#i guess i’m used to fighting them with more upgrades so it went on much longer than i expected

[dampfur]

I finally finished designing all the voices for my Redlico Slay The Princess AU so here they all are ✨

This was all pretty fun to make and figure out for Licorice

Maybe I’ll at some point do legitimate interpretations of the voices in canon but no promises

Under the cut I’ll be explaining the design process of these guys and I’m sure the inspiration for most of them are pretty obvious

The Hero: Since he’s basically the default or standard voice you have in the game due to being the first voice and the voice that’s always with you, his design is based on the standard look of the licorice servants as well as a bit of Licorice himself with the cloak and eye color. (the gold lining comes from my own design of Lico that has those bits on his robe) He also gets the privilege of carrying the pristine blade

The Smitten: He’s the most flashy of the voices so the ZZSkull costume/minion design is what I went with since the red fits with the theme of love and with the whole K-Pop band thing going on with this costume I’m sure you could sweep the Prince off his feet with a musical performance~ 🎶

The Cold: I mostly chose the Pale Reaper costume/minion design for the color palette as it’s well- cold. But I did look at the costume description and it describes the Pale Reaper minions as “a ruthless army of obedient servants knowing no fear or pain.” Which did remind me of the Cold with the whole lack of feeling.

The Stubborn: Based on the bomber minion Licorice has in his OB ability. It’s an angry little guy and what better way to win a fight than to literally just explode I guess.

The Cheated: Based on the Parfaedia school uniform. Even tho it’s not confirmed Licorice went to that school it’s a good enough placeholder for what the Cheated represents for him. A time in his life where he studied magic and got no recognition out of it. Much like the name, he felt cheated out of success.

The Contrarian: His Grumpy Shroom Fairy costume felt a bit difficult to place on any of the voices but ultimately I went with this one. I basically chose this costume because Licorice dislikes it. And the Contrarian is certainly known for pushing peoples buttons and wanting to make choices that usually oppose what most of the characters want and more usually at the Narrators expense. So he wears this costume in opposition to how Licorice generally feels about it as it doesn’t paint him in any intimidating light. It’s a silly goofy outfit for a silly goofy voice

The Paranoid: Based on the Licorice Oozlings. Licorice himself expresses disgust over having to see the Licorice Sea again and the citizens of the Dark Cacao Kingdom have stated how much effort they put into making sure the monsters never get past the wall. The Oozlings make a great representation of the sense of fear and paranoia the cookies from there have felt over having to deal with them and Licorice probably felt a similar way when he had once lived there. And of course Licorice did use them as minions within the chapter 13 story so there’s another heavy association he with them.

The Opportunist: Based on the Aberrant Conjurer costume. Aside from the clear upgrade in outfit, this costume seems also like an upgrade in power. Licorice himself is much like the Opportunist always wanting to come out on top. In this costume it definitely feels like he’s gotten what he wanted. Although he can never outshine the powerful Dark Enchantress Cookie who he continues to be devoted and loyal to, and certainly would be to his benefit to be loyal so he can continue getting stronger with his magic and to not get caught in the crossfire of DE and her spreading of darkness and destruction. I’m basically comparing the Opportunist and the Wraith Princess to Licorice and DE since Licorice joining her is highly beneficial to him in his pursuit of power (of course in his case he’s doing it out of actual willingness not survival but the point still stands given how being on her bad side would be very dangerous)

The Hunted: This is the only voice not based on anything related to Licorice aside from the bones. He leans more into the animal appearance with the bird look and being the only voice to have pointy hands. There’s a few reasons for the bird motif specifically. One, the Hunted acts like prey always trying to run, hide and survive hence looking like an animal that can be easy prey. Two it’s a reference to the Long Quite being a bird so might as well stick that in here. And three, my personal Licorice design has bird skulls instead of human(?) skulls so it really was just preference.

The Broken: Based on the potion minion Licorice has in his OB ability. This minion I thought just had a sad looking face so I thought that’d fit him. This potion minion of course carries a potion around and it has a heart inside it. I thought to incorporate that into the design with the cracked heart as a sign of his broken spirit.

The Skeptic: The most difficult and bizarre design choice out of everyone as he’s based on Rocky, the rock that Licorice finds in Last Cookie Standing. I initially thought of this as a joke cuz I ran out of ideas and was just like “I’ll put Rocky here and call it a day” but I actually ended up making this make sense. Rocky comes a series that’s a Survival/Total Drama Island parody. Which of course is filled with characters using their wits and other skills to get through the challenges. Part of the appeal is watching the contestants build and destroy trust with one another. It is important you choose your allies wisely and think things through if you wanna win. So ya Rocky’s association with Last Cookie Standing made my decision with the Skeptic make sense.

[blueikeproductions]

A leak for upcoming EarthSpark toys has trickled out, and the two that stick out that are new, (the others being stuff we knew like a Deluxe Hashtag), involve Cosmos and Megatron.

Cosmos I’m cool with, he’s an old fav, and honestly it’s an upgrade over his CV self.

Big Boy Cosmos Supremacy. Not hapless, female co-star that got attacked by aliens as a running gag in Alien Hunt and should’ve been the actual antagonist, getting revenge on Meteorfire, instead of what we got.

The Megatron toy sticks out as it’s referred to as a “Cyber Glow” Megatron.

This hasn’t been used so far in the toys, and implies a possible gimmick or something from the show that either went unused or is something we’ve yet to see.

The Cyber Glow idea reminds me of this.

A “Hero’s Light” style power up TFA Optimus assumes in the Japanese OP, which is used in the spin off The Cool manga, explaining the power coming from The Allspark.

So basically that but Megatron.

My guess is the in-story reason is the Maltos bestow Megatron the power of the Cyber Sleeves, glowing a green color similar to this.

I’ve had a thought in the past that the only way you could get Galvatron from ES Megatron is he’s evolved by the Emberstone/Cybersleeves, resulting in a Quintesson like form similar to what TFP Megatron became when Megatron was possessed by Unicron.

Of course it could just be a version of the Green Lantern like armor Terratronus wears but with translucent green plastic on Megatron’s chest, cannon, and legs so…

I don’t expect a Quintus-Galvatron though, nor am I expecting that much of Cyber Glow at all, as EarthSpark hasn’t been very good at advertising its own toy line.

None of these appear in the show, with the Ride & Combine concept sorta being present, but utilized in manner not expressed in the toys at all.

It does sorta beg the question why there aren’t Terran, Bee or Optimus Cyber Glow figures. You’d think bare minimum the Terrans would have this power up, or Bee by association, but I guess not.

Because of the show’s insistence on trying to prove how much Megatron is a good boi now, and this series does at least do a better job of it than Cyberverse did, but it still feels… off. That power ups usually reserved for Optimus now go to Megatron.

Not that that’s unheard of…

But I’m not sure, Megatron being blessed by Quintus Prime has that same vibe as Cyberverse insisting Megatron can use the Matrix, and while ES Megs is a bit more justified it still feels wrong.

Still Megatron getting this Glow does support the idea the Terrans aren’t popular enough to get their own consistent power ups, and if the show does continue long enough to use this, is it indeed only Megatron or would Optimus get it too, similar to this?

Though ideally we really should get an Omega Prime type form for Prime and Megs to merge into.

It’s too late for that now, but Prime & Meg’s dynamic was similar to Prime and Magnus’ in RiD01 that you could’ve had them merge to fight off Super Mandroid and the Quints.

We have the Megatron Arm Optimus in Skybound, so we would’ve been half way there in ES.

[fioreofthemarch]

Finding Her - Chapter 14

Link makes notes, takes photos and keeps time on his quest across Hyrule, in the hopes of finding Zelda and staying sane until he does. [ Previous | Next | First | AO3 ] A/N: This chapter's formatting may not read very well on Tumblr. See the AO3 link as an alternate.

Booting… Booting… Boot–

[ WARNING ]

%%% A problem has occurred and the Purah Pad will now shut down to prevent further damage. 

%%% Shutdown process: Initiating…

### STOP: 0x0000008E (0xHE000000LP, 0x0ME00000)

### pp1371hud.sys – Address F87D91-HELP at F87DA0-ME

%%% Beginning memory transfer…

%%%Transfer Complete.

%%% C  ontact your the Pur  ah Pad technical admini5trat0r for furthe  r  #  H##ELP! 

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 6th day. I’ve made a start on the repairs to Link’s Purah Pad, but progress is slow. It was pretty badly damaged in the fight, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to save it. To think, just yesterday Link asked me to give it a once over. 

As a stopgap, I’ve booted up a prototype Purah Pad and transferred all of Link’s data and inventory across. Its hardware is barely holding together, so I’ve asked Robbie to return from Hateno Village to help out, but he’s still a day away.  

I’m using the guidance stone console to recover what I can. It looks like most of the data survived, but everything logged in the past week is completely scrambled. I’ll sort it out. I have to. 

I know how much Link’s notes mean to him. Salvaging them is the least I can do. 

---

[ Corrupted data packets identified ]1040802-logtypeTEXT.pkg 1040802-hyrulegarrison-053.img1040804-logtypeTEXT.pkg 1040804-lookoutlanding-055.img 1040805-logtypeAUDIO.pkg UNKNOWN-PRINCESSZELDA.img

Re-compiling… 1040802-logtypeTEXT.pkg Recovery 12.5 / 100%

Log[]da[][]: 10:45. 8th month, 2nd day ##VALUE! Location: Hyrule Ga[][]is[]n [][][][][] Weather: %%UNRECOVERED

%[...]%Glad Tulin and Riju are with me. Have a bad feeling, about all this%[...]%Too many memories in Hyrule, and one over every rise and along every path%[...]%but Riju said I had no need for guilt, and Tulin said it was probably an accident%[...]%

< ~File corrupted, unable to display image > 

Re-compiling… 1040804-logtypeTEXT.pkg Recovery 32.3 / 100% 

[][][] d[]te: ##VALUE! 8th [][][][][], 4th day 104AC ~~~ation: Lookout Lan[][][][] Weather: Mild

%[...]%Robbie’s upgraded the Message Medallions and made one for each Sage%[...]%I’ve briefed the Sages that I think it could be a trap, but we haven’t told the people of Lookout Landing. They’re so sure it’s her. They have so much hope. Who am I to take that away?%[...]%

A half-corrupted photograph, the shapes and colours decaying into noise. To describe it in more detail would be to describe peeling the Purah Pad back layer by layer, and unearthing the wriggling wires, blinking lights and humming components underneath. Look too long, and something starts looking back. 

Caption: C an you% %see m e?

Re-compiling… 1040805-logtypeAUDIO.pkg  Recovery 49.0 / 100% 

RJ | 12:30 %[...]% made it to the Library%[...]% looking worse for wear. 

UNKNOWN | 12:30 Roger that. Yunobo and I are ###here##in here, I’m##in here## 

UNKNOWN | 12:31 Checking in! The Docks are clear but ###Gl# %% %.

YNB| 12:31 Plenty of Gloom here too, goro!

UNKNOWN | 12:32 What about you?%[...]%

LNK | 12:32 I’m at the second gatehouse. And I… 

RJ | 12:32 ##[PURAH]? What’s going on?

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 7th day - After a day of work and no sleep, I’ve barely made it halfway through the data. I sent Josha off to find me some coffee but Goddess be good, she’d never heard of it. I guess they don’t make it in Kakariko anymore. 

Robbie’s not far away. It’s possible it’s the damage to the Purah Pad itself that causing all the isues. But there’s a lot of noise in the data, more than there should be. Maybe someone’s been messing around with the backend somehow.  

I just hope we can sort this all out before Link gets back. It would help if we knew where he went, and for how long, and why. Scorpis sent scouts, Harth too. They haven’t come back with anything. I told them he’s the Hero of Hyrule for the Goddess’ sake, look harder! 

Okay, I think I’ve nearly cracked the entries made on the day Link and the Sages infiltrated Hyrule Castle. Hopefully something in there will help us find him. 

---

Recompilation complete: 1040804-logtypeTEXT.pkg Recovery 61.7 / 100%  

Log date: 14:45. 8th month, 4th day 104AC Location: Lookout Landing Weather: Mild  

Made it to Lookout Landing with Tulin and Riju. Sidon and Yunobo were already here. All of Hyrule has come for 'Zelda'. 

We’ve spent the morning planning the ‘rescue’. Robbie’s upgraded the Message Medallions and made one for each Sage, so that we can all go to the Castle together and communicate freely. The plan is to hit each main entrance – the Docks, the Library, the Dining Halls and the Gatehouses – all at once. 

I’ve briefed the Sages that I think it could be a trap, but we haven’t told the people of Lookout Landing. They’re so sure it’s her. They have so much hope. Who am I to take that away? 

And there is … another possibility. I can’t promise them Zelda is just an illusion if the opposite is true, but it’s too terrible… What would we do? What would we do, Zelda, if it’s really you causing all these problems in Hyrule, and really you who has turned on us? Goddess, what would we do?

A colourful photograph of Lookout Landing, with the banners of each land of Hyrule visible. Hyrule Castle stands in the background, brightly lit by the sun despite the Gloom that pours out of it. 

Caption: Time to find out. 

---

Re-compilation complete: 1040805-logtypeAUDIO.pkg  Recovery 85.5 / 100%

Audio log transcription date: 104.08.05  Time: 26 minutes 31 seconds. 

LNK | 12:27 Testing… testing… Can you guys hear me? 

RJ | 12:27 Loud and clear! Wow Link, it’s like you’re right here. 

LNK | 12:27 Thank Robbie. This was his idea. 

TLN | 12:28 Cadet Tulin checking in! Or, no, can I be Officer Tulin?

RJ | 12:28 Sure you can, kid. 

TLN | 12:28 Who are YOU calling kid?

RJ | 12:28 Only the Chief of–

YNB | 12:28 Hey guys! President uh… Yunobo, checking in! Is that the right term?

TLN | 12:29 You are President aren’t you?

YNB | 12:29 No the ‘checking in’ part.

TLN | 12:29 I guess?

SDN | 12:30 I am also here! 

LNK | 12:30 Are we all in position?

RJ | 12:30 I’ve made it to the Library. This place is looking worse for wear.

TLN | 12:31 Roger that. Yunobo and I are in the Dining Hall. 

SDN | 12:31 I’m at the Docks. They’re clear but there’s Gloom everywhere. 

YNB | 12:31 Lots of Gloom here too, goro!

RJ | 12:32 What about you, Link? 

LNK | 12:32 I’m at the Second Gatehouse. And I…

RJ | 12:32 Link? What’s going on?

LNK | 12:32 I can see her. 

SDN | 12:33 The Princess? 

TLN | 12:33 Zelda?

LNK | 12:33 I… I don’t know. Hold position, I’m going in.  

SDN | 12:33 Uh, no need for alarm but, there’s something here…

TLN | 12:33 Wait… I can see something too. 

YNB | 12:34 Do you think that’s…?

RJ | 12:34 Zelda!? But, she’s in the Gatehouse! What is she doing here?

SDN | 12:34 It’s… moving. The Gloom is moving…

LNK | 12:34 [roaring, crashing noises] Ack! Everyone! It was a trap! I repeat a trap!

TLN | 12:34 Yunobo watch out!

YNB | 12:34 Monsters! 

RJ | 12:35 They’re everywhere! What happened to Zelda?!

LNK | 12:35 She was bait! Get out of there!

SDN | 12:35 [gasping] H-Help me! Help! It’s got a hold of me! 

LNK | 12:35 Sidon! I’m on my way–

SDN | 12:35 [strangled] No, don't–! You damn-! Hyack, hyah! I’m… I’m free!

LNK | 12:35 Run! Don’t try to fight it!

SDN | 12:35 [screeching in the background] Okay, running!

TLN | 12:36 [arrows whooshing] One down!

YNB | 12:36 Yes, ha hah! We got this little guy, don’t worry!

TLN | 12:36 Not! Little!

RJ | 12:37 [thunder crashing] Take that! And that!

LNK | 12:37 Second Gatehouse is clear. Heading to the west apartments. Everyone report in. 

TLN | 12:38 Roger that, we are nearly–!

YNB | 12:38 Done and done! Dining Hall is clear.

RJ | 12:39 So is the Library. Phew, that was quite the fight. And– oh, Sidon!  You made it from the Docks!

SDN | 12:40 [out of breath] Indeed. 

RJ | 12:40 Those marks on you… what was down there?

SDN | 12:40 I do not know! 

TLN | 12:42 So did we… find Zelda?

YNB | 12:42 I think she left, after those monsters came. 

TLN | 12:43 So it wasn't really her?

YNB | 12:43 Iunno…

RJ | 12:44 Link? What should we do now? 

RJ | 12:46 Link? Say something. You’re scaring us.  

YNB | 12:47 Is…is he alright?

SDN | 12:48 He’ll be fine. Maybe his talking stone is not functioning. 

YNB | 12:49 It’s more of a talking rock.

TLN | 12:49 Looks like a pebble to me.

SDN | 12:49 It is distinctly a glowing stone, the markings typical of–

RJ | 12:48 Can we please focus?! Link, come in! 

LNK | 12:49 I’m here, sorry. Monsters in Zelda’s old room. Caught off guard. Heading to the Inner Sanctum. Everyone else retreat. It’s too dangerous.

SDN | 12:49 No. We will join you. 

TLN | 12:50 We can’t leave now!

YNB | 12:50 We’ve come all this way!

RJ | 12:50 We’ll fight together!   

LNK | 12:50 Okay. I… Thank you.  Approaching the inner sanctum. It seems clear but… 

LNK | 12:51 …Zelda? 

TLN | 12:51 Is it another ghost?

YNB | 12:51 Is it another trap?!

LNK | 12:52 No it’s… it’s really you, isn’t it?

RJ | 12:52 Link! What do you see?  

LNK | 12:52 [softly] You came back…

RJ | 12:52 Link, wait! Wait for us to get there! 

SDN | 12:52 We’re moving as fast as we can! 

LNK | 12:52 I missed you…

RJ | 12:53 Link, answer me! Link!

LNK | 12:53 Zelda… you… wait. No–! [screaming]

RJ | 12:53 Link!

Connection terminated. 

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 9th day - I’ve managed to recover more of Link’s logs, but Robbie wants me to hand over the Purah Pad ASAP. He took one look at it and shook his head. You’ve outdone yourself this time, he said. I told him I knew my behaviour was not becoming of a Lab Director. He agreed. 

The logs don’t tell me much. I know Link was anxious about going to the Castle, and I know they had a hard fight once they got there, but when he and the Sages returned… he was in hysterics. And the Sages say they just found him like that.  

But it wasn’t all for nothing. The Sages had good and bad news. The ‘Zelda’ we have been seeing everywhere was actually a puppet of the Demon King Ganondorf, who has survived to this era. It was Ganondorf that they fought in the Castle, and Ganondorf that caused all this Gloom and chaos. But the Sages believe there is still one of their number to be found, a fifth Sage, and that with their power they’ll be strong enough to take him on. But Link… 

He said that he didn’t care about the Sages, or Ganondorf, or Hyrule. He said he had to find Zelda and that he had to do it alone. I told him to cool it, and that we must approach this as a team, but he just kept saying he would let us all down, and that we were better off without him. 

I’ll be honest, I lost my temper. Pull yourself together, I said. The whole Kingdom is relying on you to defeat the Demon King, or we’re all dead, don’t you understand!? Zelda will have to wait, if she isn’t lost already! 

He gave me the darkest look. When he grabbed his Purah Pad to teleport away I…I ripped it right out of his hands. He tried to grab it back and there was a tussle and the next I knew, the Purah Pad was smashed against the ground. There was silence, the worst kind, when you know you’ve done a terrible thing. 

I have to repair it. It’s the only way I can think to apologise. And in the time I’ve been working on it, I’ve felt a judgement on me. Watchful eyes, deciding my guilt. I can’t believe I’m saying this but… I feel there’s something alive inside the Purah Pad, something that’s been rattling around in the circuits and is finally awake. I think it knows what happened here. 

Maybe if I keep recovering what I can, I’ll figure out what it is, and maybe I’ll fix everything else too…

Well. Back to work.  

---

Incoming transmission…Processing…

Message Medallion activated.

Connection established.

PRH | 09:00 Hello? 

UNKNOWN | 09:00 Hello, Purah. May I call you that?

PRH | 09:01 Who are you?  How are you — No, I know.  You’re whatever’s living inside the Purah Pad.

UNKNOWN | 09:01 Indeed, I apologise.  I hope my occupation will not be permanent. 

PRH | 09:02 So you tapped the messaging function in order to talk? That’s pretty brilliant.    

UNKNOWN | 09:02 Thank you! I’m glad you think so.  The Purah Pad has been a comfortable home. I am glad to meet its creator.

PRH | 09:03 Oh, it was nothing. I didn’t even know you were there. Anyway – WHO ARE YOU? 

UNKNOWN | 09:04 I would prefer not to say.  I was instructed to reveal myself only to the swordsman, Link. I do not know who I can trust.

PRH | 09:04 You can trust me, can't you? 

UNKNOWN | 09:04 I did call out for you to help me.

PRH | 09:04 And I got your messages.

UNKNOWN | 09:04 The Purah Pad has survived the damage, I see.

PRH | 09:05 Yeah, sorry about that.  That was my doing.  

UNKNOWN | 09:05 And it was your doing to save me.  Very well. I am Mineru, the Sage of Spirit.

PRH | 09:06 A Sage? The others are looking for you, you know. 

MNR | 09:06 I would prefer you allow me to speak to Link and Link only.

PRH | 09:07 Well he’s not here right now.  Something happened at Hyrule Castle.  He never told us what. 

MNR | 09:07 The Castle, yes.  Ganondorf’s cruelty is as boundless as the sky.

PRH | 09:07 You saw what happened?

MNR | 09:08 I see what the Purah Pad sees. Thanks to you, I can finally communicate.

PRH | 09:08 Mineru, we need to know what it was.  If Link abandons us, I don’t know what we’ll do. 

MNR | 09:09 I understand, Lady Purah.  It will be easier to show you.

---

A series of photographs, or perhaps more accurately the memory of them. These images are reconstructed out of others and are more akin to illustrations than true-to-life pictures. The first is an image of Link, stepping into the Inner Sanctum of Hyrule Castle, restored to its former glory. Waiting for him there is Princess Zelda, bright as the sun. She beckons. 

Caption: The puppet Zelda controlled by Ganondorf led us here, but this time when Link laid eyes on her, something was different. He was entranced. 

An image of Link embracing Princess Zelda. He appears to be weeping, they both are. The Princess’ face then darkens, Gloom seeping from her body. 

Caption: You must understand, Lady Purah, that even the tiniest sliver of hope was enough to tempt him. He had spent weeks knowing that this Zelda was not our Princess, but in that moment, it didn’t matter. 

An image of Link crying out in shock as Zelda grabs him by the throat and throws him to the ground. She then goes limp, as the ghostly image of Ganondorf taunts Link from above. 

Caption: I have never seen such rage. Link would have burnt the whole Kingdom down at that moment if it meant destroying Ganondorf. But the Demon King is cruel as he is cowardly. He would not face Link directly. 

An image of a phantom form of Ganondorf which has appeared to face Link. He and Link do battle as the puppet Zelda looks on. The image shifts – the puppet Zelda takes a dagger, and begins to attack at every opportunity. Link dodges her as he fights Ganondorf, unable or perhaps unwilling to retaliate. One of the puppet’s strikes lands across his side, and draws blood. 

Caption: Her betrayal would have been less painful were she not still so graceful, so beautiful. Her image was the one thing Link had wanted to see, and it turned on him with such violence.  

An image of the four Sages approaching the Inner Sanctum to join Link. The puppet Zelda hoists her dagger ready to throw at the intruders. Link cries out and, to prevent her murderous action, sinks a blade through her chest. The puppet falls into his arms, blood staining her white gown. Link holds her close until she dissolves into ash. 

Caption: He was inconsolable. The Sages found him weeping on the stone floor, and when they tried to help him stand, his rage boiled over. It’s a miracle he didn’t kill any of them in his rampage. But they managed to restrain him, and had to listen to the Demon King’s threats of destruction while their Hero shook in their arms. 

A final image of Link, back at Lookout Landing, arguing with the Sages and Purah. There is an altercation, and the Purah Pad falls to the ground, broken. Link departs in a huff, and the image fades to white. 

Caption: This was where he left us, or left me rather. The Sages do not hold anything against Link, but they do not understand. They did not see Zelda, in the Inner Sanctum, as he did. They do not know what he was forced to do to save them, even if it was only a puppet. You say he is missing? There is a log of his yet unrecovered that I believe may set you on the path to find him. Go, and find what you seek. 

---

Re-compilation complete: 1040802-logtypeTEXT.pkg   Recovery 100 / 100%

Log date: 10:45. 8th month, 2nd day 104AC Location: Hyrule Garrison Ruins Weather: Sunny

Short stop over in Hyrule Garrison before we head to Lookout. Tulin was flying over Hyrule Field and spotted us so he joined us on foot. One hour in and he was already complaining about how slow we move. Then he and Riju got talking about which Sage’s Vow is the best, and they’ve been hounding me for my opinion. I’ve convinced them that as Hero of Hyrule I don’t have favourites.

(It’s Tulin’s.) 

Glad Tulin and Riju are with me. Have a bad feeling, about all this. It’s peaceful being alone, but company is good too. Too many memories in Hyrule, and one over every rise and along every path, sometimes. 

One came back to me when we were exploring these ruins. I was young, when I was first sent here, though not sure how young. Did I already have the Sword? It’s all gone now anyway. 

When I was first starting out I was all brute force. The quicker boys, or the ones that didn’t play fair, always had the upper hand. One day I just got fed up. I thought I could dole out some justice. Didn’t know how hard I could hit. The first time I cracked another boy’s skull was the last… but I never really forgot the sound. 

The old me, the original Link, figured out how to quash that anger somehow. The current me is still afraid of what it will do, if pushed too far. I told Riju and Tulin all this, last evening by the fire. I thought they’d be disgusted, but Riju said I had no need for guilt, and Tulin said it was probably an accident anyway. I don’t know. I barely know anything, these days. But I do know I have friends at my side now, and ones I can confide in. Maybe that’s how he figured it out, the Link of times gone by. 

Well, present day Link has to press on, no matter what dread he’s feeling. Hyrule Castle is only a day away, and Zelda is waiting. (As is the gear she made me, hopefully) 

A photograph of Hyrule Field, with the looming Hyrule Castle on the horizon. It bleeds Gloom and beckons, forebodingly. 

Caption: I miss the times we had there.   

[ All corrupted logs recovered. ]

---

> Director’s Log, 104AC, 8th month, 10th day - It’s done. The Purah Pad put back together and given a polish thanks to Robbie and Josha respectively. 

I think I know where Link went now. It’s the only place no one thought to look, because it’s the one place we were sure he’d wouldn’t go. Zelda spoke of it, half a year ago now, and of the treasure she left him. I’m going to go there myself to deliver the Purah Pad to him, and make my apology. 

Before I go: Lady Mineru, I know you can hear me. I’m looking at the Purah Pad right now, all but talking directly to you. I have to wall you off again, Mineru, I’m so sorry. Your awakened presence in the Purah Pad is frying its circuits. I don’t know how you even got in there in the first place. Maybe you’ll tell us someday, but for now our priority must be keeping you alive. I’ll tell Link that the Purah Pad is the key to the fifth Sage when I hand it to him. I’m sure he’ll get you out of there somehow. 

I’ve also decided to delete the images you showed me of what happened in the Inner Sanctum. I don’t know how to tell Link what I know, or if I even should. But I will tell him I know how he’s feeling. We all miss Zelda, so very much. Our world ended twice over when we lost her. I can’t offer him much more than that, but I think that’s okay. Sometimes hope isn’t what you need. Sometimes all you need is to cry, and when that happens, it’s easier if you’re not crying alone. 

Okay, back to work. Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. One of them will be our day. 

---

Log date: 17:10. 8th month, 10th day 104AC. Location: Mabe Village Ruins Weather: Cool.

Ah, the relief, having the Purah Pad back. You start to rely on this tech, once it’s part of your day-to-day. And there's no way to lose your memory if you write it all down. It's funny, Purah was the one who found me, in the Throne Room. There wasn’t much to say. We were both pretty sorry. Hugged it out, shed some tears, patched things up. Then I showed her why I'd returned there: the new Champion Leathers, bespoke made by Zelda. 

They fit perfect, a good blend of the old tunic and some new additions. Not sure what prompted the memory of her note about it, but I just knew I wasn’t going to let Ganondorf take that place from us. Zelda and I met there, after all, a long time ago now. 

Head’s still muddy. I don’t like thinking about what happened in there. Nearly let my anger get the better of me, nearly let it hurt my friends. I thought the Sages would abandon me for it but, they stuck by me, and carried me kicking and screaming out of that Castle. It’s so easy to let rage destroy you – when someone holds you back from that, it means something. I’ll find a way to thank them, in time. For now, I've apologised at least three times over. 

After all that, I think I’m not afraid of the anger, anymore. It’s just a part of me, as much as any other feeling. Old Link stamped out his feelings. The new one is going to try and roll with them.  

Heading south. There’s more geoglyphs that way, more ruins to explore, and pirates in Lurelin (apparently). Kind of excited about the last one. It’s been a rough few weeks. I promised the Sages I wouldn’t get too sidetracked, and would definitely find the fifth Sage in no time. But, come on, pirates! Let us have one fun thing to look forward to… 

A photograph of the waters of Mabe Prairie lake. In the reflection is Link, holding the Purah Pad, the impassive camera eye looking back upon itself. Garini of Lurelin Village is by his side, waving.

Caption: Me and my indispensable travel companion, and also Garini. 

[dzthenerd490]

SCP-HMF: Addendum X-15

Warning! The following is to only be seen by administrators and O5 council members. If you are not of Level 5 Clearance, you will be exterminated by order of the O5 council!

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VIEWING OF ADDENDUM: X-15 APPROVED

"... The truth is that no one actually knowns when SCP-AVQ started showing up and we actually don't even know if it's really gave up after it failed all the other times. That's why its labeled as Object Class: Somnum, which isn't surprising since SCP-AVQ is the only reason that classification even exists. Anyways the best any of us could guess is that it showed up somewhere around 1967 to 1970.

The reason we can't tell is because one, it was so weak at first and relied on petty tricks like tricking people into dark alleyways or playing discarded U.S. government tapes that told people to kill themselves if terrorists invaded America... fucking Christ, I can't believe I actually used to work for the idiots that made those tapes. Anyways we just thought it was some anomalous pranksters or something but that's when IT showed up.

SCP-AVQ, the monster that was almost as bad as SCP-001: when day breaks. But unlike that bastard sun, It succeeded. In less than 24 hours, it killed 99.999% of the human race. Most that saw SCP-AVQ either died right away and those that didn't were hunted down by those that went insane. Then THEY showed up, His Knights they called themselves, thought we still have no idea who HE is. Anyways you saw how in this report that they were just as bad as the Faeries but in truth... they were so much worse. They were strong, thought as steel, so damn smart, even damn faster, and just being near them was enough to make you into one of their loyal slaves.

The Foundation lost, the GOC lost, the Horizon Initiative lost, The Eight Wings of Mekhane lost, The Three Moons Initiative lost, The Serpent’s Hand lost, The United Church of the Broken God lost, and for whatever ever reason the Black Queen's Insurgency showed up to help and surprise! They lost. Hell, even the Faeries came out of hiding to fight and even those fuckers lost. Though in all fairness they lasted longer than the Foundation or any of the other's did.

But that's not the point, the point is that we lost, never stood a fucking chance, we were all just wiped out and those of us left alive were either off world or as good as dead. I remember the first time the invasion happened, everyone just died so quick, and His Knights started eating, slaughtering and... uh... they did horrible things to people. Me and the other Council Members rounded up all the Alpha-1 Units that were available, got the best weapons and protective gear we could, and went straight for SCP-2000. If I had one word to describe that day, it would probably be... Lucky... as in luckiest day traveling through the darkest pits of hell. I was the only survivor when we finally activated SCP-2000.

You might be thinking that activating SCP-2000 will only make more victims for SCP-AVQ but uh that's actually not the case anymore. After the whole reality reset event that, as you know, caused all the new anomalies to manifest through time. Which is the reason why certain SCPs are labeled with letters instead of numbers. Anyways, me and the other Council Members agreed to make some major changes to the Foundation this included upgrading SCP-2000. it's like a literal time machine now and can even prevent the apocalyptic even that ended the world from happening again with a 75% success rate. I'm not too sure on how it works but I'm absolutely glad it does.

Thought that does lead to the second reason we can't tell exactly when SCP-AVQ started showing up... It's because SCP-AVQ forced us to use SCP-2000 so many damn times. I only remember activating it three times and form what the other Council members tell me it's actually been used eleven times thought it could possibly be more than that. Part of the new functions of SCP-2000 is that it resets people too and the whole cloning part is only to be used as a failsafe should someone not come back from the reset. Maybe that's why I don't remember, those fuckers not only killed me but mangled my corpse beyond repair and as such SCP-2000 had to make a clone as a replacement. Maybe that's why I don't remember using it more than three times or maybe that's a side effect of using SCP-2000 too much. Don't know and honestly stopped caring a while ago.

What I do know is that unlike all the other times we used SCP-2000, this apocalyptic event just kept coming back. Well SCP-AVQ doesn't belong in our reality so it's probably able to resist the effects of SCP-2000 to an extent. So yeah, it always kept coming back. We were all sick of it and rightfully so, but how exactly could we get rid of it? It kept showing up at random times and it killed people so fast we couldn't even stop it. Then one day Alpha-1 found another Factory, I was about to give the order to tear it down like we do with any other bit of that cancer flowing into our reality but then I remembered something. The document of SCP-001: the Factory, and that's when I got the horrible idea that somehow saved us all.

I instead formed up an escort team to have me escorted to The Factory at once, and well you know what happens in there. Monsters, nightmares, anomalies, all the things that even keeps Satan up at night. Then I finally made it to the office and that's where I found him... I honestly forgot his name and I really can't be fucked to remember... wait... James Anderson! That’s the fucker.

Anyways I heard that in each copy of The Factory he always comes in a different form. Sometimes he’s a rotting corpse, sometimes as a rusted robot, but this time he was made of fire. He wanted to know what I wanted, and I told him that if he was so hungry, he could eat SCP-AVQ and everything on it. He paused for a moment and then asked why he should bother with them, and he also asked that he was under no obligation to listen to the Foundation after the reality reset event. I told him he might as well do it since SCP-AVQ exists in another reality where it already conquered all life so there would be nothing to stop him when he conquers them.

He stood there quietly with the only noise he made being the flames that made up his body. Then he smiled at me and said he'd do it but that I was going to regret asking him for his help. Thats when the fire making up his body went out and the whole Factory came falling down. Then we never saw SCP-AVQ ever again since 2021, it's both out of sight and out of mind. I still don't know what the hell The Factory meant by 'I will regret asking it to take down SCP-AVQ.' Thought I think it's quite obvious it's going to come back to bite the Foundation right in the ass one day. So, you know, here to hoping that day never comes. The best outcome would be if The Factory and SCP-AVQ destroyed one another but that would require a lot of good luck and that’s the one resource the Foundation ran out of a long time ago.

Oh, and by the way, before I end this recording. I know you're not actually a Level 5 Clearance staff, but if you are I apologize, this message isn't meant for you. But for the one I am talking too, and you know who you are, then you might want to listen up. Don't worry I'm not going to kill you and Alpha-1 isn't coming toward your location right now to purge you. no, no, no. We already tried killing your predecessors but by doing so that just inspired you to show up. We already tried amnestizing you and setting up Memetic traps, but you always found a way passed them. And you already hacked your way through several highly classified documents like this one and got passed every lock and passcode despite our AI's best efforts to stop you. That's why I set up this trap right here.

You see this wasn't just another one of the Foundation's dirtiest secrets. This was the biggest trap we've ever set up for people like you. People who want to find and stare into the abyss and scream to the whole world what they saw. But now you can't, you see what you've been reading has a hidden memetic. Don't bother stop reading it already took effect on you. The memetic was hidden in the writing and it already took effect the moment you finished reading the 11th paragraph.

Now when you try to talk to anyone who isn't associated with the Foundation you won't be able to talk, you won't be able to type, write, or even sign it. You can no longer tell anyone anything about what the Foundation works on and as time goes on, you'll feel the need to keep the secrets you know willingly, to help your fellow Foundation staff keep these things contained. You know what they say, the best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend.

One day, you’ll remember that you've been put under the influence of this memetic, but you won't care anymore at that point. You'll just continue to put the utmost devotion into working for the Foundation. So, forget about your friends, your old life, and your family; this is your life now, the Foundation. You can either accept your place here now or let yourself get absorbed by it later. it's your choice... welcome to the family." -Council Member O5-1

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 161

We Need to Talk About Kevin/The Almost People

“We Need to Talk About Kevin”

Plot Description: After escaping from purgatory (but not alone), Dean heads straight for Sam, but the reunion isn’t exactly everything he imagined it would be

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: y’all still won’t catch me camping, but, uh, no one died. In fact, Dean came back from purgatory immediately and Benny (his vampire buddy) came with him and was brought back to life

SAM GOT A DOG AND A GIRLFRIEND??? Or is this a one night stand situation? A situationship? What have you been up to?

You know…it’s kind of funny that they just every so often remember to do all the creature tests (holy water, borax, silver knives…)

He was there a whole year??

Their reunion IS really fraught. I’m not 100% blaming Sam for trying to move on with his life after losing literally EVERYONE he loved, but also like…didn’t you think there was even a CHANCE Dean wasn’t gone for good? Both of you have died and come back, you’ve done it multiple times

Oh no…Kevin calling Sam for help…and omg his downward spiral in four voicemails over six months…

It’s painful watching Dean remember how to do mundane things like get a snack from a vending machine and then get flashbacks to purgatory. He upgraded his weapons like he was in breath of the wild

It does kind of suck for Sam that he had to ghost his girlfriend because he saw how impossible it was for Dean and Lisa

Of COURSE he’s still on edge, he spent a YEAR on the run from and also killing all sorts of monsters. And that was pretty much all he ever had around him FOR A YEAR

OMG why are Dean and Benny so flirty right off the bat. DAMN. Good for them

I no longer like Kevin’s ex girlfriend. OH. She’s possessed. You are 90% forgiven, unless you really feel like Kevin is worthless because he’s not going to Princeton. Either way, you should kill your roommate for saying you should rebound with a guy BECAUSE he “has an Asian thing.”

All this staring into the middle distance as you recall how your previous year went is…well, it’s one way to ring in the new season, I guess

I love that Kevin fooled Crowley. Amazing. Though, when you’re the ONLY ONE who can read these tablets, you do have quite the advantage

Man…I’d be so much angrier at San than Kevin is…unless there’s more to what’s going on with

How do you spend all that time in purgatory constantly fighting for your life and STILL IMMEDIATELY lose your weapon??

It IS fitting that this kid’s name is Kevin given that he’s Home Aloned this whole house against demons

Oh that poor girl…

Oh my GOD but they do talk like war buddies who fell in love in the trenches. Stop calling each other brother, you were CLEARLY SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT FROM THAT in purgatory

“The Almost People”

Plot Description: the danger reaches a terrifying climax as the Gangers plot their revenge

I LOATHE the dumb little introduction thing they have this season. All it does is waste time. At least on spn, you get a sense of themes and characters you can expect to show up…this is just like “I’m Amy, and this is how I met the Doctor, and we travel through time and space together” no

Ugh, two of the same Doctor was okay when one was burning up a sun to say goodbye and leave the other with Rose, but two working together? Kind of obnoxious

I can’t imagine how horrible it would be to remember every time you were killed because you were no longer useful. Even though you had every memory of the person who created you as though it was actually your own

I’m glad we’re winding down on this eyepatch woman plot line

I also like the way Amy’s wrong about which one is actually the Doctor…maybe not the whole time but…enough of it. And everyone else is, too

Oh Roryyyy, getting tricked by one or more of the Jens. I don’t believe that’s the original Jen, though…

She’s definitely being asked to trust HER Doctor

Rory, don’t you think it’s weird that she’s not suffering the same effects you are? And that she didn’t even use the human verification thingy??

I KNEW IT. The original Jen’s dead

But watching the doppelgänger Jen mourn the old doppelgängers that got discarded without a second thought is rather touching

I definitely have lost track of which Doctor is which…but I think…nope. No clue. They won’t show me his shoes and that’s the only way to tell them apart

I know things look nice rn but…there’s like…10 min left. There’s gotta be at least one more obstacle

Because extremely strong shapeshifting doppelgänger Jen needs to dealt with.

And here’s where we find out Amy’s not really Amy…which I did forget

[idleincrementalgamer]

What I’m Playing This Week

PC: Progress Knight Quest Still on this one of course, on my first dark matter reboot, forgot how much that first run with the dark matter upgrades really does help since it slow down so much later Array Game thought I was done with it, had all the challenges and upgrades and everything and checked the changelog and nope they added 3 more levels (needed a shift+f5 to get the update) so I think I’ll be here for a while yet.  I’ve come around on it a lot more but oof is being back on A level a slog Ordinal Gwarkup it’s a mod of something but I forget what. I’m stuck in the challenges right now, I suck at figuring out if a game wants challenges to be a slog or pretty much auto-complete and I feel like I always guess wrong.

Steam: Increlution My  beloved. I’m into the Nomad city now, felt like I just spent forever balancing catching/cooking lobsters I’m just so happy to finally have them on auto! NGU Idle Mostly doing challenges at this point and trying to max out the mega-man gear, i’m at that really unbalanced point where you have adventure zones unlocked way beyond what you can fight which always drives me nuts.

Android: (not listing everything cause I tend to try a lot of terrible games once and delete them) (no links because I’m posting on pc and finding mobile links is a pain, just search the names in the store) An Unusual Idle Life: Pretty close to done, starting to wonder if I’ll even finish. I’m just trying to finish up the unusual corp stuff and just can’t seem to make enough money to get through it. I’m just doing reboots and pouring all my jelly into job upgrades at this point Ballz Deep: I think I really mishandled this run and went focus on the right too early and now I’m all sunk cost fallacy and doubling down to try and make it playable, but I still love it. CIFI: Another currency creates currency game which I do enjoy. It has really complete theming which I appreciate (even if it’s not a theme I’m into, space ship) and some fun little arcade mini games I am just terrible at. I do feel like it could use a touch more guidance. I was just super frustrated with how slow it was going after 3 days in having almost no progress when I realized I had missed that you can build 2 more ships and an entire tab of upgrades and the pretige tree and all of that. Liking it a lot more now.

[sammywolfgirl]

Ok I’m adding my thoughts on the twin dragons now since we got more lore

Twin dragon cookies

So obviously they didn’t get their cookie form before the split. The twins were in eternal conflict as they did until dark cacao showed up and went “stop it!” And spritzed them with a water bottle- I mean sword

Anyways they because fiercely loyal to him and the dark cacao kingdom, they got their cookie forms during the time dark cacao was missing (because au differences) they were layed to rest in the remains of the castle where they got reborn and the whole settlement kinda thought they were ghosts. And the twins decided to protect the castle until the king returned.

But uh, ok this one is more an idea but im looking at the new Ovenbreak event and realizing Ananas and pitaya would not fight like that and so now the question is who would,

And I’m slowly looking over at the twins and realizing longan would definitely be the type of guy to see them living their best split lives and go “ew, weak” and put them back together to use as another subordinate.

And uh, so monochrome dragon cookie is an idea I’m playing with. Because the twins got their cookie forms the black and white dragon being rejoined would keep that.

That’s it that’s the thoights.

But I’ll continue with the oc rambles since there’s not much to say.

Blueberry dragon cookie

Blueberry dragon cookie is a literal child, she was a baby dragon orphaned because of the final fight between the tea knight order and the dragon that wiped them out, but Tea Knight killed the dragon, then realized it was rampaging because the village had its hatchling. And for his own reasons Freed the hatchling.

But since the baby didn’t know how to hunt on its own yet she died. And we got blueberry dragon cookie. She very much is one of the uh, won the universal lottery type situations. She’s not a legendary dragon, she’s a minor one who got an upgrade after reincarnation.

She’s like an epic rank of we are doing that (or dragon I guess but epic fits more)

Silver dragon cookie

This oc is newer but another case of winning the universe lottery is a guy I’m calling Silver dragon cookie, he’s a selfish ass but a drake who got cookie reincarnation. Still a wip so I don’t have much else to add here

Candied orange dragon cookie

This is another case like snapdragon. Stillborn egg. Little egg was another of longans brood but in the future Ivy kinda works at the tbd on contract, thinks maple Taffy is cool, and manages to convince longan to let her give him one of the stillborn eggs for relic reasons.

To everyone’s surprise when maple puts it in the incubator it hatches into a dragon cookie.

He gets to keep the baby though so that’s cool. As for why this baby hatched as a child and not a dragon like snapdragon? Coin flip. Or maybe the baby was dead longer so it has to re learn how to dragon meanwhile snapdragon was only dead for a little bit so they just needed to learn the opposite or something.

Ivy dragon cookie

Ok Ivy is less a unique case in the sense that she’s one of longans offspring so of course she’d be dragged into the cookie reincarnation thing. Idk the exact timeline but she fled the palace in dragon form and at some point got killed and reborn. She hasn’t been able to access the dragon form again but that’s probably a mix of being a teenager and unresolved daddy issues.

She’s got mad issues with her parent it’s a whole thing.

Fuck it I’m rambling anyways.

OKAY SO DRAGONS.

Ground rules for my au: the dragons got their cookies forms after they died and got reincarnated as cookies.

Why does this happen? Dragon’s valley flow/cycle of life.

The dragons valley essentially made dragons in the first place a loooooooong time ago (in modern days dragons are more plentiful in many areas but their ancestry can be traced back to dragon valley) and it likes these little bitches.

However over the decades as dragons were hunted out of fear or greed and the legendary dragons were slowly hunted into hiding. The valley came to the conclusion that the legendary dragons would not survive this new cookie world. The minor dragons (the more animalistic ones) could recover, as some cookies recognized their importance in echo systems and food chains and advocated for protection, or at least not their eradication, but the legendary dragons were clever, powerful, and fucking stubborn.

The legendary dragons were also the only ones to be able to fully utilize dragon tongue so unless it wanted a whole magic language to die out those big bitches had to survive and pass down the knowledge, if not to other talking dragons than to cookies but as they currently stand, most legendary dragons would rather die than teach cookies a word of dragon tongue nor give them the magic to utilize it

The valley itself isn’t so much sentient as it’s a force of nature. And all It knew is it doesn’t want these legendary dragons to die out. Because dragons aren’t immortal but they live for a stupid long time. Like a couple centuries at LEAST (still debating if minor dragons also live that long or have slightly shorter lifespans when compared to legendary dragons, which is like comparing the length of gigantic sky scrapers) so it used the flow of life to come up with a plan.

The legendary dragons would inevitably die, whether of old age, being killed, or some other method that causes their demise, and using the flow of life, it’d bring them back as cookies. Without their original memories, and resetting the aging counter a bit.

They’d eventually regain the memory’s of their past lives and their full power, but until then they could live among the cookies and gain a new perspective or appreciation for them, and ideally that’d allow them to at least be willing to co exist with cookies, if not protect them.

There is some variation in how each dragon came back and I’ll get there but for now here’s what’s consistent:

The dragons have to die in order to be reborn

They will not have the memories of their past life immediately, at the very least they’ll start to regain them in about 10 years

They will not regain their full dragon power and ability to turn into their dragon form until they start to regain their memories.

They will come back a bit younger than how they were mentally before they died. (There is reasoning for this)

I will also note exceptions: this reincarnation thing isn’t limited to just the legendary dragons, this can also include any dragon that is powerful, can speak, or just wins the universal lottery.

Using ocs as example- Blueberry dragon by all accounts should not have been qualified for the dragon cookie reincarnation thing and yet she was, was it because she died so young? Did she have some potential the flow of life sensed? Or was it some work of fate?

Fuck if I know and frankly I hope it’s debated in universe.

I’m currently unsure if this dragon cookie reincarnation will apply to minor dragons like the wyvern, but since minor dragons are animalistic in nature and are slowly recovering Imma say it likely won’t happen unless someone gets really fucking lucky. Or some insane bulshit happens. One of those

But back to the legendary dragons-

As for the five dragons cause of death and circumstance when they were reborn, I haven’t got everything down yet so I’ll go in order of what I got down ish (the exact timeline is still a wip and I haven’t settled on anything yet. Plus I’m not including ocs in this just yet)

-Pitaya dragon was the last legendary dragon to die, killed by Knight cookie himself when he was an older teenager (because blorbo bias I made him cool) when they were brought back as a cookie they were around young adult older teen age mentally. And frankly has the worst case of the reincarnation amnesia.

Doesn’t help pitaya isn’t actively trying to regain their past memories. Idk why, maybe they don’t care, maybe they suspect their previous self was a dickhead and don’t want to ruin their opinion on the cookies, maybe it’s a secret third thing! But this refusal to remember has made them slower in regaining their full power, they can’t even consistently turn into their dragon form yet. The Hollyberry castle one? That was a fluke and haven’t been able to do this again.

However they arguably get along the best with cookies! After the castle event they sorta became a main stay in the kingdom, they may act tough and crass but they are kind of like a giant fussy cat that likes to fight. They really are a giant lizard. They sort of unofficially declared themselves the protector of the Hollyberry kingdom, claiming that place is also their nest, outside of dragons valley of course.

Plus I’m playing with the idea with the current red dragon event that this will be the event that gets them actually thinking about their past and lost memories, because a deal they made as a dragon that they forgot about is actively biting them in the tail and now they’re slightly worried about any more deals they forgot. I’m thinking by the end of this event they can take their true dragon form at will. Depends how things play out but I like this story arc.

-Ananas is an interesting case, they died of old age or possibly sickness at the tropical soda islands. And they were a dragon who hated cookies, saw himself as above them that sort of thing. So they’d need extra work to even be willing to negotiate with cookies.

So the cycle brought them back as a young child.

They were taken in and raised by the mango tribe, and when they started to regain their past life memories and full power the integration kind of worked. They still had that complex but swore to protect the island and it’s cookies, and is forever grateful to the mango tribe, even going to them for help when he adopted a baby cookie and realized they had no fucking clue how to parent.

Honestly they still have a ways to go when dropping that dragons pride thing, I plan for an arc where they decide to reclaim that so called pride and make a new thing that’s way healthier or something. He at least becomes less bitchy about caring for cookies.

Also he’s got his full power back as shown with going full dragon on command.

-Lotus dragon also was a dragon who disliked cookies, seeing them as simply batteries to drain of life energy to sustain herself. So safe to say she also saw themselves as above cookies.

Lotus dragon died when the lotus paradise was wiped out all that time ago. And when the villagers went to search for the dragon they found a young child in the wreckage that had a resemblance to the dragon said to live in the paradise. And the village raised her while they rebuilt the paradise.

When she started regaining her past life’s memories she decided to take part more in the rebuilding effort, the lotus paradise was her home, and she declared herself the guardian of the paradise. They still ended up keeping that sort of symbiotic relationship with cookies, but instead of going full parasitic went a bit more mutualistic?

She’s drain a bit of life energy during wish festivals and power herself, but would grant wishes in return (within reason, she’d do illusion magic for the stuff outside of her power) she still said cookies mean nothing to her but her actions show otherwise.

This is especially shown when longan wrecks her shit and she decides she wants that bitches head on a silver platter how DARE you stone HER cookies and destroy HER home!

And of course the cookies and their reliance on her not as batteries but as a guardian did help her regain her dragon form and realize ‘hey this is nice actually’ and after the apocalypse is over she’s likely much nicer to cookies.

Now she informs the cookies of the energy draining and gets their consent first. Or something, The wish festival still happens but it’s less something idk yet. Less bad? Less leechie? Idk details are fuzzy but it’s nice and fun and she thinks cookies are cool actually.

-Lychee I’ll admit I don’t have the details on yet, they’re likely second last to die but I’m willing to be flexible on that? Idk yet. They likely were a dragon who didn’t care much for cookies, just agreeing with longan because she liked them even before or something idk.

I’m playing with the idea they were briefly raised by the ancient rambutan tribe when reborn, but after getting her memories back decided to run away and live in a cave with monsters instead, idk I think the parallel with Ananas could be fun especially if that didn’t work for them.

Plus it’d make her character arc with the current rambutan and her tribe kinda cute and come full circle and look this is very wip right now. But they do eventually side with the cookies, just takes a lot of work and a whole ass crisis during the apocalypse.

I’m open to suggestions for lychee.

And finally Longan dragon

Dear Sweet Longan dragon.

This bitch gamed the system.

-So they can’t be the first to die but did recognize the reincarnation thing going on, and probably did a little forseeing of their own about it. They already knew the dragon population would dwindle and that cookies would rule the world. And they hated that. Their first plan was having a lot of eggs but that was more of a backup (plus they were more concerned about having the ‘perfect heir to the ivory dragon name’ than the actual growing the population thing so you can imagine how well that went) After observing as much of this reincarnation cycle as they could, they decided a plan.

They’d seal themselves in their palace, and I guess set up something so lychee can wake them up a fuck long time later, and sink it into the ocean, and then they’d er- well- cause their own death- and ensure when they were reborn (which they knew would happen) they’d be stuck in the palace until they regained their memory and power back, and thus would learn nothing and gain no appreciation for cookies so when they came back they’d be no different than before and thus undermined this entire fucking system and I am shaking longan like a leaf MOTHERFUCKER YOU CHEATED.

I mean it is in character, longan is so stubborn to change and even considering the possibility of dragon kind adapting to this new world, no longer on top but still very much a part of it to be respected and feared, and decided to do the whole bring back the past plan instead.

Because all the foresight in the world cannot stop you from being stubborn as a brick wall.

Im not gonna go into my dragon cookie ocs in this post, if interest is there I’ll make a separate one but

-TLDR I made a whole system where the dragons reincarnated as dragon cookies because the universe wanted them to learn to adapt to change and longan looked at this and said “no”

AND THIS ALL STARTED BECAUSE I WANTED KNIGHT COOKIE TO BE A DRAGON KILLING BADDASS GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY!

-for real though any questions/thoughts/whatever please send to my ask box I love this idea way too much and would love to talk about it more-

[lumafly]

Booyah

[annakie]

Games I Played in 2021

Because Why Not? 

Only listing games I spent a “Significant” time playing (Let’s say 10+ hours) or played to finish.  Not including like, dumb webgames or mobile games (which I didn’t play much of anyway.)  There’s lots of other games I tried and decided against playing, or dipped a toe into and thought “Yeah I’ll get into this” and then have not yet.

Wildermyth

I’m going to start with the game that inspired me to make this post, just because I really think more people should know about Wildermyth.  It’s an RPG where you create characters who yes, fight monsters and save the world, but also live their lives in the background and in the in-between years between chapters.  They fall in love, get married, and have children who also join your party.  You play out the story, often with your earliest heroes retiring before the story is done, leaving the youngsters to finish the work.  They can die heroically.  They can be blessed (or maybe cursed) with transformations turning them into werewolves, ravens, elementals also completely changing how your character works in some cases.  And then you can make some into legacy heroes which can be pulled into other adventures.

There are several campaigns to play out, each starting a fresh story.  There’s a crafting element.  There are pets, artifact weapons... the game is deep.

There are mods in the Steam Workshop which will make the game easier than intended, if you choose to use them.

The artwork is papercraft, but it’s gorgeous.  The story plays out in comic-like panels, which somehow works so well. The dialog and narration is poetic.  The overland map is generated at random.  You will get surprisingly attached to some of your characters.

Honestly I can’t recommend this game enough.  It was the best new thing I played all year, and has gotten some accolades to back it up.

The rest... under the cut because otherwise this is a very long post..

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Cyberpunk 2077

Technically started in 2020, but finished in 2021.  I didn’t pay any attention at all to this game before it was released, but it looked interesting so I bought it just before release, ignored 98% of the controversy surrounding it, and enjoyed the hell out of it for what it was.  Am disappointed all the big plans for updates and DLC seem to have gone out the window.  But I did nearly everything this game had to offer, and as a bonus when I was about 2/3rds done I upgraded to a 3090FE so at some point, maybe this year, I’m excited to revisit the game with the graphics cranked up the entire time.  Romanced River, loved all the main characters.  It was worth it.  I understand that this game didn’t live up to expectations, but I went in expecting nothing and loved it

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Fallout 4 (Incomplete)

I tried replaying FO4 and I probably put about 30 hours into it and haven’t gotten back to it.  I keep meaning to.  But I probably did the typical Fallout/Elder Scrolls thing where I spent as much time fiddling with mods as I did playing, and I did make the game kind of unstable.  Oops.  Didn’t make it far enough to do a romance, but I did have a mod installed where Nate (your husband) survives so that was interesting, having him along.  It was REALLY nice to play with all the graphics cranked up, though.  I’mma finish!  I played like 200 hours the first time and never finished the game because I was mad that my preferred ending wasn’t possible.  (I wanted to take over the institute but make it a force for good. 

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Mass Effect 3

Did a ME3-only playthrough (before the LE came out) to knock out some goals I’ve always had of the game, seeing a few things different than my typical all-Paragon-win-everything-Femshep/Kaidan canon.  Played as MShep, did several renegade choices - including betraying Wrex - that I normally wouldn’t, and finally saw the MShep/Kaidan romance.  Game started crashing during Citaldel Epiloge Mod and I never got around to troubleshooting that so I guess technically I didn’t finish completely, but good enough.

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Mass Effect (1) Legendary Edition - 1.5 Times

I played ME1 on release up through finishing Noveria and nearly every sidequest possible to this point, then decided to put it on hold til the modders could do some modding.  Like I’ve posted extensively about lately, I did finish it and am now waiting on the LE2 Community Patch to get started on a LE2 playthrough.  Did my canon Femshep/Kaidan/Vanguard/Paragon run and will continue to do so for amazing screenshots.  But I’m already planning my next trilogy playthrough.  Really, really love LE1 and all its changes, especially with the mods helping perfect it.

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Boyfriend Dungeon

I actually Kickstarted this game way back when because it looked hilarious.  I do not play “Visual Novel” type games typically, just not may jam.  But this one had the isometric fighting element and seemed off the wall, so I was like “Sure!  Why not!”

So I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it!  I did most of the romances (not the kid in college, felt they were too young, and I dipped out of Sunder’s) but my main romance was Issac.  The story was interesting, the fighting was fun, good experience overall.  Will probably play again when the last two characters are released.

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The Outer Worlds

I’d played this game on release via Xbox Game Pass, then waited for it to come to Steam and go on sale, including the DLC, to buy it for real and do a second run.  As I hadn’t done the DLC before, that was the main draw to replay.  I really loved the game the first time around, and felt the same this time, but will forever be mad I cannot romance Vicar Max, (or Nyoka).  Especially after softening him up after his personal quest.  But it was still really fun and I enjoyed both of the DLCs, Murder on Erandios a little more.

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New World

Yeah, I played New World.  The launch was terribly typical botched MMO launch, and things didn’t get much better from there.  I did join a company of nice people and reconnected with an old friend while playing for a bit, and I did enjoy a lot of what I did when I did play it, but after things got so bad that they started shutting off the economy for a week or two at a time, I dipped until this game can get its shit together.  Not to mention the way that the guild leaders are able to fuck over the playerbase even more than they can in a typical MMO and that it’s nearly impossible to get into the endgame/PVP stuff (which, admittedly, I wasn’t close to and didn’t do ANY PvP in this game while I played) without being in one of the elite guilds.

Amazing visuals, until you realize they all repeat themselves a lot.  There was a lot of copy/pasting to get this game out.  I usually try to be more positive about games I played, but tbh this is one I probably would have told myself not to really bother with, at least not yet, if I could turn back time.

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Solasta: Crown of the Magister

Another game I’d Kickstarted.  A pretty faithful D&D5e adaption mechanics-wise.  Really enjoyed the gameplay, and yay modders bringing in more options.  Also there are now player-made campaigns being made and released for more content (like Neverwinter Nights.) 

The main campaign is... good.  Not great.  Enjoyable.  Still a recommendation.  I did enjoy how you get to create your own party and can assign them personalities so that they have unique voiced lines.  If you want to pay a 5e-based video game, it’s a good one to try.

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Pathfinder: Kingmaker

I made it uh... maybe halfway(?) through this game on release a year or two ago.  Giving it another shot.  Slowly making my way through it again.  I don’t know if I will finish, I load it up and play a few hours every couple of weeks still.  Something about it just doesn’t grab me, even though I feel like it should.  I’m cheating heavily this time to get through the more tedious aspects.  TBH I more feel like I’d like to play Kingmaker in a TTRPG using PF2e rules.  Does that exist? Someone run that for me and other nice people who like PF2e, thx.

.

The Sims 4

I mean... who didn’t play The Sims in one way or another this year?  I really like playing The Sims while like, watching Critical Role, or MST3k, or any movie/show I want to watch but not pay 100% attention to.

What I maybe spent the most time on with The Sims 4 this year is making an entire house as a map for my Sunday night D&D game that I run.  Which is what that screenshot was from, the boss-fight room that was a magic/alchemy lab that had been trashed by The Monster.

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House Flipper 

Like The Sims 4, it’s a great game to play while paying a lot more attention to something else.  Also like The Sims 4, it’s about decorating houses.  But also about cleaning up houses and doing tasks for people and earning money.  Yes I think House Flipping IRL is Not Great.  But it’s a pleasant distraction game and I’ve been enjoying playing it.  This is a screenshot of the starter shack you get as a home/office, I’m mostly done redecorating it.

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Torchlight III

I’d played 1 & 2 and enjoyed them.  Three was fine.  I enjoyed it.  Nothing groundbreaking.  Again, I mostly played it while watching CR/movies/TV as it didn’t take a lot of concentration.   Eh, I don’t have a screenshot and I’m not gonna go get one.

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The Stanley Parable

lol just kidding, all I did was boot up the game and get the achievement for not playing the game for 5 years.  I should replay it, though.  It’s a cool game.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic

I mean, I’ve been playing this game since Beta, but some years I don’t touch it.  And I didn’t for most of this year.

But since I’ve been playing that long, one of my big regrets is that all my screenshots from my first few characters are all small, and ugly in many ways.  The graphics in game have been somewhat improved since 2011 but also I couldn’t run the game at even close to the max settings back around launch.  Not only that, but there wasn’t armor customization and both you and your companions were often stuck looking like a clown (sometimes literally) because you needed to gear yourself and them in whatever you could find, and that usually didn’t match.

But a lot changed since then. 

So, I went and made an exact visual clone of my main character (A trooper), and named her the same thing with one extra letter, and ran through the main storyline plus a couple of favorite planetary quests again, screenshotting and videoing along the way.  Technically I haven’t finished, still need to do Corellia and the endgame, but I will.  Also I just played around on my other characters a bit (I have so many) and uh... spent a lot of cartel coins (I had tons saved up from being a subscriber) on this winter sale + unlocks.  But yay, lots of pretty (for an 11 year old game) with maxed settings and matching outfits and outfit changes with some of the best looking outfits in the game.  I’ve made some gifs, need to make some more to keep posting that Beth/Aric romance storyline.

Might do the same for a couple of other favorite early characters.

Next I gotta get my main through the Onslaught storyline, because the last time I played seriously was right around when that came out, but then I burned out.

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Fable 2

I don’t have a screenshot because I’ve been playing it on my Xbox360.  Literally the first time I booted my 360 up in 5+ years.  I have not bought any other consoles except a Switch since then because I just don’t play consoles much.

Stalled on the playthrough a bit, but I’m about to recruit Stephen Fry’s character.  Probably need to give up on doing a completionist game and just put my head down and finish it.

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Minor Mentions:

I literally stopped playing Animal Crossing New Years 2020. I played every day from May til then.  I picked it back up for a week or two, but not sure I’ll actually be a daily player and I hate getting guilt tripped by the game and having cockroaches in my virtual house every time I don’t log in for a few days.

I played a Hidden Objects / Adventure game all the way through on my Switch.  It was cheap, and entertaining enough.  I don’t remember the name of it and don’t care enough to go look.

I play Mah Jong and Solitare games on my Switch to wind down at night while listening to podcasts and hanging out with Patchy before going to sleep.  It’s probably sad that besides maybe Animal Crossing, this is what I’ve used my Switch for the most.

Also have a Mahjong game on Steam that is my other “distraction while watching Critical Role / MST3k” game.

Played a little bit of the Star Trek games that released on GOG this year.  It IS fun running around Voyager.  Also tried again to play Star Trek Online and I just CAN NOT get into the spaceship fighting part of the game, which is like, half of the game.  I am bad at it.  I don’t want to do it.  I like the storyline/ground team/building the spaceship parts of it.  But you can’t really play STO without the spaceship fighting part, and there’s no Story Mode in an MMO.

Does playing Dungeons and Dragons on Roll20 count as video gaming?  It doesn’t.  But I did that **A LOT** in 2021.  And will continue to do so in 2022.

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Games I would like to play in 2022:

ME:LE2 & 3, close to starting my MELE2 playthrough as soon as that Community Patch drops.

Finish Pathfinder: Kingmaker maybe? And maybe buy that 2nd Pathfinder game, is it better?

Also play, possibly finish, Fallout 4?

If Baldur’s Gate 3 releases, I’ll play it.  I bought it already, played for a few hours, and am waiting on release before I play again.

Finish Fable 2 and play Fable 3 which I bought on Steam last year.  I did play F3 to completion when it came out, but two attempts after that and I got caught in the game-breaking bug that gets you trapped in the “home base” area.  Heard that’s fixed on the PC version.  I hope so.

I bought No Man’s Sky because my brother loves it.  I dipped my toe in and haven’t been back.  Would like to.

Bought Outward and haven’t tried it.  Would like to.

The Waylanders - I Kickstarted this and the official release date is in February.  Played the first hour or two and think I’ll like the full game.  There’s 2 or 3 other games I KS’d that may release this year that look good.

New SWTOR expansion drops in February, will probably try it.

I stalled out on my playthrough of Divinity: Original Sin 2 in 2020.  I should finish that.

Possible Replays,: Enderal (seriously, please play Enderal.), a renegade “fuck up” Mass Effect (LE) run where I deliberately ignore/lose most of my beloved companions, Cyberpunk 2077, Pillars of Eternity 1&2, maybe Baldur’s Gate 2 before BG3?  All of these should take a backseat to newer games I haven’t played at all or lately.

I’m sure there are things coming out I haven’t thought of, and surprise drops may happen. 

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Hi friend!

Since I consider you the costume expert around here, I was wondering what you think about Buck’s immaculate white sneakers? Are shoe choices as important as the rest of the clothes when it comes to wardrobe? Do you think they have any particular meaning at all since he wears them almost constantly, or no?

Hey there back at you friend. Firstly I feel honoured that you consider me the 911 costume expert, it feels so good to have found a new use for the filing cabinet in my brain that has been storing all this knowledge for years without a place to share it and explore it, although now i’ve opened it, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to shut the drawers again! 😎🤓🥰

I’ve finally finished Bucks full costume plot, which was no small task, but will prove useful for some many things and it means I’m now I’m in a much better place to answer your question.

I’m going to apologise in advance for my screen shot skills (blurry is my default😱!!) but they do what I need them to, and for the fact that the answer is a long one - I tried the short version, but it felt unsatisfying to explain without more detail and going through each appearance, hopefully you’ll agree. On with the show!

His super clean white sneakers have been stomping their way through my brain for a fair while now and I couldn’t really decide what it is that the designers were trying to say with them, other than the fact that its currently a fashionable thing to have the whitest trainers possible and Buck is a fairly fashionable guy, especially within the context of the 118!) but things became so much clearer when I went through every single one of Bucks costumes episode by episode. I should say that doing this has made some interesting things come to light about Buck that I may expand upon in another post about him, it did however, reaffirm my previous posts on what he’s wearing (so yay for that 😂). I will say it became obvious that Buck is not really a wearer of jeans (the type of trousers most people would pair high top white sneakers with), he is very much a, more formal, slacks kinda guy and they’re almost exclusively black or navy blue, with only a few exceptions!

The first appearance of a pair of white trainers for Buck is a pair in his locker during a chat with Bobby about trauma. these are not the white sneakers we’ve all come to know and wonder about and he isn’t actually wearing them.

The actual high top white sneakers (which are like all white leather converse but not actually converse and I’m guessing as Oli is vegan, they’re not actually leather either!) make their first appearance in season 2 episode 8, Buck actually and the really interesting thing is they only appear after Buck has upgraded to version 2.0 - when he finds Tay Kay to apologise for ‘behaving like a pig’ (his words not mine). we see them again this episode when he meets up with Ali for their first date.

The next time we see them is in S2E10, merry ex-mas at the Christmas tree lot - when her is talking to Chim about Eddie ‘having an affair with his wife’ because ‘he’s sleeping with her but lying about it’.

S2E13 fight or flight - we see the trainers twice, although, Buck actually only changes the top half of his outfit, and that’s because his shirt has Chims blood on it. he’s returning home from a date with Ali (its implied but not actually confirmed) and then chasing after Doug to find Maddie. we don’t see them again in season 2!

in season 3 they appear in the first episode - kids today - Buck is wearing them at his surprise party, where he coughs up blood on ends up in hospital with blood clots and then again at the pier, which means they obviously mare there throughout all of Episode 2, Sink or Swim and Episode 3, the searchers (although for Tsunami reasons they’re not looking in there usual pristine condition and we barely see them!!)

S3E4, Triggers, we see them when he’s at the firehouse dropping off the paperwork from the fire drill

S3E5, Rage, we see them at the Lawyers office when Buck finds out about the settlement the city is offering and again at the rage room when Bobby lays out the terms of his return to the 118

S3E8, Malfunction, we see them when Eddie is explaining his impulse purchase of the new truck

S3E14, The taking of Dispatch (as an aside can I just say I love that Chim is a slipper wearer!) we see them while he’s on the phone to Chim talking about something being wrong because of her saying I love you.

S3E16, The one that got away, we see the trainers a couple of times - when Buck meets Red at the bar and then take him home, and again when they go over to see Cindy and that’s the last time we see them in season 3

in season 4 we don’t see them until episode 3, Future tense, when he is baby proofing the Madney apartment, and then at his conversation with Maddie back at his apartment about his therapy. we then see them very briefly at the Diaz house when Buck and Chris are playing video games

in S4E5 Buck Begins we see them towards the end of the Episode when he’s talking to Maddie about them having each other

S4E6 Jinx we catch a glimpse of them as the team (minus Eddie) are heading off for breakfast

S4E11 First responders he’s wearing them at the dispatch centre with Maddie and Josh and because he’s in the same shirt we know he must still be wearing them when he meets up with Tay Kay to trying get her to do a story on Sue’s hit and run

S4E12 Treasure Hunt he’s wearing them in his apartment with Tay Kay and Eddie when they team up to find the treasure

S4E13/14 Suspicion and Survivors we all know he’s wearing them during the shooting - all of those scenes are imprinted on our collective memories, but he is also wearing them in E14 when he’s (again) with Tay Kay packing to go back to the Diaz house

in Season 5 the trainers have already made a few appearances, the first being in episode 3 (not surprising as he spent all of E1&2 and most of 3 in uniform) when he’s flopping onto the bed (I will never be ok with him putting his shoes on the bed fyi!!) alone, but he must’ve also been wearing them when talking to Eddie in the locker room.

S5E4 we see them twice, once in the punch scene and then in the balcony scene - which is probably an extension of the punch scene as he’s also wearing the same slacks, so he’s probably only changed from the pink jumper into the blue/grey one (for comfort!)

The reason I’ve taken such a long winded way to get to the point is that all of these scenes have a complex commonality - they are all scenes about love, trauma and the trauma of love/ trying to find love - both romantic love and familial love (and the reason I mentioned that it was interesting they don’t appear until Buck becomes the 2.0 version of himself, is that that is when he really kicks his search for both into gear!). Even in scenes such as his trip to the lawyers office, he is trying to get back to his family.

With all this in mind, for me the pristine nature of his white trainers is a metaphor for his continuing search for both those things, the great romantic soulmate love he’s been searching for since we met him in season 1 and the love of a family, something he has never felt like he had. Of course he has always had Maddie, because she is his family, always will be and always has been, but what I mean here is the concept of a large extended family that accepts him and that he feels part of and cherished by and its hard to feel like a family if there is only two of you (the concept of family implies more than 2 people), and this is also something Maddie has been searching for as well. The Buckley search for family makes me both sad and joyful - sad because its depressing they never had it with their blood family, but joyful because they’ve found it with their found family of the 118. All of this cycles back around the whole purpose and heart of the show - Mitchell sums it up so well in Buck Actually - saying ‘you don’t find it, you make it’ to Buck. Buck has achieved familial love - in two places - the 118 and with the Diaz’s, even if both fractured at the moment and I’m not sure he realises he can trust that he’s found it in both places and I don’t think he will until he finds the second part he’s still searching for - the great romantic love of his life.

For me the fact that they’re white is all about purity - the purity of true love and isn’t that just the most beautiful thing! 🥰

If you’ve made it to the end of this I give you all the hugs and awards, because this ended up being an epically long answer to a simple question 🤣 and hopefully I’ve been successful in my endeavour to answer it!

[rachetmath]

Jaune’s Thoughts

Okay guess we got to save Oscar. All I need to do is grab him and we can run. Arc time baby.

Okay but how does that stop us though? There is three of us and one of it. I think we can take it. Hell, I can get close and blow that thing to a distance with my shield. Which is by far my most affective upgrade than my last one. You and Ren both have guns, SHOOT THE DAMN THING! Better yet Yang you have bombs for Oum sake. Why are you lying around? Your aura isn't even broken. What the hell? Why are we doing this? Matter of fact after all this why is Ozpin not doing anything? He could be mad at us but both him and Oscar are in danger. What's he doing? 

Once again, another one of my ideas falls short. I should be used to it by now but damn. Also, fourth wall breaking, why didn't it do this while we were in the city. It would have been a better excuse than us standing around waiting for it to transform. 

What a minute you knew? You knew and you didn't bother to help me?! And you chose to mention this now while we're in storm far from the city! While Oscar could possibly be in danger because we allowed it! What the hell Ren?! When me and Pyrrha went with Oz then why didn't you come with us despite my orders?! Not only that you let me fight a maiden on my own! You agreed to the steal an Atlas airship! I mean- *sigh* you know what never mind. But- 

Basically, Ren old buddy go screw yourself. Also check your list of actions so far because they really aren't in sync with your words.

Wait a minute? You were talking about Ruby, right? You know your sister. Your family. The one person you have been arguing with since we got here. Please tell that's who you were talking about because if not then... .... .... Oh my god. Yang, I understand, really I do but keep your pants on. Get some help.

WOMAN, I am trying to make your job easier! I don't think Penny should be your main concern right now! Look below you! Why are making this so difficult than it needs to be?! The fact that I even bothered to mention anything to you means it affect both sides. I'm actually trying to help you!

Oh look who's talking. Seriously, how's what you're saying helping your case here Yang? Because you have been following not just Ozpin's orders but Ruby's and Ironwoods’ as well. Hell, who's idea was it to tell Robyn everything in the first place? Because from how you told us it certainly wasn't your idea.  

Okay, this will buy us time. Hold on Oscar. We're coming. Hopefully this doesn't become a waste time and our efforts considering we abandon millions of lives in Mantle. (Too bad for Jaune it was.)

Oh f*** you, you blonde... Ugh, the whole point of the plan is to get in, find Oscar and get out. We have time. We just need to look around. Hell at least I came up with a plan. I don’t see you or Ren planning s***. True most of them were failures but still. What have you done? You haven't done anything but complain all day. So, I'm sorry if this plan is too much for you Yang, but let's not forget that once this is over with, we still have help Winter and the Ace-ops. And by we, I mean me and Ren. You could've have stayed with your team. You ungrateful, one armed, simping hypocrite. Nope, you know what, bitch suits you more. 

Wow, so Summer is important to you right now. But Raven, the one who attacked us back at Heaven Academy and who you were searching for almost many years of your life means nothing. Bitch what are your priorities damn it? Who do you even value?

Ren, I know you and Oscar trying to be the wise ones here but let me explain. This woman not only betrayed our trust. She used her semblance on Pyrrha to destroy Penny which could have left Pyrrha traumatized. She tried to kill us back at Heaven. Hell, my bet she's the reason what happened to Amity Arena. What possible reason do we have to trust her? Ren you are a horrible teammate and Oscar, you don't know shit. Like have you ever lost anything before in your life. The only reason Emerald helped us was because she was already helping you. And that almost got her killed. So, no, both of you shut up!

Oh boy. Hopefully this plan doesn't go horribly wrong.

Okay. I know I shouldn't question this at all considering the amount bull crap we been doing but still. Why did we fly here? Why we were we not shot down? Doesn't Atlas have a sky radar to see upcoming ships to avoid being ambushed or shot? And considering Penny is a robot and can fly shouldn't she be detected. How advanced is Atlas because so far, I'm disappointed? Also why is my team needed to fight James? We barely survived against Neo what chance do we stand against James, a headmaster? Also, if Emerald can transform Oscar to look like Hazel and sound like him no less, then why not transform us into soldiers and sneak Penny to the vault? If she needed help, I could have amplified her while keeping Penny stabled, and James wouldn't even notice. Why are we- you know what, bring it on. At least we can knock him out and stop Nora if she tries to kill him. It'll be tough. But we can do it.

Like I said. The most affective upgrade I have every received.

This why we lost to Neo. We really need to work on team attacks.

Oh my god. We won? We beat him?! How the hell are any of these people running a school?! Let only protecting and running a kingdom?! I think I'm starting to realize why my dad didn’t think being huntsman was a good idea.

Okay so instead of standing still how about you all help me out. Ever thought of that bitch? No? Then please don't rush me. Shut your damn mouths?! *sigh* Why? Why did I agree to let her be on the team?  

*sigh* F*** all of you.

Oh no. Please. Please not her again. Once again, another plan that goes terribly wrong. 

Yeah, we definitely not repeating Heaven Academy.

Oh my gosh, Nora where are you?! What is going on out there?! You should be back now!

Okay Jaune calm down. Aright just ignore Penny and continue to heal her. I'm sure Weiss can hold Cinder off long enough for-

Weiss, what are you doing?! You can barely fight with one blade why use two? Oh, my goodness, how did any of you beat the Ace-ops?! Oh man. I-I... Oh oum, she isn't going to last. I-I don't have a choice. This is going hurt.

  So, this is it? I can't believe I'm doing this. Well, I don't have choice because everyone seems to be making dumb decisions. Well at least I might be doing something right. Pyrrha, please forgive me.

[five-rivers]

Gravity Games

Oof, just sneaking this in before midnight.

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“We already know you can walk on walls, Danny,” said Sam. “It’s cool and all, but why bring us all the way out here?”

“No, no,” said Danny. He gestured to the red bricks by his feet. “I’m not doing this.”

“Yes, you are,” said Tucker. “We can both see you.”

“No, I mean, I’m not using ghost powers to do this.”

Sam and Tucker frowned and examined the wall of the park more closely. It was an out of the way corner, the sight of it blocked off from the rest of the park by the restrooms and a large tree, otherwise Danny wouldn’t have even tried this, no matter what he saw that squirrel do.

“Are you sure?” asked Sam, after a minute.

“Positive. Like, you have to touch the right bricks, otherwise it doesn’t work, and being near the edge—” he pointed to the top of the wall “—is weird, but it’s definitely not my ghost powers. It’s that gravity is weird here.”

“Don’t a lot of ghost fights wind up going through here?” asked Tucker. “Do you think it might, I don’t know, stick, somehow?”

“If it was like that,” said Danny, “my whole house would be that way.”

“Have you ever tried walking on the walls not as a ghost?” asked Sam. She grimaced and muttered something under her breath about grammar.

“Believe it or not, yes,” said Danny. “It’d be way easier to vacuum the walls if it worked like that. I wouldn’t even have to hide it from Mom and Dad. Anyway, I think there are a few other places around that are kind of like this, though. Where physics are kind of… broken, I guess.” He frowned. “Like that road that’s shorter than it should be one way, and longer the other, even though it’s the same length…” He trailed off.

“Okay, before we start in on that, let’s make sure this is an actual thing, and not your ghost powers,” said Sam. “Where do I need to step to make this work?”

Danny showed her.

It really wasn’t just his ghost powers.

“And I can just… walk around?”

“Yeah, as far as I can tell, it acts just like normal gravity except for the direction. I was able to hang off the top of the wall, even. I wouldn’t recommend it for you, though.”

“Why not?”

“I can fly. You’d just drop.”

“Ah. Yeah. That would be… yeah,” said Sam. “But you said it got weird?”

“That isn’t weird enough?”

“Fair. What about the other walls?” she pointed.

Danny shrugged. “Act as walls. You can lean on them. It’s weird.”

“You can lean on them anyway,” said Tucker, as Sam did a few experimental hops. “They’re walls.”

“Yeah, but not from this direction,” said Danny. “Trust me, it’s weird.”

“You don’t have to trust him,” said Sam. “Come on and try it, coward.”

Tucker, having proven on multiple occasions that he was the exact opposite of a coward, rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Holy ghosts, you’re right, this is weird.”

“See? I told you.”

“Cool, cool,” said Tucker. “But, uh, hate to be the one who asks this, but how do we get off?”

“Oh, easy, you just touch the ground.”

“What, like thi—” Tucker failed to catch himself as gravity reasserted itself in the proper direction. “Ow.”

“You okay?”

“My pride isn’t.”

“Fair,” said Danny, taking advantage of his ability to fly and his nonstandard sense of balance to just walk off the wall. “Want a hand?” he asked Sam.

“No, I’ve got it,” said Sam, carefully extending her hands.

“I hate both of you,” said Tucker, still face-down in the grass.

“Aw, we love you, too,” said Danny, making a kissy face.

“I can’t see you, but I can hear you, and it’s my turn with the thermos tonight. I can make things very inconvenient for you.”

“But you won’t.”

“But I won’t,” agreed Tucker, finally moving. He pushed his glasses back up his nose. “You said there were other spots that were like this?”

“Oh, yeah. Loads.”

“Can you show us?”

.

No one really went under the underpass, not even homeless people, which was really a pity because this was wild.

Although, come to think of it, that might be why no one went under the underpass.

Danny put another stone in the air.

“They just stay there?” asked Sam.

“As long as you put them on this level, yeah,” said Danny. “But if you give them any momentum, it stays and they move out and then fall, so you have to be careful about how you let them go.”

“Even if you push them up?”

“Yeah. It looks really weird, though, watch.” He nudged the pebble up, and it continued in that direction for a moment before turning and falling.

“It looked normal to me,” said Tucker.

“It doesn’t follow proper ballistic motion,” said Danny. “It doesn’t accelerate when it’s in that stripe. Watch again, okay?” He did it with another rock.

“I’m still not seeing it.”

Sam patted Danny’s back. “I think you just have a better eye for physic-related things than we do.”

Danny sighed.

“Alright, what else do you have?” asked Tucker, making some kind of note on his PDA.

.

“Oh, jeez, oh, heck, oh, jeez,” said Tucker. “Why am I friends with you? Literally, this sucks, this sucks so much. Get me down, get me down, get me down.”

“You are down,” said Danny.

“I am not down, I am a hundred feet up and upside down, I swear, Danny, if you don’t—”

Danny sighed and pulled him off the manhole cover.

“Oh,” said Tucker.

“It’s just an illusion,” said Danny.

“You could have warned me.”

“You didn’t wait,” said Danny, frowning.

“Sorry, that’s my fault,” said Sam, raising her hand. “I dared him to.”

“Even if it’s an illusion,” said Tucker, pausing to catch his breath. “That’s kind of dangerous. It’s a good thing no one really walks by here…”

“Yeah,” agreed Danny. “It’s a good thing all of this is out of the way. So far, anyway…”

“What’s up?” asked Sam.

Danny made a face. “Just… thinking about how it would be good if we could, I don’t know, make a map and tell people about this kind of stuff. So they wouldn’t accidentally get trapped or hurt or something. Maybe we could make flyers, or something.”

“Yeah, who’d believe us, though?” asked Sam, shrugging.

“We could try and get your parents involved?” suggested Tucker.

“Let’s… let’s leave that for a last resort,” said Danny. “Right now… Just something to keep in mind, I guess? Especially if we really do find something dangerous, or one of those, what did they call them… a natural ghost portal. I mean,” he continued, frowning, “there have to be some of those around. Not all the ghosts come through our portal.”

“Your Dad’s security is kind of rubbish,” said Tucker.

“Not that rubbish,” said Danny, “and they’ve upgraded it a bunch since the whole Johnny thing.” He glared at the memory.

Tucker’s PDA beeped. “Oh, I’ve got to get home,” he said. “Can you fly me home?”

“You’re still using your PDA to schedule things?”

“It worked, didn’t it? Besides, I’ve got all the places coded, so if Skulker steals her again, she’ll send him to Timbuktu.”

“I’d feel bad for Timbuktu,” said Danny, “but, yeah, I’ll fly you home. Sam?”

“I actually want to stop by the book store,” she said. “See you tomorrow?”

“Okay,” said Danny.

“You’d better have some even weirder stuff for us to see,” she said, not quite walking backwards.

“Will do!” said Danny. He turned to Tucker. “So, do you want to do this under the arms, piggyback, or bridal?”

[yourmcu]

Emotional Support Mode

Pairings: Tony Stark x daughter!reader

Summary:

in which the reader is the loner, antisocial daughter of Tony Stark and the other Avengers including her father never acknowledge her presence (they thought some sort of interaction made you uncomfortable) so she becomes friends with Friday instead - Tony probs finds out and it’s gonna be all cute n fluffie once he realizes -

Word count: 2,243

a/n: hi just wanted to write fluffy tony :)) also I used they/them for friday’s pronouns

Warnings: angst n fluff, friday’s a bit more advanced (not like they aren’t already but) bc they could almost act like a literal human here.

read it on ao3!

You arrive back at the Avengers facility, shoulders slumped and just tired in general since you have a lot of homework and projects to do from school, most of them due by the end of the week. You also have exams later in the week.

“Hey, Fri,” you huff as you make your way to the elevator.

“Welcome home, Y/N. Where do you want to go?”

Yes, you're very close with the A.I that they started calling you by your first name. “To my room - and uh, will you remind me to read two chapters in my history book after I’m done with all my homework? I also have this project, I just need some measurements later, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure thing.”

“Thank you.”

It’s going to be a long night, you sigh heavily just thinking about it. Now you’re probably wondering, ‘you live with the Avengers! Why don’t you ask Tony and Bruce for help? Maybe Steve and Bucky for your History test?’

Yeah, well... you barely talk to any real person you live with. Maybe it’s you, you always thought you're making the team uncomfortable. You don’t even talk to your own father often which is kind of depressing on your part.

You love them, they’re like your extended family, but it just isn’t working out. Maybe they just don’t like you. Up to this day you still wonder why Tony took you in when you were just a baby (you were a mistake from one of his one night stands) - he had the choice not to.

“I’m assuming you zoned out again. You have arrived to your room five minutes ago.” Friday announces.

“Y-yeah sorry,” you shuffle out of the elevator and swiftly head to your bedroom, closing the door behind you.

“I also asked if I should inform Mr. Stark that you have arrived home.”

“No, no thanks. He’s busy and... probably wouldn’t care anyway,” You mutter the last part as you pile the books you need on your desk. “Can you put my study playlist on, please?”

----

“What time is it, Friday?”

“7PM. I was about to remind you to take a break.”

You get up from your chair and stretch, halfway through the last of your homework which is a two page essay. “You’re too kind, thanks pal,” when you walk out your room to head to the kitchen and grab a snack, the lounge is empty, kitchen empty,

“The team’s on a mission? I thought they had the whole week off,” you say before gulping down a water bottle.

“I checked the security footage: they left about an hour ago. Captain Rogers was talking about getting dinner.”

You put the bottle down. “Oh,” you try to mask your disappointment. This isn’t your first time being alone, they always left you here when they had a mission of course but... well, it’s not like they want you around them. “I’ll - I’ll just make myself something later, then. Not a big deal. I have to study anyway.”

Another hour later, the Avengers are back. They're all conversing happily as they pile in the lounge. Peter's rambling about upgrades for the Spiderman suit while Tony's typing away in his phone, nodding at everything he says. Everyone else is arguing about the TV channels and talking about the new restaurant they ate at.

Rhodey shifts, looking around. “Why do I feel like we forgot something?”

Natasha looks at him, waiting for him to go on.

“I assure you, I brought Mjolnir with me this time.” Thor butts in.

“No not that, what time does Y/N get home from school?” No one answers. It’s not like any of them know. It's natural that Rhodey would be worried about his goddaughter (even if they rarely talk). He turns his head to his best friend who’s now walking away with Peter, an arm around his shoulder. “Tony, where’s Y/N?”

He doesn’t hear since he has his full attention on his protégé.

“I’ll start making this tomorrow, I guess. I still have to buy materials.” You mumble to yourself, but you hope Friday's listening to everything you say just to make you feel less lonely. You swipe the hologram of the blueprint away and place the thick books in front of you.

“I would like to recommend a suitable study plan.” they state.

You rub your eyes, sighing, “I’m already halfway, I would’ve considered it earlier though.”

“This is only a recommendation, feel free to ignore it.”

You push yourself away from the desk and mutter a “go on,”, fiddling with your pen.

“Asking Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes would give you more details for your History examination, since the pair were originally from that time period. The same goes for Mr. Banner for your Science examination, I believe he has seven Ph.D’s, you may also approach Vision for the same topic. Mr. Stark has all the necessary materials for your project in his lab. Would you like me to-”

If only it were that easy. It should be easy, the thought alone makes you really nervous. “No, I - I appreciate the recommendation, Friday, but - I think I can do this on my own.”

“But you’re tired and it is almost midnight. I would help you myself but you specifically told me not to.”

They’re not wrong. Your eyes are starting to droop and you barely understand anything you're reading. You're also fighting back tears - why is talking to your family so hard?

“I can sense sadness. Would you like me to activate emotional support mode?”

“Yeah, okay. That sounds great right about now.”

----

“Crap. Guess we lost track of time again, kid,” Tony wipes his hands with a rag while he looks at the time on his computer. “You better get home. I’ll send May a text for keeping you this late.”

“Okay, thank you Mr. Stark. I’m just gonna use my suit-”

“No. Happy will drive you.”

Peter knew better than to argue and insist so he just nods and smiles sheepishly. A minute later Happy came ‘round to take him home.

Tony turns back around. “Friday, make a new project for me please, I’m adding minor upgrades to the Spiderman suit.”

“Not now, boss.”

Oh. He did not expect that. “Excuse me?”

“Y/N is currently opening up. I would like to give her my full, undivided attention. Please come back after fifteen minutes or so.”

Tony doesn’t exactly know how to feel about that. He never sees her outside her room anymore that he kinda forgot she existed tonight - oh fuck, they didn’t bring her to dinner with them.

“Well,” he exhales. “What is she saying?”

“That would be an invasion of privacy.”

“I’m her father-”

“Are you, sir?” Friday’s clever remark makes him stop abruptly.

It’s pretty clear that he’s been a shit father. Not only does he ignore you all the time but he treats Peter way better than his own flesh and blood. The Avengers on the other hand, they were nice people, but just didn’t understand so they try their best to get out of your way.

You were afraid of rejection, afraid to interact, because you had no idea what everyone thought of you. Did they like you? Did you make them uncomfortable? Did they want you around? What about Tony, did he really want a daughter in his life? Because you noticed he’d be better off with a son, yeah, like Peter goddamn Parker.

Tony sighs, walking out of his lab and heads to the mini bar to grab a drink. He needs to think: there's absolutely nothing wrong about you, he just didn’t do his job right, you thought he didn’t care, you thought nobody did. Even Friday is turning against him, doing a better job of comforting and being there for you.

“God, I’m such an asshole,” he mutters to himself, rubbing his forehead. He drinks his last shot and heads to the kitchen. “She still awake?” He calls out.

“She is.” Friday has a bitter tone.

He's hesitant to ask again, feeling really bad for not knowing this simple question - “what’s her favorite beverage?”

----

“How do you feel?”

You sniffle. “Well y’know, better than before. I should probably go to sleep. Thanks, Fri.”

“You’re welcome. Also, Mr. Stark is outside your door.”

“W-what?” You put away your books and straighten up, rubbing your damp eyes. “You’re serious? Okay, uh, let him in?” It's more of a question.

“Alright.”

You turn to face your desk as Tony enters the room, holding two steaming mugs. He sits at the end of your bed, just right next to the chair you're sitting on. “Hi,” he gives you a small smile and hands you a mug.

What’s the occasion?

“What’s this?” You ask quietly before taking the mug from his hands. Tony's being gentle and soft, it's odd but you’re not complaining.

“Green tea with honey. I... I thought I saw you make that stuff once.” He says, not mentioning the fact that Friday told him that.

“Oh, well, yeah,” you take a small sip. He added a bit too much honey but other than that it was good. “I thought you preferred coffee, though,”

Tony shrugs, his eyes glistening when he looks at you. “Wouldn’t hurt to try something new.”

“Did - did you want something, Dad?” You always found yourself awkward, couldn’t even make conversation with someone for long, always wanted to get straight to the point so it could be over with.

He looks like he wants to say something but he just averts his gaze to you, his hands, the floor, then suddenly he leans in and hugs you. Your feel your heart swell and body warm up, it’s a new sensation for you after all, you rarely get hugs from people. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “For everything. I’m such a bad dad, I don’t deserve you. I even forgot you when we went out to dinner.”

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything. I had loads of stuff to do earlier anyway, so, but yeah I was just - I just overreact, I’m sensitive. I don’t blame you and the others for not liking me, I know there’s nothing like-able about me, I’m not like Peter-” You ramble, tears now leaving your eyes again.

“Sweetheart, don’t say that,” Tony says as he pulls you closer to him, head resting against his chest while he rubs your back comfortably. “Y/N Stark, you are smart, brilliant - I was just an ass for not acknowledging that.”

“I know you’re just saying that to-”

“Oh, but I’m not,” he now places his hands on your shoulders, getting you to look at him. “Tell me who built their first engine when they were eight?”

You blush, “Dad-”

“No, come on, I wanna hear it.”

“I did.”

“Yes you did. And who made a completely functioning robot at their middle school science fair that blew all the teacher’s minds?”

You’re trying to hide a smile, recalling the memory,  “I did.”

“And who,” Tony gets up and walks to the bulky looking thing that you covered with a sheet, pulling it off, “is currently building a computer from scratch?”

“Dad! That’s still a work in progress,” he messily places the sheet back and chuckles.

“My point is, you’re a clever and talented girl, Y/N. Don’t bring yourself down. And you don’t have to be shy around your family, those idiots have been dying to get to know you but since you don’t talk much... they don’t want to force it. We love you,” he says. “I hope you forgive me ‘cause I really wanna make it up to you. I’m not calling Peter in for a few weeks.” Tony sits down beside you again.

You couldn’t believe he’d do that for you. “You don’t have to, if you need him for something then-”

“-then you could help me instead, if you’re up for it.”

“I’m really sorry for being such a lonely freak,” you yawn, getting back into Tony’s open arms. “I love you.”

Tony tucks you in and lies down beside you, “I love you tons, kiddo.”

You snuggle into his chest, feeling his steady breathing while he rests his chin above your head.

----

It's morning. The Avengers are gathered at your open bedroom door.

“Are you getting all of this, Friday?”

“Yes, Ms. Romanoff.”

“Steve turn that shuttering sound down!” Natasha hisses at the super soldier who's doing his task, taking pictures.

Steve almost drops the phone and has Bruce fix the volume for him.

They’re all watching you and Tony cuddle together, still fast asleep.

“Do we have to stay here until they wake up?”

“Unless you have a great way of waking them up, yes. Now shut up.”

“If you think about it we definitely look creepy right now.” Sam comments.

“It’s their fault for having the door wide open all night!” Clint says.

Tony's actually awake the whole time, listening to them bickering. “You have three seconds to get the hell out of here before I make all of you polish my suits.” With that, the team races down the hall, pushing each other to get away first like literal children.

[metaphysicalash17]

In a pulse of light, Steve found himself standing in an alley in London. One he knew all too well since he had a penchant for picking fights in alleys. His time travel suit dematerialized and he was left in his usual uniform, which seemed a little too much for the timeline he came back to. The real mission was to return the Infinity Stones and get back to 2019, but he figured his Bucky wouldn’t mind if he took a little detour. He wouldn’t be here long anyway.

The back door of the Whip and Fiddle pub to his right was proof that he landed in the right timeline—somewhere in the 40s. He remembered that the Howling Commandos were in there. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea going in there dressed like this.

Not to mention the absolute bizarreness if he met his past self.

But there was no turning back now. He opened the door slightly and peeked inside. The pub was more crowded than he expected. He felt completely out of place. And his new-found confidence fizzled out sooner than it came. Across the hall, he spotted his past self and a young Bucky seated near the bar, busy in drink and conversation.

Steve smiled at the sight of that bright-eyed, innocent Bucky who was willing to fight by his side till the end. This was the Bucky who didn’t know what was about to happen to him. And that was the Cap next to him who failed to protect him.

A pang of pain gripped Steve’s heart. But he brushed those thoughts aside and focused on what he came for. The future, seventy years from here, eventually turned out good, so he drew some reassurance from that.

He wondered if it was simply easier to just barge in there and talk to Barnes himself, but he didn’t want to attract unwanted attention. He had little time too.

Closing the door, he paced back and forth restlessly outside, trying to form a plan. A whole minute passed in that. The thought of his past self struck him. He didn’t stop to think how Bucky would be able to slip out without being noticed. Not to mention the fact that he would be subjected to two Steves.

“Shit,” he whispered.

Abort mission?

No. He came this far and wasn’t about to give up easily. He smoothed his hair, straightened his uniform, as though trying to impress a date. Steeling himself, he walked to the door and opened it.

And came face to face with James Buchanan Barnes.

Both froze, staring at each other for a moment. Bucky scanned him from head to toe, shooting a glance at the bar then back at him. “How...?”

Catching his arm, Steve pulled him into the alley and shut the door.

“How did you get out here so fast?” Bucky’s eyes darted to his uniform and his brows rose. “Am I missing something here? Did you change your hair?”

He couldn’t tell if it was his alcohol-addled brain playing tricks on him or Captain America’s uniform suddenly got an upgrade.

Steve couldn’t lie to him. He had to provide an explanation. Besides, he remembered Bucky’s fascination with the future. He remembered the sparkle in his eyes and his awe-struck face during their so-called date at the Stark Expo. At least, that was how Rogers saw it.

“Yeah, well... I’m not really Steve,” he stuttered. “I mean, I am, but not your Steve.” 

Your Steve. 

Sweet Jesus. 

“I’m from the future,” he added.

An awkward silence followed. So much so that he could imagine crickets chirping nearby.

Bucky gave him a blank stare. “Did you smoke something? Or did I drink too much?”

“No, it’s true. I—” Rogers was about to point to his to the time GPS when he realized it was better not to. “You know what, never mind. I came here because I wanted to tell you something I should’ve said a long time ago.”

Bucky’s mind still struggled to grasp what was going on. Because a few minutes ago, he was sitting next to his best friend, who was in his military uniform, and who then headed to the loo shortly after.

“O-kay?” he said.

This is it. Steve couldn’t afford to mess this up. His stomach fluttered and his heart thudded in his chest. With a deep breath, he mustered every ounce of courage he had. He’d said these words before, in another time, and yet, it still managed to make him nervous.

“For as long as I remember,” he said. “You were all I had. You were there when I picked fights and when I got hurt.” He swallowed. “When my parents died. You were always there. When I had nothing, I had you.”

Bucky's heart melted. But he wouldn’t show it, so he merely smiled. “It’s no big deal, Stevie.”

“It is for me. I don’t know what I’d do without you. And I wish I had told you sooner.”

The smile on Bucky’s face reduced when Steve came close. Too close. That golden hair swept back in a smooth quiff really did it for him. He sucked in a breath. His gaze involuntarily darted to his pink lips. Something about this Rogers was different. His fresh sky-blue eyes had the same glimmer and warmth that Barnes knew well, but something had changed in them. He couldn’t place a finger on what. Either way, they always seemed to stare right into his soul. Put him in a spell he couldn’t get out of.

He cleared his throat. “T-tell me what?”

He didn’t know his bright eyes cast the same magic on Steve.

“I love you, Buck. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner.”

Those words had been weighing heavily on his chest for so long. Now that he finally got it out, he felt exposed. 

Bucky’s brows eased, “What?”

“You heard me. You used to--I mean--you were jealous whenever you saw a woman too close to me and I never understood why, because I never felt anything for them. Not the way I do for you. It’s always been you.”

Bucky didn’t respond. His brain stopped functioning a long time ago, and he wasn’t sure if his heart was still beating. He simply stood there, gawking like an idiot. His best friend was in love with him. All this time, he thought his feelings were unrequited.

He didn’t realize how long he remained frozen like that until Steve’s voice snapped him out of the trance.

“Will you say something, please?”

“Huh?” he blurted.

Steve huffed. “Oh, for God’s sake—”

Holding Bucky’s face, he closed the gap between them. Bucky gasped as Cap’s lips crushed his with fervor, tasting his whiskey-tinged lips, and setting his soul on fire. He pushed back instinctively, tugging at Steve’s lips with his teeth. Grabbing the straps on his uniform, he pulled him closer. Their surroundings were a blur, like nothing mattered except them. Every other sound—people and vehicles, all drowned in the background.

Steve would’ve stood there, kissing him for hours, if only he had the time. Slowly and unwillingly, he pulled away.

Bucky’s mouth dropped open as he exhaled a short breath. He might’ve forgotten to breathe the entire time. “Whoa.”

“Yeah,” Steve whispered. He took one look at the alley, checking to see if anyone was looking. “So sorry about this but um, I have to go now.”

“What? Where?”

“It’s complicated. But don’t worry, you’ll get there.” In about seventy years, give or take. “I have to go. Maybe you need to ask that jackass what he feels? The other jackass who’s technically me...”

“O-okay.”

Happiness filled Steve’s heart, like the warmth of the sun on a cold day. “See you around, jerk.”

In the end, this detour was well worth it. He tapped his band and the time travel suit materialized before Bucky’s widening eyes. The latter stared, slack-jawed, at the magical transformation. And in a pulse of light, Rogers disappeared.

Barnes stood there for a moment, staring at the space where the man stood a millisecond earlier, trying to comprehend if all that was real. He cautiously reached a hand out, thinking he’d feel something, anything, but his hand simply waved in the air.

The guy literally just vanished.

“What the fuck...” Bucky breathed. What just happened?

He could still feel Steve’s lips on his. Like a damp, invisible imprint left behind. Dazed, he went back into the pub.

His Steve stood near the bar, raising his arms outwards. “Where did you go off to?”

I met your future self. Or at least, I think I did. “Just went out for some fresh air.” Bucky shrugged, trying to be as casual as he could.

“Well, come on, we’re gonna be late for the briefing. The team’s waiting outside.”

Bucky needed to convince himself that whatever happened in the alley was not some bizarre manifestation of his mind. “Wait. I need to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Do you... you know...” Come on, Barnes. Get it together.

“Do I what?”

He bobbed on his feet. “... L-love me?”

Steve stared at him for a moment, mouth parting slowly. Bucky wasn’t sure if that was a good sign. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck. The last thing he wanted was to ruin their friendship. It was the one precious thing he had.

But he had to know.

A smile crept onto Steve’s face. He blushed as he scratched his head. “I guess. Yeah.”

The relief Bucky felt was palpable. He shook his head, laughing a little under his breath. His heart did the Jitterbug in his chest. A part of him wanted to smack the blond idiot at the back of his head for not telling the truth sooner.

“Stupid punk,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess I deserve that,” Rogers replied. “How did you find out anyway?”

“Well, you keep giving me these googly eyes all the time! I didn’t know if you really... felt that.”

“Of course I do. You are my whole life.”

Bucky scoffed and looked away, hiding the surging happiness inside. The volcanic eruption in his heart.

“I’m sorry,” said Steve. “I should’ve told you. I was waiting for the right time.”

“Yeah? When exactly is that? Your retirement party?”

Steve tilted his head, looking at his friend with those big, blue puppy eyes and a smile that said ‘please don’t be mad’. Bucky absolutely hated it because he could never resist that face.

“Fine, never mind it,” he said. “You wanna... have dinner or something?”

“I know the perfect place. We could go tonight. Eight o’clock.”

“Sounds good.”

The two of them left the pub, walking so close beside each other that their fingers brushed. Good thing the rest of the Howling Commandos were too drunk out of their wits to notice the love in the air.

-- The Words That Should’ve Been Said. (Read full on AO3)

[wizardlyghost]

- ok confession: i played a bit a couple of days ago but didn’t post because of life in general, so this is gonna be a little vague. here’s the highlights though.

- apparently if you try to REVERSE PICKPOCKET a PRESENT into a friendly character’s pocket every other friendly person in town ATTACKS YOU ON SIGHT, no matter how many times you’ve saved their asses. rude.

- yes i forgot that you can just trade items with npcs. fight me.

- MAMA MURPHY didn’t even acknowledge the ANTI-ADDICTION CURE-ALL that i spent ages scouring the wasteland for ingredients to make anyway. i’m feeling a little underappreciated here.

- upgrading my CALEDFWLCH 10 CALIBRE PISTOL levelled up my relationship with CODSWORTH to the point where he TOLERATES me. tf did he feel about me before??? ungrateful bowling ball. i BUILT your ass motherfu- ah hell i sound like my parents. let’s move on.

- there seems to be an entity known as  the MIRELURK QUEEN. here is a reenactment of the moment i discovered this fact:

-gAAAAAAHSONOFABITCHONTOASTSHITSHITBALLSFUCKCUNTMOTHERHELLJESUSHDICKONASTICKAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

- in a noble display of mercy i elected to let it live and went elsewhere immediately.

- i found what seems to be a ROBOT RACETRACK relatively nearby, guarded (staffed?) by RAIDERS and TRIGGERMEN.

- the name TRIGGERMEN seems really familiar but i can’t remember hearing anything specific about them. when i saw the tag pop up i thought that they were maybe an ALLIABLE FACTION, but they pretty much immediately opened fire on my ass when they saw me, so i’m assuming they’re just hostile.

- i managed to hack the ROBOTS (god i love hacking in this game) and stop their seemingly endless race around the track. i can’t seem to find a non-violent program for them that doesn’t just power them down in the middle of the track. they look kinda sad, just standing there deactivated :(. maybe if i find the (possibly late) PROFESSOR GOODFEELS i can reprogram them with a “JUST BE” mode? i’d prefer to free them entirely, but it beats being used as weapons and/or raced like greyhounds.

- joined the BROTHERHOOD OF STEEL. neither of PALADIN DANSE’s friends seems to like me. really not digging the military vibes of this thing but i’ll win them round never fear.

- broke into an ELECTRONICS STORE full of more DEACTIVATED ROBOTS. i spent like half an hour slowly sneaking around the place, paranoid that as soon as they were all between me and the door they were going to come to life and attack me. nerve wracking.

- i did end up getting attacked in the deepest basement, but instead of a ROBOT my assailant was a... LEGENDARY RADROACH? RADROACHES can be legendary?? people are telling stories about RADROACHES that they didn’t immediately kill??? i have so many questions.

- it only took one bullet though, so it wasn’t that legendary. more impressive was how it had a POISONED 10 CALIBRE PISTOL hidden under its carapace. i really wish there was a mechanic for it to have tried to use that on me, the image of a RADROACH WITH A GUN is making me giggle so hard.

- rescued a HOSTAGE, found some more O.S.H.A. VIOLATIONS. hacked a TERMINAL that only gave me 11 password options instead of 12, spent a long time scanning and rescanning the screen convinced that i’d missed one. i think that’s about the scope of what i accomplished. til next time i guess.

[rosiehunterwolf]

stuck with you (through bright and blue)

Prompts: Protective

Word Count: 4,400

Characters: The squad

Timeline: Pre-movie movie!verse

Trigger Warnings: Manipulation, Toxic Friendship

Summary: Kai only wants two things: to protect Lloyd, and to give him the best birthday ever. Unfortunately, Lloyd seems hell-bent on making that as difficult as possible. Kai’s always prided himself on achieving the impossible, but dealing with human emotions is much more complicated than beating up Garmadon’s generals or shooting enemies with fire, as he quickly learns. Movie!verse

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“Woah, it looks like a massacre in here.”

At the sound of Cole’s voice, Kai, Jay, Lloyd, and Zane looked up from the map they had sprawled out across the table. Red pen was everywhere, circling different buildings and connecting them with lines.

“We’re having trouble finding a venue for Lloyd’s party,” Zane explained.

Nya rolled her eyes. “It’s not that hard! Just pick somewhere!” She held a hand out, shaking her phone. “We have five days until his birthday. Most places require at least that many to book a reservation. If we don’t decide today, we’ll have nowhere to go.”

“We can’t just pick anywhere,” Kai insisted. “It has to be perfect!”

“Why don’t we just go to the arcade?”

“It’s always so busy there.”

“It’s a Wednesday night! How many people are going to be there?”

“Trust me,” Jay said, “It’s still busy. It always is.”

Cole peered at the map. “Why’d you cross off the movie theater? Isn’t there a new Starfarer movie Lloyd’s been wanting to see?”

Kai shook his head. “Tickets sold out in like five hours. By the time school was over and we got over there, they were all gone.”

Jay frowned, running his fingers along one of the major streets. “What’s your favorite restaurant, Lloyd?”

“A restaurant? Are you serious?” Cole laughed. “We’d get kicked out in ten minutes.”

“Why can’t we just do it at my place?” Lloyd murmured. “I don’t need anything big deal.”

Kai frowned. “Your apartment isn’t that big, Lloyd. And I don’t want to bother your mom with all the decorations and stuff.”

Lloyd shrugged, looking down. “It doesn’t need to be big.”

“If you really want something simple,” Nya said, “why don’t we just do it at the warehouse? It’ll just be us, but there’s lots of space.”

Zane nodded. “That space would suffice. We would just have to ask Master Wu.”

“That is, if you’re certain that’s what you want.” Nya looked at Lloyd closely. “You sure you don’t want to do anything else?”

Lloyd nodded.

“Positive, bud?” Kai pushed. “Because it’s your birthday. We don’t mind at all.”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd insisted, getting to his feet. “It’s just another day on the calendar. Don’t make such a big fuss.”

The ninja fell silent.

“Lloyd,” Nya murmured, “it is a big deal to us.”

“Sorry. I’m just tired. And I’ve got homework. I should go.”

“Lloyd, wait-”

The green ninja pulled away from Kai’s outstretched hand. “I’m fine, Kai. I just have to go. Call me if you need anything.”

---

When they went back to school on Monday, their teachers loaded them with assignments, and Kai didn’t have a spare minute to talk to Lloyd in their shared classes. He couldn’t even talk at lunch because Lloyd had to make up a test. He kept his eyes peeled for his friend every time he was in the hallways, but if there was one thing Lloyd was good at, it was not being seen.

At the end of the school day, Nya texted him to meet up near their lockers. He got there and found her huddled around her locker with Cole, Jay, and Zane.

Kai walked over to them. “What’s going on? Where’s Lloyd?”

“He said he’d catch up with us later, which is why now is the perfect time for party preparation,” Jay said, gesturing towards Nya, who had a fiercely determined look on her face and was tightly clutching a clipboard. “Apparently she’s been waiting her whole life for this.”

“Alright.” Nya looked up from her clipboard. “I’ve already got streamers and gift wrap at home. What about you guys?”

“I’ve got a banner ordered with his name on it,” Cole said. “And of course, the shark tablecloths-”

Jay blinked. “Sharks?”

“Yeah. He loves sharks.”

“No, no, no, you’ve got it all wrong! We’re getting the dragon ones! He loves dragons!”

“Well, yeah, duh, but he’d obviously like the shark one better.”

“Are you kidding? Sharks would remind him of his dad’s mechs!” “Yeah, well, dragons remind him of his mech, which also reminds him of fighting his dad.”

“Totally not the same, plus dragons are way cooler-”

“Okay, we’re going with the Starfarer ones, then,” Nya grumbled. “What about balloons? Who’s covering-”

“I have balloons,” Zane interrupted. “Two hundred and seventy-five of them.”

They gawked at him.

“Zane… why do you have so many balloons just lying around?” Jay asked.

“They are new! In the package! I can blow them up for Lloyd’s birthday party-”

“Shhhhh!” Four pairs of hands immediately pushed over his mouth, silencing him, even though they were the only ones in the very empty hallway.

“No one can find out,” Cole insisted. “This is Lloyd’s special day. We’re not about to let anyone ruin it.”

“Okay, so Zane’s got the balloons.” Nya ticked another item off the list. “What about the cake? I have most of the ingredients to make one at home, but I’m completely lacking the baking skills.”

Cole nodded. “I can bake a cake. What’s his favorite kind?”

“Lloyd likes that Funfetti one,” Kai murmured.

Cole’s nose wrinkled. “I’m not baking a box mix. I can get him the rainbow sprinkles, though, and make a homemade one.”

“Okay, sounds good. Jay, could you pick up some confetti before his birthday? And Zane, we need some fun paper plates.”

“Zane, you should get shark ones.”

“No, dragons!” “Zane will pick out whichever plates he likes,” Nya snapped.

“What about gifts?” Jay asked. “What are you guys getting?”

“I’m not telling you,” Nya yelped. “I have the best gift ever and I don’t want you stealing any ideas.”

“I’ve been setting aside pieces of my allowance for a month,” Cole grinned. “It’s gonna be sweet.”

Jay blinked at him expectantly, and Cole smirked. “I’m not telling you, either, blabbermouth.”

“Blabbermouth?” he yelped. “I can keep secrets perfectly fine, thank you.”

“Oh yeah? What about that time you nearly gave away all of our ninja identities?”

“Or-” Zane added, “when he and Lloyd were working on those surprise mech upgrades and he accidentally said something in front of Kai and Nya?”

“Oh, remember when he spoiled the finale of Cole’s favorite show?” Nya grinned. “Cole was pissed.”

“Okay, okay, so there were a few times,” Jay spluttered. “But those were a while ago! I have many more secrets that I have kept than I haven’t.”

Cole crossed his arms, smirking. “Name one.”

“Well, there was that one time, where I- hey!” He stopped, glaring at Cole. “You’re trying to trick me into telling you a secret!”

“And it very nearly worked. So no. You can’t know.”

Nya shrugged. “Sorry, Jay. He’s right. When you have a secret, you get nervous. And when you’re nervous, you talk. A lot. It would only be a matter of time before you spilled everything to Lloyd.”

“Fine,” Jay muttered. “Keep your secrets.”

Kai jumped slightly as Nya elbowed him, and she frowned. “You okay? You’ve been really quiet.”

Kai shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Is it just me, or… did Lloyd seem like he doesn’t really want a birthday party?”

The others went quiet.

“We’re not going to not give him a party,” Nya insisted. “You know how he gets. He never wants anyone to make a fuss.” Her brow furrowed. “It’s like he still can’t get it into his skull that we care about him.”

“I mean, of course I want to, it’s just… we can’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want.” Kai bit his lip. “It’s been a rough past few months for him. I just want him to be happy.”

“We all do,” Cole agreed. “Lloyd deserves a night just about him, for once.”

Zane frowned. “But how are we supposed to give him the party that he wants if he won’t tell us what he wants?”

“Let me try to talk to him,” Kai said. “He might open up more if it’s just one of us there.”

---

Lloyd, in fact, did not want to talk.

He was more open during their classes the next day, and held casual conversation with him, but forcefully avoided the topic of his birthday whenever Kai brought it up.

He huffed with frustration. What kind of kid didn’t want to celebrate their birthday? He wished Lloyd would just tell him what was going on.

He wasn’t going to, though, so naturally, the next best thing was to follow him.

He wouldn’t call it spying- just finding another way of obtaining information when Lloyd refused to give it himself. Besides, he was doing this to help Lloyd, not to hurt him.

Kai jerked himself out of his thoughts as Lloyd nearly slipped from his view. He gritted his teeth, refocusing on him. Lloyd wasn’t an easy person to follow, either.

When he finally caught up to him, keeping a reasonable distance, of course, Lloyd was hovering near his locker. An unfamiliar, dark-haired kid was leaning against it, laughing at something as Lloyd smiled uneasily. Kai edged closer, his frown deepening.

“Where’s the spike head? And the rest of your gang?”

“Kai?” Lloyd shifted. “I dunno. He probably had homework and stuff to do.”

The guy shrugged. “I kind of found him annoying, anyway. You realize no one could ever get to you when your friends were around, right?”

“I guess that’s… kind of the point.”

“You can’t spend your whole life letting them protect you. If you block out any person who hurts you, you block out anyone who could potentially be a friend, too.” The guy smiled in a way that made Kai wanted to chuck himself between Lloyd and the guy.

“That’s… that’s the thing. No one wants to be nice to me.”

“Spare me the sob story,” the guy rolled his eyes. “I know your dad sucks, but at least you have one.”

Lloyd flinched. “Sorry.”

The guy laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder and shoving him. “Stop being so jumpy, will ya? No wonder kids pick on you, you’re as harmless as a flea.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Lloyd blinked. “I can’t hit them back, or I’ll be in more trouble than I already am.”

“You don’t need to hit them, just show them you’re not a total coward! Maybe if you actually listen to them instead of cringing away, things might change.”

“Listen to them? Are you saying they’re right?”

“What does it matter if they’re right? Look, Lloyd, you’ve already got it hard enough as it is, and you’re making everything more difficult. You’d be so much cooler if you actually hung out with important people and not the outcast-losers you’ve stationed yourself with.”

For the first time since the conversation had started, Lloyd appeared indignant. “They’re not- I mean, you’re not-”

The guy laughed. “See? You can’t even get a word out. You’re so pathetic. You don’t even need the fact that you’re Garmadon’s son to get picked on, you already got it all set up for the torment-”

Kai wasn’t aware of himself pushing forward, he just was, and suddenly he was gripping the guy by the collar of his shirt, a pair of wide, brown eyes staring fearfully up into his.

“Who do you think you are and what the hell are you doing?”

“I… um, I…” the guy swallowed, his throat running dry.

“You treating my best friend like a piece of shit?” Kai shook him. “Are you?”

“I’m sorry!” The guy squirmed. “I didn’t really mean it, we were just joking around, he says that kind of stuff to me all the time!”

“Really? Lloyd. Says that. You sure we’re talking about the same person? Because I do not take nicely to liars.”

The guy squirmed harder. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Just please let me go, I’ll never bother you again!” Kai shot him the fiercest glare he could muster. “You better not.” He stepped back, dropping the kid, and he took off like a bullet.

Turning back to Lloyd, he saw his friend was staring at the fleeing boy with wide, disbelieving eyes, but it quickly dissipated to anger as he turned to Kai. “What the heck did you do that for?”

Kai’s eyes widened. “I was protecting you? From a bully?” Lloyd’s eyes flashed, and Kai actually took a step back. “I don’t need you to protect me! I can fight my own battles!”

Before Kai could even say anything, Lloyd was storming down the hallway and disappearing around the corner.

Kai just stood there for a moment, in shock. What was that all about? Hadn’t he done the same thing for Lloyd a dozen times? Why would defending him ever be bad?

A buzz in his pocket interrupted his thoughts. Kai pulled out his phone to see a new message in the chat from his sister.

irondragonfangirl: how r things going with lloyd

MasterofFiyaaaaa: honestly? i think i made it worse

irondragonfangirl: well u better find a way to fix it soon because his bday’s TOMORROW

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah i’ll find a way through to him

MasterofFiyaaaaa: i just hope he listens

irondragonfangirl: don’t worry

irondragonfangirl: he will

irondragonfangirl: just make sure u remember to listen to him too

irondragonfangirl: i have a feeling we haven’t been doing that enough

irondragonfangirl: i feel terrible

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah me too

MasterofFiyaaaaa: we’ll make it up to him though

MasterofFiyaaaaa: right?

irondragonfangirl: sure as long as cole doesn’t burn this cake

irondragonfangirl: seriously y did we let him bake it

irondragonfangirl: if i dont respond in the next hour just assume his house burnt down and im dead

MasterofFiyaaaaa: can i have your motorcycle if you die

irondragonfangirl: shut up

---

Kai spent an hour looking for Lloyd after their confrontation, but he couldn’t find him anywhere, and Lloyd, unsurprisingly, hadn’t answered any of the twenty-some texts Kai had sent him, either. Eventually, he had to give up looking for him and resigned to speaking to him at school tomorrow.

His birthday.

In the first class they had together, Lloyd avoided looking at him, and Kai felt an ache in his chest. Today was his birthday. He knew things weren’t going to turn out like he had imagined, but he wanted them to at least be better than this.

Swallowing back his nerves, Kai walked over to him, where he was doodling something in his notebook.

Kai cleared his throat. “Um. Lloyd?”

Lloyd looked up, an expression flashing across his face that Kai couldn’t read, but he didn’t immediately leave or turn away from him, which Kai took as a good sign.

“Happy birthday, dude.”

Lloyd smiled tentatively back. “Thanks.”

Things didn’t go immediately back to normal after that- there was still a tension between them, and Lloyd wasn’t saying much more than a couple sentences at a time, firmly avoiding the topic of the previous day- but at least it was back to a level where Kai didn’t feel absolutely horrible for ruining his day. Lunch, at least, got a smile out of him- as well as a bunch of embarrassed blushing as Nya stabbed a candle into his brownie (they couldn’t actually light it, lighters weren’t allowed on campus) and they insisted on singing to him so off-key that Cole looked like he wanted to punch them.

When the last bell finally rang, Kai headed over to Lloyd’s locker, hoping they could talk now that there weren’t other kids around, but he wasn’t there.

Kai relented, pulling out his phone.

MasterofFiyaaaaa: Lloyd? i know youre upset but can we plz talk?

He held his breath, staring at the screen intensely, as if that would make Lloyd respond.

While he was waiting, a message from a group chat popped up.

irondragonfangirl: what’s taking so long jay, we need those decorations

jaybird123: eta 5 mins

jaybird123: i literally just left class how’d you get there so fast

jaybird123: wait you didn’t use the tunnels did you

irondragonfangirl: no me and cole are bringing the CAKE remember?

irondragonfangirl: im not taking that through the tunnel

irondragonfangirl: we didnt spend 3 hrs on that for it to get squished

irondragonfangirl: i told the nurse i wasn’t feeling well so i could go home early

irondragonfangirl: why didnt YOU take them

jaybird123: i couldn’t exactly discreetly smuggle all these decorations into my locker

jaybird123: mmm cake. is it good?

irondragonfangirl: don’t even THINK about it, that’s not until Lloyd gets here

jaybird123: but im hungryyyy

jaybird123: do i need to pick up anything for dinner?

rock’n’cole: nah it’s cool, we just found out lloyd’s favorite chinese restaurant, the Bamboo Dragon, delivers so we’re gonna order from there

jaybird123: my mouth is watering already

ZaneJulien:0xD;): Jay, you shouldn’t text while driving.

jaybird123: tell nya to get off my case then!

irondragonfangirl: exCUSE me zane you are supposed to be putting up those balloons right now why are YOU on your phone

ZaneJulien:0xD;): Why are you texting me? We are in the same room.

irondragonfangirl: why are YOU texting ME

rock’n’cole: would you guys just stop being dumb and come help me

irondragonfangirl: great now you got cole in on it too

rock’n’cole: would you two just GET OFF YOUR PHONES

Kai was interrupted from whatever turn the conversation was going to take next when he finally got another notification.

thegreendragon: ok. you know where i’ll be

Kai blinked, turning towards the doors and pushing through them, walking out onto the school lawn. The main feature was the football stadium, although there were other things as well- large trees, garden patches for the science classes, picnic tables for eating lunch outside, if the weather permitted. And- although the students were too old for recess, now- there was still a small swing set- a simple, rusty thing, with only two swings, but it served its purpose. Sitting on one of them, gently rocking, was Lloyd.

Kai made his way over, sitting down beside him in the other swing.

“So, uh… can we talk? About yesterday?”

Lloyd nodded, and Kai titled his head at him, trying to gauge his thoughts. “Who was that kid?”

Lloyd breathed out slowly. “His name is Brad. He was my best- and only- friend in elementary school, but we were separated when I moved away. Brad’s family just recently moved to Ninjago City, and I… I was hoping to reconnect with him.”

Kai ignored the twinge of jealousy at the words “best friends.” Lloyd was allowed to have other people than him in his life, and things had obviously changed since then, anyway.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, but from what I saw… Brad was being a jerk to you.”

Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I… he’s changed since we were kids. The efforts at rekindling our friendship honestly aren’t going so well. That’s… that’s why I was in a bad mood. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You were only trying to do something nice for me.” “Don’t worry about me. But this Brad kid… anyone who treats you like that doesn’t deserve to be your friend.”

“I know, I just…” Lloyd sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I was so eager to make a friend other than you guys…” His eyes widened as he processed his own words. “Not there’s anything wrong with you guys, it’s just- I just wanted to actually earn someone who wasn’t friends with me because of a shared occupation.”

Kai elbowed him. “Hey. This whole ninja thing may be what got us introduced to each other, but we’re not friends with you because you’re one of the ninja. We’re your friends because we love you as a person. As Lloyd, not the green ninja.”

Lloyd sniffed, giving him a soft smile. “Thanks, Kai. I’m glad I have you to protect me.”

“You don’t need protection, but you’re stuck with me as a best friend, so you’re going to get it, anyway.”

Lloyd laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His phone buzzed, and he quickly checked it.

irondragonfangirl: the party’s all set up, now the only thing missing is lloyd. did you get to talk to him?

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah, we’re cool now. on our way

Kai turned back to Lloyd. “C’mon, green machine. Let’s go enjoy your birthday.”

Lloyd blinked at him. “Huh?”

“Your party, remember? The one Nya and the guys have spent the whole week planning? Or is there some other celebration I don’t know about?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No, no, it’s just- I thought I messed it all up.”

“Don’t worry, we got it under control.”

“Really?”

“This is our teammates you’re talking about! Stubborn as mules. They’re not giving up on you that easily.”

“I… thank you. Thank you guys.”

“You can tell them yourself. We’re going to this party, and we’re going to have fun!”

---

Kai had to admit, he was impressed with what the others had been able to pull off in such a short amount of time.

It was nothing huge or extravagant, but it was a nice little party, and Lloyd seemed to like it better like that, anyway.

They were barely through the doors of the warehouse when Jay was launching himself into Lloyd’s arms, pulling him into a tight hug, the others close behind.

“Happy birthday!” they cheered.

Lloyd hugged them back, laughing. “Thanks, guys, I didn’t- I didn’t expect all this!”

“Are you kidding?” Nya put her hands on her hips, grinning. “We’re pulling out all the stops for our baby bro.”

Lloyd’s smile briefly flickered to a scowl. “I’m not a baby.”

“To us, you always will be,” Kai said, slinging an arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair. Lloyd squirmed away, although he was unable to hide the grin on his face.

“Wow, this place really looks different.” Lloyd gazed around at the warehouse with wide eyes. They had pushed aside training equipment to make room for tables and chairs, and green and gold streamers decorated the walls, adorned by multicolored balloons. Someone had plugged a gaming console into the TV, as well as a DVD player next to a box of DVDs- which must’ve been Jay’s, he was the only person Kai knew, apart from Master Wu, who even had DVDs anymore- because Kai still hadn’t been able to convince Master Wu to buy them Netflix on the warehouse’s TV, getting the TV there in the first place had been hard enough as it was. On the far end was a buffet table, filled with rice, chicken, dumplings, and other Chinese staples from the Bamboo Dragon- as well as a beautiful, heavily frosted cake in the center of it all. It was decorated with rainbow sprinkles, making it completely and uniquely Lloyd.

Lloyd’s eyes were on the cake too, his eyes wide. “Cole! It looks amazing! I never knew you were so good at making cakes!”

Cole shrugged, trying to hide his smile. “I’ve had some experience.”

“Hey! What makes you think Cole made it?” Nya sniffed.

Cole blinked. “I did.”

“Well, I helped.”

Cole snorted. “Don’t know if you could call it that. From my point of view, it seems like I was doing most of the work while you were busy texting your boo.”

Both Nya and Jay turned scarlet.

“I was not,” Nya spluttered. “I was making preparations for Lloyd’s party!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you have to tell yourself.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions too hastily,” Jay said, turning to walk over to the cake. “The true judge of quality will be how good it tastes.”

Nya stuck an arm in front of him. “Not so fast, mister! Dinner first.”

After laughing, playing games, and eating, they insisted on opening presents. Lloyd was all smiles and gratitude with each one, which ended up sparking a debate between the others about whose gift he liked best.

“He totally loved my gift!” “Nuh-uh! Did you see the way he smiled a little differently on mine?”

“Jay, you literally gave him a book. Why would he be excited about that?”

“Not just any book! A first edition Starfarer collector’s comic from when my parents were kids, and in mint condition, too!”

“Why would you want some dusty old comic when you could have the newest Starfarer video game?” Kai argued. “It took forever for me to find one of these, they were sold out everywhere.”

“Starfarer this, Starfarer that,” Cole sighed. “I don’t understand how he could possibly need any more Starfarer things. The record I engraved for him is way more personable and unique.”

“You guys are thinking about this all wrong! You should’ve gotten him a katana like me, something that he actually needs and uses.”

“Statistically, Lloyd spends more time drawing than any other hobby,” Zane said. “Which means my gift of an art book and new set of pencils is logically the best fit.”

“Clearly you guys all have it wrong in the head-”

“Guys, relax,” Lloyd laughed. “I loved all your gifts equally.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Jay… it means exactly what you think it means.”

“You can’t even pick one gift?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No way. These are all amazing. Thank you, guys. Really.” His gaze met Kai’s for a long beat. “For everything.”

“Of course. But, just to make things clear, you did like mine the most, right? You’re just saying you liked them equally, so that you didn’t make the others feel bad?”

Lloyd smacked his forehead as the others burst into protest again, and Kai shot him a sharp-edged grin. “I can do this all night.”

Eventually, Lloyd got them to stop bickering- the mention of cake got them all quiet pretty quickly- and after divvying it up, they went over to the couch and played the video game Kai had gotten him. He quickly lost track of time, but time didn’t matter. Even if it meant they would be tired for school the next day, seeing Lloyd like this- half sprawled over his teammates, brow scrunched in concentration as he mashed buttons on his controller, hints of frosting on his lips as he tried and failed miserably to bite back his laughter- it was worth it. He looked happier than Kai had seen him in weeks.

For that, he could even contain himself from bragging about how Lloyd obviously liked his gift best.