix! You’re getting good at that.”

“I have to do something while you’re busy fighting crime, don’t I?”

“Speaking of which…” Lloyd cut off, gritting his teeth as he wove in between cars on the busy street, chasing after the biker. “Who is this person? Anything you can tell me about them?”

“They appear to be affiliated with the same criminal biker gang we have been having trouble with over the last few weeks. I am afraid I cannot tell you anything other than that. They have been keeping a very low profile.”

“Well, whoever they are, they’re good. I’ll keep you posted.” Gritting his teeth, he pushed on the gas and shot through the streets after the mysterious biker. They were a skilled driver, but Lloyd wasn’t lacking in that department either, and soon, he had caught up to the biker. The person’s eyes glowed an eerie red through their mask, their expression emotionless, and Lloyd forced his gaze away for a moment to examine the object in the back of his bike- presumably the stolen item. It was a red mask, with an ugly, beast-like face patterned over the top, complete with a mouth of crooked, yellowing teeth, and deep, glowering eyes. It looked like nothing more than a costume. Lloyd wondered what they could possibly want with it.

Putting on another burst of speed, he pulled in front of the biker, making them screech to a halt to avoid a collision. The two of them stared each other down, only a short stretch of road between them.

The criminal revved his engine, and suddenly, was racing towards Lloyd. Lloyd began to do the same, and just when he thought the biker was about to hit him head-on, mechanical arms extended from the bike, driving into the road, and sending the biker flying over his head. Lloyd slammed to a halt and jumped out of the car, running over to the bridge as the biker went over the edge. He yanked something near his chest, and all of a sudden, a big sheet was billowing out from his back, gray and black and red-

Lloyd’s breath caught in his throat as the parachute unfolded fully, revealing the emblem of a face that Lloyd had never thought he would see again.

No, no, no. Lloyd stumbled back from the railing, his breath hitching in his chest as he tried desperately to draw it in. This doesn’t mean anything. Perhaps they just are a fan of Garmadon, it doesn’t mean he’s here-

But it wasn’t working. His body just wasn’t listening to him, his heart beating too fast, his breath trembling and shallow, and his head-

“Lloyd!” A voice came from seemingly out of nowhere, and in his panicked state, he couldn’t, he couldn’t-

“Lloyd, it’s Pixal. What’s happened, why aren’t you responding?”

Oh. It was Pixal, on… on the radio. With trembling fingers, he reached down and switched on his mic. “...Pix?”

“Lloyd, don’t scare me like that, what’s wrong?”

“Pixal… Pixal, I don’t know…” Oh gosh, he was spiraling, spiraling hard, panic swamped his brain as images of his father flashed before his eyes, first running off with the golden weapons, then trying to kill him when the Overlord had taken over, then when he had submerged under the ocean, down, down, down with the Preeminent-

No! Lloyd’s eyes snapped open, scattering the images. He couldn’t be thinking about this now, not- not when-

Oh gosh. His father couldn’t be involved with this gang, he couldn’t. He was gone, gone for good. He missed him, so, so much, but nothing with his father was ever that simple. Something always went wrong, and Lloyd was just beginning to get over his last death, he couldn’t- couldn’t live through the pain again-

“Lloyd, Lloyd listen to me, just try to breathe-”

He could barely hear her. His legs had stopped working, and he sunk to the ground, hugging his knees to his chest, trying to remember to breathe. The last thing he needed was to pass out from lack of oxygen.

He buried his face between his knees, gulping through the sobs. Dammit, why was he like this, he hadn’t had an episode this bad since Morro-

And now he was thinking about that part of his life, one he had so desperately hoped to forget- it had been years, why was still not over that, he had gotten good at suppressing those feelings long ago, but when he got like this, he couldn’t control anything-

He hated when he got like this, it was so terrifying, he just wanted to go home, he just wanted Kai to be here, why was he always all alone-

Suddenly, firm, cool arms were wrapping around him, pulling him close. Lloyd gasped, his eyes flying open sharply.

A pair of glowing green eyes stared back at him, shadowed with fear. “Hey,” she whispered, her metallic jaw moving with the words, “I’m here now. You’re going to be okay.”

He had lost it, he was hallucinating, how was- how was she here-

“Pixal?!”

“Yeah,” her voice was quiet, rubbing her fingers across his palm. “It’s me. I’m here.”

“How?”

“I’m Samurai X, Lloyd.”

“Oh.” Vaguely, a part of his mind told him he should be more surprised by that piece of information, but he was just tired. His mind was already on overdrive, he couldn’t afford to take in anything else.

“Lloyd.” Pixal’s voice was scared, and he realized he was trembling in her grip. “Please, what has happened to you?”

“It’s- it’s…” Lloyd gasped for breath. “My dad, he- the biker, he was- he had-” and those words alone were too much. Everything was breaking, splintering apart right in front of his eyes, and he clutched onto Pixal like she was his lifeline- in a way, she was. She felt different from Kai’s warm, soft touch- harder and cooler- but sturdier and stronger, too. And right now, Lloyd could use a bit of strength.

But most of all, she was here.

“Why did you tell me?” He managed to get out. “Out of everyone, you told me first? Not Zane?”

Pixal was silent for a moment. “I know what it’s like. I mean, not exactly- I can’t feel what you are feeling right now. But… feeling emotions has been hard. Draining. You, out of all people, seem to know that. But you’re still so strong through everything. I just… you helped me to see how to heal. How to get better.” She paused, looking down at her hands. “But I guess it doesn’t always work out that way. I figured it was about time I helped you back.”

He leaned his head into her lap, examining her long, silver fingers, brushing them gently. “I like you like this. You’re pretty.”

He wasn’t looking at her face, but he could almost feel her smile. “Thank you. I worked hard to make this. I wanted to make sure… that I was better, this time. I still have some modifications to make, but…”

Lloyd winced, feeling a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry I made you show me before you were ready.”

“Lloyd,” she said firmly. “This was my choice. Not yours.” She took one hand and turned his chin so their gazes met, green on green. “I trust you. I always have.”

Lloyd felt his lip tremble. “I-”

Pixal stopped him. “It’s okay, Lloyd. You don’t have to say it. I know.”

Lloyd curled into her side and wept.

[blursed-ninjago-ideas]

Whumptober 22

I had a major head empty day with this. I figure this out, but it turned into more of a think piece and didn’t stay too focused on Jay, but I kind of like it and I don’t have any other ideas, so here!

Prompt: Cursed

Randomly Selected Whumpee: Jay

--

Jay loved his powers, he really did. He’d never wish them away or anything. He just sometimes wished they were a little easier to control.

Lightning was an element that need to be contained constantly. As soon as there was any flaw to exploit, it escaped. It didn’t matter how small the crack, electricity did maximum damage regardless.

Kai and Lloyd could relate to some degree, fire and energy were hungry elements as well. But fire followed easier rules and energy could be tempered. Not that Jay was claiming to have it the worst, both their elements offered unique challenges that Jay didn’t have to worry about.

For one, Kai’s element was surprisingly fragile. If he kept it too contained it didn’t work. Controlled flames are very easy to put out, even by accident. So it was a balancing act that took all his patience some days.

Lloyd had the weight of the world on his shoulders, which Jay didn’t dare envy. He was the biggest target because of how strong his power was. Too much power thrummed through his veins on any given day. Lloyd sometimes complained about how it ached to hold all of it.

Nya at least understood what it felt like to have an element that gave you almost no warning before it got out of control. Water was calm until it suddenly wasn’t. The signs were so subtle it was easy to miss if you weren’t watching for them. It was a lot of work to constantly pay that attention to it.

Cole’s was similar. An explosive snap that was hard to see coming. But while still subtle, Cole got more warning. Vibrating tectonic plates advertised the earthquake months in advance after all. And it was always on predictable faults.

Jay didn’t envy how Zane’s element was so quiet and slow it could often get out of hand without being noticed. Jay at least knew good and well when his control was slipping. No turning around to a nasty surprise.

But Jay sometimes would like to not like to feel like their was static in his blood. Like he was a live wire that could discharge on anyone. He’d like to not have days where he would fry anything conductive that he touched. The rubber gloves he kept in his drawer were for those days.

Lightning didn’t like to be controlled. It liked to go where it pleased. Telling lightning no was almost a fool’s errand. Jay managed it, because he was it’s one and only master, but some days it still defied him.

They all had days like that.

Kai had days when he had to appease his fire like it was a needy toddler. Zane had days when he had to watch his ice like it was a mischievous pet. Cole had days when he had to isolate his earth like it was a time bomb. Nya had days when she had to move carefully around her water like it was a sleeping beast. Lloyd had days when he had to wrestle with his energy like it was a monster attacking him.

They all had the power to command elements, making them extraordinarily gifted. They also had to deal with the brute force of those elements, which made them terribly cursed.

--

We love powers with thematic trade-offs!!

anyways, that.

-Ivy