#mention of the World of the Coinless

[augment-techs]

“You know how it’s fall? At least I’m hoping the postman delivers it while it’s still fall, There are these really beautiful maple leaves that are falling all around, and somehow, somehow, just like the golden glow of the sunset, they remind me of you. They remind me of all the days you walk me home, of all the times you and I spend just walking through the woods, hand in hand.

I could live forever in your smile, make a home in your dimples. I see you playing your piano, and suddenly my heart wants to sing in tune with the notes you play.

You and I, aren’t we like piano keys? Major and minor, sharp and soft, blue and orange? You’re the sunset before my nightfall, you’re also the dawn that follows.

Even the laws of thermodynamics would place you and me together, because we’re meant to be.

I know I say this every time I write, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you so, I’m sorry I broke you, I’m sorry for everything I ever did to you. The truth is, I can never make up for what I did; if only I could go back in time, turn it back, bring you with me, never let you go, I would.

When I was transported to another dimension, and found out I was no more, in that world, my first thought was of you. I’ve never told this to anyone, not even my friends, but the only one that came to my mind, was you. How you were in that universe. Were you with me? Or were you apart?

I never thought you and I would ever end up this way. Things went so wrong, somewhere, but I’m glad you reached out. I’m glad Bulk didn’t break me in half when he found out I still loved you.

Truth is, I never stopped loving you. You were my first, you’re going to be my last.

I cant imagine being anywhere else, where you are not— no home would be would be warm enough, no house could compare, if you’re not here to share the warmth with me.

We’re getting older, life is changing, and so is everything else, but you and I, let’s never change?”

One of the many many letters to Skull, sent by Billy~ //enclosed, a maple leaf, and a couple of candid Polaroids Kim took from her camera of the two of them//

"...Not okay." Billy blinked up from his warm spot in their shared bed, squinting blurry at Skull's back and the dried leaf the pianist was spinning around quietly as he stared down at the letter in his lap. A little spike of shame raked through Billy's ribs when the blond recognized the note as he lifted up to settle his chin over Skull's shoulder, wrap arms around his middle, and tuck his knees on either side of his hips. He tried not to pay attention to the slight chill coming off of Skull's bare arms that spoke volumes about how long the man had been sitting in the moonlight--so bright in the winter months, reflecting off the snow and amplifying everything it touched--without Billy noticing. "What's not okay, sweetheart?" "That other me you talked about here. I think..." He reached up to needle and loops fingers into Billy's own, chewing his lip as he breathed out and back in. The white of his breath almost made Billy pull him back under the blankets, but then Skull continued and Billy went so still and silent from the shock. "I think if I were them, at the end of the day, I would have done everything to make things easier for everyone else until things got better, but I don't think I would have wanted to go on. I can't even imagine a life without you in it, somehow. I think he's probably dead, even if he's still walking around." Billy did not have an answer to that. All of his breath was wadded up in his throat, not quite choking him, but so still that it was almost impossible to think he would be able to exhale. But Eugene turned around and brought them both under the covers, pressing the note onto the side table with the leaf and wrapped Billy up like something precious and immortal and only for him. All ragged smile and crows feet at the side of his eyes and he blew a warm breath over Billy's face in that way that he always had since they were very small. It tickled and got Billy breathing again and he understood the next bit, right down deep in his bones. "Makes me glad we're here."

[ajgrey9647]

Play Dress Up

Lyrics: Dreaming of You by Selena

A couple times Drakkon and the Coinless Jason Scott played with costumes.

[lordkingsmith]

wip wednesday:

8) My Kind is Your Kind; world of the Coinless fic, Drakkon has to deal with his own clone, and his kids. Among other things. I’m writing chapter two, it’s been slow going lol

Chapter two has an undertale genocide route reference at the end and chapter three is planned to open with Drakkon waking up from dying to Rito and Touma arguing about it. I have a bit of the beginning of this, part of the middle and all the end written. Figuring out how to make the chapter cohesive is tripping me up lol.

Bonus fic excerpt for you will be from Errant Hall 💖

Rito tilted his head as he regarded Drakkon glaring at him. Normally Drakkon wouldn’t be afraid of the lich, but normally he’d have power coins and an army. Now, he was wearing cast off clothes and holding only a rake.

“Interesting.” The skeleton murmured. “The kid didn’t mention you’d managed to drag your sorry ass back here.” Drakkon’s lip curled at that, but he remained silent. He’d noticed out of the corner of his eye his clone in a dead sprint towards him and Rito.

Rito turned his head to Touma and back to Drakkon before eyes glowed ghost deadly in his eye sockets as he laughed hauntedly.

“Sayonara, dirty sister killer.”

Drakkon felt a sharp pain in his chest and stomach, registering Rito’s massive sword lodged in him before he fell to his knees, started falling sideways and

Everything went dark, and quiet, with only glints of white and green to break the monotony of nothingness.

Bonus Errant Hall excerpt;

The lord had told Desmond his youngest son, Gracen, would need a companion. A friend. Please send a child of his as a companion, it was the least he could do. All the payment asked was someone to make lonely days less lonely.

And Desmond had put it off.

That was when, Wayland learned, the woods had gone off, gone wrong. It was also, as it happened, the last time anyone saw the Errant Family.

Wayland wondered at his pen pal, who never revealed his name. There were four boys. Was this the youngest? The one who needed a companion? Where were the other brothers? Where was the father? Everyone knew of him, but nobody had heard from him in some time…and the pen pal offered nothing in his letters to hint at the other brothers or his father. Or even for sure if he was Gracen. Given the context Wayland was fairly sure but…at the very least the pen pall correspondence was a way to pass the time, and was appreciated.

Mostly right now, Wayland stayed holed up in his home, collecting the gifts and letters, greedy for the correspondence with his mysterious pen pal. Leaving the answering packages just inside the gates were the only times he’d leave his house.

[skyland2703]

Now that I have access to good quality pictures of The Coinless #1, I believe I can give it a proper review~

SO LET'S GET STARTED!!

I'm gonna start with saying the art here was fucking gorgeous. And I’m not gonna cover the basic points, too many people already have. Just lil things that held MY attention, knowing all the plot twists and spoilers~

Does this mean Drakkon DID have public executions in the street??

Bulk/Kim crumbs!!! Bulk is such a Simp man. OHHH

and and and— he tells Skull everything. Every part of his day. And I think skull hears, Skull understands.

This might get a little out of order now, but

It’s so sad the way she sits here bundled up like this. It also melts my heart. And she misses Zack So MUCH. And the guilt is swallowing her whole.

SHE IS NOT YOURS—

You know what I’d be up to kill him too if I were in this world.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE MOMENT OTP DOUBLE TEAMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! Please I love THIS SO MUCH.

Bro deserved this shot ngl.

…now why do you have this stowed away like this, huh jason? Are we keeping the trauma like a trophy?? Are you going to wear that when you leave your little recluse’s hut???

Untreated PTSD made worse by more incoming trauma. This guy got so fucked up and yet he finds a way for ME to be annoyed at HIM.

Baby. Baby. Babyyyyyyy. Ultimate himbo Simp. BBY!!

These women are in LOVE by the way. For the record. Just so you know. And every single scene they had deserved a post of its own because HHHHH

But this one in particular. They’re SOFT but they’re pretending to be so tough. They just need a HUG. That’ll fix like 99.9% problems.

Also does anyone remember what did happen to the scorpina of that universe??

This is so funny to me and I don’t even know why

Iconic shot. Could hear the BONK noise in the background.

Glad finster got this moment. Even if it was short lived~

Zack what are. You. Trying. To. Achieve. Why does he keep calling her out like this?? Like he's ridiculing her for what happened to HIM?! WHAT. IS. THIS.

Also does this mean we get lava zombie kim???

HE SAID HIS NAME HE SAID HIS NAME HE SAID—

oh he betrayed them.

oH buLk is hurt.

aSDFGH

Like i said, the art was GORGEOUS. Drakkon was annoying as fuck. I needed to punch him in every single shot he was in.

This feels like a potential redemption arc for him, and I don’t LIKE IT. I don’t like redemption arcs. 99.9% of them. They’re almost never done right.

Obviously, this COULD be something really good, but I feel like

Also the fact that all of the characters not explicitly mentioned are all zombies now saddens me beyond explanation. It somehow kills scope for fanfiction to me?

But on the bright side, Bulk’s development is some of the best of the BEST. He’s the glue that’s holding the team together, he’s also the guy who thought he’d never get this, the underdog, the guy who thinks he doesn’t deserve any of this, and yet, and yet in every interaction of the team, he shines through. He’s the one who’s holding them all together, even though his own world— aka skull— is collapsing.

and i hope we get more development for him.

And please please PLEASE can we have everyone turn back to normal when this shit ends?! These people need a goddamn break.

[kimberlyannharts]

Mm. Yeah. That sucked! Sidelining Tommy to lift up M/tt in unprecedented ways! I don’t even know where to begin with this. We fridged Grace TWICE for this? Arguably Coinless Trini and Kiya too? Tigan by definition I guess wasn’t fridged but I still hate it! At the same time I wish I knew more about the character to have feelings about it beyond “that sucks!”

Also I know we talked about Rita and Chloe’s mom already but you know what? Remember Coinless Zack (and to a lesser extent Skull)? I sure thought they would be relevant! I would’ve cared more about Adam and Rocky and whatever that was if they had ever bothered to give Adam an arc, and actually spent time with them this event! Also Tommy giving up his powers to help people he largely doesn’t know uhhh sucks. How was Tommy more important in Shattered Grid, he was DEAD. I was really hoping we would get M/tt relinquishing the Green coin but that would’ve meant actual development and reflection on his part and not being the writer’s best boi. If M/tt had stayed a civilian supporting character I could actually see him having a role in the civilian army plot (which by the way why didn’t we just call in the Eltarian army ages ago. I think they said something about Eltar being attacked but who cares.)

The last note I’ll end on is part of me wants to look back on Ryan’s writing a little kinder now, but at the same time it’s the shitty decisions of villainizing Kiya and Death Ranger and M/tt’s rangerhood that got us into this mess in the first place! At least Coinless Trini/Scorpina yuri real. And the Gravezord shoutout felt like it was meant for you personally. I’m sorry this is so long, and I hope Prime has nothing to do with the main book. We are free.

= I probably should have felt more triumph at that panel of the MMPRs morphing together but it was literally ruined by how Tommy wasn't there and instead M*tt was basically in his spot (even positioned so he was slightly ahead of everyone else. good lord. was it not enough coddling that you literally erased the ONE bad thing he did in this storyline, which was murder Grace?) He should have died instead of Tigan. I know I'm partly saying that because I hate him but it's so unfair that that asshole gets to survive EVERYTHING and end the series with TOMMY'S COIN but Tigan only existed to die. It actually would have been impactful because like it or not, M*tt has been around for so long while Tigan was only here for.....three issues?

= Candice had checked in with the Command Center to report Aquitar fell and then in a later issue it was mentioned they hadn't heard from her for days, leading them to believe Eltar had fallen too. Honestly it doesn't even really matter because her return was clearly just supposed to be a reward for Skull doing the civilian soldier plot (because as the more conventionally attractive one of the comic relief duo, he gets the passionate, committed romance while Bulk just gets to weirdly call Taylor hot.)

= As much as I still do love the Coinless book on its own, so much of it never meant anything to the book or outright contradicted it. Dark Specter took over that whole world with evil lava goop, why didn't he do that in the prime world? The book explicitly states that the White Coin can't be split, but they just do it anyway in this event? I GUESS we can just assume that world turned out fine when Dark Specter was defeated, but we don't even get a panel where we can show Coinless Zack and Skull and maybe even Jason okay in their world?

= Going along with that, Scorpina calling for Alt-Trini is probably the only other time besides the Tomberly scenes that I felt genuine emotion in this finale, because damn they really just took out Scorpina's loved one AGAIN. And for literally no reason lmao (why did shattering the Grid delete Alt-Trini and Kiya but not Billy? Obviously he was present for the blast too)

= I did like the Gravezord shout-out so you're right about that

= And yes, a lot of the problems with this event can be pointed to Ryan refusing to give a proper ending to his concepts and storylines (something he has said that he likes about comics; that they can go on indefinitely. which. uhhhhh) - so Melissa felt she had to tie up all of the loose ends that were left. I think that was unnecessary for some of them - for instance, I really wasn't wondering where Dayne was. The guy's a mercenary for hire so it's easy enough for me to believe he wouldn't want to be associated with jobs involving Rangers ever again and went on to parts unknown - but she was clearly trying to put away the toys that Ryan had left out

[im-fairly-whitty]

Cecilia de Verde

A “No-Murder AU” Ernesto Love Story: Fanfic for Pixar’s “Coco”

[Part 1: Verde] [Part 2: The Name of the Enemy]

Part 3: Trapped

Ceci was everywhere.

Ernesto had been ready to forget about her, dismiss her from his mind forever, leave Hector’s bad joke behind and move on. But when he glimpsed her from afar in the market the next morning, just for a minute, his focus was as broken as if she’d come up and talked to him all over again.

He almost wished that she had approached him, at least then he might be able to justify how much space she was taking up in his head. Ernesto had been forced to leave the square early again that day, unable to play with her on his mind. He hadn’t mentioned it to Hector that night when they’d played at the fiesta, but even as they played he’d caught himself idly wondering if Ceci had somehow been invited and he would see her in the crowd.

Which of course she hadn’t, and he didn’t, and eventually over the course of the evening, he’d gotten back to normal with the help of Hector’s musical energy beside him.  

But then he saw her again the next morning.

And the next.

By the time Friday finally came, Ernesto was about ready to smash his guitar in frustration. He hadn’t even bothered bringing it to the plaza with him that morning, instead walking around the market to chat up the townspeople. What did they think of the weather? The crops? Their upcoming Dia de los Muertos plans?

Had they seen that seamstress girl who was new in town?

Which was not weird.

It was gathering intelligence on the enemy.

And he had discovered several new things about her over the course of the morning too. Her full name was Cecilia Rodriguez. Her sister lived in town. The little boy that was often tagging along with her was her nephew. She was a top-notch seamstress already building a reputation for herself in town. She was always smiling. She hadn’t kicked away a stray dog someone had seen barking at her. And she had purchased quite a lot of oranges last Tuesday.  

Totally normal things to know about someone. Completely ordinary. Besides, it felt a lot more productive than moping over his guitar for the rest of the day.

He was still feeling satisfaction over his successful reconnaissance later that evening as he tied up Dante at the Rivera’s compound. If someone had told him even three months earlier that he’d look forward to spending the evening taking care of a three-year-old, he’d have laughed them out of the room. Tonight, however, spending a few hours in Coco’s care-free world of spirited imagination sounded like exactly what he needed to take his mind off...uh, his troubles.

Ernesto ducked into the cheerily lit home and saw that Hector was singing as he set food in front of Coco at the table. The fading scent of fresh bread hung in the air and Coco was singing along with her father as best she could.

“Ernesto! Thank you again for coming tonight,” Hector said, pausing his song and looking up. He was wearing the casual purple jacket he always wore when he wanted to look presentable without donning his performing outfit. “There's more food in the kitchen if you havn't eaten yet. Imelda and I are just going to get away for a few hours, go get something to eat on our own for a bit.”

“It’s no trouble, as long as you two come back before sunrise this time.” Ernesto said, pulling off his own jacket and sitting at the table.

“That was only one time.” Hector grinned at the memory. “There were...extenuating circumstances.”

“I'm sure.” Ernesto snuck a piece of cut-up tamale off Coco’s plate. She gasped and tried to slap away his hand, but he was too quick for her.

“Imelda!” Hector called into the house. “Are you ready?”

“Just about!” Imelda’s voice came from the courtyard, not the back room. “Thank you again so much for coming.”

“Of course-.” Ernesto started, but stopped when he saw Imelda wasn’t talking to him, but the other woman she walked into the house with.

“Ceci?” Hector said, gasping, “What are you doing here?”

“Hola Hector, Imelda asked me to watch Coco tonight and I...” Ceci trailed off when she saw Ernesto sitting at the table.

Ernesto stared back. Then hastily stood, painfully whacking his hip on the edge of the table. Should he say something? Glare at her? Ignore her and try to act casual?

“But Imelda, Ernesto already agreed to watch Coco tonight!” Hector said, his voice just a little too worried, the folding of his arms a little too obviously indignant.

“Oh my, I completely forgot!” Imelda said, smacking her forehead dramatically. “And now we’ve brought both of them here at the same time. How stupid of us.”

“Well, they’re both intelligent, I’m sure they’ll figure something out.” Hector hooked an arm around Imelda’s and pulled her towards the door with a badly hidden grin. “Good luck you two, the guitar’s in the bedroom if you need it!”

“Hector!” Ernesto managed to choke out, but the two conniving busy-bodies were already out the door, disappearing into the night.

Ceci walked to the window, the edge of her mouth quirking into a smile. “Neither of them are very subtle, are they?”

Ernesto's eyes darted to his coat. He had to get out. Judging by the last few mornings, he might never be able to concentrate again if he spent an entire evening around this woman. He would just leave now, defeating Hector and Imelda’s plot before it had the chance to trap him.

“You can go home if you like,” Ceci continued, turning away from him and walking into the small kitchen. “I’ll take care of Coco, your help isn’t needed tonight.”

He paused as he was reaching for his jacket.

Now wait just a minute. He looked towards the kitchen.

Who was she to automatically assume that he would be the one to leave?

“I was here first.” Ernesto said.

He cringed an instant later as he realized how childish that sounded. “I mean, I’m sorry that you came all this way, but Coco and I have everything under control. You can go home.”

“Oh don’t worry about me,” Ceci called from the kitchen. “I’ve been looking forward to spending time with Coco for days. I’m sure you’d rather be doing something else with your evening.”

Ernesto looked to were Coco was watching him from the table.

“Are you leaving already?” She asked through a mouth full of tamale, her eyes getting big and sad.

Ernesto hesitated, but then squared his shoulders.

“Not if I can help it, mija.” He said.

Ernesto picked up his jacket and hung it on a peg at the door, pulling off his boots too for good measure. He was the Tio here, he had the right to stay if he wanted to, and he wanted to.

Ceci came back into the room, peeling a tangerine and setting the slices in front of Coco. She raised an eyebrow, looking at his boots and jacket.

“I’m staying.” Ernesto said.

For some reason this was starting to remind him of the time he’d gotten his feet stuck in a mire, eventually losing both shoes as he struggled.

Ceci put a hand on her hip, “Don’t think you’re getting me to leave just because you hung up your coat, músico.”

“Well, don’t think that you’re getting me to leave just because...you...peeled an orange.”

Ernesto felt a little like throwing himself head-first off a cliff after that jewel of a response.

“Well I have Tia privileges, I’ve been friends with Imelda since we were born.” Ceci popped the last piece of tangerine into her mouth and folded her arms.

“Well I’ve been friends with Hector since he was born,” Ernesto said, warming up to the argument as he defiantly took his seat at the table again. “and that’s longer than you’ve even been alive.”

“Wouldn’t you rather be out playing coinless music somewhere?” Ceci asked, not missing a beat.

“Coco’s all the audience I need.” He shot back.

Ceci took a seat across from him, like they were about to engage in a high-stakes game of cards.

“Are you both staying?” Coco asked, her eyes wide with excitement as she looked back and forth between them.

Ernesto narrowed his eyes at Ceci, who squinted right back at him.

This was going to be an interesting evening.

[Read Part 4: An Interesting Evening]

[augment-techs]

Sorry, @ajgrey9647, this was supposed to be a proper fic, but my brain wasn't cooperating so an approximation was the best I could do with web weaving and basic (so basic) summary.

Title: a machine to rage against//not asking permission Rating: M Relationships: Lord Drakkon/Coinless Jason; Jason Scott/Tommy Oliver; Coinless Zack/Coinless Trini; Kimberly Hart/Zack Taylor/Trini; Billy Cranston/Matt Cook; mentioned Coinless Bulk/Slayer Kim. Characters: Lord Drakkon; Coinless Jason Scott; Prime Jason Scott; Prime Mighty Morphin Rangers; Prime Tommy Oliver; Prime Matt Cook; Coinless Zack Taylor; Coinless Trini; Coinless Bulk; Coinless Kimberly Hart. Additional Tags: Drakkon Very Pointedly DOES NOT raise Skull Back to Life; Because He's Still a Petty Bitch; So Many Uses of Mirrors; Nirvana Lyrics; Jewel Lyrics; eating snails; Drakkon had a thing for The Lost Boys and it SHOWS; I am Talking About the Saxophone; watching someone sleep; gently stalking (not stabby with a knife stalking); drive-in theaters; masturbation; makeout sessions. Summary:

When the Grid Beasts appeared in Drakkon's perfect world, he saw the writing on the wall and shifted gears instead of just fighting and fighting until the strongest alternate version of Tommy Oliver could break through into his personal dream. He wiped the slate clean from his trying to be a superhero on his own and played with another option.

This go around he made everything as simple as it ever was in his own Coinless dimension. Yes, there would be no poverty, no starvation, crime held at bay by competent individuals he plucked out of space time to make a go at civil order, actual medical assistance and free housing, but--there would be nothing akin to mass technology. Drakkon couldn't stand the idea of smart phones and plastics and the constant noise of planes and jets and the like.

There were wind and sun powered sailboats, steam powered trains for mass transit, horse drawn carriages, and bicycles.

The wildlife, the natural world prospered, and people...connected.

There were also the Rangers in positions and lives they never would have lead (that seemed too dangerous to lead into now), with a sort of...grunge aesthetic lurking at the edges.

He takes up learning an instrument in this version of the Youth Center to see if he can expand his flirtation techniques.

(Which is why BOTH Jasons woke up on their own.)

[serserod]

voiceDAC Daily Evening News

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The key is to ensure that the look of the digital currency program is consistent with monetary policy goals. Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) Development Manager Kaliyev mentioned that AIFC will be willing to provide testing support and formulate a lawful schedule for Kazakhstan's introduction of digital currency. Ahead of this, Kazakhstan offers formulated a cryptocurrency storage and circulation plan to manage the storage and circulation procedure for virtual currency through professional platforms. AIFC protocol has included digital currency and its own classification, smart agreements, digital wallets along with other commonly used conditions in the cryptocurrency marketplace. Review: Alipay ranks first in the world with 212 patents granted on blockchain Based on the China Patent Protection Association's "Global Certified Patent Report in the Blockchain Field in 2020", Alipay ranked first in the world along with 212 patents given in the blockchain industry, near to the following IBM (136) and the 3rd. The sum of the Coinplug (107 pieces). This is the first time that an authoritative company has published a written report on the number of worldwide blockchain patents. Prior data showed that in the field of blockchain patent applications, Alipay furthermore ranked first in the world with 2,344 pieces. Central Bank: Great cash management isn't related to legal digital currency research and development Based on the Beijing Business Daily, to be able to thoroughly put into action the choices and deployments of the Party Main Committee and hawaii Council, fill up regulatory shortcomings in related fields, regulate the usage of huge amounts of cash, and curb the usage of huge amounts of cash for unlawful crimes, the main bank has made a decision to begin from July 1, 2020 Inside Hebei Province, big cash management will undoubtedly be completed on the pilot basis in Zhejiang Province and Shenzhen through October 1. Concerning the issue of whether large-quantity cash management relates to legal digital currency research and advancement, the central lender responded that large-amount cash management is a management gauge used by my nation to understand from international encounter, complement regulatory shortcomings, and improve cash service ranges and performance. The study and advancement of legal digital currency is a forward-looking work completed by the People's Bank of China to comply with the development tendency of the digital economy, meet up with the public's demand for digital RMB in the future, and enhance the level of inclusive economic services. Both tasks are not related. Whales keeping at the very least 1,000 BTC have grown significantly, and their holdings take into account 22% of the total circulation In accordance with CryptoSlate, the number of crypto whales (accounts holding more than 1,000 bitcoins) has increased significantly, which also shows that the medium-phrase prospects regarding the crypto marketplace remain bright. Information from the analytics platform Glassnode reveals this tendency. Related pictures show that after many years of decline, this accumulation model first began in January 2018. Glassnode described that whenever zooming directly into view the entire background of Bitcoin, we noticed that the total amount of Bitcoin held by whales peaked in early 2016 and then began to continue steadily to decline. Although whale holdings have improved this year, their bitcoin holdings remain far below the peak level. Currently, Bitcoin held by whales makes up about around 22% of the total circulation. Russian digital currency proprietors are warned to submit tax documents before the beginning of next month In accordance with cryptonews news, Russian digital currency owners are warned that tax inspectors may contact them one month later, and miners, currency holders, and traders need to declare income. Although there's still a year or more before the execution of a comprehensive encryption regulation, the tax regulation has been altered, which means that anyone who can make a benefit from crypto activities in Russia will need to pay out taxes in 2019. Russians must submit tax documents, including details of their cryptocurrency, before the beginning of next month. Individuals will undoubtedly be subject to a set tax rate of 13%. NY Digital Investment Group completes US$190 million institutional Bitcoin fundraising In accordance with Reuters, NY Digital Investment Group (NYDIG) disclosed that it has completed the $190 million Bitcoin fund raising. The NYDIG Institutional Bitcoin Fund LP (theNYDIGInstitutionalBitcoinFundLP) has 24 traders and will be exempted relative to Rule D Safe Harbor Protection Regulation 506(b) established in 2013. Little is currently known about the fund. As formerly reported, in May, NYDIG announced the selling of an unknown Bitcoin fund NYDIG Bitcoin Earnings Enhancement Fund LP for nearly USD 140 million. If NYDIG Bitcoin Earnings Enhancement Fund LP's fund is actually an alternative financial device, NYDIG offers quietly become among the largest Bitcoin institutional traders in the usa, with a total of 330 million US dollars in both funds. In accordance with today's documents, the NYDIG Institutional Bitcoin Fund LP made its first selling on October 26, 2018, while NYDIG's Bitcoin Earnings Enhancement Fund LP began its sale weekly before it shut. Currently, the 3rd Bitcoin futures fund Bitcoin technique fund is detailed on the StoneRidge web site beneath the stock program code BTCNX. It is well worth noting that news shows that NYDIG's early expense project Bitcoin Technique Fund (BitcoinStrategyFund) will be consulted by StoneRidge Asset Administration. The Beijing Municipal Govt issued the "Beijing Blockchain Technology and Development Action Plan (2020-2022)" Planet Daily News The General Workplace of the Beijing Municipal People's Govt issued the "Beijing Blockchain Technology and Development Action Plan (2020-2022)". The Action Strategy pointed out that by 2022, Beijing will at first be built into an influential blockchain technologies innovation highland, app demonstration highland, industrial advancement highland, and innovative skill highland, and consider the lead in forming a blockchain-enabled economic and social advancement. The Beijing Strategy" establishes a fresh program of integration and conversation between blockchain technologies innovation and industrial development, and continues to inject brand-new momentum and vitality into Beijing's high-quality economic advancement. (THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE Window)

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Power Rangers Comics Will “Unite Future Seasons”

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Warning, this article spoils the end of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issue #50

After the shocking twist ending of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50, fans were left with a lot of questions. Who was that person that showed up at the command center? Why is here? Will we see the Omega Rangers again? What’s next for the Rangers on Earth? What about that cover that was previewed that had the new Dark Rangers made up of Rita and her minions?

We sat down with Ryan Parrott to get some answers and teases to these questions. We talk about trying to free the comics from being in lockstep with the TV series, the new Dark Rangers, and his hints of what we’ll see more of going forward including more references to things that were only hinted at in the TV series!

Note: This is part two of our interview with Parrott about issue #50. Check out the first part where we delve more into the issue itself.

DEN OF GEEK: In an interview that you did with Games Radar just before Go Go 32 came out, you mentioned that the events of Necessary Evil would set up a new status quo. One where infinite stories in the MMPR universe could be told and that was freeing you up from my running in lockstep with the TV series. Can you talk more about what that means?

RYAN PARROTT: Yeah. I mean, this is going to sound negative, and I don’t mean it to be, one of the hardest things about writing Go Go Power Rangers from issue 21 to 32… When you open Mighty Morphin 40, with the arrival of the White Ranger and the Stone Canyon trio and Zedd’s already there, it felt like that’s a big jump. For people who watch the show, they all know what happened, but for everyone else, it just felt like, “Wow, did we miss this? Did all this happen exactly the way we thought? How did they get here?” We just felt that with Go Go, we owed it to fans to not jump over so many major pillars of the Power Rangers universe and so that’s what that story became.

But I will be honest, it was really, really, really hard to write a series that was half of an ongoing event tied to a television show from 25 years ago and write a narrative that somehow floated through all of that. And it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever written and I just know that I don’t ever want to try and do that again. It’s frustrating for the fans because they’re seeing things that they already kno  and you’re trying to give them new context, but if you change it too much, is it even the thing that you love? It was just a really complicated process. I knew that I wanted to go back to a status quo that was similar to the way that we did Go Go and the way that Kyle (Higgins) actually did his beginning run of Mighty Morphin, which was that we’re going to basically step into a period of time after this where everything slows down immensely and we can just do stories that don’t tie into episodes of the show.

In the same way that Kyle’s run was like, “These are all the stories that happened right after Tommy joined the team. Do they happen between episodes 17 and 18? Sure.” Because you can look at all of his run and say they all happen between those two episodes, and I think we’re going to do something similar now to try and create a universe that can stand on its own. This will allow us to, because we have the Omega Rangers and those Omega Rangers do exist outside in space, maybe be able to see elements of the Power Ranger universe that we’ve only hinted at in seasons of the show, but see them through the Mighty Morphin lens. The best example I can give is The Mandalorian, how they’ve used that show to basically tap into the entire Star Wars universe. We’re going to try and do something similar in the sense of trying to unite all of those future seasons but doing them in a way that feels organic to where we are in the timeline.

So will we be ping ponging from the Rangers on earth and the Omega Rangers out in space? I know the cover for issue 54 came out recently that had the Omega Rangers on it.

Yeah. I don’t think it’s a spoiler. We’re going to follow both teams and we’re going to see how they’re both interacting out in the world. And what I like about it, even if you look at those covers, I’m not going to break the book up the way that I broke up A Necessary Evil, this will be more a trade off. You’ll understand.

Much of Kyle Higgins work was set right after Tommy joined the team in mid season one and Necessary Evil was the middle of season two. Will the comic going forward cover the later part of season two and everything that was generally happening there?

Yeah. We spent 80 something issues, if you count all of it, building this universe. We had the Solar Rangers and The Coinless and the Omega Rangers and the Power Rangers and Drakkon and Zedd and Dayne and all of these characters. We’ve built this universe, let’s not rush through it. Let’s use it and try and tell stories in it that can bring in stuff from the other shows. I want to, I really desperately do. I have ideas that I’m very excited about doing, but we have this superhero universe, let’s use it. Let’s not just tell a story that gets us to the moments in the show that we already know is coming. Let’s spend some time and mine this area and maybe take some chances and do some stuff that you wouldn’t expect, which you’ll see. We should talk again in about a month.

Well you’re already adding new things like the new Dark Rangers made up of Rita and her henchmen. Are these different from the Dark Rangers in the show or are they simply “this is my version of the Dark Rangers”?

Oh, I’ll be honest. I remember that episode, and I hated those guys. I was like, “They just stand there. They don’t even fight. And they look like they made those out of nothing.” And now I said, “Oh, we got to redo them.” I think that was my first pitch. “Can we bring in the Dark Rangers again? Can I do a new version of the Dark Rangers?” And they were like, “Sure, sure. Sometime.” And so, finally, after all this time, I said, “Yeah, Zedd’s got that power. Let’s use it. Let’s have him use it and let’s do it in a way that they couldn’t do it on the show because they didn’t have the time and the money.” And so that was the first thing I said. “Let’s do that.”

And then I thought, “Well, we could take the time to build out a whole new group of angsty teens that just happen to reflect the exact same group.” But I was like, “It would be really more fun to try and use the minions that we’ve created. What if you gave the minions a little bit of power? What if they actually had some actual ability? In the same way that the Power Rangers are better when they have Morphin energy, what are the minions like when they have Dark Ranger energy in them? And how does that change them? How do they function? If they fight together, how do they fight?”

I just thought it was a really fun, quick way. And also, when we got the designs in, Dan Mora helped on the designs, and the minute that I got them, I went, “I love them so much.” Maybe some people call that fan service  but I always look at writing that stuff as in, take an idea that wasn’t able to fully form itself and then try and do it in a way that would excite you as a kid. So, maybe that’s fan service, but I’ve always been writing the book for me anyways so I’m a fan.

Is there anything else you can tell us about what’s happening next with the comic? You have that big cliffhanger at the end of issue 50. What sort of things can fans look forward to for this next, I assume, big arc for the comic?

Drakkon coming back is going to be fun to see people react to. We talked a long time about when we wanted to bring him back and if this was the right moment. And I said, “He’s a very popular character. There’s no denying that.” And I said, “I’m very excited about bringing him back, but if we’re going to do it, I want to do it in a different way. I don’t want him to come back and being the same Drakkon.” So, for me, this character is, if you can just see from the last panel, has gone through some stuff and is a very different, a very broken, and damaged character and doesn’t have the powers that he had and the army behind him and the massive plans. I wanted to bring him in and try and use that. If we’re going to do that, then we can tell different stories with him.

I think he drives a lot of interesting emotional stories but also he’s bringing some plot with him. That’s what I got excited about. If you like Drakkon, it’ll be fun to bring him back, and I thought there was a lot of potential in just changing who he was because of what he’s seen. That’s the best way I can describe that.

When it comes to plot stuff, now that the Omega Rangers have defeated the Empowered and are out there, what is their goal? What is their task? What are they doing now? And they also don’t have a mentor anymore. The Blue Emissary’s gone, so now you’re on your own. And so if you looked at the Omega Rangers as bring in college? This is you just got out of college and now the world’s your oyster, and where do you go and what do you do? I think that’s one of the fun things about playing with them is seeing where in the Power Ranger universe they’re going to go, who they’re going to run into, and how that’s going to change their focus and their perspective.

The post Upcoming Power Rangers Comics Will “Unite Future Seasons” appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[augment-techs]

Made up fic title:

“Don’t watch me dancing” + Billy Cranston 👀

Title: Don’t watch me dancing//Try Your Chances Somewhere Else Rating: Unrated Fandom: Boom! Comics Power Rangers; Mighty Morphin Power Rangers; Power Rangers. Relationships: past Matthew Cook/Kimberly Hart; Ranger Slayer Kim/Coinless Bulk; past World of the Coinless Billy Cranston & Coinless Skull; Terona Washington/Grace Sterling mentioned; Coinless Trini/Scorpina; Coinless Zack Taylor/Coinless Jason Scott; possible future Billy Cranston/Eugene Skullovitch/Matthew Cook. Characters: Billy Cranston; Matt Cook; Terona Washington; Ranger Slayer Kim; Coinless Bulk; Coinless Skull; The Coinless; The Sentries; Bulk & Skull; etc. Additional Tags: Post-Comic Arc: Darkest Hour; Alternate Universe - Canon; Angst; Emotional Hurt/Comfort; No Billy and Matt are not Going to Bone Coinless Skull Even if They Really Want to at Some Point; Terona Feeling a Sort of Kinship with Skull; Aftermath of Possession; Jason's Being Kind of a Dick; Dimension Hopping; Depression; Bulk as an Overworked Mama Bear; NOBODY IS TAKING CARE OF THEMSELVES; An Opportunity for Billy and Matt to be Caretakers; Scorpina is Trying Out Being Human. Summary:

It really did seem like a good idea at the time. It really felt like Billy and Matt could have a breather between Junior Year and Senior Year spending the summer not at Promethea proper, constantly reliving Grace's death and everything that went wrong during Dark Specter's invasion, but with Terona in the Coinless dimension actually making sure they had aid in getting back into the twenty-first century.

They were on call for their usual Ranger missions, of course, but it felt better just to be away from their version of Angel Grove for a while; away from the guilt, and the shame, and the echoes of a ghost that none of them could seem to forget any time soon.

And it did work, for a while. Billy getting to know this version of Trini and Zack--and even Jason when he came down from his tower--a little better, Matt aiding in the relief and building with his hands alongside Kim and Bulk and Kiya--given that she refused to behave and go back to the Prime universe. Both Billy and Matt felt rather secure now that Drakkon was dead and they really felt like they were making a difference.

Of course, Finster had been ripped apart by the zombies that had very little memory of their transformation once they were turned back, so Terona spent about eighty percent of his time with the only two people that seemed to know anything about the crumbled Command Center and Drakkon's secret places in the palace, and what Finster left behind in his labs. Scorpina with her ability to read most alien dialects, and Skull who knew...basically everything else.

...But.

The joy was tempered an awful lot by the awareness both Billy and Matt had that they clearly made Kim and Eugene deeply uncomfortable; with a phrase by Vincent van Gogh ringing amongst them, but with different meaning depending on who they were with.

"If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now."

Which wouldn't have been so awful if Terona wasn't so curious as to what their relationships were like with the younger versions back home. It almost made Matt feel like he'd dodged a bullet whereas it made Billy feel like jumping out of a window.

@skyland2703

[kimberlyannharts]

So remember Drakkon?  Tommy Oliver if he sucked?  The only thing that kept the Power Rangers side of the main series interesting?  Well he’s back!!!!  He’s back and making new friends (Kiya, who wants to kill him) and reuniting with old friends (the Coinless Rangers, who want to kill him) to fight against Dark Specter, who wants to kill all of them.  Let’s see what wacky shenanigans they get up to in Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless!

- remember what i said about this book having old woman yuri?  yeah.

- not to be weird but I totally get Drakkon’s smile rn.  I would also be super happy if Scorpina was on top of me about to murder me

- MURDER WIFE [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE FROM THE SITCOM AUDIENCE]

- you ever get saved from street execution by your ex-wife and immediately start nagging her.  he’s such an asshole

- THREATENING LETHAL VIOLENCE JUST REUNION WITH YOUR EX THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!

- ignoring how he sucks this is our first confirmation that the events of DND were important to this book (Dark Specter refers to this as the first world he conquered, so I guess the idea is it’s because he was summoned through the Deadlock opening) though Evil Andros isn’t mentioned or referenced in any way.  So I don’t know if he’ll be important later or if he’ll just be quietly written off as having been killed by this point

- Kiya just doesn’t have the headspace to even try and figure out the weird anti-divorce dynamic being laid out in front of her and I don’t blame her.  Finster-5 gets more points for literally not even listening to them (he’s been dealing with them for over a decade) 

- "keep zombie loved one hidden as a way to keep them safe and possibly get through to them even though it’ll inevitably come back to bite you in the ass” is an inherently gay trope

- Honestly, between the White powers being unable to be split and Drakkon refusing to give up the Green coin, this is more respect for Tommy’s powers and more analysis of Tommy’s feelings towards them than the main series have done..................since Necessary Evil 

- ZACK/KIM IN THESE COMICS AGAIN?!????!??  IT’S A GODDAMN MIRACLE

- yes it sucks that Zack had to be the one sacrificed here but at least it’s giving him more narrative and emotional importance than he has in ages

- and heyyyyy we got a little explanation of where the fuck the Triceratops coin has been these past few Coinless stories!  Trini had it and refused to let anyone else take it in order to keep Billy close to her.  Simple, but effective

- CAN YOU TWO JUST...........................I DON’T EVEN KNOW.  KNOCK IT OFF

- you know I didn’t think you could make Drakkon and Slayer’s dynamic even funnier but turns out what you had to do was add a bloodthirsty daughter who really wants to kill her horrible new dad 

- oh.........i hoped you would be dead, tbh 

- remember how I said in my one ask Drakkon and Slayer get pissed if the other gets hurt by someone else?  yeah.  

- and yeah.  This one wins though for being probably the funniest sequences of panels in the book.  Just casually stopping the fifth attempted murder of your ex that day 

- AND YEAH.  this one is just insane though

- oh look it’s the sequence that made me want to chew through my walls at five am on a Wednesday morning

- HE’S SO FUCKING PISSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  this scene was described to me as “he said ‘it’s all yours’ to Dark Specter but apparently he meant everything except Kim” and i just GHRHGHRHGHRGHRHRH  

- [sobbing] old woman yuri

- tfw you acted like a dick to people grieving a lost loved one the entire book but now it happened to you and it fucking SUCKS

so yeah obviously I hate that Slayer was captured and is more than likely going to end up possessed this entire event BUT looking at it from a story perspective 

a) Slayer’s too popular and too crucial to the Coinless World for her to be killed off.  She’ll be back

b) If they’re going where I think they’re going with Drakkon’s development here taking out Slayer is the way to do it.  That page in particular was very clearly setting up that this is meant to hit him personally and possibly be the moment where he finally “wakes up” in a sense 

c) POTENTIAL FOR POSSESSED!SLAYER VS DRAKKON FIGHT..................... 

[augment-techs]

I’m obsessed with the Orchid ones. SO.

Orchid and Trillium + Billy/Skull

Orchid - Refined Beauty: World of the Coinless, one moment Billy was nineteen with a hole on his chest and bleeding out on the battlefield in Trini's arms and the next--well. Everything had changed. Jason was alive, but terribly damaged from trauma. Zack and Trini and Bulk had been keeping the fight going, despite Kim being on the other side of the field through no choice of her own. Angel Grove was a smoking ruin but for a few months ago, the rebuilding itself slow but steady. The multiverse existed and Billy had met a younger alternate to himself that had grabbed him by the shoulders on his way back with his own team to their own dimension and growled in his ear, "Don't fucking die again. He can't handle it a second time." No need to know who the 'he' in question was. More than twenty years had changed Eugene in the most...uncannily pleasant of ways. He wasn't constantly shadowing Bulk, because he was a leader to literal hundreds of Sentries--though, only about forty of them were loving and devoted and Billy was just the tiniest bit jealous when he saw some around his own (physical) age clinging to his back and arms like squirrels and kittens. He wasn't all jokes and long winded laughter, because he had learned the need and necessity to be silent and measured. The sheer amount of times he'd walked into a room Billy was running theories and calculations in and caused Billy to almost spook out of his skin measured in the dozens; and just so he could tell him it was lunch or that one of the others needed him before vanishing just as silently. This was not mentioning scenarios when Billy had seen him without a shirt in the training arena, practicing with Zack or Kim or Jason. He had perfect posture, svelte muscles, and the kind smile that Billy remembered from when they were still so young... It both pleased and offended him that the man wasn't in a relationship. The man was the Whole Package; what the hell? Trillium - Modest Beauty:

After Skull was certain he wouldn't break down crying or embarrass himself out of his rooms in Billy's presence, the captain allowed himself to drink in the things and sights that he'd been half convinced his mind had made up to keep him sane while undercover. Billy's chicken scratch handwriting with the old fashioned ink pen sets Trini had snagged out of Drakkon's old offices and given to the young man at the first sign he'd need as many as they had so he could familiarize himself with his new environment with thousands of notes. He still did that thing with tilting his 't's and 'l's hard to the right. The way he wore clothing very similar to the academics of English universities when he was out of the palace, but preferred to stick to softer, more linen or wool based trousers or v cut neck shirts when inside amongst friends and allies. Skull had caught himself observing pale neck taught with a stretch, or fingers entwined above the head in the same motion. Billy's shirt sometimes riding up to show off belly or a slip of the back. Though if Eugene was being honest, the times he saw Billy when he wasn't wearing glasses and they met blue eyes across from the water fountain when Billy had taken his shoes off...that had to be his new favorite image he had a feeling he would keep with him forever.

[augment-techs]

Q and S for World of the Coinless!Bulk and Kim OR not, honestly love them both 🥰

Quick(ie): There's no real way for Bulk to get his in a way that is both quick and fulfilling. He can give--goddam can he give--an orgasm to his partner (Kim) under pressured conditions and with very little prompting. Can even find joy in it more than about 90% of the population. But he also suffers from the curse of having an utterly gigantic tool. The sheer amount of time and effort to get an erection, not to mention maintaining it long enough to reach climax with a partner and not his own hand, is monstrous. Kim, in their first go-around before she was conscripted to be the Ranger Slayer and taken out of the equation of her own choices, truly appreciated those big hands, those nimble fingers, that lovely tongue that got her to the finish line, always, every time. Now that they're both approaching forty, however, she imbibes in spur of the moment, instant gratification a lot less with Bulk. Really, if the moods strikes them, it can be great. But there's really something to be said for making out for hours on end with his prick between her legs like a third arm. S - Sexual/Sleep Preferences: Yes, Kim has built up a bit of a kink for somnophilia since her mind controlled days under Drakkon's rule. No, it wasn't anything the tyrant did; it was just...something she kind of fell into when she woke up to an orgasm and felt awesome the rest of the day. Bulk, thankfully, has no problems with this, so long as she doesn't mind his falling asleep on top of her, under his full weight. (Which, she does not mind AT ALL.)

[kimberlyannharts]

Hi there! I just wanted to drop in and say how much I've enjoyed your reviews on the new Coinless comic. I have to admit I ordered a physical copy, decided I absolutely couldn't wait, and got the kindle version the night before it released.

I don't really have people in my life that appreciate the PR fandom lol. I love talking about the comics but alas no one knows what I'm talking about. I really like the grittiness and futuristic feel of the Coinless Universe.

I confess I wrote some PR fanfics back in 2013 and my favorite character to write was the Evil Green Ranger. He was so much fun because I could be an absolute a-hole. It was a way to blow of steam.

When they introduced Lord Drakkon, I was intrigued because it was very in line with my version being a sadistic killer. I know people aren't a fan of the Jason being alive retcon but I laughed because it was on-brand with what my character would do. No quick easy death for the leader on his watch. Too much fun to toy with and also having a juicy secret when battling the Coinless.

I wasn't a fan of how they made Jason act like a d!ck but I thought about it and felt bad for him in the end. I know he was a teenager when he was imprisoned, mentally/physically tortured, and isolated. He lost a large chunk of formative years: graduating, venturing out in the world, getting a career, meeting a partner.

Then he's suddenly released into this alien new world where he doesn't understand how things have changed. He's operating on an outdated mindset. Not to mention severe PTSD and having to immediately deal with another monster before he can really process this new world. I'm guessing mental health services are probably lacking in the Coinless World, poor guy.

In the end, I wanted to give him a big hug in DND. And seeing how he was in this issue too. My heart!!!

And lol.... I joyfully shrieked/cackled when he gut shot Drakkon with the shotgun!! Beautiful!!!! I do hope he ultimately survives whether he takes up a suit or not.

I'm sure the Slayer will pull through too; I also enjoyed that bit with Drakkon losing his sh*t over losing her! I can't wait until the follow up.

Sorry so long; again I don't have anyone here that gets what I'm interested in :)

I will be totally honest here, part of my hatred for the retcon isn't just from how little sense it makes - part of it was also because I feared Boom was going to pander to the crowd that wanted King Tyranno to be canon. And while DND turned out to take a interesting spin on the concept, people still came out of it thinking that Jason was now automatically Drakkon's greatest foe and rival when it had been established for years that it was Kimberly/Ranger Slayer. (You know....the person who was trying to establish herself as basically A Good Drakkon in the very series that brought back Jason??????) And that attitude still annoys me to this day. It's not the books' fault, but it's just something that'll always exist as long as the fandom and Jason fans are Like That.

But as of now my opinion on Coinless Jason is just......if he has to be here, what they're doing with him is fine. Just don't go too far with him.

Especially when literally the only thing I care about now is SLAYERRRRRRRR and the potential for possessed!Slayer vs Drakkon angst >:)

[augment-techs]

Playlist 100 + Evil!Billy/Sentry!Skull

....as this took forever, it also took a bit of an...elongated form...so to speak. Also this presented an opportunity to add an additional chapter to an already existing piece. Color me indulgent during illness~

How was it possible that Skull actually looked worse in the aftermath of the Grid Shattering and Drakkon being removed from their dimension?

The other Soulmates that were given a Separation by the spy and the Coinless Generals were doing fine. Had actually found a kind of peace in knowing when and where their Other had died, could survive through the aftermath if they so chose (Kat was already a survivor after losing Tanya; a few of the sentries Skull had helped--Casey Rhodes, and Robert James, and T.J. Johnson--doing the best they could with new Bonds formed from the ashes of what could have been and so grateful) and were helping rebuild their world from the rubble left at their feet.

But Billy had kept his ear to the ground and his eyes wide open and, though he had only spoken to Skull once after Kim had ascended the throne in all the hubbub and excitement of a new world, had been made aware of a growing sense of dread for his--

He wasn't the only one who noticed.

Bulk might have been occupied with his days helping out Kimberly, providing a shoulder she needed to hold onto and an ear to listen to her worries; as good as any Soulmate, though neither of them had the Marks and therefore could find whoever they wanted--but he had found himself sharing a look with Billy quite often after the genius was returned to himself and no longer had to clothe himself like one of Drakkon's favorite dolls and was still recovering the pieces of himself he'd lost while under the same spell of obedience as Kimberly.

It was usually after long days of redirecting sentry energies to protect the people who still hated them, or getting the Coinless to work with citizens who were still under the impression that Drakkon would return and punish them for helping the other; in doorways that looked down onto the pavilions that had cropped up along the palace streets (to give some semblance of order and direction among the Sentries and Coinless and volunteers) and out into the city, or windows that looked out into the bazaars that were much less rigid in expectations because one person for another was simply looking to trade what they had for what they needed. The both of them spotting that tall body, that black hair, those fox eyes and that soft smile that put everyone else at ease.

They both missed him, and they both saw the differences.

Billy had felt that neck snap before the last battle Drakkon had on the moon, and Bulk could easily recall that tan skin and shine in black hair.

Skull had been healthier Before.

Now they both saw that he was practically a ghost, skin gray and hair lackluster, but they couldn't understand why.

Until Adam Park finally walked right up to Billy after a bad day, sentries having bricks thrown at them by civilian and Coinless alike along the farther reaches of Angel Grove. He mentioned Skull having paused outside of an old house, ramshackle and with the roof half collapsed into it, smiling at how much of the wide lawn had been taken over by wildflowers and weeds, tall grass encompassing what would have been an area to park cars while the trees had tripled without the train tracks having been used in decades. He'd pointed out one of the oldest trees to Adam before the bricks had been thrown, knife marks still visible to show the scrapings of 'Skull+Bones Forever' and mentioning that he still had the pocket knife when a brick had almost bounced off his helmet and they had to address the civilians without shooting at them.

He had been happy and then he'd been drained sad and Adam hadn't been able to convince him to eat rice pudding or even the smallest cream cake when they got back to the mess hall and he'd wandered off to his rooms and, "Are you ever going to talk to him on your own or am I going to have to drag you to him?"

"I..." Billy practically choked, wringing his hands together and looking so horribly young in the face of such anger, "I didn't think he'd want to see me, let alone talk to me."

Adam looked...drawn. Sad and angry.

Then he picked Billy up like a sack of rice, slung him over his shoulder, and marched down the halls towards Skull's room with the simple grumble of, "You're so damn stupid."

*

When Adam dropped Billy in front of Skull's door, he also took a small silk handkerchief wrap of custard creams out of his pockets and thrust them into the other man's hands, "While you're here, do try and get him to eat. He might actually concede to you."

Then he pounded on the door, bounded out of sight down the hall, and left Billy vibrating in something not too different to terror as he waited for the door to open.

And waited...

And found himself a little chagrined at having to knock again when he counted to sixty and there was still no movement, adding in a little, "Hello," for good measure.

Except that when he knocked, the door keened on its hinges to open for itself, and he found his eyes squinting into the rather spartan room with the windows all covered in cloth and the bed occupied.

Though only just.

Billy found a little side table bare much like the rest of the room so perfect to set down the food, and shut the door as he stepped over the sentry uniform pieces strewn in a carpet leading up to the bed. The red and black like little pavings of blood and tar against the grey and white, all cement and industrial.

The blanket was more like a second bed sheet draped over Eugene's long, imposing, scarily vacant form. It imperceptibly rose and fell with his very slight breathing, but other than that, Billy felt very much like he was staring at a color drained, old fashion photo of a dead body from back when it was tradition to capture the image of a person before their soul departed entirely.

He stood for what felt like an eternity, eyes tracing old scars, crow's feet, grey hairs; the delicate stream of light that formed a line under the window veering with the sun until it was gone and there was only blue twilight, but Billy was unable to wake the man.

The shades of what had been were too firm in his psyche that his next step in choice couldn't have been stalled or diverted any more than the sun rising.

He knew all the things that had happened when he wasn't in control of his own mind were quietly shut up in a back closet of his subconscious until he was willing to deal with them--the tortures, the rapes, the executions, the way Drakkon used to fondle Billy and Kim and make them act like it was enjoyable--but with Eugene it was always different, had always been different, since they had first met and felt a connection Billy's parents had often talked about, but Billy had ignored until the tide had turned and he was returned to something like himself.

Adam was right, he was an idiot, and Eugene had more or less spent the last thirty (not twenty, though he would have given a king's ransom to a god to change that) years paying for it in ways both big and small.

Black magic could save a life when a soulmate went away, but it couldn't stop the pain of separation and missing them. Let alone when they were so close as to be able to touch, but one was scared and the other was used to waiting (knowing also that it seemed the universe was adamant that what he might want, he was not going to get).

Taking a deep breath, as though he was about to step into fire and lava, Billy took his glasses off to set them on the side table.

Turning back to where he left the custard creams, he unwrapped the paper folding holding them together and removed two, wandering back over to the side of the bed, placing one cream between his teeth and squatting down so he was eye level with Eugene's face.

Not thinking much about reflexes and survival instincts and how Billy recalled once almost getting knifed by a black sentry Drakkon once had him call on after thirty-two hours awake that had been exhausted and didn't appreciate being woken up in their sleeping quarters by one of the proverbial bogeymen; Billy touched the smooth bottom of his finger to Eugene's nose and followed the line of it up between his eyebrows, over his right eye, swirled it under his ear and held the crook of his jaw in his palm. The side of his thumb brushed at his cheekbone and Billy was met with storm born eyes blinking open to look at him.

There wasn't much in the way of affect, or in surprise, but Billy forged on, chewing his own custard cream into his mouth and offering up the other in hand much like he would have with a feral animal that looked even half as starved and out of sorts as Eugene, "Adam says that you haven't been eating. I come as emissary for his cause."

There was hesitation, those eyes deep as a well taking him in like Billy wasn't really there.

And then his sighed out like a bear on the edge of spring, turning his face to nuzzle into Billy's palm (like when they were children and Billy used to sneak into bed with him during sleepovers, Skull curling all those long limbs around him and Billy's hands always ending up braced to his chest or holding his face like a stuffed animal) and his long arm reached out from under the blanket to take the offering.

A naughty, childish leftover part of Billy took hold and he declined the grasping fingers and the open palm (by the Grid, he had big hands--and big feet from what Billy could see at the rim of the blanket) and lifted it to Eugene's lips himself. Not saying, but mentally echoing, 'Open wide.'

Eugene was not inclined towards a voice in the back of his head--like Billy had once been--to answer to the call of servitude and obedience, but he had also never once denied Billy something that he had really wanted, craved enough to cry about, or gasped in excitement over.

He hadn't when they were five and Billy cried at other children stepping on ants and had helped the small blond protect their living area for two weeks until the other much bigger kids had gotten bored with them. He hadn't when Billy was sick with the flu and couldn't go camping like his parents had arranged, so he did his best to set up a tent on the roof of the Cranston house and created a makeshift fire held in a coffee can on top of a cluster of rocks so they could roast marshmallows and still look at the stars like they were somewhere else. He hadn't when the world was falling apart around them, families and the other Rangers separated and was having a nervous breakdown because he needed help and there was nobody else except for someone he'd abandoned standing before him and asking what he could do, 'No, seriously, what do you need?'

This had not changed from that moment to the present when Eugene blinked and opened his mouth and accepted the food, face pinching at the edges and looking as uncomfortable as any eating disordered person with the swallow, but not looking panicked or offended as Billy swallowed his own and smiled, bringing both hands up to hold the sides of Eugene's face with a pause of something...more.

(It was always More with them, in spite of Billy once being extremely stupid and prideful and Eugene reacting with aggression and skittishness after a hurt neither of them could explain the source of.)

"I have more. Do you want some, or do you want to go back to sleep?"

Eugene blinked, brought a hand up to one of Billy's, and held it there a moment, thinking but still looking Billy in the eye like he always did.

Then his eyes closed while the rest of him remained in place, the ghost of Billy hoping for a longer stay hushed, and he knew the answer before the words even formed.

"Sleep. I'm sorry, but I'm... I'm just really tired."

(That little tether of blue light inside Billy, and the little string of orange inside Skull, at once gave a feather light brush against heartbeats and glowed beneath the skin as Billy gave a nervous, sad little smile; pulling the blanket back into place and helping Skull return to where he was comfortable in the dark.)

Billy didn't hesitate, just bent down to give a graze of lips across Eugene's cheek as he went back to the door, tapping the rest of the creams on his way out with intent, "I'll leave these here for when you wake up. Try to eat them, okay?"

He received no answer back, just the air of an exhale and the door's hinges turning silent behind him, lock clicking into place.

But it was... it was alright for the moment.

He was very good at plans. This gave him something to work for that didn't involve the betterment of mankind, just something he found that, walking away and grinding his teeth and twisting his fingers around each other, he had probably wanted since he was ten.

*

Two cups of coffee, Viennese Cinnamon with a helping of pure cream in one and brown sugar laced with red tinted honey in the other. A plate of wheat toast that had been buttered to perfection. And another two plates, each containing one Sunnyside up egg and two slices of thick, wood smoked bacon.

The sentries that Skull looked over (he looked over hundreds, yes, but there was only a small cluster that seemed brave or kind enough to get near him in places and times when there were no orders to be aloft in the field and carry weapons) and looked over him in turn seemed a little bit disconcerted when the former Huntsman took a seat to Skull's right and placed the food and drink before the both of them. The little auburn haired niece of the space ninja Drakkon had cut the head off was the only one that didn't squint at the meal as if it might be poisoned, and the young man that seemed to keep his blond friend from Reefside from attacking people of higher power on sight almost appeared relieved at someone actually doing something about their captain's Problems.

Billy didn't say anything as Eugene looked upon the meal and then looked up at blue eyes behind glasses, he merely took some toast and bit into it without pushing.

Eugene sighed, but still downed the coffee, ate the egg, nibbled half a piece of bacon, and took one bite of the toast before a vein in his neck flicked with his seeming recoil, dropping it back on the plate and excusing himself without a word. Merely a wave at the youngest sentries to take what they wanted from his unfinished meal.

He didn't say anything to Billy, but the man took no offense, considering and plotting as Cassidy took the short bacon, Devin the long bacon, Marah and Kapri the practically untouched toast.

Billy's own meal was finished except for the egg, which he cut four ways before sliding it over to the sentries and leaving in the opposite direction of Eugene; to plan and consider and help things along with Kim, whereas Eugene made their proposals happen.

*

Greasy and fresh pork fried rice, twin goblets of black cherries swimming in what smelled like light rose wine, a tureen that looked like it belonged to Marie Antoinette filled awkwardly with a rotisserie chicken lightly spiced and soaking its juices into mashed potatoes topped with chives an lightly dusted with garlic.

Billy knew that he was pressing his luck here, in the dinner hours, Skull's seat at a balcony window a very telling thing in that he was supposed to left alone to decompress from a day of doing his duty and helping civilians and giving orders that some of the sentries still quibbled over and a lot of the Coinless didn't think he had the authority to give.

But Billy knew that the man hadn't eaten anything since the breakfast he imposed on him the day before and there was still information to be gathered on just why the man would put himself at risk with an empty stomach, energy constantly dwindling among the people he was supposed to protect that hated him.

It couldn't be a physical health issue like cancer or internal scarring; Billy had dug into his exam history and--while it had made him vomit for a good hour at the sheer volume of x-rays and had triggered his memory of events he'd been present for--Skull technically had a clean (this being an operative word that made Billy also grit his teeth and throw and stapler out of a third floor window) bill of health.

Psychological problems were Billy's next consideration, and the fattest things he could beg Bulk to help him make on short notice would probably ring the bell for yes or no if that was the issue.

If Eugene was surprised by Billy taking a seat on the other side of the balcony after placing the food between them and setting himself up with a little bit of everything in a bowl, cracking some chopsticks and smoothing them out against each other while he waited, it didn't show across his face or his shoulders.

It might have made itself more clear in the way his fingers twitched and paused before taking up a small bowl for himself, cutting off a sliver of chicken and a dollop of potatoes; spooning over some rice that would have only filled a very small bird and taking his own sweet time with smoothing out the chopsticks offered by Billy before he used one to skewer a cherry.

He seemed to savor the tastes, noting the effort it took to make the meal and was courteous enough to compliment Billy's turn on Bulk's recipes, "He's not a fan of garlic and the chicken rub is a lot softer than he would use," but otherwise kept quiet and looked out upon the city kingdom, watched sentries going home from the day shifts and the coinless heading in for the night shift that everyone was still getting used to.

It felt odd to Billy, this quiet that followed around Skull like something halfway between a state of grace and a warning siren to the discombobulate the unwary. He'd never been this quiet Before, had seemed to detest the very notion of letting moments pass on without filling them with something like notes from life.

But he still ate the food as best he could, and Billy wouldn't break the serenity of the moment by asking something so stupid as, 'Are you alright?' or 'Are you doing better?'

Or Grid forbid Billy say the one thing he wanted after years and years of wondering, 'Is our Bond truly lost? Did you know Before? Did I break you?'

The Blue Ranger bit down so hard on his mouthful of chicken at that last thought that he almost bit clean through the ends of the chopsticks, but he yanked them out just before they splintered, holding them away from his face and glaring at them a moment.

Then he realized how ridiculous he must have looked and glanced nervously over at Skull, finding the man standing up, plate and bowl finished and a brow raised at the figure Billy cut.

(Billy was never going to get over how tall Skull got; how broad--even with the weight loss.)

"Trade you mine, if your chopsticks are leaving splinters in your mouth?"

Unable to form a coherent answer to that, Billy simply blinked and tried not to show his embarrassment as Skull handed over his own chopsticks--wiped clean on a cotton kerchief, like a gentleman, Billy couldn't help thinking--and took Billy's.

"Thank you for the meal."

He swept back into the dining hall without a sound, not even boots making taps with each step as Billy stood in place a moment longer.

Then he looked at the end of the chopsticks and had to remind himself of his purpose before his brain was overrun with the thought of indirect kisses.

Psychological ills were probably not at the high end of Skull's reasons for his lack of eating.

(Billy himself couldn't manage to finish the rest of the food by himself, so he ended up giving it to the lieutenants Johnson, Winslow, Chen, and Park on his way out of the dining hall. All of them still as houses and suspicious, save for Adam, who rolled his eyes at Billy's back and dug into the potatoes; practically inciting motion like a dog whistle at a greyhound track, the others were so quick to tuck in and hum in delight.)

*

Pineapple and gin in tiny little glasses, with tiny little umbrellas that Billy had to improvise making with wax paper and toothpicks. A fish bowl full of whole milk with the cream still on top that the poor blue ranger spent the better part of the day trying to get from the one cow in the kingdom that absolutely detested being touched. Little squares very poorly decorated with little pink hearts of strawberry-and-cream sheet cake (like the both of them knew from trying to recreate them at eight after Billy bulldozed through Little Women at Christmas and his parents weren't around to stop them).

And Adam answering Skull's door, finger held up to his lips as Skull's other favorite (everyone knew it, and nobody held it against them) sentries looked out along the door frame, all torn between irritation and a weird kind of affection for the poor blond man.

Billy thought he might cry.

"Again?"

"Out like a light halfway home from patrol duty," Adam confirmed, but, not one to waste a good meal, herded Billy in and had him set down the offerings he'd brought along to run his usual gambit of tests on the how and why of Skull's eating problem. Emotional wounds were a lot harder to diagnose, but Billy still held onto to the reality that he'd known the other the longest and had the widest window into what might set him back on course.

Billy didn't whine, but only just, as he set down the meal on the side table, hanging up his cloak as T.J. and Kai wandered over to call dibs on the little umbrella drinks, Cassidy, Devin, Marah, and Kapri fast to take a seat on all sides of the sheet cake, dipping the treats into the cream milk and all almost moaning at the decadence that they hadn't imbibed in for years.

Billy would have taken it for a true compliment if he wasn't so focused on taking a seat on the edge of the bed where Kelsey remained, the yellow sentry scooting over to give Billy room to get more comfortable at Skull's waist side, her hand, however, not letting go of the thin wrist as she counted heartbeats to ease the lot of them of their worry for their captain.

Billy only got about five seconds of taking stock of the situation, Skull looking much more pale, the lines in his face more pronounced, the grey in his hair more obvious--before Kelsey finally said what had been on mind of every sentry that gave a damn about the man and didn't care to see him suffer any longer than necessary.

"You're going about this all wrong."

"...I'm sorry?"

"He's your Soulmate. He doesn't need some grand courting display for you to prove that you care about him, he just needs you to tell him you love him."

"I'm...I'm not so sure that's true."

"That's okay," Marah chirped, swallowing down a mouthful of cake and smiling much more than she often did, "We're sure."

"Yeah, dude," Devin piped up, meandering over with a slice of the confection for Kelsey and actually patting the Blue Ranger on the shoulder as if he hadn't spent the last twenty years as someone just as scary and terrifying as the Ranger Slayer, "Guy's been in love with you since, like, forever. I don't think it's going to be that hard to convince him if you just say boo."

"But it will," And Billy didn't even know where this free for all of information was coming from. He didn't even tell the other Rangers about his hesitation towards trying to mend bridges with Skull that Billy himself had torched into oblivion when they were young and stupid, "It will. It's all just...such a mess. I made it a mess."

There was silence, awkward and still for a moment. But then almost like a little light going off in the dark, a firefly in a field of lavender almost black at midnight, Adam cleared his throat and pointed at Billy's hand pressed to the bed.

Looking down, Billy almost jolted, soul leaving his body, as he found that in his sleep, Skull's other hand had found its way out from under the covers to touch the tips of their fingers. He was still unconscious and still exhausted in his sleep, but Billy knew the touch hadn't been there when he sat down.

When Billy allowed himself to breathe, he found his face quite wet. 

When he wiped away the water out from under his glasses, he found the others in the room looking smug, endeared to both men, earnest in their gladness, and all quietly removing themselves from the room; not leaving behind a crumb or glass or anything else but the two that really needed to just...be alone together.

[augment-techs]

“Why not tonight? I’m even wearing something pretty.” + Kim x Anyone you like!!

Skull had to resist the urge to groan like a parent walking in an his kids having set the living room on fire; the superimposed vibe was still there, but all of the people in the room were adults, and therefore should know better.

He'd just left to get snacks for five minutes, get the cookies he'd been making out of the oven--it should not have been possible for things to spiral so fast.

He sighed, setting the platter down on the table, taking his own goblet off the edge to fill it with milk for the cookie he still held between his teeth, and grumbled aloud after a moment of chewing before sitting back down beside Adam, "...What did you do to Kim?"

Adam picked up his own little champagne flute and topped it off with Shirley Temple, pulling the maraschino cherry out, "Scopina asked her a Truth."

"About what?"

Adam chewed on the stem, pointing at the alien woman and then at Kim like a class T.A. reporting to a genius professor, "Who her best sexual experience was with."

"...Which was?"

Kim, if possible, went an even deeper red, shaky hand raised up and wiggly pointer finger directed at both Bulk and Skull, her head flicking back and forth in desperation.

It was like watching a kitten being given the option of cream or a whole portion of steak.

Skull, despite being fully aware that everyone was looking between the Pink, the Coinless General, and the Double Agent with quiet awe and absolute curiosity, looked deadpan and it really showed in his words how unimpressed he was at such a tedious and revealing question.

"You asked a flustered bisexual to make a choice."

Scorpina allowed her smile to grow all the way to her ears, looking upon Kim and then clapping her hands as they all waited.

"I...I...you're both...that is..." Kim finally stopped pointing and put her hands to her face to try and work away her blush.

* 

…pulling his lips and tongue up along the curve of her panties as he traced their seems and pulled them gently down, Bulk smiled with his eyes up at Kim, hands remaining where he'd requested them at her sides as he pulled his own pants and underwear off to join his boots; shirt following them to the floor and pulling over the little jiggle he had left from years ago before he'd accumulated so much muscle underneath. The plush was still there, but Kim would be lying if she said she didn't appreciate the contrast as he slid above her and his belly smoothed over her own like a glove as he made way to peck and kiss at her lips.

It certainly distracted from the giant friend she had seen and ogled and wanted for weeks being at full mast and sliding between them to leave a wet trail from the ridge of her pubic bone all the way beyond her naval.

She wanted it so bad, but she'd promised to let him prep her after a good dinner and light wine. She'd even worn her sheer silk kimono and lace underthings that made her look like a cheesecake calendar girl from one of Norman Rockwell's more lurid pieces to keep her in check (since if she tore them from impatience, she only had one tailor good enough on staff to fix them, and no fucking way was she going to Adam Park after a sexcapade).

There was no way she could take him in her cunt; they'd measured and discussed this thoroughly, but Kim could never be called a quitter, so it would be her ass that he'd have to fill up.

*

"Maybe you're overthinking this a little," Trini put in as Kim continued to flick her gaze back and forth, from the mountain of a man that would have looked at home in the Game of Thrones original books, over to the man that'd had sex with almost every sentry that was both still living and had been stupid enough to attract Drakkon's attention or unfortunate (fortunate?) enough to have something Skull needed for the Coinless. 

It looked a little uncomfortable, the way her neck kept low and seemed to sag off of her shoulders.

"No, I'm really, not!" Kim almost giggled hysterically, biting her thumb, "They're both awesome and an unapparelled delight. How am I supposed to choose between that?!"

*

"Make sure you eat her well, Skullovitch; I don't want a single drop wasted."

Skull couldn't give an answer one way or another in this position, bent over the bed with Drakkon absently pulsing inside him as if he was a finger puppet, while Skull's mouth and hands were meticulously occupied with Kim's pleasure as she leaned back, pillow princess to the end of the line as Drakkon wished.

It was dizzying, the inside of her head reeling with the morality she so cherished being hushed and shushed by the mind control that told her to sit back--literally--and enjoy the ride.

She was grateful, way deep down, that some piece of Drakkon really didn't like to work for the bastard when he was high on power. At least, not when it came to Kimberly, submissive little doll in the palm of his hand that he had never been able to go beyond whispering in the ear of, or giving her a peck on the cheek.

It must have been infuriating that he needed someone else to do this for him.

But at least...

She trembled and moaned like an overly enthusiastic diva from some tacky little porno produced in the '70s. Her hands couldn't help finding Skull's hair, wet from sweat and deprived of gel, pulling and yanking at the fine black strands as the pads of his fingers palmed her legs wide before getting down to brass tacks. 

Kimberly could never be sure how he managed it, taking it painfully in the back end as Drakkon cooed in his ear, giving points and instructions and jerking him off in a reach-around; while also paying close attention to Kim's breathing levels, hands tweaking nipples and massaging her ass and hips.

His tongue was practiced in using the underside over the weeping folds, tip sparking lightning bolts at her clit, teeth gentle along the outside as he opened wide without bite to ease the greater length of his tongue inside of her.

When he added his spare hand into the mix, pointer and middle fingers following in after his tongue to search and locate that tiny little patch of flesh that was connected to important things, she squirmed like a cat in heat on a sidewalk. She folded up from her head resting on the pillows to lurch forward and over him; eyes wide open--unfortunately--to look Drakkon in the eyes like he'd ordered at the beginning to illustrate her pleasure.

*

"That was your question: Who her best sexual experience was with? Those exact words?"

The gathered party, a small cluster of Zack and Trini sharing the sofa and sipping at Root Beer beside Aisha and Rocky gorging on the mini red meat bits and bobs on crackers; Scorpina and Kim on either side of Bulk, using him almost like a bookend or body pillow with their own legs mirrored in draping over the sofa as he ate popcorn and they each practically chugged an actual pint of flavored liquor--all of them turned to look on Skull's face. Contemplative and precise like none of them could be.

Adam nodded his head as Scorpina was in the midst of chewing on her own maraschino cherry from the bottom of her drink.

*

She ended up at the edge of the bed, kimono and underthings carefully set to the side, her feet hanging off the mattress and her body being held up on quivering arms as Bulk had both eaten out her sopping wet cunt--he'd fondled her breasts the whole time, too, big hands encompassing the whole of them and holding on to sometimes maneuver her back and forth so she could grind against his mouth and tongue at her own leisure and preferred pace; moaning and breathing hard and so tempted to just rut against him until orgasm--and worked her asshole open with gel warmed and perfect.

His fingers were so big, it took half an hour to get four in to stretch her wide, get her ready and able for the main event that stood erect and alert and dripping pre all over the limestone and marble floor.

She was a drooling, begging mess by the time he pulled his foreskin back, that pretty red-pink head prodding gently against her as he held her ass open and still; sliding slowly, slowly, slowly in.

Kim had to finally rear up and lean backwards into his soft, downy hair covered chest once it was halfway to halfway in, hot and big against her insides as he pulled and pushed in and out in increments. Her arms wrapped around his neck and he kissed at her throat, palms still steady at her hips as she started bucking and bouncing to assist him on his journey. "Mm, you smell so good," he hummed in her ear, almost making Kim come right there with how honest he was; how gentle and sincere. The bristle of his beard sent pocked and prickly gooseflesh over her in waves and she could have begged for him to finish her there if she wasn't adamant about him getting his, too.

She did beg, a lot, by the time he was fully inside, eyes roving around in her head like a seizure patient and drool sliding down her chin as he really upped the pace--

And she really did mean UP. He moved into holding her legs aloft but firm so she was in the air, cock sloshing against the lubricant he'd also pumped a little inside, as well as his own pre; six inches outside of her body at any given time, but another six remaining inside her heat.

"Fucking fill me, fill me--fill me--!!"

*

Skull ate another cookie and settled his head aloft his hand, almost looking bored over at Scorpina.

"Bulk wins."

Two words, and everyone had instantly conflicting reactions to it.

Bulk blushed nearly as hard as Kim did, looking up at the ceiling while Kim looked confused at how easy it was for the man's best friend to decide that when she was a mess at her try.

Scorpina seemed to take it as a human thing, accepted it as the truth if he said it without hesitation; easily bored and ready for someone to carry on the game, she wasn't about to ask him to explain.

Zack and Trini could totally see it, having both "imbibed" on Bulk in their tenure fighting to protect and save the world. They knew what he was carrying and knew he was a good guy; Skull being his oldest friend was just an easy answer to swallow.

Aisha and Rocky looked...hesitant. But only because they were looking directly at Adam.

Adam looked scandalized and almost insulted that the words had ever even left Skull's mouth.

But he didn't contest his superior officer. Wouldn't, or couldn't, deny his friend his reasons for conceding a superiority the others didn't need to know about.

(Not here, when and where they were all relaxed a tipsy and a close stretch to devolving into silence and cuddles. Or falling asleep right there, Kim and Bulk within a stretched pace over to Kim's own bed of the empire.

The perks of being friends and comrades of the Queen; her room had all the fixtures of a studio apartment.

He could wait.)

* * *

Zack ended up with Trini draped over him, snuggled into his chest like the only safety she had known. Rocky doing much the same with Aisha, all muscle and lithe limbs and willing to take the brunt of his weight after almost dropping a champagne flute.

It took a little doing, but Kim had always been a girly girl and ended up forking over some of her stuffed animals she'd been amassing in her room under Bulk's suggestion she have something just for herself to hold onto in the night if she was feeling stressed and he was there; a giant red panda, giant unicorn and a pair of medium sized ferrets propped around Scorpina as she snored away the night. The empty bottle of wine Kim had fished out of her hand was replaced with a black cloth kitty.

Turned out that they four people in pairs could both wait. Both fold spare throws and blankets over sleeping doubles and singles as they all mentally plotted how to end their own evening together.

Bulk and Kim delighted in stumbling over to their shared bed by the time they were sure everyone was comfortable, Adam and Skull giving a wave on their way out the door to wherever they chose to go that was really neither Bulk or Kim's business.

They'd all worn through simple dares of chugging the last of the milk in gallons with one cookie each, or Frenching each other like they were teenagers again. Answering truths of their fears and hopes and embarrassment. 

And now they just wanted to strip naked from the plain clothes they'd been adorned with all evening, dive under the covers and press palms, fingers, lips, tongues, curve of the leg, prick, and cunt wherever they deigned they could get away with without waking the others up.

Very much like they were kids again; and Kim couldn't stop smiling as she slid Bulk's cock between her thighs, the heft and heat of it driving her crazy on each thrust back and forth without penetration but more than enough friction.

She was still wearing the little chain necklace with pewter stone hanging off the one loop, and Bulk couldn't help laying on the compliment as her fingers worked his tip.

"You look...so pretty."

Kim smiled all the more, practically glowing like pixie as she held his hands above his head, pinning them to the pillows; swooping in for a deep, deep kiss.