#this is my friend Cole he likes to draw this guy named uh

[calyxthenerd]

i cannot explain what’s going down, i can see you standing next to me, in and out, somewhere else right now

“Welcome to the first anual MMIBD, multiversal mentally ill blonde dinner, I am Magnus Chase, pronouns he/him and I am pansexual and dead, as the most magical one here, I am hosting this event, please state your name, pronouns, identity and any fact about yourself you might find relevant to share”

“I guess I’ll go first, I’m Wilhelm, he/him, gay and my boyfriend is a wonderful musician” he smiles fondly, thinking about Simon

“Okay, that was unbelievably sappy, I’m Ámbar Benson-Smith, she/her, bisexual and I’m really into rollerskating”

“Hey, I’m Ambrosius, I refuse to share my last name because… just no, I’m gay, I use he/him pronouns and I’m pretty good with swords” that last part made Ámbar and Magnus snicker, thinking of dirty jokes about gay guys and swords

“Uh, I suppose It’s my turn? I’m Cole Mackenzie, I like boys, I don’t know what those words you’re saying mean, but I guess I’m a he? and I really like to draw” he scratches his head

“Oh yeah, sorry Cole, I forgot you probably wouldn’t know what those words meant, so, basically, Gay means attracted to only men, I don’t think that will come up right now, but lesbian means attracted to just women, bisexual means attracted to both, and pansexual means attraction regardless of gender” Magnus explained

“Alright…” Cole is still confused, but decided to just roll with it, because think about the existence of other universes was already giving him a headache, he could hardly think of a world outside of PEI, whole other universes? That was way too much for him, if Anne was here, she’d probably be spouting nonstop question to these people, but him… he didn’t know what to do

Magnus frowned at the boy, but shook his head, if he needed clarification on anything, he could ask “anyways, moving on to the next segment, who here has a significant other?” all hands are raised, but Cole still looks confused “As in romantic partner” he clarifies

“Oh, I don’t have one of those, but my friend Anne is very romantic and she’s the person I trust most in the world” he grins

Wilhelm smiles, remembering Felice “I have a friend like that too”

“Okay, guys, very heartwarming, but we’re kind of on a schedule here, and if I don’t get you back to where you belong in under an hour I’ll have several pantheons on my ass” Magnus rants

“Alright, you want us to talk about our partners, right? my boyfriend’s name is Simón-“ Ámbar starts, trying not to think about the existence of gods, but gets interrupted

“No way!! mine too!” Wilhelm beams

“Cool” she deadpans “don’t interrupt me, I’ve burned down buildings before, and if you try me, I’ll do it again” he shut his mouth “as I was saying, my boyfriend, Simón, is a musician, he plays in a band, they’re actually on tour right now, and he’s one of the only people who accept me even after my… less than stellar past” she smiles softly

“Oh! Me next!” Wilhelm calls out “My boyfriend Simon, is a musician, he was in our old school’s choir before it got shut down, and we were on a trip across Europe when I showed up here, speaking of which, aren’t people gonna realize we’re gone?” He furrows his eyebrows

“Yeah, I have a job and none of my employees are competent enough to handle it without me” Ámbar pipes in

“I’m in the middle of a sculpture and it can’t dry before I’m finished with it” Cole continued

“My whole kingdom is counting on me to spearhead the reform of our government” Ambrosius stated

Wilhelm winces “okay, you win dude, and my country could definitely use a reform… I have some work to do when I get back” he concluded

“Don’t worry guys, when you get back, no time will have passed in your worlds, anyways, my partner’s name is Alex, she’s the most badass shapeshifter who’s ever existed and she kills with pottery tools” he smiles, a lovesick grin

“She what- with a- what kind of world do you live in?” Ambrosius babbles

“A very complicated one, now, it’s your turn”

“Oh, my boyfriend, Ballister, he’s the smartest person I know, he graduated top of our class, he built his own robot arm, and kinda adopted/got adopted by a tiny shapeshifter, who’s also huge, who’s also a creature of pure light and darkness?” He ponders

“Yeah, they can be a lot of work, but it’s so worth it” Magnus’ lovesick grin shines through again, before a horn sounds and he looks at a clock on the table “shit, we didn’t even get to eat, a shame, the food here is delicious, well, I gotta send you back, before someone barges in and starts killing you, since you can’t revive like us” he finishes

“I’m sorry, wha-“ Ámbar goes back to her BA, where she was in the mansion’s living room, chatting with Luna about the next Open music, she breathed, trying to act natural and listen to her cousin’s ramblings and just nodded along

“What do you mean by tha-“ Cole got transported back, to his studio at Aunt Jo’s, and he just sighed, going back to his sculpting, with his mind far away, as he tried to process what just occurred

“You said you were dead, was it tru-“ Wilhelm blinked and he was back in Sara’s beat up car, as they passed the Champs Elyseé, trying to find their way out of Paris, he looked out the window, his mind still reeling from the events that occured

“I beg your par-“ Ambrosius was suddenly back where he was previously having a picnic with Ballister and blinked several times, before taking a sip of his juice and trying to act normal

By the time they wake up tomorrow, they’ll have forgotten it, Magnus thought, as he exited the room, flopping down on a couch, where Alex also sat “what were you doing in there?” the shapeshifter asked

“Kidnapped some people for a dinner party” he explained, laying down across her lap

“Huh, the usual then” she answered, massaging his scalp

[fanfalc-616]

Can you continue your snippet you just wrote ( Kai doesn't want to be found by his teammates and he doesn't want to be caught by the villians, he just want to be alone , to relax his mind)

I don’t think this is quite what you were looking for, but here you go:

(First part)

Kai wakes up that morning with a tinge of confusion. What’s going on? Where is he? This isn’t the Bounty. Why-

Then he remembers. Right. His ‘friends’ told him that they didn’t trust him.

With a huff, he gets to his feet. What had he taken with him?

His wallet and the vengestone bracelet, the latter to keep them from tracking him- he knows full well that Zane could’ve traced his energy signature.

He can’t use his credit card- they’d be able to trace where he made the purchase from- so it looks like he’s stuck using cash for now.

But what is he going to do? He can’t run forever; they’re bound to find him eventually. All they’ll have to do is ask around for the guy who has color-changing clothes.

Maybe he will go back to them. Even if they are just keeping an eye on him, it’s nice to have people who at least pretend to care.

But he’s not going back quite yet. He just… needs a little time to himself. A little time to come to terms with the fact that they think he’s some kind of threat rather than an ally.

With a sigh, he treks off around the woods. If he keeps walking long enough, eventually he’ll come to a town or village.

——————————————

It takes about half the day before he makes it out of the woods. When he realizes where exactly he is, he groans.

He’s under half a mile away from the old monastery. He’s standing only a little ways away from Lloyd’s collapsed treehouse fortress.

With a loud groan, he starts going back into the woods. They might know to look for him here!

But then he pauses, an idea forming. They might have a few old things laying around that he can take with him on his trip.

Unfortunately, that means he’s going to have to climb up all those stairs; using his dragon would draw too much attention.

So he turns and starts heading up the mountain, silently lamenting about how sore he’s going to be.

About an hour later, he reaches the top, and much to his dismay, he finds that Cole is already there, looking around.

With a quiet curse, he darts behind a half-burned section that hadn’t quite caved in yet. Great. He can’t go back yet, he can’t face his teammates now!

If he wasn’t wearing vengestone, his clothes would likely be a muddled brown to represent his conflicting emotions. But as of right now, they’re just red, allowing him to feel normal.

“Kai?” Cole calls out, looking around. “Are you here?”

The Master of Emotion rolls his eyes. Yeah, like he’s going to come out and reveal himself.

“Look, we just want to talk, okay? It’s not like you think! It’s just that we were worried, none of us meant to tell you that we didn’t trust you.”

Kai rolls his eyes. Can he just go already so that he can grab some supplies? There’s no way he’s going to go out and talk to him.

A few more minutes pass as his faux-friend tries to see if he’s there, but he eventually gives up, summoning his dragon and flying off.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kai starts poking around the ruins of the monastery, looking for anything he can take with him.

Much to his disappointment, there’s not a lot around that hasn’t been charred beyond repair.

Great. All of that for nothing. Now he has to go back down the stairs and find somewhere else to go with nothing to show for his efforts.

Groaning, Kai heads back down the stairs. When he reaches the bottom, it’s been probably an hour and a half since he started.

Jamanakai Village isn’t too far from here, right? Maybe only an hour or two away on foot?

It’s the closest place around, so that’s where he’ll have to go. He’s not going to be able to survive out here without supplies for very long.

He starts on his way to the village, but he’s only traveled a few dozen meters when he feels like something is up.

After a few moments pause, he brushes it off and keeps walking. It’s probably just his imagination, he’s really on edge right now. Yeah, that’s all it is.

Less than a minute later, he’s proven wrong by a sharp pain in his neck.

Slapping a hand over it, his eyes widen as he realizes that it’s a tranquilizer dart.

He barely has time to register the thought before his whole world goes dark.

———————————

It takes him less than a second to remember where he is and what’s going on, and he instantly sits up. Where is he?

He frowns in confusion as he realizes that he’s not really locked up. Looking around the room, it seems to be just that- a room. A bedroom, actually.

What the hell is going on?

Cautiously, Kai gets to his feet, silently hoping that there aren’t any traps around. He really doesn’t need to get knocked out again.

But nothing bad happens when he makes it to the door. With nervousness, he reaches for the handle.

The door opens before he gets the chance to do it himself, and Kai has to jump back to avoid getting hit in the face.

“I’m so sorry!” A man exclaims, eyes wide. “I- I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Kai stares blankly at him, sizing the guy up. Black hair, green eyes, a slim build, most likely little to no combat experience.

“Were- were you the one who kidnapped me?” He questions cautiously, glancing around the room. Something here isn’t lining up.

The noiret nods. “I- yeah. I was.” He looks down at Kai’s gi. “Your clothes aren’t changing color.”

The Master of Emotion gives him an odd look. “No. They’re not. Uh… do I know you, or…?”

The guy shakes his head. “My name is Philip.” He explains. “I need your help. Please, follow me.”

Without waiting for a response, he heads off, out of the room and somewhere else in the house.

Kai glances over at the window. He could easily make a break for it, but his curiosity has him following Philip down the halls. Where is he going? Why kidnap him only to be nice?

They make it to a different room. Philip pauses outside of it before giving Kai a worried look. “You’re the Master of Emotion, right?”

Kai nods. “Uh, yeah. I’m wearing vengestone right now, but-“

“Please take it off.” The noirette pleads. There’s desperation in his eyes, and somehow, Kai can’t bring himself to deny the request.

He takes off the bracelet and puts it in his pocket, his clothes immediately turning light blue. He really wants to know what’s going on.

So Philip leads him into the room, and Kai is taken aback by it.

It’s a pretty big room, but what draws his eyes is the young girl laying on a bed, her eyes closed and breathing shallow. Kai looks over at the man, confused.

“What’s going on?” He finally voices the question that he’s had all of this time.

“I- I didn’t want to kidnap you. But my daughter, Amber… she’s sick. I’ve taken her to the hospital, but they said there’s nothing they can do, and I… I got desperate. I heard that the element of emotion had healing powers and I…” Philip stops talking, looking at Kai with a hopeful expression.

Kai realizes that in normal circumstances, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. He can’t manipulate his emotions so easily.

But this isn’t a normal circumstance. This man kidnapped him and had a good reason, meaning that…

Meaning that Kai can forgive him.

Wordlessly, he walks over to the bed, his clothes shifting to white. Taking the sleeping girl’s hand, he closes his eyes and tries to concentrate on the feeling.

A few moments later, he opens his eyes and watches as the girl- Amber, Philip had said- stirs, and looks around the room.

“Dad?” She murmurs, color returning to her previously dead complexion. “Dad!” Her voice now filled with excitement, she grins as Philip runs over.

Kai steps aside in order to allow the noirette to hug his daughter.

The man looks over at Kai. “Thank you.” He breathes, tears forming in his eyes. “Thank you.”

A small smile on his face, Kai shakes his head. “No. Thank you.” He corrects. “I- I needed that.”

He ignores the confused look he receives and heads out of the house. After a few moments of consideration, he decides not to put the bracelet back on.

Maybe these powers aren’t so bad after all.

[ren1327]

The Sentry: Midnight Run

(Art by @adrienscroissantx)

Cole panted as Jacob pulled him by the hand into the forest.

“Don’t stop!” Mac yelled and made sure to stay behind the pair.

“Cole, what the hell is that thing?!” Jacob yelled.

“I-I-I don’t know!” He yelled back.

“Uh, descriptions!” Jacob yelled at Mac, who flung his long hair from his face.

“Fucking big!” He growled.

“Um…hooves!” Jacob yelled.

“Bi-pedal…” Cole gasped.

“Can obviously see in the dark!” Mac supplied.

“That doesn’t narrow it dooown-” Cole nearly tripped and Mac grabbed the back of his jacket, yanking him behind a cluster of bushes around a live oak tree and leaning against him, Cole's glasses hanging off his left ear.

Jacob covered his own mouth as Mac used his free arm to curl protectively around the blond as something growled and paused, loud sniffing being heard as it headed off up the hill.

Mac waited a few minutes before getting off his two smaller friends.

“What was that?” Jacob asked.

“It uh…” Mac swallowed, his hand holding his bat shaking. “Had a long face.”

“The one night Grayson and Lettie aren’t hovering over us, this happens!” Jacob hissed.

“I’m sorry, I just…” Cole sniffed. “I wanted to see if the bridge was haunted…”

“Cole!” Jacob groaned. “We are danger magnets! Oh, god. Is it Donkey Lady? I always hated that story!”

“No, that bridge is on the south side over Elm Creek—”

“Cole!” Both his friends hissed.

“Sorry.”

“Well, we’re in it now." Mac hissed. "No giant owl ladies or magical twinks to assist this time.”

“I thought I was your magical twink.” Jacob said and Mac snorted a laugh.

“Really?” He asked. “Now?”

“Do you feel better?” Jacob asked. Mac looked away from those big blue eyes and sly smile.

“Any-ways.” He said and shook his head, moving to peek around the tree. “It’s upwind, so…let’s head back towards the road, maybe we can—”

Cole yanked him back as something slashed by the tree, missing Mac’s nose by an inch.

“Crap!” Mac yelled and grabbed Cole’s arm.

Cole gasped as he was dragged along again, Jacob letting out a terrified scream as something pounced, just missing him.

Mac spun around, Jacob ducking quickly when he saw both his hands go to the bat.

The creature squealed when the bat made contact and it lost its footing, tumbling down the hill and scurrying off, the foliage around them shuttering as it seemed to be circling them.

“Okay, good news.” Cole said. “I got a good look at it.”

“Bad news?” Mac asked as he and Jacob crowded around Cole.

“It looked like the thing on your uncle’s tapestry.”

“It looked like Huay Chivo?” Jacob asked.

“Um…what is Way Chi-Ball?”

“Huay Chivo is a…think of him as the original Goat Man from Mayan culture.” Cole said.

“So, what’s his deal?” Mac asked Jacob.

“Dude. One, I’m Cuban.” The blond huffed. “Two, I was raised by people of European decent. Three, my uncle likes South American art, so I only know it in name.”

“Sorry.” Mac said.

“Huay Chivo.” Cole said, gaining their attention as they scanned the trees. “Is supposed to be a sorcerer, a shifter, like Lechuza.”

“This guy don’t seem all there.” Jacob said as they heard a loud growl, the plump boy reaching down to grab a rock and place a hand over Cole as he thought.

“Then maybe…maybe he’s a…a…”

He stared forward in realization, leaning into Jacob a bit.

“What is it?!” Mac yelled.

The creature screeched and the creature walked out. It was at least three meters tall with wings and cloven feet. It had a horse like face and thin whippy tail. It was covered in hair and looked like a starved ram with human like arms and long claws. It’s snout wrinkled as it rose it’s head, long horns and fangs gleaming.

“We’re in Texas…” Cole said, looking at the youngest Leeds Demon.

“I don’t think it cares.” Mac said, raising his bat as Jacob looked over at Cole.

“Mac—”

“When I go for it, run. He cant kill me that quick.” Mac said, shoulders heaving. “One—”

The devil suddenly crumpled when a large feathered creature fell on it, snarling as a refrigerator sized horned owl’s talons dug into its neck and screeched in triumph, it’s beak and feathers retreating and parting into a woman’s face.

“How dare you hunt hatchlings, Devil!” She yelled as the beast went limp. “I! The great Lechuza! Am their prrrrotector!”

She screeched again and the boys heard a loud sigh, turning to see their guardian standing with a paper bag. The centuries old fae prince was dressed down in black skinny jeans and a white crop top showing off his midriff. He swept his pink hair from his shoulder with a huff.

“Why is it when I look away for a moment, you always draw the wrong kind of attention?” Grayson asked, glowing green eyes scanning them for injuries.

Mac lowered his bat and Jacob sighed in relief as Cole shrugged with a relieved smile.

“Well.” The pinkett said and looked at Lettie stomping the creature’s spine to paste. “Let’s get home. I promised your Dad a family meal.”

“Not our Dad. You’re not our mom.” Mac grumbled as Jacob lead him and Cole by their hands after the fae, Lettie crowing in victory as she dragged the body behind her to the fae’s home.

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal for season 13!! 😎😎 (2/4)

Here we go with another four episodes! I'm enjoying myself A LOT and I do hope we will continue this way! I can't wait to know more about Rock Mom and who really is the Skull Sorcerer and ENOUGH LET'S GO TO THE EPISODES!!! 💕💕

Here we go!!

QUEEN OF THE MUNCE

For this one I already saw the Nya's knight suit already... and she was gorgeous... I mean she always is but COME ON 💙💙💙

These munce are too much 😂 They are kind of adorable in their stupidity really

Jay going full "we're never going to get out Imma get overly pessimistic because YES" is always a familiar sight, almost as him spazzing out during a difficult situation... that could still happen 🤷‍♀️

Good thing Nya gets the brain cell most of the time 👌

Of course while I'm waiting for the third part of Tales of Arcadia, something so similar to the Trollmarket comes my way 😂 Very nice thought, a bit dark. I hope it doesn't get in the way of seeing the good fighting scenes

Okay but THIS

IS PLAIN CURSED, PLAIN BALD HEADS😱😱😱 Well I'm guessing Tommy doesn't have excuses anymore to become a LEGO character 😂

Well Murt, that was one breathtaking story, you should be a storyteller 👍

Ah, there we go, with the Jay and Nya and queen situation 😒 It's not that bad really, considering I thought it was going to be just a weak way to include Jay with just another triangle. It didn't last long so that's kinda fine, but it is annoying that Nya is pushed away. But overall better than I expected

Also it is nice the reminder that she is his yang 💙❤💙❤

And they are still adorable 😂😂 I like that you can tell immediately here who's the strong one of the couple 😎😎

So there is a drawing of the Millie Gillie guy/gal on that wall, huh... was I in the wrong about that being Cole's mom? I thought they said she, but English is not my first language so I could be wrong 🤷‍♀️

Ninja Jay could be the new Kai Ninjago 😂

Aww, that part with the lightning and the crystals was so pretty 🤩🤩

And there we go with the confrontation 😛 I did snorted seeing Jay kinda offended at Nya not wanting to fight for him, but she is still super adorable saying that they belong 💕💕 Also Lloyd just being there trying to calm everyone down, le poor baby 😂😂

Yep, the fire instinct kicking in, Nya is the daughter of Ray after all 🤷‍♀️

AND SHE LOOKS ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS WITH THE ARMOR 🤩🤩

Oh, apparently the queen of munce can do spin dash 😱

Woooo, that preparation for the spinjitzu was so cool 🤩 And of course she kicked the HECK out of her, THAT'S MY GIRL!!!

And now she's the queen, great, more problems to come 😅 We'll see how this plays out, and I am kinda curious to see queen Nya at work ☺

Not my favorite episode, but still enjoyable, let's keep getting better and better!

So... WHERE IS MY FLAME BABE?!? ❤

TRIAL BY MINO

THERE HE IS 😍😍😍

I don't know if it's because it's a very obvious but convenient thing to do or I just love Kai THAT much, but I love when there's dark and he just lights up his hand. Idk, I just think it's neat 🙂

There're the Geckos! They are cute too 💜 Also chanting about the Millie Gillie guy, I'm still convinced that's just Cole's mom! Also I'm kinda guessing the Skull Sorcerer is the king of Shintaro. He is the most suspicious for now, we'll see how it goes 🤷‍♀️

Poor Kai got the awful thing in his mouth... AND HAIR!!! Look out sweetie, your beautiful chocolaty hair!! 😱

OMG ZANE CALLING OUT KAI ABOUT HIS BLABBERING AS HE DOESN'T HAS A SKELETON 😂😂 I laughed too much at it, I'm sorry Tin Can 😅

Again

Really like the crystal vibe 😍 This one is blue, the other was green, is there a reason?

I missed Kai and Zane together, I missed anyone with Zane in general! It's always a nice contrast and always amusing, especially if hotheadTM is involved 💕

So they throw rocks to show approval, I'm loving this society for some reasons 😂

Okay, vengestone is literally everywhere, there is no way all this stuff was not on purpose. It would make sense that a place studied to weaken an elemental master was meant for something more. Wooooo, ROCK MOM ROCK MOM 🖤🖤🖤

Awwww, I don't know why but them acknowledging the elemental masters is super satisfying 💜

Oh so Kai is not a king, he's a chancellor... and he didn't want to 😂😂 Vincent definitely had fun voicing this episode 👌

Okay, so there are three explorers involved? I'm guessing the muscular one in the trailer was one of them. I wonder what will be their part in the story 🤔

Poor Kai, his encouragement speeches used to be the key of convincing, here it's harder. Let's see how they will deal with this... also how Kai will react with queen Nya of the munce 😂

Pff, Zane throwing the rock of encouragement, that was so adorable 🤍

I really missed these two ❤🤍❤🤍

THE SKULL SORCERER

Seriously, even talking to herself and thinking about the worst situations like Bluebell? If Cole and Vania do end up together, I'll still hold onto the fact that Rocky is into the loquatious type 😂😂

Okay, a sweet princess' paranoia towards a little white cute dragon named Chompy?

One of the cutest thing ever seen 😍 Also I am a firm believer that everything improves if you put a dragon into it, another reason why I love Ninjago so much 🤍🤍🤍

Pff, seeing Vania talking about call then the cut on the black ninja makes me think about that one vine with the guy hanging with his phone saying "Yeah I'm okay mom, bye (phone down)... I AM NOT OKAY!!" 😂

SOLO MOMENT WITH COLE!!! Freaking yes, and it looks like the little tic of talking to himself when stressed from March of the Oni got stuck 🙃🙃

Lava punches back! Big bad bats!! Spiders!!... wait- AAAHHH 😱

Okay, forgive my skepticism when I doubt that a simple spider web could stop one of the strongest ninja of the team. We needed Vania to the rescue, alright, still sounds a little easy but eh watcha gonna do 🤷‍♀️

SHE HAS HER HAIR DOWN!!! SHE LOOKS STUNNING!!! Golden hair girl 💛💛

And Chompy is a big good boy 🤩

CALLED IT!!! CALLED IT FOR THE KING!!!... I mean it was kinda obvious 😅 Still, happy I thought about it before it actually happened. Although it's curious that the reveal happens now, halfway there, unlike in Prime Empire where it took almost all the season to build up the reveal. What's left for the finale?... ROCK MOM?!?!

There's a customer for all that vengestone? That... actually makes a lot of sense. Anyone who is against the ninja would want it really, and that only considering past villains. And if we think about possible elemental masters coming back, uuuhhh, I like where this is going!!

YOU CANNOT HURT A BABY DRAGON IN THIS SHOW AND NOT PAY I HOPE YOU GET THE WORST DEATH/DEFEAT OF ALL THE FRANCHISE 👿👿👿

Wait, so they don't naturally have wings? Oh, that's why she didn't have them in the trailer, I see 🤔

This is probably the only moment when I think they rushed a bit. Not too much, I iust feel like we haven't seen enough of Vania and her father to truly feel that decision moment as fundamental. Still cool, still intense, but kinda light. Anyway GO PRINCESS GO!!! 💕💕

THE REAL FALL

Oh Garmadon... that title... *flashbacks The Fall while realizing this is indeed Cole's season* NOT AGAIN 😱😱😱

I mean they are already falling so... uh, let's see how it goes

HE EVEN FRAMED CHOMPY HE MUST DIE SO HARD 😡👿😡👿

Okay the fall here is actually kind of hilarious 😂 Or is it because I love that Kirby gets to be on the center of the attention and he is giving his all? Idk, I love all the voice actors of the show really 🤷‍♀️

Hey, you people watching this

Am I the only one getting emotional here?? 😢 ... just me, huh 😅 I mean come on, it's Cole and Wu! The first leader and the sensei! The used to be dad and his son Cole Jr.! I headcanon that Cole was the first to arrive at the monastery and this feels like the old times... EMOTIONAL PEOPLE

Lol, sensei taking the time to compliment Vania about her behavior, he's gonna adopt her when this is over 😂

I mean, you kinda faced worst yes, you fell into the Underworld on dragons you used to be afraid of, you fell from a ship with an anchor, you fell into a junk compactor that almost squashed you against your rival now best friend, you fell from SPACE towards THE EARTH, you fell from a ladder... THE LADDER COLE 😱😱😱 (this fangirl will never recover from that)

Aaaand a giant web. Of course. Classic Ninjago lack of luck right there 👈👈

Clutch Powers still lives 😂

Okay, seriously? She freaks out when things gets out of hand and talks about staying calm by making vocal exercises! Freaking, it might be me trying to find an excuse to think about Bruise, but they are making it a little too easy for me 🖤💙🖤💙

I am kinda loving her being so genuine, Idk, I really like Vania. She does her best 👍

Falling > Dying, life lessons by your master of Earth 😎 Wu sounds so done, they can never go anywhere without something crazy like this happening 🤣

Why is this so funny, the sequel of The Fall shouldn't be 😂 Meh, not complaining

That was one very mad Lapras

YES THANK YOU SENSEI!!! Finally he acknowledged it, Cole is literally surrounded by his element, OF COURSE he is crazy strong in here. I needed this scene, heck yeah, I love elemental powers 🖤

Oh they must be the explorers... Merlin, Assassin's Creed and Conan the Barbarian 😅 So we hit rock bottom, literally apparently, and one of the spider's name is Adam... OKAY

So the real fall was in fact Cole falling asleep for the shock 😂 Lol if Cole and Vania really don't end up together, I can joke and say that in this season Cole has never fell harder 😉😉

This was very amusing, I liked this episode, I would rewatch it only for the comments 😂 I'm curious to see what else will happen, especially with these three now involved! Who are they?

[lloydskywalkers]

So on the incredibly rare occasion that I do write romance, I have the ability to write one (1) single romance and that is all, and that’s Dumb Fools in Love. Which hopefully fits here, because it’s Glass Girl’s namesake day, so i gotta at least try for @speedythecat, it’s what she desERVES.

(happy valentines this is disgusting fluff anyways i love u speedy)

Lloyd likes the way construction paper sounds. It’s kind of therapeutic, the sound it makes as he drags the scissors through the middle. It’s even more satisfying when he uses them to start stabbing gaping holes through the paper, because he went and ruined the stupid heart shape again, and now he’s running out of pink and red construction paper that doesn’t look like he took a vicious katana to it and went crazy.

“Stupid scissors—”

He doesn’t know if Rain even likes pink or red that much, Lloyd reminds himself dismally, as he untangles his fingers from the scissors. Just that they’re thematically appropriate to the essence of the holiday, or whatever, and they apparently must’ve been the only two colors that existed when whoever came up with Valentine’s Day was around. He hasn’t even found actual purple in any of the little cards he’s seen, just some floral lavender.

Lloyd glances down to the pile of pink and red paper strewn across the table in front of him, then back to the instructions he’s printed out for himself. Then back to the paper.

Maybe he can just like, die instead.

Lloyd is about ninety percent sure that he can’t be the only person to ever look up “how to make Valentine’s Day cards” on the internet before, but it still feels like a crushing blow to his pride and an overall dumb move in general as he does.

But he’s only slightly desperate right now, and he really doesn’t want to reach fully desperate, so he’s willing to suck up his pride if it means not totally ruining his girlfriend’s hopes and dreams by giving her a sub-par and ultimately disappointing Valentine’s Day card that looks like he doesn’t even understand the holiday in the first place.

To be fair, though, he kinda doesn’t.

Like, Lloyd knows what Valentine’s Day is, obviously. He’s not an idiot. He’s just…never really participated in it…as a person. It seems like all the others have cute little stories of getting paper cut-outs and candy hearts in grade school (which he can get behind, if there’s candy), but Lloyd’s experience in grade school was general scorn toward anything love-related at all. Valentine’s Day was well out of the question. Lloyd didn’t even know it existed until he walked straight into a street stand that looked like red and pink had thrown up all over it, before being drowned in like, twenty-dozen bouquets of roses.

He’d been an awful brat of a child then, so at the time, he’d dealt with it by kicking the stand over and being totally grossed out. Now, however, he’s left wondering if those bouquets are worth the money, or if he should invest in the slightly bigger ones they sell over on the east side stands.

How the tables have turned, Lloyd sighs miserably to himself, struggling to peel another stubborn strip of glitter glue from his hand where it’s dried there, sparkling mockingly at him.  Finally digging the glue free, Lloyd brushes his hands off and glances down at his paper.

Go for handmade.

Well, that one’s easy, ‘cause there’s no way Lloyd’s physically bringing himself to walk into a store and buy Rain some cheesy card with a bunch of generic hearts on it. This, of course, leaves the problem that Lloyd now has to come up with the card, and the only thing that’s coming to mind are generic, cheesy hearts.

Hmm. Lloyd taps the edge of the table, humming beneath his breath. He can draw pretty well, but he’s not like, an artist. Not like Cole is, or anything. Lloyd is a lot better at cartoon characters and funny little caricatures of the others than he is, say, detailed roses or something.

Rain likes cats, right? he muses. He could draw a cat, and then maybe have it holding a heart, or something. That’d be kinda cute, maybe. And then he’d get to make some awful pun like “you’re paw-sitively purr-fect”—

Lloyd slams his head down on the table. Nope. This is why he’s not allowed to come up with the idea himself. He’s worse than all the awful grocery store cards put together.

Something in his nose tickles, and he sneezes, sending up sparkly dust all around him. Lloyd blinks, then bites back a moan. Belatedly, he realizes he’s just dunked his head in glitter dust.

It could’ve been the glue, he tries to comfort himself.

Figuring he’s already doomed, Lloyd makes peace with the fact that he’s just going to live the rest of his day resembling a blond disco ball, and lifts his head to return to task, squinting at what’s next on the list.

Make it personal.

Again, that one should be easy too, because it’s Rain. But what’s supposed to count as personal? Is it like, I-love-you personal, or here’s-a-reference-to-inside-joke-number-fifty-eight kind of personal? Should he do both? He and Rain have too many inside jokes, though, it’ll take him half the day to pick one, and he’s already running out of time. Rain’s supposed to be back at noon, and Lloyd does not have that kind of time to kill.

He drums his fingers against the table-top, staring at the outlined drawing of Rain his fingers have absently started sketching out, right next to his doodles of little cats and a mini-Overlord raging terror on the glitter glue scattered across the paper.

Lloyd frowns at the last one. Oops. Well, he can’t give her this now.

“Is that supposed to be the Overlord? You can’t give Rain that for Valentine’s Day.”

Lloyd jumps half a foot out of his chair and slams his knee into the table just so that his entire leg goes dead, his shriek of surprise strangling off as he chokes on the erupting cloud of glitter dust.

By the time he winds down coughing, wiping the reflexive tears from his eyes and glaring, Kai is just staring at him, mildly concerned and whole lot unimpressed.

“A little warning, please.”

“I’ve been standing here for five minutes, bud, it’s not my fault you’re in dreamland.” Kai glances down at the table-top of scattered construction paper and glitter dust, and his mouth trembles, like he’s holding back laughter. “Are you…trying to make a card, or mass-murdering our construction paper supply?”

Lloyd feels his cheeks go scarlet, and he sputters. “I’m not — no, I’m just—” He waves his hands in the air, wishing he could disappear. “Valentine’s Day,” he finally says, haplessly. “Rain. Card.”

“Ah,” Kai says, nodding. He eyes the butchered pile of paper. “It’s going…good, then?”

Lloyd buries his face in his hands, groaning. “I keep ruining it. I’ve never done Valentine’s Day before, Kai, this is a disaster. Rain’s gonna hate it.”

“Aw, don’t say that,” Kai says, sliding into the chair next to him, patting him on the shoulder. “Rain’ll be fine with…whatever…you end up making. It’s not that big a deal.” He laughs, rolling his eyes. “I mean, it’s not like she’s going to get horribly upset because you butchered her favorite holiday and dump you for some chump with better taste.”

Lloyd freezes dead, his eyes widening. He has not yet considered this option. What if he does ruin Rain’s entire holiday with his awful gift? What if, by completely disrespecting her last name’s namesake — thing — she does get horribly upset and runs off with like, Ariya to the desert or something, and—

Kai blinks, then his eyes go wide. “Lloyd, wait — no, it was a joke, Lloyd, don’t get that look on your face — Nya!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

And that’s how Lloyd ends up cornered by his entire team at the kitchen table, covered in glitter dust and currently living out his worst life as they try to decide the best way for him not to totally sabotage his love life in one go.

“Honestly, I never really got Valentine’s Day,” Kai remarks. “I didn’t get the whole grade school experience as much, since we homeschooled for the most part. It’s just a lot of hearts and chocolate and flowers and stuff, right?”

“Um, it’s a lot more than that,” Jay rolls his eyes. “It was classroom warfare. Your like, entire life status was measured by how many Valentines you’d get. It was totally lame,” he scowls.

“I dunno, I always got a whole lot,” Cole muses. “I could never figure out why, though. I wasn’t super popular, or anything...”

They all stare at Cole for a beat, where he stands haloed beneath the kitchen lights in all his wavy-haired glory.

“Hopeless,” Jay sighs.

“This isn’t grade school, though,” Nya says. “This is Lloyd’s actual relationship, which we are helping him with, so let’s hear actual helpful stuff, please.”

“Again,” Kai shrugs. “Flowers. Chocolate. Hearts. Bam, you’re good.”

“For crying out loud,” Jay groans. “How do magazines keep labeling you the smooth one.”

“Hold on, he’s got a point with the chocolate part,” Cole points out.

“Of course, you would choose that part to focus on,” Zane sighs.

“Guys, enough,” Nya cuts over them. “I said helpful stuff, not the most generic ideas ever. I mean, chocolate’s nice, but Lloyd’ll probably eat it all before it gets to Rain anyways—”

“I would not!” Lloyd protests.

“—and the card’s gonna be the focal point, so hearts are covered.” Nya glances down the pile of butchered construction paper in front of Lloyd, and winces. “We’ll, uh, help you with that part. But first, let’s plan.” She tugs a half-torn piece of construction paper toward her, uncapping a marker. “What all does Rain like, for starters?”

“Well,” Lloyd pauses, thinking. “She does like flowers, and — no, no I am not going to ask Lief for help, no way, not a chance.”

“Just a suggestion!” Jay throws his hands up in defense. “He’s her friend, though, so he’d probably have some ideas, y’know?”

“So. Not. Worth it.”

“Okay, okay, geez.”

Nya rolls her eyes, but scribbles ‘flowers — not from Lief’ on the paper anyways. “Good, but that’s still pretty standard stuff. Anything else a little more creative? Something that really says Rain to you.”

“She likes rocks,” Lloyd nods.

The marker squeaks violently on the paper, and Nya makes a dying sound in the back of her throat. Kai breaks into snickering, and Jay whacks him on the shoulder, giggling.

“There you go, bud, perfect Valentine’s gift. Give her a rock.”

“No,” Nya says firmly, glaring at Jay. She then turns the glare on Lloyd, who immediately shrinks lower in his seat. “Rocks, Lloyd, really — okay. Okay, do you know anything else she likes? That’s not rocks?”

“Uh, she likes…glass?” Lloyd says, weakly. “And um, seashells. And tea, and — she really does like rocks, I’m serious! Like, cool ones—“

“You are not giving Rain a rock for Valentine’s Day!”

“A cool rock!”

“That doesn’t make it any more acceptable!”

“Ughhh.” Lloyd slides down in his chair with a dying moan, throwing his arms over his face. “You ruin everything. She likes those little paper cranes, I guess. And, uh…”

“You,” Zane reminds him. “She likes you. Therefore, she will most likely love anything you give her, since it’s from you.”

Normally, Lloyd would just scoff at that, but Zane’s voice is so sincere it actually helps, a little. Lloyd sits up in his seat a bit, his crossed arms loosening. “Well…”

“Yeah! So why don’t you just draw her a cat that says like, ‘you’re purr-fect’, or something?” Jay suggests. “That sounds like you.”

Lloyd slams his head against the table, once again accidentally dunking himself in glitter dust. He can’t bring himself to care this time, because the whole world apparently just knows him for terrible puns.

“Stop being so melodramatic, you’re going to remind her of her brother,” Nya clips. Lloyd chokes on his tongue, and dissolves into a fit of manic sputtering as Kai claps him on the back, encouraging him to breathe.

“—was just a joke, Lloyd, don’t take her seriously.”

“—time and place, Nya, time and place—!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

It takes several disastrous attempts and more than a few marker wars — Kai in particular is sporting some spectacular pink sharpie marks along the side of his face, and Lloyd’s got streaking red marks across his forearms as the price for protecting his own face — but Lloyd end up with one brightly-colored, cursive-lettered Valentine’s card for Rain.

He’s feeling pretty confident in it, actually. It says everything he wants it to say, while looking pretty but dignified, and it’s only got one cat on it, so he’s — he’s pretty sure Rain will like it. A lot more than any of his other disastrous attempts, he assures himself. Now all he’s gotta do is grab the flowers Nya made him promise to get, and according to both Wikihow and his family, he’ll have the perfect Valentine. Armed with that knowledge, Lloyd strides confidently for the kitchen table to grab an envelope.

Only to freeze dead when he comes face-to-face with Rain, who’s bent over studying said disastrous attempts from earlier, that he’s left out in full view on the kitchen table like a complete moron.

Rain’s currently got one of his first attempts in her hands, her finger tracing the little design he’d drawn. Her hair’s down right now, all silvery and smooth and falling over her face, so he can’t see her expression.

Lloyd is highly considering running for the hills by like, hurling himself out the kitchen window, when Rain turns around, the end her nose still red from the outside cold, freckles standing out more than usual on her cheeks. Lloyd freezes in place.

She holds up one of the ruined cards. “Are all these...for me?”

Lloyd’s soul makes the executively wise decision to exit his body right then.

“They’re — I — no, they’re for, uh—”

Lloyd’s mind backfires. Shoot, he can’t say they’re for someone else, they’ve got ‘I love you’ and other sappy stuff all over them, what’s he supposed to do—

“They’re, uh, for my grandmother.”

Rain raises an eyebrow. “Your grandmother…named Rain,” she says slowly, reading the name that’s brightly plastered everywhere.

“Her name’s Rain too,” Lloyd tries, weakly.

Rain raises her other eyebrow. She wordlessly holds up one of the cards, pointing to where “Rain Allira Valentine” is highlighted. Lloyd mentally makes a note to murder Kai later as her finger slides down to the “Mr. Rain Valentine” right below, her lips trembling as she tries to hold back a snicker.

“Um.” At least she’s laughing, Lloyd tells himself. She hasn't run off to the desert yet. “I have a better one for you, I swear. Those are just — really, really bad first attempts, which you were never supposed to see, ever.”

Please forget they ever existed, is on the tip of his tongue, but Rain’s expressions softens, her eyes fond as she looks from the cards to him.

“I don’t know, these are…kinda sweet,” she admits, her cheeks going a bit pink.

“Oh,” Lloyd says, his own face heating. “That’s! That’s good, I guess. I mean, this new one’s — it’s a whole lot better, though, and uh…” He frantically rubs the back of his head, trying to get his brain back online and working properly again. Unfortunately, the action sends a tiny shower of sparkles raining from his hand, and Lloyd remembers in horror that he never got that glitter dust out.

Rain smirks, biting back a laugh. “Hold on,” she says, stepping in close. “You’ve got some — here.”

She pushes a hand through his hair, her fingers gently tangling through the thick blond strands before pulling away, leaving her fingers stained in glitter dust. She gives a tiny snicker, then brushes at his hair with her other hand, neatly sweeping a shower of glitter dust from it before carefully tousling his hair back in place.

“There,” she says. “Now you don’t look as much like a disco ball.”

“Maybe I wanted to look like a disco ball,” Lloyd says, petulantly. “Lloyd Disco Ball Garmadon, that’s me.”

“Then I’d have to make you another Valentine’s card,” Rain says, and Lloyd finally spots the envelope she’s been keeping behind her back. “Because I definitely messed up your middle name, if that’s the case.”

Lloyd blinks rapidly. “Wait, you got me one?”

Rain freezes, looking unsure. “Um…yes? That’s kind of…the point, right? You give Valentine’s to people you lo—like—um, love.”

Lloyd’s definitely red now. “I-I probably wouldn’t know,” he finally stammers. “Darkley’s wasn’t too big on Valentine’s.”

Lloyd immediately wants to hit himself, because Rain’s here being sweet and talking about love, and he’s bringing up Darkley’s like a motor-mouthed moron. And now Rain looks sad, and is it too late for Lloyd to pitch himself out the window—?

“Well, lucky for you, I know all about it,” Rain suddenly says, firmly. “You’ll just have to spend the day with me, so I can give you the run-down.”

“That I can do,” Lloyd grins brightly in relief.

“It’s a date, then,” Rain beams, before her smile hitches in laughter. “And you, um, you have more glitter. On your cheek.”

Lloyd wipes quickly at his face. “Oh, come on — did I get it?”

“No, now you’re just — okay, stop, I’ll get it, hold on.”

Rain steps nearer again, brushing her thumb across his cheek once, then again. “There,” she nods satisfied. She doesn’t move back, though, standing close enough that Lloyd can count her freckles, and see every shade of teal in her eyes. There’s a hint of a smile left on her face, and Lloyd swallows. This would probably be like, the perfect time to—

“For FSM’s sake, kiss her, you moron, she’s totally set you up for it—”

Kai’s voice cuts off in a strangled choking sound as Nya throttles him while both Rain and Lloyd go scarlet, and Lloyd makes another mental note to murder Kai a second time later.

“Wanna go out?” Lloyd suggests hastily, his face flaming. “The candy’s probably not gonna be on sale yet, but I bet we can get someone to cut us a deal.”

“Yes,” Rain nods fervently. “Let’s — out. Go out. Of here, sounds good.”

“Great,” Lloyd says, then snatches both their jackets from the hook before fleeing, Rain trailing behind him as they sprint past the others, stifling laughter as Lloyd desperately avoids making eye contact with anyone. Rain’s muffling giggles too, though, and Lloyd can’t help breathing out a laugh as he flings open the doors tumbling out into the chilly February weather.

“So, I have a question,” he says, as their footsteps fall into pace down the street. “What do you think of like, rocks as a present?”

“Hm, I don’t know. Is it like, a cool rock?”

“I mean, hypothetically? Yeah, a super cool rock.”

“Well, if it’s super cool. Then that’d be a good one, I guess.”

“I knew it—!”

[grumpy-zane]

((Had a ninjago fan season idea that takes place after s13 and semi centers around Kai ninjago. This seasons theme: Vacation gone wrong! I have segmented it into episodes for convenience. I uh, may or may not dedicate some time to drawing content for this thing, so I apologize in advance. ((also it is. a long post.

Episode 1 - Answering machine going off and its’ Ronins voice over the machine: 'Looks like I’m gonna run late.. ugh this whole thing is falling apart isn't it. But we'll make it work. I got you a ferry to take you there, one of the cruise ships. It was the least I could do for now... I'll meet you there, I promise.'     >Cuts to Dareth on the boat, taking him and the rest of the people to ‘Aves Isle’.    >While everyone is getting off, Dareth helps a naga lady with carrying some of her stuff because Dareth ninjago.    >Naga ladys' name is 'Olive', she is a semi native. She starts talking about the islands' history. 'there used to be a temple but we don't know what happened to it, but it sunk into the ground.    >two investigate the area because Dareth has time to wait on Ronin.    >Upon finding whats’ left of the area and entering, the atmosphere changes and inflicts a weird curse or whatever.    >Dareth starts getting progressively more pushy Episode 2 - After s13 Wu wants to do more adventures so the bounty is just flying wherever the wind takes it I guess w/e {{Also realized I didn’t write much for Wu this entire rest of the story so I am assuming he’s having a grand ol’ time being on vacation}}    >wow it is night time, the bounty is flying in    >The crew ask where they are and Zane starts to go on his normal informative spiel before getting cut off.    >Oh there’s a thing on the radar. What the heck is that thing flying towards us OH GOD THAT’S A BIG ANGRY DRAGON    >Bounty has two smaller 'runner' boats? I guess? marketing. Two of the ninja hop on those and fly off.    >Zane and Jay distract the dragon so the bounty can safely land but it turns out there are two dragons and Jay gets taken down first. Yay soft landing.    >Bounty makes it safely over the fences that are on the island    >Zane gets taken out.    >Cuts back to Dareth and Olive still rooting around. activates something and wow a lava fountain. the ground is glowing in weird markings!    >Dareth snaps at Olive and she wells up and runs away and Dareth snaps out of it temporarily like 'oh crud why did I do that I didn't mean to be so bossy' and goes after her    >Olive gets overtaken and now: pointy.    >Dareth tries to stop her but she jumps into the portal lava whatever? hole?? not sure.    >He, of course, jumps in after.    >Fire Dareth.    >Random golden-looking platform chained to the bottom of the hole they are in. ominous voice: hey how about you get these locks free and we'll rebuild the temple? nice.    >Temple platform rises    >Zane gets tossed into an area? park? fenced in something or another??    >oh hi Jay    >oh community service sorting trash from recyclables? can do.

Episode 3 - The remaining ninja visit the two who are in 'time out' before deciding to have a look around the island.    >They take a nice walk down the beach Cole reminisces about the time Kai was extremely afraid of water    >Kai frowns as a laugh track is played. Claims he has gotten better at it but screams when Nya splashes him.    >Zane and Jay are done with service and its like 'okay how about we try to get out again?’    >Zane suggests doing it in the broad daylight since the dragons went out at night and may be nocturnal    >they try    >they get taken out again    >another round of community service    >sees another aircraft fall out of the sky    >guard: wow more property damage.    >sundown. lloyd notices that something strange is happening with some of the residents randomly getting more nippy and then not. strange. (Ninja get into an arguments with the locals or whatever)    >Stop by community service area    >Jay is now frustrated    >rest recuperate at where they parked the bounty    >Nya: well nothing is really going on here we can probably leave once the two are done breaking the law     >Ronin shows up to the area and is greeted sourly by Jay ninjago

Episode 4 - The ninja are ready to leave when they notice a weird ominous structure that wasn't there before.    >Crew investigate    >oh its hot. you can go in, Kai ninjago    >kai enters    >oh frick fire dareth    >kai ninjago, walking out and is krispy: there is a problem.    >three get out of service    >ronin asks if the little runner ships are 'truly' important    >hekcin steals their engine or whatever    >regroup at the bouty    >Kai: hey uhh, Dareth is peeved haha, I don't get it though he and I hang out every now and then.    >Ronin, internally: oh god he's really mad I didn't follow plans to a T-    >the ninja exchange awkward glances of guilt    >decide it'd be best to talk to him tomorrow, or try to. Also, more people are randomly getting upsetti, Jay is still frustrated.

Episode 5 - jay still has a bad attitude. lloyd is also starting to get upset. Cole tries to diffuse the situation but it causes the two to point their noses up at each other in silent anger. great.    >Kai enters in the temple again, which is even more built than it was before.   >Dareth being snarky   >kai apologizes and tells him he wasn't aware of it, and that he thought the two were good friends, reminding him of the times they hung out outside of mission things.   >Dareth calms down a bit   >finds a reason to be mad again.   >Ronin shows up   >'ronin?'   >''Told you I'd meet you here, what didn't you believe me? not really much of a vacation. How about we get some fresh air?"   >Dareth approaches   >oh no he's really hot.   >cheek caress with the robotic arm. gae.   >two head out. Room is no longer unbearably hot. good!   >squad enters in. goes into one of the inner chambers   >oh look the towns people overtaken by rage are building. nice.   >oh no jay and lloyd are fighting again.   >grabs attention of workers.   >the ninja get their butts handed to themselves, and lose Jay and lloyd in the process. nice   >cuts to Ronin and Dareth walking on the beach.   >Ronin smooth talking, normal Ronin behvior   >Flames and whatever fade from Dareth and he snaps out of it completely and immediately starts pouring out how he feels bad about being rude to Olive and whatever the bad guy is and what the plans of the temple are.   >Ronin: maybe we should tell the ninja. I don't want us to get involved anymore.

Episode 6 - Ronin informs the ninja of what's up.   >Nya: oh no we gotta stop this !   >Dareth: I want to help.   >Ronin: no we are on vacation we shouldn't have to; leave it up to them.   >Dareth: no I started this, this is my fault, I have to make it up to Olive and everyone <:(   >Ronin: :/   >Zane: we should focus on. not making the locals angry because that seems to draw them towards the temple.   >Ninja proceed to do good deeds, while part of them break off to do research   >learn about the bad guy dunn dun dunn!

episode 7 - Kai ninjago somehow is the one keeping the most level head out of everyone here and things get tense again. is it potentially out of character? Well he's mad that lloyd and jay are overtaken but he's doing a good job at self control.   >cuts to lloyd and Jay   >lloyd: this is dumb! why are we helping!? We're supposed to be stopping this!   >Jay: we're helping because YOU dragged us into this with your plan!   >argue. great   >bad guy laughing or whatever, oh the voice has a physical form that's manifesting from the heat of the temple. 'Good, soon I will be reborn and reclaim the island!'   >Olive inform him that Dareth has broken the spell   >bad guy furious and confused but is also like 'whatever we have a lot more important things to worry about'   >Nya and Zane are stepping on each others' toes.   >ronin and Dareth relay what they learned.   >kai sitting in the bounty looking disheveled   >'Human pinata makes the kids happy'. Horrifying.   >story about how the bad guy was dispersed after 'other beings' landed on the island and taught he locals the importance of peace and not war or whatever. It was probably some Oni and dragons chillin.   >Cole: oh! I mean we have two 'other beings' and those are the dragons, but they seem really angry and territorial   >Kai: maybe they want something and just haven't gotten it? ((Id have to mention one of the festivals known as the 'laughing dragon' festival or whatever but it's fallen into obscurity due to the dragons not being happy. Mention that sometime during episode 3))   >investigation time part 3.   >learn that there's a fruit that the dragons like, but the recipee was lost on how to make the disk for them   >well gang, time to get cooking! thank goodness Zane is on our-   >just kidding Zane and Nya are gone now because they got too angry at each other and went to 'get space' but they're probably at the temple now.

Episode 8 - Gotta do the cookin by the book!   >the ingredients are gathered.   >Dareth insists that they used a very speicific brand of exctact.   >Cole has no idea how to cook well   >Kai starts putting things together.   >Cole: when did you learn to cook?   >Kai: Well I had to take care of my sister buutt.. I dunno I think being the master of fire, cooking comes easy. ;)   >Cole: if there's any way I can help just let me know.   >kai: oh, yeah, bust open those things.   >Cole literally smashes open the fruit sending bits everywhere   >good ol happy comedic moment.   >first try   >Cole: . looks. uh. strange.   >Ronin: I am afraid to taste it.   >Dareth: oh I'm sure it can’t be- -face scrunch-   >Kai: <:)   >Dareth: well... I swallowed it.. at least..   >cuts to temple again   >bad guy is like 'we need more people how come everyone stopped coming?? someone needs to go out and start beating people up >:('   >Olive reports that the ninja were gathering ingredients for something or another   >Bad guy is like 'okay send some people there and stop them'

episode 9 - after the 5th attempt it's much more palatable so they make a larger batch and stick it in a boat all fancied up and now have to deliver it   >oh god angry people   >why are they looking at us hhh   >fite   >Kai: we legit cannot let any of this spill otherwise I'm going to scream.   >only way to get it away from the people is to go by ocean   >Ronin: we'll do what we can but you gotta do this kai. You're tough.   >kai: ahaha I still don't like water but!   >boat on water   >gets to the part outside of the gate   >oddly silent.   >kai proceeds to put it on the beach and starts calling out for the dragons and starts making noise or whatever. "im gonna kick your sand! haha! what are you going to do about it??'   >Dragons emerge, ready to fight   >sees the offering. Kai: it's okay it's okay, this is for you.   >backs away from the boat   >lets the dragons have it.   >the smaller one is curious about him and approaches him after   >good ol’ kai dragon interaction. yay confidence!

Episode 10 - wow I sure do hate this sorting plant by now, thinks Ronin ninjago.   >tossed in the sorting plant Cole: this isn't too bad. Dareth: yeah I thought we were going to be burned by the stake, haha! Ronin: oh you'll hate it soon enough.   >Dareth and cole exchange glances. Cole: oh I know, how about we do a song, get a beat going? I'm sure kai has things under control! Dareth: good idea! Keep the spirits high, huh?   >Olive informs that the offering made it out into the ocean   >bad guy says 'no fear the ocean probably will swallow it', both unaware that kai was on the boat.   >temple is nearing completion.   >the angry ninja attempt yet again, to try to make a plan to stop him.   >everyone has a different idea   >they don't work together and go do their own plans.   >lloyd tries to go after him directly   >jay attempts to use his powers to get the workers to stop and go after him   >nya yells at jay   >Zane attempts to take out Olive, with mild success, kicks her out of the temple.   >olive decides to visit in on the captives   >glares at Dareth   >Dareth proceeds to apologize profusely   >Olive is stunned and snaps out of it, sorta. moment of clarity   >apologizes for stopping their plan about the dragons. gives more detail about the situation inside the temple before getting ready to head back.   >ronin. heckin. kidnaps her w/e He wants answers, and also doesn't want her relaying the information she gathered back to the bad guy. Dareth: oh my GOD did you KILL her?? Ronin: :B no messengers.

Episode 11 - The dragons fly overhead and do their little dance and show and yaay, the people are happy!   >people working on the temple stop and notice in awe and decide to go outside to have a look.   >bad guy takes notice and a n g r y, number of the workers stop and go enjoy the show. Some even going to their work areas and getting snacks and things like a festival. Bad guy: where is my messenger?! How did this happen?! steppin out. that's it, I'll deal with this personally.   >bad guy stands on his temple top whatever. Starts blasting fire balls.   >kai ninjago shooting fireballs back to deflect Locals: wow firework show!   >even more stop their progress.   >lloyd notices   >the rest of the ninja notice. lloyd: woah kai ninjago..! Nya: I don't know how long he can last doing that.. Zane: the power comes from the temple.. Jay: so we have to sink the temple!   >sink time   >as the temple starts to submerge again the fire balls become weaker   >bad guy adverts his attention to the ninja and decide to try to take them out   >Kai ninjago shows up and they have a fire bending battle not ripped from avatar at all Jay: kai you gotta get outta there the temple is collapsing! Kai: I will give me a minute!   >This is sparta kicks the dude into the portal thingy lava(?) and gets the heck outta there before everything falls in again.   >yaay, we won!   >mini celebration that's more like we gotta recover

Episode 12 - partially filler episode? w/e   >actual festival held   >good ol relaxing for real this time.   >Dareth: that was fun!   >Ronin: so much for a vacation, seems like trouble is always following you around.   >Dareth: thank god I have you to protect me from it all, huh?   >Ronin: wow gay   >Dareth: also why did you run late?   >Ronin: weeeeeell... that's a long story. B) I'll tell you on the flight back.   >Olive: how did you find the recipe for the thing?   >kai: I didn't I just... I mean, Well, when you have flare like me you tend to know how to make a good dish B)   >Cole: he guessed and messed up 5 times.   >Olive: oh-    >kai: >:( c o l e   >the ninja can actually leave now   >FFIV victory fanfare

[helplessly-nonstop]

Three Rules (A. Black smut)

So this is my entry for my own Winter Time Challenge! My prompt was “Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” I chose Aleister Black and went with a bodyguard! AU. This was a mess to post and I hope you guys like this!

WC: 6.4K words (I AM NOT SORRY EITHER)

Warnings: smut, fluff, angst, slight choking, mentions of drugs, mentions of stealing, death threats, slight fingering, FxM sex, there’s so much going on, angst man, mentions of using a knife during sex,

For years, I had been running from my past, trying to avoid the inevitable. I guess paying off debts that you didn’t acquire yourself could be a pain in the ass. My parents were drug mules for the Mafia and when my mother discovered that she was pregnant with me, she and my father knew what they had to do: escape the Mafia without their knowledge of my existence.

However, my father decided that he needed to take a huge risk in order for them to make it on their own without the help of murderers and drug traffickers: he stole twelve millions dollars. And with that money in hand, they moved halfway across the world to the States, where I was born and raised. However, that did not deter the Mafia for searching for their missing drug mules and their stolen cash.

Eventually, at the ripe of sixteen, my parents’ fate had caught up to them and they decided that it was time for them to explain what was going on. That conversation did not go as well as they thought, especially when someone began slamming their fist into our front door, screaming for us to open the door.

“Mom, I don’t understand! What’s going on!?” I demanded as my mom dragged me out of the house, handing me a large backpack. She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed out,”It’s all in the backpack, sweetheart! Now go! Run!”

She was right. She and my dad left an entire notebook dedicated to what happened led up to these events and they confided in me that even if they were dead, that their former employers would hunt me to the ends of the Earth. And so began my quest for a new life, Mafia free. Once I turned eighteen, I changed my name and Social Security number, got new legal documents and a few years passed. But really, can you ever outrun your past?

“Oi, Sugar, are ya sure that the Pipsqueak can take this?” Marty Scurll, one of the men in my battalion, asked, lifting his tightly clenched fists. I gave an unimpressed look and replied,”If you’re too chicken shit to hit the poor kid, Pigeon, I’d be happy to take your place.”

“C’mon man, don’t make Sugar get up! They’ll kick my ass worse than you could ever dream of!” Adam Cole whined, rolling his eyes. He was one of the newest of our sector and while he was built, he still needed to prove his worth for this battalion.

My comrades had this thing about calling me Sugar because I was “anything but sweet.” Their words, not mine. We all had different code names but since we were special ops, we often carried our names off the battlefield. We were currently stationed in the Netherlands and it had been one of the easiest tours that I had participated in, minus a small problem that we encountered a few months ago. Luckily, English was a second language for most citizens and even if a person didn’t speak my native tongue, I luckily knew how to speak theirs.

“Hey, Sugar! Got a couple strangers approaching the borderline.” Naomi, my right hand woman and one of the best sharpshooters, called down to me. I snapped my head up and clicked my fingers at Scurll and Cole, announcing,”Man your battle stations. I don’t want anything slipping through the cracks.”

The two rushed to gather the rest of their companions and get to their positions as I climbed up the ladder leaning against the cement wall. Naomi pulled me up the rest of the way and I gave a questioning glance to her, only to receive a shrug. I stared down at the small group of people approaching the wall then shouted down at them,”Halt! State your business!”

Dark eyes narrowed at me and the man leading the pack replied,”British Interpol! Are you-“

“Toss up your badges and then we’ll answer your questions.” I snapped, crossing my arms. Naomi clicked her tongue disapprovingly but I merely shrugged in response. It was a fifteen foot wall and I couldn’t wait to see what these people would do.

Three badges came flying at my head and I caught one, Naomi snagged the second, and poor, unsuspecting Adam who was climbing up the wall got smacked in the face by the third.

I investigated the detail of the badges then gave a swift nod, ordering,”Let these guys in.” I climbed down to meet the three Interpol agents then shook their hands, stating,”Just call me Sugar. Everyone else does here.”

“So you are them. Great. Listen, is there any place that we can talk? Privately?” Dean Ambrose, the blond and the tallest questioned. I pursed my lips and shot a glance over to Sonya, who was looming over my shoulder, then she nodded in understanding, backing away to meet Liv at the dining hall.

“Yeah, just follow me.” I entered my separate room in the bunker and settled on my bed as I said, ”Well, what kind of fuckery have you three brought to my little squadron?”

“The Mafia has officially put a hit out on you. Your CO has ordered you under protective custody.” Roman answered, crossing his arms. I bit down on my bottom lip, knowing that they weren’t lying, then I mumbled,”Fantastic. Does that mean that you guys are my protective custody?”

“Not quite. We’re just the delivery boys. Aleister Black is the man you’re going to be stuck with until this thing blows over.” The third man, Seth, stated, giving a shrug. I gave a quick glance out of the window, staring at my friends, then asked quietly, “And what of my battalion?” Dean flicked his lighter, staring into the flame anxiously as he answered,”We’ll keep a close eye on them. Wouldn’t want any casualties on our side.” He was obviously an ex smoker so I pulled out my pack.

“You want a cig? I keep them in case I’m feeling extremely anxious.” I offered, opening my pack then held them out. His fingers twitched and he gave a slow shake of his head. He had quit recently and it showed too. I flicked the pack lid shut and tossed it back on my bed before I said, “Alright, I respect that. Does that mean that I need to pack?”

“Yes, it does. You leave in the next forty five minutes.” The time slipped past and luckily, I was familiar with quick packing. Dean entered the bunker and gave a quick knock, stating,”Time to go. We’ve briefed your squad and they understand fully.” I gave a small nod and lifted my bags, only for Rollins to scoop them from my hands, almost dancing to their SUV.

I raised an eyebrow at Roman who shrugged in return as he informed me,”That’s just Rollins for you.” I gave brief goodbyes to my comrades then joined Seth in the back seat, with Dean driving and Roman riding shotgun.

“So how long have you guys been partners?” I asked, curling into myself in instinct. Dean’s blue eyes flickered up to meet mine in the rear view mirror and Roman answered my question,”Seven years.” I hummed at his response then Ambrose clicked a button on the dash, sending music flooding through the vehicle, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

We settled into sweet silence and when someone would know a song, they would begin humming along, occasionally singing underneath their breath. We finally arrived at the airport and I gave an inquisitive glance to the three men then Seth hopped out, popping the truck to grab my bags.

“Where exactly am I supposed to be going?” I asked as Roman, Seth, and I entered the airport while Dean parked the SUV. The man set my bags and rang the small bell setting on the check in desk as Reigns answered, “Black is sending you back with us to the States. We’re drawing out the Mafia, hoping to slip them up. Once we get back to Florida, you’ll be handed over to him and we’ll return to Britain.”

“And, uh, how long is this flight exactly? I asked, anxiety filling my veins.

“Fourteen hours and that’s without the layovers,” Dean answered, leaning against the counter, “Why, don’t do so hot flying, Sugar?” I let out a nervous laugh and answered,”Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Great, we’ve got another Ambrose. Rollins, you still got that thing?” Seth shook a small bag and Roman gave an approving nod before handing over his phone to let the attendant scan the ticket information. I bit my bottom lip and asked,”What class are we flying in?”

“First. Perks of it being an emergency situation, sorry for your problem. That and Dean doesn’t do well with being stuck with someone that he doesn’t know. Tends to get a bit fidgety.” Seth informed me, passing my my carry on bag. I gave a small, understanding nod then we headed to security where Roman was pulled out for a random pat down.

“Do we have a problem here, sir?” Rollins asked politely, placing a hand on Ambrose’s chest to keep his partner at bay as the security guard called for assistance.

“We think that your buddy might be carrying.” Roman rolled his eyes and said calmly,”I’m going to reach into my jacket pocket and pull out my badge.” The guard watched with anxious eyes then visibly relaxed as Roman flashed his badge and stated,”Agent Roman Reigns with Interpol. These are my partners and this person is in protection. Sorry for the scare but can we get past now?”

Luckily we boarded the plane with no other complications and I claimed the seat beside Ambrose, who, thankfully, took the window seat. Standard procedure took place and finally, we were in the air. But still, my nerves wouldn’t settle.

About two hours into the flight is when Dean finally snapped and lost his shit,”Rollins, hand me that bag.” Seth passed it to Reigns, who in turn, tossed it across the aisle and the man beside me snagged the handle with two fingers. I watched, confused, as he pulled out a container of gummy bears, giving it a small shake, before he passed it to me then stated,”Here, this should keep your jumpy ass calm for a while.”

“Wait, what are these anyway?” I asked, giving a gummy a squeeze between my fingers to investigate it. Seth gave a small grin and said, ”Don’t worry, antsy pants, they’re legal.” My mouth twitched with my uncertainty then Dean rolled his eyes and said,”Here, I’ll even eat one since you don’t trust me.” He popped one into his mouth and murmured,”Yum, lemon. Now, eat one.” I chose a blue one and after the blueberry flavor faded, a faint after taste hit me and I waved the stewardess down for something to drink.

“What can I get for you?” Before I could answer, Ambrose waved a hand and answered,”Two Cokes.” She gave a swift nod then handed my comrade and I a bottle each before returning to her seat up front.

“Give your little gummy friend about twenty minutes to kick in and you’ll sleep until we reach New York.” Ambrose informed me after he finished off his drink. I raised an eyebrow, taking a swig of my own pop, then stated,”You sound like you speak from experience.” He gave a laugh and replied,”Yeah, something like that.” Ambrose pulled a blanket from his carryon and tucked it underneath his head as a pillow, staring out the window.

Luckily, the Interpol agent was right and my nerves calmed to where I was able to sleep until Reigns woke me up, announcing that we had hit one of our two layovers. The four hours passed swiftly and I watched as the snow settled into the pile that the plow pushed it into then Reigns tugged on my arm, stating,”Time to get back on, Sugar.”

I gave an annoyed sigh and stood, rejoining the trio of men at the departure gate. This time, I was seated next to Rollins and he was thankfully, yet dreadfully more chatty. At one moment, I guess my face had given away a secret emotion that I was feeling because Seth turned away to face the window, tucking his headphones into his ears. Guilt flooded my body and I plucked a headphone out then placed it in my own ear. To my delight, he was listening to Pierce the Veil, a band that I had been listening to since they hit the scene. For the rest of our flight to Atlanta, which was our next layover, we chatted about our love for punk bands and the meanings behind their lyrics. We finally arrived at Florida and the three men led me off the plane, their eyes scanning for the man taking me into protective custody.

I scanned the many people holding a sign then paused when I noticed one man was holding up a sign that read,”Sugar.” I nudged Ambrose and questioned,”Is that him there?” He turned then grinned at the sight of the man before cheering, ”Black!” We joined Black and I took in all the details that stuck out to me.

The first was his eyes: they were a fierce blue, something that showed determination, all narrowed in a no nonsense manner. Then I noticed the beard, neatly trimmed and kept,with a lip piercing sticking out. His hair was long, shaved on the sides then I noticed what he was wearing: a dark suit with tattoos peeking out the sleeves. Dear god, my bodyguard was hot.

“Are you done checking me out, or would you like a few more moments?” Black questioned, snapping me from my trance. He had the smallest of accents then it clicked in my head: he was from the Netherlands. I let out a small squeak of a sorry then he gave a small sigh, taking my suitcase from my hand, and he said,”Thank you, men. I will see you in a week.” I exchanged goodbyes and phone numbers with the three men that I made friends with then scurried to keep up with Aleister, who was already heading out the airport doors.

“Listen, I’m sorry about that back there.” I informed him after we placed my luggage into the trunk of his black Kia Optima. He flickered his eyes towards me as he started the car then he stated, “I have three rules and listen to them closely. One, don’t disobey my orders. Two, stay with me at all times unless I tell you otherwise. And three, don’t fall in love with me and I won’t do the same.”

“Well I’m here to say that I won’t break any of those rules.” I muttered, staring out of the window.

In between the jet lag and my pure exhaustion, I decided to take a brief nap until we arrived at wherever we were heading. When I woke up, however, I was in a room covered up with a soft blanket. I wrapped the blanket over my shoulders and exited the bedroom in search of Aleister.

“Black?” I called out as I entered the kitchen. As I rounded the corner, a note on the fridge caught my eye,’Went to the store, keep the doors locked, I have a key. Please don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

“Even in note form, he has a cold persona. Well, at least he said please.” I muttered, opening up the fridge to see if there was anything inside to drink. Unfortunately there was nothing but milk, so I went in search of hot chocolate mix. Surely he would have some here since it was winter time.

Thankfully he did have some so I boiled some milk and mixed in the chocolatey goodness before spooning the drink into a mug. I settled on the far left end of the sectional couch and gave a sigh as I began flipping through Hulu in search of something to watch. Eventually I chose Disappeared and waited for my bodyguard to arrive, hopefully with food. I was starving.

The sound of the lock turning and the door opening is what caught my attention away from the current episode I was engorged in and I turned to see Aleister enter the house with his arms full of groceries.

“I can help you.” I offered, coming to a stand. He shook his head then set the items on the table before he started to put away the cold stuff. For the next couple weeks, he remained quiet, only talking to me when he absolutely had to. But one night changed our entire relationship. We were sitting across from one another on the couch when his head jerked up towards the stairs, eyes narrowed.

“Get under the table and pull the rug back. Underneath there is a small room. Close the door and the rug will return to its spot. Don’t make a sound and don’t move.”he ordered, pulling a gun from the underneath of the coffee table. I scurried to my place and listened to my thundering heartbeat as the house went silent. Then I heard it: the familiar sound of gunfire. I bit my bottom lip and waited for about ten minutes until someone opened the door to my hidey hole.

“Oh good, you can listen.” Aleister rumbled, helping me out of the room. He hugged me briefly then turned his attention to the pool of blood in the hallway, which was luckily hardwood floor. His mouth twitched to the side then he pulled a mop and bucket, beginning to clean up the mess. I pulled out the dish soap and a bowl before mixing cold water with the detergent then began cleaning the blood up.

“What are you doing?” Aleister asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I glanced up from where I was kneeling and answered,”Helping you clean. Now shut up and keep mopping.” From that day on, our relationship changed from one of a professional matter to a more personal one.

“Black?” I asked as he entered the living room from his room. He turned to look at me and frowned when he saw that I was huddled underneath a blanket with a box of tissues curled up with me. He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead then muttered,”Please tell me that you’re not getting fucking sick on me?” I sneezed in reply and he let out a groan before hopping over the back of the couch then cuddled up to me.

“If your fever doesn’t break by morning, I’m calling a doctor friend of mine.”he warned me as I laid my head on his chest. I let out a small groan then whined,”I’m fine, just a small cold.” His blue eyes narrowed at my insistence then he pressed his lips to my forehead, causing my cheeks to catch fire.

“You’re running fever, can’t stop coughing, and there’s a pile of tissues on the floor beside you. You’re sick so shush up and watch this show. What’s this about anyway?” I explained that Disappeared was a collection of episodes about people who had gone missing all across the United States through recent years. He let out a small sigh but didn’t reply; instead, he pulled me a little closer and continued watching.

By the time morning rolled around, I was ten times worse, now throwing up everything that I had ate for the last couple hours. Aleister gave a sigh and a shake of his head before disappearing out of the bedroom to make a call. After he returned, he helped me into bed and stated,”Don’t move. Doc will be here in the next couple minutes.” Thankfully he was right and someone began knocking on the front door not but fifteen minutes later. He brushed my hair out of my face then left me alone long enough to let in his doctor friend.

“Hey, thank you for doing this for me.” Aleister said as he and another man came into the room. His friend, the doctor, was about the same height as Aleister with hair closely shaven to the scalp and I could see that he had tattoos peeking out. His friend laid his bag on the floor beside my bed then said in a soft tone,”I’m Baron, pleasure.” My eyes narrowed as I attempted to decipher how he had met my brooding bodyguard when Aleister informed me,”Old friends. I figured I’d save you from hurting that pretty little head.”

I balled my hands into loose fists since it hurt to move my body then muttered,”I may be sick but I will still kick your ass.” Black gave me a smirk then pushed my hands down as he replied, ”Good, you’re still a sassy little thing. Now please relax and let Baron do his thing.” He did a regular check up and when he was finished with his examine, he stated,”It looks like you have the stomach flu and a small case of bronchitis. Take it easy for the next couple days, don’t go out in the rain, it’ll only make it worse.”

The doc turned to face his friend then ordered, ”Plenty of fluids, little to no moving, and limit the caffeine. I know a coffee junkie when I see one.” I nodded in agreement and Aleister showed Baron to the door before returning with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. And when he began to feed me the soup, I decided to grumble out,“I feel like I’m five, being spoon fed by my mother.” He pursed his lips then offered, ”I could always let you fend for yourself, make you do everything.”

“I take it back, thank you, Black.” He paused for a moment, just staring at me, before he replied, ”Aleister. Just call me Aleister, alright,katje?” I looked up at him in surprise for the use of an endearment then nodded slowly, answering,”Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

Within four days, my flu and bronchitis flew my body and allowed my immune system to clean away all of the ickiness that might have been left behind. I stared at the shirtless Aleister in my bed and wondered who in my past life did I piss off in order to get this hot of a bodyguard in bed, even though I couldn’t touch him. I brushed his hair out of his face then gave him a small kiss on the cheek before walking downstairs to start making brunch for both Aleister and I.

I plugged in my headphones and began to dance to the first song that came through the miniature speakers as I started whisking eggs together. I completed Aleister’s omelet and just as I poured the next egg mixture into the skillet, a tattooed arm surrounded my waist and another pulled down on my headphones, yanking them from my ears.

“I thought I told you to stay with me at all times. You broke a rule.” Aleister rumbled, his beard rubbing deliciously against my neck. I bit my lip and looked over my shoulder before asking, “What are you going to do, spank me for it?” He paused then slinked away to sit on the counter across from me, his lips twitching once again. I handed him the plate then instructed, ”Biscuits just got done and sausage links are in the microwave staying hot. Make your plate.” He did as I said then settled at the bar, continuing to watch me as I finished my own brunch.

I claimed the seat beside him then opened the jar of salsa, spreading it across the top of my cheddar cheese and turkey omelet. He gave me a questioning look so I jabbed my fork in his direction and ordered, “Don’t knock it till you try it.” He rolled his eyes and continued to eat his own breakfast until I offered up a bite of mine.

“If this is secretly poisoned and you’re trying to kill the both of us, let me tell you this now. I will kick your ass in the afterlife.”he warned before eating the bite. I watched with amused eyes as he let out a delighted groan and he murmured, ”God, this is fucking awesome. Hand over the salsa, katje.” I slid it across the bar to him and continued to eat my food.

We finished breakfast in silence then Aleister’s phone began ringing, the name,”Shield” flashing across the screen. I raised an eyebrow and he answered the FaceTime, Seth, Roman, and Dean coming into focus.

Before Aleister could question why they were calling, I jumped in and asked, “Guys? What’s wrong?” It was obviously not a social call, because they’d call me for that purpose. And judging by the intensity of their expressions, I knew something was going wrong.

“Black, you and Sugar need to get out of that house now! We just got intel that they’re sending in Ricochet for you. Be there in five.” Dean rushed out, half of the audio cutting out. With a swift nod, Aleister ended the call and hurried to the front door, locking the many bolts as I yanked on my slippers then he ordered, ”Reach under the counter and hand me those two guns. This shit is about to get ugly, so I’m going to need you to hide, alright, katje?”

“I-I, don’t know!” He squeezed my face in between his hands then snapped,”Pull yourself together and stay with me on this. Open the kitchen cabinet and slip inside. There’s a false back to it, it’ll lead outside to a small shelter. You’ll hear a series of six knocks, a pause between every two. Open it then. Go now.” I paused at the cabinet and Aleister gave an annoyed sigh, gripping my jaw as he ordered,”Be good for me and go.” I nodded slowly and entered where I was instructed to go, sneaking into the small shed.

I waited with my heart jumping in my chest then finally, heard the knocks come through. I peeked the door open slightly and Dean pulled it open, ordering,”We’ve got to go now. Black has been compromised.” I froze in my tracks, stunned at what he told me, then whipped around, shouting,”What?! You can’t leave him alone in there!”

Someone stepped in front of me and I realized that it wasn’t Dean. It was a short man, shorter than Aleister with his hair shaven to his scalp. He slapped me across the face with the gun in his hand and Ambrose slammed into him, kicking him in the ribs before he snatched me up into a fireman’s carry, taking me out to the SUV where Seth and Roman was waiting for us. I settled beside Ambrose, allowing my head to lean against the window then I heard Seth ask faintly,”You really think Ricochet will kill Aleister?”

Roman smacked his partner’s chest when I let out a soft whimper. Dean squeezed my knee in comfort then informed me,”It’ll all be okay, Sugar.” I fell into the uncomfortable silence until we arrived at a medium sized building with two armed guards outside. I turned to face Dean who nodded in encouragement, the four of us entering the building. A man and woman greeted us at the door and she asked, ”What of Black?”

“Not sure. He sent us away with Sugar here.” The woman ushered me into a room with a small bed and offered,”You’re welcome to take a nap, my dear.” She was British, with dark hair and pale skin. I was in no shape to sleep however.

For the next week, I was unable to sleep. Dean, at one point, forced two gummy bears down my throat so I could sleep for a measly four hours. It was hard. Even though I had only known Aleister for about two months, I couldn’t help but slip into my bout of depression.

But then, the British woman, who’s name I learned was Paige, entered and said,”I think you’re going to want to see this.” I lifted my head and muttered, ”I'll pass.” She widened the door further open and someone else entered as I turned back to the wall.

“Katje.” My head jerked up at the sound of his voice and I sat up slowly when she shut the door, staring at him. With his beard growing out some more, his blue eyes seemed brighter and he wore a tank top and black skinny jeans. I stared at him and whispered,”Aleister?” He grinned at me and I finally snapped from my funk.

“Aleister,”I shouted, slamming into him with a hug, “Oh my fucking God, I thought they had killed you! Are you okay, are you hurt?” He cupped my face and tilted my head back, running his thumb gently over my bruised cheek, then he murmured,”I am so fucking sorry that you were hurt.”

“No, no, stop, it’s not your fault. I’m just so glad you’re alive. God!” I whimpered, squeezing him tighter. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer with a small sigh. And that’s what I felt it. With a nervous laugh, I asked,”Is that a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?” He backed away, releasing me, then pulled a Glock from his pocket. But the bulge in the front of his pants didn’t disappear.

“You, uh, you’re hard.” He licked his lips, unloading the gun, then placed it on the table and replied, “What do you expect me to be? I haven’t seen you for a week, katje.” I licked my lips in response and I said,”If we do this, I’ll actually break rule number three.” He smirked at me, pulling me closer, then asked,”Are you saying that you’re in love with me, katje?”

“Yes, I am, Black.” He yanked me closer and ran his thumb along the waistband of my leggings then murmured,”It’ll be a shame. I usually don’t break one of my own rules.” I wrapped my arms around his neck then pulled him closer as I whispered,”It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone that the big, bad Aleister Black gave into little ole me and fell in love.”

He hummed at my statement then pressed a soft kiss to the underside of my jaw as he replied softly, “I don’t know. Knowing that you're both sweet and kickass makes it a little easier to admit that I’m in love with you.” I shivered at the first brush of his beard and I could feel his grin as he asked,”Oh, is my katje sensitive? This is going to be so much fun.” I bit my bottom lip and informed him,”If you tickle me at all, I swear to God that I will kill you.” He laughed and walked me backwards so we could lay on the bed then he replied,”Don’t worry, I’ll only use it against you every day. Now, how about a proper kiss?”

“After you lose the shirt. I just need-“ He brought me into a tender kiss, tongue working my lips apart gingerly, then murmured,”Shh, don’t think. Just feel.” He slipped his hand up my shirt and let out a soft groan when he realized that I wasn’t wearing a bra, then tweaked my nipple with cold fingers. I let out a squeak and he laughed, pulling away to remove his shirt and my own.

“What a sweet thing you are. Can I take these off too?”he questioned, tugging downwards on my leggings’ waistband. I gave him the nod to go ahead and he gave me another kiss as maybe a thank you, then I pressed my hand gingerly against his cock, earning a moan from him.

“So you’re gonna tease me, katje? I don’t think so.” He clasped my wrists into his hand and lifted them above my head, placing miscellaneous hickeys along my breasts, neck, and collarbone. I tangled my leg around his waist then pulled him close, urging him on,”C’mon, Black, don’t be a bitch. Do something other than a bit of heavy petting.” Aleister bit his bottom lip and his free hand shot upwards, pressing down on my throat as he snarled,”Don’t fucking push me.” I grinned in response then it clicked in his head, the realization of what I wanted hitting hard. He licked his lips and asked, ”Are you sure?” I gave a nod then murmured,”Do it. I can take it.” His hand that was previously holding my hands moved to my hair and he fisted it tightly, warning,”If we do this, you will be mine.”

“Good, something I can get on board with. Now kiss me, you fool.” He pulled me in close and kissed me for a third time,lip ring pressing into my bottom lip, then he pressed his fingers to my clit, letting out a soft groan. I pulled away and breathed, ”You’re killing me here, Aleister. Please, I need something more.”

“Like what, katje? Something like-“ he pushed two fingers inside and I cried out in delight at the feeling but admitted, ”No, something more! Please, just fuck me!” He grinned at me, wolffish almost, and I watched with wide eyes as he grabbed his cock through the material of his underwear, stating,”You want this cock, katje, you’re going to beg me for it.” My thighs and jaw clenched in response then I pleaded softly,” Please, please, don’t tease me. Please, I’ve thought for the last week that you were dead, please, I just need you to fuck me and tell me that it’s all gonna be okay.”

He tugged at his lip ring with his teeth, debating on whether I had done good enough, then pulled his boxers down and threw them into a separate part of the room. With gentle hands, he spread my thighs further apart then he murmured, ”Alright, katje, don’t worry. I’m not gonna leave you again, okay?” I tangled my fingers through his hair and pressed my forehead to his as I whimpered,”I just… I lost my mind when I found out that you had been compromised and I was just so scared that you were dead, I just need you, please…”

“Shhh, little one, it’s alright now. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere.”he cooed, pressing the head of his cock to my entrance, my hips canting forward for more. He pressed them to the bed and warned gently,”No, be good, katje. I’ll make you come, but only on my terms. Now, come on, stay still for me.” Even in such a tender moment, I knew that Aleister had control of the situation. I nodded then moaned as he finally sunk all the way in. He was thick, much thicker than I was used to and it had been so long since I had been fucked properly. I tangled my hand through his hair and pulled, desperate for him to move, then he pinned my hand above my head, tangling our fingers together with a small smirk.

“There, that’s better. Now be good for me, katje.” Finally, he began fucking me, a deep and moderate pace, not too slow thankfully. But I could see the restraint in his biceps, the ink of his tattoos rippling with his efforts. I lifted my free hand and gave a small grin then pinched his nipple, his pace changing afterwards, “Fucking brat. Just couldn’t accept the pace I set. You want fast, katje?” He slammed into me, the bed rocking with the force of his thrusts, then he slowed it down, asking,”Or so fucking slow that you’ll go out of your mind wanting your orgasm?”

“Fast, please, I can’t take the slow, please, Aleister!” I begged, pressing my leg into his ass as a means of encouragement. He grunted and returned to his faster pace, fingers pressing upwards on my clit, which caused my hips to twist and thighs to tremble. He gave a slow, almost lazy grin then said, “My beautiful little one, so responsive. I can’t wait to tie you to the bed and blindfold you.” I gave a small laugh then replied, ”Yes, I can't wait for that either, but I swear to God, if you don’t make us come right now, I’m going to cut you.”

His blue eyes lit up with excitement at my threat then I groaned as he kissed at my neck, murmuring, “You, a knife, and I in bed sounds like a hell of a time, katje. I’ll write that down for us to do.” I rolled my eyes and said, ”While that does sound like a great idea, I still want the two of us to come.” He let out a laugh and nodded in agreement, pinching and rolling my clit between two fingers, finally pushing me to my orgasm. He groaned as he pulled out and I watched, enthralled, as he jerked off, desperate to come himself.

With a groan, he came on my stomach, head hanging low. I licked my lips then he rolled away, wetting a washcloth in the bathroom, before returning to clean me up. He wiped timidly at the mess he made then tossed the dirty cloth in the laundry basket, curling into me.

My eyes fluttered shut and I didn’t even realized that I was crying until I felt Aleister wipe my tears away from my face. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and murmured,”Shh now, katje. I’ve got you. I am not going anywhere, do you understand me?” I gave a timid nod then he pressed up on my chin, giving me a kiss, before Aleister stated,”Say it for me, katje, so I know you understand.”

“You’re not going to go anywhere.” He nodded then cuddled into me before he murmured,”Well, at least rule number one wasn’t broke.” My eyes popped open at his statement then a slow grin stretched across my face, only for him to shoot me down,”If you break that rule, I’ll make sure that you won’t be able to sit, especially after we discuss limits and safe words.” I smiled and allowed myself to flutter into sleep, content filling my bones.

[holylulusworld]

Masquerade

Summary: Believing your fiancée kisses you like never you give in to the heat he causes. What if there’s more hidden behind the mask he’s wearing?

Pairing: AU!Dean x Reader, Sam Winchester, OFC’s

Warnings: angst, language, wearing masks, semi-public sex,  sex against a wall, a hint of kidnapping, mentions of arrange marriage/breakup-ups

This is it...my 6.666 post...

Standing in the room full of people you look around, sniffling as your life will be controlled by the husband your father chooses for you. You never met this man before, still, your father insists he is the perfect partner for you. – Rather for your fathers’ business but who wants to argue about ‘true love’.

Snorting you glance at all the people behind masks. You know for sure all these men and women don’t need masks as they are wearing fake smiles every day.

It’s one of the huge masked balls your father likes to throw. You hate it, hate the greedy people entering such an event, hate you must be here instead of lying in the arms of the man you love.

For months you were sneaking out on your father, had an affair with a mere mechanic under your father's nose till he caught you red-handed as you talked to Dean on the phone.

Two days later Dean broke up with you, telling you it’s not right to take the money and your ‘good’ life away from you. That was four weeks ago, and nothing is like before.

You talked about running away, starting a new life and suddenly he cut you out of his life. He quit his job, changed his numbers and never contacted you again.

Love is a fairytale your father likes to say. Before Dean broke your heart you believed he’s a bad liar, now you know he’s right.

“Smile, act like you want to be here.” Your father insists and you nod, faking a smile. “Good girl. Don’t you worry, your fiancée is a nice man, with a reputation matching mine.”

“You mean a greedy monster…” You snarl through gritted teeth, breaking out of your father’s tight grip to run out of the room.

Taking your mask off you sink to the floor, silently sobbing as you will have to marry a man you don’t even know.

“Y/N…” A gruff voice tries to catch your attention and you wipe a few tears away as a tall man walks toward you. “Your father is looking for you. Isn’t it impolite to run away the moment he wants to introduce you to your future husband?”

“I just…” Choking out an apology you shake the man’s hand, giving him a cracked smile. “Sorry. I needed fresh air. Sometimes life becomes…”

“I get it, Y/N. Let me introduce myself. I’m …” You place your finger onto his lips, and for a moment they feel like Dean’s, so you close your eyes when he cups your face. “No names?”

“Just for tonight. Can we pretend we are not the person we are?” Now his eyes lit up and he nods. You want to say more but then his plump lips press against yours and you feel a spark ignite.

“For tonight I’m whoever you want me to be, Y/N.” His voice close to your ear now, his hands placed onto your hips he whispers all the right things. “All you want me to do, I’ll do for you…”

“I want…”

----

The next thing you know is that your dress lies abandoned on the floor, just like your underwear. Brain mush, your body on fire you let the stranger you just met explore your body.

His lips travel down your collarbone as he holds you against the wall with strong arms. “Tell me what you want, Y/N…” That voice, so dark…deep…almost like Dean’s whispers against your skin as your legs tighten around him.

“Make me forget I lost him…please…” He moans against you, nipping at your soft skin to mark your body as his property. “Please…

“All you want…”

Shoulders, his broad shoulders feel like Dean’s, his lips caress your skin as your lover used to do and the way he sinks into you makes you cry out at the memory of the last time you made love.

“Can I…” Sniffling you hide your face in his neck. He’s still wearing his suit and the black mask. For a reason, it was his condition to make you feel good. “…call you Dean?”

“Do it, Baby…” His fingers dig deep into your flesh as he starts moving inside of you, making you cry out with every hard thrust. “Call my name…”

“Dean…please…oh please…” Not knowing how to stop the fire this man lit you lean against the wall, watching him work his length into you in a frenzy.

Underneath his expensive suit, you can see his muscles flex every time he pumps into you. “Say it again…call my name…” He urges you on and you’ve got no clue if your future husband is kinky or crazy, but you call Dean’s name, crying it into the empty room to let it echo through your father’s way too huge house.

“Please…I…” Gasping you wrap your arms around his neck, bringing him close to your body while he drives into you faster, harder, with so much force your vision blanks out for a moment before you whimper his name one last time.

“That’s it, Sweetheart. Did so well for me…” Grunting your name your stranger, rocks into you, thrusts four, five more times until his cum coats your walls. “Letting a stranger fuck you bare is dangerous, Baby Girl…”

Chuckling you rip the mask off Dean’s face to kiss him fiercely. “We should get out of here…”

“I know, couldn’t resist to have you right here, under his nose. Asshole.” Dean moans as you gyrate your hips, letting his dick twitch one last time. “Love you, Y/N.”

“I love you too, dirty boy. Now let’s get my stuff and…” Dean’s lips silence you and you slide your fingers through his hair, whimpering as he pulls out. “Wear what I got you.” Pointing at a bag Dean smirkd, licking his lips as you walk butt-naked toward the bag.

“Pervert…” Giggling you open the bag to dress in a different dress and mask to not draw anyone’s attention toward you.

“I could just kidnap you naked, but I don’t want the security to see your naked ass.” Grabbing your waist, he twirls you around laughing as you squeal.

“Let’s run…now…”

“Sammy got your stuff and waits for us outside the gate. We need to hurry, Sweetheart. I don’t want your father to shoot me for real…” Taking your hand Dean leads you out of the room and toward the front door.

Laughing you almost bump into an angry looking guy. “Excuse me. Have you seen Ms. Y/L/N, I’m her fiancée?” Cole asks and Dean needs to hold back a chuckle as you lie shamelessly.

“She was in the ballroom not moments ago, Sir. I bet she’s still with her father.” You coo as Cole's eyes you up and down, licking his lips.

“Thank you…”

“You’re welcome, Sir.” Dean grunts, slinging one arm around your shoulders. “We have to go, our babysitter called. Little Charlie is crying for his mommy.” Dean lies to get away from Cole.

----

“Where is my fiancée?” Looking at your father Cole squares his jaw, not wanting to wait any longer to lay claim on you.

“She must visit the restrooms, Cole. I’m sure she will be back soon.” Your father panics. Knowing you left the room over an hour ago he fears you went straight to your room to hide from your future husband. “I’m sure she will love to meet you.”

“I hope so, for your good,” Cole smirks, giving your father a cold glare as he can see the hesitation in his eyes. “If not your business could go downhill pretty fast.”

----

“Got her.” Dean pants as he runs toward the Impala while you hang over his shoulder, laughing like crazy as he insisted on ‘kidnapping’ you Winchester style.

“Dude!” Sam laughs, slapping Dean’s head as he helps you on your feet. “We should get the fuck out of here before her father realizes you kidnapped his daughter.”

“Right, I’ll drive, Baby shotgun. Sammy, backseat. We will start a new life somewhere far away from your shitty father.” While you sit next to Dean you smile as Sam explains he hacked your trust fond to transfer all your money to a new account.

“You are a genius, Samuel Winchester…” Squealing you give your friend a high-five as Dean slaps your ass.

“Safety belt, kiddos. Let’s roll…” Dean speeds off, smirking as a patrol car passes him by. “Do you think daddy is already missing you?”

“No jokes, Dean. Let’s get away from here as fast as possible. I want to become a dirty mechanics wife and have awful lot children with him…”

Dean smirks, wiggling his eyebrows as Sam groans in the backseat. “I love to make babies for sure.” Rubbing your belly Dean groans. “Soon you will be round with a Winchester, Sweetheart.”

“Dude, not when I’m around. Now take the next left and then the last exit to the right. This way we can avoid getting caught by cops. Can’t wait to see her reaction to the hideout we found.” Sam laughs as you glance over your shoulder.

“Hideout?”

“Uh, our grandfather was kinda crazy, sweetheart. He built a thing he called ‘the bunker’. It’s a bit underground but huge, safe and no one can enter it without a certain key. We can hide there till your father calms…” Pecking Dean’s cheek you imagine having a life with the man you love.

“I will live in your car if we have too, Baby. No matter where you go, Dean. I’ll go with you and your freaking tall brother…”

“Hey! I’m not that tall.” Sam smiles as he got a message from Jess. “Jess says she prepared food and a welcome home surprise for Y/N.”

“Your girlfriend is the best, Sammy.”

You lean your head against Dean’s shoulder, closing your eyes as he drives toward your shared future without your father and a husband you don’t love.

SPN Forever Tags

@donnaintx, @screechingartisancashbailiff, @fallen-wolf22, @sister-winchesters99, @mogaruke, @the-is13, @helloitsmeamie203, @strayrosesbloom, @thewinchesterco, @hobby27, @kittycatlover18, @gh0stgurl, @marvelfansworld , @sandlee44, @hawaiianohana31, @unlikelysamwinchesteronahunt​, @katpatrova17, @notyourtypicalrose , @heyitscam99​, @flamencodiva​, @echoesofpassion​, @cocklesbelli​, @voltage-my2dlove​, @fandom-princess-forevermore​ @thenamelesschibi​, @lauravic​, @fandomsrourlives​, @wittysunflower​, @drakelover78​, @lemondropirwin​, @lonewolf471​, @wronglanemendes​, @spnhollis​, @void-imaginations​, @jay-and-dean​, @shatteredabby​, @juniorhuntersam​, @helpmeluci​, @neii3n​, @goodgodimaweirdperson​, @alltimesamantha​, @chonisberonica​, @supernaturalonice​, @stuckys-whore​, @shadowkat-83​ , @officialmarvelwhore​, @wecantgiggleitsafandom​, @meganywinchester​, @shikshinkwon​, @miraclesoflove​, @yolobloggers​, @lu-sullivan​, @maniacproffesor​, @hollymac79​, @straycuties9​, @kayla-2000​, @ilovefanfic86​, @gracefultrenchcoat494​, @babygirls-fav​, @sadn0va, @spnwoman​, @amiquette, @linki-locks11​, @geekofmanyforms​, @eggingamazinglove​, @jessica-marsh09​, @spnficgirl​, @shut-themoonscone​, @thequeenreaders​, @countrygal17a​, @kteelou​, @soryuwifeyxx​, @kricketc28​, @atomicfandombomb​, @defenderrosetyler​, @shortwinchester​, @maybesomedaygayyyy​, @tmiships4life​, @deanmonandnegansbitch​, @exo-nova​, @laxe-from-outer-space​, @sabascio​, @that-place-called-middle-earth​, @the-broken-angel-13​, @bunnybaby89​, @pandabiiissh​, @maddiedott​, @fandom-imagines1​, @lilulo-12​, @theoneandonlymelol​, @mblaqgi​, @sea040561​, @clawsandshotguns​, @justsomedreaming​, @differentstudentrunawaysposts​, @hhiggs​, @deepmuffinspymaker​, @certaindeanwinchesterforcastiel​, @cassiopeia-barrow​, @mep6811​, @jo-like-josette​, @supernaturalenchanted​, @mscarter213​, @trumpettay​ , @its-the-timey-wimey-winchesters​

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[ducksarebetter]

I’M LATE BUT!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY @justsomerandomweebo!!! I hope you know how much I love you, I couldn’t ask for a better friend 💕💕💕

So anyways, this was based off an idea we had from a long time ago (Not sure if you remember but I do) and it’s basically the whole team + Cryptor and Kozu doing team a building exercise and making cakes together!!

3002 words, a little bit of swearing? I apologize for the ending, I got lazy. Hope you like it :))

____________________________________

Kai stared blankly at the list in his hands. “Uhh, flour…”

“Yeah airhead, but how much do we need—“

Too late. Jay had already started pouring the bag into the mixing bowl, immediately drawing the attention of Nya.

“Jay, no!” She yelled, pulling the flour out of his hands before he could do any more damage. “You need to know how much before you pour it!”

“Sorry!” Jay said sheepishly. “Just got excited…”

“You fucking idiot, now it’s ruined.” Cryptor growled from behind him.

Jay shrunk back in embarrassment, watching the flour settle around his feet. 

“You don’t know that! Maybe we can still save it!” Lloyd snapped back while scooping flour out of the bowl with a spoon.

Cole joined him with a spoon of his own. “Yeah, the kid’s right! We just need to work together on this!”

“I believe it should be ok if we can manage to extract most of the excess flour.“ Zane added. 

The team all gathered around, trying to undo the damage. “Let me see that.” Nya pulled the recipe sheet out of her brothers hands.

“Hey!” Kai said in a slightly annoyed tone. Cryptor snorted in laughter, and Kai shot him a glare.

“Maybe if we all were given separate tasks, it would be much more efficient.” Cole suggested to Nya. 

Which of course, was a good idea. They had no organization and no solid plan whatsoever. Put simply, they were an absolute mess.

“How do you…” Kai squinted at the recipe. “Cream butter and sugar?”

“Means you mix them together, you fucking fool.” Cryptor was already ahead of him, mixing the ingredients together. 

“Hey, work together guys!” Lloyd scolded them as Kai opened his mouth to argue. “Ok, well looks like Cryptor’s got that part down. What’s next?” 

“We need two eggs—”

“Um, about that…” Jay said. “We, ahem, may have doubled that…” 

Nya rolled her eyes. “Must I do EVERYTHING??” She sighed.

“Nya,” Pixal said, looking over her friends shoulder at the recipe. “It would appear that we are missing the half cup of milk. Shall I go and—“

At that moment there was a loud crash outside.

“What the in the name of the first Spinjitzu master was THAT?” Cole said.

Everyone ran out the door and down the hallway to the garden, drawing weapons. They all stopped short when they saw what it was.

Kozu stumbled back in forth with an entire cow in his arms. His tank top and jeans were ripped and muddy, his face was streaked with dirt and mud. To complete the look, he was missing a sneaker. The cow mooed confusedly and kicked its feet, attempting to break free. “IM GETTING THE MILK!” He yelled while trying to still the squirming cow. 

Everyone exchanged confused glances. “Er… Kozu, want some help with that?” Cole yelled back.

“I AM… ALMOST GOT IT, JUST YOU WAIT!” 

“Uh, Cole, wanna help him out anyway? He looks like he could use it.” Lloyd said to Cole.

“Yeah. He’s gonna hurt the poor thing.” Cole ran to help.

“Think he can handle it?” Jay asked nervously, watching Kozu trying to pin the cow with three hands, using his fourth to wrestle it’s head to the ground.

“I… think he’s got it.” Lloyd said, reluctantly turning away from the scene in front of them.

They all headed back inside.

While Kai and Cryptor bickered over the egg situation, the other five put their heads together and began brainstorming different ideas for decorating.

“What if we did one of those tower cakes!” Jay said excitedly. “With lots of different color swirls and patterns!”

“Perhaps, but I’m not sure if we would have enough cake mix for that to work. Maybe we should just do one layer?” Pixal suggested.

“Or maybe two? We could level it and put frosting in the middle too.” Nya put in.

“Sounds good too me. Whatever works.” Zane said.

“We should wait and see how much we have when we’re done. We could always make another load if we wanted a bigger cake, and just double the recipe. We need to come up with something that everyone agrees on.” Lloyd reminded them.

“Vanilla’s all mixed in.” Cryptor said. 

Kai tagged along behind him, covered in a noticeable amount of raw egg. It was all in his hair, dripping down his chin and all over his sweatshirt.

“What happened to you?” Nya asked.

“Cry thought it would be funny to crack a raw egg in my hair.” Kai growled.

Cryptor smirked and shrugged. “I was curious to see if it would fry or not.”

Kai gritted his teeth and glared daggers at him. Cryptor chuckled in response, not at all fazed.

“Alright. Kai you go shower.” Nya steered her brother out of the room, winking at Cryptor as she passed. 

He saluted in response. As Nya and Kai headed out, Cole and Kozu entered. Kozu ducked as he passed under the doorframe. “We have milk!” He beamed, holding out a large bucket proudly.

“Nice job!” Zane smiled at him.

Kozu set the bucket down on the table. “Pix, how much of this are we gonna need?” Cryptor asked her.

“Add a half cup to the bowl and stir until the batter is smooth.” She instructed.

Kozu frowned. “I did all that and all we need is… half of a cup?”

Cole nodded. “Yeah, but you did a great job getting it dude. It’s ok, we can save the rest for later!” He reached up and patted his friend on the back. Even though Cole was one of the tallest ones in the room, Kozu still towered several feet over him.

“Alright. Half cup. And now the flour?” Cryptor glanced over, waiting for his fellow nindroids to approve.

“Leave that to me.” Zane helped pour the right amount of flour into the bowl.

“Thanks guys!” Almost all ready for baking!” Lloyd said excitedly. 

“Oh yeah that’s right!” Nya said as she walked back into the room. “What’s the plan for that?” 

“Shouldn’t we wait for Kai to decide on anything?” Jay asked. “So we can all talk about it together?”

“Nah.” Cryptor said as he stepped forwards to join them. Him and Kozu towered over everyone else as they all surrounded the table.

“Well, we have all these pans, so there’s a bunch of different combinations we can choose from.” Lloyd said, gesturing to the collection of glass and metal pans.

“We should definitely do layers of some sort.” Nya agreed. 

“The question is, how many?” Jay added.

“Doesn’t matter to me, as long as I get to eat it!” Cole said.

“We could each have our own individual layer and decorate it separately.” Zane suggested.

“No, we should do it together. Or maybe in teams?” Lloyd said.

“Teams might work better.” Pixal suggested.

“Then it’s a plan. We have more than enough batter here.” Lloyd pointed out as he dipped a finger in it. “Maybe teams of two?”

“Teams of three would be a more logical choice, given that there are nine of us.” Zane said.

“Then teams of three it is.” Nya agreed. 

“Three cakes, three teams.” Jay concluded. “I like it!”

“Team?” Nya grinned at him.

“Team!” He smiled back.

“I’ll take Kai on my team.” Cryptor nodded. 

Zane and Pixal nodded at each other.

“Then left is me, Cole, and Kozu.” Lloyd said.

“I will go with Cryptor.” Kozu said, glancing over at his friend.

“I’ll go with Zane and Pix.” Cole said.

“Guess that leaves me with Jay and Nya.” Lloyd whistled in approval.

“What’d I miss?” Kai walked in.

“You’re with me.” Cryptor looked over at him.

“Sounds good.” Kai walked over to join him and Kozu.

Everyone got to work.

“Alright, I was thinking a tower cake?” Nya said to her friends.

“Sounds like a great idea!” Jay nodded excitedly.

“Whatever works for you guys.” Lloyd smiled. “How many levels? We don’t want to build it too high or it could fall easily.”

“Good point.” Nya chewed her lip.

“How about three? One for each of us, and that won’t be that hard to do.” Jay suggested.

“Yes!” Nya clapped.

“Nice idea Jay!” Lloyd picked out three circle tins from the pile. “How do these look?”

“Great! Now we just need to spray them and fill em up!” Nya said, helping him scoop batter into the tins.

Meanwhile, things were looking great at Pixal, Zane and Cole’s group. 

“Cole, would you like to suggest any ideas for our cake?” Pixal asked him.

“Honestly, as long as I can eat it, I don’t care what it looks like.” Cole grinned. 

“Easy enough. What do you say we do something simple? Maybe two layers?” Zane suggested.

“It sounds like we have a plan.” Pixal grabbed the pans and the three worked together on filling them.

Things weren’t going to well with group three.

“How about a huge cake with like twenty layers, all different colors?” Kai suggested. 

“That’s not gonna work you fucking idiot. We don’t have the skills to pull it off.” Cryptor snarled at him.

“Can it be red?” Kozu asked.

“Red’s good.” Kai pointed at him. “I like where you’re going with this.”

“Twenty layers and bright red.” Kozu sat fowards and winked at Kai.

“Hell yeah! We’re gonna have the best cake for sure.” He leaned back and put his feet up on the table.

Cryptor sighed. “Are you serious? That’s so unrealistic…” he paused when he realized his friends weren’t listening.

“You’re kidding me. Of all the crazy shit…” he mumbled while gathering the rest of the pans.

He threw a few at Kai and Kozu. “Fill.” He instructed.

Kai rolled his eyes as he and Kozu got up and helped him fill up the pans.

“Nice teamwork guys!” Lloyd complemented as they took the cakes out of the oven a few minutes later. 

“Mmm, those smell so good!” Jay added. 

“Yeah they do…” Lloyd licked his lips hungrily.

“Not yet! Remember, we still need to level and frost them. But we have to wait for them to cool first. What color should we do?” Nya asked.

“Hmm… what about blue?” Jay suggested.

“Oh! And green?” Lloyd added.

“I like it! Yellow would go nice with it too. Maybe white trim.” Nya concluded.

“Love it!” Lloyd and Jay nodded in agreement.

“Then it’s a plan!” 

The three got to work mixing frosting together. 

“Lloyd, do you have the pastry bags?” Nya asked.

“Sure do! And here’s the blue food colouring Jay!” Lloyd passed them both what they needed and got to work mixing his own bowl.

Group two was also going great. Pixal and Zane were professionals, baking the cake to perfection, working together to make two almost flawless layers and working to mix a lavender shade of frosting. Cole was enjoying himself, cleaning up the scraps that were produced and “taste testing” the frosting. 

“It’s looking incredible guys! You two are naturals!” He exclaimed happily while munching on scraps of cake.

“Thank you Cole.” Pixal smiled at him.

“Would you like to help us?” Zane asked him.

“I’m just happy to be here. Looks like you guys have everything under control, but if you need help, let me know!”

“Fair enough.” 

Cole was right though. Pixal and Zane were complete professionals, and everything was coming along beautifully.

Meanwhile, table three was having some… issues.

“Kai you idiot, you can’t put that many cakes in the oven at once.” Cryptor said as he tried to pull the pans apart. “It’s one big layer of cake. They got stuck together.”

“Hey, we can work with this. Look we can just break them apart!” The fire ninja responded.

“It’s perfect.” Kozu beamed, looking at the mismatched and deformed sections of cake.

“You STUPID BITCH, KAI!!” Cryptor gasped suddenly.

“What did I do!?”

“You have to grease the pan before you put batter in it! Now it’s sticking to the pan!!” The nindroid was attempting to separate a layer of cake from the pan. 

“You didn’t TELL ME THAT, YOU ASSHOLE!!” Kai screeched back.

“Well, great. Nineteen layers.” Kozu sighed, holding up a mangled layer. 

“Great job Kai, you idiot.”

“At least we still have nineteen!”

“Eighteen.” Kozu pushed aside another pan.

“Just stop touching shit!” Cryptor scolded them. “I’m gonna try and salvage the rest of these layers. At least Kozu buttered his pans. Like a normal person would think to do.”

Kai growled and crossed his arms in response.

“Be useful!” Cryptor growled. 

“HOW?”

“Oh my fucking god… take the knife and work it along the edges of the pan. Like this.” Cryptor showed him how to cut the edges and separate the two.

“This one came out without having to cut it.”

“Yeah, nice Kozu. Here, do these ones.” Cryptor slid him a couple of pans.”

“But why did it do that?” 

“Because it was done right.”

Soon enough, they were down to fourteen useable layers. All of them were a little bit sliced up and battered, but they would still work.

“So what now?” Kozu asked.

“Now we need to make frosting.” Cryptor said.

“Bright red.” Kai and Kozu smiled at each other.

“Right.” Cryptor sighed. “Red. We’re gonna need a lot of frosting for this bad boy though…”

“Leave that one to me.” Kai grabbed a huge bowl and a bunch of frosting containers. 

“Um right. Kozu, mind helping him…”

Kozu was already on it. The frosting duo had all the jars open in no time. With the help of Cryptor, they soon had filled the bowl with the sugary substance.

“Can’t tell if there’s more frosting on you two, or in the bowl.” Cryptor frowned as Kai licked some off his fingers.

About an hour later, and everyone was ready. It was decided that everyone should present their cakes one at a time, and do a little friendly competition to decide who had the best cake. Judged by Cole of course, who would be taste testing all the cakes.

Group one presented their cake first. It was a pretty decent looking one too. The three had really done a good job with the color scheming and had even added a pretty white trim. “Can I try a piece now?” Cole asked excitedly.

“Sure!” Lloyd cut him a piece.

Everyone watched as Cole cut into the cake and popped a piece in his mouth.

“Mmm! Nice job guys, it’s good!” He gave a thumbs up as he took another bite.

“We can score them all at the end and see what everyone thinks.” Nya said.

Group two, no surprise, did an absolutely incredible job. The light purple base, the white designs, it really did look professional. “You guys MADE that?” Jay asked in disbelief.

“Yes we did!” Cole said. “You wouldn’t believe these two. Complete naturals I tell you! They whipped this up like it was nothing!”

Cake three was up next.

Everyone went quiet when the cake was reviled 

“Is that… the cake?” Nya asked in utter disbelief.

“That’s what these two claim it to be.” Cryptor replied.

Was it even a cake at all? It looked like the kind of thing a two year old would make out of play dough. Bright red, a shapeless mass of frosting, the a piece of cake showing through in random places. It looked like it had been run over by a car. 

“Can I eat it now?” Cole was the only one who wasn’t fazed by the horrible appearance of it.

“Knock yourself out.” Kai muttered. “Might be a spoon somewhere in there.”

Which made everyone else’s looks of disgust somehow intensify. Cole picked up the knife and broke off a piece of it. Everyone watched him as he ate it.

“Wow, this actually tastes so good! I think this one wins it for taste!” He waved his fork in the direction of the creators, who sat back in the far corner as if they were cowering away from it.

“Actually?” Jay sputtered.

“May I have a piece as well?” Zane asked. 

Cole cut him a piece and slid the plate across the table. Everyone watched in amazement as he ate.

“Mmm, he’s right! This is very good. Nice job.”

“Alright, now I’m curious.” Lloyd sat fowards and cut himself a peice. 

Everyone else followed his example, and the room was quiet for a few minutes as they dug in to the “cake.”

“That… was actually not bad.” Kai said in amazement.

“You say that as if you’re surprised.” Nya raised an eyebrow at him.

“What I believe he means is, the taste was much more appealing than the exterior.” Pixal nodded as she took another bite.

“Agree with you there.” Jay added. 

“So for taste, we all agree this one was the best?” Cole questioned. 

“Yeah, I’m in agreement there.” Lloyd grinned. “That was some good cake.”

“I liked group two’s cake. I thought it was pretty.” Kozu cut in.

“Then group two for looks.” Nya agreed. 

“And I think Lloyd, Nya, and Jay worked really well together on their cake, and were a good team.” Pixal pointed out.

“So for teamwork, group one.” Kai said.

“Can we get an award for biggest miracle?” Cryptor rolled his eyes. “Maybe most dysfunctional team?”

“What do you mean dude? We had it all under control.” Kai questioned.

“Under control? I carried us!” Cryptor growled back.

“Nah, we had a solid plan. We were totally good.”

“You… glued the layers together. The twenty layers that you wanted to stack up. The twenty fucking layers!”

“It would’ve been great!”

Cryptor slammed his hands down on the table as he stood. “Alright you know what? Next time you can do it by yourself, dipshit—“ 

“Hey, it came out great.” Lloyd chirped. “At least you guys can agree on that, right?”

“I had fun.” Kozu said, pushing his empty plate. 

“So did I!” Cole agreed as he licked his lips. “We should do team building activities more often!”

“Oh please no.” Nya said.

[nin-jay-go]

Hey I updated Shadows of Envy

Chapter One 

Tagged on my blog as either Shadows of Envy or ekau 3!

Contains no romantic pairings aside from Pixane and hinted Geode (esp here)

The living room was still alive with the sounds of discussion, though mostly from Jay and Cole’s playful banter. Lloyd had seemingly just finished his comic book, and with a quick goodbye to the boys on the couch, he left for bed. It was late, anyways, probably around 10 or 11 at night. Perfect for bedtime.

Footsteps made their way to the living room, drawing their attention. Cole glanced over to investigate only to see Kai making his way through the living room to the bedrooms. He seemed to stare at them all oddly, yet when he met Cole’s gaze, it melted back normal.

“Oh, hey Kai!” Jay leaned back towards him, “where were you all day?”

The red ninja shrugged. “Just doing some late night training,” he replied. “Can’t get out of shape, y’know?” He looked around the room. “Where’s Llo- I mean, everyone else? Are they all asleep?”

“Yea, they’re all actually getting sleep,” Jay chuckled, “unlike us.” Telltale shadows showed under his eyes, but they were to be expected since he, well, never sleeps. He can stay up all night without issue and be fine all day. How Arid boiled with envy.

“And I, uh, can’t really sleep all that well anymore?” Cole said. “Since, uh, I’m kinda dead?” Lucky.

“Well, you two night owls stay up as looooong as you want, but I’m gonna hit the hay,” ‘Kai’ began to leave to the bedrooms. “Crashed myself completely during training, gotta relax a tad.” He easily sauntered out of the room. “Night, losers.” “Night!” “Nighto, Kai!” As he left the living room, he heard the farewells of his friends. They’re only saying that to pretend they don’t hate me, Arid’s internal monologue interjected, but I know they do. They’re just trying to not show it. He scoffed to himself. In the room they all shared on the Bounty was darkness. The lights were off and Nya, Zane, and now Lloyd were asleep in their beds.

Lloyd. The Green Ninja. The Golden Ninja. Everyone loved him. He saved the world many times and everyone praised him for it. I should’ve been the green ninja. I trained for it so much and got nothing out of it when he, a child, got to save the world and be rewarded for it. If anyone in the room was still awake, they’d probably be terrified of the cold, vengeful glare on Kai’s face, marred by red eyes glowing black from the shadows surrounding them.

What no one had noticed was that ‘Kai’ no longer had a shadow.

Kai’s shadow, or more appropriately, the real Kai, was still down in the forest, stewing in the shades of the trees. How DARE Arid just… walk off with his body like that!? That was so wrong of him to do, and Kai was going to get it back.

“But how?” he wondered aloud. He clearly couldn’t leave the shadows, since the light would hurt him. Kai plopped down into a criss-cross position, although it wasn’t entirely visible to even himself. His legs were almost gone, just a slight shade darker than the forest floor.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Kai’s mind. He had escaped from Arid once. How did he do that? One moment he was affixed to his body’s legs, the next he was in the trees. All he did was want to leave the proximity…

Maybe that was it. Standing back up, he stared at the opposite side of the clearing. The trees there gave as much shadowy coverage as anything else here, so if Kai just… thought… himself to the other side, maybe it would work? He closed his eyes, imagined the shade, and thought ‘I want to go there.’

A strange sensation overtook his body, or whatever his form was right now. A rushing feeling, almost as if the particles of his body were rearranging to another location without him walking there. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the side of the clearing he had just been, marked by a few mushrooms at the trees’ base.

“YEA BABY!!” Kai pumped his fist excitedly into the air. He thought of something… and for once, it actually worked! Well would you look at that! With this newfound knowledge, Kai closed his eyes again and imagined the storage closet of the Bounty, knowing that it would more than likely be closed and dark. After a few minutes, it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere.

Opening his eyes, he found himself nowhere near the closet, or the Bounty, for that matter. He was still in the forest, and still alone. Glaring up at the floating ship he now calls home, he tried to reason with himself as to what went wrong. Was he too far away? Could he not… teleport like that, and he could only do it to nearby places, or was it…

Kai looked back up the the Bounty. It floated like any other flying ship, with a long anchor tying it to the ground. Onboard, however, he saw something that might help. A barrel holding lots of spare swords for training that was usually uncovered. He focused really hard on that barrel, feeling his particles again flutter. Everything went dark for a split second, and the next thing he knew, he was in the barrel with about five swords slicing cleanly through his form. He yelped, then shut his mouth immediately. What if someone heard? Oh, who was he kidding, of course someone heard that.

Strangely enough, the swords didn’t hurt. His limbs seemed to warp around them, not allowing them to attach themselves to his arms. Kai waved his arm through a sword curiously, which simply ghosted through it, leaving wisps of slightly darker shadow in its wake.

Enough with swords and barrels; Kai needed to get out. Once again he tried to poof to the closet, only for it to not work again. The hypothesis proved true: he can only teleport to what he can see directly, or move around freely in darkness. Thankfully, the barrel seemed to be in a shaded part of the training deck, so he carefully poked his head out to check for moonlight, before the rest of his body followed. All the lights inside were out aside from the living room light, where Jay, Cole, and Lloyd probably still were.

Picking the closest dark room he saw through the windows, Kai found himself in the kitchen. Here he walked around freely, staying clear of the windows showing light in. The burning really hurt and he wasn’t stupid enough to try it again. He followed his route from earlier, where he was practicing his sword tricks, until he came across the storage closet. Kai sent it a murderous glance, or at least what he thought was one. Did he even have a face anymore?

Past the storage closet he saw light. The living room. Kai walked up closer to it, as close as he dared to go, to investigate. There he saw Cole floating lazily in the air, all alone. Perfect.

“Hey! Hey Cole!! Look over here!!!” Kai yelled at him. “Cole!!! I’m! Over! Here!” With each word he moved his arms and jumped around, tried to make noise so that the ghost would look over and see him. Tried to being the key word. Cole didn’t notice him in the slightest and instead of making noise when his feet met the floor, he was as silent as a feather. Pounding the wall did nothing; it made the same sound as hitting a mattress.

Now Kai was getting frustrated. “COLE!!! OVER HERE!!!!!!! LOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!” He yelled as loud as he could, because what if Arid was here and could hear? Still, he was impatient, and impatience waits not for caution. He poofed to random shadowy points of the room to try and grab his attention, but nothing worked. Back in the doorway, he tried a last ditch resort. He stuck his hand into the artificial light.

The searing pain that danced across his fingers was horrible, Kai could almost hear them hiss and fizzle. He drew them back gingerly, already regretting his decision as he hissed himself.

Somehow, this worked. Cole’s head abruptly snapped up, and he was on his feet and levitating a pillow in his hands as best as he could. “Who’s there?!” Cole yelled out. As he scanned the room, his eyes met Kai’s. Yet as relief filled the red ninja’s eyes, the black ninja wasn’t satiated. “Who- what the- what the fuck is that?!?” He tossed the pillow at Kai with surprising force, who ducked out of the way.

“AHH- COLE STOP!” At this, Cole froze. He walked over to Kai, who straightened back up and stared at the ghost.

“How do you know my name?” He asked in an even tone. Kai gave a nervous chuckle.

“Do you not recognize me? Dude, I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past, like, 5 minutes maybe? Do your ears need to be cleaned?”

Cole just looked even more confused. “How should I recognize uh… whatever you are? WHOever you are?”

Kai frowned. “Dude it’s me, Kai.” Doubt seeped into Cole’s face, to which Kai quickly raised his hands in confusion. “Do I not look like myself or something? I mean, I KNOW I’m like, a shadow right now or something like that, but don’t you recognize me at all?”

The black ninja squinted at him. “You’re literally a slightly darker silhouette with two glowing red dots on your face. I don’t think Kai looks, or ever looked, like that. Plus,” he jerked his thumb over to the corridor to the bedrooms, “I just saw Kai go bed. Seemed pretty tired from training on his own.”

“That wasn’t me,” the real Kai protested, “That was NOT me, Cole.” “Then explain who that was, if you’re the real Kai.” “That’s my shadow possessing me.” A raised eyebrow. “Look, I don’t know how else to tell you that you guys are probably in danger, because that. Was. Not. Me.” His voice took on a dangerous note at the end, and Cole seemed visually disturbed.

After a bit, Cole glared up at Kai. “Ok then, if you’re the real Kai, then tell me.” He leaned in closer. “What is… my favorite ice cream flavor.”

“Usually whatever Jay picks-” Kai muttered under his breath, “-I mean, uh, you usually go for, uh…” Was this a trick question? Cole either picked rocky road or whatever Jay had whenever they went out for ice cream, but as for what his actual favorite was…

“You never chose one, I don’t think, so you went with the, insert sarcasm here, oh so amazing choice of ice cream cake. Even though ice cream cake is like, many different flavors-” “But I chose it because it was cake and I love cake more than ice cream! Well, loved…” Cole’s gaze turned melancholy before he looked back at Kai. “But that was the right answer, so I guess I’ll take your word for it. Now Cole looked at him more, bewildered than anything. “What the hell happened to you, Kai?”

“It’s uh,” the shadow laughed nervously, “a long story. You’re gonna have to turn off the lights for this.”

[4k-cinematic-universe]

    Nearly dropping nir bag, Terri pushed past the dark oak gate and dashed across the yard into Liam’s open arms. Long lanky limbs wrapped around nir shoulders, holding tight. Ne buried nir face into his shoulder and breathed in deep. Yeah, he still smelled like himself. Pine needles, ink, and Kasey.

    One arm disappeared and ne looked up to see Liam looking expectantly at Samuel, still standing by the gate. “You going to join the party or just stand there all day?”

    “I don’t need a hug Lee.”

    “Yeah but you want one.” Liam smirked and gestured him to come over.

    Samuel huffed, rolled his eyes like it took all his energy to do, and finally walked over to join the group hug. Terri moved nir arm to hold Samuel as well and the small group stood there in the cool air for a few moments; letting the sun warm up their skin to cope with the breeze still coming in.

    Liam was the first to pull away, keeping his hands on them both. “Come on inside, I got cookies already done. Half chocolate and half extra salt, just how you like it Samuel.”

    “Screw off.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The three gathered in Liam’s small open living room, finally relaxing after full days of traveling and working. Terri and Samuel shared the couch, nem sitting straight up nibbling nir cookie and him slumped against the arm and crunching away.

    Liam tossed his own cookies on the barely knee-high table in between them and sat in his own chair, leaning forward to rest his arms on his knees. “So how have things been over in Rău?”

    “Dead quiet,” Samuel answered, not registering his poor choice of wording or Terri glancing at him for it. “I’ve seen Kris come and go a few times but that’s it. Haven’t seen Zach or Cole at all.”

    “Means you’re actually getting work done then with no distractions?”

    “That’s assuming I’m putting in the effort in the first place. Besides, only Kris has had contact with any of the Astians in a long while, so Zach would be a downer to be around anyway.” He crossed his arms and looked away. Liam bit his lip to keep from laughing at his friend’s pout.

    “Why don’t you try getting in contact with them? Maybe talk to your counterpart, I hear he’s a hoot and a half to be around,” Liam offered.

    “You trying to say something Lee?” Samuel bit back but with a hint of a smile.

    “Nothing at all, Sams.”

    “Shove it.” Samuel stood up and wandered off to the kitchen to get what’s left of the 24 cookies Liam made, 18 of which he had already eaten on his own.

    Liam chuckled and turned to Terri, who was watching the two with a peaceful demeanor, as always. “What about you? How’re you feeling?”

    “Much better. Being around Samuel and the others has been keeping me calm.”

    “That’s good to hear, I’m proud of you! What about hints of relapses? Any of those?”

    Terri smiled. “You’re starting to sound like my doctor only more direct. But no, not any recently. I think I’ve just been too preoccupied with what’s going on to think about anything else really.” Ne paused. “I even got a letter from my father a month or so ago and haven’t opened it yet.”

    Liam’s eyes widened. “Really? I thought he didn’t know where you lived.”

    “Someone must have told him I guess. I don’t mind though,” ne rushed to add. “Worst he can do at the moment is send mean but crudely drawn pictures in the mail.”

    “Have you gone to see him since last time?”

    “....No. I haven’t even gone to Tamno for a few months. I don’t want to risk it.”

    “Who’s been going for you?”

    “I have.” Samuel spoke up, now returned with a half eaten cookie in hand. Liam turned to him and smiled, which he raised an eyebrow at. “What?”

    “You have, have you?”

    “That’s what I just said, keep your ears open map boy.” He tossed the rest of the cookie in his mouth and leaned against the wall, one foot braced on the wood. “Anything for Terri, besides the transit isn’t long and I need to get stuff there occasionally anyway. Materials and all that.”

    “The distribution center has you on file for Sierra? I thought only family could pick up medication,” Liam asked, confused.

    “Uh, um,” Terri murmured, “given the circumstances, I was able to add Samuel to the approved list for pickup. He’s been getting the insulin just fine so far.”

    “Has the supply been enough for Sierra?”

    Terri fidgeted, drawing in nir hands closer and wringing them together. “It’s been...yes. Its enough.”

    “BS it has.” Samuel interjected again. He kicked off the wall, scuffing it with his boots. “Not only have those bastards raised the price of the insulin-”

    “Samuel, please-”

    “-they lowered the amount they can give us to even less than Sierra needs.”

    Liam glanced back and forth between Terri, who was on the verge of crying, and Samuel, on the verge of kicking a hole in his wall. “What’s the max they can give you?”

    “100 mL a month. Sierra needs 230 at the least to keep their strength up. With only 100, they’re stuck in bed all day and can barely move an inch to do anything.”

    They fell into a tense but comfortable silence while Liam mulled it over, casting his gaze to the floor to think better. Terri let nemself slump a bit, still wringing nir hands, before speaking again.

    “Sierra w-wants to try sending some of it ov-over to Astia.”

    “They what?”

    “Before the star incident,” Terri said, voice small and still shaky, “they were considering asking Zach about it. But once Zoel and Colour died, they became determined. Especially since…” Ne trailed off.

    “Their counterpart needs magic to live too, don’t they?”

    Terri nodded and bit nir lower lip. Liam drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, being careful to not scare Terri. He drummed his fingers against his knees. ‘There has to be a solution that doesn’t get half of us killed or arrested,’ he thought. He glanced around the room, his gaze landing on the saggy hat still hanging the hook on his front door. Rioxl’s hat, that she left behind when she came to tell him what she found.

    ‘F***.’

    “We can go to the Institute of Medical Research.” Liam said, startling the other two.

    “In the Balcanic Peninsula? You want to travel all the way there?” Samuel asked incredulously.

    “I have to anyway. I forgot to mention it, but Rioxl came by to see me the other day.” Liam used the palms of his hands to rub his eyes as he spoke. “She found a book about the founding of the DBER.”

    Samuel’s eyes narrowed. “The DBER? You mean the DBER that financed the bs ‘ground breaking’ discovery that screwed me and Terri over?” He asked through gritted teeth. Liam could hear him grinding them together.

    “Exactly that one. There was a family tree in the book, belonging to two of the original magistrates. They were part of the McLevol family, but their mother married into the family. And the tree follows her bloodline.”

    “So?”

    Liam took another deep breath. “Her maiden name was Kraj. As in Noah Kraj.” He paused, letting the information sink in.

    Terri blinked. “Isn’t he a manager at the institute? He gave the tour my class went on back in school.”

    “That’s the guy. His grandfather was the magistrates’ uncle. So not only does Mr. Noah over there have a tie to them, those magistrates had a tie to one of the only families in Împreună to have an elemental gene show up in every generation.” He made eye contact with Samuel. “Including void elemental.”

    Samuel stood confused for a second before breaking out into laughter, distinctly strained with bitterness. Wide eyed, he slid his hands into his hair gripping it tight, and Liam worried he was about to tear the light brown strands right out. “So they screwed over their own f***ing family for that discovery nonsense, are you kidding me?!”

    Terri slowly stood up and moved closer to Liam as they watched Samuel pace the floor, stomping his feet every step. The boards creaked and moaned, threatening to break under him. Not for the first time, Liam was grateful he didn’t have a basement.

    Samuel made a move to punch the wall it seemed, and Terri slightly jumped, squeaking into Liam’s ear. He froze and dropped his arm, settling for dragging his hands down his face with sounds of frustration.

    “Because of them, me, Terri, and countless others,” Samuel fumed, pointing to nem at nir name, ”had to deal with that ‘unnatural, dangerous, unstable’ bulls**t.” He paused to take a breath, and the other two waited patiently for him to blow up again. Instead, he calmly turned back, walked to Terri, and leaned to rest his head on nir shoulder.

    He turned his head slightly to look Liam in the eye. “Come hell or high water, we’re going to see Noah Kraj. We need to help Împreună and Astia; for Zoel and Colour.”

[postmastered]

borb still cant title fics

Cole walked off down the road from his house, which was a striking pale blue in the ocean of light grays and the occasional beige that was his neighborhood. There was one house that he liked in particular other than his, and he passed by it every day. He looked around the street as he walked, watching the other pedestrians to see if there was anything new about them today. He saw a gir-whoops, he shouldn't assume-someone with long brown hair and a blue and red letterman, which wasn't an aesthetic he would indulge in himself, but he could appreciate. They seemed to be heading to the same place as he was.

He turned at a corner and disappeared from view, going through a shortcut he knew would get him to his high school faster. Then again, what's wrong with taking the backstreets? He stepped out of the shadows and saw his high school out in the distance. He saw a stray black cat rummaging around in a garbage can.

"Well, time for round three. Wish me luck."

The cat looked at him for a second before running off. He sighed and walked over to Madison West High School, wishing to actually have at least one friend this year.

Lucky for him, that was going to come true.

He was walking down the halls to get to his first period, not paying much attention to his surroundings, having been here for 2 years already. In his mindless wandering, he managed to bump into somebody. Great. The kid was tall and lanky, and he looked awfully formal for a high school kid.

He had bright orange hair and a green tie. He had a satchel with him that seemed to carry a lot of his stuff, which was mainly blank sheets of paper and a sign up sheet for the science club and the math club. Cole decided to be a good Samaritan and pick up some of his papers. He stood and held the a hand out to help the guy up. He accepted it, and stood.

Cole took in his full height. Almost six feet. The guy withdrew his hand from Cole's and they both stood there, Cole staring in awe at this dude's height. He spoke after a few seconds of bewildered staring.

"Are you a senior?" The guy was shocked, to say the least.

"No, I am not. I can see why you would think so. I'm Charles. Charles J. Todd. Sophomore." He straightened his tie and fixed his glasses.

"Oh. Well, I'm Cole. Cole Noir. Junior. So where are you headed, Charles?" He started to walk off in the same direction as before after he bumped into Charles.

"Mr. Pitch's room. It's my first period."

"Oh, same, dude. Pitch's cool. His class is... uh..."

"Pre-Calculus?"

"Yes!" He snapped his fingers and did finger guns at Charles. The other boy was bewildered, but charmed. He let out an amused huff and kept walking next to Cole. "So do you have any other friends?"

He paused for a moment. "Can't say I do. You're first place."

"That's awfully melancholy."

"Dude, have you seen me?"

Charles laughed and responded to his question. "I'm afraid you have a point."

“'Course I do. Anyway, we're here." Charles turned to look at the door Cole pointed to. It was a regular door, just like all the others, but it had a handmade sign labeled "Mr. Pitch's Class" with a little "Welcome!" beneath it written in permanent Marker. Well then. This'll be an experience.

Cole opened the door for him. "Ladies first." Charles rolled his eyes and walked in to see not that many kids calmly chattering among each other. Cole walked in behind him and surveyed the room. Mr. Pitch saw them and practically jumped over. He was around 5' 3'', almost the same height as Cole. He had dark skin and chocolate brown eyes, and he had a short beard that seemed to have been trimmed over a million times. He wore a light blue button up and slacks along with his lanyard. His voice was terribly cheerful.

"Hello, hello, hello! Cole! My dearest student, how are you?" He couldn't seem to sit still and was constantly shifting around and fidgeting with his shirt's cuffs.

"I'm doin' alright, Pitch. How've the kids been treating you?"

"Oh! Leo and Andrew? They've been great! Little angels, they are." He stood in front of Cole for a moment, smiling from ear to ear.

Cole sighed, knowing him well enough to know what he wanted from him. He opened his arms, and Mr. Pitch almost tackled him in a hug. Cole wore an amused expression on his face.

"Love you too, Pitch." Said man pulled away and turned to Charles.

"Well, hello to you too! I'm Mr. Pitch, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year!" He held out a hand for Charles to shake and had a bright smile on his face.

From what Charles just saw a moment ago, he knew he much preferred hugs, but he seemed to respect his boundaries. Charles took his hand and Pitch shook it vigorously. "Um, I'm Charles. Todd. I'm a sophomore."

''It's absolutely spectacular to meet you, Charles!" Pitch let go of his hand. "But wait, you're a sophomore? Then why are you in Pre-Calculus already?"

"The guy's advanced, Pitch." Cole spoke up after being silent and watching the interaction.

"How... did you know that?" Charles looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Saw the papers in your bag. You're a smart kid."

"Well... Thank you, Cole." He had a small smile on his face, glad he got a compliment from someone who he hadn't known for very long. Cole scratched the back of his neck, seemingly not used to receiving such gratitude from anyone who wasn't his mom.

"Thanks, bud. Uh, anyway, Pitch, what are we doin' in class today?" Pitch quickly explained the basis of the first class and then told them they could sit where ever they wanted. Charles briskly walked toward the front row, where he sat right dead center in the middle. Cole was going to take his spot in the back like every other year and be ignored, but hey, Charles was cool, so he'd chill with him. First period went by quickly, and they were walking into their fourth period class when they saw something new compared to the rest of their, to Charles, incredibly easy and mildly interesting classes, to Cole, stupidly boring classes. There were these two kids, one that had short blonde hair up to her shoulders and...

The letterman shmuck from that morning. They were having a heated debate about something or other, and letterman practically shouted "WATER ISN'T WET, ASH!" Cole couldn't help but snicker. Charles rolled his eyes at their tomfoolery until he heard letterman's shout. He briskly walked over, clearly familiar with this discussion. This caught Cole's attention. He cleared his throat, getting the attention of the two students. "I'll have to agree with the one who shouted, water is not wet. Ash, correct?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect, you're wrong. Water is not wet, but water is not dry either. It is merely water."

"Shut it, Specs."

"Alright."

"Wait, really? That was eas-"

"Unless you manage to "shut it" yourself." He had a smug look on his face and he pushed up his glasses. He turned to Mx. Letterman. "I'll have to agree with you..." He gestured for them to say their name.

"Skylar. Skylar Adams."

"Well I'll have to agree with you, Skylar." Skylar was about to say something, but they were interrupted by the teacher, Ms. Torres.

"Everyone settle down, I got a class to teach!" Couple kids laughed, but the rest sat down and their day went on. Lunch rolled around, and Charles didn't know where to sit. Most tables were circular with a bunch of kids sitting at them and chatting about separate topics. Cole was sat at a table in the corner, alone. He looked around at the sea of teenagers and saw a certain redhead standing there like an idiot. He looked like a lighthouse, but if a lighthouse could be very anxious. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but it beats sitting alone for a full year. He whistled loudly to try and grab his attention, waving his arm frantically. Charles quickly understood, walking over and sitting next to him.

"You looked like a lamp post over there, dude." He elbowed Charles' arm, going back to eating his lunch. 

"My apologies, Cole. I usually have no clue as to where to sit so I stand dumbfounded for a small amount of time before eventually looking for somewhere to sit." Said boy turned to Charles slowly, a look of disappointment on his face. "...What?"

"You are a walking Wikipedia article."

 Charles rolled his eyes, but the look on his face was fond. "Ha-ha, like I haven't heard that one before." The two kept chattering about whatever crossed their minds, getting to know each other better. Little did Cole know, someone was watching him with bewilderment and wonder from the center of the cafeteria. Who it is, well, that remains a mystery for now. Lunch was fun, Cole learning that Charles had asthma, and Charles learning that Cole had anxiety. Charles asked him about that, because he seemed to be very forward with Charles. He said he was going to try and actually talk to people, going against his own judgement. And he liked Charles. Charles seemed cool to him. Cole seemed cool to Charles as well. 

They went by the rest of their day, and then that lead them to where they were now. Standing in front of the school. Waiting to be picked up by their parents. In the rain. Most students had left by now, and Charles and Cole were both getting drenched in rainwater. Why did Charles need to forget his umbrella today? Cole seemed to actually like the rain quite a bit, smiling and looking around. Both of the boys' attention was quickly robbed by someone running toward them, calling Charles' name and holding an umbrella. Charles squinted, trying to figure out who it was before realizing.

"Kat! Oh, thank Tesla you're here. My books almost got soaked." Kat looked sheepish, shrugging and pulling Charles in for a tight hug quickly.

"K-Kat... I can't breathe." Said parent quickly drew back, apologizing. They managed to get a bit of their shirt wet, but they didn't seem to mind.

 "Oh, who's your friend here?" They took notice of Cole, walking towards him a bit. Charles shuffled after, crouching under the umbrella.

"Uh... Hi. I'm Cole." He waved meekly at them, Charles standing next to Kat with a fond look on his face.

"Well it's absolutely wonderful to meet you, Cole. How about you stay over for dinner at our place? I can call your parents to pick you up once we're done." Charles was shocked at this, quickly going on a rant about how "I just met him! I can't have him at my house so soon!" before he was interrupted by Cole, who had already texted his mom about their situation and got a reply pretty quickly that it was okay.

"Yeah, sure. I can stay over for a bit. Texted my mom." Cole pocketed his phone, running a hand through his already soaked hair to try and fix it, to no avail.

"Uh... But wouldn't your mother be worried?" Charles was still extremely confused as to why Cole agreed.

"Nah, she works late today, she won't be able to pick me up, so staying with you guys seems like the best option." He shrugged and that was the end of it. 

"I suppose that makes the most logical sense. Well, follow us, then. Our house isn't very far." Charles got the umbrella from Kat, and because he was the tallest, he could cover both of the other two very well. Once they got to the house, Cole looked around at the massive amounts of pets they had. That's weird. They had a bird screeching "Sparrow" over and over again. There was a hamster named James running on a wheel and next to his cage was a snake in a terrarium named Luka. Their names were written on little signs outside of their respective homes. While Kat got to work on the food, Cole and Charles hung out in his room and Charles talked about the things he liked and Cole talked some more about his family. They came down for dinner, your standard spaghetti and meatballs, and talked about each other.

"Y'Know, Cole, you can come here whenever you like." Kat mentioned in between bites.

"I suppose it would be satisfactory if he'd come here more often, yes." Unlike Kat, Charles stopped eating to speak, then went back to his food.

"This means I can show up uninvited whenever I want." Cole smiled a bit, brushing his bangs away from his face.

"Cole, no." Charles deadpanned while Kat was almost splitting their sides with laughter. The night went great, and Cole walked home alone, making sure to avoid his daytime route for fear of potential danger. He eventually got to his house where his mom still hadn't arrived. He walked in, setting his stuff down on the sofa and leaving food for his mom. He took a shower, cold, because he's a weirdo, and went back down, sitting on the sofa and flipping through channels. He stayed there, watching an array of different shows until late 10 pm. He went up, leaving the paperwork his mom needed to fill out along with the leftovers and slipping into his bed, retiring for the night.

ok so thats it, i spent a long time on this, uhhh hope you like i guess

[llantano]

Turning Leaves, 3. Resignation Part Two

By Jaemlyn

As they stepped back out of the small office, the throngs of reporters were not as comforting to her as she would have preferred. Bo led her down an all-too-familiar corridor toward the jail. His silence was intentional. He was trying to make her uncomfortable. If this was her punishment – her only punishment – so be it. She could take it. In fact, she preferred it.

She was steady as a rock when she stepped up to the cold, steel vertical bars between herself and Mayor Lowell.

Bo seemed sincere as he looked Dorian in the eyes. "You okay then?"

Now it was she who was amused. "I can handle this."

Bo stepped away. "I'll let you two kids talk this out then." He nodded to a guard who didn't seem to be going anywhere and patted another, gesturing for them to follow. The bars closed behind them and she was left staring at the man whom just yesterday she had placed all her confidence in. She had given up on her goal to become chief of staff at the hospital to support him. Fat lot of good that did.

Lowell looked back at her with an unreadable expression. "Dorian."

"We need to talk," she frowned with disapproval.

"Listen, I tried to convince those guys not to go after Starr and her baby."

She was disgusted. "Why should I believe that?"

"It was never my intention to drag your family into this."

"Cole is the father of my grand-niece. You put a hit out on him. That was very intentional. Not only did you want Cole dead, but also my beloved nieces could have been killed. I gave you my loyalty, my vote, and put my own reputation on the line for you, and that's how you repaid me."

"Why are you here, Dorian? To give me a guilt trip?"

"Oh, you bet I am." Her smirk was dark. "And to remind you that I'm still your campaign manager. There are a whole lot of media outlets waiting for a statement, considering that you refuse to resign from your position…." She paused as if just realizing and wondered: "…Why haven't you resigned?"

"Innocent until proven guilty."

She smirked again and shook her head with disdain in her voice. "Oh, don't give me that. I have it on good authority that even your own lawyers have advised you to resign, and yet you refuse. You seem to think that clinging to your position will somehow just … make it all go away. Do you honestly think you can win an election from prison?"

"I'm not going to prison, Dorian, and I am going to win the election."

"Oh, uh … I think you are gravely mistaken. I mean … unless…."

He was curious. "What?"

"I suppose it is plausible that you have friends in high places… very high places. I suppose that it is probable that you sincerely believe you are going to win, and I suspect that is because these friends of yours are able to … shall we say … sway the votes in the direction that is most beneficial?"

"Just what are you accusing me of here, Dorian?"

"Hm. Conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, drugs … electoral fraud would be the least of your worries, wouldn't it?"

"What, you plan to go to the media with that? I'll fire you and sue you for defamation."

Her smile was all knowing, as if she held a secret. "No. First of all, you've done a good enough job of slandering yourself. Secondly, when I do speak to the press, it will be to inform them that I have resigned my position as your campaign manager, and not only that, you have resigned your position as mayor."

"I thought we had already established that I was not going to do that."

Dorian ignored his statement as she slid a neat, creased piece of paper from her pocket. "I took the liberty – as the one in charge of your campaign – of drawing up this letter of resignation for you. It is very 'to the point.' In it you absolve your campaign workers of any guilt, stating that they had no knowledge of your criminal involvement. You are very sorry for the pain you caused the families of Cole Thornhart, the Evanses and, of course, your own campaign manager. You also explain that while you did not physically take part in the shootings and injuries that resulted from the attempt on Cole's life and the kidnapping of Starr and Hope Manning, you were indirectly responsible for them. You agree to cooperate with the Llanview Police Department in their investigation. Lastly, you are deeply regretful of the negative effect your behavior has had on your own family, and for their sake, you are withdrawing from the election and resigning from office."

"Are you insane, Dorian?" he spat. "That's not a resignation letter. It's an admission of guilt. I would never sign that, and my lawyers would tell me not to sign it."

"But you are going to sign it," she insisted.

"Or what?"

She smiled for a quiet moment before resting her hands around the metal bars and relaxing on the outside of his cell. "Let's talk about Lee Ramsey."

"What's Lee Ramsey got to do with any of this?"

She couldn't help but chuckle. "How stupid do you think I am, Mayor? … Or should I just call you 'Stan' now?"

"That whole scenario with Lee Ramsey was ages ago."

"You're right," she consented. "But at the same time, it never really ended, did it?"

"What are you talking about?"

She pressed her index finger to her chin as if thinking. "Maybe I should have brought up the name Powell Lord instead? I mean … you know, since he's fresh in our minds. Didn't you just blame John McBain for his rampage right before your arrest? Are you that delusional?"

"I know you don't share my disdain for John McBain, Dorian, but up until now you've been right there with me in the public eye."

"That's neither here nor there," she clarified for the mayor. "You see, the trash who kidnapped my nieces was what helped me put it all together."

"You're going to have to be more specific, Dorian. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, it is a little hard to explain," she gestured with her hands as she spoke. "There's this whole big web of criminals and corruption that are all tied together, but …I'll try to simplify it for you."

He stared at her, unfazed.

She blinked at him as if she owned his soul. "Let's try a different name, shall we? Carlo Hesser. Carlo Hesser was last seen in South America, but before that, his last known residence was in Eastern Europe. If I'm not mistaken, your criminal cohorts more than likely hailed from that area of the world too, didn't they? Which brings us back to Lee Ramsey. It all makes a neat, tidy little circle of connections, and lies, and crimes."

"You can't prove anything. This is all speculation."

"I don't need to prove anything. You see there's a loose thread in this web and you're the fly that's stuck in it, aren't you?" She flashed an almost wicked smirk again as she leaned closer and lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "There was always something that struck me as odd about that whole Powell Lord, KID killing spree – about the victims in that case and their connections to Marty Saybrooke."

"Old news, Dorian."

"Not really. I recall this all very clearly because it happened at my house, you remember? … Talia Sahid was wearing a KID ring that had been locked in an evidence room prior to her stabbing. The ring was part of this whole big scheme to frame John McBain for her murder. It was under your instruction that McBain was arrested."

"All the evidence pointed to him."

"Yes," Dorian half-smirked, and half-frowned in gleeful disdain. "You saw to that, didn't you? And poor Talia was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Are you saying that I killed Officer Sahid? Because even Bo Buchanan can tell you that I was at the police station when she was murdered."

"Oh, isn't that convenient?" Dorian chided. "What better alibi than, 'I was with the police commissioner at the time of the murder?' Just like you were at a political debate when my nieces were kidnapped, hm? Of course you had no way of knowing that Bo would send Officer Sahid and her partner to find John McBain that night. All you knew was that John McBain lived at my house, and, from what I heard later, you knew about other evidence before the reports were even turned in to Bo so that he could make an arrest. You were the one framing John McBain."

"Like I said, I was at the police station…."

"Save it. You had moles on the police force then just like you did this time. That's how you got your hands on the KID ring that they found on Talia's finger."

"I never saw or touched any ring until I went to your house later that night to make sure the police did their jobs and arrested the man that the evidence pointed to."

Dorian rolled her eyes and growled, "Spare me." She lowered her voice again. "But you messed up that night, didn't you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Poor Talia. Of all the police officers it could have been, why did it have to be Talia? But I bet you've asked yourself that question a thousand times, haven't you? Maybe next time you decide to frame someone for murder, you'll be more specific about who … exactly … the real murderer should and should not kill."

"Dorian, what you are saying is preposterous. That case is long since closed anyway."

"Doesn't matter," she informed him. "In fact it doesn't even matter if I have proof. What does matter … at least it should matter to you … is what Carlo Hesser has to say about it when I tell him the whole sordid story. You think he'll still want you to be mayor? Or perhaps the better question is, do you think he'll still want you to be alive? So I guess you need to decide whether you want to resign and go to prison, or buy your way out of here and end up … well … who knows?"

"Are you threatening my life, Doctor Lord?"

"One good turn deserves another, don't you think?"

"You wouldn't know how to find Carlo Hesser if you tried."

"Oh, I think you grossly underestimate me, Stan. You said it yourself. I'm the queen of Llanview, and I've got connections you can't even pretend to have." She held the pre-written letter toward Lowell again.

He reached for the paper, but hesitated. "You don't understand what you're doing, Dorian. Victoria Lord cannot become the next mayor of Llanview. I know more about keeping this town safe and in check than any layperson could ever understand. There are greater forces at work here."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that too much," Dorian told him. "Viki won't be running unopposed."

Mayor Lowell took his time as he received the paper from Dorian's hand. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"It's really none of your concern anymore, is it?" she taunted, withdrawing a Lowell campaign ink pen from within her top and handing it to him. "I'd say keep the pen but they don't let you keep sharp objects in here."

He grabbed the pen from her with an impatient frown and signed his name at the bottom of his resignation letter, handing it back to her. "Silence is a virtue."

"Lucky for you I'm a virtuous woman," she smirked as she slid an envelope from her pocket and secured the letter inside it. "Guard!" A police officer stepped forward to let Dorian out. "Have a nice life."

"Watch your back," he answered.

She paused. "Is that a threat?"

"No. Just a word of advice from the former mayor to the future mayor."

She nodded. "We'll see." She paused as she turned to leave, speaking to the guard. "You might want to take that ink pen away from him."

[jolienjoyswriting]

Mortem In Contumeliam FFVI, Ch. VII

Chapter 7 of "Mortem In Contumeliam Final Fantasy VI," a Final Fantasy VI fan fiction story.

Yep.  They're on a boat.  Again.  That happens when the only guy with a flying vehicle keeps it to himself, I guess!

Word count: 3,896 – Character count: 22,430 Originally written: July 20th, 2019

The night takes a strange turn as Tina shows just how much she trusts the Magitek Soldier with an interest in her.

Final Fantasy VI, Wedge, Biggs, and related characters, scenarios, and properties created by Square Soft, Inc. and © Square Enix Co, Ltd.

[ ← Prev. Chapter | Next Chapter → ]

    The golden moon over Alburg was full, that night, shining down and bringing light to darkened hallows where no lamps would hang.  All was quiet… until the mechanical clatter of Magitek Armor broke the silence, its pilot having been directed to go straight to the docks.     “I’ve been waiting,” a man in a long, green coat told the pilot.  “But, I must admit… you arrived much faster than I had anticipated.”     “Heya, Leo!”     A voice called from behind the armor.  From there, the familiar figure of a prominent Returner, Lock Cole, walked out.  He gave a wink to the waiting man – General Leo Christophe – who, understandably, did not return the gesture, but smiled all the same.

    “Ever used Magitek Armor?” Lock asked the general.     “Yes, a few times,” was General Christophe’s response.     “Yeah… we opened this baby up and let ‘er rip!” he said as he patted the armor… only to wince and step back, a second later.  “Ooh… little warm.”     “You seized the engine!” the pilot exclaimed as he fiddled with the controls.     “I did no such thing!”  Lock grinned at his new friend as he said, “A Magitek Armor engine is too big for me to st– ah… ‘procure.’  Besides!  What would I even do with it?”     “No, I mean– oh, forget it.”     The soldier in red-orange armor carefully hopped down from the cockpit with a sigh.     “This thing will need a few minutes to cool before I can move it to the ship.  Fortunately, I think we’ll be waiting that long for Wedge and the wi– uh, the sorceress to catch up.”     “In the meantime,” General Christophe said, “allow me to introduce you to a couple of others we will be traveling with.”

    The general escorted the soldier and the Returner beyond the barrels and around to the gangplank on the north side of the ship.  When he gestured for the duo to board, they walked right up and looked around.     “Guess the Empire couldn’t spring for its own ship, huh?” Lock asked with a grin.  “This looks just like any other ship in the world!”     “I assure you,” Leo told him as he boarded, “this ship is a little different.  For example… the engine is powered by a hybrid of steam power and magic.”     The man in the bandanna turned to face the general.  “Oh, yeah?”     “It can reach tremendous speeds,” he continued, “which means that we should be able to reach our destination by tomorrow night, baring unexpected circumstance.”     The other man grinned a little wider.  “What could possibly go wrong?”     “Engine failure,” was Biggs’ serious response.  “Bandits.  Monsters at sea…”     Lock noticed the soldier shiver as he mentioned that last one, but he didn’t ask.

    “In any case,” Leo said, getting their attention, “traveling with us will be another Imperial general, as well as a sellsword who claims to be familiar with our destination.”     “You hired someone?”  The grin became a smirk as Lock asked, “The Empire must be runnin’ low on manpower if you’re hirin’ outsiders!  Then again…”     He pointed to himself, looking ever-more-smug.     “The decision was more tactical than logistical.”  The general explained, “We’re trying not to draw attention to ourselves as this mission is strictly peaceful in nature.  When we arrive, we’ll split into two teams and be traveling on-foot from a location far from the nearest town.”     “Mm-hmm, mm-hmm…” the other man nodded.  “Ah, just one question, Leo?”     “Yes?”     Lock gave a wide grin before asking, “Where the bloody hell are we actually going?”     “Greater Triangle Island,” was Leo’s response.  “It’s an island directly east of the Beast Plains and more-or-less northeast of Vector.     “Well, that’s no short trip!”  The other man chuckled to himself.  “Now, where’re those ‘traveling companions’ you mentioned?”     “Ah, yes.  My apologies.  I’ll go get them.”     “No need,” called a gritty sort of voice.     “Ah, good.  They must have noticed us board.”

    General Christophe gestured to a pair of individuals who were walking over from the darker side of the ship.  One of them was completely covered in black cloth – even their eyes seemed hidden or, at least, obscured from direct view.  The other, however…     “Is something wrong?” the general asked.     “Wha– no… no…”     Lock fidgeted, then went silent.  He couldn’t stop staring at the second figure – a fair, young woman with long, pale blond hair and an outfit of tannish-gold, leather pants, disconnected sleeves with open shoulders, and an open leather vest over a black blouse.     “Well, then… allow me to introduce General Celes Chere, a trusted soldier of the Empire, and… my apologies, but I didn’t catch your name, sir?”     “‘Shadow’ is fine…” the man-in-black said as he crossed his arms.     “Shadow,” he repeated in introduction, “our informant-slash-guide to the island.”     “We meet again, thief.”     Biggs noticed Lock flinch at the statement… but, it didn’t seem like he wanted to say anything.  He noticed… the man was still very focused on the female general…

    “Now that you’ve been introduced,” General Christophe said after a moment, “all that remains is to wait for our last arrivals.  I trust you can bring them up to speed, Mister Cole?”     “What?”  The alleged thief blinked, then looked at Leo.  “Oh.  Yeah.  Sure.”     “Excellent.  Biggs, please load the Magitek Power Armor on-board as soon as you can.”     “Sir,” Biggs said with a salute.     “Now, I’ll leave you all to that while I head into town and round up the crew.  We leave as soon as the others arrive.  Thank you for your patience.”     With that, both General Christophe and Biggs left the ship, the former heading back into town while the latter stopped at the Magitek Armor.

    “Still hot…” he said to himself as he clambered up to the cockpit and tried turning it on.     “How did I let that troublemaker convince me to push this machine so hard…?”     He pressed some buttons, waggled some levers, and applied pressure to the pedals, but…     “That was incredibly reckless of me…”     Nothing was responding, so he gave up.

    A few minutes passed as Biggs sat against his cooling armor.  He could hear bugs chirping in the distance and even a couple of creatures wandering in the nearby grasslands.  The sea waves washed against the masonry of Alburg’s dock with whispers of saltwater, occasionally pressing the unmoving stone a little noisier while, otherwise, staying somewhat quiet.  He always appreciated the stillness of the night and the softness of the sea.  However…     “Oh.  They’re here.”     The familiar clank of metal-on-stone drew near after a while longer.

    Biggs stood and stretched with a yawn.  Coming toward them was the second of two Magitek Armor units, piloted by his friend, Wedge.  As expected, he was joined by the other Returner, a young woman named Tina, riding slightly-behind the cockpit.  The two came to a stop next to the first armor unit, then the soldier climbed out.  A second later, he helped his companion down.  She gave a polite bow before turning to Biggs.     “Mister Biggs?” she politely called.  “Where is Lock?”     “He’s already on the ship,” was the other soldier’s response.     “May I join him?”     “Go ahead.  It’s down the dock, there.”     The girl brightly smiled and gave a nod.  Then, she jogged down to the ship and climbed aboard, right away.

    “You certainly took your time getting here,” Biggs told his friend not long after Tina had left.  “What kept you?”     Wedge just grinned at him…     “What?”     And, with that prompt… he told his friend a la sing-song…     “I got a daaate with Tiii-naaa, I got a daaate with Tiii-naaa…”     “Wedge?”     “I got a daaate with Tiii-naaa,” he repeated for a second time.     “Wedge!”     “How’d your daaate with Looock gooo?” the shorter soldier suddenly teased.

    “It wasn’t a…”  Biggs sighed, shaking his head.  “It was fine.  He was the one who made the armor take off like a missile, if you’re curious.”     “Come to think of it, how come it’s not on the ship yet?” Wedge suddenly asked.     “It overheated,” was his friend’s response.  “I’m waiting for it to cool down.”     “Bah, nuts to that!  Let’s get these loaded up, already!”     “Wedge, hang on– what are you–”     Before Biggs could argue, his companion had already climbed into the first power armor and started tinkering with it.

    “I think the engine seized from overuse,” Biggs commented up to Wedge.  “I couldn’t–”     But, just as he was about to explain his failure to turn the engine over…     “What the–?”     It started right up without a problem.

    “How… how did you do that?”     “You’ve gotta be gentle with Magitek Armor, Biggs!” Wedge laughed over the engine.  “Treat it like you would a pretty girl or a fine wine!  Baby-steps…”     “You… bypassed the safety mechanisms, again, didn’t you?”     When he gave another, more skittish sort of laugh, Biggs just shook his head, again.     “Whatever.  Go ahead and bring it to the ship.  I’ll ‘baby-step’ yours on-board.”     “Roger-dodger!”     With that, the two brought the armor onto the ship, then down the other gangplank, before carefully backing the units up onto a pair of footbridges facing the engines from port-side.

    “You certainly seem in a hurry to leave…” Biggs commented as he watched Wedge quickly finish tying down his armor.     “The sooner we leave,” he excitedly commented, “the sooner we get back, and the sooner we get back… the sooner Tina and I can go on our date!”     “I can’t believe you actually asked her out…”     “I can’t believe she actually said ‘yes!’” the other soldier laughed.     Biggs looked over at the girl.  She was chatting with Lock… who still looked unsettled.     “Stranger things have happened, I suppose…”

    A short while later, Leo returned with ship’s crew – a mix of civilians and brown-armors.     “Everything’s A-OK, General!  Engines are online, motor systems are a-go…”     “Then, let’s be on our way.”     “Aye-aye!” the captain told General Christophe.  “Caaaaast off!”     A half-minute later, the ship slowly pulled out from the dock and, another half-minute later, they followed a charted course for Greater Triangle Island.

    “I expect to arrive tomorrow evening,” Leo told Tina and Lock – both of which were situated at the far side of the deck.  “You can rest until then.”     “Thank you, General Leo!” was Tina’s reply.     “Yeah…  Thanks,” was all Lock would say.     Leo headed down below, leaving the two to their own devices.  Seconds later…     “Hi.”     One of the orange-suited soldiers walked up to them.  Or, more specifically… up to Tina.

    “Oh, hello again, Mister Wedge!” she cheerfully greeted.     “You excited for our date?”     “‘scuse me?”     Lock immediately moved between the two, giving the soldier a dirty look.     “Who do you think you are, pal?” the man asked in a sharp tone.  “Just because the Empire’s gettin’ all cushy with the Returners doesn’t mean you can go and hit on our ranks!”     “Rude.”  Wedge smiled at the scowling man.  “I was trying to have a conversation with the pretty lady!”     The man in the bandanna narrowed his eyes.  “I don’t like you.”     “Well, that hardly seems fair.”  The other man grinned as he said, “Maybe, if you got to know me better?”     “Y–  Ah–” Lock tried to counter… but, in the end, he just grunted and walked away.

    “What was that all about?” Wedge asked after the other man was out of earshot.  When he noticed Tina frowning at him, though, he asked, “No, seriously.  Did I do something wrong?”     “Lock is…”     Tina looked down at the deck, one hand nervously rubbing the other.  After a moment, she looked back up and started over.     “When we first met, he made a promise to protect me.  He’s like… the big brother I never had?  He tries to keep me safe from bad people.  He… might think you’re bad…?”     “Do you think I’m a bad person?” Wedge asked with a grin… only for that grin to fade.  Her lack of immediate response certainly didn’t fill him with confidence…

    “People make mistakes, Mister Wedge…” she said after thinking about it.  “Sometimes… some of those mistakes are really big ones.  I don’t know much about you, and I’ll admit… I just assumed that you were like all the other Imperial soldiers… following the orders of a mean, old man who doesn’t care who he hurts.  But…”     She offered a soft smile that practically melted Wedge’s heart.     “I’d like to hope that… I was wrong.  You seem nice…”     “I’ll be honest, Tina?  Since meeting you, I’ve… been thinking about all the stuff I’ve done in the name of the Empire.  You’re right to think I’ve done some bad stuff…  I mean, we made you do bad things, too!”     She looked away… only to look right back.  He’d gently nudged her head to look at him.     “Now that the war is over…”  Wedge smiled as he told her, “I’d like to think that I can start to try and pay back all the people I’ve hurt as a soldier.”

    He softly let go of Tina’s chin before walking over to the side of the ship.  A moment later, he crossed his arms and slumped on the rail.     “I don’t think I’m directly responsible for what happened to your people,” he thoughtfully mused, “but if I am… I can’t apologize enough.  I don’t want you to forgive me, Tina.  I know I wouldn’t.  But, I want to do whatever I can to try and make things better…  It’s just…”     He turned around, leaning forward on the rail with a skittish grin.     “How the hell do I ‘fix’ the complete eradication of a whole race…?”     Tina certainly didn’t know how to answer that question… but, she did know one thing.

    “Tina?” Wedge asked as she walked over to him.  He blushed as she reached down the top of her form-fitting dress, then blinked as she handed him something…  “Isn’t this…?”     “My dad, Madin,” she said, answering his question.     “Why are you… handing me your dad?” he said with a completely straight face.     “Keep him close to your heart, Mister Wedge,” the girl confidently told him, “and he’ll help you through your bad times.”     “W-wait, you’re giving me your dad…?”     “No.”  She warmly smiled.  “He wants to go with you.”

    There was something utterly bizarre about the whole situation.  Tina had handed him the Magicite so easily… then, she’d spoken so confidently… yet, there was this child-like innocence to her words…  It was almost like the Magicite was her “imaginary friend,” if not for what she’d told him, earlier that day.  Still… did she really believe that the Eidolon inside… or, what was left of him… had told her that he wanted to go with him…?

    “I… I can’t accept his friendship!  I-I’m a bad person– I’ve done… a lot of awful things!”     That was what Wedge told her, though he wasn’t sure if he was just “playing along…” or, was starting to believe her.  Either way, he tried handing the Magicite back.     “He wants to go with you, Mister Wedge!” Tina strongly reassured him, pushing his hand back and closing his fingers around the stone.  “He told me, himself!”     Wedge deeply frowned.  “Why does he–”     “He thinks you need a friend,” she said, halting his next question.     The soldier gave a blink…  “But… I… I have a friend.  Biggs!”     “Biggs can’t always be there to make you feel better.”  She brightly smiled as she said, “My dad can!”     “But…”     “Mister Wedge!” she suddenly said in a raised voice.  When he looked at her, she was giving him an angry scowl.     “W… what?”     “When a lady’s dad wants to spend time with someone she wants to spend time with, you should spend time with him!  Otherwise, he may decide she shouldn’t spend time with you!”     “W… well, okay.  Can’t argue with that…” he said with a weak chuckle.  “But…”     “I trust you, Mister Wedge…” she continued with a softer expression.  “And… my dad does, too.  He said so after you gave him back.”     Wedge suddenly felt a little guilty.  He’d actually forgotten he had Madin’s Magicite until Tina casually mentioned him during their trip over…  He would have given it back, eventually… but, it seemed like giving it back during the ride earned points with both father and daughter.     “So…?  Why not spend a little more time with my dad?  Who knows?”  She brightly smiled as she said, “He may teach you something cool!”     “I… o-okay, sure!  Thank you – both of you!” he added with a smile of his own.

    “I should go check on Lock…” the girl said after a moment’s pause.  “He seemed sad to see General Celes.  I’ll see you later?”     “Most definitely!” Wedge told her.     “If I don’t see you again, tonight…”     He blinked, blushing as she kissed him on the cheek.     “Sleep well and goodnight.”     “S… same to you, Tina.”     She offered another smile before quietly walking away to head below deck, leaving the soldier and her dad together.

    “Um… you’re… not upset by what just happened… right?”     Wedge looked at the Magicite in his hand.  The core flickered, but it… didn’t seem to react one way or the other to his question.  Still, he felt a little awkward, considering…     “L-look, I know I was the one who asked her out, but…”     He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.     “I’m sorry for Narshe… like, really sorry!  I can’t apologize enough!  Honestly, I kind of wish your daughter would just hate me…”  He paused before lowly whispering, “I hate me…”     “It’s okay.  I hate you, too.  Sometimes.”     Wedge yelped as a sudden voice cut through the silence of the night.  When he looked to the side… he saw the grinning face of his friend-and-confidant staring back.

    “Geez, Biggs!  Don’t sneak up on a guy, like that!”     “You do it to me, all the time.”  Biggs shrugged.  “Anyway, what’s the story with that Magicite?  Did your girlfriend forget you had it?”     “Actually–”     He paused, then blinked.  His friend was grinning, again.     “Actually,” he started, again, “I gave her dad back on the ride over.  But… she said I need a friend.  Well, she said he said that.  That, and… uh… he… wants to go with me, apparently?”     He looked down at the softly-glowing stone in his hand.     “Wish he’d tell me, himself…”     The soldier continued to stare at the Magicite… until a noise hit his ears.  When he looked back up… he noticed that Biggs was chuckling at him.

    “What…?”  He gave another blink, then asked in an annoyed tone, “What’s so funny?!”     “Nothing, nothing…” Biggs told him.  “It’s just… remember how this all started?”     “Uh… you’re gonna have to be more specific, buddy,” Wedge said as he finally tucked Madin’s Magicite into his armor’s chest.     “The trip to Narshe.  I remember how skeptical you were about the Eidolon even begin there.”     “Oh, that…”  He sighed and shrugged.  “Yeah, so?”     “You used to be so dismissive of the concept of ‘magic…’  Even when you saw General Chere use it, herself, you didn’t believe it was actual, real magic.”     “Because, it wasn’t.”  Wedge gave a little frown.  “You said it, yourself: the general was infused with phan– ah, Eidolon blood.  It was artificial.”     “True.  However…”  He smiled as he said, “Since Narshe, it seems like you’ve gotten much more open to the idea of magic… of Eidolons… and, of the supernatural, in general.”     “Are you really that surprised, Biggs?”  He chuckled.  “Have you seen what’s been happening, lately?  Or, did you fall asleep, for a week?”     “I suppose you’re right.  Still…”     Biggs gave another grin as he pointed to his friend’s chest.     “I never thought you’d be talking with the spirits of the departed, yourself.”     “Oh, he’s not exactly departed…” Wedge countered.  “Mister Madin’s soul is in that crystal!  And, even if he can’t come out and say ‘hello…’     It was Wedge’s turn to grin, then.     “He’s watchin’… and, he’s judgin’.”     For some reason… that just got Biggs laughing, again.

    “What, you don’t think that’s true?”     “No, no, from what I’ve heard, that is one-hundred-percent correct,” the other soldier said as he calmed back down.  “I just never thought I’d hear you say something like that!  You’ve fought ghosts and the undead, and you still didn’t believe in them!”     “Okay, okay,” Wedge laughed, “maybe… maybe, I did believe – especially after that one mission!  But, I wasn’t about to backpedal on something I’d believed since I was a kid!”     “It’s hard to change one’s beliefs.  But…”     Biggs thumped his partner’s shoulder with one hand.     “I’m proud of you for expanding your horizons and broadening your views.”     “Kind’a hard not to after a bunch’a angry Eidolons wrecked Vector in a righteous fury…”

    The two smiled to each other, letting the quiet night encompass them.  Biggs was about to go back to patrolling the boat… when a strange noise alerted both guards.     “Who goes there?!” Wedge shouted.  When his partner waved his lantern in the direction of the sound, though… they both calmed down.  Somewhat.

    “Lock!” Biggs called to a slumped figure crawling toward them.  “Are you alright?”     “I’m… gonna… I’m… eaugh…” were the only coherent words either of them could decipher from the mess of noises he was making.     “Heh.  I know that feeling.”  Wedge grinned at his partner.  “He’s seasick!”     “I am not…!” the bandanna man cried.  “I’m just… intensely studying the structure of the deck.  Nice… fine… wood grain… a-huhh…”     “Do you need some help, Lock?” Biggs asked.     “Soft… level… smooth…” the Returner muttered.  “Even planks…”     “He’ll be fiiine!” Wedge assured the other soldier.  “Just give him a–”     “Here we go…!!”

    Both military men jolted as Lock, quick-as-a-bolt, leaped up and threw himself at the rail on the port side of the ship.  A second later… they both winced.  Various strained noises were coming from the man, and some distant, wet splatters could be heard from that side of the ship.  It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what unpleasantness was happening, there…

    “Okay, well… I should get back to my patrol,” Biggs said as Lock slumped against the railing.  “When Lock is less distracted–”     Almost on cue, the casually-dressed man was back over the rail…     “– tell him to head down to the hold.  There’s a barrel of crackers down there, and–”     “I’m not… seasick…!” Lock shouted.  “I just… had a bad sandwich in Alburg!”     “And… he’s more-than-welcome to them,” Biggs finished.     “He probably heard you,” Wedge said with a grin, “but, I’ll let him know.”     “Also, a word of advice…?”     The shorter soldier gave a blink as his partner drew closer.     “Use your newfound friendship with the witch to your advantage…” he whispered.     “W-what…?”     “If she insists on trusting Magicite to you…” he continued, “why not accept them?  It would be rude, not to… and, it would certainly please the Empire, were you to obtain more…”     The shorter soldier scowled as Biggs stood back up and adjusted his armor with a smile.

    “If you need anything,” he told Lock, “just let me know.  Otherwise, enjoy the night.”     “Auhnnngh…” was the disoriented man’s less-than-eloquent response.     “Wedge?”  The soldier gave another odd smile.  “Remember what I said.”     “Yeah…” Wedge quietly told him.  “Yeah, I think I will…”     “I’ll see you later.  If I don’t see you, again, tonight… goodnight.”

    Biggs walked up to the head of the ship, leaving Lock to his… “business.”     “Ah-haaaugh…!”     And, as the soldier departed… Wedge found himself with a lot to think about…

[coldmagnussprouts]

Paint my nails like one of your french girls (Cole Sprouse x Reader Imagine)

Pairing: Cole Sprouse x Reader

Description: You’re really not a fan of Cole Sprouse but you find yourself waiting for him outside a hotel in Vancouver because you were dragged by your best friend. When you finally get to meet him, he paints your nails and suddenly you’re twitter famous!

Warnings: None

Word count: 9,930

A/N: HI guys! This is my first imagine, I would really appreciate your feedback. And if anyone is interested, I can do a follow up on this story. Also, I am currently writing a fanfic featuring Cole Sprouse x OFC X Dylan Sprouse. 

My best friend, who also happened to be my twin brother’s girlfriend offered to pay for my flight and accommodation, in exchange of me tagging along so she can meet her childhood crush, Cole Sprouse. I complied because, do I really have a choice in this situation? Anyway, we’re only staying for 2 nights and then we’ll fly to Quebec to meet my twin brother and parents. They’re celebrating their wedding anniversary there.

I’m not really a fan of Cole or his twin brother or any celebrity in particular. To be honest, I’ve only seen an episode or two of their show ‘sweet life’. And the only reason I got to watch it was because I was over at Bianca’s doing our homework back in 5th grade. Disney or any other channel is not allowed in my home, except Discovery, Nat Geo, Animal Planet and BBC. So growing up, I never really developed an affinity with celebrities.

-

The girls who were waiting with us outside the hotel, ran frantically near the entrance while screaming their lungs out. So while waiting, I rummaged through my bag and saw a bottle of nail polish. I took it out and to cure my boredom, I decided to paint my nails.

Bianca excitedly grabbed my hand, disrupting my nail painting - causing me to paint across my 3 fingers. Now there’s a goop of nail polish all over my hand. I rolled my eyes so hard, I swear I could see my brain.

I was in the middle of figuring out how to fix my polish when Bianca called my name, waving at me with her phone.

“Y/N! Please help me take a picture with Cole!” Bianca shoved her phone to me, I felt her hands in tremors. With the nail polish bottle on my left hand, I snapped a few photos of her with Cole, not even looking at the screen. I handed the phone back to Bianca and she eagerly browsed through it. I walked behind her still pondering on how to salvage my nails when someone approached me.

“What would you like me to help you with?” came from someone I wasn’t expecting at all. I was quite surprised that when I look up, Cole was right in front of me.

Flustered and absolutely clueless, I replied nonchalantly.

“Uh, you could paint my nails?” I said, but it sounded more like a question.

He grabbed the bottle of nail polish off of me, and held my unpainted hand. He started to paint my nails and blew at them, while he smiled to no one in particular.

Alright, first of I wasn’t really expecting he would. I mean, I was just being polite and maybe a little bit sarcastic. Ironic I know, but verything happened so fast! Next thing I knew the girls formed a circle around us whispering loudly to each other.

“Oh my god, how could I not think of that?“ 

“She’s good!“ 

"Cole brush my hair please!”

Suddenly all funny requests were thrown at Cole. He just laughed at them, and when he was finally done he placed the nail polish on my other hand.

“I think I did better than you.” He said when he saw the messy nail paint on my left hand. He stared at me with dreamy eyes and charming smile. I just realized right then and there why these girls are mad about him. He is quite a looker, but most of all, he is genuinely kind.

He then proceeded to smile at the cameras, as I get pushed further to the back by the girls who wanted their turn to take pictures with Cole.

I stepped out of the crowd absolutely dumbfounded. I searched for Bianca and found her chatting up Cole with the rest of the girls.

I walked back to the café at the corner of the hotel and ordered myself an espresso. Man, that was intense and to be honest large crowds freak me out. I decided to sit at the table in the corner while waiting for Bianca.

A couple of minutes passed, I saw Bianca walked in the café, smiling from ear to ear. She sat in front of me and started to show me pictures on her phone.

“I took a video of Cole painting your nails!” She blurted out and pressed play.

First of all, I was never a camera person. Secondly, I specifically hate seeing myself in a photo, because I just look completely awkward. So when Bianca played the video, I saw myself looking utterly horrified with my mouth open, I swear I saw a fly went through. I was totally irked because I couldn’t  stomach seeing myself in a photo, even worse a video! I grabbed the phone from Bianca and turned it off.

“Aw Y/N come on now, it’s funny. And you look adorably starstruck!”

“No I wasn’t!”

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t. I don’t even know him.”

“Yes you do.”

“Oh god! Bianca, you’ll never stop won’t you? I’m exhausted! We’ve been waiting outside for like 4, 5 hours? Just for a few pictures with your Cody, Cole, whatever?! Are you happy now?” I was frustrated and drained to say the least.

“Of course I am! I finally get to see him!” Bianca screeched, drawing all the attention to us.

I placed my hand above my forehead to cover my face, petrified from the attention people were giving us.

“Shhh! Calm down please. You’re embarrassing the both of us.” I said while I looked around, thankful that the crowd in the café were back to minding their own business.

“Fine, let’s go. And give me back my phone please.”

“Here. You better delete that video you took of me, or I swear!” I warned Bianca.

“Swear what?” She asked in jest.

“I’ll put pillow on your face while you’re sleeping!” I threatened her.

To which she just shrugged, smiling to herself as held my hand while we walked out of the café.

-

Cole’s POV

I slipped into the cafe just by the corner of the hotel I’m staying at. I actually love seeing my fans, they are one of the reasons why I went back to show business. It’s just inspiring to see that people appreciate what you do. But although I would love to spend more time with them, after 18 hours of straight taping, I really need a coffee break.

I saw “nail polish girl” the moment I entered the café. She was covering her face, looking utterly embarrassed on something her friend said. I made my way to the counter and overheard their conversation. She really stood out from the crowd, maybe because she requested for something no one has ever done before. It’s kind of funny and charming to be honest.

I was thinking of approaching them but hesitated due to the fact that I might draw some attention which kind of defeats the purpose of me being here. So instead I proceeded to order my drink. Curiosity building up in my head, she’s special I guess. Come to think of it, I didn’t even get her name.

-

Your POV

I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower when we got back to our hotel room. While Bianca was still busy gushing over her photos with Cole.

When I stepped out of the shower I saw Bianca grinning on her phone and I know that face. That conspiring full of intent look on her face. I’ve seen that many times before. And I will find out whatever ploy she’s up to.

My phone started to sound with incoming notifications, like someone’s been spamming me with texts. I for one don’t receive that much texts. Either it’s from my parents, or my twin brother. But I doubt they’re too free to text me that much. I stared at Bianca, completely knowing that this is her own doing.

My eyes widen by the sight of twitter notifications. Another thing to know about me is that, I barely use my twitter. In fact, the only reason I have a twitter was because Bianca created it of her own accord, without even my consent. She said she needed 1 more follower to reach her thousand. So I, being the bestest friend in the world, complied. Also because she’s already created it and won’t let me delete it or her account will have 1 less follower. The only tweet I’ve ever done was “Hello world.” due to Bianca’s constant nagging that I should tweet something or people will think I’m a bot. Which is why I tweeted that, to spite Bianca. Because bots and “Hello world” being the default greeting of sites in the interweb. Anyway, back to my twitter, there’s so many mentions of my twitter handle and suddenly my followers increased from 1 to now 500 and counting.

“Beee-yung-kuh! What did you do?” I asked her sternly.

“I made you meme famous! You’re welcome!” She stood up and headed to the bathroom for her turn to shower.

I was absolutely mortified to say the least, did I mention that I hate drawing attention to myself? With my hair still dripping wet, my body only wrapped in bathrobe, I sat on Bianca’s bed - that’s my evil move, to dampen her sheets - I braced myself and unlocked my phone.

“Holy guacamole!” I exclaimed to myself when I saw what Bianca tweeted, which gained about 3k of RT’s now.

Twitter

@Bianca'sTwitterHandle: Paint my nails like one of your french girls! @colesprouse @YourTwitterHandle

Retweets:

OMG! Is @YourTwitterHandle the new GF of @colesprouse??? I SHIP THEM!!!! <3

@colesprouse please do my nails too!!!! Ugh PNAIT MY WHOEL BODY!!!!

@Bianca’sTwitterHandle is @YourTwitterHandle and @colesrpouse together????

I'm SHOOKET! But what’s their ship name? @colesprouse @YourTwitterHandle

I wanna see more pics of them! Write me some fanfics, anyone? @colesprouse @YourTwitterHandle

Meet nail polish girl, @YourTwitterHandle. Sassily asked @colesprouse to paint her nails. 💅🏻

Isn’t @colesprouse just amazing? Such a total dreamboat! #BAEGOALS #DREAMBOAT

Here’s @colesprouse being such a total dreamboat, painting @YourTwitterHandle’s nails like a boss!

When bae @colesprouse would do anything to please you @YourTwitterHandle . Like paint your nails! #dreamboat #baegoals

DM’s:

Please take care of Cole!!!!

Can you please post a photo of you and Cole??? We’re just so glad he’s happy and in love!

Who are you B*tch! Get away from Cole, he’s mine!!!!

-

I locked my phone and threw it at my bed. I don’t know how to handle this kind of thing. I’m certainly not prepared for this. It’s all Bianca’s fault. My phone won’t stop buzzing. I picked it up again to set it on silent mode when I saw this on my screen:

@colesprouse is now following you!

I cleared my notifications and instead of putting it to silent, I turned it off. And waited impatiently for Bianca to come out of the bathroom. Oh she is so dead!

She was humming happily when she stepped out, even shaking her booty, purposely ignoring my deadly stare. I grabbed a pillow and threw it at her. Head shot! Hah!

“Y/N!” she screamed my name. Her eyes were fiercely giving off lethal vibes as she threw the pillow right back at me.

“Why. Did you. Tweet. That?” I said in between dodges as we both hit each other with pillows.

“You. Are. No. Fun!”

“I am. Telling. My brother. About. This!”

I dropped the pillow and dived for my phone on the bed. Bianca pulled my leg to stop me from reaching my phone but I managed to grab it before I was pulled down on the floor. We fought with just our bathrobes on. Her arms and limbs were all over me like a koala bear. I pulled her hair, escaping her clutches and ran towards the door.

I stepped out of the room panting, I held the handle to stop Bianca from getting out, and as I was pulling the door hard I accidentally shoved someone who’s walking by the hallway.

“Sorry!” I turned around to face the person, and saw Cole standing flabbergasted, his mouth agape. I followed his eyes as they scanned me from head to toe. When our eyes met, sudden realization hit me! I was only in my bathrobe!

“Hey you’re uh…”

“Y/N!” The door flew open revealing Bianca shouting my name. “Oh hey Cole!” Bianca said as grabbed my shoulder and tried to pull me back in. She paused and looked back at Cole again, her face full of surprise.

“Cole? What are you? Doing. Here?” She paused unsure of how to put her words properly into a sentence.

“I’m staying here? In this hotel.” Cole replied, scratching his head.

I silently made my way to the door, with my arms clenched to my waist to avoid exposing my naked body underneath the robe but before I could even step in.

“Would you want to go out for dinner?” Cole asked Bianca I supposed, my back was facing him.

“Oh Cole, that’s so sweet of you. But I’m actually taken. I have a boyfriend. But I’m a big fan!” Bianca said in a chirpy manner. She then grabbed both my shoulders, turning me back around to face Cole. I swear I never prayed so hard to all the gods wishing the floor would swallow me up.

“Actually, I meant to ask. Uh, Y/N? That’s your name right?” Cole asked  with a smile forming in his face.

[galivantingg]

Behind Those Eyes

Chapter 12

It had been three months.

Things weren't easy, for anyone.

Cole hated her job, but she refused to quit before finding Nessa. Unfortunately, they had no such luck. They were searching every abandoned building they could get their hands on but without permits their hands were tied. And to admit one of their strongest supers had been kidnapped by the villains was basically admitting defeat. All they could do was sneak around like the very people they wanted to stop.

Morale was low.

Cole was sitting in the lounge when Legion approached her. "I've got an idea on how to find Cammie, but we have to move quick. Waya vetoed this idea as soon as I brought it up"

. . .

Swirling. A mix between the past, the present, and was that the future? It didn't look like a good one. I laughed maniacally, not really there. Not really understanding. Some days were good, I could hold a conversation with whoever was in the room, or were they in the room? Other days were bad. All I could do was sit there and scream until my throat bled. But throats don't bleed, Chameleon. Hmm, you may be right. But you may be wrong. Are you insane? That's what I thought.

Am I insane? I'll ask the person in the room. No answer. Or is that an answer?

I didn't get along well with the recruits from before my group. Rebel, Ang, Rellik, Arctic and Artisto. Arctic thought he was so much better than me because he was inducted a year before me, but I was still on the Senior team so he could stick it.

Why didn't we get along? Was it him, or was it me?

I think it was him. He was haughty. I didn't like how he thought he was all that, he thought he was as cool as Swallow. Swallow who was collapsing on the ground?

Why did he do that?

I walked over, the others noticing now that our first member was currently face down on the ground. "Swallow?" I asked, pushing his shoulder. He rolled over, and looked like he was sleeping. His eyes shut peacefully, his chest not moving.

What.

His chest wasn't moving. Panic washed over me and my world started to crumble. "Waya," I called out. "Pull up the news, I think something's wrong but I need to double check."

Then Legion walked into the room. Seeing his best friend lying on the floor was cause for concern, but then he because hysterical when he noticed his lifelong friend wasn't breathing.

"Swallow." Legion said, the fear creeping into his voice. "Matt buddy come on." He knelt next to me, and started chest compressions. He counted out loud, not noticing the tears dripping down his face. All I could do was stare as this strong person slowly crumbled before me. He leaned down and breathed into Swallow, one breath, two breaths, three breaths, then started chest compressions again.

"Waya," I snapped. "The news."

He turned on the TV, and we got our answer.

Genocide.

. . .

I opened the door, mentally preparing preparing myself. "Hey Jacks," I said softly, seeing him sitting by the window. He didn't acknowledge me. I waled into the room, changing the flowers in the pot and tossing the old ones before sitting next to Jacks. He didn't even look at me.

"How have you been?" I asked, knowing I wasn't going to get an answer. He didn't even know what he was saying anymore. He refused the hospital clothes, not knowing why he wanted to keep his suit on. At least he knew it was important, that it meant something.

"Forty-two," he mumbled. I looked up, not expecting him to say anything at all.

"That's good," I agreed with him. I had no idea what he meant. "Ace is on ice now, we think it'll preserve her body. Waya couldn't stand to watch her waste away. It seems Mime isn't going to unfreeze her." I rambled slightly, not knowing how to fill the silence. I told him about missions, about new inside jokes. I reminisced with him, thinking back to our glory days. I missed him.

I wanted to try something. It was horrible, but I wondered if it would work.

"Peculiar," I whispered. At first I didn't think he had heard me. Then he snapped around to face me and grabbed my head with both his hands.

"They're closer than you think!" He hissed. His eyes were alight, and he was more alive in this small moment since we found him. "Beware, killer." Ah, so he wasn't really there. Unless I had killed someone, which I didn't think I had.

. . .

I was here again, I think. Maybe this was a memory too. I wonder what happens next. The door creaked open, and in walked Aella. "Hey, that's not right," I said leaning forward. "You're dead?" I didn't even know what I was saying anymore, it was like I didn't have control over my mouth. She looked at me, and I couldn't read her expression. There were no words on her face. No story being told. She advanced and I giggled, wondering what she was going to do.

Was I wondering out loud? Who knew. I certainly didn't!

"Cam," she said.

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" I tilted my head all the way to one side, putting my ear on my shoulder. Could I hear my blood flowing? Maybe if I listened hard enough.

"You need to listen to me," she said. I could barely understand her words. "I just found out who Genocide is. This changes what I previously thought."

"Soup!"

"Cammie," she knelt down in front of me and put her hands on my shoulders. Wheeeeee!

"Genocide is the Director."

Uh oh spaghetti o.

. . .

"Why are we at the hospital I thought we were going to save Nessa." Cole said, just a little annoyed.

Maybe more than a little.

It's been three months eight days and 9 hours.

"There's only one person who's survived the villains, but his mind isn't quite there." Legion explained, looking around before leading the way into the building. Cole didn't ask why he bothered to look around, their suits were drawing attention. The cape felt weird to her, she wasn't used to something so heavy on he shoulders. She did like the flow of it though.

They marched right up to the front desk. "We're here to see Jacks, please," he sad to the man behind the desk. He looked up for a second and did a double take.

"Ah," he said, clearly trying to mask whatever he was feeling. "Of course sir, go right ahead."

"Thanks," he said quickly leading the way down the hall to the elevator. "Jacks was inducted with Cammie, and is the only other surviving member of her team." Cole choked on her breath.

"What?"

"Jacks got captured by Peculiar years ago, and when we finally got him back his mind was beyond repair. Cammie used to come visit him every weekend, but, well you know." Avoiding the elephant in the room ever so eloquently, Cole thought drily.

"And why am I here with you then," Cole wondered out loud.

"Because," the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. "You can access his memories. Come on."

Cole now understood why Waya vetoed the idea, it was a horrible one. Let's do it!

. . .

Beware!

JACKS?

Swirling, falling, swooping, healing.

Healing.

Healing?

Was she healing, or was she dying.

Again? She'd done dying before, let's try something new.

Healing it is.

I pushed and pushed and pushed, and then a pop!

My eyes cleared, and I was face to face with Mime. Why is it always her like seriously. I was getting tired of it. I tilted my head to the side, and made weird faces. There is no was I am going insane again that was not fun.

"Chicken noodle soup. I! Want! Chicken! Noodle! Soup!" Mime cracked up, backing up a little.

"Man he is so funny when he's insane. I wonder what I have to say to get him to spill the secrets of the cave."

The cave? The cave.

"Where's my mommy?" I whined, hoping Mime wouldn't realise that I was playacting. Was I playacting? I didn't know, everything was still fuzzy. I couldn't remember much from before. Just something nagging at my mind, something important. Ah well, nothing I find out here can be of much importance.

"Mommy's in the basement," Mime cackled. Whatever than meant.

. . .

"Never again." Cole said, when she had finally regained control over her own mind. She felt weird, like her mind wasn't quite there. She didn't think it would be anymore. She had tried to sift through memories, but couldn't find anything solid. Just a lot of memories with Chameleon and a few people she barely recognised from the Wall of the Fallen.

"Did you find out anything?" Legion hovered worriedly over Cole. He had watched anxiously as Cole turned into Jacks, then watched as she went rigid. Her eyes had glazed over, and she swayed a little, seemingly in a trance.

"I never want to access someone's memories again that's what I found out." Cole muttered. She was still trying to settle her mind, her eyes kept switching between the hospital room and the months of torture Jacks had endure.

She was going to have nightmares.

"Cole please," Legion begged. He couldn't stand it much longer. Cammie was in trouble and she could have all the answers.

"I didn't see anything, just a concrete room and the villains. This guys mind, it's completely shattered. If they did this to Nessa she might not be able to come back from this." Cole murmured the last part.

"What do you mean by that. If she's gone insane, not even Geronimo could help her. She'll end up in here just like Jacks."

Cole shook her head. "I don't know what she's told you but she has healing powers, the strongest I've ever come across. She might be able to heal herself, as long as she doesn't let them get to her. But she may already be gone."

Legion looked out the window, thinking hard for a moment. "You know, she told me her real name is Hestia. Paired with the healing, I think I know who she is."

Cole turned to face Legion, eyes wide. "I know that name! Hestia Whitehead. The Whitehead Clan settled this land, didn't they? The name was mentioned briefly when I was in grade nine. But they were all killed, weren't they?" Cole started to connect some dots, understanding why her shapeshifting friend was so secretive.

That wasn't the only thing Cole found out when she copied Nessa. Her body, it was like it was at war with itself, there was so much inner turmoil, physical turmoil. Cole didn't understand how Nessa could walk let alone fight with all that going on inside.

"Lightning..." Legion muttered.

Lightning, lightning was an apt description. It was like there was lightning trapped inside Chameleon's body, destroying her from the inside out.