#guard 11

[ones-g]

Yes, I can do both, please!!! a chance

cc: pr4das

[justaz]

Concept I think is funny. Jinx only allows Ekko to call her Powder (He uses both Jinx and Powder interchangeably. Usually/casually, he uses Jinx but when they’re alone or he’s trying to calm her down he uses Powder). Surrounding People think it’s okay to call her Powder now. One tries. She puts a gun in their face until they call her Jinx again. Ekko comes around the corner and takes in Jinx’s tense form and calls her Powder softly and Jinx fucking melts. Surrounding People are. Indignant. But Jinx has a gun and is a perfect shot so they keep their mouths shut.

[beccawise7]

Today & every day... We thank you for your service. Happy Veterans Day!

🇺🇲❤️🤍💙🇺🇲

[sketchehm]

[ #my guess if that Serpias wanted to kill the guy much earlier#like. when he asked Sapnap about the numbers there was this sharp clever glint in his eyes and then this dickhead RUINED IT#no one outside the mafia should be able to precieve or talk to Sapnap ever Serpias thinks#Sapnap has been trained to stand his ground and not escalate a situation because in Dream's family everything was like defusing a bomb#cuts had to be precise and you couldn't be picking fights#here Team Mafia *really* wanna see Sapnap kill a guy with his bare hands and teeth#also. aughhhh Sapnap probably hates talking sooooo much.#because Dream also really valued his opinion but he didnt need to *talk*#he would just look at him and Dream would get it#but now he has to explain everything and its clunky and bad. so he talks less ] @rat-rosemary

[ #aaaaa i want to see the rest of team mafia too for their reactions about sapni#i bet they would cheering sapnap if he kill a guy and sapnap is confused af if he messep up or something ] @lazy30

Hello hi guys hehe

SO! The Team did actually call dibs to see who would get to watch Sapnap kill first. They’re excited by it! 

(Shadoune saying he already won cause he’s watched Sapnap beat people to death in some of the underground fights, but that doesn’t count. Shadoune fights with them that it does. No one listens to him lmao)

Sapnap is in… “training”…..with them for about a month, learning how the Team works and getting to know everyone. (That month is all he needs to fall in love with them….) However, actually going out onto the field is a whole different story.

Serpias did end up winning the Team’s gambling match to get Sapnap’s first kill haha. The asshole they’re going out to meet was already marked for dead, they found out that he’s been scamming some of the lower associates and Serpias was already tasked to investigate and take the guy out. Sapnap is just his +1 hehe (None of this is explained to Sapnap…which proves to be the cause of many issues…)

So Sapnap was kinda right in thinking this was a kind of “training”. He didn’t…fail per say. Serpias just got pissed off and couldn’t hold back.(That's /his/ Sapni. Its what he tells the others, he couldnt help himself.) Though, Serpias will report back to the other guys and says that Sapnap was extremely passive for most of the interaction. Which is…not the Sapnap they’ve gotten to know so far. He’s loud and cocky. Yes he’s smart and they know he could take on a more leadership position if he keeps learning under them directly (they know he was in charge of his own division at the least when with Dream, so they know he can hold those kinds of responsibilities). They think maybe just cause it was his first time? (They know that’s not true. Especially Serpias, having witnessed Sapnap speak with the bastard..Sapnap was way more professional than he’d given him credit for. It’s not what they’re looking for in him though.)

After a few times of going out with the guys and Sapnap not…being their reactive aggressive attack dog, they just start putting him in more….dangerous situations. Nothing they know will harm him seriously, but they need to see what actually gets him to /kill/. They’re eager for it, almost desperate. They’re all killers, Shadoune knows for sure Sapnap is one too. But they’re wondering if maybe that’s just not the kind of guy Sapnap might be? There seems to be a kind of switch flipped in Sapnap whenever they go out on business with him…

Sapnap…well he can tell something’s up. And he feels like he’s doing something wrong….He’s still not exactly used to how they operate, he’s not used to tagging along and having to speak up as well too…He assumes it’s them trying to get him to learn Spanish faster, but he’s shy and hates the idea of stumbling on his words and embarrassing not only himself, but whoever he’s tagging along with. And every outing he’s a part off, the other guy is always an asshole, there seems to be no shortage of them. He wonders if it's because the Team’s territory is so much larger and that’s why there just seems to be more idiots they have to deal with…The Team are the only group he’s comfortable talking back to (when the time calls for it) and just being himself. He’s had years of learning on how to act when with dealers and opposing mafiosos. It was always a pain having to tiptoe and figure out what dance each guy wanted. And its even worse here cause he doesn’t even understand what the other party will be saying. He misses Dream the most during this. Dream was always so much better at speaking than him, always knew what Sapnap wanted to say and expressed it for him…..

Sapnap did pick up on the pattern that anytime he’s with someone from the Team and they’re out to meet some other asshole, the guy ends up dead. Maybe it's his fault? Maybe he can’t get his words out correctly and the business deals fall flat cause of it? Sapnap has seen his fair share of corpses, caused many deaths himself, but it feels odd. He feels guilty.

He also picked up on the pattern that he seems to be a sort of punching bag at these meetings. Not a physical one per say… It’s never to whoever he’s with, only he seems to be the target. He can understand most insults and while it seems to be just common to use them every other word, the opposing person always seems to be directly insulting or mocking him. He tries not to mind. Though it does start to get to him, wondering if the Team are doing this on purpose. Maybe he isn’t their beloved guard dog….these meetings are just a reminder he’s only a mutt to them, useless…and then they force him to talk just to add onto the embarrassment…

The Team are slowly noticing Sapnap becoming more reserved even with them. The worst they’ve seen Sapnap do is break someone’s wrist after they tried to take a punch at him, but never kill. (He even refused to leave his room after that meeting too. They all were distressed.) Anytime a gun was pulled on Sapnap, he always managed to disarm the person and asked for the meeting to continue. It was extremely frustrating for the Team.

They decide maybe enough with taking him out. There’s something they’re clearly not figuring out. It’ll be Shadoune and Conter who end up actually speaking with Sapnap and asking about everything. But Sapnap is not….the best with his words in English either…. When with Dream and George, they all just /knew/. It was from years of growing up together. Sapnap doesn’t know how to explain himself and ends up just saying he’s….shy….he won’t tell them about his anxieties, he thinks its dumb, he rarely ever shared them with Dream or George.

“Ah! Espera, yo pienso que está estresado porque cada compromiso ya está marcado a fallar, y él no lo sabe.”

When the two reveal to Sapnap they’re not gonna be taking him out anymore, it's basically confirming his anxieties. They’re gonna kick him out cause he’s worthless. He’s gonna have to return to Dream empty handed too, having failed him as well….Sapnap can feel himself spiraling. He begs for another chance. He’ll practice his Spanish more, he can make a deal go well, he promises!

Conter says something to Shadoune that Sapnap doesn’t understand at all. Shadoune looks like he’s realized something as well…

Shadoune chuckles before saying, “Ya, ya, entiendo. Pues..que vaya con Farfa mañana, no?”

Sapnap recognized something about tomorrow and Farfa…? He’s never been out with Farfa before. Fuck if they’re sending him out with Farfa that’ll be worse he thinks….

”Farfadox…?”

They both look at him. He feels nervous.

“Yea, tomorrow. It will be good for you!” Conter looks excited by this. Shadoune is nodding in agreement.

”O-okay.” He won’t refuse an order. Not right now. Not when he’s feeling…like /this/. He won’t fail Farfa tomorrow. He swears it to himself….

And when the time finally comes, it’s… easier…? Farfa is making sure Sapnap knows what’s happening in this meeting. Explaining everything in English. But isn’t asking him for an opinion. He’s not being asked to speak. It’s such a relief.

The meeting is wildly different to what he’s used to. Everyone is curt, straight to the point. There is no yelling or arguing, the opposing party barely looks at him, he’s practically ignored. He counts his blessings.

Sapnap is trying to calculate everything in his head and tries to take note to as much as he can….There’s a small detail he notices that he thinks Farfa may have missed. It must mean nothing but….it’s screwing with his internal calculations, something is /wrong/. He doesn’t think these type of people would try to wrong Farfa either…? The environment is so different from what he’s been going through recently, nothing wrong is /happening/, its all so professional, like when he accompanies Dream…but even Dream has missed some vital but almost ignorable detail in contracts before. 

“Farfa…?” He interrupted the two. They were speaking about something, he thinks the meeting was about to close…? But…he needs to make sure first. 

Farfadox is looking at him, expectedly. Not annoyed, patient, it helps builds Sapnap’s confidence. He can do Farfa proud.

“El…uh. Uno dos tres cuatro cinco... says….siete..? El siete uh pa...page? Es mal. Número malo? I think…?”

He gets through his broken spanish and looking from his hands where he was trying to recall his numbers, looks back at Farfa. There’s a small grin on Farfa’s face. Sapnap feels like a kid…..

Farfa understood though. He goes to the 7th page of the contract, its the one that had a listing for some new drug Sapnap has never heard of. But he swore the listing for weight compared to the amount of product they were supposed to receive for their men to sell was…off? And that caused the pricing to skew drastically in his head. He looked over Farfa’s shoulders, reading the numbers himself to make sure he wasn’t wrong and he wasn’t! 

He pointed to the discrepancy, “Aquí! Aquí!”

He noticed Farfa’s brows frown. He looked back at the dealers. So did Sapnap. They were looking at Sapnap, angry. Oh. Did he mess this up again….? Surely not though…

Farfa starts talking, his voice is louder than it was before. It booms. The dealer is raising his voice too, Sapnap assume’s trying to justify the error or something. Now they’re arguing. Fuck, he really does just cause issues….

He’s watching the dealer. He’s furious, his face is red and staring at Farfa. He’s cursing, Sapnap can tell. Farfa is looking back at the contract, continuing to argue. He notices…the dealer’s hands are going into his jacket….

His head is yelling DangerDangerDangerDANGER.

It’s dead quiet now.

Sapnap shoots. Not even realizing he’s taken his own gun out. 

”Sapnap.” He jumps and drops his gun. He’s fucked it up again. It’s worse now. He /killed/ someone. He wasn’t ordered to. He hasn’t been ordered to kill anyone this entire time and now he fucked it up. Oh fuck. Oh /fuck/.

”/Sapnap/.”

There’s hands on his face, “Mira me, mira Sapnap. Respira, breathe.” He’s locking eyes with Farfa now. His hands are gentle. Farfa is smiling.

”He was- He was gonna shoot. He- I saw him. He-“

“Ya, ya. Te creo.” Farfa believes him. Good. Good… Farfa is so nice to him right now. He’ll take it. He knows he’s in trouble. He’ll soak it all in. Before…before whatever punishment they decide (He hopes it’ll just be a punishment. He hopes it isn’t worse)

“Good job. Buen perro.” Sapnap lights up. Oh. Oh! He knows that means he did good. Like really good! They rarely ever say that to him. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard Farfa say it himself.

Its crazy how all his worries seem to vanish from the past few weeks. Like just that small reassurance was all he needed. He did good. He smiles.

“Hermoso.”

Sapnap doesn’t know that word.

“Casa?” He asks instead. Farfa laughs.

Sapnap will be getting settled to go to bed when the rest of the members rush into his room(except Spreen he realizes. But he’s at the doorway with Farfa smiling at him). They’re basically dogpiling him. Cooing at him and hugging him and petting and praises and kissing and snuggles and he doesn’t understand, he doesn't get it. 

He slowly realizes they’re all congratulating him. His first kill. His first kill? He tries to tell them he’s killed before. They don’t listen to him. They start talking about setting up a fight with him, so they could all watch next time. Sapnap feels his face getting red. They're all gushing over him....But! He feels like its been forever since they’ve all mobbed him like this. He feels so warm. 

(The next morning he gets breakfast in bed. It all feels very silly to him)

[thanatika]

yeah i agree with your point about survival mechanics and i feel the same way about the lack of combat mechanics. "why would an educated city doctor need a weapon" because shit is hitting the fan in every way impossible and pretty much everyone is walking around armed... also why am i supposed to believe the the fact that he's a man of intellect will somehow provide him with food? i don't think anyone is going to be too eager to share food during an outbreak intellectual or not...

+ follow up for the previous ask but actually my favorite quest from the original pathologic is the day 11 bachelor quest that involves shooting down soldiers. i think it really drives the point home about how this random fuckass guy who is supposed to be battling a plague doesn't even have the time to do that anymore because the people in charge are asking completely irrelevant things of him now and he's at a position where he cannot refuse what is being asked of him. like i think it was good storytelling that even as the guy who lowkey wants to deal with the plague and solve its mystery you still have other, more pressing, less interesting and or pleasant tasks to complete

i agree! honestly, i feel this way about the combat mechanics even more than i do about the physical survival (food, health, illness, sleep) mechanics. because sure, i can see how it makes sense for daniil's position of authority to mean that his basic needs are somewhat provided for -- although i don't think it makes more sense than what we got in the original game. i've never seen anyone bring up "isn't it kind of unrealistic that the bachelor isn't given lots of food during a massive food shortage?" as a plothole that needed to be resolved. the townspeople generally don't like him much, and most of the people with power don't either, except for the kains. sure, maybe it's kind of weird that you can go see the kains while broke and on the verge of keeling over from hunger, and they won't do anything to help you, but... the kains are pretty self-centered, and they're so goddamn weird that maybe they forget that you need to eat food to live anyway. and it's half-implied that the powers that be are ultimately giving daniil this role as a convenient way to kill him, so it makes sense that they would put no pressure on the town authorities to keep him alive.

(and honestly, artemy is taken under the olgimsky's auspices as much as the kains take daniil's under theirs! which is to say, selfishly, with ulterior motives that are more important to them than the well-being of their healer, but... the olgimskys are set up as the wealthiest of the 3 families financially, as well as the ones with the most access to food, given their control over the meat industry. so if anything it's "weirder" that artemy isn't more materially provided for, though to be clear i don't think there's an actual plothole there either way.)

but anyway, you could handwave it and say that daniil's position of privilege and authority gives him more perks than he got in the original game, but the amount of fighting you have to do to get through town is... kind of an unavoidable physical reality? like you're given so many sidequests that you often wind up walking around town after dark, and that's when the bandits come out. is the idea that the bandits would be too scared to attack him because he's so important? because that doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and even pathologic 2 establishes that he's seen as a valuable target by the bandits:

and then there's the quests where combat plays a more direct role in the story itself, like getting involved in saving andrey from the firing squad, or killing guards to break artemy out of prison, or the quest where you have to kill var in attempt to stop the arsonists (which i include on the same tier as the other ones because i really like the quest journal entry he has if you complete it where he blames himself for willow's death. it's a good character moment.)

hell, even in pathologic 2 itself, one of the biggest Bachelor Moments is on day 11, when you have that big dramatic convo with him after he killed a soldier for the papers he was delivering. plus one of bad grief's idle dialogues in patho 2 is commentary on the bachelor being "quick on the draw" and that he "already shot someone". like he just straight up is not living a combat-free existence. and overall, combat isn't just a good tool from a mechanical perspective, heightening the stakes and placing pressure on the player (though it is), it's also pretty important for him on a thematic level imo, almost as important as artemy and his "rivers of blood". in patho classic, daniil has this early interaction with the inquisitor:

which, thinking about it from a doylist perspective, was probably the writers' attempt to make it sound more plausible that this random medical researcher from the big city was competent with multiple types of guns. and i appreciate them coming up with that hint of backstory to cover their bases a bit, but with those bases covered, i think the fact that daniil ultimately spends more time shooting people than he does prescribing medicines for them actually does a lot for him thematically? i mean, if his whole thing is that he's this "tempted destroyer", someone who frames his career as a combative battle with death rather than a quest to save people's lives, whose "default" solution is to raze the town with artillery because he's too limited by his rationalist worldview and military upbringing (and bitterness over being manipulated and sabotaged) to come up with a solution that saves the any remaining infected survivors on his own. plus the way that clara frames artemy and daniil as two sides of the same coin in being violent destroyers and killers, who without player intervention will immediately devolve to running around chasing each other down in what's either an insanely dedicated tom and jerry LARP or some really elaborate foreplay. imo, that whole dichotomy (which is pretty core to the game, as the idea of dichotomies are core to it in general) works so much better with the way they're both presented in classic, stalking around with gun/scalpel in hand. hell, not to mention the effect that spending 12 in-game days trying not to starve and getting killed by bandits or guards or worms or soldiers every day would have on the player, and the way it would make them feel about the town and their natural projection of those feelings onto dankovsky, who is a perfectly fitting vessel for them as the avatar actually undergoing those virtual experiences.

ultimately i think they are mainly going this direction out of a desire to do something more creative and original, which is fine... it just seems a bit silly to me that they keep saying "well obviously that doesn't really work for the bachelor's scenario", when, well... even as recently as patho 2 in 2019, they seemed to think it fit his narrative pretty well! i'm also guessing that a lack of combat won't be that bandits are just no longer roaming the streets at night. it sounds more like pathologic 3 is set to be more of a nonlinear experience, where you'll probably fast travel from place to place instead of having to walk across town so much? so you'll be avoiding bandits just in the sense that the gameplay will be avoiding them. i guess i'm hoping that at the very least, there's still the implication of the crunch of not getting enough sleep or food and the threat of being stabbed to death while trying to get through town occurring to dankovsky in the background, even if those mechanics are deemphasized in favor of more macro-level town resource management, time control, and sherlock holmes fruit ninja or whatever the hell they were on about back in 2022 lmao.

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

The Princess of Wales Winter 2024 Photo Challenge!

Day Two: Favourite photo(s) of Catherine on St Patrick’s Day/St David’s Day/St Andrew’s Day

The last St Andrew's day activity that was St Andrew's day related being in 2012 while she has 47 thousand photos available to show her celebrating St Patrick's day... something something

[crazyfandomluver]

Adam: *walking into his office while looking at some papers* Oh hey 7-11.

7-11: *chilling in the pile of plushies in the corner* Hey.

Adam, sits at his desk: …

Adam: …

7-11: …

Adam: …

7-11: …

Adam: … HOLD ON 7-11?!?

7-11: ???

…………………………………………………………………………

7-11 belongs to @pampanope

[ratatatastic]

montreal canadiens @ florida panthers | 12.28.24

[todaysdocument]

Men of the Harlem Hellfighters (369th Infantry), some of whom had been awarded the Croix de Guerre by France for their courage under fire, on June 11, 1918. 

Record Group 165: Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs

Series: American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs

File Unit: Colored Troops

Image description: A line of Black soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder in a grassy field. They are wearing World War I U.S. Army uniforms and narrow metal helmets. 

Transcription: 

SUBJECT: 165-WW-127-4 NUMBER EU

165 WW-127 4

Inter. Film Ser. Photographer

Rec'd June 11, 1916  Taken

DESCRIPTION:

NEGRO TROOPS IN FRANCE.

Picture shows a part of the 15th Regt. Inf. N.Y.N.G organized by Col. Haywood, which has been under fire.  Two of the men Privates Johnson and Roberts, displayed exceptional courage while under fire and routed a German Raiding party for which the negroes were decorated with the French Croix de Guerre.  it will be noticed that the men have taken to the French trench helmet instead of the flatter and broader British style.

[the-physicality]

So far in this game

DT’s officially passed Lindsay Whalen to be 4th in career assists

BG hit 800 blocks

Tash cloud becomes the franchise leader in most assists in a season (a record which was most recently held by Diana Taurasi)

[razzle-zazzle]

Whumptober Day 26: Nightmares

"I'm haunted by the lies that I have loved, the actions that I have hated." -Poe, "Haunted"

2406 Words; Spiritshipping AU, takes place at various points during Possession and Tournament of Elements

TW for mentions of past death, past suicide

AO3 ver

Cole slid across the ice, unable to float on it like Morro could.

He cursed as he lost his footing, phasing into a wall before he came to a stop. He was a dancer! Balance was his thing! Why was this stupid ice giving him trouble!

At least the ninja were having similar troubles traversing the caves leading to the First Master’s tomb. Cole could take some comfort in that—which was strange, really, to not be the only one struggling. Since emerging from the Cursed Realm, he’d been behind in every way, not quite on par with the ninja. Not a part of their team, an incongruous piece that didn’t quite fit.

+=+=+=+=+

“Oh, screw this.” Cole walked through the wall, leaning against it as the ninja yelled and tried to avoid the beast inside. After a moment, he walked back to the door, grabbing at the lock.

“Hmm…” Cole wasn’t exactly an expert locksmith… “Guys, how do I open this?” He shouted, as the lock failed to give way under his strength.

It was Jay who reached the door first. “Wh—you’re a ghost!” He shouted. “Be the key!”

“Oh, right!” Cole kept forgetting he could possess things. Even though Morro was actively possessing Lloyd—Cole still wasn’t quite used to the idea that he could just… take over. Possession wasn’t something that was possible in the Cursed Realm.

Cole pressed his palm against the lock, and concentrated.

+=+=+=+=+

Sure, he’d been really helpful to them, putting his ghostly abilities to use to help them get the scroll of airjitsu and the Sword of Sanctuary, while doing everything he could to get the ninja out of scrapes along the way. He’d even thrown a rock at Morro once—though Morro had pretty easily slammed it down with a burst of wind.

But all of that was nothing against what the ninja had gone through together. Cole had heard the stories—Jay loved to talk off the ears of anyone near enough to listen. The Devourer, the Overlord, the Overlord Again, Chen’s cult—and Cole had been there for only the tail end of that last one, when Chen’s mage had summoned him from the Cursed Realm just to steal his power over earth. Cole just wasn’t a ninja.

He wasn’t truly part of the group.

+=+=+=+=+

Cole phased through another wall, trying not to panic.

Barely a few minutes ago, he’d been in the Cursed Realm, and now he was here, in some… underground maze? Completely bereft of his powers, thanks to that weird staff. Which wasn’t a huge deal, Cole had lived most of his life without any geokinesis whatsoever—

But he certainly wasn’t going to go back to the Cursed Realm empty-handed. It was an insult to his pride, really—and that everyone here was trying to send him back to the Cursed Realm was nerve-racking; what if the next wall he walked through led him straight to water? He had no way to know—

Cole stopped. This was different. It was a cell, if the chains were any indication. But the prisoner wasn’t quite like anything Cole had ever seen before; metal in place of the normal skin and flesh.

“Uhh…” Cole started. “Hi?” Should he leave? He should probably leave—

“Hello.” The automaton’s voice was pleasant, “You’re new.”

“Just got yanked out of the Cursed Realm.” Cole muttered, and then, “Who are you anyway? I thought robots were only in science fiction.”

“I am Zane; also, I am an nindroid, not a robot.” Zane answered. “What is your name?”

“Cole.” Cole offered, moving to sit down in front of Zane. “So you’ve been screwed over by these weirdos, too?” Something like sympathy twinged in Cole’s chest, even as Zane’s eyes widened at Cole’s statement.

“You…” Zane looked Cole up and down, expressive face showcasing a concern that made Cole uncomfortable. “Did Clouse kill you?” He sounded horrified by the mere thought.

Cole barked out a surprised laugh. “No! No, I was already dead when I got pulled here.” He reassured. “They just waved a stick in my face and stole—” He cut off, unsure if he should mention the whole “master of earth” thing. “A thing. From me.”

“Oh.” Zane’s concern vanished—something Cole was much more used to. “My own elemental powers were stolen as well.” He added, “I was not aware ghosts could retain their elemental powers.”

Morro had given Cole a crash course on elemental power and how it was inherited. “Well, I wasn’t aware nondroids could inherit elemental power, so I guess that makes us even.” He shrugged

Zane smiled. “I suppose it does.” He stared past Cole for a moment, apparently lost in thought or something.

Cole hmmed. He apparently had a lot in common with this guy. “Well, this is getting boring.” He stood, and walked over to the chains holding Zane’s wrists. “Whaddya say to breaking out of here and getting our powers back?”

Zane grinned. “That would be nice.”

+=+=+=+=+

But that was fine, wasn’t it? Cole was never going to be a ninja in the first place. He knew where his loyalties were. Who his loyalties were.

You are doing so well, little Geode.

Cole shuddered, then walked over to where the ninja were admiring their reflections. Apparently, the ice could show someone’s future, and Jay was crowing about how cool his eyepatch looked and how gorgeous Nya was.

Cole glanced at the ice, not really expecting much—he was dead, after all. He’d probably just see the Preeminent—

Cole froze in place.

+=+=+=+=+

“I got the scroll!” Cole exited the temple as easily as he’d entered it, scroll of airjitsu in hand. The sun was beginning to rise, bright golden light piercing through Cole’s translucent body. Of course, he’d been out of the Cursed Realm for a few days by now, so the sunlight piercing through him wasn’t anything new.

The three ninja cheered as Cole passed the scroll over to Zane, Jay slinging an arm over Cole’s shoulders. “You better slow down on showing us up, or Kai’ll get jealous!” He joked, as Zane read over the scroll.

Kai scoffed, then turned his attention to Cole. “You’re doing good, kid. We’ll make a ninja out of you yet.” He praised, making Cole duck his head, flustered.

+=+=+=+=+

That…

“Cole, what’s your reflection?” Zane asked.

Cole stared at his reflection. It was very green, he’d certainly expected that. And Morro was in it, which was a given. The Preeminent was a bit lacking, but maybe she was just too big to fit in the frame. Yeah. It was probably that.

“I don’t see anything different.” Cole lied, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just… me.” Even though the reflection looked older, and more sure of himself in a way that was making Cole feel distinctly uncomfortable—

A feeling in the rock beneath the ice made Cole turn away from the wall, looking down the tunnels they had come through. “...guys?” He started, sinking down into the ice to connect with the stone a little better. The moment he did, he knew—

Time was up.

Morro had arrived.

+=+=+=+=+

“Cole?”

Cole looked up at the sound of Nya’s voice, finding her standing in the doorway. “Hey.” he greeted, leaning back on the bed he was sitting on. The comforter wasn’t color-coded like the other beds, so it had been loosely assigned to him since his arrival.

“You doing okay?” Nya asked, crossing the distance between them to sit next to Cole on the bed. “Kai said you really helped in getting the scroll, but you’re not celebrating with everyone else.”

Cole shrugged. “I’m fine.” He responded, not really looking at her. “Just… thinking.”

“Penny for your thoughts?” Nya prompted, expression open. Trusting.

(Trust that Cole didn’t deserve.)

Cole leaned back. “It’s just… those three. They work well together, don’t they?” His eyes closed, the image of green-streaked dark hair and vicious smirk filling his mind’s eye. “They’re a team. And I’m…” He scoffed. “I’m just me.” He let himself fall back all the way until he was lying on the bed, legs hanging off of it as he stared at the ceiling. “I was attending a performing arts school when I died—I’m not—I can’t do the cool things they do.”

Nya chuckled. “But then you find out you’ve had an element all along, and suddenly you’re supposed to be a part of the group.” She finished the thought Cole was working up to, if not exactly in the terms he would have used. “I get it, Cole, believe me, I do.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Cole agreed. “But… I mean, look at you!” He gestured at Nya. “Even before this Master of Water stuff, you were Samurai X! You’ve always been cool, Nya.”

“But I’ve never been a ninja.” Nya pointed out. “And you’re pretty cool yourself, you know.” There was an emotion in her eyes that Cole couldn’t quite discern, something like concern in the twist of her lips that made him uncomfortable.

Cole snorted. “If you say so.” He could see the parallel, he really could. But—

They are not your family, Geode.

But Cole never would be a part of the team. Not really.

+=+=+=+=+

The tomb was chaos! Everyone slipping and sliding on the ice like a bunch of—had Jay grabbed an icicle to swordfight Morro with?

Oh, huh, so he had. Points for improvisation, Cole supposed—and Jay had proven to be very good at improvising. Almost scarily so—Cole didn’t look forward when that same improvisation would be turned against him.

Geode…

The Preeminent pricked at his mind, her presence clouding his perception. She was speaking to him, urging and crooning, and Cole let her cradle him. The fight had advanced while he was out of it—the ninja had found the Realm Crystal, and Morro was offering Lloyd in exchange for it. Cole moved to stand behind Kai and Zane as Kai offered up the Realm Crystal.

Cole wasn’t exactly keeping close track of things—how could he, when Morro was right there watching if Cole messed up? How could he, when the boy Morro had taken as host and anchor looked so… frail?

But… Cole’s eyes caught on dark hair and a vicious smirk. He knew where his loyalties lied. He would never truly be a ninja—but he could at least be loyal to his first real friend.

The ninja still had the Realm Crystal, though Jay was holding it now. Morro was starting to let go of Lloyd at Kai’s direction—

Cole lunged, a spike of rock knocking Zane aside as he phased through Jay to grab the crystal. Zane and Jay yelled, lightning and ice at their fingertips, but—

“Hey, Breezy!” Cole called out, “Catch!”

+=+=+=+=+

That had been easy. Startlingly so.

It was almost like they weren’t expecting the ghost from the Cursed Realm to stab them in the back. Which… probably said more about their willingness to trust Cole than it did about their intelligence.

Cole wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

“C’mon.” Morro urged, dragging Cole along. They had escaped into the Cursed Realm together, and were heading for the Preeminent, which was singing praises directly into Cole’s skull. Since Cole couldn’t really fly, Morro was sort of carrying him, holding Cole aloft by his shoulder as they flew along.

“What, no ‘thank you for getting me the Realm Crystal, Cole’?” Cole rattled off the barb and the impression easily, comfortably—and without any real energy.

Morro scoffed. “Thanks.” He offered, grip on Cole’s shoulder tightening. “I mean, I could have managed without you—” He cut himself off with a huff, and turned his attention back to flying along.

Cole sighed. The expressions on the ninja’ faces when he had betrayed them—

(Kai attempting to ruffle his hair after Chen’s apparent defeat—

The way Jay’s face would morph through expression after expression as he rambled, as though he was personally experiencing the stories he was telling—

Lloyd moving to try and shove him out of the way of a spilled cup of tea, laughing after phasing through Cole and falling flat on his face—

Zane explaining spinjitsu to Cole in a way that actually made sense—

Nya offering encouragement in that quiet moment in the bunks—)

It… stung. It wasn’t supposed to do that, to hurt. Cole was supposed to stick by the ninja until the time was right, and then return to Morro—

(Morro stumbling through an explanation of elemental powers—

Morro letting Cole rant about all the ways that his ballet instructor had sucked at his job—

Morro in Lloyd’s body, snarling in Wu’s face about all the ways that the sensei had failed him—

Morro laughing as he soared on the winds, moving through the skies like a dance—

Morro in Lloyd’s body, as vicious and cutthroat as ever, doing his best to throw the ninja off the mountain—)

“Hey, rocks-for-brains.” Morro poked Cole with his free hand. “Why’re you all mopey? We won.”

“We haven’t won yet.” Cole pointed out, reaching up to flick at Morro’s face. “And I’m not moping.”

“You’re definitely moping.” Morro refuted. “Is it because I wasn’t thankful enough? Or—” his expression turned serious, for a moment, “is the Mother giving you trouble?”

“It’s none of that.” Cole admitted. “I just… I almost can’t believe it.” He finally settled on his answer. “We got the Realm Crystal.” And they only had to commit so many atrocities to do it.

Morro’s eyebrow quirked, before he shrugged and started to descend. The Preeminent was still a ways away, but her presence was still very strong. They landed, Morro fishing through his bag to retrieve the Realm Crystal. He stared at it for a moment, that same vicious smirk that made Cole want to bite something and hold his hand simultaneously playing across his face.

Morro moved to walk to where the Preeminent could see them—

“Wait.” Cole grabbed his arm, making Morro pause. “I just… I’m…” He fumbled for the exact words, not quite able to express himself past the sudden knot in his chest. “Meeting you made killing myself worth it.” He said, painfully sincere. Immediately, he wanted to take the words back and bury himself in the ground.

Morro’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. He recovered his aplomb, shrugging off Cole’s admission. “You’re not half bad yourself, Cole.”

That… Cole nodded. That settled it, then. Thinking about the ninja still hurt, but—

Cole knew exactly where his loyalties were.

[nocternalrandomness]

Italian Coast Guard "Nemo 11" giving a demo at the Jesolo Air Show off the Jesolo Seafront, Italy

[kanerallels]

Oh hey! My hubris! Turns out these OCs are gonna be hecking HARD to write getting together!

[rabbitcruiser]

The first civilian prisoners arrived at the Federal prison on Alcatraz Island on August 11, 1934.

[spinnysocks]

LGBTQIA+ TLG headcannons for Pride Month based on this calendar :)

Pride Month Day 14. Transmasc headcannons!

Janja, Mzingo, Kiburi, Nduli, Kion, Bunga, Baylio, Askari, Nuka, Scar

i struggled to find/think of as many for this one, but thanks to my mutuals we have as many transmasc headcannons as transfem ones! a few of them are the magical power of Projecting My Gender Onto My Favourites so there ya go. a special thank you to everyone who helped me!

[corvidcrybaby]

The old man heaved a tired sigh. The glow from his lantern glinted off his spectacles, concealing his eyes from view. He murmured a stream of unintelligible words under his breath as he waved his hand through the air in a placid but firm gesture. The mist dissipated in an instant. The attic, in all its archival glory, littered with books and papers and spent inkwells, was visible to the lost girl once more. With that, the apparent Rabbi set about taking stock of the young lady’s ailments. Leaning over her, he murmured something to Guard, who gingerly knelt once again, laying She Who Is Nobody onto the wooden floor, one hand supporting her between the shoulder blades. The old man removed his glasses and smiled at her, kneeling down such that he was eye level with her. He kept his distance, not wanting to alarm her any further than the others had already done a fine job of doing. Her heartbeat was deafening. That even he could hear it spoke volumes. The old man was no vampire, baruch HaShem, but he heard it all the same. This was a definite problem. “Hello, little one,” the old man whispered. “You’ve had a terrible night, haven’t you?”

I call this piece You Reposted in the Wrong Attic.