#pix… I’ll get you one day….

[keyslox]

doodles them when I got back from work hurray!

(referenced a pose by @/albanenechi btw!)

[fence-time]

Here is my really long list of head cannons for your playground au.

Marytn, Pearl, Grian, Jimmy, and BigB all went to the same preschool- evo

Gem and fWhip are siblings, who is older? They won’t tell you.

Gem has a rock/gem collection and really likes wizards and magic and science. fWhip made her a really big hat and a scarf. She gave fWhip an amethyst that she put on a necklace she had a ruby that she also put on a necklace. No one knows how she got these.

fWhip on the other hand likes to take apart his toys to make new inventions (They sometimes work. Like 80% of the time). He made himself a scarf. fWhip steals dye from Scott to make people stuff. He crochet because.

Pearl likes the sunflowers that she stole from Jimmy and Scott and is trying to set up Tango and Jimmy. She and Sausage like to fight with sticks at recess. One time it was after school and the lifers couldn’t play so they had a whole arena fight. Xornoth had to go pick Scott, Sausage, and Joey because Sausage’s and Joey's parents were looking for them. 

The empires musical is just Ren and Marytn wanting to put on a musical and so Lizzie was like sure i’ll do that with you guys!

Grian and Pearl try to fly one day with one of fWhip and Mumbo’s inventions. It worked, it was just them gliding . fWhip and Mumbo were very happy after that, they made the ‘wings’ for the two. 

The mail system is Etho, Pearl, and Tango wanting to message each other in class so they built a mail system during a day where they couldn’t life series because it was too cold.

Pix likes to make candles and has a book where he writes down all the ‘deaths’ of the people

During group projects in the esmp room it’s usually a 4 person project and so you have the ocean alliance (or the Codvengers as  Jimmy calls them) the Wither rose alliance and people call them the fae alliance but it’s just the rest of the class i.e Scott, Joey, Shrub, and Kathrine.

Oli only comes to school a couple days a week because he also goes to some fancy music school.

There is a fountain (Drinking) and water pools around it on the playground that’s Lizzie’s empire. Pix took the sand box. There is just some plot of grass and so Pearl claimed that. Gem took the tallest tower of the playground.

The Hermitcraft recap is just Pix, Xloy, and Lyarrah (Who are older but Pix for some reason plays with the empires kids) filming everybody because the hermitcraft and the empires really wanted them to. So they report on what happened during the week on hermitcraft in a news report and make ‘episodes’ of empires. 

Tango made an obstacle course that he called Decked out (2) that they would play during recess. Etho and Pearl got really good at it and so they were called the Deepfrost Court.

Keralis and Xisuma are the oldest of the hermits. They get to hand out the snacks when snack time comes.

AWH YEAHHH :O these are all adorable and I’m incorporating them into my belief system right neow….

[notyouraryang0dd3ss]

Ok, I’ll guess I’ll just be the Hiddles anon. Lol since my hatred for her really geared up bc of her involvement with him.

Anyway. So wait. She cheated on Joe??? That’s like the third time she’s cheated, if I’m not mistaken.

She cheated on Calvin — or at least there was an overlap — with Tom Hiddleston. Then she insinuated in her shit music, that she used Tom as a rebound or cover bc she actually wanted Joe (she met them both around the same time at the Met Gala in 2016). And she used Joe to “prove” how private she really was bc she blamed Tom for their “romance” being so out there.

The man would travel between London and various places in America without a peep, but, sure, Jan.

Their breakup always cracks me up bc he was supposed to fly from LA to the east coast somewhere to meet back up with her. On her plane. They had paps on the tarmac in LA to show him getting on the plane. Then they had paps waiting with her on the east coast to catch them reuniting. Except when the plane landed no one got out. So she went and climbed onboard. A few minutes passed and she came stomping out of the plane mad as a hornet and shooed the paps away. Word got out that he decided after his awkward and uncomfortable appearance at ComicCon some time before that (when he literally said the words “Taylor Swift and I are in love” 🙄) that he didn’t want to be a part of this PR nightmare anymore. So he didn’t get on the plane. And to add insult to injury, it was said he left a small gift bag on one of the seats. Inside it? A self-help book for getting over narcissism. 🤣🤣🤣 He popped up like a week later in London near where he lived. Proving he can get around without anyone noticing him.

During this PRship is when I really got an idea of how she operates and controls her image. She has a three month plan: the “outing,” so to speak (pix on the rocks kissing with Hiddles), being seen out and about (them kissing and touring in time and other places), pix with his family (they walked on the beach near his mother’s home with his mother, sister, and young niece), and then her supporting her friends (they attended a Selena Gomez concert fighter….he looked like a dad accompanying his daughter and her friends 🤦🏽‍♀️). She also has scripts for what her partner is supposed to say. I’ve heard he kept them and he and his friends would sit around (after they broke up) and read them out loud and laugh their asses off at the terrible writing. It’s probably why he sounded so wooden and uncomfortable when he spoke about her during the, what I call, Snakebite of Summer 2016. The rumors were she was trying to get him to take her to the Emmys that September but he didn’t want to.

Anyway…yeah I have a lot of intel from those days 😂 (sorry for the long ass ask!)

hiddleswift lore? in MY inbox? in 2024? it’s more likely than you think! I love this rundown thank you for explaining it!

She’s cheated 3 times and she’s still the victim in all her music? HOW? And how the hell did she convince her fans too?

So she cheated on Calvin with Tom to get with…Joe? This is so manipulative. I hate feeling bad for men but she genuinely makes me feel bad for her exes. She’s awful. If he actually left the self help book, he’s so funny for that. It’s been 8 years and she still hasn’t changed.

Your analysis of her PR relationships is on point! I see the same thing happening with Kelce. With the release of this album it feels like she’s intentionally fizzling out their romance. The scripts make sense because all of her partners sound the same when talking about her. How miserable she must be knowing all the love her partners have for her is fabricated.

[lightning-and-dragons]

Title: Two Inventors Around a Fire

Written for @12daysofchristmas challenge 2024.

Day/Prompt(s): Day 8; Telling secrets around a fire

Fandom/Character(s)/Ship: Pixal & Jay Walker

Warnings (if applicable): NA

Word Count: 2432

Fandom: Lego Ninjago

Rated: General Audiences

Read on Tumblr below!

--------------------------------------------

Pixal bent down to pick up a dry stick, careful to keep the sticks she already balanced between her arms stable. The last thing she wanted was for all of them to fall and have to pick them back up again. Her joints in her left arm cracked and locked for a moment as she did so, and not for the first time she wished she was back at the Monastery, where there was warmth and all the tools she could ever need to make her arm smooth again. Being outside in icy weather wasn’t doing her any favors, if anything, it was likely the reason her arm was locking up in the first place.

To be fair, it wasn’t that cold out, not by typical Ninjago weather patterns. Yet after traveling through the frigid weather for two days, even Pixal was getting tired of it, and could feel the cold affecting her, both physically and emotionally. All they needed to do was fix the vehicles enough to get to Nya’s old Samurai X safehouse, repair their vehicles completely, and they would be on their way. 

She finally balanced all of the sticks successfully, thankful that she had managed to get more wood to feed the fire, and wandered back to their campsite. Jay was the only one there at the moment, sitting on a log and watching the fire. She could see that his hands were close to the flames, as if he was trying to take in all of the heat that he could, and she wondered how he was fairing. Growing up in the Sea of Sands, he was no doubt used to a warmer climate. 

“Be careful not to get too close, Jay.” Pixal warned, setting the wood down beside the fire. “Although we do have first aid kits, I would hate to see you get burned.”

Jay turned to her with a smile. “I’ll be careful.”

“Good.”

“Have you heard anything from Zane or Cole?” Jay asked, turning back to the flames. 

“Not yet. But, I am not too worried. Zane was built to last in conditions such as these, and Cole is very resourceful.” She replied, sitting beside him.

Jay chuckled. “That he is. I hope that they find food. We’re nearly out of granola bars.”

Pixal nodded, knowing that their emergency supplies were running low, she had counted them only an hour before. She was not worried for herself of Zane, yet Cole and Jay would get less attentive the longer they were hungry. And in the wilderness, without vehicles, this could prove to be fatal. 

She drew her thoughts away from her concern, looking at Jay, who was still watching the fire. He had pulled his kusarigama out, and was running his fingers along the dull edge of the blade absently.  She opened her mouth, intending to ask him why he decided to change his weapon after years of using nunchucks, which was a question that had lingered with her for years, when a warning symbol flashed across her vision, red and blaring. 

Apparently she had been injured in the latest fight, and her self-care systems didn’t register it until now. 

Pixal blamed the cold. 

“Pix? You okay?” Jay asked, looking over to her in concern. “You went distant there.”

“Apparently, I’m injured.”

“What! Where?” 

Jay was on his feet in an instant, soon kneeling on the snow in front of her, his hands hovering uneasily over her, as if hesitant to touch her. His kusarigama was resting on the snow beside him.

“Left shoulder. My arm kept locking, but I assumed that it was the cold affecting my joints.” She promised herself that she would never make such a fatal error again. 

Jay nodded, getting up to look at her shoulder, and Pixal was sure to remain still. He let out a low whistle, before he walked back around to her. 

“There’s an arrow in your shoulder, cutting right through your metal skin.” He said simply, yet he looked slightly scared. She hoped that he wasn’t scared for her, this was one of the most minor injuries she sustained. However, even as she thought that, she felt a little bit afraid. That arrow could be more damaging then she thought, no matter how unlikely it was.

Jay continued speaking. “Those Skeletons must’ve gotten lucky, they usually don’t hit anything. How bad will it hurt you if it stays in?”

“If the arrow doesn’t move much, it shouldn’t affect the rest of my systems.” 

She hoped. Logically, it was sound, but reality was often different than theory. 

“But, what about you? Don’t you want to get it out? Doesn’t it scare you a bit? Does it hurt?”

Pixal didn’t really know what to say to that. She knew that she was a robot, so stuff like this shouldn’t affect her emotionally, yet Cyrus Borg created her to feel things such as fear. When it came to emotions, she was just as human as the people around her. Yet, she couldn’t feel pain, at least not physical pain, and it was something that she was thankful for. She couldn’t feel pain because of the arrow; Jay’s concern was misplaced. However, she was still thankful for the question. 

“I…I would prefer to get it out. It’s uncomfortable.”

Jay nodded. “Alright. When Zane gets back, I’ll have him take it out, and maybe he can deal with whatever repairs we can manage with our supplies.”

“Is there a reason why you can’t repair me?” Pixal asked, not wanting to wait for Zane, and knowing that Jay was just as good with machines as any of them. He would know how to fix her without a doubt. 

Yet the words left Jay staring at her, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He stepped away from her, frowning, and Pixal couldn’t explain why he was acting the way he was. He seemed puzzled, as if her question was a strange one. 

“Jay?”

“Umm…are you sure, Pixal?”

“Yes. You’re very qualified to do so. Need I remind you that you grew up building all sorts of technology and machinery, and was the one responsible for the first Flying Bounty?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Jay was stuttering now, and Pixal wondered if he was a robot, if the question would’ve broken him. “But I haven’t done any of that in years. Nya and Zane are a lot better options, they know technology better than I ever could.”

“Nya and Zane aren't here, and I trust you.” 

She couldn’t understand his hesitancy, his fear of doing what they both knew that he could. A part of her knew that she could wait for Zane to come back, but now she was determined to find out why Jay was so scared of repairing her. Why he doubted himself. And, she did want the arrow out as soon as she could afford it. 

Now that she knew it was there, it was as if she could feel the metal arrow point against the wires in her shoulder, grinding against her delicate inner workings, and she hated it. 

“Let me just grab some tools.” Jay muttered after a moment, not meeting her eyes, and Pixal nodded. She remained as still as she could, watching the fire, before he returned, their small toolbox in his hands. 

“Let me know what you need from me, Jay.” She said as he moved behind her, and he hummed his acknowledgement. 

“Luckily, the arrow is closer to the top of your shoulder than your back, I’ll just need to cut off some of the cloth to get to the damaged panel, just above your armpit.” Jay said carefully, and she nodded. 

Pixal could feel as Jay began cutting off the fabric, and, once he warned her that he was going to pull the arrow out, braced herself. With one swift movement, Jay let out a soft victory whoop. It didn’t hurt, and she already felt relieved that it was gone. Pixal smiled, about to celebrate with him, but felt her left arm go limp. 

“Jay?”

“The arrow must’ve cut a wire, the only reason it was working was that the electrical current was moving through the arrow too.” Jay explained, carefully opening the damaged panel. “It’ll be a quick fix.”

“I trust you, Jay.” And she did. Despite the anxiety she felt at having no sensations in her arm, she knew that Jay would be able to fix it. 

So Jay began working. Pixal couldn’t see what he was doing, yet she could hear his rifle through the toolbox, and also mutter under his breath occasionally. His words offered enough explanation, and Pixal silently agreed with all that he was doing.

“Jay,” She began, definitely wanting the answer, but also wanting a distraction. “Why do you doubt your abilities as an engineer? And why have you stopped building training robots and similar items?”

“I didn’t think anyone noticed.” Jay replied softly. 

“Why wouldn’t I notice?”

Jay’s silence felt awkward, but she was able to wait it out. 

“Can I tell you a secret, Pixal?” Jay finally said, and she nodded slightly. “I…I guess that I think that I’m not a good inventor or engineer anymore. I know my parents would coddle me if I said that, saying that I was good at it, but I never feel like I am anymore. All of my ideas feel useless compared to the stuff you and Nya make. And, that’s fine! You guys are great, and even Zane is getting really good at it! I just…” He sighed, grabbing another item from the toolbox. “I just don’t think I can even compare myself to you anymore.”

“So you stopped inventing.” Pixal concluded, the pieces falling together, and she felt heartbroken at the words. How long has he felt like this? How long has he felt like he was stuck under her shadow?

“I love inventing, but I guess knowing that I could never make something as incredible as what you guys do dulled that passion. And my faith in my abilities.” Jay concluded. “It’s not a big deal, really.”

“I would beg to differ.”

“Pix, it’s not a big deal! I’m fine!”

She would’ve turned to him sharply if she wasn’t worried about the tools he was currently using, the tools that could do more damage at sudden movements. Yet, she was determined to tell Jay the truth.

“It is a big deal, Jay! If you are ashamed and self-conscious of a part of who you are, then we must change that! Inventing is a part of you. You should be proud of it!”

“What if that isn’t who I am anymore? We don’t need another inventor on the team.”

In Pixal’s opinion, there was no such thing as too many inventors, but she knew that Jay wouldn’t believe that sort of logic.

“But we need you to be who you are. Isn’t refusing to build and create refusing to let the true Jay Walker exist?” Pixal couldn’t help the fear and worry seep into her tone, not wanting Jay to take this harshly, but needing him to hear her words. “You are a good engineer, Jay. You can use the strangest materials to do the most incredible things, you can find a solution when many of us can’t. You are fully capable of doing repairs, and building new devices. You have no reason to say you have less abilities than myself or Nya, and your inventions are not bad compared to ours.”

Jay was silent after her words, the sound of the tools stilling. 

“When we return to the Monastery, you and I are going to take time out of each week to build anything we want. It can be whatever we please. You are going to invent, and you are going to enjoy it and be proud of it. And that is not a request.” She said sternly, and heard a small chuckle from behind her. 

“I guess I don’t have a choice. Will Nya be there?”

“She may come, but you may not flirt with her. She won’t distract you from our task, and I’ll make sure of it.”

“Then if Zane shows up, you can’t flirt with him either, deal?”

Pixal laughed, raising her arm to cover her mouth. Blinking, she realised that it had been her left arm, and Jay was now beside her, grinning. 

“How does it feel?”

She flexed her arm, smiling as there was no locking, not even a hitch in her mechanics. “Perfect. You did very well.”

“Thanks. For everything. It…it means a lot.” Jay said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“There’s no need to thank me, I only spoke the truth. But I am sorry that you felt like this for so long.”

Jay shrugged, sitting on the wooden log beside her. “I hid it pretty well. I am looking forward to those mandatory engineering nights, though. I might build some weird things.”

She smiled softly, nodding. “I might too. It’ll be nice to build something new for a change. Any ideas?”

“Not yet.” Jay replied with a hum, swinging his feet back and forth, kicking up a bit of snow. The fire still raged in front of them, and Pixal noted that they may need to put more wood on it. “I’ll think about it.”

“Hey! Guess what we got?” Someone shouted from behind them, and Pixal immediately knew that it was Cole. The two turned to see Cole and Zane walk up to them, carrying some sort of berry. 

“Please tell me those are edible!” Jay exclaimed, rising to his feet, and Pixal joined him. Zane smiled. 

“Very. And, we have quite a lot.” Zane’s eyebrows furrowed as he no doubt noticed the tools scattered around them, and the small patch of cloth missing. “Are you alright, Pixal?”

She smiled. “Very, but excited to go home.”

“Care to join me while we try and repair the vehicles enough to get to the Samurai X cave? It may be possible before night falls completely.”

“Yes, however, could Jay join us? I believe that his insight will be appreciated.”

Jay looked up at the mention of his name, and Zane smiled. 

“Of course.”

They let Jay have a handful of berries before they got to it, fussing over the mechanics and wires, repairing the damage from the previous battle, and Jay looked comfortable with a wrench in his hands. Even Cole wandered over to watch, and Pixal found herself more content than she thought possible in such a moment. 

[juniperjellyfish]

Happy last day of pride everyone! Here’s an unedited sneak peak at Extinction Part Two

(REMEMBER, THIS IS UNEDITED)

“Kai, hurry up!” I pound the door and hear the rush of water go silent.

“Relax, Cole,” his muffled voice comes over the shuffling of clothes. He opens the door and lets me in.

I bite my tongue and hold back a gasp of shock as he stands there in gray sweats, towel in hand… and no shirt.

“You good?” He backs up and wrings out his shoulder length hair, dripping it into the bathtub.

I watch as he bends over and brushes his hair off with the towel. Averting my eyes, I grab my toothbrush and mutter a weak, “Yes.”

I put toothpaste on it, wet it, and start brushing my teeth as Kai continues talking.

“Ya know, with how many times we’ve rebuilt this place, you think we would’ve put in another bathroom.” He stands and flips his hair over his back like a model, sending a hot flutter through my chest.

I nod in agreement and force myself to look away.

“Wanna go a few rounds in Lava Zombie 2?” He leans into me casually and the heat from his skin makes my heart stop.

I spit out the toothpaste and wipe off my mouth with a tissue, “Oh, I- I- I should get some sleep. I have patrols with Zane in the morning.”

“That’s okay buddy.” He gives me that oh-so charming smile of his, “I get if you don’t want to lose your winning streak.” Kai cracks his knuckles and laughs with a hint of pettiness on his tongue.

“Ha ha, HairGel. You know you’ll never beat me.”

He tilts his head and smirks, looking me up and down. The way he bites his lip makes it seem as if I’m the size of an ant and he towers over me. “You’re probably right. Also,-“ he slicks his hair back and leans in closer to the mirror, “-you mind if I crash in your room tonight? Lloyd kinda took over my bed and that kid kicks like no other.”

“You know I snore right?” Where did that come from? Of course I want him to stay in my room!

He flexes his arms and smiles into his reflection. “Yeah, but I don’t feel like being a third wheel to Nya and Jay or Zane and Pix, plus Lloyd’s room smells overwhelmingly like candy.”

“Okay!” I purse my lips from my burst of excitement, “You can stay with me no-problem.”

“Thanks!” He puts his arm up on my shoulder and I stare at the floor, “I’ll just take your hammock.”

I clear my throat, “O-okay, do you need any blankets?” Of course he doesn’t! He never uses them! He’s the master of fire! He’s always hot!

Literally and figuratively.

Shut up.

“Ha!” He waved his hand at me, “The Master of Fire doesn’t need blankets!”

“Alright then, I’ll see you in a second.” I step out of the bathroom and glance back, admiring Kai’s dark golden skin, the small drops of water that roll down his back, the way his muscles flex when he moves, and…

Snap out of it, Cole!

I shake my head and walk silently into my room, images of him swim through my brain, making my cheeks burn.

I slide the door shut behind me and walk over to the window sill, basking in the warm pink and orange light that bleeds into the clouds like watercolors on paper.

Stepping back, my heart pounds in my ears while I slide open a black dresser drawer and pull out a woven hammock.

The thumping of the blood in my head drowns out the thoughts of Kai, at least until my door opens and artificial, yellow lights spill in, casting his perfect shadow across the floor.

“That was fast.” I laugh quietly, trying to hide the edge on my voice.

Kai walks over to me and takes one end of the hammock from me, “All I needed to do was brush my hair.”

We hang the hammock on the hooks in the walls and he hops in, swinging back and forth about waist high on me.

He puts his hands behind his head and speaks softly, “Thanks again, man.”

“Yeah,” I sit on the edge of my bed, “No problem.” Laying down, I close my eyes and pull a blanket over myself. My heart twists in my chest with an addicting pain.

This stupid crush is only getting worse.

If I made a move on him now, would he accept it?

Probably not, I doubt he even knows I don’t like girls like he does.

There’s always a chance that he would accept an advance, though… right?

The thought of me taking Kai’s hand and pulling him onto the bed with me explodes in my brain with a flash of color. The way I’d pull him under me and watch the steam rise off his body…

Nope!

My eyes snap open.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Stop it Cole, you’re being creepy. You can’t do this. Nope. Nope. Nope.

I roll over and face the wall away from Kai, burying my head in my hair.

Maybe some day.

“Hey, Cole…”

I turn back the other way, “Yeah?”

“I have a question to ask you.”

[pixiecaps]

Pix im so sorry ur like my go to person for asking what happens cause ur always watching 😭 but if u can can u please tell whats been happening in lore these past couple of streams 😭 /nf btw!

i’ll go as fast and short as i can

DISCLAIMER i have bad memory my chronological order of these past few days is not the best some things may be incorrectly placed so just keep that in mind. some events may be not 100% perfect chronological order 👍

eggs wake up completely dirty one day. all of them. nobody knows why. the eggs don’t remember why or how. but for some reason they were covered in dirt and their cracks looked worse.

around this same time. theres a voting poll going on for a new rule. and basically someone went around stealing all the furniture from everyones bases. leaving only a tiled magma block. they also left black and white couches arranged in numbers and codes. when they deciphered it it resulted in to phrases “I see you” & “Tomorrow”

next day. they all disappear. they are not in their beds when the first person (fit) goes to check for their egg. all thats left on their bed is their little accessories so for instance chayannes bed only had his floatie, pomme only had her berret, and so forth. everyone begins panicking because they were most likely kidnapped and taken again. and some of them from their highly protected bunkers. theres only no note or anything so there is no hints as to where they went. when people ask cucurucho all he would say he classified.

also on this same day all the popular waystones get stolen like ones that’d go to spawn etc etc. they get placed on a platform above the presidents base with a warning not to break them or hell would break loose and also a bunch of binary that translated to viva la revolución. to clarify the eggs disappearing and all these puzzles seem to be separate occurrences.

at some point cucurucho tells qcellbit to investigate some shit and he begins solving enigmas again.

people at this point were pretty fucking fed up including the president who was ready to blow everything up from his anger. until he woke up the next day wearing a white suit and had a wide smile on his face. he keep saying how happy he was and how he couldn’t wait to see richas. there was also a clock that would tick louder and louder when the drugs began to fade. he would become hostile and violent. and then he’d take another dose and become happy again. people began logging in and talking to him particularly antoine was the first to speak with him and later spoke with bbh cellbit. they all agreed something was very wrong and began investigating. they found a secret room in forevers base and that led to a small house in that room with blue walls to represent the sky and fake png flowers and when they went inside they found what appeared at first to be richarlyson. until they walked closer and saw in the place where richas would be was instead a big gray boulder and stones. so they clocked quickly that the “richas” qforever kept talking about was likely given to him by cucurucho and him hallucinating his son on that bed due to the effects of the drugs. they began scheming a plan to get him off the drugs and save their friend. qpac also witnessed qforevers behavior and had an idea himself. he was going to willingly let them inject him and feed him those drugs so that he could find a way to create an antidote before the effects became too strong. while investigating qcellbit overheard a conversation qforever was having with the fake version of richas and he interrupted and tried to snap qforever out of it. however he this only caused a big argument as qforever would not budge so qcellbit did the one thing he thought would work and he broke the fake richas bed. instead of a lucid moment qforever only sat in the corner of the room facing a wall and said that he’d get cucurucho to fix cellbit too.

phil also arrives this day ^ and earlier after learning about all the eggs disappearance and all the shitshow thats been going on he decides with the help of two others masked individuals (tubbo & fit) to lava cast the entire federation building. the one that was creates during the election. and they did they completely covered it in lava then placed water over it and it was lava cast. phil then left a note at the top that read “we want answers. we want our children back. we know you know what happened to them. stop the games. you have until the end of this week.”

also that same day foolish found the missing capybara mr mustard and became king of the capybaras officially.

meanwhile all that was happening (honestly i may be mixing up what events happen on the same day so please excuse my chronology here) tubbo noticed two fed workers appeared at spawn who he swiftly dubbed fred and jed after speaking to them a bit. he became relatively closer to fred and taught him what a friend was however fred said he was new to the federation and didn’t know anything he was talking about when he asked about the eggs.

so the next day comes around and qpac is under the effects of the drugs. same thing white clothes big smile. fit and tubbo are the first ones to log on and see their friend in this state to they help and talk to him as much as they can. and sorta realize that when qpac is slowly losing the effects of the drugs he becomes depressed rather than angry like qforever did. he also has more lucid moments than qforever and sometimes broke out of the effects shortly before going back under. later cellbit logs on finds his friend in this state and decides he will not be leaving today until they are better. cellbit speaks with bbh and phil and they begin setting up a trap to secure a way to take the drugs off qforever. cellbit meanwhile starts investigating for some answers. in his base he finds a note left from qpac detailing his plan to take the drugs to find a cure and that it was in qcellbits hands now. so he goes to chume labs and reads a bunch of books and diaries that eventually led him to chume labs island. on this island he found another diary from qpac that wrote about the antidote and needing to use fermented spider eye on the drugs. and coincidentally two of the pill bottles in that same chest with the book. so cellbit immediately rushes back to phil and bad telling them about the cure and they begin brewing. and to their success it worked the cure was called reality dose which description was “A mixture capable of bringing back those lost in dreams to what is real.” so then they devised a way to get them to use the cure. and i won’t go into it in detail cause i was like half watching and i’m not the most informed in what happened next but i think qpac after some talk with the others and being reminded of his purpose in taking the drugs willingly took the cure. then qforever was harder i know him and qcellbit were screaming at each other and i think after they made qforever take the cure he began hallucinating that qcellbit was cucurucho

small edit here: ive been informed both qpac qforever took the antidote willingly and that qforever took it first.

and said that cucurucho told him that the eggs RAN AWAY because there is something on the island that is far worse than the codes or the federation. so the eggs were so scared they fled without saying anything. qforever then fell unconscious and is resting in the orders hospital.

outside of his enigma solving for cucurucho. qcellbit goes back into the abandoned adoption center room in hopes for some clues as to where the eggs went and he finds a map for what appears to be a maze. with code at the bottom translating to A1 and also he found more code somewhere else i cannot remember that said “the answer is not in the center.”

so then this same day tubbo gets visited by FRED the federation worker which gives him a book with a code and leaves. the code translated to “tomorrow 1pm pst” and so we wait for tomorrow to arrive

AND IT DOES tubbo is freaking the fuck out cause he thinks hes getting kidnapped. he tells pac and fit something is gonna happen to him at that time. fit has an encounter with the code entity and it drops a clock in front of him and leaves.

and so 1pm pst arrives and tubbo noticed at his base theres weird black concrete placed around and a black chest in the middle with a book saying not to tell anyone, go to spawn, and an x coordinate. around this time roier and slimecicle log on and also show up at spawn with their own books. after some time they figure out they need to put their coords together and go to that place so they do! its near the wall and they find fred standing there with a gun. he signals to them to go into the cave behind him and they follow. he tells them to keep quiet and once they reached the end of the cave he tells them he cannot go on further with. they see and it seems to be the entrance to a labyrinth. they go through making their way occasionally spotting fred who then they’d chase. until they reached a room which appeared to have two observations decks in the walls above. one with a black couch and the other with a white. there was also a room with a locked door. also what appeared to be a hidden underground section with iron bars and through the iron bars tubbo and slime spot. a cucurucho. however instead of white it was fully black and instead of the usual black pixel face the face was red. when they spot it it immediately runs away deeper into the underground section it was in. the three decide to go in and they reveal a round room with a roulette wheel in the center with all the accessories of the eggs around the wheel.

there was barrier blocks around the roulette wheel. tubbo saw that and glitched himself through with an enderpearl. realizing after he only had one and had successfully trapped himself in there. he also realized he put himself in the predicament where he had to spin the wheel without knowing what it’d do. tubbo began panicking because he didn’t want to be the reason any of the eggs died. all roier and slime could do is watch. after more panicking tubbo spins the wheel and it landed on 5! the room immediately begins flooding with lava with him in it trapped. the. egg accessories begin to cover with lava. tubbo begins pleading to the others to find a way to get him out of there but there is none. the room outside the barrier blocks also begins to flood with lava and mobs begin spawning so roier and slime begin panicking. at one point slime goes down and roier does a sick clutch save‼️ tubbo realizing once he uses a totem he gets fire res and is able to warp out. slime is able to warp out and roier stays a little behind to see if he could open the locked door. he isnt able to. he leaves but once theyre all safely out they decide to go back in to figure out how to open that door. more lava begins flooding the maze more mobs begin to spawn and mines begin to blow up and coincidentally one of the mines blows up the entrance to that locked door. and they go inside and reveal it is a simple federation office with a desk and computer. with nothing else really. they once again leave successfully and around this time cellbit logs on. they tell him everything and they decide to go back and show him the maze because turns out he had that map for it from the puzzles however they once they reach where the room was inside it is completely blocked off. but what they do find is a bunch of federation posters placed inside talking about order and happiness? and also a timer that had 24 hours on it ticking.

later this day we see a streamer tweet out an image of the roulette wheel from today and a went live twitch link. we see streamer bagi in minecraft. her character in an unknown rather empty building with a tree in the center. she walks further into the building and finds a chest with a book inside and a roulette wheel. the book says “let the wheel decide. you will have to follow the light.” she spins the wheel and it lands on two. the floor disappears and she is immediately is dropped below into the overworld. shes in the ocean its raining when she reaches land its snowing. she follows the light which appears to have chests with books that detail how cold it is and if shes getting closer. she follows the trail and we notice more and more black concrete surrounding the biome shes in. interestingly enough first watching i thought they were spruce trees until i realized it was all black concrete. similarly scattered to where tubbo roier and slime found their books. so then she reaches the end of the trail with the final book stating “they should be here any time soon :)” and next to the chest a quartz table with a ticket laying on top of it with her name on it.

and so shes kicked and thats her introduction for that day. quackity tweets out this

and so WELCOME TO THE QSMP BAGI🫶

there you have it you are now fully caught up to speed! that is almost a full week of daily lore recapped:) i hope i did good. sorry for any typos i literally woke up at 10:30 am saw this ask and did not stop typing until i finished. it is now 11:51 am LOL

oh and two upcoming events. today mexican independence and whatever that timer leads to and whatever “huge event” means.

[depressedhouseplant]

🔞 Just Fucking Write - Day 62 🔞

Prompt: Exhibitionism (sex in a photobooth & pix to prove it)

Tags: Unprotected sex, public sex, mentioned multiple partners on Younghoon’s side, biting

A/N: Thank you Changmin’s IG post for the inspo for this one

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Younghoon asked as Changmin put his phone back in his pocket.

“Why? Are you gonna chicken out?” Changmin replied.

“No, I just, I’ve never done anything like this before,” Younghoon replied.

“Most people don’t fuck in photobooths and get the pics to prove it,” Changmin replied. “Are you gonna sit on my cock or not?”

Changmin sat on the bench, pulled his pants and underwear down just enough to release his cock, and looked up at Younghoon expectantly. He was already hard. Younghoon shouldn’t have been surprised. He’d been talking about doing something like this for months. Younghoon bit his lip.

“I’m waiting,” Changmin began to idly fist his cock.

“Okay,” Younghoon agreed.

“Okay what?” Changmin was gonna force him to say it.

“Okay I’ll ride your dick in a photobooth and let you take pictures,” Younghoon replied.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Changmin grinned. He produced a small bottle of lube from his other pocket. Younghoon stripped from the waist down and straddled Changmin.

“I’ll tell you when to put the money in,” he handed Younghoon the money for 2 photo strips. Younghoon nodded. Changmin reached behind Younghoon and began rubbing his opening with two lubed fingers.

“I love how you’re always so loose for me. I’ll be sure to thank Juyeon later. Or maybe I’ll just show him the pictures,” Changmin grinned. “I’m sure he’d love to have some of his own of you speared on his cock.”

Before Younghoon could reply, Changmin slid two long fingers into him. He began teasing Younghoon’s prostate, working him to full hardness in the process.

“That’s a good boy,” Changmin praised, adding a third finger. Younghoon whined and tugged at Changmin’s shirt.

“Right, don’t want come all over it like last time,” he said. Younghoon raised his hips up, signaling he was prepped enough.

“How hard did Juyeon fuck you this morning?” Changmin asked as he pulled his fingers out and Younghoon sat on his cock.

“Not your problem,” Younghoon replied, taking Changmin’s shirt off and kissing him. He began riding Changmin hard to the point where the booth started shaking.

“Might want to slow down so we don’t actually get caught,” Changmin told him. Younghoon slowed down, spreading his legs wider to get all of Changmin’s cock in him. Changmin rested his hands on Younghoon’s hips and let the older man use him for a few minutes.

“Put the money in,” Changmin said when he felt the first flutter in his lower belly. Grudgingly, Younghoon leaned back and put the money in the machine. They heard a countdown and then the first flash. The camera kept flashing as Younghoon kept chasing his release and Changmin tried to hold his off. Younghoon came right before the very last flash. He painted Changmin’s torso white with come, biting the other man’s shoulder to stay quiet.

“My turn,” Changmin grabbed Younghoon’s ass and with surprising strength held him up enough to fuck into him. He dug his fingers in hard when he came, but resisted biting Younghoon.

“Well?” Younghoon asked.

“I’ll give you a full review when I see the pictures,” Changmin replied. They got redressed, Younghoon not thrilled at the idea of come leaking out of him the rest of the time they were out, and exited the photobooth. Changmin took the photo strips and examined them, then passed them to Younghoon.

There were several shots where it was obvious Changmin’s cock was in Younghoon’s ass. The last shot captured the look on Changmin’s face when Younghoon bit him.

“I think this one is my favorite,” Younghoon grinned.

“I thought so,” Changmin made a show of rubbing his shoulder.

“You liked it,” Younghoon said.

“Maybe,” Changmin gave Younghoon the photo strips to put in his bag.

“Definitely,” Younghoon poked his side. Once he saw them, Juyeon would definitely want his own set. Definitely.

[randoms-fandoms]

Hi :) would you mind doing a Zane x gn Reader where they’re just having a rough day and everything seems to be going wrong but he’s there to comfort them? If not that’s completely okay too :3 have a good day

(bonus points if it has PIX in it absolutely love her)

Of course! I love Pixal too <3

Warnings: food/eating mentions, minor injuries, bugs (spoilers you get stung by a bee)

Relationships: established Zane x gn reader

You had been looking forward to your date with Zane for a few weeks— it had been a while since your schedules had aligned so you could hang out together, and you missed him.

After you got out of bed, you immediately went to put on your clothes— getting dressed always helped you feel more awake. Thankfully you had prepared an outfit the night before! You had saved it specifically for this day.

After getting dressed, you went to your kitchen to make breakfast. You smiled, looking forward to a good meal. Having had an early dinner the night before, you were pretty hungry.

It was understandably very disappointing to find out that you were out of bread, meaning you couldn’t have toast. Dang it… I’ll just fry an egg.

As you waited for your egg to cook, you texted Zane. He always replied quickly; text notifications went straight to his display.

Good morning!

I’m excited to see you later :]

You grinned. You had been the one who taught him about emoticons, and as far as you knew, he only ever used them with you. It felt like a fun little inside joke.

You got so distracted thinking about Zane and re-reading his cute texts, that you didn’t notice when your egg was finished cooking. Not until you smelled it burning,

Panicking at the amount of wispy smoke coming from the small pan, you quickly tried to get it off the heat— but in your haste to move it, you burned your arm on the hot edge of the pan!

Exclaiming in pain, you dropped it to the stovetop and rushed over to the sink to run your arm under cold water.

Feeling tears form in your eyes at the scare— and the pain— you waited for your heartbeat to return to normal. You couldn’t help but think of Zane and his ice powers… he would help me if he was here.

Removing your arm from the stream of water, you frowned when you saw the thin reddish-pink line left on your forearm. It stung as soon as you took it out of the water, but you still needed to handle your egg.

You decided to eat it anyway, despite the fact that one side was burned and one side was runny. It wasn’t very good, but that didn’t matter— you were going to meet Zane at the park in just an hour!

Suddenly feeling thirsty, you decided to get a cup of water.

Pouring yourself a nice cold glass definitely cheered you up— But for some reason (who knows, maybe your hands were still shaking from the adrenaline rush of an injury), you managed to spill the entire cup all over yourself.

You took a deep breath. I am not going to let my day be ruined.

Looking through your clothes, you were immediately stricken with dread upon finding nothing you liked. You wanted to look good seeing Zane for the first time in weeks, but all your other favorites were probably in the wash— how unlucky.

You sighed, deciding to change into a pair of shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. It wasn’t terrible, but you never really liked the way the sleeves fit on that particular shirt. Oh well.

After drying off and changing, an alarm went off on your phone: leave for park!! You were already exhausted before you left the house, but you hoped it would all be worth it.

As you stepped out your front door, you got another notification on your phone:

I just found out Pixal is in town!

Do you mind if we hang out another time?

Your heart sank. Yes, I do mind. But you knew Pixal didn’t visit as often as Zane liked, and the two of them were best friends…

Frowning, you thought about what to say. Should I be honest? He wouldn’t ask if he didn’t care what I wanted, right?

Thinking of a solution, you quickly typed out your response:

Can we all hang out together?

Good idea! see you soon!

Sighing with relief, you were glad that problem had been fixed. You didn’t know what you would have done all day if Zane really cancelled on your date.

As you walked down the street on the way to Ninjago City Park, you admired the clouds in the sky. They were white and fluffy, like cotton candy. I wonder if vanilla flavored cotton candy exists?

You were suddenly broken out of your thoughts as you tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. As you fell forward, you managed to catch yourself, but that didn’t stop you from bruising and scraping both your knees and hands. Ow…

You quickly stood up, hoping no one had seen you fall, and wiped your hands on your shirt, accidentally smudging dirt on the front. You hoped Zane and Pixal wouldn’t notice.

Humiliated by the fall, you walked the rest of the few blocks to the park with your hands in your pockets, staring at the ground. Your scraped knees hurt with every step, and at this point you really didn’t want to be out and about at all.

“Hey, over here!” Zane’s cheerful robotic voice called from a little ways down the street. He stood at the park entrance with Pixal, waiting for you.

You smiled at your friends and quickened your pace. “Hi guys,” you said, relieved to finally have met up. You gave Zane a hug, and he nearly lifted you off your feet hugging you back.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” Pixal said, also giving you a quick hug. “How are things?”

Things weren’t that great, to be honest. Both in general and that morning— but you didn’t want to overshare, so you kept it to a polite “Good, how about you?”

As the three of you began walking towards the pond in the middle of the park, Pixal told you and Zane about her recent endeavors— she had been working on customizing a motorcycle for herself! You thought that was a really cool project, and were distracted from your bad day for a few minutes.

“Let’s take a shortcut across the grass,” Zane suggested, pointing through some sparse trees to where the pond was.

That would have been a great idea, if not for the yellow jackets that had taken up residence in the ground nearby— it was initially Pixal who stepped on their tunnel, angering a few of the insects, and they ended up stinging you instead.

“Ow!” You shouted, quickly smacking away the bugs. You were embarrassed about yelling, but it hurt! You rolled up your sleeve to see the stings on your hand and wrist better. They were already swelling up. You frowned.

“Are you okay?” Zane asked, concern laced in his voice. He carefully took your wrist in his hand, using his ice powers to chill a few of his gloved fingers to help numb the pain.

You frowned, tears gathering in your eyes for the second time that day. “…No.”

“What happened to your arm?” Pixal pointed out the burn.

You sniffed, trying to keep from crying— everything hurt, and you were just having a terrible day… “Burned it making breakfast.” You replied sadly.

“Let’s go sit down,” Zane offered, holding your hand and guiding you the rest of the way to the water, where there was a nice bench in the shade.

As you approached the pond, you slipped in the mud, and fell down, getting mud all over your shorts and shoes. “Ugh, this is the worst day ever!” You finally gave in and complained.

Zane helped you stand up and sit on the bench. “What’s going on?”

You told him and Pixal everything that happened that morning. Zane nodded along sympathetically, holding your hand and letting you vent.

Pixal took out the first aid kit she always carried in her backpack and, with your permission, helped you clean up and bandage the scrapes on your knees.

“Thanks, Pixal.” You said, sighing. “I’m sorry for ruining our day out.”

“It’s not your fault,” Pixal replied as she stood up. “I promise we’re not upset.”

Zane nodded. “And if you want, we could go back to the Bounty and have a day in instead!”

You imagined relaxing comfortably on the couch, wrapped in a cozy blanket, maybe watching a movie or playing games with Zane and Pixal— that’s a good idea. “Can we?”

“Of course!” Zane said with a smile.

After that, your day turned out to be pretty good.

A/N: i hope you enjoyed this! Zane and Pixal are the best :)

[saphscorner]

a pixian drabble? cottage core? pretty please?

anything for you pookie 😍😍 (and also anything for #pixianrevolution2023 ;D) we recently had the first snow here, so i went with some wintery vibes! word count: 801 words pairing(s): pixlriffs/grian warnings: none general tags & vibes: domestic fluff, winter, cottagecore

With the days growing shorter and the nights colder, winter was fast approaching. Grian readjusted his scarf over his nose and mouth, long dead leaves crunching under his boots as he walked. He came to a stop at the woodshed, admiring the piles of firewood stacked high from floor to ceiling. With a cold winter incoming, his and Pix’s work from over the summer should surely pay off to keep them warm in the coming months.

For the first time that season, Grian pulled on his leather work gloves and began to stack firewood into the wheelbarrow, piling it high before setting back in the direction of the cottage. As his scarf slipped below his mouth, he watched as an exhale of his warm breath billowed into the frosty air. 

It really is that time of year, he thought. 

Grian finally parked the wheelbarrow outside the back door to the cottage, then collected as much of an arm load as he could carry before heading back inside. 

Warmer air and the smell of simmering root vegetables greeted him as he made his way inside. He hadn’t realized how dark it was becoming outside until the warm light from the kitchen spilled onto the front porch. He paused to wipe his boots on the doormat, kicking them off and leaving them by the door. “I’m back, Pix!” he called as he headed into the living room. 

The sound of running water from the kitchen came to a stop, followed by some shuffling as Pix appeared in the doorway to the living room. “Welcome back,” he said.

Grian smiled as he set the pile of firewood into the hearthside log holder, then stood back up to go give his partner a kiss. 

Pix hummed, smiling into the kiss as he pulled away after a moment. “You’re freezing.” 

“It’s cold out!”

Pix reached down, taking Grian’s hands to ease his gloves off, laying them down over the back of the nearby sofa. He brought one of Grian’s hands up to his own, kissing the backs of his knuckles. “Good thing we’ll have a fire tonight. And a good warm meal, dinner’s almost done.” 

“You’re spoiling me, Pix.” Grian leaned up to press another kiss to Pix’s cheek, before taking his jacket and scarf off and returning to the hearth. “I’ll go ahead and get this started. Do you mind grabbing me the matches?”

“You mean these?” Pix pulled the matchbox out of his pocket, giving it a shake before tossing it over to Grian.”

Grian’s smile widened as he caught the matches from him. “You always are thinking ahead, huh?” 

Pix just shrugged. “Dinner in here tonight?” He asked. 

“Sounds perfect.” 

With that, he returned to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner. 

Still smiling, Grian shook his head. He set the matches down on the hearth, before retrieving a large basket of fire starter and kindling wood from the mantle. He arranged dried pine needles and small sticks into a careful teepee, striking a match to set the structure alight. He then piled on a couple logs, brushing off his hands and putting the kindling basket back up on the mantle. Once the fire was steadily ablaze, he took to putting away his outerwear and tidying the living room up for dinner. 

Once dinner was ready, Pix brought everything into the living room on a tray as promised. He laid out two steaming bowls of stew and two cups of tea, then took a seat on one of the cushions laid on the floor. “Nice fire,” he commented. 

“Nice dinner,” Grian complimented in return, sitting down across from him. 

Pix smiled. “I feel like winter came so much sooner than last year.” He nodded vaguely towards the window, the view outside nearly pitch black. 

“I know,” Grian agreed. “I mean, this feels more like January than November, right?” 

“Yeah,” Pix agreed. “I’m not mad about it though, we worked hard all summer and we’ve got more than enough to last us comfortably through winter.” 

“Speaking of which, is this from the peppermint we dried last month?” Grian took a sip of the tea Pix had brought out for him. 

“It is. I haven’t tried it yet, is it any good?” 

“The best I’ve ever had.” 

Pix took a sip of his and then nodded. “I think you’re right.” 

Grian settled in, sitting cross legged as he unfolded his napkin. “Honestly, there’s something so cozy about all this,” he said after a moment, “I love the summer, but there’s just something about this time of year.” 

“There really is,” Pix agreed. “Especially spending it with you, I’ve got nothing to complain about.” 

Grian smiled and took his hand from across the table. “I think we’re in for another good year, Pix.” 

“I think so too, Grian.”

[little-lego-ninjas]

lightning in a bottle (burning full throttle)

Guess what I just posted on AO3 guys???? Are you excited, because I am! I'm actually really proud of this monster (it's 12.6k words h e l p), and I hope you guys like reading it as much as I liked writing it!

Fair warning, this is filled to the brim with queerness (as a queer myself, I could not resist the fruit ninja), so read with caution ig lmao.

Gun tw, and some minor injuries (somebody gets shot, but it's minor), slurs (not actually written bc i am too soft for it but wanted to include it bc i have had bad race-related encounters lately, and i protect my friends from toxic people as much as possible), ptsd, anxiety, anxiey/panic attack, gender issues, y'know the works.

There's probably a few more i can't think of rn, but all the tags are on AO3 if you feel the need to check! Nothing super insane happens (no weird age stuff or sex), so enjoy!!

AO3 link in case you wanna read it over there or leave a big comment or something i dunno. For you <3.

Fic below the cut bc it's too damn long.

"Okay, have we all got our roles down?" Lloyd asked at the head of the dining room table, papers and maps and blueprints scattered around him. His hair was a mess, blond waves tangled together and falling into his face. No doubt from staying up all night, finalizing and piecing everything together.

Cole nodded, his arms crossed over his chest. "I've got mine."

"I do as well," Zane added, his fingers threaded together atop the table.

Kai sighed before anyone else could say they had everything ready. "Why do I have to go in disguise? Shouldn't we let Zane do it?"

Pixal answered before Lloyd could open his mouth, her green eyes hard. "Kai, we have already discussed why you and Jay are going in disguise. Zane's cloaking software is down, mine is nowhere near the level his is, and Cole is going in disguise too."

She arched a brow at him. "I don't see the issue."

Kai gestured around the table, chest tight. "I'm going to be in a party while Nya, Lloyd, and you," he shot a blatant look at Pixal, "try to stop an assassin."

"Sorry for worrying like a good brother would," he grumbled as an afterthought.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, making him glance over to see who it was. Nya looked mildly annoyed, but mostly sympathetic, which was a good sign. "Kai, you know you aren't just going to a party."

"I know, I just-"

"Get worried." Jay finished, his chin resting in his hands. "We know. But this is serious stuff, me and you are going to protect Cyrus Borg."

When his name was uttered, Pixal looked down at her hands. Zane reached across the table, taking one of her hands. "We will not let anything happen to him, Pixal."

Pixal looked up, nodding. She didn't say anything though. Kai could understand her concerns, considering it was her father that they were attempting to save from an untimely death. Kai couldn’t imagine having to be in her position, and it only gave him more empathy towards her for being so strong about the entire subject. It couldn’t have been an easy thing to listen to, or talk about.

Cole nudged Zane’s shoulder, his expression a mixture of his usual soft one and a slightly more serious one reminiscent of his younger days of leading the team. “Besides, we have more help too. Skylor and some of the other elemental masters, right Lloyd?”

Lloyd nodded, digging through the scattered papers until he could find the one he had written all their names on. “Most of them helped with the resistance, so we’re in good hands. That assassin won’t know what hit them, Pix.”

Pixal pursed her lips, then stood. “Fantastic. I’ll go ensure my weaponry is ready and functional.”

Nya’s gaze followed the girl who had taken up her old mantle, the blue in her eyes holding a depth Kai had begun to notice whenever his little sister looked at Pixal. Nya sighed, pushing her chair away from the table. “I feel so bad for her.”

Zane nodded, his fingers threaded together again, something the nindroid had begun to do after his time in the NeverRealm. “I do as well, but we mustn’t let our worries consume the mission. We cannot fail.”

Cole rubbed Zane’s shoulder. “We won’t, Z. We won’t.”

Zane didn’t look convinced, but he did shoot Cole a smile that the other boy returned. Kai watched them all silently, his chest still tight with the idea of letting them risk their lives while he stayed inside at a party. It felt wrong and like he was slacking off, even though he knew he had an important role to play. A hand ruffled at his hair, snagging his attention. He shot a glare at Jay, who had an impish little smirk on his lips.

“Don’t you ruin this for me, Kai. It’s the anniversary of Borg’s empire!” Jay sighed with delight, earning several eye-rolls that he ignored. “What a legend.”

Kai scoffed, standing up. “Remember that we’re there to protect Cyrus, not party.”

Jay waved his hand. “Duh. Just think it’s neat.”

Lloyd hummed, shifting through his papers again. “Since it’s a pretty exclusive party, I think you two should really dress the part. High-class and stuff.”

Kai grinned. “I have just the suit.”

///

Kai tugged at his tie in mild annoyance, shooting a glare at his reflection. He didn't like the idea of just sitting on the sidelines while everyone else ran around playing hero. It didn't sit right with him to not be in the heat of the matter, but rather going incognito to better blend in.

Granted, Zane was pretending to be the intern who double-checked invitations, and Cole was one of the guards at the entrance, but still. If the news from Skylor handed down to her through the pipeline of elemental masters was true, which it was, Cyrus Borg was set to be a prime target to be assassinated tonight during his company's anniversary party.

Kai wanted to be the guy beating up the assassin, not hiding in a crowd of rich tech-heads, but he had to begrudgingly agree with Lloyd's plan. It was the best course of action, the best set-up to ensure Cyrus Borg and everyone attending the party would be safe. He just hated the idea of his family risking their lives without him beside them.

Heaving a sigh, Kai glanced at his reflection again, tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves. He had to admit, he looked nice. The suit was a bit darker than he would have chosen for himself, but it wasn't too terrible. It was fitted just enough to benefit his shape, but not overly so. His hair was what was bothering him the most, if he was being honest.

Instead of its usual spiked style, his hair looked much like it did when he was wet, falling into his eyes enough to bother him. Kai scrubbed his fingers through his hair again, grumbling under his breath as he did so. Maybe Nya was right when she said he needed a haircut.

"Kai."

Kai met his sister's eyes in the mirror. She was in her gi, only serving to remind Kai of the danger she was about to put herself in. "Yeah?"

Nya's lips twitched, as if she was fighting off a smile. "Have you been brooding this whole time?"

Kai opened his mouth, then clicked his tongue. " No ."

His sister stepped closer to him, turning him away from the mirror. "I know what you're stewing over, okay? But I think you need to see your boyfriend."

Kai knit his brows together. "Is Jay not helping me survey the party in disguise?"

"No," Nya said with a shake of her head. "He's still helping you, but I meant see like look at him because, uh."

Her cheeks pinkened. "He looks great."

Kai snorted, elbowing Nya. "You are such a bi disaster."

"Wha- says the pan disaster!" Nya sputtered as Kai left his bedroom, heading for Jay's.

He chuckled under his breath at the sound of Nya's grumbles, stopping before Jay's door. Knocking, Kai opened his mouth to ask if he could enter, but Jay interrupted him.

"Come in!"

Kai pushed the door open, a smile on his face and words on his tongue, only for his mouth to go dry at the sight of Jay in front of his bedroom mirror. Now, Kai had no doubts in his mind that Jay was attractive- and super fucking adorable -but he'd always seen Jay as pretty, or cute.

Drop-dead gorgeous was not a term he used lightly, and in this case, he meant it as if it was a precious sacred statement by the First Spinjitzu Master himself, which was to say, he was not anywhere close to joking about it. Jay cleaned up nice, and Kai had never really gotten to see it before.

Now though, Jay was fiddling with a silver hoop earring as Kai openly gaped at him, eyes drinking in every inch of his boyfriend. When Lloyd had suggested that Kai and Jay go together as a rich couple, Kai hadn't disputed the rich couple part, but he had figured it would be him and Jay in suits and showing up holding hands or something.

He had not expected to find Jay in a dress.

Not just any dress, no. Jay had found the most beautiful shade of midnight blue to ever exist, the color making his eyes that much more electric and enticing. The dress itself was fitted all the way down to the hemline, going to the top of Jay's toes. It had a sheath neckline, the material lying around Jay like a necklace, forming an upside down v that covered his chest entirely, but left part of his collarbones free.

Where sleeves would be, fingerless gloves of the same material encased his wrist up, stopping at the middle of Jay's biceps, freckled shoulders on full display. Jay smiled at his reflection, fingers playing with his silver hoop earrings before he noticed Kai had stepped inside of his bedroom. Jay's cheeks colored. "O-oh. I thought you were Nya."

Jay turned to face Kai, and Kai got a wonderful view of the thigh-high leg slit the dress had. If his mouth had been dry before, it was dust now. Just the sight was doing something to him, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Is it too much?" Jay asked, fingers playing with each other. "I figured fancy party meant fancy, and this is the fanciest thing I've really got so…"

Kai found his voice when Jay trailed off, looking so defeated that Kai wanted to punch whatever had made him feel that way. Since he was pretty sure he had done that, Kai decided that punching himself before going undercover was a really stupid idea. He didn't want to sport a black eye and draw attention to himself. 

"No!" He exclaimed, grabbing Jay's hands, noticing blue nail polish on his nails, matching his dress. "No, you look… wow."

Jay's blush worsened, his smile a little embarrassed. "I thought you'd think my hair was stupid."

Kai knit his brows, studying the usually messy curls that were in some semblance of order. And they were longer than Kai recalled them being just three hours ago. Curious, he shifted his fingers through the chestnut hair, amazed that the curls stretched down to the base of Jay's neck before springing back up to rest lightly under his earlobes.

"It's beautiful."

Kai cleared his throat when he saw how soft Jay's gaze had turned. "Uh, I mean, not as good as mine, you know. Still good though."

Jay's smile shifted into a smirk. "Uh-huh."

Not wanting to give Jay more ammo than he already had, Kai gestured at Jay's dress. "So, any particular reason for that? Asides to be sexy, I mean."

Jay flushed terribly at that, swatting at Kai's shoulder. "I figured a guy and a girl would be less attention-grabbing than two guys for us going undercover."

Kai must have made a sour expression because Jay shook his head. "No, I made the choice, I'm fine."

Kai pursed his lips. "I know you, Jay. If you look the tiniest bit uncomfortable, we're finding you the manliest suit ever to bash any dysphoria, got it?"

Jay laughed at that, drawing Kai's attention to his face, the way his freckles bunched up whenever he laughed, along with the delicate black lines surrounding his boyfriend's eyes. Jay had actually gone and put makeup on, which Kai hadn't seen in a very long time. Heat pooled into Kai's body, his lips itching to meet Jay's. "I- I'm serious. No dysphoria will ruin your night on my watch."

Jay nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Thanks, but I'll let you know if it gets to be too much, okay?"

Kai sighed, but relented at the lightning ninja's pointed gaze. "Alright, fine. But seriously, if you get misgendered, I might hit someone out of reflex alone."

Jay snorted, moving around Kai to get to his bed. Kai watched him, unsure of what else to say. Another compliment? Jay tugged a pair of strappy black heels out of a box from under his bed. "Restrain yourself, babe."

Kai stiffened at the word, every nerve alight with want. In the end, he was a weak man, a man who just wanted Jay to feel comfortable in his skin, to kiss on Jay and touch him reverently, and breathe promises of love against freckled skin. Kai crossed the room to Jay easily, the lightning ninja still busy putting on his heels.

(Which were also unfairly attractive on Jay, but Kai would circle back to that later.)

Jay glanced up when Kai tapped his bare shoulder, his expression playful. "Hm?"

Kai scowled at Jay, nudging his boyfriend backwards until he could pin him against the mattress. "You know what you're doing."

Jay laughed softly, twining his arms around Kai's neck, fingers playing with his hair. "You look hot too, by the way."

Kai winked, "You know it."

Jay rolled his eyes and Kai locked their lips together, not entirely aware of the world around him anymore. Jay was more important than the world, clearly and obviously. He pulled back only to dive right back in, tongue running along the ever-soft lips of his lover, Jay making a delicate sound underneath him. Kai felt a heel nudge his hip, hands tightening in his hair.

The kiss deepened, Kai's tongue tracing the inside of Jay's mouth, small shocks crossing from Jay to Kai, barely there moments of electricity that made Kai shudder and kiss Jay harder, eager for a bigger reaction. Before he could cross that line, Jay pushed him up and away from his lips a little, blue eyes meeting amber.

"Kai," Jay whispered, lips so pink and plump and Kai really didn't want to stop. "The mission?"

Kai pursed his lips, then kissed Jay again, a soft peck instead of the passionate one he wanted to continue. "After, if we aren't exhausted, I'll pick up where we left off."

Jay nodded, cheeks flushed but his eyes bright with excitement at the promise. "Sounds like a plan."

Kai crawled off of Jay, halting halfway off at the sight of Jay's leg being mostly uncovered from the slit in the dress. Teasingly, Kai drug his fingertips against the soft skin as he finished crawling off of Jay, hearing his boyfriend gasp prettily. Kai adjusted his suit jacket, then ran his fingers through his hair again.

He shot Jay a puzzled glance that was mostly fake. "Are you coming?"

Jay looked breathless, cheeks even darker than before. "You- You fucker."

Kai, unable to help himself, shot Jay a wink as he made his way out of the room. "I do try."

Kai got smacked upside the head with Mr. Cuddlywomp, but hey, it was worth it in his eyes. He needed something good to keep his mind away from the dark thoughts of potential failure tonight.

///

Kai had to gape at the light show that was occurring at Borg’s tower, the building glowing in prismatic colors and holographic words that screamed the reason for the party. He had to admit it was pretty, but with Jay on his arm, it wasn’t comparable in the slightest. Shooting a glance at his boyfriend, he found Jay’s electric blue eyes alight with wonder, his lips shaping words that Kai could barely hear.

“What was that last bit?” He asked, grinning when Jay flushed.

“O-oh.” Jay twirled one of his curls around his finger, nervous. “Just… it’s pretty.”

Kai nodded, nodding towards the line of equally lavishly dressed individuals, pointing Jay in the right direction. His boyfriend was a little overwhelmed by the lights and the people, and Kai was one-hundred percent okay with being the grounding point for him. Quietly, Kai ducked his head to whisper against Jay’s ear as they got into the line. “If you feel bad, let me know.”

Jay nodded, his eyes darting from one head to another, analyzing and categorizing them the way he did. Kai hadn’t understood it at one point in his life, thinking Jay was just easily distracted (which was true), but now he knew it was how Jay dealt with getting overwhelmed. He counted how many other people he might have to interact with, how many blinding lights would flash, how they spoke or reacted so he could match them.

It was how he coped, and Kai could see why. He had done it a couple of times, only to find it very helpful. Granted, he sucked at mimicking other people, but he did try his best if his unhoned skills would be useful. Sometimes he looked back to the time he pretended to be his father and cringed. How Nya had perfectly emulated their mother’s voice was lost on him, but it was impressive all the same.

Turning his attention back to the line, Kai found two security guards only a few people ahead of them. One was a nindroid, the other was Cole. Cyrus Borg was only loosely aware of the threat looming over him when Lloyd had contacted him prior to the party about the lead they had, but he hadn’t disagreed with anything the ninja had suggested they do. As long as they didn’t destroy his tower or harm his guests, the scientist was okay with them playing dress-up.

Kai understood why Lloyd had ultimately decided against telling Borg the entire reason they were attending his anniversary party incognito. If Cyrus Borg knew about the threat, he would cancel the party and force the assassin to try another time, which would leave Borg paranoid and the ninja in the dark about when the assassin would try again. That didn't mean Kai liked withholding information though.

When Jay tapped at Kai’s arm, he felt a brief second of worry, only to find a small smile on Jay’s lips. The lightning ninja was holding back a giggle. “Kai, look behind us.”

Curious, Kai did as he was instructed, almost laughing himself. Directly behind them stood Dareth, dressed surprisingly nicely with an invitation in his hand, holding a conversation with a rather wealthy-looking elderly couple that looked entertained by him. Kai snickered under his breath, setting off Jay’s giggles. “How on earth did he get an invite?”

Jay shrugged. “I think he won the civilian raffle for invitations? He’s like Borg's biggest fan.”

Kai arched his brow. “But baby, I thought that was you?”

Jay’s blushing cheeks were a perfect reward, and he didn’t get a chance to retaliate before they reached security. Kai showed both Cole and the nindroid their invitations, then pocketed them again. The nindroid studied them, then shared a glance with Cole, who shrugged. 

“Hate to be that guy,” Cole started, pushing off of the door jam he had been leaning against, “but I need to check for concealed weapons.”

Kai made a big show of sighing loudly, unlinking his arm from Jay’s. “Oh, if you must.”

Jay opened his purse, revealing a rather nice wallet and some miscellaneous items. “Nothing but my emergency make-up.”

Kai almost jerked his head around at the sound of Jay’s voice, so light and airy. Cole looked momentarily stunned too, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Er, yeah. You’re good.”

The nindroid nodded, gesturing to the open doors. “Please enjoy your evening.”

Kai shot him a grin, sliding his arm around Jay’s waist. “I’m sure we will.”

The entryway had been filled with streamers and balloons, all sorts of people wandering around and laughing together before they headed for the elevators. Before he and Jay could get that far though, their invitations would be checked for authenticity by the intern at the front desk, who happened to be Zane in disguise. It wasn’t as effective as his cloaking device, but he still looked every bit the part of the nerdy guy who ran the desk.

Zane had even modulated his voice to better fit the role, slightly nervous at being handed so much power and responsibility by someone so high above him. “May I see your invitations?”

Kai handed the papers over, feigning indifference while Jay looked around with wide blue eyes. Zane nodded after a moment, “You’re on the list, thank you for attending!”

Jay smiled sweetly and Kai nodded, both of them making for the elevators. The party was held at the top floor, normally Borg’s office but remodeled for a skyline view and filled with hors d'oeuvres and champagne for the occasion. Kai couldn't quite understand how the assassin could get a shot with all those windows, but he wouldn't underestimate the possibility.

He hoped everything was going well on the other end of the mission, and that Lloyd, Nya, and Pixal had managed to get into position with no issues. He wouldn’t be able to check his comm until later, after he could make for the bathroom without drawing suspicion.

When the elevator doors closed, Kai slumped slightly. “Who knew I would already be tired?”

Jay shrugged, a tube of mascara in hand, squinting at his reflection in the elevator’s mirror. “Pretending is hard.”

There was a depth inside those words that Kai wanted to understand, but he decided to broach the topic later. Instead, he watched as Jay messed with his eyelashes, even though they were fine. “Jay?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t be nervous.”

Jay laughed, capping the tube and dropping it back inside of his purse. “That’s difficult for me.”

Kai nodded, taking one of Jay’s hands, pressing a kiss to his palm. “I know.”

Jay rolled his eyes, watching as they climbed floors. “Ready to do some more pretending, hot stuff?”

Kai laughed, pulling Jay flush against him for a split-second, relishing in the closeness before he shifted their positions again, arm around Jay's waistline. “Always.”

Jay was flushed when the doors opened, shooting Kai a dirty look that made him grin. His grin faltered when he caught sight of Cyrus Borg, falling back into mission mode with ease. The inventor was holding a glass of champagne in one hand, laughing with a group of people Kai had seen around the building, no doubt some of his employees.

Kai and Jay stepped out of the elevator, and Kai skimmed the room, mentally labeling anything that could be useful. He faltered at the crowd though. There were so many people all dressed so nicely that it left Kai reeling, so many sparkling bits of jewelry and finery that was foreign to him.

If he felt broke, he had no idea how much worse Jay felt. Kai knew how the lightning ninja got sometimes, wishing he had enough money to give his parents everything they deserved to have. Kai felt the same way sometimes, but he knew it lurked in the back of Jay's head more than his own. After so much time, Jay still felt as if he had something to prove, to show he wasn't just some kid from a junkyard.

Why? Kai wasn't entirely sure. Kai tightened his hold around Jay's waist, getting his boyfriend to look up at him, inquisitive eyes meeting his own.

“Split up?" He suggested, watching Jay closely for any sign of distress.

Jay nodded, nudging Kai towards the table with hors d'oeuvres and flutes of champagne. “Go be a gentleman and get me a drink.”

Kai bowed playfully, taking Jay’s hand and pressing a kiss to his ring finger. “Of course, darling.”

Jay laughed softly, shoving Kai away. Kai watched him for a second, then made for the table, scanning the faces around him. Any one of them could be the person after Borg, even if they would have had hell getting past both Cole and Zane. He couldn’t let his guard down, not even for getting in-character. To passerby, he would simply look a little nervous, something many people around him would relate to.

The table held more than just drinks and hors d'oeuvres upon closer inspection. It also held all sorts of pastries that made Kai's mouth water. It took more restraint than he had hoped it would to prevent himself from sampling them all. Maybe it had been for the best that Cole wasn't at the party, considering his rather glaring weakness for desserts.

Kai snagged two flutes of champagne, then glanced out at the sea of posh strangers, his heart beginning to thud against his ribs. What happened to his charisma? He could handle this. It wasn't hard, putting on a fake front, he had done it multiple times over the years. Somehow though, the idea of faking for multi-millionaires felt… dangerous.

It hadn't stopped Jay from immediately becoming popular though, several ladies dressed in their own stunning finery had surrounded him, complimenting his dress and asking him questions that he answered easily. Kai pursed his lips, glancing back at the table before he snagged one of the pastries, shifting the glasses to one hand as he placed it on a napkin to take over to Jay.

Jay tended to do better if he felt secure and had someone he cared for close by. Kai knew the pastry would be an added bonus, considering Jay's love of desserts. The champagne was a pretense, something that might be sipped once or twice, but ultimately ignored. Kai scanned the crowd again, plotting out the exact path he would need to make it to Jay.

"Huh, didn't think you'd be here."

Kai flinched at the words, nearly spilling champagne on the floor. His gaze landed on an all-too familiar face, one that made him a little happy, a little angry, and mostly confused.

"Ronin?"

///

Cole tried to maintain his focus as he watched Jay and Kai vanish inside of the building, but it was hard. He had no clue what to expect, and honestly the evening had been borderline boring. It would have been completely boring if the adrenaline from the idea of an assassin trying to kill Borg wasn't at the forefront of his mind, but still. He was growing impatient just standing in place.

He almost choked when he saw who was next in line, Dareth grinning at him before his brows dipped together. Cole watched as the nindroid examined Dareth's invitation, assigning a name with a face, but the brown ninja's gaze remained locked on Cole the entire time. Cole couldn't help but think of the last time he had seen Dareth in disguise, how easily the older man had seen through it.

This time, it seemed, was no different. Dareth snapped his fingers and pointed at him. "Cole! I knew that was you!"

Cole pressed his lips together tightly. "Hey Dareth."

"When'd you get a side gig?"

Cole shrugged, gesturing for Dareth to come closer so he could check for weapons, which he heavily doubted he would find, but protocol was protocol. After ensuring the man was weaponless, he gestured through the open doors to the desk where Zane was stationed. "Have fun Dareth, you're cleared."

Dareth grinned at him, happily crossing the threshold. "Thanks dude!"

Cole shook his head with a small smile. Sometimes Dareth was just the thing that helped them ensure everything went according to plan. Maybe this was one of those times. After all, Dareth was the man who had done everything in his power to help them anyway he possibly could, no matter the risks he faced because of it.

"A hem."

Cole snapped his attention back to the world around him, rather than the one inside of his head. He found an elderly couple sharing aggravated looks between one another, and his nindroid companion looking exasperated.

"Sir, it's only protocol," the nindroid started, only to be cut off by the man, who flicked his hand at both the nindroid and Cole.

"Nonsense is what it is! An over-analytical farce that is as unnecessary as it is uncouth."

The woman by his side nodded, her expression pinched. "We never carry weapons." She said the word as if she could think of nothing fouler in the world, which made Cole bite back a sigh.

While he agreed weapons were a last result form of attack, that didn't mean they were inherently bad. It was a tool, depending on who used the knife made the knife either good or bad. That didn't make the knife inherently evil if it was used to harm someone, but some people just couldn't see it the way he did.

Different opinions were important, but not over something that was simple protocol. Now, if the protocol had the couple stripping down to their underthings? That Cole could see as bad. This was more of a minor annoyance, rather than something truly terrible.

"Sir, ma'am, this is simply to ensure not only Mr. Borg's safety," Cole looked pointedly at both of them, "but also yours."

The man looked downright insulted, tugging at the cuffs of his sleeves. "You have no right to speak to me."

Cole knit his brows, entirely lost for almost three seconds. It hit him when the man's wife moved to hide behind him slightly. A stab of guilt jabbed its way into his chest, even though he shouldn't have felt it at all. It wasn't his fault his skin was darker than theirs, or that he was taller than them, or stronger and more muscular.

It hurt though, to be looked at and only seen as a threat rather than a person too. Even the nindroid looked stunned, but the man continued. "Not only are you going to place your hands upon me and my wife, but you are asking for us to let you do that. My answer is no ."

"Would you change your mind if he was white?"

Cole snapped his gaze back, finding Dareth in the doorway, looking more furious than Cole had ever seen him. The commotion and hold up had snagged a lot of attention, the people in line whispering to each other and shooting glances at Cole. It made him nauseous to have so much attention on him, and not for the first time, he wished he was smaller.

The man looked stunned. "I- what are you implying?"

Dareth stepped forward, moving to stand between Cole and the wealthy man. "If I were the guard, would you listen?"

The man shrugged. "I do not rightly know, since you aren't. I do not feel safe with-"

"Do not say that ." Dareth hissed. "Don't you dare."

Before the man or his wife could speak again, the nindroid stepped forward, his hands raised placatingly. "If you will not allow us to check for hidden weapons, then we must decline your entrance to the building. Deeply sorry."

The man huffed, snatching his wife's arm. "I am as well, for having to deal with that -"

Cole's ears were ringing after the word was uttered, one he hadn't heard in a very long time. It reminded him of the first time he had learned what it meant when he was little, how his mother had clutched him close and whispered that it was just a word while his father raged at the parents of the little girl who had said it. While he didn't remember her name, he remembered her smug face when she had said it.

Almost like she had a right to call him that, to tear him down because he looked different than she did.

The world slammed back into focus when he felt a hand on his arm, the touch that normally would be grounding painful. There were so many voices, all saying different things, and his vision was a blur at best. Cole closed his eyes tightly, trying to breathe, but it felt like he was seven again, trembling when the teacher snapped at him for missing the "very easy steps", the words he muttered unkind and as horrible as what the little girl had said.

It was part of the reason he ran away.

The world around him was falling in and out of focus every time he opened his eyes, so just kept them shut, trying to control his breathing. Everything began to shift though, the loud voices falling away and the touch that had felt like fire now a more bearable presence, one he accepted readily now. He knew he was moving, the hand on his arm a guiding light, but he still didn't open his eyes.

He was almost afraid too, after what had happened the last time he had opened them. He had to get his head back in the game, back into the role he was playing for the mission, but if he opened his eyes and could only see the past, how could he help in the present?

///

Perched on the edge of the roof, Lloyd surveyed the city below and around him, the lights always brighter than needed. They never bothered him too badly though, so he didn't mind them. Better lighting made it easier to track down the villains than poor lighting did anyway. Unable to find anything out of the usual, Lloyd lowered his binoculars with a sigh.

Minus Cyrus Borg's anniversary party happening across from the skyscraper he was perched on, the city was in a normal state of function. Families were eating dinner, shifts were being switched, the neon lights alive with the night and the city they lit up. There was no sign of an assassin who wanted Pixal's father dead for reasons no one had managed to crack.

Lloyd shook his head, turning his gaze down to his sleeve, which he pushed up and out of the way. Tapping twice at the bracelet on his wrist, he watched the holographic main menu pull up, which he swiped through until he found contacts and communications. He double-checked that his settings were correct and ready to go, then he patched himself into the comm network he, Pixal, Neuro, and Nya had thrown together.

"Anyone hear me?"

Several voices answered, little blips showing their positions on his digital map. Lloyd felt a little of his tension ease at the sight, everyone was in position and ready to go. "Give me sights, what've we got on our hands guys?"

Nya's voice crackled to life, her words sure and holding the annoyance that came with her impatience. "Nothing but traffic, it's driving me up the wall."

Lloyd almost laughed, but refrained, recalling that he was supposed to be the leader right now, not Nya's little brother with a bad sense of humor.

"Nothing here, Lloyd," Skylor said, her words carrying an easy flow that he had grown accustomed to hearing.

"Nothin' here either, kiddo." Turner added quickly, not wanting to be the last to speak. The man was rather competitive when it came down to it.

"Karloff has nothing- ah!" Static flooded the line for a second, and Lloyd's feet were already in motion when Karlof said, "False alarm, sorry friends."

Lloyd skidded to a stop before he leapt off of the skyscraper he was perched atop, sighing. "Thanks Karloff. Anyone got anything?"

"Hate to break it to you," Tox said, "but I think your lead sucks."

Lloyd pursed his lips, unsure how to respond. He was almost thankful when Neuro's voice drowned out everyone else's. "I am afraid that the target may know we are onto them," Neuro's voice warned, his tone grave and serious. "I can't read too terribly far out, but everyone within twenty-clicks of my position isn't a threat."

Neuro was just outside of reading Lloyd and probably Pixal, who was driving her car down back alleys and checking for any trace of a threat. She was anxious and doing her best to hide it, and Lloyd could understand the feeling entirely. Hell, he felt anxious just thinking about his own father. With a shake of his head, he detached from that thought. The last thing he needed was to be distracted.

Lloyd sighed again, glaring at Borg's tower across from him, the large windows betraying the exact floor where the party was being held. He could almost make out the faces and people inside of the room without his binoculars, and his chest tightened with anxiety. If the assassin succeeded in killing just one person, they would fail. Lloyd refused to let that happen.

It didn't help that no one had checked in from the tower, not even Zane, who had promised to check in every half hour. It had been almost an hour since the last check in. Surely the last of the guests should have been inside of the party, freeing Zane to help them scout around the outside of the tower along with Cole. It was part of their plan, and Lloyd couldn't act on it if Zane wasn't responding.

They were running out of time, and Lloyd couldn't wait around for Zane and Cole, or Jay and Kai. They were busy with something else, no doubt important. Or their comms had been shut off, or glitching. Maybe they didn't work with Cyrus Borg's fancy Internet servers or something. The point was, Lloyd needed a new strategy, and he needed one pretty fast.

"Pix, get Neuro in your ride." He flicked through his holographic map, finding Pixal and Neuro relatively close to one another. "Help him survey the city for our hitman."

"Affirmative, moving now."

"Understood."

"Lloyd?" Nya asked, and Lloyd could almost see her expression. "What are you thinking, talk to us."

Lloyd opened his mouth, only to freeze. Something had moved behind him, and it wasn't the wind. He made no sudden moves, hoping to keep the other being on the roof thinking he had no clue of the other's presence. He slowly reached for the hilt of his sword, flinching into action when he heard something behind him go click ka-chunk.

"Lloyd?"

"What's goin' on, kid?"

"Lloyd, what was that noise!?"

Lloyd turned just in time to make out a dark-clothed figure with a rifle in hand, followed by a bang that made him instinctively reach for his ears and duck. That was not the right choice when one is holding a sword or being shot at apparently, because something made his world rock, pain shooting from somewhere and making everything blur for a second.

Lloyd forced a breath through his gritted teeth, blearily finding the person across from him reloading, a gruff voice shooting curses rather than bullets. At least he hadn't gotten Cryus Borg. Lloyd glimpsed at himself, finding blood on his upper arm. He could handle a flesh wound. Switching sword hands, Lloyd shouted, "Found him!"

///

Kai was still reeling at the sight of the thief, but he managed to find enough of his words to actually speak. "How did you even get invited?"

Ronin shrugged languidly, nabbing one of the pastries off of the table. "'Invited' is a strong word. Let's go with 'got let in'."

Kai opened his mouth, but Ronin continued on. "Helps if you know your forgeries and the guard at the front entrance, along with the intern at the front desk."

Kai knit his brows. "Why'd Zane let you in if your invite was fake?"

"Because I have some info that might keep Borg alive tonight."

Kai shifted the glasses in his hand slightly, boring his eyes into Ronin's form. "I feel like I should ask you to dump your pockets, but if you actually have something helpful, I'd love to hear it."

Ronin swallowed his bite of pastry, nodding. "There's more than one guy gunnin' to put a bullet in Borg's head. It's a group, as far as I know."

Kai stiffened, the situation far worse than it was moments prior. If there was more than one, that changed the entire mission. "Does Zane know?"

The second the words left his lips he knew Ronin already had told Zane, or else he wouldn't have been let up to the top floor. If Zane knew, that would mean the nindroid could alert Lloyd to the growing danger. "Nevermind, if you're up here he knows."

Ronin studied him for a second, making Kai's hackles raise slightly. The older man nodded towards the crowd. "Who's the dame headin' for you?"

Kai shot him a puzzled glance and Ronin sipped at his own glass of champagne. "Just askin', not trying to steal her from you."

When an arm slipped into his own, Kai knew exactly who Ronin had meant. His boyfriend's cheeks were flushed, and there was a smile on his face, but Kai could feel how tense Jay was against him. Jay offered Ronin a darling smile, then Jay's facade of a rich girlfriend disappeared when his blue eyes found Ronin's, his expression slipping into shock. " Ronin?"

Ronin's eyes widened, then he looked between Kai and Jay for a second. "I- Jay? That you?"

Jay nodded, curls bouncing. "Yeah."

"Damn."

Jay snorted, then beamed at the sight of the pastry Kai was still holding. He took it, along with one of the flutes of champagne Kai had in his other hand. "Thanks, also how the hell did you get in?"

Kai answered before Ronin could. "He had info, Zane let him in, there's more than one."

Jay froze, pastry halfway in his mouth. After a second of debate, Jay bit off the bite, his brows knitted together as he mulled the situation over. He swallowed, tilting his head. "How do you know that, Ronin?"

Ronin sighed. "I'm not in on it, before you even ask because I can tell where this is going. I don't do murder."

Kai was acutely aware of the eyes and ears around them, so he chuckled as if Ronin had made a joke, then dropped his voice to a murmur. "Talk later."

Ronin shot him a wink. "You got it."

Jay nodded, smiling politely at Ronin as Kai led them away from the table. Kai opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted before he could even make a sound.

"Oh! Albie, bring your partner over here!"

Jay's head swiveled around, making Kai follow suit, finding a group of well-dressed twenty-something-year olds. The group looked like a few couples who were all friends, beckoning Jay over. Kai let Jay take charge, ducking his head to whisper, "Albie?"

Jay smiled awkwardly. "Fake name," he murmured, but something in his tone indicated it was more than that.

Kai wasn't entirely sure what was said after that, or who was speaking to him. All he could hear was the little wobble in Jay's voice when he had said it. The way he was acting as if nothing was out of place, as if he wasn't a boy pretending to be a girl, falling back into his repertoire of jokes and fronts to hide any of his true feelings from the world.

Kai could feel his temper flaring, but he wasn't upset with Jay. Downing the last of his champagne, he ducked his head to whisper against Jay's ear. "I'll be back in a minute."

Jay smiled at him, and then shoved him off. "Oh, get lost already, you'll be back in like two minutes!"

Kai laughed, but his heart throbbed in pain at how Jay had fallen back into that airy voice, so delicate and so unlike himself that it hurt. Kai made his way to the bathroom in the corner, making sure it was empty before he locked the door. Shoving his sleeve out of the way, he tapped at his comm. "Lloyd? Nya? Anybody?"

"Hey, hot stuff," came Skylor's slightly labored voice. There were shouts in the background, making her voice difficult to hear through the din of battle. "How's the party going?"

"Guess you know about how there's more than one guy now, huh?"

A shriek, followed by Skylor's muffled laughing. "Oh, you bet ."

Kai chewed his lip, then glanced around the bathroom. "Do you need backup?"

"Zane and Cole should be here in a minute, I think you and Jay need to focus on Cyrus Borg. We have no idea how many-"

" Sky !"

A shink of metal, ending with Skylor calling out a thanks. Kai closed his eyes for a second. "Please be safe."

"I'll try."

Kai closed the line, mind whirring with options. It was then he realized that the comm hadn't exactly been quiet. Someone surely would have gone to check if anyone was being murdered. Kai unlocked the door, eyes going wide when he registered the shrieks and shouts of alarm. Kai dashed out of the bathroom, finding the window shattered and people with guns moving through the partygoers, a flash of green darting after them.

The sight alone was alarming, but finding no sight of Cyrus Borg anywhere might have been more so. Kai slammed his fingers against his comm, tapping furiously until he managed to hit the right numbers on the digital keypad. “Ninjago City Police Department, what’s your-”

“Borg’s tower, top floor, armed and dangerous individuals attacking, send help!” Kai didn’t wait around to hear the response, diving head-first into the fire of battle, heart thundering inside of his chest. He hoped Jay was okay.

///

Zane turned to Cole, who had been sitting in the office chair that had been Zane's to begin with, but was offered when Cole had started to fall apart. After admitting the last guest, Zane knew it was crucial to proceed with the next phase of the plan, but he couldn't just ignore what had happened with Cole.

It was difficult to have such a righteous sense of morals, torn between saving Cyrus Borg and saving Cole, both from vastly different things, but both important in their own ways. Zane shot a worried glance at Dareth, who had stayed beside Cole the entire time, helping the earth ninja remain calm while Zane all but speed ran the last invitation background checks.

He still ensured they were done correctly, but still. He had moved fast. Dareth smiled at Zane, nodding towards Cole as he stood up. "I think I'm going to head upstairs, hope you guys work everything out."

Cole mumbled something, no doubt a show of gratitude for what Dareth had done. Zane voiced his own gratitude, taking one of Dareth's hands. "Thank you, you did not have to do that."

"That's the thing, kid." Dareth patted Zane's hand, something in his expression sorrowful. "I really did have to."

Zane watched his friend head for the elevator, then turned his entire focus onto Cole, who hadn't looked at him yet. "Cole?"

Cole hummed, but otherwise was unchanged in his position. Zane pursed his lips, then knelt down before Cole, placing his hands on Cole’s knees, catching his attention. “Darling?”

Cole’s cheeks pinkened slightly, which Zane took as a win considering it was a reaction. “Z?”

Zane nodded, ducking his head a bit to meet Cole’s gaze. “Yes, Cole. It’s me.”

Cole pursed his lips, then shook his head slightly. “Sorry for shutting down, I-” Cole sighed, cutting himself off. “I don’t know what happened.”

Zane didn’t like that answer, so he stood up, feeling Cole’s eyes on him. “What happened was you were treated poorly, and reacted the way anyone would in that situation. It was wrong and rude, and I am happy it did not require a physical fight.”

If Dareth hadn't intervened, Zane would have, and he was pretty sure one of the outcomes involved a version of himself he had tried to bury. He couldn't help but wonder if Borg needed some very realistic ice sculptures in the future.

Cole sounded tired. “But, I just-”

“You got upset, and when you get upset you shut down.” Zane turned to look at his boyfriend again. “It is how you function. You cannot blame yourself for that.”

Cole opened his mouth, but Zane covered it with his hand. “Correction, I will not allow you to blame yourself.”

Cole’s lips moved into a smile against Zane’s hand, his eyes locked onto Zane’s. After a moment, Zane removed his hand from Cole’s lips, only to have Cole reach out and snag his hand. Cole pressed a kiss to his inner wrist, making Zane flush himself. “Thanks, Zane.”

Zane cleared his throat. “Yes, well, we should con-continue with the mission.”

Cole looked much happier, as if making Zane flustered was a mood booster. Perhaps it was. Whatever the case, Zane forced himself to refocus on the current issue at hand. He and Cole would talk more after Cyrus Borg and his guests were all declared safe. Zane was not about to let Cole just shut down the topic and never bring it up again.

It was a nasty habit his boyfriend harbored, and it broke Zane's heart watching Cole continuously shelve his agenda for the sake of others, but never take any time to deal with what he had shelved. Zane suspected it was from how he had been raised, which only served to make him feel sadder anytime he thought about it.

Zane rolled back his sleeve, unable to meet Cole's eyes as he spoke. "We should check in with Lloyd, then follow through-"

A crash shook the building, making Zane stagger into Cole, the pair of them falling against the office chair, which cried in protest at their combined weights being forced upon it. Zane shot a worried glance up at the ceiling. "What do you think that was?"

Cole copied Zane's motion, his eyes flicking upwards before they landed back on Zane. "Probably the guy who wants Borg dead."

Zane bolted to his feet, pausing for a second when he realized where he had been sitting was not the chair. Rather, it had been Cole's lap he had been resting upon. His face felt far too warm, as if his cooling units, along with his elemental power, had left him. He allowed himself a second of flustered shock, then shoved the emotions out of the way.

Zane leapt over the front desk, using spinjitzu mid-jump to change into his gi. When his feet hit the floor, he was fully geared up, Cole landing a second after him, dressed accordingly. Cole flipped open the comm channel, chaos sounding. "Uh- Nya? How's it going?"

A shout followed by a pained grunt was the response, making Cole and Zane share worried glances. While Cole tried to get a response on his end, Zane tapped directly into Pixal's comm. "Pixal? What is happening?"

"Zane! Get to the top floor now. "

Zane flinched at her tone, chest tightening with worry. He tugged Cole's arm, already moving. "Heading up, but-"

"Lloyd's got six or- or seven- they're all armed -"

Her voice slipped out of range, leaving Zane panicked. "Pixal!"

Cole's comm chose that moment to send a voice through, Nya's usually collected voice left in stressful tension. "Get Borg outta there!"

Cole broke into a sprint for the stairs, Zane right beside him. As they flew up the steps, Zane could only hope his brothers could handle the chaos before back-up arrived.

///

Jay ducked when artillery fired, tugging down the people closest to him. "Dammit," he muttered, peeking over the overturned table to try and get a read on positions, only to find a gun in his face, making him yelp. That was the wrong move, the owner of the gun lowering the muzzle, their face hidden by their ski mask. Jay watched the mask move though, and knew the thug was smiling.

Major ew.

Jay did his best to play the panicked rich person, but it was difficult when he could have the guy disarmed in seconds. Kai wouldn't hesitate the way he did, he would have already knocked the guy out and moved to the next lethal target. Kai didn't play a role when he was needed, he didn't sit and wait for the action to come to him.

But Jay wasn't like Kai, he wasn't out to the world. People saw the lightning ninja and said he was a man who could wield lightning, that he was funny and friendly. They didn't know he was trans, they didn't know he hid himself everyday or battled against his reflection continually. Jay wasn't brave enough to even think about coming out to the entire world, and if he disarmed the gunman before him, he would.

So he stayed still, heart beating against his ribs. The thug's eyes drifted to his lips, then the gun was in Jay's face again. "Get up."

Jay swallowed and did as he was told, nervous. His words were failing him, and for once, he couldn't think of anything to say. The gun was pressed under his chin, jerking his head upwards to meet the other person's eyes, which twinkled with mischief. Those eyes then drifted lower and lower, tracing Jay's shape as if he wanted to touch him. The thought made Jay light-headed.

He could almost hear the hearty laughter of pirates, the silky voice of a djinn, the constant hum of The Misfortune's Keep. Jay squeezed his eyes shut, but that just made it worse, phantom sounds shifting into memories that shouldn't exist, but they did and they scared him. Jay forced his eyes open, chest heaving as he tried to gulp down a breath, making himself count anything.

The gun went flying and Jay counted how long it flew. Four seconds. He turned his attention back to the owner of the gun, finding them unconscious on the floor, Kai standing over him. Kai turned to Jay, and Jay burst into tears, unable to stop the flow. Kai hadn't been on the ship, he hadn't been there, he was here. He was real and alive, not a timeline that never existed.

Kai's arms were around him, his voice gentle. "Oh baby, no I'm sorry I wasn't listening. I'm sorry."

Jay realized Kai was responding to his words, which had finally come back to him. He was apologizing, no doubt for being so scared and useless and-

"Jay no, you're so brave, stop."

Jay sniffled against Kai's shoulder, then shoved him back, panicked. "Wh- Cyrus Borg!?"

Kai pressed his lips together just as the stairwell door flew open, Cole and Zane dashing in. Jay suddenly realized that the threat had been neutralized while he had spiraled, Lloyd standing a bit behind Kai. When their eyes met, Lloyd waved. Jay waved back, sniffling. Zane made for Lloyd, immediately asking him questions, while Cole made for him and Kai.

Cole's arms wrapped tightly around him, and it took all of his willpower not to cry again. Cole pulled back, then yanked Kai in for a tight hug too. "You guys are okay, right?"

Kai nodded. "There's a few wounds, but nothing grievous. I got 9-1-1 punched and dialed before I went to bashing heads."

Lloyd then joined the conversation, asking what Jay had a moment ago. "Where's Cyrus Borg?"

Kai looked torn between smug and upset. "Ronin took him out while me and Jay were running survey."

Jay gaped, then snorted wetly. "Sounds like him."

Lloyd looked lost. "Ronin? Why was he here?"

Cole shook his head. "Who cares as long as he helped?"

Zane looked the tiniest bit sheepish, and Jay shot him a smile, knowing that feeling all too well. Zane had let Ronin up, and Jay wasn’t about to snitch on him. It had served to help in the end, and that was what really mattered. Instead, he straightened his dress out a bit, still feeling the phantoms of other hands against his skin, even though it wasn’t real. “Where’s everyone else?”

Nya chose that moment to fly in through the window, landing right beside Lloyd with a flip. She glanced around then took her hood down. “Uh, am I that late?”

Lloyd giggled. “A little bit, yeah, sorry.”

Nya groaned and Kai laughed. Jay found himself grinning too, relieved to be done with the chaos of the evening.

///

Lloyd had never been so done with people in his entire life, which was saying a lot because he despised big crowds all vying for his attention at the same time. This situation wasn't any different though, which only served to heighten his already overly tense mindset. He needed a minute to collapse and regroup, not be thrust into more crowds and answer more questions.

How Gayle had even shown up before the ninja had left was beyond him, but then again, Cyrus Borg's anniversary was a pretty big deal, so maybe she had already planned to cover it on the news. The other newscasters though? They had definitely only shown up because of the disaster that had struck during the party, getting witness reviews along with the police.

Lloyd had hoped to avoid the microphones and the probing questions altogether, but wearing green tended to stand out a bit too much to most people, considering the color was correlated with him now.

"Were you aware of the threat beforehand?"

"Why were these gunmen after Mr. Borg?"

"Were they all captured?"

Lloyd opened his mouth to answer one question, only to be thrown off by another. He was tempted to ask them to take turns, but he was pretty sure his voice would be drowned out by their own questions, their voices loud and demanding his attention. He couldn't give it to them, however, not when his team was tending to the finer details while he played newsfeed.

It didn't help that he couldn't answer half of the questions anyway, since he didn't know the answers. He didn't know why the men were after Borg, other than the hunch of them wanting to throw his company into chaos. He wasn't sure how many were involved to begin with, so he didn't know if they had all been captured. Sure, he was aware of the threat beforehand, but that really didn't mean much.

The questions started to blur together, the voices melding into one annoying hum that made him tempted to flee the scene entirely. But he couldn't do that, he was the green ninja, he was a beacon of hope and everything good in the world.

At least, that's what everyone said.

A gruff voice cut through the din, the police commissioner moving between Lloyd and the reporters. "Alright, you had your fun. Now please stand back ."

Gayle narrowed her eyes. "I am only trying to ensure the people are aware of any danger."

The commissioner didn't look too impressed. "We have taped off Borg's tower for security reasons. You are crossing the boundary. For your safety, stand back."

The reporters grumbled for a moment, but eventually backed up to the sidewalk. The commissioner adjusted his lapels, then turned to Lloyd. "I hope that helps."

Lloyd nodded. "It does, thanks. But I really don't have a lot of answers, and no one will until we interrogate the criminals."

"Exactly." The commissioner adjusted his hat. "News can't have news until the truth is out. I don't know why they try to rush things."

Lloyd shrugged, regretting the motion almost instantly because ow. He forgot he'd been shot at, and maybe even successfully struck with a bullet. He would have to get Zane to look at him later. Speaking of, Lloyd stood on his toes in an attempt to see over the crowd, trying to spot his team anywhere. He found Skylor's burst of red hair, which he decided would be a good start.

"Is everything under control, Commissioner?"

The old man nodded. "If you and your ninja are needed elsewhere, go ahead. We have the gunmen taken into custody, and Cyrus Borg is safe and well."

Lloyd smiled. "I'll have to thank Ronin for that."

The commissioner looked torn between respect and like he had eaten something very sour. "Yes, I should too."

Lloyd offered the commissioner a wave, then made his way through the crowd. He was slowed down by police escorting party guests out of the way, several of the guests breaking away and thanking Lloyd profusely for his efforts. Lloyd did his best to smile and keep going, but there were so many that he started to feel trapped. It felt like every single guest was out to thank him personally.

Lloyd darted his gaze around, realizing he was all but surrounded by thankful guests and disgruntled police officers. His heart was pounding so loudly he was sure they could all hear it, and he knew he must look far too pale because he felt dizzy, like he might pass out. That wouldn't be very green ninja-y. Someone would take a video and post it, and then he'd be a meme forever, a joke.

Just a kid trying to save the world, passing out from… anxiety? Stress? Claustrophobia? He had no clue, actually. Something.

"Hey, hey."

Lloyd blinked when something moved in front of him, a wall of muscle and a sleeveless gi before him.

"Let's not suffocate him, yeah?" Cole said to the crowd, shooing them back a bit.

He took Lloyd's arm (not the injured one) in his hand, leading him away from the crowd, toward the rest of the team, who were all by the police cars. Lloyd let himself breathe a sigh of relief at the sight, the elemental masters and his family all getting along well and congratulating everyone on a job well-done.

"Thanks Cole," he said softly. "I didn't mean to just stand there."

Cole stopped walking, and turned to face him. He offered Lloyd a smile. "We've had a pretty crazy night, stress'll really mess you up. I'm happy I could help."

Lloyd nodded, then kept going toward the police cars. "You all did great."

Toxikita rolled her eyes. "Of course we did, we aren't losers."

Kai snickered. "Yeah."

Zane rushed forward at the same time Nya did, both of them zeroing in on the red coloring his green gi. "What is that?" Zane asked.

"Who's blood is it?" Asked Nya, her eyes searching his face for an answer.

Kai gasped softly, then rushed forward too. Lloyd did his best to hold back a sigh, already tired of the eyes on him. "Guys, yes it's mine, I'm fine."

Cole knit his brows, concern etched onto his features. Jay wasn't any better, his big blue eyes shimmery with worry. The rest of the elemental masters didn't look much better. Pixal was by Nya's side, her green eyes laser focused on his arm, no doubt scanning him for damage or something. Unable to handle the upsetting looks any longer, Lloyd backed up a few steps.

"Let's just call it a night and go home!"

He tried for a happy tone, but it came out strained, anxious sounding. He winced at the sound, trying again. “Look, let’s just go home.”

Nya pursed her lips, looking like she was about to say something when Pixal stepped forward, pointing to the entryway of Borg’s tower. “My father is inside with Ronin, and I would like to ensure he is well before I return to the monastery.”

Lloyd nodded, waving her off. “Go for it. Message if anything goes weird.”

Pixal smiled, then glanced back at Nya for a second, then looked away. Nya sighed, then rubbed Lloyd’s uninjured arm. “I’ll stay with her.”

Kai opened his mouth, then shook his head. “Yeah, go on sis.”

Nya jogged for a second to catch up with Pixal, the pair of them sharing soft smiles before they vanished inside of Borg’s tower. Cole scrubbed a hand through his hair, then turned to the other elemental masters. “Thanks guys. Head home, okay?”

Skylor nodded, shooting Lloyd a smile. “Be safe guys.”

Karloff made certain to hug them all before he left, leaving Jay gasping as he always did. Everyone else simply left with waves or well wishes, heading home after the evening of fighting. Lloyd couldn’t blame them because he felt three seconds away from collapsing entirely. He couldn’t do that though, so he forced himself to stand upright. “Let’s go.”

“Lloyd,” Jay said. “Maybe you should sit for a second?”

Lloyd shook his head, typing into his comm to bring his car over. “I’ll be fine.”

Kai shook his head, snatching Lloyd’s arm. “I’ll come with you then.”

Lloyd sighed, but nodded, too tired to even argue with Kai. He just wanted to be home.

///

Zane sighed softly as he dug through the medical supplies in the monastery, feeling Cole’s anxious hovering more than seeing it. The Earth Elementalist wasn’t even inside of the med bay, yet Zane couldn’t shake his presence. Perhaps his sixth sense was just deeply attuned to his surroundings today. (Pixal would laugh at him and say it was because he liked Cole, quite a bit actually, and Zane would quickly find a way to reroute the conversation. She was far too good at teasing him, and he was starting to wonder if she secretly enjoyed making him flustered.)

“I have brought the tea,” Master Wu intoned, drawing Zane’s attention towards him. He watched as the old master handed his nephew the cup, his expression torn between conflicting emotions.

Zane understood the feelings well, he was very proud of Lloyd, but he had gotten shot and didn’t think he needed to tell anyone about it. He was never exactly not worried about Lloyd, not after everything the poor boy had been through, but he still hated to think too much about the reasons behind Lloyd hiding injuries. He wondered if there was a way he could phrase a conversation that wouldn’t cause the blond to build higher walls.

Lloyd smiled at his uncle, “Thanks.”

“Master, could you go see what we have in the kitchen for a meal?” Zane asked, if only because it had just crossed his mind. “Even if it is something quick and easy we need to eat before bed.”

“Of course,” Master Wu said, patting Lloyd’s knee before he left the med bay.

Zane did his best to appear calm and like he didn’t want to ask any questions that could rock the already rocky state of Lloyd’s mind, but unfortunately, he was glaringly obvious to literally everyone else. That sadly included Lloyd.

“Zane, just spit it out,” Lloyd grumbled, sipping at his tea slowly, cringing after every sip. “I know you’re upset with me.”

“Not with you,” Zane quickly soothed, setting his medical supplies down beside Lloyd, picking up the scissors so he could get to Lloyd’s arm. “Just that you got hurt. I am sorry you got wounded, not mad at you.”

Lloyd arched a brow, looking strikingly like his mother. “Really? I figured you’d be upset that I didn’t mention I was wounded.”

Zane huffed out a half-laugh, half-sigh. “Well, not exactly. I admit to a bit of anger about you trying to brush off your injury, but I expect it from you. You’ve never enjoyed the med bay.”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out teasingly, and Zane laughed as he cut off Lloyd’s sleeve. The younger ninja mourned his gi, watching Zane fold up the ruined sleeve with a sort of detached sadness. “I liked that sleeve, damn it.”

“Hey, no cussing in front of Zane,” Cole said, stepping into the med bay. “He’s sensitive.”

“I am far older than either of you, I have heard much cursing.” Zane set the scissors down, moving back to the medical supplies, gathering the cleaning liquids. “I just choose to use it sparingly, to further showcase my intelligence to others.”

“He just called Kai stupid in like five languages,” Cole stage-whispered to Lloyd, who broke into a fit of giggles.

Zane smiled softly at Cole, silently thanking him for boosting Lloyd’s mood with a well-timed wisecrack. Cole smiled back, returning to heckling Lloyd until the blonde could scarcely bleed. He was so distracted by Cole that he missed Zane cleaning and bandaging his wound, which was better for everyone involved. Lloyd wasn’t a bad patient, but he was…

Zane would say traumatized by his many, many, many runs into the med bay from normally near-fatal injuries. Or comas. The poor guy had been through a lot.

“All done,” Zane said, patting Lloyd’s knee to get his attention. “You can go.”

Lloyd looked mildly confused, then he grinned. “Cool. I’m gonna go call Nya and Pix, make sure everything’s still good.”

Cole waved as Lloyd left, turning to Zane the moment the door was closed. “I wanted to talk to you.”

Zane balked, in the midst of putting the med kit away. “Oh? About what?”

There were certainly many intriguing topics they could discuss, anything pertaining to the evening, or maybe something entirely different as a palate cleanser. To be honest, Zane had no clue what Cole was going to ask. He was unpredictable sometimes, despite his steadiness.

Cole rung his hands together, leaning awkwardly against the examination table. “Uh, I was wondering… Well, maybe hoping, I guess, if you’re cool with it, of course! If you would like to, uh, shit.”

Zane watched as Cole dug himself into a stuttering hole, voice going lower and quieter as he tried to talk to himself. It was cute, in a silly way. “Darling?”

Cole flushed, jaw clicking from the force he shut his mouth. Zane rolled his eyes, putting the kit away so he could take one of Cole’s hands. “I would enjoy snuggling, if that was your suggestion. Perhaps a movie to wind down?”

Cole beamed brightly, and Zane knew he had understood exactly what the Earth Elementalist was asking. “Yeah. That’d be nice.”

The moment was destroyed when Lloyd threw the door open, panting. “Guys! Uncle Wu’s trying to fucking cook .”

( Somewhere nearby, Kai had an aneurysm at the feeling of his baby brother cussing. )

Zane felt faint at the mere thought, and Cole actually shuddered. “Oh hell no, Lloyd stop him!”

Their fearless leader made a pathetic whimpering sound, dashing back down the hall. Cole was right behind him, shouting orders. Zane hadn’t personally eaten any of Master Wu’s cooking, but he knew Cole had lived with him before anyone else had, and the experience was apparently… an adventure , to say the least.

Then Zane recalled Cole’s own culinary skills and fell over laughing, unable to stand any longer. The irony was not lost on him, and that made everything even funnier.

///

Jay stretched, flopping back against his bed with a sigh. It was far too late at night, somewhere between three and four in the morning, but he was over the world. He couldn’t sleep though, which was really annoying. He rolled onto his side, tucking his arms under his head, staring at the wall. He really should be sleeping, but he just couldn’t get his mind turned off.

He grumbled under his breath, sitting back up, resting his hands in his lap. With another sigh, he climbed out of bed, bare feet silent as he walked over to his dresser. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well just start his day, right? That sounded right to him anyway. Jay tugged out a shirt and pair of sweats, then paused for a second.

Should he wear his binder too? Jay chewed his lip, torn. He didn’t really feel terrible, but he knew he’d circle back to the more traumatic moments from last night, and then he’d really want his binder on. He grabbed it too, heading for the bathroom. Since it was so early, no one else would even be awake yet, unless they were struggling too, so he could have his morning rather peacefully.

He stopped when he spotted Kai leaving his bedroom, the fire ninja running a hand through his messy hair. Kai stopped when he saw Jay, knitting his brows. “Hey, babe?”

Jay jerked his gaze to the floor, clutching his bundle of clothes tight to his chest. “H-hey.”

Kai moved to him, gently ruffling his curls. “You okay?”

Jay shrugged. “Was gonna shower.”

“You feeling bad?”

Now how did he answer that? Sure, he didn’t feel fantastic, but he didn’t feel like trash. Maybe. Ish.

“I don’t know.” He eventually murmured, unable to meet Kai’s gaze. 

Kai solved that issue by gently lifting his chin upwards, his soft amber eyes meeting Jay’s blue ones. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Jay blinked quickly, trying to stop the overwhelming feeling of tears. “I- I don’t know?”

“Okay, that’s fine.” Kai pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Go shower, I’ll make you something to eat.”

Jay nodded, staying still and rooted in place until Kai was out of the hallway. He sucked in a deep breath, forcing his feet to move forward across the floor. It was only a shower, he could do a shower. Kai was being nice too, offering to make him breakfast when he didn’t even have to, so why did he feel so anxious? It wasn’t like Kai would dump him for being trans, because they already had that conversation ages ago.

Maybe he felt so anxious because of how he had pretended to be a girl last night, dressed and looked the part. At the time, he didn’t feel bad about it, but looking back at it, how could he have been so stupid? He knew how he did with crowds and so many eyes on him, but he still made sure to put on a show for them all, so they’d pay even more attention to him. Had they all known he was faking it the entire time, but they didn’t want to say anything and offend him?

Jay sniffled, swiping at his eyes. They probably had known, and all the whispers behind their hands had been about him. There was no doubt about it. Someone had probably figured out who was too, and posted it online and then there’d be uncomfortable questions about him being trans and then he’d have to confirm or deny the claim and then the world would flame him or- or want him deemed unfit to protect Ninjago or maybe even want him dead-

“Jay, Jay, hey, look at me okay?”

Jay flinched at the sensation of fingers on his arms, jerking backwards and away from the touch. Something slammed into his back, making him drop his clothes on the floor, the world swaying wildly around him. “I- I’m- I didn’t-”

“Jay, it’s okay. You're okay. Can you tell me where you are?”

Jay squeezed his eyes shut. “M-monastery?”

“That’s right, that’s good Jay.”

Jay sucked in a breath, forcing himself to focus on anything. The pressure of someone holding his arms, the pain in his chest as he forced his lungs to breathe, the rough wood against his back and the dull ache in his spine from hitting the wall. There was so much, but not enough, and he could feel his body losing control, falling down into the spirals he tried his best to push away until he couldn’t anymore. He shouldn’t be like this, all shaky and scared, he should be better.

He had saved the world countless times, so why couldn’t his body and brain get with the program and fucking like each other?

“Jay?”

Jay swallowed as best as he could, slowly lifting his gaze from the floor (when had that happened?) to meet pretty amber eyes flooded with warmth. “Hi.”

Kai smiled softly, running his thumb over the swell of Jay’s cheek. “Hey there.” The Fire Elementalist was so gentle, his normally brash and bold actions gone, replaced with a softness that made Jay melt into his touch, sighing quietly. “You need anything?”

Jay nodded against his hand, pushing himself closer to Kai, relishing in his comfort. “You’re good.”

Kai laughed softly, brushing a hand through Jay’s curls. “Alright, we’ll stay put for a minute.”

Jay buried his face in the crook of Kai’s neck, content and for a few minutes, happy right where he was. He wasn’t needed anywhere, he didn’t have to do anything, no one was watching him. It was just him and Kai, and Kai was so warm. Jay loved it, cuddling tighter, enamored by his boyfriend.

He’d be okay.

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

so… ao3 year in review, huh! this was a good year for me for writing, mcyt content really sparked my brain and i wrote FAR more than i had in the last few years. this post is gonna be mostly mcyt fic, hence why it’s here, but there’s a bit of blaseball left too.

i found the photo of the friend that i was looking for-written for the boston flowers fic exchange commemorating the return of blaseball (heh….), fluff about the flowers being friends and sharing photographs

space’s blaseball poetry collection-exactly what it says on the tin! i joined my school’s poetry club last fall and wrote a lot of poetry about blaseball in that time. (i’ve written a bit of mcyt poetry too, maybe i’ll post that someday)

stop me if you’ve heard this all before-empires s2 cannon divergence where pix is the only survivor of the other universe blood sausage was in and he gets brought to season 2. i swear to god this will be done in the new year, i promise.

would you mind if i tried to take a pass at it?-my longest fic to date and the fic i made this account for in the first place so i could post shipping and people wouldn’t be weird. you all should thank wither husbands for my presence in your life (/j)

just put your sweet lips on my lips-really living up to my ao3 username on this one with a second fluffy wither husbands fic, this time with an established relationship!

i still taste you on my lips, lovely bitter water-i intended for this to be SLIGHTLY cannon divergent and then realized i’d made up an entire piece of empires lore in my head by accident. read this one it’s good.

but when it comes to the end, you’re just the same as them-clock duo are messy as hell and i love that for them. if you could bash someone’s head in with a clock in minecraft impulse would’ve made this fic cannon by now.

men are fools, oh, men are frail-one of my favorites this year about martyn, the end of liml, and misleading prizes. very excited to write more treebark for the title exchange.

she says i’m spread thin, but baby, i’m just restless-deceit had me by a chokehold for a month and i still really like this HOWEVER legundo follows me on tumblr and vaguely implied in his end of the year stream that he reads at least some fanfiction. terrifying.

never forget number 46-another one of my favorites this year, partially because it’s so deeply self indulgent and partially cause it’s GOOD. read my blaseball au even if you don’t know anything about blaseball come closer i promise.

how to rest-the first in the perpetuity/secret life crossover series inspired by @wooshofficial and @betweenlands ‘s ghost fics that wasn’t supposed to become a series. lmao. the third installment will be here shortly.

it’s not something that you put to bed-the second installment in this series and the last of my top 3 fics this year. something about jimmy and chrys’ personalities were so fun to write together and allowed me to play in a very interesting space with him.

so what’s in store for next year? probably a lot of stuff that i don’t know of yet! but definitely on the docket:

blaseball winter exchange fic (will be going on main ao3 and blaseball side blog if you’re interested)

whatever fic(s) i write for treebark title swap (hoping to write at least two!)

second chapter of “stop me” i SWEAR

more blaseball au! i’ve got so many ideas floating around :)

and a million other things i’ve got ideas for that may or may not see the light of day, who knows!

happy new year, everyone!

[valoisfulcanellideux]

These Stones Remember II - 02 - The Perfect Gift

The Porters’ Lodge was a haven of peace and warmth from the cold December drizzle, and as Pix closed the door behind him he saw both Mr Barnes and Mr Smythe look up and give him friendly nods. “Afternoon, sir,” Mr Barnes said. “Chilly out today.” “Indeed,” Pix agreed. “And of all days, today is the one where I forgot my gloves. Oh well.” “We might have a pair we could lend you?” Mr Barnes said, with a raise of one eyebrow, as Mr Smythe got up from his chair and made his way through the side archway into the post room. “Thank you, but I’ll be fine—”  The door opened behind Pix, admitting the ruddy-faced figure of David Sigmundssen, who had clearly been running - or at the very least jogging - to get out of the rain, and who closed the door with a hearty bang that rattled its slender windows and shattered the peace of the Plodge.

Read in full at the link above.

Note: I've linked you to the Introduction chapter first of all, as that explains what the series is about. Once you've read that, click 'Next Chapter' to read the short story itself.

[em-writes-stuff]

flufftober + whumptober day 8

prompts: rainy day + "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" + outnumbered + "it's all for nothing"

563 words

warnings: being abandoned

characters: isadora harper, kaya bloodstone, unnamed character

part two

~

 Rain pours down onto the dock, soaking it in seconds. Isadora looks up at Kaya, eyes wide and worried. “What are you doing?” 

He looks back at it and shrugs, “You can go. Leave the ship and…never come back.” He throws a bag next to her feet from the boat and shakes his head. “You’re not what I’ve been looking for. It’s all been for nothing.” 

She stares at the bag on the dock and then back to the ship. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, you’ve got soul. Which is a good thing, something a lot of people don’t have anymore. But you’re not a soldier.” he purses his lips and sighs. “I’m just sorry I took up so much of both of our time.” 

He shrugs again and pushes off the railing. Isadora strains to see him, but his voice calls from the center of the deck and she watches Ryn’s hand raise to command the crew around. The sails lower and the anchor’s heavy chain is raised. 

“Wait!” it shouts. “What about Beauregard?”

Kaya pops his head over the side of the ship, “Oh, we’ll keep him. He’s good at keeping Pix under control.” 

“N-no.” She stutters. “You can’t just…keep him locked there.” He glares at her, a look that says ‘I can do anything I fucking please, and one more word I’ll do worse’ and she hangs her head. “Can I say goodbye at least?” 

“Hmmmm,” he says, tilting his head from side to side. “No. Too risky, you could do something stupid.” 

The ship inches away from the dock and Isadora shouts, screeches at the crew to stop the ship. Some look down at it in pity, some ignore her completely, and some smile at her. They wave cheerily and hang next to the sails. 

They jeer at her, mocking the tear falling down her cheek as she watches the distance between the ship-her home-grow. 

The ship turns and she can see Beauregard’s face pressed against the window. His palm is flat against the pane and he shakes his head. It holds its hand out to him and keeps it raised until she can’t see him anymore. 

She takes hold of the bag and tightens the straps over her shoulders to keep it secure, then, she walks into town. 

The closer she gets to where Ryn told her to go, the more crowded the streets were. Quickly, the well-maintained paths turned to uneven gravel and the buildings grew closer together, making it seem like they would fold in and crush her at any second. 

“You there!” someone shouts. 

Its head snaps up and she stares at a man running full-speed toward her. 

“You’re Kaya’s little pet project, right?” he asks, stopping a few feet in front of it. “You’re supposed to come with me, I’ve got a room ready for you.” 

She stares at him and tightens the grip on her bag. Taking a cautious step backward, she bumps into someone. 

“Sorry,” she says, turning to look at them.

They grunt, unimpressed and nudge it forward. The man smiles gently and holds his hand out for it. “I suggest we start running.” 

The person behind her grunts again and the man takes her hand from her side. He runs instantly, nearly pulling the arm from its socket. “We don’t want to get caught, especially not on your first night!”

[aajjks]

Bunny!Koo

you’re sitting on the couch typing away on your computer not really listening to what is playing in the background. you can feel jungkook’s eyes on you but you don’t really pay him any mind. you’re thankful that he respects your space though…sometimes.

you thought today would be like any other day. work, cook, and sleep but today jungkook suggests going christmas shopping. oh, christmas, your favorite holiday for both you and jungkook because you love decorating your small home. making christmas cookies, tasting disgusting eggnog, hot coco, and so much more. you smile a bit on the past christmas days you spent with your sweet bunny because it was a lot of fun. except for that one time he was in a heat. that. was. HORRIBLE.

although you’re a bit reluctant, you agree and get yourself dressed. you’re wearing a cute cardigan, jeans, and ugg boots because of the chilly whether. your bunny is wearing something simple too and you can help but giggle when you watch him struggling to put his hat over his bunny ears. “like this bun” you say helping him with, this time, a genuine smile on your face. it even has jungkook smiling too.

“okay, let’s go” you say before grabbing your coat and keys and heading to nearby stores for christmas shopping.

“hmmm” you say looking around, buggy already full of christmas stuff from different colored lights, cotton balls to represent snow, and other fun stuff. “should we change our christmas tree colors? we always do red and gold, let’s do…purple? blue? we could do this midnight blue. i think this one is cute”

you guys shop for HOURS. seriously, you guys love christmas shopping and you take it seriously.

somehow you two end up in the bakery isle looking for ingredients for cookies. “oooh! bun, how about gingerbread houses?! that sounds fun, right?”

he’s so happy to see you smiling and interacting with him again. when he hugs up on you, you don’t flinch or anything. instead you pat his head, caress his cheek, or just wonder if he’s okay. you’re acting like yourself again. he’s just hoping it will remain once the two of you get home.

“i’ll be right back bun!” you tell jungkook as you got fetch something for the gingerbread houses and a pretty woman with dark hair and pretty eyes approaches jungkook.

“heey” she says with a sly smile on her face. “do you mind helping me carry this to my car?” the lady is referring to her big ass christmas tree box and the lady knows she could ask for the workers to help but she can’t seem to turn away from the pretty man in front of her.

“i’ll pay you back, of course”

~🫧

Jungkook gives the woman a weird look and nods after thinking for a while where were you?

He gets really uncomfortable around strangers and specially women because he doesn’t trust anyone but you.

“Umm sure ma’am..” he gives her a shy smile and Pix up her Christmas box, he only agreed to this, because the woman seemed a little small to carry such a huge box all by herself, and he wouldn’t be a gentleman if he let her go like that struggling.

Jungkook doesn’t notice the woman’s appearance at all as she walks behind him it’s really cold. He’s sure his nose is starting to get runny but it’s all worth it because you have started to behave a little normal with him.

“ Ma’am, that’s your car? Should I put it in the trunk or in the backseat?” Jungkook starts to look around for you where were you? Did you come out of the shop to go to the gingerbread house?

And he spots you. “NOONA NOOONAAA!!” he calls out for you like a little child giggling while the woman notices his changed demeanor.

And you finally look him in the eyes and give him a smile, but your smile face he notices as you see the woman dangerously close to him.

[slashmagpie]

Proof of my civic duty!! might ⟟ request a pix or an etho? thanking you greatly

Set vaguely in the same continuity as this one-shot.

The first time Pix meets Princess Gem of Dawn, she does a double-take, which is—fair, really. Neither of them say anything, then, because they’re not alone, and it would be impolite, but he can feel her watching him—and when she’s not looking, he watches her back from the corner of his eye.

She comes to visit him several days later, and it’s good that it happened this way around, because Pix is the only living person in the Ancient Capital, and the ghosts (probably) won’t talk.

“Pixlriffs!” Gem calls as she marches down from the gatehouse towards him.

“GeminiTay! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“What are you doing here?” “The same thing as you, I reckon,” Pix replies.

She blinks at him. “Wait. You’re—”

“Yeah. You didn’t figure that out?”

“No! I was just like, what is happening? Hello?”

Pix frowns. “You know some people have doubles in more than one world, right? It might not have been me.” 

Gem goes still, before brushing it off with a, “But it is you!”

“It is,” Pix agrees. “Still, you should—be careful next time. Wouldn’t want to accidentally break the Code.”

“No. Of course not.” Gem shakes her head. “So, what’s your whole thing here? I’m guessing you’re not actually an anthropology student,” she says wryly.

“Honestly, it’s not far off. Here I’m an archaeologist. I’m studying and documenting and preserving the history of this land for future generations.”

“You seem to have a theme going on.”

“Do you not have a theme going on?”

Gem shakes her head. “I mean, I’m a princess here! And back on Hermitcraft… Well, I guess I’m just Gem. I’m not sure if cottagecore is a theme.” She pauses. “Speaking of Hermitcraft…”

Pix winces. “You want to know what happened?”

“I just—I want to know if they’re okay. I mean, obviously False made it out—I saw her the other day—but the others…”

“They made it out,” Pix says. “Most of them, anyway.”

“And… the ones who didn’t…?”

Pix can only shrug. “I don’t know, Gem. I’m sorry.”

Her shoulders sag. “No, it’s fine. It’s not like you’re omniscient or anything. I just hope… Well. I should probably just get back to being a princess and stop thinking about it.”

“It’s alright to think about it,” Pix tells her.

She’s quiet for a moment. “You’re older than me,” she says at last.

“I’ve… been doing this for longer, yes,” he agrees. 

“Does it get easier?”

Truthfully, Pix’s answer to that is it’s always been easy, but he’s never had the moon crash into his world before, so Gem’s probably taking it harder than most. He thinks for a moment before replying.

“There are different ways to handle the past,” he says at last. “You can move on from it, refuse to allow yourself to look back. You can cling onto it, and never let it go. Or… you can honour it. Give it a special place in your heart.”

“So, what, you just… treat it like one of your museum exhibits?”

“It’s better than the alternatives.” She looks doubtful. He smiles. “You can think it over. I’m sure you’ll come to a conclusion that works for you.”

“...Right.” Gem sighs. “Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Pixlriffs.” She pauses on her way out. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Pix waves. “It was lovely meeting you!”

“We already—oh. Yeah, it was nice meeting you too!”

She waves back, and then she’s gone, and Pix is turning back to his crypt. Gem’s got a good head on her shoulders. He’s sure she’ll figure it out.

[juniperjellyfish]

Ninjago headcanons because my alarm goes off in two hours and I don’t think I’ll be sleeping anytime soon

Kai is very hot/cold resistant. If it’s super cold outside, you can watch steam rise from his body

Cole gives everyone nicknames. Kai is HairGel. Nya is WaterLily. Jay is ZapTrap/MotorMouth/HalfStack. Zane is Popsicle. Pixal is just Pix because she doesn’t really like nicknames and Cole respects that.

Lloyd calls everyone Buddy

Zane has the sass of my nine year old little sister who wears her baby crown proudly

Pixal sees herself as a lesser being than the other ninja, and has identity issues

Nya struggles with depression

Whenever Jay gets excited, sparks fly off of him, and there’s been times when he accidentally shocked Nya when he kissed her.

Speaking of Jay, he is covered in lightning scars

Cole can play the violin!

Kai is a homophobic bisexual

Master Wu feels guilty about making the ninja team in the first place because he sees how he has added so much hardship to their lives, he doesn’t realize that at the end of the day, the ninja love what they do

Except lloyd. If he could retire, he would

Lloyd has enhanced hearing, vision, smell, etc because of his Oni/dragon blood

Lloyd suffers from chronic migraines (I have these so he gets them too)

Jay used to be the tallest of the ninja, but now he’s the second shortest and thus the nickname “HalfStack

KAI HAS FRECKLES

Dareth does crack (long story)

Pixal has a smal crush on Nya, but she won’t say anything because of Jay

Jay reads fanfiction about himself

Wu doesn’t allow the ninja to have alcohol, but Kai has secret stash on the hydro bounty

Jay wants kids one day

The ninja got so sick of the electric chicken that they made Lightning chicken nuggets

Nadakhan is gay

Mr. F has a reputation if ya know what I mean

Cole plays DND with the Upply twice a month. Vania is the DM

Ultra Violet and Kilo are distant descendants of Oni and the people from the first realm

Akita thinks furries are cultural appropriation

Cole hates heights and hasn’t really gone mountain climbing since his fall

Skylor and Benthomaar are besties

Skylor had never seen a dog while living on Chen’s island, so when she saw one for the first time, she freaked out and thought it was a monster

Christofern is now Christotree

Jay and Nya are the only ones that can remember Skybound. Whenever they tell someone the story, they forget within the hour because of magic

Lloyd got his blonde hair because of genetics. No one cheated, no hair dye, so sun bleaching. Just basic genetics

Jay’s birth mom cheated on Cliff and got pregnant, so cliff walked out on her and she abandoned Jay because she couldn’t take care of him.

Kai’s brown hair is a recessive gene

Nya doesn’t like drinking water, because she can feel its energy traveling into her body and it grosses her out

Ronin has almost asked Misako out

Pixal likes butterflies

Lloyd loves to read

If pixal was a human, she would have vitiligo that somewhat resembles her purple markings

Cole and forest green eyes

Lloyd loves root beer

Nya’s powers have been permanently weaker since coming back from the sea and it gives her severe anger issues

Cole occasionally walks into walls and doors because he forgets he’s not a ghost

Cole can see ghosts

Cole is the group therapist

Kai realized he was bi when he saw Cole do the glow worm song

Every Friday, the group does a movie night

Jay loves his buff gf

Cole likes to paint

Jay likes to draw

Kai made everyone weapons for their birthday

If Kai is mad, he starts smoking. No- not like that- like smoke rises from his body