#i have zoomed in and i THINK he's got orange eyes but the pixels are defeating me

[egophiliac]

time for skeleman

with the lack of any other info yet, all I can focus on are those Charles Lloyd-looking sunglasses. they are absolutely sending me. I feel like we're gonna fall through a tree or whatever and this stitched-up boney gentleman is gonna pop out from behind a gravestone and start serenading us with some smooth jazz on the saxophone.

or should I say...the saxoBONE???????

[pumpkinpot]

Hoshi

A/N: this is part of the Citrus Dome Sci-Fi collab. this is also pure fluff. no smut, no real angst. just spooky summer vibes and poly love. I hope you enjoy. (I’m sorry for grammatical errors in advance.)

synopsis: since beginning your relationship with Katsuki Bakugou and Ochako Uraraka you’ve developed a love for exploring abandon places with them whenever you three have time to explore. This time, so happens to land on a derelict observatory. (additional head canons for this story on my tik tok under pumpkinpots)

“It says here it was abandoned in the mid-nineteenth century due to the spike in light pollution with the growth of the city,” you say, pointing to the dome at the peak of the building. “All of the mobile telescopes were transferred to the university's observatory, while this placed rotted away.

Uraraka half listens, levitating sheetrock from the doorway and discarding them in the nearby field.

“Why just abandon it?” Katsuki asks, fiddling with varying lenses in his camera bag. “Couldn’t this have been a museum or something?”

“Yeah,” you agree, shifting a glance to make sure Uraraka doesn’t need help. “It looks like it was bought by a merchant in the eighties who wanted to turn it into a house, but he was indicted for tax evasion before the renovations ever finished. It hasn’t been touched since.” 

He scoffs with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Rich idiots.”

Uraraka brushes specks of dust off her palms across her cut-off shorts before urging us alone. “Shall we?” 

It takes two and a half pushes to nudge the door wide enough to squeeze through. The observatory opens to us with a groan of whining metal and the scratch of loose dirt on concrete. 

Centered in the main foyer, a gaping mural of blue and white cobblestone depicts a dusty map of astrology stars. 

Katsuki has to be coaxed with a promise to be flashed to pose under the Taurus constellation for a picture, meanwhile, Uraraka floats just above Pisces with a cute puffy cheeked expression. 

Names, small sayings, and symbols decorate the wall in vibrant graffiti, the place a cocktail of color and wild Ivy.

"It's a lot more lit than I thought I'd be," Uraraka says, stuffing her flashlight into her bag. 

Katuski keeps the light attached to his camera lit as he weaves in and out of rooms, zooming in on old books and broken equipment. 

We follow him through a puzzle of what seemed to be living quarters and small classrooms, ending in a half oval auditorium. 

At the center of the stage a white globe balances on a pillar of cement. 

“What’s this?” Uraraka asks. 

You touch where someone had attempted to derail the sphere like a baseball before trailing your eyes above the layered seating. “It's a projector ball. Technicians would likely project light from there into the ball to make it seem like the planet or star they were studying. That's why it's,” you knock on the sphere's cool solid surface. “Crystal.”

Uraraka shines her phone’s light into it, the shattered pieces reflecting shapes in a dim glow.

Katsuki points the camera into the orb, the bluish tint reminds you of the similar one in the abandoned lighthouse you’d explored with them two years ago. Though that one would have lit from the inside. 

Quickly you explore the base and second levels, eager to get to the actual observatory. It's evident where the renovations to make this a home had been started and never finished. Small cracks in the floor, sealed with caulk, loose wooden planks pillaring knocked in walls. 

It could have been a beautiful home, you think to yourself. 

Up the second flight of stairs gradually more and more light fills the space until you are bathed in the orange glow of early dusk. A large open scare slits the dome, edging with rust and ivy. The circular room holds nothing of true value, nothing left behind but broken tables and a ladder to the viewing balcony tailing the opening of the dome. 

“The big telescope that would have been here-” Uraraka says, fiddling with the screw holes in the floor, “- would have been a refracting telescope. It uses small bits of glass to magnify what you’re looking at, then is bent back through the telescope hitting the eyepiece. The other kind is a reflector,” she continues, “It's got a primary mirror at the bottom of the lens into a second mirror than a third eyepiece mirror. This one is mostly used to see the different parts of a star to see what it's made out of.”

Katsuki and you exchange looks of pure astonishment. "how do you know all this?" you ask.

She fishes a gum wrapper from one of the holes, tossing it to the side. “Before I was accepted into UA I was really considering going into astronomy. I thought it fit so well with my quirk, but the courses were too expensive.” 

"More expensive than UA?" Katuski asks, refocusing his camera. 

She nods, seeming just as dumbfounded as us. 

“Do you think it could work on my explosions?”

“If you were in space maybe,” you hypothesize, “but in that case, we probably wouldn’t see it for a long while.” 

He seems semi disappointed as if his evening plans had been somehow derailed.

You run your hands across the walls of the dome, dusk sun baking its metal frame like a soup pot. 

For a moment you just watch them. It’d been so long since the opportunity arose for the three of you to go exploring. With you still temporarily stationed in the American hero commission and those two workings in Japan it was rare to find time to skype let alone go on adventures. You were lost in the bliss of having your partners so near without having to scream about a lost wifi connection when your hand hit something protruding from the wall.

“What are these?” you ask, inspecting circular gears attached to a crank.

“It looks like the wheel to turn the dome,” Uraraka says.

Katsuki zooms in on the puzzle of rigid plates. “This bitch turns?” 

“Yeah, that slit doesn't move so the dome has to, to accommodate where in the sky they were looking.” 

Katsuki fingers the gears a moment, mapping its track all across the sphere. He traces along the parts not layered in rust until he’s back at the start. “Do you think it still works?” 

“Not without some serious lube and strong arms.”

“We’re one for two,” you suggest. 

Katsuki hands over his camera to Uraraka, positioning himself opposite you to push the lever, while you pull left.

At first, the dial stays put, its stance unforgiving, but after a bit more pull than push a deafening whine reverberating through the entire observatory. 

No visible move happens until the second crank roundabout when the shift of light against concrete becomes clear.

Katsuki’s eyes light with sheer amazement as the entire dome rotates around you. We are halfway through a full rotation before Uraraka shouts for you to stop. 

You push on the lever stilling its movements as quickly as you can.

She holds a finger head tilted to the side. “Do you hear that?” 

Your breath balloons in your chest as you lean in closer. The tiniest of whimpers echo around the dome from the viewing balcony. 

One after another you file up the ladder, hopping on the edge of the dome. Balancing on the concrete crease between the moving track and the rest of the building you search for the sound. 

“Here!” Uraraka yells from the other side.

 You sprint as much as you dare, teetering along the two-story edge. 

She squats over the body of a squirming animal, a tuft of fur caught in the track of the dome's rotation. She coddles its little frame, before reaching a hand out to you. “Y/n, your knife-”

Hesitantly you hand it over. She snips away the stuck pieces muttering thanks that none of the actual tail got caught. She folds the blade back into itself, pinching leaves and sticks from the animal's fur and tossing them over the side. 

She holds it up, floppy ears and a black nose making it a nearly recognizable creature. A puppy. 

He looks to be light brown, but that could be the soot. 

Katsuki checks around the dome for any signs of a litter or mamma, before joining us with a shake of his head. 

The pup squirms and with an open mouth, letting all sorts of noises tumble from his dirt-covered tongue. 

Uraraka floats the puppy to the floor of the dome, as we file down the ladder. You empty the contents of your water bottle into a cup for drinking and the rest onto its back for cooling.  

His fur peaks through white and brown spotted under layers of grime. 

“Well,” Uraraka says, “we’ve been talking about wanting to expand our family.” 

“I suppose there’s no better place to start,” you add, both of us looking to Katsuki for consensus.

He passes glances between the three of us. “Fine, but I get to name it.”

“Alright, but we get veto power.” 

“Explosion-”

“Veto,” you say in unison. 

He looks around puffy-lipped. “I didn't even get to finish.” 

“Explosion nothing,” Uraraka clarifies. 

He’s silent for a long moment looking around the space. “Hoshi?.” 

“Star?” you confirm.

“This observatory was used to study the stars, wasn’t it?” He bats.

You and Uraraka exchange a satisfied, yet surprised look. You hadn’t expected something so- normal. This is after all the same man that made you name your golden pothos “boom boom boi” in his honor. 

“I like it,” you say.

“Approved,” adds Uraraka. 

We better take our picture before it gets too dark,” he says, turning away so you can’t see the blush on his cheeks. He switches out his filming camera for a smaller polaroid, propping it up on the edge of a broken table. 

He runs back as the timer ticks down. He slides to your right side, Uraraka on your left. Their arms link behind you as you hold Hoshi up to your mid-chest. Clicking down from five you all give your cheesiest grins. A rectangular card spits from the bottom of the camera. 

Ochaco shakes it a few times, swapping you a picture, for a puppy. 

You wait for the picture to pixelate before opening the ninety-cent notebook of film slips and position it in the next available spot.

Urarka’s cut-off shorts and Katsuki's tanned shoulders are a stark contrast to the puffy blue coat and chunky knit beanie from the last abandoned mansion expedition last time. Before that, the three of us accidentally matched our windbreakers to Midoryia during a tour of The Ghost Candy Shop in Kyoto. We look like a group of tourists. 

The small book seemed to be filling quickly despite the rareness of time to get away. Memories pile up from when it was just Uraraka and Katsuki to when you became a staple to their adventures. They’d given you responsibility for the book to garner your importance to them in their relationship until the reasoning for the gift became nothing more than routine. You were theirs, and they were yours. 

Now a new member had sprouted in your little family, and if you squinted, you could imagine the rest of the pages being filled with the pup in aged years to maybe more as time goes on.

 Right now, you were happy with the three and a half of you.

[hankwritten]

No Thru Traffic

Gen, 1k

Part of the DontNeedADiscord Pride Week, Day 6: Parade

“I’m really sorry Administrator,” I coughed into my tissue. “It really is- achoo-! It really is that bad. But at least it came after I got all that work done yesterday, right?”

The slightly pixelated Administrator on the other end of the Zoom call did not chime in in agreement. She narrowed her eyes, and I swallowed, hoping the sweat beading down the side of my face added to the charade.

After several tense seconds, the Administrator said, “very well. But I expect you early tomorrow morning to make up for the lost contracts.”

“Oh d-definitely,” I sniffed. “I’m sure it’ll be c-cleared up by tomorrow,”

“It better be. Administrator out.”

Her face hung frozen for a half second before the call dropped, replaced by a black void on my screen. I cautiously closed the webcam cover, just in case.

Then, I flew into a frenzy, wiping off the makeup I’d used put fake bags under the eyes. From my nose I removed two stubs of tissue, and took in a glorious breath now that I was freed from stuffy-nostrils. The sweat was real though. I’d never lied to the Administrator before, never to her face, and the sudden adrenaline as I realized what I’d just pulled off threatened to jitter me out of my skin.

“Yes!” I said, punching the air. “Ha! I did it!”

The exultation was short lived, as my head whipped to where my laptop was still sitting open. The call was over but…better be extra safe and power that off before I go.

I changed out of the grubby, sick-girl pajamas, and went to my closet. Habitually, my hand went to one of my numerous purple tops, but stopped just short of the hanger. Was this what I was going to wear, today of all days? Same boring work clothes I did for the other three hundred sixty-four days a year? I drew my hand back and frowned.

Screw it. Who knew when the next time I’d work up the nerve to do this again?

I began shoving hangers aside, heavy with their deep whooshing as I sorted through dozens and dozens of painfully similar button downs. Sometimes there was even a dress! How original! So I just kept searching and searching until-

There! Right at the back: an orange Hawaiian shirt I’d worn exactly once, back when I’d been forced to take my government mandated vacation. I pulled it on with gusto.

The tangles came free from my hair—I hadn’t brushed it yet that morning in order to give it that “sickly” look—and then I was in front of the bathroom mirror. Biting my lip, I looked down at the facepaints I’d bought on an impulse, thinking at the time I could paint little flags on my cheeks, but now that the time was upon me I wondered if it was too much. Already I was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, how much more wild was I willing to get?

But, well, since I’d already bought them…

Fifteen minutes later, I examined myself in the mirror again, and gave a relieved sigh. Hadn’t managed to smudge a thing!

Sensible shoes, my bus pass, and then I was off.

The parade was vibrant, so much better in person instead of looking at YouTube clips later and sighing wistfully. My first day off to coincide with it ever, and all I’d had to do was a little office subterfuge. Now, as long as I didn’t end up in any photos, no one would know I’d been here at all! Everything was going to be absolutely-

“-Oof, entschuldigung, I did not see you there.” The man who’d just bumped into me adjusted his glasses. “Miss Pauling?”

“Medic?” I gaped. “What are you doing here?”

“I am here for the parade of course,” he said, gesturing around. He was dressed for it, his usual vest replaced with one of horizontal rainbow stripes. “As are you, I assume.”

“Yes but,” I stumbled over my words. “What about work?”

“Ah, the Voice? I simply told her I was sick.”

I felt my spirits sink. “Did you now.” I rubbed my face, only remembering to avoid the facepaint at the last second. “It’s fine. Great to see you actually. As long as no one else recognizes us I’m sure we’re-”

“Doktor! Miss Pauling!”

“Aw jeez.”

Pushing through the crowd to greet them was the Heavy Weapons Guy—even worse, Engie appeared to be tagging along behind him, discussing a brochure with a unicorn-costume clad Pyro.

“Did not expect to see you here,” Heavy said as he made it to our side of the street. “Thought little Pauling must work.”

“Could say the same to you guys!” I said, irritation creeping into my voice. “Don’t tell me you all just played hookey together?”

“Naw,” Engie replied. “Didn’t know any of these fellers were coming until we all ran into each other.”

“This is bad,” I began to titter. “If we’re here, then who’s at the office?”

“…Is this a bad time to tell you that Demo ‘n Soldier are coming at us from down the street?”

I whipped around. Sure enough, there they were: Soldier with rainbow-striped American flag tied around his shoulders, and Demo with his afro dyed a deep commitment to purple.

“Ahhhhh!” I couldn’t help but let out. “Why did you all have to skip work at the same time as me?”

“We all wanted to come to the parade, lass.” Then, noting my distress, Demo added with a wink, “don’t fret! The old woman won’t know a thing. Currently, I’m home in bed with the measles.”

“The measles,” I deadpanned. I turned to our now rather obstructing group. “And what did the rest of you say?”

“Gingivitis,” Soldier offered.

“Chicken pox.”

“Halitosis.”

“Cat Scratch Fever,” Scout said, taking a bite from a hot dog.

“Scout!” I demanded. “When did you get here?”

He shrugged. “Don’t blame me, I was just following Spy, seeing why he was sneaking around and crap.”

“And I told you,” Spy’s voice replied, “that I was merely following the bushman and seeing what he was up to.”

“Wankers.”

Maybe I should just stop turning around. Then my coworkers would have to stop randomly appearing behind me, right?

“That’s literally everyone,” I berated them all. This time, when I rubbed my palms under my glasses, I did end up smudging the paint, streaks of white and pink running up my cheeks. “Uhg, we’re so screwed. What is the Administrator going to think when she walks in to the office and sees-”

“Absolutely no one?”

Okay. It looked like I’d have to turn around in a horrified manner one more time.

The Administrator parted the crowd around her, not the least because her shoulder pads threatened to stab anyone who got too close. Everyone shrank before her, except for Heavy maybe because I don’t think he has it in him to shrink before anyone.

“Helen,” I started, then cleared my throat. “I guess you uh…took a guess where we all went huh?”

“That I did.” She blinked down at her employees. “I must say I am disappointed. Of course, I expect something like this from these idiots, but from you Miss Pauling? Couldn’t even engineer a decent structural emergency in order to justify shirking your work. At the very least you could have flooded the building, or released feral opossums into the ventilation.”

“HEY NOW,” Soldier barked from the back of the group. “Have you been reading my itinerary? Because it very clearly says SOLDIER’S DAY PLANNER, DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE SOLDIER OTHERWISE I WILL KILL YOU!”

“…Are you saying you wanted me to fabricate an emergency?” I asked, perplexed.

“It would at least have been more convincing than nine separate emails from my employees, all claiming different maladies. One of which was,” she looked at her phone, “‘A Case of the Mondays’.”

“It is actually proven that worker productivity is up to thirty-three percent lower at the beginning of the week,” Medic justified.

The Administrator stared at him. “It’s Thursday.”

“Alright, alright,” Engineer butt in. “I think we can all agree that we may have messed up a little. Told a few harmless lies about medical issues we may or may not have. But that ain’t exclusive to Miss P here! We all’ve been lying ‘round here, and it ain’t fair to single her out.”

“The laborer is right,” Spy agreed. “The blame should fall on all of us.”

One by one, to my amazement, the others spoke up, or nodded in agreement. When I glanced up at the Administrator again, she had an eyebrow raised, as though I had somehow orchestrated this as well.

“I could instruct you all to return to work, you know,” she said. “It is only fair that your recrimination should begin there. However…”

“You showed up, saw how sick it was, and decided you’re going to hang out and eat hot dogs with us instead?” Scout asked.

She glared at him. “I still have work that must be done before the end of the day. But, it appears Miss Pauling has tripled her workload in the week leading up to today, she has effectively removed any urgency from the rest of your duties. Thanks to her foresight, you are technically not needed at the office today.”

“Aih! Way to go lassie!” Demo said, squeezing me around the shoulders until only my toes were on the ground. Similar congratulations were offered, everyone getting in a pat on the back.

“You inspire great loyalty, Miss Pauling,” she said. “But do not let this happen again.” With that she turned, and disappeared into the revelry.

“Wow,” I said. “I think I’m going to have a heart attack now.”

“Have one when the parade is over!” Soldier demanded. “Look! Floats!”

There certainly were floats. As the chatter died down, and everyone celebrated their good luck, I was left standing among my friends with a new appreciation, these people who’d stuck by me when it’d counted. They were a bit of a colorful bunch but, hey, who better to celebrate pride with than them?

[mars-the-4th-planet]

Mr. Box and Isaac Stroganoff play another game even though its been so long since either made a game review that the game review community forgot who they were.

"What are we playing today?" Isaac Stroganoff said as he put his umbrella down in the corner even though the window showed it was a sunny day out. He untucked his pants, unzipped his fly, and sat by his American counterpart: misterjukebox8

"I have several questions, but for the sake of time I will just say we are playing a game you might enjoy: Yuri Gagarin Goes To The Beach. A commissioned title made in 1999 by an unknown publisher by the name of Kozakh Studios. I could not find any information on them online except a website that was entirely in Russian. Which is why I invited you to this review despite how harsh you were last time, because you might actually like this game. Its Russian!" Jukebox explained.

Isaac Stroganoff did a Russian gesture of sort of apologizing. "Yes, well, last time I played games with you I neglected to get comfortable and I may have roasted you many as a result. Was pretty funny. But now I have taken the time to settle in, I hope we can make many good video together."

Jukebox grinned, it looked like it would be a normal video for once. Just a nice, relaxing game review with no one roasting him or attacking him or breaking into government facilities.

He brushed off the old cartridge and stuck it into his "Oh hi Mark" plug-n-play console that according to a reddit post was the only console that the game was compatible with besides the Super Nintendo, which he also had but Jukebox was trying to seem less like a Nintendo fanboy.

"I did not hit her, it is not true, I did not! Oh hi Mark" the console beeped as it started up, then the loading screen appeared and it was Yuri Gagarin the rocket girl flying in a circle around the communist symbol.

Isaac Stroganoff frowned. "Jukebox, my friend, are you implying that I must like communism because I am Russian? If so, I kick many ass. Mostly yours. I will break spleens like lumberjack splitting watermelons."

"Not spleens, she is my favorite cat in the Sims..." Jukebox joked, and added "Oh and of course I am not trying to generalize you like that Isaac... Totally... I know Russians arent all the same!"

He then winked at the camera, out of Straganoffs view.

Isaac Stroganoff smiled. "Yes, good. Let us play game then, it is done with the load."

They had three options on a title screen with Yuri Gagarin smiling and whooshing back and forth in a space background with old fashioned SNES era graphics.

>New game

>Options

>Quick play

A forth option, >Continue, was also on screen but greyed out and could not be selected.

"Weird how there is no quit option." Jukebox noted.

"Quitting is for baby Europeans, not mighty Russian hordes." Isaac said snatching the controller and smashing his thumb down on "quick play"

A side scrolling stage opened up with Yuri Gagarin as the playable character. She could go in any direction since she could fly, but appeared somewhat agitated based on the pixel art. The background appeared to be a broken down industrial site with a brown and grey pallette. Jukebox shrugged. "I mean I kinda expected a bit more beach stuff out of a game called-"

"Jukebox. Please. The goal of the game is obviously to get Yuri Gagarin to the beach, dont be an American simpleton."

"But im American I cant help it!" Jukebox joked. "Hey look money!"

In the game there were alternating pillars of yellow dollar signs that spun like Mario coins or sonic rings. There was a counter at the top showing the dollar sign and a 0 next to it. There was also a high score counter which was also zero. However, Isaac Stroganoff avoided the dollar signs.

"Do you actually know how to play games Isaac, after all the times you teased me in the world of tanks video?"

"Fool. You do not grab dollar when playing communist."

"Right. Yeah those are probably hazards."

Then they saw a pulsating Stalin face, which Isaac Stroganoff swerved Yuri to grab. Their high score points went up to 1956. Apon grabbing another one, it proceeded to double to 3912.

"Oh so to get points you have to get the pulsating stalins... Makes sense, that is perfectly logical." Jukebox said with a shrug. "I never want to say that sentence again though."

"Have you noticed how wide of a behind Yuri Gagarin has in this game?" Trolli asked, poking his head from behind the couch.

"Ahh! How long were you back there??"

"Silly orange haired man has come to join us. Great, I shall enter coma and wake up when he is gone."

Yuri Gagarin in the game seemed to be flying slower now and looked more agitated, with cartoony sweat drops coming out of her head. This was probably because of the increased number of dollar signs, and what appeared to be rocket girl parts strewn around on the ground on the stage. Isaac Stroganoff just thought this made the game easier however, and continued gathering Stalin faces and getting points.

"Besides her bottom half is a rocket so it has to be big enough to carry her weight."

"Well, is not entirely inaccurate game. Russian women have much large and supple rear end. American women? Nothing. No boob, no ass, just cuteness. Good in their own way? Perhaps. If you are fool and a dog." Isaac pointed out. Jukebox scratched his head nervously "Erm... Dont get us demonitized Stroganoff... We just got this channel unsuspended after the truth or dare with ko video collab. Speaking of which what do you think of ko? Shes American but I find her beautiful."

Trolli and Stroganoff looked over at Ko from the Ko Sho, who was doing the BNHA dance after having spilled water on herself like a dork. Their eyes turned to hearts and "PERFECT!" flashed across the screen like it was a music game. Except zoomed in on Ko of course.

It was almost as if her boyfriend wrote the script for the Isaac Munger show with how attractive she was to all the characters.

Ko then started putting on cosplay and the boys went back to being boys, unpaused the game and continued.

"You know, overall, this is not such a bad game. I was expecting worse but it seems like just an old timey thematic flappy birds and you know what? I can get behind that." Jukebox admitted. "So can I play?"

Isaac Stroganoff handed him the remote. "Yes, time to get the money!" He said as the background started looking more like a beach. He darted Yuri Gagarin towards a column of dollar signs, and immediately apon touching them he was jumped by a screamer and a graphic depiction of the Russian Rocket Woman being dismantled for her capitalist sympathies. Jukebox jolted back and covered his eyes with a yelp and trolli disappeared back behind the couch while Isaac Stroganoff just looked annoyed. "We were so close to winning the quick game!!" He grumbled loudly. The lavender town music started playing about then. Jukebox, shuddering slightly, turned the power off. "Thank you for watching the Isaac Munger show everyone but we will be continuing this game when the sun is up. Or maybe not. Goodbye and thank you all for a wonderful time!"

"But is already day time outside--no wait, it is night now? Strange."

Jukebox nervously blew a kiss at the screen like usual, and called for ko to come hug him. Isaac Stroganoff looked confused. "Why is the Pokémon song still going?" He asked. "Probably just a bug... I hope." Jukebox replied, holding ko for comfort. "Nah Spookbox is probably gonna come kill us lol." Ko joked.

[n-chu4ever]

Superhero Control

Based on @majorxsportyxboy ‘s brilliant post (which I don't know how to link to, but search up the word ‘pound’ (as in animal pound) and it comes up pretty nicely.

We open on an exterior shot of SPORTACUS’ AIRSHIP. The music swells as per usual, and we cut to inside the airship, where SPORTACUS is practicing flips. Suddenly, we cut to a shot of his CRYSTAL going off, and then back to SPORTACUS looking down at his crystal, before he says—

SPORTACUS: Someone’s in trouble! Door!

We cut to a shot of the airship door opening; SPORTACUS runs out onto the airship door and pulls out his telescope. He looks through the telescope, and we see a view of the LAZYTOWN KITTEN. It is, once again, stuck in a tree. SPORTACUS shakes his head fondly with a smile before leaping from the airship. His backpack becomes the GLIDER, and he flies towards LazyTown. We see the shot of him flipping down to the ground, the glider compartmentalising as he runs towards the tree where the KITTEN is stuck. It meows pitifully as SPORTACUS reaches the tree and leaps up into it. He grabs the tree branch and carefully picks up the KITTEN before hopping down. We see a character we’ve never seen before run up. His name is JIVES; he is another human actor. He is a young adult. SPORTACUS has met him at some stage.

JIVES: Yo! You found my kitten!

SPORTACUS’ eyes widen in response.

SPORTACUS: This is your kitten, Jives? I’ve rescued it so many times!

JIVES: Yes. I usually let her out, because I’m often busy with college! This is Julie! 

SPORTACUS: Hello Julie! You really ought to be more careful next time! Perhaps you should get her a collar.

JIVES: She keeps losing it. I think she’s too small for it. I got her microchipped, though, so I’m not too worried. Yo, thanks for saving her! I’ve got to keep studying!

SPORTACUS: Bye Jives! Try and take a break today!

JIVES: I’ll try! [He disappears off-screen with Julie]

SPORTACUS shakes his head fondly again before turning to the camera.

SPORTACUS: It’s always a good thing to have your pets collared and microchipped! You never know what might happen to them! [He does one of his small laughs]

We cut to the LazyTown opening. After it finishes, a title card pops up, and STEPHANIE’S voice reads—

STEPHANIE: Superhero Control!

We zoom in over to the playground. The KIDS are all there. STEPHANIE is sitting on a bench. TRIXIE is sitting to her right. PIXEL and ZIGGY are sitting on the ground in front of the two girls. STINGY is holding PIGGY, and is sitting at the metaphorical head of the table. STINGY declares—

STINGY: There’s nothing better than my Piggy! [He strokes PIGGY possessively]

PIXEL: Are you sure about that, Stingy? I think a real pet would be really neat!

TRIXIE: Yeah! Who wants a porcelain piggybank when you can have a real pig?

STEPHANIE: I don’t think that would be a good idea. Real pigs can get really big! Like, as big as your car, Stingy!

[They all gasp in horror; this is news to them.]

ZIGGY: Wait, how do you know about that?

STEPHANIE: My grandpa ran a farm. Sometimes mom and dad would take me to visit, and the pigs towered over me! It was terrifying! Here’s a picture! [She pulls out an older diary – this one is faded – and shows a picture of what appears to be four-year-old Stephanie standing next to a pig.] That smile is forced!

TRIXIE: Aren’t there micropigs?

PIXEL: There are, but I think other pets would probably suit LazyTown better. Where would we even keep even a micropig? I doubt you have a pen at your house, Stingy.

STINGY: No, I don’t…

ZIGGY: Where do we buy pets? Maybe we can go take a look!

TRIXIE: Either the pet store or the animal shelter in the next city. That’s where Jives got his kitten.

ALL: Who’s Jives?

JIVES, O.S.: YO!

The KIDS all look over to STEPHANIE’S right. We cut to a shot of JIVES approaching the group. He is carrying the KITTEN, whom we now know is named JULIE. 

STEPHANIE: Isn’t that the kitten Sportacus keeps rescuing?

ZIGGY: It is! Look! It’s got a collar now!

JIVES: Yo, kids!

ALL EXCEPT TRIXIE: Who are you?

JIVES: My name’s Jives! I live in that house over there [he points towards a thin house], and I’m usually too busy with college to come out! In fact, before I randomly encountered Sportacus at the store, I didn’t even know we had a superhero! Sportacus usually stops by to make sure I’m eating healthy, and now I’m stronger than ever! 

STEPHANIE, GIGGLING: That’s Sportacus for you! Is the kitten yours?

JIVES: Yep! I had no idea until this morning that Julie here keeps getting into trouble! So I finally got her a collar! I was taking her home from getting a collar when I heard my name being said.

TRIXIE: We were talking about pets.

STINGY: Where should I get a pet? I wanted a pig, but they are too big.

JIVES: I’d recommend getting one from the shelter in the city or from a professional breeder if it’s a dog or cat. A lot of the animals in the shelter have been there for years. I’m probably going to adopt an older cat when Julie gets older.

PIXEL: How come older pets aren’t adopted as often?

JIVES: Humans are jerks sometimes. We want tiny baby kittens and puppies that we’ll have for years. We tend to ignore the older animals. I once heard of a dog that passed waiting for an owner. It made me feel terrible.

The KIDS all nod solemnly.

JIVES: Say, why don’t I take you all there?

The KIDS all cheer, and their cheers echo down to ROBBIE ROTTEN’S LAIR. We have an exterior shot of the LAIR before we see a shot of the speakers falling down and waking up ROBBIE ROTTEN with the sound. ROBBIE immediately falls out of his orange chair and scowls at the ceiling.

ROBBIE: Why can’t those kids be lazy for once?!

He storms up to his periscope and pulls it down. The periscope pops out of the ground. Through his periscope, ROBBIE sees the KIDS talking with JIVES. 

ROBBIE: [He pauses.] Isn’t that the LazyTown mangy thing? And what ARE they talking about?

Back on the surface, JIVES is beginning to explain the concept of the pound and shelter to the KIDS.

ZIGGY: What does the shelter do?? 

JIVES: It takes in stray animals born in the open, animals that can’t be cared for by their owners, and pets whose owners have passed away, among countless other animals. 

Down in the lair, ROBBIE suddenly gets an idea.

ROBBIE: Maybe I can get rid of Sporta-pup by taking him to the pound! Yes, yes, that’s a BRILLIANT IDEA!

He sinks down to his armchair and pulls out a phonebook. He quickly finds the shelter’s number and calls it up.

SHELTER: [Incoherent words]

ROBBIE: Yes, hello, City Shelter? I would like to drop off a STRAY. Why? Because he’s too noisy. And too bouncy! He’s been roaming the streets for WEEKS. What? Yes, he just wants To Play! That’s exactly the Problem! Will You Take Him? What Kind Of Animal Is He?

We quickly zoom out to an aerial shot of LazyTown, and we hear Robbie scream—

ROBBIE: WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ONLY TAKE CATS AND DOGS AND FURRY LITTLE CREATURES?!

We zoom back in to see ROBBIE slam the phone down and go into a pouting position, crossing his arms and slouching. We zoom back up to where the KIDS are running towards SPORTACUS, who is flipping around, as usual.

ALL: SPORTACUS!

SPORTACUS: Hi, kids! Hi, Jives! What’s up?

STEPHANIE: Jives said he’d take us to the shelter in the City! Would you like to come?

SPORTACUS: Of course!! I love seeing animals! Jives, you might want to leave Julie at home, though.

JIVES: Oh yeah, totally. We can take the bus!

As they clamber onto the bus, STEPHANIE starts singing the episode’s song, titled ‘Pet Love’. I can’t write lyrics, so just imagine the KIDS, and JIVES (who is good at singing) all singing about how pets are incredible as the bus drives towards the CITY and they enter the CITY SHELTER. Barking, meowing and a variety of other noises immediately greet them, as well as ASSISTANT AMELIA. 

AMELIA: Hi! My name is Amelia, and I help take care of the animals here! I recognize Mr Junkfood, and I’m assuming these kids are the LazyTown kids!

ALL KIDS: Yep! [They introduce themselves]

AMELIA: I’m fairly certain you’re the superhero Sportacus, correct?

SPORTACUS, EMBARRASSED: Well, slightly above average hero…

AMELIA: What brings you all here today?

JIVES: The kids wanted to look around the shelter.

STINGY: I wonder if I can convince my father to let me get one. TO THE SMALL PETS!

STEPHANIE: I’m going to go see the dogs!

TRIXIE: Hey, wait up, Pinkie!

PIXEL: I’m going to go see the cats! 

ZIGGY: I CAN SEE A FLUFFY ONE!

SPORTACUS: Inside voices, everyone!

We pan outside, to where Robbie pops up from one of the bushes. He has followed them to the CITY, as he wants to complain to the SHELTER about their policies. He peers into a window, and sees that STEPHANIE and JIVES are looking at dogs. One of the dogs has only three legs, and its tag says: UNWANTED THREE-LEGGED DOG. PLEASE CONSIDER ADOPTING.

STEPHANIE: Why wouldn’t someone adopt such a sweet-looking dog?

JIVES: Like I said, humans can be jerks. Not everyone is as kind as you. I think, from what I’ve seen from you so far, that you’d adopt every animal in the shelter if you could!

STEPHANIE laughs.

STEPHANIE: You’re right on the money, Jives! I would adopt every animal here! I wish I could adopt this sweetheart here, but there’s no way I’d be able to deal with the medical side of things. I hope you find an owner soon, puppy!

The dog just pants happily, as STEPHANIE is patting it. Outside, ROBBIE has a SECOND BRILLIANT IDEA!

ROBBIE: I don’t want Sportacus in town. The shelter won’t take him… but maybe the Superhero Control can! [He laughs evilly before stamping on the ground and, somehow, takes a chute back to his LAIR]

Meanwhile, STINGY has fallen in love with a guinea pig, and he’s just called his father. He excitedly runs back to the group.

STINGY: My father said I could buy the guinea pig!!

The KIDS and SPORTACUS cheer.

SPORTACUS: That’s great news!

AMELIA: I assume you meant this one? Mr Spoilero literally just rang me to adopt her!

The KIDS all coo over the adorable guinea pig. STINGY holds the cage almost reverently.

STINGY: I shall call you… Piggy the Second! 

TRIXIE: STINGY!

They all laugh, and we zoom down to ROBBIE’S LAIR, where ROBBIE declares—

ROBBIE: IT’S DISGUISE TIME! [He walks by a clown outfit.] Too goofy. [He walks by a very frilly dress.] Too floofy. [He walks by what looks like a furball.] Too poofy. [He walks by his own outfit] Hel-lo handsome! [He walks by an outfit fit for an animal catcher.] PERFECT! [He pulls the level on the disguise machine and spins into the outfit, laughing.]

We zoom back up to where STINGY is showing off PIGGY THE SECOND to MAYOR MEANSWELL and BESSIE BUSYBODY, who think that the guinea pig is adorable.

STINGY: Isn’t my guinea pig just the best?

MAYOR: Ah, yes! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one quite like it!

JIVES: Hey, sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to tell y’all that I’m going home!

ALL: Bye Jives! 

JIVES runs off, picking up JULIE on the way. He waves goodbye to the others, and they all wave back. 

SPORTACUS: Stingy, you should probably go home and set up Piggy the Second’s cage.

STINGY: Oh yeah! I forgot about that! I’ll have to ask my father to help me! Bye!

STINGY also runs off. ZIGGY, PIXEL and TRIXIE, disperse themselves, after PIXEL suggests—

PIXEL: Hey, I’ve got a new game to play. Who wants to come?

ZIGGY: I DO! I DO!

TRIXIE: HEY, WAIT FOR ME! PINKIE, ARE YOU COMING?

STEPHANIE: I’ll join you guys later! I need to ask Sportacus something!

ZIGGY: OKAY! SEE YOU LATER!

STEPHANIE turns to SPORTACUS, who is now looking at her half-expectantly.

STEPHANIE: Sportacus, have you ever owned a pet?

SPORTACUS: My parents did, when I was growing up! After they retired from being heroes, they had a few dogs, and one really grumpy cat that I ended up befriending. They were all great pets, and I, unfortunately, still remember the days they passed away. I don’t own a pet at the moment, though, unless the owl called Who-Who counts, since she keeps visiting me. I just don’t have the space for a pet.

STEPHANIE: I’m interested in having a pet. Mom and dad were too busy working, and then too busy fighting, and then too busy divorcing to consider one, but now that I live with Uncle Milford, I kinda want to get one, like an older dog or cat; one that hasn’t been loved as much as it should have been. I’m going to ask my uncle about it.

SPORTACUS: You honestly are one of the sweetest kids I know. I’ve met people who have dumped their pets. My brother ended up taking all those pets in out of kindness, before he proceeded to almost get thrown in jail because he beat up the former owners! 

STEPHANIE, HORRIFIED: Your brother is right, but crazy!

They both laugh. Suddenly, there’s a loud noise, and they turn to see a van with the words ‘SUPERHERO CONTROL’ on them. ROBBIE ROTTEN, disguised as THE HERO CATCHER, clambers out.

ROBBIE, POINTING AT SPORTACUS: YOU!

SPORTACUS, POINTING AT HIMSELF: Me?

ROBBIE: I received a report a few hours ago that there was a rogue superhero in LazyTown! Mostly dressed in blue, pale, blue eyes, apparently brunette, with a pointy moustache. YOU fit the description perfectly! Which means, of course, I’m going to have to bring you back to HQ for sufficient inspection and sheltering. 

SPORTACUS, HOLDING UP HIS HANDS: Um… we haven’t had a rogue hero in decades…

STEPHANIE: Hey, leave him alone! He hasn’t done anything wrong!

ROBBIE: Oh really? Tell me, little girl, have you studied at the School of Superhero Control?

STEPHANIE: No…

ROBBIE: Have you spent a decade refining hero-catching skills under the Master Hero Catcher?

STEPHANIE: No…

ROBBIE: Have you caught so many heroes that you’re going to take over all of HQ?!

STEPHANIE: No, and Sportacus already started running.

ROBBIE: … OH, COME ON! [He grabs a net and starts running after SPORTACUS]

STEPHANIE, watching them run, hurriedly runs to PIXEL’S HOUSE. Inside, STINGY has joined the group, having left PIGGY THE SECOND at home.

STEPHANIE: GUYS!!!!

PIXEL: What’s up, Stephanie? You look like you fried a circuit board!

STEPHANIE: A hero catcher has come to town to catch Sportacus and send him to the shelter!

They all gasp in horror. 

ZIGGY: WE HAVE TO HELP SPORTACUS!!!!

TRIXIE: HOW DO WE DO THAT?!

STINGY: Uh… Sports candy? That should help him evade, right?

STEPHANIE: COME ON, GUYS!

They all run out to one of the apple trees. TRIXIE does that cool kick she did in Once Upon a Time, kicking down a few apples. They all run out to where SPORTACUS is running and flipping away from ROBBIE, and STEPHANIE tosses an apple to him. From that point onwards, music similar to the Benny Hill theme plays as SPORTACUS continues running away from ROBBIE, constantly being tossed apples, until suddenly a cage folds up around the hero!

ROBBIE: A-HA! Comfortable there, rogue?

SPORTACUS, FINDING THAT HE CAN’T ACTUALLY GET OUT OF THE CAGE: Uh… How should I answer that?

KIDS: SPORTACUS!

ROBBIE: Now, now, don’t cry, this is a dangerous hero we’re dealing with. He only acted friendly to infiltrate the town. You don’t want him here – trust me! He’s an unwanted menace who is promoting a terrible agenda! You should be glad I got here before he caused any real damage! You hear that, elf? You’re unwanted! Now, if you’ll excuse me, kids, I’ve got a rogue to deliver. 

The KIDS all look at each other in terror and sadness, but can only watch ROBBIE load up the truck with the hero inside the cage. Eventually, though, STEPHANIE storms over.

STEPHANIE: HEY! MR CATCHER!

ROBBIE: WHAT?! 

STEPHANIE: I don’t care if Sportacus has an evil agenda! He’s our best friend!

ALL: YEAH!

PIXEL: He’s saved me from malfunctioning equipment more than once! And he saved my hard-drive memory once!

STINGY: He taught me that it’s better to share!

TRIXIE: I’m learning martial arts because of him!

ZIGGY: I’m beginning to eat less candy!

STEPHANIE: And I got a better father figure than my own father could ever hope to be. He’s not unwanted!

ALL: YEAH!

Unseen by everyone, SPORTACUS appears to have tears in his eyes.

ROBBIE: You really think that this dangerous elf actually cares about you?! All rogues are like this! They infiltrate a community, force their propaganda on the unsuspecting residents and turn them into overactive health freaks!

ROBBIE is about to continue ranting, but he’s kicked the truck, which starts rolling down a hill – and he gets caught in a rope! SPORTACUS’ cage is also still in the truck! The KIDS all call out to SPORTACUS, but the hero has hit his head! He’s unconscious! The KIDS all start chasing after the truck on their bikes, PIXEL looking up statistics. 

PIXEL: By my calculations, they’re headed right for the LazyTown Cliffs! 

STEPHANIE: We have to stop the truck!

ZIGGY: HOW?!

TRIXIE: PINKIE! DOESN’T THE AIRSHIP LISTEN TO YOU NOW?

STINGY: Yeah, I remember it once gave you a new pencil.

STEPHANIE: Of course! Pixel, steer me while I call the airship!

PIXEL holds both his bike and STEPHANIE’S bike steady while she calls up the airship. 

AIRSHIP’S AI: Hello Stephanie, how can I help you?

STEPHANIE: We need an anchor down here, and fast! Sportacus and a Hero Catcher are both stuck with a truck that’s heading towards the cliffs!

AI: I’ll do my best to hook the truck! What happened to Sportacus?

ZIGGY: He hit his head!

AI: HOLD ON, SPORTACUS!

The KIDS continuing their pursuit; it garners the attention of the MAYOR, BESSIE and JIVES, who all chase after them. JIVES soon realises what has happened, and gives STEPHANIE a hard push so she can help attach the anchor. She ends up right behind the truck, and catches the anchor as it falls, before attaching it just as they reach the cliff edge. She’s thrown over the top of the truck by the force of her bike hitting the suddenly stopped truck, but SPORTACUS, who’s just awoken from his unconscious state, saves her just in time. Everyone cheers, before SPORTACUS notices that ROBBIE is falling and manages to catch him just in time.

SPORTACUS: Stephanie, are you okay? 

STEPHANIE: I’m okay; thanks Sportacus! [She hugs the hero; he hugs her back]

SPORTACUS: You’re welcome. Mr Catcher, are you okay? [He hauls Robbie onto the grass, and his disguise falls off]

KIDS, JIVES, THE MAYOR AND BESSIE: ROBBIE ROTTEN!

ZIGGY: OH THAT GUY!

SPORTACUS, FONDLY, SHAKING HIS HEAD: Robbie Rotten…

ROBBIE: I WAS SO CLOSE! SO CLOSE! AND THEN YOU KIDS HAD TO RUIN IT! I’M GOING HOME!

Everyone laughs as ROBBIE storms off, and they spring into Bing Bang. There’s an aftermath shown where STEPHANIE adopts an older cat, whose collar reads ‘CHLOE’, while STINGY introduces PIGGY THE SECOND to her. CHLOE licks PIGGY THE SECOND in response. AMELIA has adopted the three-legged dog. We then shift into the epilogue. ROBBIE, exhausted from the running, tries to collapse into his chair, only to hear an indignant ‘mrow!’ A cat has made his home on his chair! At first, ROBBIE is angry, but he suddenly softens when the cat rubs against him.

ROBBIE: [Sighs] Fine, you can sleep here. I’m calling you Glanni. YOU are going to be the GREATEST VILLAIN CAT OF THEM ALL!

GLANNI: MROW!

THE END

I haven't posted fic in like forever, so I hope you enjoy this, Major! I’m like two months into the LazyTown fandom, so I’ve been writing fanfic kind of feverishly. Maybe when I complete my longest one, I’ll upload that to here (and maybe to AO3, idk)

[g-amzees]

Love and some Verses

Title: Love and some Verses Ship: Gamzee Makara ♥ Tavros Nitram, (a ton of) Other Characters & Ships Chapter: 1/? (i’m solely going to post the first one on tumblr) AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10519707/chapters/23220186

Your name is Gamzee Makara and... You look up from your stencil, chewing on your favourite pencil, your dark, hazel eyes annoyed at your black haired friend and her shorter, blonde partner.

"Motherfuck. Rose colored roses. Where's that all up and coming from?"

"Gamz, I think it is pretty obvious where that is coming from," Kanaya replied, giving the girl standing right next to her a heart-warming smile.

The tall woman thrusts her phone in front of your pale skinned face, with a small, slightly pixelated picture of the flowers showing on the screen. Clicking your tongue in annoyance, you grab the phone, leaning back in your worn, creaky chair and study the roses as you just lit up a cigarette. You turn the huge smartphone, trying to zoom in the photograph which only blurs and pixelates even more.

"This picture motherfuckin' sucks. I can't draw anything with this fucking lack of detail," you exclaim, letting out a loud and exasperated sigh.

Kanaya's narrowing her eyes at you, fingers curled up in her green-colored bangs, letting out a sharp breath, "Look. I know it may not be a picture of high quality and I deepy apologize for that, but you will do this for me, Gamzee. I want that rose-tattoo, or else, I may hunt you with a chainsaw."

"Woah, shit. Relax, Kan. I didn’t say I wouldn't. I only said that picture motherfuckin' sucks. I need something with more detail, 's all. God dammit."

"Excellent. You will figure something out, I am sure you will. Rose and I need to go now, though. We have an appointment with the wedding planner, and later we will have dinner with John and Jade," she smiles deviously, rushes to the front door of the tattoo studio and leaves with a short, half-hearted wave.

Rose only following her fiancée in slow steps, "Sorry, Gamz. She is a bit stressed out, lately. The wedding and all. She really meant no offense."

"None taken, Sis, even tho she's a piece of work. Have all the miracles today, okay ?", you smile at her, all forgiving, trying to hide your annoyance.

She smiles back at you, all wide and happy, "Thank you ! .. By the way," she starts, pointing towards the big window in the front of your studio, "There is a small flower-shop across the street, if that's of any interest in that matter," as she was waving good-bye at you and steps out of the door aswell, following her beloved to the car parking infront of the tattoo-studio, and with that, the girlfriends are gone.

Growling in annoyance again and letting out a huge sigh, you lean back in your chair, focusing on the sketch-block again, needing to finish the last details on a tattoo for a client, that was arriving in about an hour. You soon lost focus though, and began to stare through the big window absent-mindedly, wondering if the flower shop could provide Kanya's flowers. A real one would be perfect, for detail and every possible angle. Any rose would do, but a rose-colored one would be ideal. How expensive would flowers even be ? Now you would have to pay for a flower, only to design one of your godly tattoos for one of your best friends, you wouldn't get paid for. That definitely would have to count as your wedding present ! At least you hopes it does. Rubbing your black curls, you shake your head violently, needing to push the new tattoo idea away. You need to finish up the current project on the paper in front of you, the piece bigger than average by far, meant as full sleve-tattoo just like you got one yourself. Just yours is more gorgeous by far. This piece is going to consume your time for the rest of the day until closing time, assuming that the client could handle a long session with no need to cancel it early on. (The doubt is on your side with this one though.)

But only then, maybe tomorrow, you could go and check out the flower store for said motherfucking flower.

Your name is Tavros Nitram and you are ready for the day. You entered the small store early this day, the air that's smelling like rainbows fills your lungs immediately and pulls a small smile from your lips. You do love your work at the store. You love the scent, and you love the colors, and you just really like flowers. You usually only works part-time, but since you're currently on your semester break, you switched to full-time for the rest of vacation. You always liked mother nature in all it's ways, that's why you decided to go to university to become a veterinarian in the first place, and thus you really enjoyed every day you were working in the little flower-shop.

You could also use the additional money, a students life ain't a cheap one, granted. You turn on the lights and prepare to open up the store within the next hour with a big yawn.

You were tired. You had talked with one of your best friends on the phone for too long last night, the older and taller one trying to convince you to join him going to some weird convention about robotics, again. The last time wasn't all too great already. There were some things that definitely were cool. But overall, you were just bored, sighted in annoyance and greatly disliked the hole convention, not really being into technology. Everything that's beyond a TV, a smartphone, a laptop and maybe a gaming-console exceeds itself from your comprehension. You had a hard time talking yourself out of that trip, but in the end you could convince him to take Nepeta with him instead. She was his number one best friend - even though the age-gap between them was ridiculous, him being 30 and her being 19 - but you wouldn't judge. Friendship knows no age, after all. She also was more into his technology-stuff than you were, more into any of his stuff to be honest. You two had very different opinions in general, and even though you disliked when you and your friends (general speaking!) disagreed on things, it happened more often than not. Shaking your head, forcing the thoughts of Equius away, you went to put your stuff away behind the counter and grabbed your bright orange apron, pulling it over your head, always cautious not to ruin your dark-brown mohawk. Keeping it in place took a lot of effort - and hairspray - and you wouldn't like it if you ruined it by accident.

You decided to start to refill your water sprayer and your watering can, first. Then you gradually worked around the shop, moving from one plant to the next. You let your strong, long fingers gently caress the flower petals of each pot, smiling and whispering to them, humming them sweet little melodies as you groomed and watered them sufficiently. You knew you looked kinda out of place. You were tall and dark-skinned, muscled, had broad shoulders and big hands, your body not really built for being a florist - with all those fragile pots and plants, but you loved everything about the place and you couldn't help but smile and just feel happy, as off as it may sound.

You already started working at the flower shop 10 years ago, when your were only 15, to make some extra pocket money. Your dad tried to provide you what you needed, but you were out with your friends a lot, and your appetite was huge. You felt bad at taking your dad's hard earned money so casually. You had a black hole in your stomach, after all, that's what all your friends used to say, anyway. You took double, or even triple the amount they would get. But you were atheletic ever since, and sports just makes you hungry. Instead of eating less, because why would you pffff, you had decided to find a job, work a little and eat just the same as ever, a win-win situation. You had just accidentally got your job in the little shop when you were walking by one day and grabbed a heavy pot from the oldish owner as he had nearly dropped it. You had helped him out for a few hours, had a very nice and comforting chat and in the end, he offered you the part-time job and you gladly accepted upon thanking the old guy. After that it had all gone downhill as you had realized you truly loved taking care of all the colorful, little plants at the shop, your mind absorbing the different types of flowers and the care they required pretty quickly, something that barely ever happened in school, even though you have been interested in biology before. (You still tried to do good with all your grades, your goal was to become a veterinarian ever since your were a little kid.) As the owner of the shop passed away - shortly after you entered university - and his daughter Terezi started to run the buisness, she decided that she would gladly keep you as her florist since you were a great help and knew everything that needed to be done. You helped her run the place ever since, you two became good friends even and now, with the hard work from the both of you, your shop was rated the top privately owned flower shop in the whole city. You two were pretty damn proud, even though you didn't own the place. It was a good feeling that all your efforts showed great results.

After you are done watering all the plants, you open the register, checking through orders and deliveries for the day. You suddenly hear a light knock on the glass door. You check your watch and frown, the shop not opening for another 25 minutes. Normally, you would refuse to open, but as the knocking came harder and louder, you were actually starting to worry whoever was there was going to crack the glass. What if someone was in need of actual help .. ? Sighing in annoyance you walk around the counter, head to the front door, unlocking and pulling it open.

"Uh..Good morning ? Can I help you ?"

[nealiios]

The Derrick: Part II - Making Faces With My Friends

Once upon a time, designers were able to make games without graphics. Dungeon Masters rendered breathtaking worlds full of beauty and danger thanks to the amazing power of IMAGINEOVISION, a game engine that required only the human voice and the creativity of its players. Choose Your Own Adventure books and text-only computer games formalized the process into descriptive chunks of text between which the player had to choose, again without relying on a single pixel to aid -- or to hinder -- the player’s imagination. The power of decision-based storytelling was, and still is, one of the most compelling forms of gameplay available, but the introduction of computer graphics into the adventure genre with Mystery House forever changed the game. In order to attract and hold the attention of a modern gamer, even the best text-based adventure usually requires at least a modicum of eye-candy.  

As we discussed last time, The Derrick will primarily take the form of a text adventure. In order to illuminate the people and places of Adams, Oklahoma, I’ll be creating not only the story and design for the game, but also the pixel art as well -- a first in my 27 years of game development. Because I’m not a naturally talented artist, it’s taken me several years to develop my art style, and what follows is a brief exploration of how I’ve developed the approach that I’ll be using in The Derrick. 

                                                      *     *     *

I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I’ve envied so many of my friends who could sit down with a sketch pad and a pencil and just DRAW anything they wanted. My friend Kenneth Mayfield valiantly spent many hours trying to teach me, and he let me watch as he worked with an airbrush to create the covers of many of the Starfleet Battles strategy games. I picked up as much as I could from him, and even got to the point that I could paint halfway decent nebulae and planets, but mastery with traditional media eluded me. My hand eye co-ordination was poor, and no matter how long I worked at it, I never felt like I was making measurable progress. I might have given up on it entirely if Photoshop hadn’t come along in the early ‘90s to show me another way. 

My first experiments with digital photo manipulation were typical surrealism. I cloned my dad and made him sit in his own lap. I placed myself on the cover of important magazines. I did all the silly things that most beginners did with Photoshop, and learned how to blend out scratches and obliterate wrinkles from extant photos. But not too long after I began to experiment with the tool, I began to see it not only as a way to change photos, but also to create entirely new images from scratch. I could make up for my natural deficits in hand eye co-ordination by zooming in and editing pixel by pixel, and I could undo mistakes with a simple keyclick. The program didn’t give me the talent that I didn’t have, of course, but it did provide me with the confidence that I might be able to grow and develop in a way that I hadn’t been possible with mere paint and canvas. 

I’ll be the first to admit that my first fully digital “painting” was terrible. I was no better an artist than I had been in junior high, but it wasn’t a bad place from which to start. 

WALL OF EYES - As a whole, my first digital painting was terrible, but isolated bits of it revealed that I might be able to do things with digital painting that I hadn’t been able to master with traditional techniques. 

When I got to work on my first painting, I’d had no concrete plan for what I wanted to draw. I started with the face of a cyber-punk girl and worked outward, but everything about her showed off my weaknesses as an artist. She had no structure to her face, the balance was wrong, her proportions were deformed -- from head to toe she was a nebulous mess. I’d also put zero thought into her background before starting, and as a result had to retroactively paint in a wall around her rather than painting her over it (a process that would have been a lot easier if Photoshop had had layers, but that feature wouldn’t come along for a few more years). Slowly the wall took on a kind of life of its own, becoming a rotting wood-plank fence. As the gaps and holes began to appear, my mind began to wonder what might be lurking behind them. It became evident to me that the real subjects of the painting were the eyes behind the wall rather than the girl in front of it. “Wall of Eyes” would name itself, and would later lead to two “sequel” images. 

COULD SOMEBODY GET ME SOME VISINE? - Using the power of layers in Photoshop allowed me to “focus” more on fine details of the image.

With the original version of “Wall of Eyes,” I’d felt extreme hesitation at trying to fix any aspect of the image for fear of destroying what few elements I’d liked. The introduction of layers into later versions of Photoshop, however gave me not only a new way to experiment, but it also made me look at the creation process in an entirely different way. 

In traditional art, it’s very customary to “build up” an image one layer at a time, painting several coats of translucent paint over each under until a net color or other effect is achieved (a core lesson I’d learned from painting nebulaes). With layers in Photoshop, I realized I could achieve the same effect without running the risk of messing up coats of paint (which would require destroying and painting over flubbed layers.) I could simply lay down different colors and textures and then alter their opacity however I desired. I could also reorder the layers in an instant, and change how they mixed with one another. Ultimately it began to feel more like the process of creating a collage, and it was freeing to realize that I could experiment without fear of messing something up. 

My first use of this new feature was to return to “Wall of Eyes” and enlarge one eye that I’d found particularly menacing. Inspired by an old comic book cover, I recolored my “refocused” painting with lurid, pulp comic colors. 

THE THING IN THE BOX - Taking center stage, the eye pops even more with contrasting values of heat and cold, and even greater layers of detail veining its malevolent gaze. 

As I continued to toy with it and refine, I “cooled down” the fence with tones of moonlight to draw contrast with that hellish eye, and lavished more details on the eyeball itself. Using layers not only of color but also adjustments to saturation, and contrast, and other elements, I arrived at a final nightmarish image of something that none of us wants to find beneath our beds. 

When I started thinking about the character portraits for The Derrick, I realized that a lot of the lessons I’d learned about painting could be used in the modification of existing materials. I could take photos of friends of mine and transform them into heavily stylized portraits that would fit the mood and style of the game I wanted to create. My portrait transformation for Delphine Mack is a fairly good example. I began with a photo of my friend Sarah Berry in vintage clothes appropriate to our 1920s setting.

 The original image was black and white, and Sarah was posed against a crowded black background that had to be knocked out in order to make room for a different environment. Finding the boundaries between her dark dress and the dark background were a challenge, but it was an important step in isolating her for modification. Next, I began to hand tint the image for a slightly vintage-postcard look, and applied filters to create a paint-like “surface” to the image.

Next I turned towards the creation of a mysterious background, cloaking her in a graveyard-like fog of blue that fits the mood of the game. It felt as though she should be creeping around in graveyards or down at the riverboat dock. 

Once the fog was done, I realized that I liked it, but it seemed to compress the image into a single plane, and the color was too monochromatic. So, for a remedy, I created masks to draw a noirish slash of light across her face, while also creating contrasting bands of orange and red behind and below her for a final mysterious effect. 

The irony of Delphine’s portrait creation is that I hadn’t meant for her to be a major character in The Derrick. She was intended only to be one of several non-player characters with whom the player could interact during the course of the game. But as I watched her come alive during the creation of her portrait, I began to see her as a daring and brilliant protagonist that would be very different than your usual Lovecraftian hero, and a perfect centerpiece for the tale. Many of the other characters you’ll meet in The Derrick likewise found their narratives while I was busy “painting” their faces, some of which required a great deal more compositing of elements and layers than Delphine. Phineas Book is a great example of portrait that actually required the combination of several disparate elements -- one man’s face, another person’s hands, a suit that was appropriate for the time period, and a theatrical-looking fireplace that provided the perfect backdrop. The fire itself was hand painted for final effect, as were the eyes and other smaller elements of the scene. 

[ciathyzareposts]

Amazon – Final Rating

Written by TBD

It’s time to see how Amazon: Guardians of Eden fares in our PISSED rating. In my rating I’ll be specifically comparing it to the developer’s predecessor, Martian Memorandum.

Do I feel like I was treated to an incredible journey of adventure? Let’s find out.

Puzzles and Solvability

Ah, puzzles. Those who’ve been reading along have probably noticed my frustration with many of the puzzle choices in this game. In previous Final Ratings I’ve mentioned my trilogy of ‘bad’ puzzle design. I’m going to add a fourth bad puzzle to that list in future due to this game.

Mazes: No mazes in this game. And they could have easily done a repetitive jungle maze so, thank you Access Software.

Dead-ends: Sigh – there are a lot of dead-ends in this game. I came across a few myself but could see many potential others. I see no good at all in these dead ends. They detract from the atmosphere and urgency and add to the frustration.

Bad mini-games: There are a few little mini-games; the river canoeing, the walking around the slaver boat avoiding the first mate and solving puzzles. They work well. They both add to the game and don’t overstay their welcome (okay, paddling down the river overstayed its welcome a bit with its three long sections – I did four sections, but that’s largely a dead-end issue.)

And now…Timed sequences: Oh, the timed sequences in this game. In general these timed sequences add to the atmosphere that I’ll get to in the “E” section. But from a puzzle standpoint – constant deaths without giving me time to think are just annoying.

Some of the inventory puzzles are baffling. Giving the boat Captain cigarettes and a nugget of gold as passage is ridiculous both from a story perspective and because both items can be easily missed and even if I knew a gold nugget would be required, which I had no indication of, the last way I’d expect to get it would be from a poor serving boy in a small village.

Some other puzzles would be much more rewarding if I hadn’t been rushed by timed sequences. The bridge of death sequence could have worked excellently but I spent most of the time there just dreading the moment I ran out of time – let me try a few things before I die, game!

I can’t think of any particularly good puzzles. Turning on the librarian’s car headlights so she leaves her post back in Chapter 2 was one of the few times I got some information and had to work out what to do. I also somewhat enjoyed the cannibal village where I had to solve a few simple puzzles – but the potential enjoyment was quickly tempered by frustration as I was in a timed sequence.

The Chapter style hurt here. After the first few chapters each screen was largely separate and once I entered I couldn’t leave without solving the puzzle. This would have made the game easy without the dead-ends – perhaps the dead-ends were an attempt to make the game more challenging. Have I mentioned how much I think dead-ends detract from the puzzle-solving experience?

I mentioned when I was stuck near the end that I wouldn’t be happy if I needed an arrow after not being able to take obvious arrows earlier – fear my wrath, Access!

The empty eye socket stares blankly toward me and the arrows sticking out of his ribs steadfastly refuse to be interacted with…

… however, a different arrow hiding behind a nondescript bush needs to be taken in order to proceed two chapters later

I told you I wouldn’t be happy, game. I was already going to score very low here so this issue isn’t altering the final score but I still wanted to vent my frustration.

I considered giving this game either a 2 or a 3 for this category, but I also thought I might give it some credit for the included hint system. So how about we stick with a 3.

Final score: 3

Interface and Inventory

The interface itself is largely a slight improvement over Martian Memorandum’s. The inventory list and verb icons have changed from text to graphics.

The lack of tooltips, which I’ve mentioned as a negative in a few of my recent Final Ratings, has more of an effect here than other games. When I’m at the Bridge of Death, the middle of the bridge is a different item to the rest of the bridge. But of course, I don’t find that out until after I’ve died quite a few times because I’m in a timed sequence and don’t have time to properly examine my surroundings. Pixel hunts aren’t fun!

The inventory works well enough. The graphical representations have a text label when I move the mouse over them. (See Access Software, you do know how to do tooltips – try using them in the game screen as well.) There is combining of inventory items, which was used a few times and worked simply, with the graphics of the two items zooming out before the graphic of the combined item zoomed in.

It is good that items that are no longer useful leave my inventory so I don’t spend too long trying inventory objects on everything when I’m stuck, but why do I have Jason’s car keys with me for the entire game? 

I gave a 3 to Martian Memorandum, so I’ll leave it the same. There are some graphical improvements but the negatives are exacerbated by timed sequences and dead-ends.

Final score: 3

Story and Setting

The story was good. Much of what I liked about it will actually be covered in the Environment and Atmosphere section so I’ll stick to story and setting for the S rating.

The story was simple, but fun. It didn’t have the emotional impact that Martian Memorandum had on me, and it wasn’t anywhere near as fun an adventure story as Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, but it was still good. Even when I was frustrated by the puzzles I still wanted to keep playing to see the story play out.

I’m still wondering why Maya decided to spend the night just outside the secret door to the safety of her temple, giving Sanchez the opportunity to catch up to them, shoot Maya and find the secret door.

The Amazon jungle makes a good setting for an adventure game. My first thought was that the jungle setting was slightly underused here, but as I thought more about it I recalled that there are a lot of set pieces in the jungle – we saw cannibals, piranhas, a small village, an old Spanish treehouse, and of course the Amazon river itself. Most of the sequences are very short and the ones that are long are only long because they’re full of deaths and reloads.

The game is worthy of a solid score here.

Final score: 6

Sound and Graphics

The FMV sequences were an admirable addition – having full video when talking to people was nice and added to the movie serial atmosphere they were going for. Fully voiced adventure games are becoming closer to the norm now but full motion video is still new and only used in a few games. I’m sure it will take on and most games will be using FMV in a few years…

Apart from the FMV, the graphics and sound are about as expected for the time. It’s not as good as some of the best games, but it’s good enough. Things generally look like what they are supposed to. Which is understandable when you realise they actually used toys with paintings as backgrounds.

They did make some alterations after digitizing. Including turning an orange car blue!

The voice clips have a noticeable clicking sound at the start and end of each, but I’m not sure if that’s a dosbox emulator issue and it’s not distracting enough to change the rating.

The music again does its job. As usual for me I don’t remember much game music but when I go back to sample it for this rating the different pieces are appropriate for each situation and do their job of not distracting me from the game, so a thumbs up without being exceptional there.

Martian Memorandum got a 4 for the sound and graphics section. The slight improvement gives this game a 5.

Final score: 5

Environment and Atmosphere

The atmosphere is great. They were aiming for an old fashioned serial feel and nailed it. I felt somewhat Indiana Jones-y (it’d probably give me more of that feeling if I hadn’t recently played an excellent adventure game that made me feel extremely Indiana Jones-y.)

Though technically swinging on a vine is more Tarzan-y than Indiana Jones-y

And despite my disdain for them, the timed sequences do help the atmosphere here! They add to the urgency and the feeling of danger. I still hate these sequences with a passion, but for the purposes of environment and atmosphere, they do have a positive effect!

One negative though – the dead-ends detract from this somewhat. After a few deaths I stop thinking about the setting and game and just concentrate on trying to do things before time runs out.

What would Indiana Jones do if he forgot to pick up something that would become useful two chapters later? Would he give up, upset that he missed the item, or would he find some way to solve the problem with the items at hand? Alternate solutions to puzzles could have helped here – this game was designed to live by its atmosphere – bringing the story to a dead halt and forcing me back a few chapters lessens the impact considerably.

Martian Memorandum got a 6 here, and this game does the atmosphere a little bit better but undoes some of the good work with the immersion breaking dead-ends. I’ll stick with a 6 for this one.

Final score: 6

Dialogue and Acting

The dialogue was pretty good. Almost every character was a stereotype and written exactly as you’d expect. But that fitted in to the cheesy 50s serial vibe they were going for and worked well at evoking that vibe throughout. The game never fell into the trap of taking itself too seriously. Colonel Sanchez in particular is very over the top, both in writing and acting.

Colonel Sanchez – just a pair of glasses and a sense of humour away from being Groucho Marx

The dialogue puzzles in the game weren’t as successful. Maya leaving after I failed the dialogue puzzle because I was mistrustful of her made little sense, particularly after I found out her history. They’d work better if we got multiple chances to succeed or if they were less specific about what was required – the chances of me working the puzzle out by thinking it through rather than trial-and-error was low, but at least failing dialogue resulted in a death screen rather than another dead-end.

Ah the acting. In some ways it hits the ‘so bad it’s good’ mark – my particular favourite was Jason’s “Nooooo” when his brother sacrifices himself for their safety. Other times it just hits the ‘it’s bad’ mark.

It’s no surprise that when I looked the game up on IMDB, almost all of the actors had only this game as an acting credit. But they give it a good go.

I did like that there was physical acting as well as voice acting. Talking to people and having them physically move their mouths and bodies as they reply added to the realism.

I gave Martian Memorandum a 7 before taking away two points for bad grammar and spelling. I was pleasantly surprised that I only found one error in this game. I wasn’t particularly looking for them so there may have been more but they were a major distraction in the previous game so I’m very happy Access put the effort into getting it right this time.

This game also improved on Martian Memorandum by having more acting – the cheesiness of the acting, while often bad, served a purpose. How much of that cheesiness was a deliberate decision rather than just a consequence of actors unable to convey subtleties doesn’t change that the result worked often enough. If the game had taken itself seriously the acting would have been a negative here.

But the writing evoked less emotion than Martian Memorandum. I still feel something when I think of the massacred colonists of the Stanton Expedition. So I’ll give us a 6 for this. A slight step down overall but a step up in proofreading and acting.

Final Rating: 6 Final Rating

This gives us a Final rating of… 3+3+6+5+6+6*10/6, which equals…

48 seems fair. I liked this game a little less than Martian Memorandum, which scored 50, and while I appreciated the dedication and success at emulating the cheesy mid-20th century serials, as a game the frustration to enjoyment ratio ended up rather high. It started on a good note though and I was really enjoying it, but it started to get increasingly frustrating around Chapter 6 or 7, which was coincidentally when I started hitting dead-ends and timed sequences.

In fact, this entire Final Rating can be summed up by a comment made by ShaddamIVth in the penultimate gameplay post…

The B-movie element is surprisingly gripping, they seem to be well aware of how cheesy they are being and using it to good effect. If only they were aware of how frustrating they were being with the timed sequences, I have never felt them to be fair in adventure games where you’re supposed to explore as much as possible.

Well said, ShaddamIVth. I couldn’t agree more.

So for my personal PISSEDOFF rating, where I include how much fun I thought the game was. What would be my Overall Fun Factor rating? 3. A score of 3 from me means I won’t be playing the game again in the future but it did have some kind of redeeming quality. The bottom line is that I just didn’t like this game as a whole – it wasn’t terrible, but the frustrating parts made much of the second half of it a chore rather than fun and that frustration quickly overtook the good the game did. I’d have likely enjoyed it a lot more if I wasn’t playing it for the blog and could just use the hint section as soon as I started to get frustrated. But I wasn’t, so the PISSEDOFF rating ends up as… 3+3+6+5+6+6+3+3+3*10/9 which equals 42! A much lower score but a much more ultimate answer.

The crew from Access Software will be back in 1994 in their continuing attempt to combine full motion video with adventure game puzzles when they release Under a Killing Moon! And we’ll be there to cover it sometime between 2019 and 2022!

CAP Distribution

100 CAPs to TBD

Blogger Award -100 CAPs – For playing through the game for everyone’s enjoyment (I would have gotten more CAPs if I got 1 CAP every time I reloaded to an earlier saved game)

55 CAPs to Joe Pranevich

Classic Blogger Award – 50 CAPs – for playing through Wishbringer for our enjoyment (MEOW!)

Telling Tales Award – 5 CAPs – for passing on the news about Telltale Games going out of business after making a number of Adventure Games in recent years.

30 CAPs to Laukku

Psychic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs – for guessing the Final Rating of Amazon by simply averaging the other Access games 

While Stocks Last Award – 5 CAPS – for letting us know that we should download our Telltale games again because they should now work without DRM 

Aces High Award – 5 CAPs – for letting us know that the Ace Attorney series will be coming soon to current consoles and PC for the first time 

Classic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs – for guessing the Final Rating of Wishbringer

24 CAPs to Lisa H

Does Whatever a Spider Can – 5 CAPs – for pointing out that the Amazon must be home to a new terrifying creature – the spider-jaguar! 

For Granite Award – 3 CAPs – for pointing out that the useless clue may be useful in some circumstances 

Film Crew Award – 4 CAPs – for pointing out that Allen Roberts’ favourite film is actually real! 

If Wishes Were Horses – 7 CAPs – for pointing out more alternate solutions to Wishbringer 

Get Out of Jail Free Award – 5 CAPs – for mentioning that there are more ways to escape jail in Wishbringer

20 CAPs to Leo Velles

What’s Your Story Award – 20 CAPs – for submitting his What’s Your Story answers

20 CAPs to Michael

Appreciation of Your Appreciation Award – 4 CAPs – for twice thanking TBD for sacrificing his time to constantly reloading old saved games. 

Abstinence Award – 3 CAPs – for being disappointed that there wasn’t a sex scene at the end 

Six Degrees of Murray Award – 3 CAPs – for playing the Kevin Bacon game without including Kevin Bacon 

Tell it to the Judge Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out that Darlene looks (and acts) suspiciously like Judge Judy 

Dog People Award – 5 CAPs – for noticing that with the exception of the Coles, most adventure gamers aren’t nice to our feline friends in their games (MEOW!)

12 CAPs to Alex Romanov

Assistance Confirmed Award – 2 CAPs – for confirming that Voltgloss’ hints would be required 

Assistance Granted Award – 10 CAPs – for helping TBD when he got stuck in front of the Amazon Queen 

11 CAPs to ShaddamIVth

Succinctly Said Award – 6 CAPs – for inadvertently summing up TBD’s final rating in a single paragraph 

Bad Luck Award – 5 CAPs – For pointing out that there may in fact be graphics in Wishbringer and that the graphics just meld into the black background (MEOW!)

10 CAPs to Voltgloss

Assistance Granted Award – 10 CAPs – for helping TBD when he had gotten himself dead-ended by not breaking into a truck and stealing the driver’s cigarettes 

10 CAPs to Ilmari

Solidarity Award – 5 CAPs – for showing sympathy at TBD’s annoyance with timed sequences

It Is Very Dark Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out an alternate solution to getting to the theater in Wishbringer

10 CAPs to MisterKerr

Friends With Benefits Award – 5 CAPs – for having a friend’s dad work for Access during the day and being able to see this game while it was being made as a kid 

More Friends With Benefits Award – 5 CAPs – for having helped members of Access Software at Comic Con as an adult

6 CAPs to Will Moczarski

Encoded comments Award – 6 CAPs – for discussing Wishbringer with possibly the longest sequence of ROT13 ever seen in our comments section

5 CAPs to limbeck

Choking On Ambitions Award – 5 CAPs – for pointing out the dangers of treating precious gems as food. 

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/amazon-final-rating/

[brittysaucefanfic]

Brand New Blue

Part 38

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Lance has really got to stop waking up in the healing pods. 

And yes, that was his first thought as gravity took hold. His knees buckled with his own weight and he lurched forward, but strong arms surrounded him instead of pillows and blankets. Lance didn’t even tense as he melted into Hunk’s embrace. 

“Hey buddy.” Lance said, although his words were muffled by the orange shirt and the soft but firm muscle of Hunk’s shoulder. He didn’t even get through that greeting before Hunk was babbling nonstop. A mix between chastization and worry and relief. 

Lance fumbled for a moment before bringing up his arms in a returning hug. 

He could say this at least, healing pods even heal lack of sleep. Lance hasn’t felt this refreshed in weeks. An involuntary yawn escaped him as Hunk finally set him down, and Lance realized the two of them were alone, and the lights were dimmed to sleep mode. He stretched lazily as he made for the kitchen, the healing pod making him starving.

“What happened? Last I remember was walking, lost, through the crystal hallways. How did you guys find me?” Lance asked as they walked slowly. Hunk yawned before answering, and Lance caught the glare sent his way out of the corner of his eye. He chuckled as he realized Hunk was pouting because Lance started the yawn chain.

“Honestly, they aren’t ‘crystal’ people. Didn’t you listen to Allura when we were going planetside?” Hunk scolded, because apparently that was the top priority in the conversation. Lance shrugged as Hunk continued, obviously knowing Lance’s negative answer. “You were passed out in the middle of one of the deserted halls of the caves. How you got so deep into them, I couldn’t tell you. Maybe you could tell me though?” Hunk said, drifting off and leaving his question open ended.

“A little crystal girl dragged me away from the party, and only asked a question before darting off at the sound of bells. Tried following her but I lost sight for a moment and then I was alone.” Lance said casually as they came up to the kitchen doors, waiting as they wooshed open with a hiss and revealed a table already occupied. 

Pidge sat hunched in her usual setting, glaring at her computer blearily, not even typing anything, just glaring.

“Oh, Pidge. Didn’t know you were still up. What’s up?” Hunk asked, seemingly disregarding the conversation for a moment. Lance followed Hunk to stand behind the computer gremlin, looking at a screen. It was a video, paused on an explosion, grainy but untarnished. 

The location was obviously a Galra prisoner base.

The types of bases were usually distinguishable by minute details that are different. Mainly in the marking on the sentries, which were flying through the air from the explosive force behind them. Hardly noticeable to the naked eye, but well, he didn’t have an enhanced super weapon eye that is a lot sharper than the average alien’s for nothing.

Plus, there were people fleeing wearing prisoner garb, guided by, what looked like, people in bug masks? 

In the middle of the frame was someone who looked suspiciously familiar. Strawberry blonde hair, wild and sticking up in clumpy points, a sharp face, a thin frame. They looked to be coughing into their hands with their eyes squeezed shut from the smoke. Lance squinted before looking at Pidge, who was venting at Hunk. He took a double take when he looked at Pidge and then back to screen. 

Holy hell, was that Matthias Holt, brother of the infamous Pidge, Green Paladin of Voltron and resident sass master?

Lance looked back at Pidge and Hunk who were staring at him with a deadpan look. Oh, did he say that out loud? Whoops. Pidge shook her head with an eye roll before pushing her glasses back onto her face from where they dislodged all crooked. She pressed a button and the video rewound before playing. The sound of an explosion accompanied the sight, and the clattering of the sentries matched up with their crumpled form. The video stopped after a few seconds on Matt’s face.

“I got this off one of the battle cruisers Keith and I infiltrated during the fight yesterday. It was pretty damaged, seeing as I had to disconnect early, but I got this frame at least. I was trying to analyze the sound of the explosion, see what makes it, but nothing in the Altean records match up.” Pidge said, her tone naturally slipping into a tired version of her battle mode. She always got very clinical and precise in her words when in the heat of battle, and with no emotional inflection either. She zoomed in one of the masked people, drawing their image to the side of the video. 

Pidge muted the video but put it on repeat, and kept talking.

“Now I’m trying to figure out who this is and where they’re from. But the screen started blurring a few minutes ago and I’m waiting for my eyes to stop being stubborn.” She huffed, losing that clinical tone to replace it with frustration. She rubbed her eyes, looking everything like the child she still was as she yawned, which set of a chain reaction in Hunk and Lance at the same time.

Lance turned back to the screen to look at the familiar figure. 

They weren’t human, obviously. The only humans who seemed to be in space alive right now were the Paladins and Pidge’s family. All the other prisoners had probably long since died, and the smugglers wouldn’t wish to revisit the same planet. Not when humans were no longer ‘never before seen’. Lance had just been one of the unlucky out of billions to have been sold as a slave to the empire’s most disgusting. 

A shudder runs down his spine and he leans over to try to zoom in more. 

Despite Pidge’s cry of indignation from him touching her computer, he still zoomed closer, but the image distorted into a blur of pixels. Honestly, with how advanced alien tech was, they couldn’t make better cameras? Lance blinked and switched to his Galra eye, causing the picture to sharpen into full clarity, as if he was looking at them in person. 

 He squints hard, thinking, knowing, he recognises the Resistance squad who chose to wear masks on missions. 

“Lance?” Hunk asks. Lance hums noncommittally as he tries to remember the name, then starts forming words and names with his mouth. He knows this particular female has a name that starts with a ‘t’ so he goes down the list he can remember by heart. God, this was why ECD’s were so important.

Talikon.

Torinek.

Thorak.

Thravlin.

Trovar.

Ta-akaniko.

Te-osh.

Te-osh, that’s it! 

Lance whips his head to Pidge, and smiles, blinking away the supersight of his Galra eye before he could see every acne scar marring her skin. “Pidge! I know who that is!” Pidge’s eyes widen and she turns her chair to face him head on, nearly leaping out of the chair. All tiredness was wiped away as she clutched at the chair tightly.

“It’s Te-osh, another resistance fighter!” Lance continued. “We met one time at a space bar and hit it off, but it didn’t go anywhere so we parted ways when duties called. She saved Matt!” 

Pidge smiled brightly, before a cloud covered her face and her expression dropped into a frown. Lance stumbled a moment at the abrupt change, shocked she wasn’t as happy about this as Lance was. She soon rectified it when she pointed at the time stamp, written in Galra. 

“The time stamp Lance. It says this was months ago. They could be anywhere or they could be dead. I was just looking for something, but none of this will help me in my search.” Pidge said, her voice solemn. lance frowned, looking between her, the computer and Hunk, who looked sad too. Worried as well, but when wasn’t he.

Lance cocked his head in confusion. 

“Why not just look through the Resistance files?” He asked. Pidge glanced up, hope beginning to light up her eyes. 

“You think they would give us her whereabouts? Or Matt’s?” Pidge asked. Lance shook his head, knowing they wouldn’t dare to give Lance more information than he already has. They don’t exactly trust him very much considering how highly he ranked.

“Not a bit,” He said, making Pidge deflate again. Man, she must really be tired not to think of this first. “But I know a damn good hacker, who happens to be in this very room. Here’s a hint, it’s not Hunk, and it’s not me.” Pidge froze a minute before a smirk lit up her face.

“You saying what I think you are?” She asked. 

“Of course not, I haven’t said a word.” Lance said, feigning being appalled with a hand dramatically against his chest. 

“Shiro would kill me if I even thought about suggesting we convince Allura to stop at a Resistance base and sneak you into a data room to download everything you can off their servers without getting caught while I pretend to go restock my already bursting to full ammo storage.” Lance said as he walked to the goo dispenser. He squeezed some directly into his mouth and swallowed before pointing the nozzle at them accusingly. 

“That is absurd, and I forbid you to do such a thing.” Lance said, doing his best Shiro voice. Hunk and Pidge shared evil smirks, before dissolving into giggles at Lance’s idiocracy.

******

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