#yes all the links work
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Made a fan oc character then formatted the info like the bsd wiki :P
Character art made by the lovely @y-0-sha and @melanchoise :3!!!
If you want to see how the actual character wiki looks: Here then click a character of your choice :L!
#hahaheart1#hahaheartart#bsd#bsd oc#bungou stray dogs#bungo stray dogs#art#oc#orginal character#fan character#hope ya enjoy#took quite a bit of work haha#yes all the links work#yes all the links that would link to the actual wiki link to the actual wiki#yes I formatted it all by myself#good job me#:]#wahoo#yes it was all made in google docs#google docs my beloved#if you want to know how I made it or the link to the doc itself#you gotta ask#>:3c
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One wedding and three funerals
Background paintings under the cut
#tomgreg#succession#tom wambsgans#greg hirsch#shiv roy#roman roy#kendall roy#yeah no im not tagging everyone thats too much#this is me going 'how much implications themes and symbolism can i fit in one painting'#yes i gave rose shivs haircolor. if we ever find out how she looks like and its not like this im just gonna pass away i guess#but yeah i hope yall connect the dots#i put waaay too much thought and work into this. i was googling pictures of all the actors as kids just for reference (sigh)#honestly kinda wanted to make tom and greg link pinkies as like. a pinkie promise. but that was too hard to draw in this angle#at least not without obstructing the view of the ring which is important to see so ya#my fave is actually the tomshiv wedding pic i went off with that. i love them... they should have run away to become sheep farmers fr fr#anyway im so glad im done with this UGH!! finally i can draw smth else without being like oh noooo i need to finish this#i see a lot of you wondering why there is no portrait of logan but one of ewan#it's bc the placement of the painting represent their standing. logans portray would not hang next to the stairs#his present portrait hangs at the end of it. all the way up at the top. alone and withering away#basically the picture you see underneath ewan to the right? its where toms parents would be. the right side of the wall is tom and gregs#and the left one is the roy siblings theirs. since they grew up rich rich. and tom and greg didn't#but ya thats why ewan hangs here and logan does not :)
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ribbonwood
#linked universe#linkeduniverse#lu hyrule#(also zelda 1!!! but idk how people would feel about me tagging it since I used Jojo's design?)#(ya'll can always tag my gen loz art as LU (or as any linkverse honestly if it inspires you to think about your favs) and vice versa)#(I want to inspire you to think and create! If you see my gen loz art and want to add that to your headcanons or it changes how you think??#take it! play with it! invite me to play as well haha!)#(not ocs but like- gen stuff??? ye go for it)#mom walked in and looked at the comic I was working on#so I started rambling about my plans with it and what my peers are working on and how cool it all is and how I want to have more of that#and she said “what a waste of time”#so I got loosey goosey with it :\#nice exercise to just draw w/o doing guides or being careful#did this in like under 15 minutes! >:D#but anyways#I haven't slept yet so gn!#.. he's holding stuff in the wrong hands!!!! a#look up ribbonwood / redshanks trees! If Hyrule was a tree- this is it#I imagine zelda 1&2's landscape to be california chaparral!!! I'm really passionate about it!!!!!#check out the california chaparral institute's website -> chaparral -> chaparral types#it's Hyrule's Hyrule!
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DCxDP AU: The Ultimate Enemy + The Flash
One of the speedsters (doesn't matter which really) is one of the few survivors of the apocalypse and he just figured out who Phantom is. He can save the world, all he has to do is go back in time and kill Danny Fenton.
Which seems like a great idea, right up to the point where he finds Danny and realizes he is just a 14 year old kid......
#kill your greatest enemy? No no ADOPT your greatest enemy.#Which Flash? Idk the plot works no matter who honestly#And if you are thinking 'he would never plan to kill Danny!'#Well sure under normal circumstances but quite literally the WHOLE WORLD ended. No one is thinking straight after that.#He changes his mind quickly enough.#And yeah the speedsters know better than anyone how dangerous time travel is but desperate times and all that!#dc comics#dc#the flash#danny phantom#danny fenton#dp#dpxdc#dc x dp#dp x dc crossover#dc x dp crossover#dp x dc#barry allen#wally west#my post#if this already exists i am begging you to send me the link#and yes this is more or less boxed lunch's plan but the flash would be way more competent about it#clockwork in the background like 'ahhhh yes all according to plan'
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[<==PREV PAGES] [NEXT PAGE==>(not out yet.wait a year.or maybe more.imagine.]
saw alot of comments on prev pages; saying 'i HATE that mean teacher! im gonna FIGHT HIM!!' & i LOVE the energy!! it WOULD be nice. to have that catharsis. but the story of young tidestrider is Not one of catharsis. it is a story of being so small and so special and sucking so bad.
#jrwi fanart#jrwi show#jrwi riptide#gillion tidestrider#GONNA START FORMATTING MY COMICS BETTER. W THE PROPER 'PREV' 'NEXT' LINKS#REALLY DIDNT EXPECT TO CONTINUE THIS SERIES BUT AAAUUUHH MY BRRAAAIN MY BRAIN IS SO IDEASSS. I HAVE 3 OTHER PAGES SKETCHED OUT#NO PROMISES ILL FINISH EM ANY TIME SOON OR EVER. MY WHIMS ARE THEIR OWN BEAST AND I ONLY DRAW ON MY WHIMS#THAT BEING SAID IF U COMMISSIONED ME ILL GEEETT TO YOUUU IM SORRYYYY. ART IS AN EMOTIONAL RELEASE FOR ME N BABY I HAVE EMOTIONS.#ESPECIALLY ABOUT GILLION TIDESTRIDER CHAMPION OF THE UNDERSEA HERO OF THE DEEP.for the desc here i put smth that i typed up in the tags of#another thing i made. i gotta make a proper Baby Gillion tag or smth. eventually.. eventually...I LOVE DRAWIN THIS LIL BABY GUY..#i also LOVE depicting the teachers as just being so fuckin mean. ofc theres variation in that. just like in all things.like the teacher her#idk if itll be mentioned but the octo lady is named Ms Octburn.an octopus pun based off the name of an actual councilor i had#when i was in elementary school i got bullied alot but teachers never did anything. i hated adults and didnt trust them.#but this councilor o mine was so genuinely sweet. i remember spending alot of time w her. she doesnt work there anymore.#but that one school adult that actually earns ur trust and is there for you when they can be.its SO important for a child i think#i hope she knows how much she helped me.youll see in the next page that ms octburn isnt perfect either.but she tries. they all try.somehow.#ALL these comics are gonna be inspired by somesorta experience o mine in the school system. school is so fucked up u ever thing abt that#AND GILLIOOOOONNN IN THE MOST FUCKED UP LITTLE SCHOOL OF ALL. MAINTAINED BY A CULT. CENTERED AROUND HIM. OUR CHOSEN ONE#I IMAGINE ALOT BANKS ON HIS SUCCESS. THIS IS THE WORLD. THE WHOLE WORLD. THE PROPHECY IS GOING TO COME TRUE N UR TELLIN ME#THAT ITS THIS LITTLE IDIOT THATS GONNA BE SAVING US? WHAT IF HE FAILS. IF HE CANT GET THIS RIGHT THEN HE WILL FAIL AND WE WILL DIE#WE NEED TO TRAIN HIM. WE NEED HIM TO LEARN. AND TO SUCCEED. OR ELSE WE'RE DEAD. WE'RE ALL FUCKING DEAD. I IMAGINE THAT MUST BE STRESSFUL#in other news i hope ppl actually giggle when they read these. they ARE intended to be comical. dark humor or whatever. like its also sad#this is intended to be a sad comic series. but a funny one too. does that make sense? god i hope so.saw some1 say they had flashbacks-#-reading this. like YES!! THE INTENDED EFFECT!! YOU GET ME!! i love seeing ppl get upset on this lil baby boys behalf. i LOVE seeing ppl-#-wail n weep n cry in the comments. i LOOOVE seeing ppl RELATE to baby gillion. and i love letting u all know that this wont be a happycomi#gillion gets his happiness arc in the actual show. this series is one of unfortunate events. teehehehe. do u guys remember that show#i keep listening to the lil songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events for inspiration. GOOD STUFF!!#anyway uuhh uhh thats all i got in my brain. for now. feed me ur comments give me ur input i NNEEEEEDD THHEEEMMMM
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If we grab the "Hyrule is part fae" headcanon and we put it together with "Hyrule used all his magic and there's nothing left" trope
Would he survive? Because fae without magic can't completely fuction well, healing fairies need to recharge every time they use their magic, and even with that they must need to have something left to survive and go to their Great Mother so they can get their magic restored, or eat special fairy food
So, if Hyrule has no magic left, and this magic was the thing that kept his Hylian and Fairy form and allowed him to change between them, would he be stuck in one of them? or would he get stuck in hylian form?
Well my guys, I have an interesting option and that is:
✨Hylian/Fairy hybrid✨
Because his magic was the thing that kept him having these two forms, think about them like disguises, the hylian form being mostly to avoid fairy hunters. With his blood being mixed with hylian blood he can survive without magic, but at the same time it would bring a lot of problems together with him not being able to disguise and hide from hunters
He couldn't transform into a fairy, neither to a hylian, so he's trapped in the middle (we could say that this would be his true appereance??? with the other forms being just disguises or altered appereance)
having thoughts here expect even more thoughts in the future im now obsessed with this concept
#linked universe#linkeduniverse#lu hyrule#listen. this turned into a whole au.#of “what if hyrule lost all his magic?”#this started with one of my whumptober fics btw#working on a design for hyrule for now i need to think abt how to call this au#yes i will write abt it im too hooked now#i talk
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Save The Town, Sixier
#gravity falls#billford#bill cipher#i saved the town#gravity falls bill#bill ci the triangle guy#bill ci the demon guy#bill ci the all seeing eye#art#digital art#digital artist#disabled artist#ao3#ao3 fanfic#ao3 link#ao3 writer#writer#I did it for the memes#but then it developed emotions#and now we have toxic Yaoi#and yes I’m working on a sequel#whoops#old man yaoi#Yaoi#toxic Yaoi#disabled writer#ibispaint art#ao3 author#ao3fic#ao3 my beloved
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The Dobrynin family is a corpo family through and through, rooted in Arasaka and Orbital Air going back by several generations; though their powerful position within the corporate world ends with the children of Nadya and Matvey Dobrynin. With Vitali and Daniil fired from Arasaka and Kang Tao respectively— the former indirectly getting his parents fired, too— and Roksana having refused to set foot within a megacorporation from the start, the family begins crumbling apart at the very seams when clashing interests lead to grudges, betrayal, and pointless acts of revenge. ↳ read the unrevised fic here if you're interested!
taglist (opt in/out)
@shellibisshe, @florbelles, @ncytiri, @roseeway, @stars-of-the-heart;
@lestatlioncunt, @katsigian, @radioactiveshitstorm, @estevnys, @adelaidedrubman;
@celticwoman, @rindemption, @carlosoliveiraa, @noirapocalypto, @dickytwister;
@killerspinal, @euryalex, @ri-a-rose, @velocitic, @thedeadthree;
@kanos, @swordcoasts, @ordinarymaine, @claudiawolf, @strafethesesinners
#cp2077#edit:daniil#edit:matvey#edit:nadya#edit:roksana#edit:vitali#nuclearocs#nuclearedits#the fic has a proper title now thank you everyone who voted in that poll ^_^ i'm very excited to start working on a rewrite!!#it's gonna be a lot bigger because i'm going to be including chunks of previous events that take place between in-game and this fic#all in flashbacks. so like. vitali's death and how he stabs mikhail while brainwashed and how he snaps out of it#and the fight they have later on. because all of those events are key moments referenced in the fic#but they're not explicitly mentioned because past me went with the assumption people had already read those fics#so i just described the events if that makes sense. but if i want this to work on its own i NEED to include them#anyway. night city's most dysfunctional family fr i have so much to say about them but i'll keep it brief for now#nadya and daniil have nadya's last name because matvey and nadya end up getting divorced#initially roksana also gets her mother's last name but she changes it back sometime later#because she doesn't want to be associated with her mother anymore#daniil's stats are very bad because he's a useless loser sorry for everyone who took a liking to him. he doesn't deserve your love#the word count still makes me :0!! also because like. i did that... i wrote that...#also made this template myself so i don't have a link for it sorry :( and also i made it in firealpaca and not ps#anyway yes very excited to see what you guys think of this and also if you have any questions feel free to shoot me asks!!
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A whole day later and I'm still thinking about the person who decided that Dragon Age: The Veilguard is badly written because they found a codex that references the book club that the companions started.
Because they thought it was unrealistic that anyone at the Lighthouse would ever have time to read books, much less have a book club.
ETA all this to say I am in my “block people clogging up the tags with negativity” phase of getting back into Dragon Age fandom.
#this game takes place over literal months. MONTHS!#like yes they are always working toward the goal but like...there's downtime!#people go shopping even during apocalypses!#also these people are all nerds!#anyway not linking to the post because a) not trying to start shit with any individual person#b) this is all just my way of compartmentallzing the general state of things in the US#c) I'm pretty sure I blocked them out of sheer peevishness#dragon age motherfuckers
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throws up my hands in mock resignation but also a hint of frustration Okay Valentino is a cool villain I guess
He's like. Genuinely unsettling. Wish the show struck a better balance with his character sometimes (like sometimes when he's onscreen I have to skip over because I feel queasy and sometimes he's so unsubtle he feels more like a prop than a guy who's going to be a Huge Deal in s2)
#why yes I have been reading some phenomenal fanfiction lately#a lesser me would be agonising over my inability to ever come close to matching the#masterfully characterised works of these talented WORD WEAVERS#but envy is a spoilt housepest and we must spend less time unleashing it upon new targets#instead let's talk about how these fics discovered its possible??#to write Val as not only a 3dimensional character but a deeply horrifying person to WITNESS#to depict how he thinks and what he wants and what he contributes to the people around him#while acknowledging that his actions are supremely messed up#also without dumbing whatever the fuck is wrong with him down to just 'can't do math and needs a sippycup'#those jokes are funny but he's also a dealmaker#he doesn't need to be studied under a microscope! he needs to be gawked at in abject horror! Oh the Potential!#he needs to tell us more about how depraved hell can be by linking us to a portion of the culture full of the dead who cannot die!#anyways. rant over. uh I think I like valentino now? in the same way I like the old man villain from hunchback of notre dame.#just. (gestures) what is this dude. ew. oh my god#my post#personal stuff#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel valentino#is this anything#again I am entrenching on dangerous territory of 'expectations for this media I consume'#he really doesn't need to be written all shakespearean-like#too attached mayhaps#delete later#honestly worried that if the show does reveal his backstory or whatever it'll try to paint him in a sympathetic light#and then the online arguments will be a headache for a month#villain with tragic backstory ≠ sympathetic villain
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a masterpost following starstruck's interactive adventure at the 2024 @kirbyoctournament, for however long she makes it through! told mostly in response to asks, hence the 'interactive' component. can also be followed in the oc (2024): starstruck dee tag!
✧・゚✧‧͙⁺༓જ⁀•。゚⟡ 。゚☁︎。⋆ *☾༓⁺‧͙✧・゚✧
(full page comics are noted in bold, and the most important updates are designated with ‧͙⁺༓ )
stage 1: cookie country 🏡🏰
✧ are you ready, starstruck? (intro comic, entry + ref) ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ start the adventure ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ what kind of pie? ✧ a cupcake for the road ✧ happy early birthday ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ what's up? ✧ a selection of gifts ✧ the beating Sun ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ fountain's busted ✧ precautionary incense ✧ it doesn't mean anything ‧͙⁺༓
stage 2: rambling rainforest 🌲🌳
✧ into the woods (intro comic) ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ that red butterfly ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ friends with a little liar ✧ weapon select ✧ do you love the stars? [poll] ✧ night owls ✧ worth the climb ✧ where you fit in ‧͙⁺༓ ✧ distracted ✧ a little shut eye ‧͙⁺༓ [poll]
stage 3: yawning yonder 💤🌈
✧ should have stayed up (intro comic) ‧͙⁺༓
#starstruck dee#oc (2024): starstruck dee#🎀🔍#<- for the links; not necessarily in this post. although....#masterpost#i want folks on mobile and various colour modes to appreciate the effort i went to to make sure the header would work on all sizes + bgs#if you are on desktop you likely won't notice but on MOBILE you will#why yes it IS a transparent png version of the tumblr text header that i made which looked rotten on mobile#did i need to do that?? maybe not. but i did!!! commitment to my layouts.#also sorry for reusing this image i might make a new one for here eventually but for now it's this one bc i really liked it!!!
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this isn't a criticism but i think totk would have made an incredible horror game (or at least would have been really good if nintendo had leaned more into the horror elements already there)
like. you have link with gloom in his body for the entire game. there's that right there that could make for a terrifying situation for him with ganondorf's abilities. there's the fact that both ganondorf AND the yiga clan can now impersonate zelda (and other various NPCs). you don't know who you can trust anymore because they may be a familiar face, but are they really who they say they are, or are they just trying to get close to link so they can kill him? the gorons are angrier than they've ever been because of that marbled rock roast. rito village is in the middle of a destructive snowstorm that never seems to end (snowscapes work well for horror :)). zora's domain is being covered in muck that the zoras can't breathe in. gerudo town is pretty much destroyed and even in game it's horrifying to see the town overrun with gibdos. i think they're really close to it in sections (goron city, gerudo town, hyrule castle, the depths).
#legend of zelda#tears of the kingdom#i forgot that i actually really enjoy horror themes and stories. intrusive thoughts got in the way of enjoying that#like when i was 11 or 12 i was really into horror things. slenderman was a huge thing when i was that age#so i played that eight pages game and a demo of amnesia: the dark descent#i loved the final destination movies too#but like. i've been working on a totk au for years (yes years. i was working on it when we were still calling it botw2)#(and when we had like 2 entire teasers to go on for plot and stuff)#and i realized pretty early on that hey. this is a horror game from link's perspective#i think the vibes fit well honestly#they could have had like. a haunted airship for the rito dungeon. that could've fucked hard!!!!!!!#like ghost air ship????#ohhh i think i am what the kids call 'cooking'#PUT MORE GHOSTS IN IT @ NINTENDO#i was expecting the poes to be hostile tbh#the depths is pretty good for scares at first but once you get used to it you realize that it's just really dark#it's REALLY pretty it's just that there's not much down there besides enemies and treasure#a few dungeons too. i liked the mini dungeons in eow those were good#i know that making it a full fledged horror game would have sort of ruined the open worldness of it all#but just some spooky bits would have been nice#ohhh i kinda want to start designing this now
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dude, i think your mech is haunted
8077 Words; Cleaved AU (Movie)
TW for mild violence, mild body horror (ghost has holes), vomiting
AO3 ver
Generally, Cole never really gave much thought to whether he believed in ghosts.
He’d never seen any himself, sure, but he also lived in a world with Serpentine and Garmadon and Master Builders. It wasn’t that he particularly cared one way or the other—he just never really gave the idea of ghosts much thought outside of when he was directly asked.
Recently, though? He was starting to think his home might be haunted.
It started with the record player. Cole’s family had a long love of music; it was all musicians as far back as anyone in their family could trace. Cole’s dad was no exception—between the records and CDs of their favorite bands and albums was every song the Royal Blacksmiths had ever made. Cole would never be able to get the classics out of his head; they were written so deeply into his bones from a childhood spent listening to those at-the-time-new albums with his mom. Music was just a part of Cole’s life, and he liked it that way—the Earth Mech wouldn’t have had a DJ setup for the control panel if he didn’t.
But back to the maybe-haunting. Cole had gotten home after a long day of school and then hanging with the rest of the Secret Ninja Force. Part of it was training—Master Wu was determined that they would all learn how to be “proper ninja,” even though their mechs were perfectly suited for handling Garmadon attacks—but most of it was just hanging out with his friends. The ache in Cole’s body from the physical conditioning was vaguely satisfying, thanks to the fact that he’d been hanging out with his friends during.
Before he’d even put his bag away Cole moved to get the record player going. He grabbed an album, pulled out a record, and flipped it onto the player and set the needle with practiced ease. Within moments, The Fold’s music began to fill the apartment as Cole finally slung his backpack onto the couch.
There was a note on the counter from his dad—a late night with his bandmates, and a reminder to take out the trash squished between the reminders to call him in case of emergency and that he loved his son. Cole set the note back down and turned to open the fridge for those leftover wings mentioned in his dad’s note.
“Jump up kick back whip around and spin,” Cole sang along with the song, “and then you—”
A sudden clatter from the doorway had Cole spinning around to stare at the entryway. Countless records spilled across the floor and shoes from where they had been knocked off the shelf by… actually, Cole wasn’t sure. The shelf looked fine.
“Shit.” Cole groused as he moved to clean up the mess. The song kept cheerfully playing on as he worked—he wasn’t gonna just put them back on there willy-nilly. There was a system to the selection of music by the door, just like there was a system to the main shelf of records, CDs, and talent show trophies in the living room.
That was pretty much the whole incident—barely even anything to really worry about. Besides, Cole had homework to ignore and trash to take out.
+=+=+=+=+
“Fly Me to the Moon!” Cole jolted in his seat at the sudden clatter from the kitchen, turning around to look over the back of the couch. His father, one arm still holding the cabinet door, looked down at the floor in a mixture of frustration and astonishment. Though Cole couldn’t see through the counter, he could guess as to what had happened—
“That was the good china!” Lou lamented. Yep, just what Cole figured.
“How’d it even fall out anyway?” Cole asked, as his father let go of the cabinet and went for the broom. He glanced up at the cabinet, surprised to see the whole stack of plates that only ever came out when the Royal Blacksmiths had a successful show completely gone. Weird, how did a whole stack of plates randomly fall out of a cabinet?
“Caesar must have put them away wrong Tuesday night.” Lou guessed, already sweeping up the shards. Cole nodded, and turned back to his laptop. Well, maybe laptop was a generous word—it was a computer provided by the school, in case a Garmadon attack forced them to switch to online lessons. It barely worked like a normal computer, and was little more than a glorified e-reader for teachers to put homework on.
Lou sighed. “I suppose I can’t be too mad,” he added quietly. “Lilly always did hate these plates.” He chuckled, before sighing. “Mom loved them, though.”
Despite the agonizing english homework filling the screen in front of him, Cole snorted.
+=+=+=+=+
“I swear, I have no idea how it fell over!” Cole kneeled down, pressing a towel into the section of the carpet that looked the most soaked. The shattered pieces of the former vase still littered the floor, the sad dying irises wet and limp where they laid in the middle of the puddle.
“I’m not going to be mad at you.” Lou promised, carefully picking up the pieces of vase big enough to grab and putting them in the dustpan.
“I didn’t do it!” Cole protested. He hadn’t. He really hadn’t. The vase had just flung itself off the coffee table—somehow. Cole wasn’t entirely sure how, but—he watched it fall! He didn’t touch it!
His father took a moment to look at him, eyebrow raised in quiet disbelief.
Cole groaned. “It just fell.” He repeated, knowing there was no convincing his father. So what if the irises were tacky? Cole wasn’t going to break a vase just because the flowers inside were ugly. They had been a gift from one of his father’s bandmates, too—Brendan kept a garden, and often gave out flowers as they grew in. And zucchini. So much zucchini.
But still. Cole didn’t knock over the vase, on purpose or otherwise.
Lou sighed. “It was in the middle of the table.” He pointed out.
“And I didn’t touch it!” Cole responded. He pressed the towel down for emphasis—all it did was make his hands damp. His father opened his mouth to say something—
The record, which had been playing an old rock song from before Cole was even born, made a sound that could only be described as wailing. Cole and Lou flinched at the sound, Lou moving to stand up—
Just as quickly as it started, it was over. Silence filled the apartment—true silence, without any music playing in the background.
Cole looked at his father, who had walked over to the record player to inspect it. “Do you think I did that, too?” He asked. Part of him was worried the record player was broken—but most of him was just plain annoyed.
“Cole.” Lou’s tone of voice was sharp. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose and reset the needle, music filling the room once more.
Cole made a face. “It’s a valid question.” He groused.
+=+=+=+=+
Ghosts were very much not on Cole’s mind a week later. Despite several things falling over for seemingly no reason, or the record player skipping in the middle of songs, the idea of ghosts hadn’t really entered Cole’s mind. Not when he had Garmadon attacks—or, even worse, school—to worry about.
The history project due tomorrow taunted him through the screen. Were it not for the music blasting from his boombox, Cole would have pulled his hair out by now. Why did citing sources have to be so annoying? Why did finding sources have to be even worse?
Cole glanced at his phone, then back at his still unfinished project. He’d been picking away at it for what felt like forever, now—surely he deserved a break. With that thought in mind, Cole grabbed his phone and pulled up the group chat.
wateryoudoing: did any of you guys finish your essays yet greenmachine: yes! wateryoudoing: besides lloyd greenmachine: :( rocknroll: fsm i wish 🌵🆘💂♂️: i havent even started lol greenmachine: guys its not that hard greenmachine: its literally only 600 words wateryoudoing: easy for you to say rocknroll: not evryone can remember this stuff liek you greenmachine: the serpentine war is NOT boring guys wateryoudoing: its not even that the war is boring its just that this assignemtn SUCKS greenmachine: its not that bad rocknroll: yeah it is 🌵🆘💂♂️: yeah it is wateryoudoing: see lloyd wateryoudoing: everyone agrees greenmachine: is this bc mr marsh wouldnt let you write about irondragon
Cole closed out of the groupchat. As much fun as it might be to watch Nya and Lloyd argue over whether their history teacher was any good at his job or not, he was hoping for a more fun distraction. He navigated to that one sudoku app he got a while ago, and started up a game. He started a second game five minutes later—and then another when he finished that one, too. It was starting to get boring, but Cole couldn’t put his phone down.
He glanced at his unfinished essay. Back at his phone. The time was 8:43. He could keep taking this break for just a little longer, right?
Cole looked back at the sudoku, entering the last numbers needed to complete the game. The “continue” button appeared, but he didn’t press it.
The assignment was haunting him. Masterdammit. He didn’t want to work on it anymore—but he couldn’t just leave it unfinished. It’d show in his grades and then his dad would get on his ass about it when he already had enough to worry about with the hospital bills—
Cole flinched as harsh static grated against his ears. He fumbled for his boombox, wincing at the noise it was making. First the record, now this? The noise took on that wailing quality, harsh and discordant against Cole’s ears. Despite turning the volume all the way down, the noise continued, scratching against Cole’s brain like nails on a chalkboard.
And then it stopped.
Cole exhaled the breath he hadn’t realize he was holding. Slowly, he turned the volume knob back—
A few seconds of static, then nothing. Cole groaned.
His phone buzzed. Cole grabbed it, opening the group chat to see what was happening now.
FI-YEAHHHH: you guys are not gonna believe what i found 🌵🆘💂♂️: 👀 wateryoudoing: your “missing” science hw? FI-YEAHHHH: no even better than that crimedoer: okay i’ll bite crimedoer: WHO CHANGED MY NAME FI-YEAHHHH: so i’m at doomsday comix, as you do greenmachine: you went to doomsday w/o me 🥺 🌵🆘💂♂️: 😲😲😲 crimedoer: KAI WAS IT YOU FI-YEAHHHH: uhhhhhh FI-YEAHHHH: okay lloyd i was looking for a bday gift for you FI-YEAHHHH: didnt wanna spoil the surprise greenmachine: my birthday’s not for another 4 months??? crimedoer has changed their name to jetstream wateryoudoing: we’re getting off topic guys wateryoudoing: kai what did you find FI-YEAHHHH: jay change your name back FI-YEAHHHH: okay so i’m looking at the figurines right jetstream: no FI-YEAHHHH: and LOOK at what i found!!!
Kai sent a picture to the groupchat of a Lady IronDragon figurine in his hand, slightly scuffed—and missing a weapon judging by the shape of her hand. The price tag was visible: $10.99.
Cole smiled, texted a quick “cool” and put his phone back down. It continued to buzz as the conversation continued, but Cole’s focus was already back on the boombox. It didn’t look broken. He flicked it back on—
Music blared out like it had never stopped working in the first place. Cole leaned back in his chair with a groan. “First Master…” Between this, the plates, the vase, and the record player—there was something weird going on. Cole just wished it would blow over. Of course, knowing his luck, it probably wouldn’t.
And he still needed to finish that essay!
+=+=+=+=+
“Hey, dude, you doing okay?” Kai’s voice cut through the usual cacophony of the halls before classes. He was leaning against Cole’s locker, and moved over to allow Cole access. “You look kinda…” He waved his hands in a vague approximation of whatever was prompting his concern.
Cole shrugged. “It’s been a weird week.” The noise of the other students was already giving him a headache. He hadn’t brought his boombox today, for fear of it making that awful noise in his locker, but he did still have his headphones—
Uh. Wait—where were his headphones?
“Cole?” Kai leaned over.
“I can’t find my headphones.” Cole said, his voice much more calm than he felt. He sat down to dig into his backpack proper, pulling everything out one by one. He couldn’t find his headphones—where were they? He never left home without them—
“Hello fellow teens!” Zane greeted, wheeling over. He turned to Cole. “Did you ever finish your history essay?”
“Cole can’t find his headphones.” Kai explained to Zane—and Nya and Jay, who had just arrived.
“Oof,” Jay said, brushing his fingers over the fabric of his scarf. “That sucks.”
Cole wasn’t listening. His headphones—he needed his headphones! Without his music—
A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his rising panic. “Hey,” Lloyd said, kneeling beside Cole. “I know it’s not the same, but…” he reached into his own backpack, pulling out a pair of earbuds, “will these work for you?”
Something in Cole softened at the gesture, even as the rest of him recoiled at the notion of using earbuds. He forced the protests down with a swallow, and took a breath. “It’ll do.” He conceded, taking the earbuds. It was way different from his boombox and headphones, but he’d rather have the earbuds than no music at all.
He still couldn’t believe he’d forgotten them. He never left home without his headphones!
“Where’s your boombox, anyway?” Nya asked, as Cole began to pick all his stuff back up and Kai and Jay and Zane all began to help him.
“It’s been acting weird lately.” Cole responded, standing up and shoving his bag into his locker. “Making weird noises.”
“Ohhh, like the record player?” Jay asked, “You said it made a weird noise on Monday.”
Cole nodded, plugging the earbuds into his walkman. He put one bud in one ear and left the other out so he could follow the conversation, and started towards his first class. The halls were emptying out, now, as the start of classes approached.
Kai, Jay, and Nya didn’t share the same first period, and peeled off to get to their respective classes. Cole leaned against Zane as they walked, and turned to Lloyd. “Thanks.” He murmured, before popping in the other earbud.
Lloyd nodded. “Of course.”
+=+=+=+=+
Garmadon attacks were all the same. Get to the hideout, get in their mechs, get out there and kick ass. Sure, there was definitely stress in how the attacks constantly interrupted their lives and put the whole city in danger, but it was a stress they were all used to. Before long, Garmadon was retreating from the crater Lloyd had made, and they were all pulling back into the hideout to relax and decompress.
Cole hopped out of the Earth Mech and beelined straight for the jukebox. His headphones may not have turned up, but at least their secret base was never lacking in terms of music players. He looked through the music they had on hand before selecting an old Three Days Grace song. The music blared, and Cole sat down heavily, pressing his cheek into the cool plastic of the jukebox as the vibrations washed over him.
“—across all of our battles, Lloyd has done significantly more damage to the city than Garmadon!” Zane was saying when Cole tuned back into the conversation.
Lloyd winced. “I—” He grunted, then went over the couch and sat on it. “I should work on that.” He finished, a bit lamely.
“Yeah, but he looked so cool doing it!” Kai put in, also taking a seat on the couch. “And besides, the city doesn’t give a damn, and they bully us all the time, so why should we care if things get a little broken?”
“That’s not very ninja of you.” Cole pointed out, still leaning against the jukebox. From where he was sitting, he watched as Jay started up a game on the TV, handing a controller to Kai. Kai took the controller, and grabbed one to offer to Lloyd, who shrugged and waved it off. Zane wheeled over to Cole and sat down next to him
“Oh, who cares!” Nya declared, hopping up over the back of the couch and landing next to Jay. “Lloyd’ll work on his ‘use every missile in his arsenal on Garmadon’ habit and we’ll continue protecting the city. Not that hard!”
Cole smiled. Yeah, Garmadon attacks sucked, but at least the aftermath was always great. Being here, hanging out in this sickass secret hideout with the rest of the Secret Ninja Force—
The jukebox shrieked. Cole stumbled back as that same awful static hissed out of it, grating against his ears. Across the room, Jay yelled, falling off the couch and taking Kai down with him.
“Dude!” Lloyd’s hands were over his ears as he winced at the noise. Zane’s head was spinning—
“Ha!” Nya stood triumphantly, unplugged power cord for the jukebox in hand—
Except the noise continued, screeching despite the loss of power. Cole winced, covering his ears with his hands and scooting further away from the jukebox. Nya similarly backed away—
And then
the noise
stopped.
Everyone stared at the jukebox. Cole lowered his hands, and groaned. “Not again.” He muttered, glaring at the poor jukebox. Now he was three for three on weird noises.
“Uh, that’s not the noise your record player and boombox made, is it?” Jay asked as he and Kai untangled themselves.
Cole grimaced, which was answer enough.
“I think you might be cursed, bro.” Kai suggested, coming over to put his hand on Cole’s other shoulder.
“Gasp!” Zane gasped. “Cole’s headphones disappeared too! I hope he’s not cursed to never enjoy music again.”
Cole stared at Zane in horror. “Never say that again, please.” Nope. No way. If Cole was cursed in some way that prevented him from listening to music, he was going to walk into the sea and never come back. He couldn’t give up music. Not for anything.
“I’m sure it’s fine.” Lloyd said, in a tone of voice that suggested nothing was fine. “Maybe Garmadon’s planning something with radios and… stuff.” He didn’t quite look like he believed what he was saying, but he pushed on anyway. “And then when he attacks again we’ll find out what he was planning and put a stop to it.”
Cole snorted. “And then we beat him up?”
Nya nodded sagely. “And then we beat him up.” She agreed. “And alllll of your music problems will end.” She sounded so sure of herself, like always—Cole couldn’t help the grin starting to split his face. He stood, ambling over and plugging the jukebox in. Thankfully, when he started the song, no weird noises came out. Cole still moved over to one of the bean bags near the couch just in case.
With that, Jay and Kai started the game anew, and everyone began to properly kill time until Master Wu showed up.
+=+=+=+=+
Garmadon didn’t often attack every single day, but back-to-back attacks were nothing new, either. Weekends tended to be particularly nasty, as this one was proving to be. Still, the Secret Ninja Force were up to the task, rolling out in their mechs to defend the city as they always did.
“Guys, I think my house is haunted.” Cole commented, directing the Earth Mech around a sharp corner. The intercoms crackled slightly as the others began to reply—
Ethereal green spun into the corner of his vision, leaking face and half-there body lighting up the cockpit. “It’s not your house, dude.”
The Earth Mech slammed straight into a wall. Cole screamed, and in the same instant the—well, it really couldn’t be anything other than a ghost—disappeared, the green glow gone as soon as it had appeared. The world spun and Cole groaned, struggling to regain his bearings. The Earth Mech was halfway into the wall.
“Please tell me you guys heard that.” Cole sighed, spinning the records to back the Earth Mech out of the newly-created hole in the wall.
“If you mean you screaming and crashing into a wall, then yes!” Zane chirped. Cole buried his face in his hands and groaned.
“Let’s try and focus on the battle at hand, guys.” Lloyd commented. “We can talk about the ghost thing later.”
“Yeah,” Cole agreed, getting back into the groove. “Let’s do that.”
+=+=+=+=+
Despite Lloyd’s comment, they all had things they needed to go do at home post-battle, so everyone split up after a few minutes spent cooling down. Cole made his way to the bus stop, pulling out his fare. Twenty minutes later, he was getting off, and started making his way through his neighborhood.
Cole’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out, and opened the group chat.
IHATEMYDAD: doomsday wont let me in :( wateryoudoing: omw bro crimedoer: lloyd your name :( 💒😲🐦: todays atk was p rough crimedoer: MOTHRFUCKER crimedoer has changed their name to bluedabbade bluedabbade: ENOUGH FI-YEAHHHH: bro whats that even supposed to mean bluedabbade: you are not being serious rn rocknroll: the song right? bluedabbade: see! cole gets it!
Cole snorted, reaching for his keys. The door opened easily, and he switched his shoes before reaching to start the record player. The moment the music started, he walked off, not wanting whatever was going on with him to break the record player (again). Sitting down on the couch, he opened the group chat up again.
FI-YEAHHHH: but your name is literally a crime 💒😲🐦: very true 💒😲🐦: jay walking is a very srs crime bluedabbade: IM NOT A CRIIMNLA FI-YEAHHHH: criimnla IHATEMYDAD: criimnla wateryoudoing: criimnla bluedabbade: JSFLDGKFHGJH bluedabbade has changed FI-YEAHHHH’s name to fi-YUCK fi-YUCK: jay wtf bluedabbade: how does it feel bluedabbade: sucks doesn’t it fi-YUCK: okay fine ig i deserve it IHATEMYDAD: nya got us banned from doomsday for a week btw wateryoudoing: it’s not my fault the manager was a jerk! rocknroll: lol IHATEMYDAD: oh yeah cole you doing alright? IHATEMYDAD: what were we supposed to hear anyway rocknroll: istfsm SOMETHING appeared in my mech rocknroll: and said it wasnt just home that was haunted bluedabbade: what, like a ghost? rocknroll: i hope not rocknroll: life is hectic enough as is fi-YUCK: amen 🙏
+=+=+=+=+
Green light crept in under the door. Cole stared at it, but it stayed firmly green instead of the hallway light’s usual yellow. Not that the hallway light should even be on, at this hour, when Cole’s dad was asleep in his room and Cole was supposed to also be asleep.
Oh, First Master, Cole did not want to get up to deal with this. Not at ass o’clock in the morning. But he was a ninja, so he sat up and rolled off the bed as quietly as possible. If someone was stupid enough to try and break in here then they were in for a surprise. But really, why green? It wasn’t even the vibrant green of Lloyd’s mech and gi—it was paler, almost sickly, maybe even lifeless.
Cole sleepily made his way to the door and rested his hand on the handle, ready to burst it open and take whoever was shining ominous green light in the hallway by surprise—
And then it was gone. Like it had never been there in the first place. Because maybe it never had.
Cole blinked. He sighed. Tiredness clung to his shoulders like a coat, and his bed was calling for him. Still, he turned the knob and opened the door just to check—
Nothing.
“Ughhhh.” Cole groaned, turning back to his bed. He was probably just seeing things. Probably.
Green light filtered into his room through the open door. Cole whirled around towards the source.
Standing at the other end of the hallway was… a ghost? It was a pale, unearthly green, slightly transparent. Holes opened and closed throughout it, and its face was too indistinct for Cole to fully make out. Okay, definitely a ghost.
Fuck. Cole practically dove towards his nightstand, snatching his phone and fumbling to unlock it. Squinting against the glaring light of the screen, he opened the camera app, turned back to the hallway, and aimed at the ghost.
The flash lit up the entire hallway. Cole cursed, hurrying to turn it off, and aimed the camera again. He opened the group chat and sent the picture.
rocknroll: i swear to teh fuckign first master criminal: is that a fucking ghost criminal: WHO THE FUCK FI-YEAHHHH: okay so coles ass is haunted criminal: KAI WAS IT YOU wateryoudoing: guys why are you up at 2 am FI-YEAHHHH: why are YOU up at two AM 🏸🏋️♂️🦜🎠: shockedface.jpeg
The ghost just… stood there, staring at the wall. Cole finally found the brightness settings and lowered them, keeping the ghost in his peripheral vision as he did. “What do you want from me?” He asked, not expecting a response.
The ghost turned to face him. It stared, its mouth opening. “I shou—e—ask—g—you—that.” Its voice had a crackly, echoey quality, like a skipping record or damaged cassette.
Cole bristled. “Dude,” he hissed, not really caring that he was trying to argue with a ghost, “you’re haunting me.”
The ghost crossed its arms, but the motion accidentally bumped the wall. Cole snapped another photo at exactly the same moment as the pictures on the wall fell down.
“Uh—” The ghost drifted back, “Oops.”
Cole buried his face in his hands. The group chat was still open on his phone.
rocknroll: IT WONT LEAVE ME ALONE
He sent the picture, then shoved his phone into his pocket and moved to pick up the photos. None of the frames seemed to be damaged, at least, but Cole still grumbled as he held up a photo of the Royal Blacksmiths holding the Blade Cup.
“Oh, I—rememb—that.” The ghost commented, bright green glow lighting up the photo as it leaned over Cole. Cole glared at the ghost. There was something familiar about its face, but its features kept flickering in and out, missing-unmissing in a way that kept Cole from recognizing why it looked familiar.
“It’s way too late for this.” Cole grumbled, once the wall was fixed. He supposed he could at least thank the ghost for providing light to see by—but he was too tired for that. So he settled for walking back towards his room, glaring at nothing while the ghost hovered behind him. He made it just past his door when the green light disappeared entirely.
Cole looked around, and, when he realized the ghost was seemingly gone, he sat down on his bed and opened up the group chat.
criminal has changed their name to supersonic FI-YEAHHHH: alright bro im comin over FI-YEAHHHH: gonna get all ghostbusters on this guy for you wateryoudoing: kai you are NOT going out at 2 am FI-YEAHHHH: also jay change your name back wateryoudoing: KAI supersonic: NUH UH 🏸🏋️♂️🦜🎠 has changed supersonic’s name to jaywalkingisacrime jaywalkingisacrime: ZANE jaywalkingisacrime: I DO NT JAYWALK FI-YEAHHHH: its in your name rocknroll: it’s gone rocknroll: for now rocknroll: kai you don’t need to come over FI-YEAHHHH: good bc i changed my mind FI-YEAHHHH: nya totally didnt drag me back inside jaywalkingisacrime has changed their name to NOTACRIMINAL 🏸🏋️♂️🦜🎠: sus FI-YEAHHHH: sus rocknroll: sus wateryoudoing: sus NOTACRIMINAL: i hate it here greenmachine: can you all GO TO BED
Cole closed the chat and turned off his phone, setting it on his nightstand. He flopped back onto his bed, arms spread wide and staring at the ceiling. Without the light of his phone or the ghost, he couldn’t make out any details, but he wasn’t exactly looking for anything in particular.
So he was haunted. Great. And if the jukebox at the hideout was any indication, then the ghost was following him around. Maybe even all the time.
Cole glared at the darkness. He had no idea where the ghost went, but it clearly had to be able to turn invisible given recent events. After a moment more of glaring around his room, he sighed, throwing an arm over his face.
First Master, this sucked.
+=+=+=+=+
“Hey, Garmadorks!”
As one, the Secret Ninja Force glanced over at Chen and his cronies. Cole frowned, adjusting his hold on his boombox.
Lloyd winced. “Yeah, Chen?” He tried for a smile, but it came out just as pained and awkward as always.
Chen and the other cheerleaders glared at them all. “Your dad’s last attack totalled my mom’s insurance firm.” He bit out.
“So what?” Nya asked, leaning over the table to glare at Chen directly. “Lloyd had nothing to do with that.”
“Uh, he totally did?” One of the cheerleaders objected. “It was his dad’s invasion. That’s like, involvement enough.” She twirled some of her hair around her finger as she spoke.
“Yeah!” Added another cheerleader. “And he hasn’t done anything to make up for his dad’s invasions, either.” She flipped her hair. “He totally owes the whole city reparations and stuff.”
“That makes zero sense!” Zane pointed out. “Lloyd and his father do not have contact.”
“Yeah!” Kai agreed, leaning up against Lloyd in a show of support. “Just lay off, Chen. Go back to braiding each other’s hair.” He sneered.
“Ugh, of course Garmadon hides behind his goons,” Chen groused, stepping forwards. “Real evil villain behav—”
“What—h—uck?” A new voice asked from behind Chen. A voice that was crackly and echoey in a familiar way—
Everyone jolted as a glowing green ghost appeared behind Chen, arms crossed and face missing. Nya grabbed a fork and held it threateningly, Jay shrunk back into his scarf, and Cole gripped his boombox a little tighter.
Chen and the other two turned around to face the new voice, and Chen scoffed. “Oh, yeah, real clever!” He bluffed. “But everyone knows that ghosts aren’t real—” Chen froze, his finger halfway into the ghost’s chest. Cole could only imagine the face Chen was making.
“Uhhhh, we gotta go!” Chen decided, as the other two cheerleaders nodded. “We’ve got practice, so…” And with that, they left.
Everyone stared. The majority of the lunchroom was still as active as ever, most people paying no attention to the literal ghost just feet away from Lloyd’s table. The ghost stared at them all, face flickering in and out of visibility, missing-unmissing features still frustratingly familiar but unrecognizable.
“Why are you haunting Cole?” Nya demanded, brandishing her fork in one hand and grabbing a milk carton in the other.
The ghost vanished.
Cole’s forehead hit the table with a quiet thud. He groaned in frustration. Zane’s cool hand rubbed at his back.
“Sooooo… that happened.” Lloyd said, as Kai reached over to pat Cole’s shoulder.
“I can look up how to perform an exorcism!” Zane suggested cheerfully. Cole sat up, opening his mouth to reply—
The Garmadon Alarm went off. Of all the possible timings—
“We’ll ask Master Wu later.” Lloyd suggested. “For now, we gotta get to our lockers!”
+=+=+=+=+
The texture of the record spinning under his fingers was exactly what Cole needed after weeks of being haunted. For all that Garmadon attacks sucked and made everything a thousand times harder for Lloyd, Cole could admit to finding some comfort in the familiarity of knocking about Garmadon’s generals with his mech.
“Kai, Zane, Cole, downtown!” Lloyd ordered, “I’m going after Garmadon.” It was the same setup as always, but it worked, so none of them complained. Cole rolled his mech along, knocking down as many generals on the way to the main action as he could.
Barely halfway through the horde, the music playing in the Earth Mech’s cockpit cut off with a familiar screeching sound. Cole flinched back, gripping his hood as his mech spun out of control. “No no no—”
With a final shuddering wail, the Earth Mech shut down, its one wheel spinning for a moment before the whole thing toppled over.
“Cole’s down!” Jay’s voice crackled over the radio. “On fourth street and blondo!”
“I’m on it!” Kai said, but last Cole remembered Kai was towards the other side of the city.
“Shit.” The ghost spun into existence besides Cole. “I didn—ean t—o that.”
“Yeah, well, you did.” Cole snapped, struggling with his mech’s lifeless controls. He needed to restart his mech, and fast—
Too late. One of Garmadon’s generals had already made it to the cockpit, banging on the glass. Cole barely had a moment to register the cracks spider webbing across before he had to raise his arms to protect his face from falling shards. Gloved hands grabbed his arms and hauled him out of his mech before he could do anything, tossing him towards the pavement.
Cole rolled, came to a stop, and groaned before forcing himself to sit up. The general was already on him, grabbing his shoulders and yanking him back as more generals rushed over.
“Wh—get off me!” Cole kicked, as another general grabbed his other shoulder. The ghost flickered into visibility beside him, only to disappear a moment later.
“Garmadon said to unmask him!” A general declared, and hands were reaching for Cole’s mask. No no no—
He wrenched one arm free and used to punch the general holding him, before darting off. Another general tackled him, and they grappled on the pavement.
The ghost became visible again. “Use sp—tsu!” It urged, hands passing through the generals uselessly.
“Use what?” What was the ghost talking about? Cole only half knew how to fight—the Secret Ninja Force used mechs!
A general grabbed Cole’s mask and yanked. Cole shoved forwards, slamming his head against their glass bubble thing and grabbing at their hand. Too late—another general grabbed his mask and pulled it off completely, revealing his face for all to see. He could hear all the other ninja yelling on the radio, could see Kai’s fire mech approaching the scene—which, uh, Cole would rather not be barbequed, thanks—but there were so many generals. There were too many of them! Cole needed his mech!
“Ugh, just let me—” And then the green glow phased into Cole, and—
PAIN!
The world tumbled as his head pounded. Lights flashed in front of his eyes, noise and motion pummeling his senses. I don’t want you to be sick anymore Cole did it! I caused the cave in Bequeath bequeath bequeath Nice to meet you kid Ninja never quit We don’t always get what we want That’s not a coconut ZANE! Twinkletoes couldn’t deliver the goods You know blue! Try fire dork I know who I am! I should’ve bowed out long ago It was to protect him Ninja never quit This macho stuff is making you both look like fools Don’t tell me I have to ride this like a broomstick I got the scroll! That’s not fair I’M GONNA BITE YOU Make a mockery of our family legacy! SHOW YOURSELF! I didn’t see motormouth on it You look white! It’s a bug You need to remember Grief takes many shapes and forms Ninja never quit This isn’t about numbers No problem with that HEEEEELLLLP I’d love to visit! Is that why you ran away? My dad was a blacksmith Fair isn’t a word where I come from! Close the circle Don’t think you can lie to me We’re a team Brother sharpens brother Let’s burn these memories from my head Ninja never quit Maybe you belong together! WHY WOULD YOU TOUCH THE SCARY PICTURE JAY I was gonna eat that I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata Light as a feather Pinky! Rawr Ninja never quit I’m not strong enough! But we’re UNDERGROUND Eat dirt Bluebelle! I get it Close the circle I DIDN��T KNOW IT WOULD DO THAT COLE You like my bed! Be the key! Some sing and dance It was supposed to be my day off I am the MC I’ll turn you black and blue! Ninja never quit I should have bowed out long ago This is about family! There are reputable performers that attend clown college Close the circle We’re in this together I promised to protect him! Ninja never quit JUST TAKE THE FLIER You didn’t make it out in time The mighty Cole! A prank? Really? Direct from the business end of your own weapon! Close the circle I know you too well Promise me you’ll always stand up I’m a… ghost! This dance ain’t over There’s magic in the air I saw you stand up for what is right! Close the circle Wow Lloyd’s going through puberty It’s now or never! Close the circle Win this thing See you’re missing? Close the circle Why don’t you make like a ghost and vanish? You received my message Close the circle Ha, Look at you! Some climb mountains Close the circle Not to a ghost! To those who are cruel and unjust I can’t see my reflection Close the circle Settling my debt Where is my reflection You can barely see yourself! Close the circle What are you even fighting for? Your friends have abandoned you! Your master has abandoned you! You are all ALONE!
Just one more lonely ghost, not a friend in the world—
The pavement was rough and uneven against Cole’s hands and knees, his whole body convulsing as the green glow pulled off. He retched, burning in this throat and bitterness on his lips. The world tilted as he heaved, cracked pavement coming up to slam his shoulder and side. Cole shuddered.
After a moment, the spinning slowed enough that Cole could push himself up. The green glow—the ghost—rippled where it stood amongst dismembered bones. It was as unstable as ever, but with the jumble of images and voices still rattling Cole’s brain, he could finally recognize the missing-unmissing features.
The pavement all around him was cracked, uneven, in several spider-webbing radiuses from several points. Where before Garmadon’s many generals had stood proudly, ready to fight, there were only a few of them laying across the pavement, groaning in pain or outright unconscious. Cole looked the ghost—who kept flickering like a bad lamp, rude—in the eye and spoke.
“You’re me.”
“COLE!” And then there was the rest of the Secret Ninja Force, picking their way over cracked concrete and down-for-the-count generals. Kai was the first to reach him, warm hands on Cole’s shoulders helping to steady the still-shaking world.
“What did you do to our friend?!” Nya demanded, charging at the ghost—Cole’s ghost? No, no, just calling him the ghost was fine. The ghost vanished with a crackly yelp, then flickered back into view a few feet to the left.
Cole’s head was pounding. Nausea had settled into his throat like a contented frog—he couldn’t swallow it down. The world was no longer spinning, thankfully, but he was dizzy all the same.
“I believe we have just witnessed a real-life possession!” Zane suggested. “And you should put your mask back on!”
Oh, fuck. “Right.” Cole fumbled for his mask for a moment, before Kai leaned in and helped him get it off. It was too late anyway—Cole could hear murmuring towards the edges of the street. Witnesses, no doubt. He chanced a glance, and—yep. Phones.
Fuck.
“Let’s get out of here.” Lloyd decided, still on his mech. “And quickly.”
“Yeah.” Cole nodded, still leaning on Kai. “Please.”
+=+=+=+=+
Thankfully, nobody had followed them back to the secret hideout, nor did anyone seem to have paid attention to where their mechs were going. Everyone was too busy with Cole’s identity reveal, apparently.
Cole sat down by the jukebox, leaning against Zane, face buried in his hands. His head was killing him, throbbing with constant pain as all the disjointed memories rattled around in his head. His whole body felt like a wrung-out towel.
The ghost’s soft glow was just barely visible through his fingers. Nya had the thing at spearpoint, and though its voice had somehow become clearer since the possession, its answers weren’t making any sense.
“I see someone has had their identity revealed.” Master Wu’s voice cut through the doom and gloom, everyone paying attention as their sensei entered the hideout.
“It’s not his fault!” Lloyd hurriedly defended, among a chorus of agreement from the others. “His mech broke down, because of the ghost—” He pointed at the ghost in question, who flickered in what might have been shame.
“We n—ver had to—ide our identi—ies.” The ghost said, crossing its arms. “And I—elped.”
“You have a rift in your head.” Master Wu stepped back as he spoke. “It’s no wonder you’re so unstable.”
The ghost’s mouth flickered from closed to opened, but no words came out—just formless sound that flickered in and out as the ghost’s form melted and reformed, holes opening and closing throughout him.
“And familiar, as well.” Master Wu looked astounded—if such a thing was even possible.
“When he possessed me,” Cole started, wincing as a new wave of pain spiked through his head, “I saw… memories. Or something like that.” He grimaced, gripping Zane’s arm tightly. “He’s me.”
“WHAT?!” The response from the others was immediate. Cole flinched back from the noise.
Master Wu smacked his staff against the ground, and everyone calmed down. “You’re sure?” He asked.
Cole nodded. “Except…” He fumbled for the words he needed, “it’s not quite the same.”
“I—ould—hope not.” The ghost grumbled. “This plac—s—azy.”
“So it’s some… Cole from another world?” Jay asked, sounding just as lost as Cole felt.
“Perhaps.” Master Wu said, sizing the ghost up. “Regardless, it is clear that he and Cole are… cleaved.” He lightly smacked Cole’s arm, and the ghost flinched in tandem. “The longer he is here, the more closely tied you two will become.”
Cole rubbed at his arm. “So we just gotta send him home, right?” Even though he had no idea how to do that.
“There are ways to travel to other worlds—” Master Wu began—
“Realms.” The ghost’s voice crackled. “It’s—ealms.”
“For you, maybe.” Master Wu groused. “Hmm… that complicates things.” He lifted his staff, and played the chorus of “Home” by… Daughtry, if Cole remembered right.
The ghost turned and gave Cole a helpless sort of look—just before its face flickered out of existence for a moment. Cole shrugged, not sure what the ghost was looking for.
A fresh wave of pain rolled through Cole’s head. He hissed through grit teeth—it felt like his head was splitting in two!
“Master…” Lloyd started, “If Cole and the ghost are ‘cleaved’, and the ghost has a rift in his head…” He cast a helpless look to Wu, “What’ll happen to Cole if the rift opens?”
Master Wu frowned, then grabbed his flute and played a snatch of music. Since Cole was in too much pain to identify the song, Zane spoke up instead.
“That song is ‘Explode’ by Mother Mother!” He confirmed after a moment’s search. Immediately, his smile morphed into a frown. “That is terrible news!”
Jay gasped. “COLE’S GONNA EXPLODE?!”
“If this ghost cannot be sent home,” Master Wu began, “then probably.”
“Then we gotta send this ghost home!” Nya declared, to general agreement.
“Looking up all forms of interdimensional travel!” Zane stated, a loading bar appearing over his face.
Master Wu hummed. “There is reference material on the Bounty. Lloyd, Jay, and Nya, with me.” The three hurriedly stood. “Kai and Zane, continue to monitor Cole and the ghost.” Kai nodded, holding onto Cole’s arm.
Wu turned his attention to the ghost. “Try not to rip apart.” He suggested.
+=+=+=+=+
“So this circle will send Ghost home?” Lloyd asked, looking at the chalk lines rendered by Zane’s careful hand, then at the candles Master Wu had helped to set up. The ghost was standing next to Cole, who had managed to stand—mostly by leaning most of his weight onto Kai, who stood between him and the ghost.
Master Wu looked the circle over. “It… might.” He confirmed. Everyone stared at him. “What? I’ve traveled between worlds, not to wherever he’s from.”
“L—t’s—ust—urr—p.” The ghost said, his voice having gotten worse over the past two hours. His form wavered, barely visible at all but for the brightly glowing rift on his head. He walked to the center of the circle, and looked at Lloyd. “Ligh—t—up.”
Lloyd nodded, brandishing a lighter he had found on the Bounty. He kneeled down, pressing the flame to the chalk. It caught, and the whole circle began to glow.
A hole through the ghost’s chest grew wide, more holes appearing throughout it. Everyone watched as the glow from the circle grew in intensity…
And then it didn’t. Everyone looked on in horror as the ghost flickered in place and the circle’s glow dimmed down to nearly nothing.
“No…” Lloyd said.
“C’mon, work!” Kai urged, but the circle remained inert.
“It’s ho—peless.” The ghost lamented. “I’m going to fade—fade away.” Its voice echoed with a deep sort of pain that Cole felt even if he didn’t fully understand.
“No, you’re not.” Cole protested, stumbling forwards onto the circle. “Because ninja never quit.” Recognition flashed in the ghost’s eyes, and for a moment, his body was solid enough for Cole to recognize his own face staring back at him.
“Bro—” Kai stepped into the circle to grab Cole’s shoulder. The circle began to glow softly.
“Wait…” Lloyd looked at the circle. “Everyone, get in the circle!” He ordered. Nya jumped in without hesitation, Jay hesitating before stepping within it as well. Zane wheeled forwards, and the circle’s glow brightened even further.
Lloyd stepped forwards, and the circle lit up fully with an ominous hum—
A tearing sound rang out through the hideout as a sudden wind buffeted them all. The ground shook, the whole floor lit up, the ghost’s arms lit up orange, his hands hot against Cole’s arms—
The ground disappeared from under Cole—it felt like he was pushed through a hole too small, but without being crushed in any way. The nothingness around him spun, then Cole felt a sudden twist—
Cole grunted as he impacted what felt like an old wooden floor—and as Kai landed directly on top of him. Four more impacts sounded out, and Cole squinted against the bright green glow. It looked like they had been dropped into some old building in the middle of the night—but the ghost’s green illuminated the scene just well enough. When Cole finally processed what he was looking at, his jaw dropped.
He knew the ghost was some… alternate version of him. Probably. But, if he was being honest, he hadn’t really had any expectations for what would happen beyond the vague hope that it would all work out and the ghost would no longer need to haunt him.
This was… well.
Cole watched as the ghost floated towards—it looked like a corpse, if he was being honest, skin pulled taut over the flesh. A nasty-looking hole lined with green light in the guy’s chest caught Cole’s eyes, and he winced. More off-putting than that, though, was the empty stare set into a very familiar face. His face.
The corpse stumbled forwards, and then it and the ghost both raised a hand. They reached out, and Cole wriggled in an attempt to get out from under a squirming Kai and turned-around Zane as the ghost’s fingers met the corpse’—
There was a very bright explosion.
Cole and the others were all thrown back onto a set of stairs, the hard edge digging into Cole’s gut as his chin slammed against another stair. Ow, that hurt, and now all of Zane’s weight was on top of him instead of just his legs—
Cole shoved Zane off of him, and looked around. The secret hideout was gone, replaced with an old… temple? that Cole didn’t recognize. The floor at ground level was scorched in a vaguely circular shape, two massive doors across the room were wide open, revealing a grassy field and night sky—
And there were six figures all in a heap on the floor, the one in the center sobbing with laughter. Six familiar figures, who all slowly stood while still pressed together.
Lloyd spoke first. “Hey, wait!”
The six strangers turned their attention onto the Secret Ninja Force. For a moment, nobody moved or spoke. Then—
“What the fuck?!”
#zaz writes#ninjago#lego ninjago#cleaved au#the lego ninjago movie#cole ninjago#ghost cole#lloyd garmadon#jay walker#kai ninjago#nya ninjago#zane julien#master wu#AUGHHHHHH#EIGHT THOUSAND WORDS?????#tw body horror#ghost is described as having holes in him/no face at multiple points#it's not graphically described bc he's a ghost but. yeah#tw vomit#chat#chatfic#partly#the crimedoer running gag is 100% from k1ngtok1's fic ''you have (+99) notifications'' which is a BANGER and you should all go read it#gonna link it on the ao3 ver if i can#it is. 12:30 AM as i'm queueing this and i have work tomorrow LMAOOOOO#also yes. movie cole's identity was revealed >:]#it was either that or his mask caught his vomit when ghost unpossessed him#and i didn't want him to vomit in his mask so. took the worse route#crossover#anyway. now that cleaved is done i can relax until school starts
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Me, remembering that a headcanon that has become a fundamental part of how I view the show isn’t actually canon: oh. um. well anyway
#okay this is specifically talking about time lord names and marriages#because have the headcanon that all time lords have a ‘true’ name in old high Gallifreyan that is less given to them and more revealed when#they look into the untempered schism#this name isn’t just a name but a fundamental part of their existence in the universe and telling people this name has a tangible effect on#the universe itself#so this name is only shared at specific moments#like marriages for example and two time lords sharing their true names with each other twists their timelines together so that they will#always keep meeting each other#this also works retroactively so that their pasts are linked as well because you know weird timeline fuckery#anyway this is my explanation for why the doctor and the master (as well as the doctor and river) keep meeting#yes I’m part it is because of their own efforts but those efforts are guided by the fact that their timelines are intertwined#the universe will always have them find each other#and then I remember that this isn’t actually canon and I made it up#doctor who#time lords
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never have i been so entirely exhausted from sitting in front of a laptop in a dark room for three hours gay! and so full of delight and happiness! like wow! i have not felt this good in ages!! and its a good kind of tired! i feel like im glowing!
but shit, the update is more than i could've dreamed of. like i said - three straight hours of combing, and i probably still missed a thing or two! i'm even saving the storytime audio to enjoy in the morning, i haven't listened to it yet!
i already have so many thoughts and emotions but i'm... so wiped out oh my god lmao. so much new stuff at once! i need to sleep on it all! and in the morning i will be more than happy to reply, interact, answer asks on this subject, share my actual thoughts - i just need to take the rest of the night to Process and rest, yk yk
and i know i "missed" some links on my liveblog! i know i know! i didn't add every single thing i found - like most of the Wally audios - because i'll be compiling them all into a labeled post tomorrow! when i wake up! i'm already looking forward to it <3 i'm confident i personally found all of them, though! i was Thorough! i went through everything at least twice, i tabbed through, i clicked on Everything...
but yes i hope you all are having a wonderful Update Day/Evening/Morning/Afternoon As The Case May Be. this is truly a delight and again, more than i could've dreamed of. i'd forgotten what it's like to be so wholly excited and delighted by something! it's been so long since i've felt this kind of genuine joy and whimsy! usually im white-knuckling my optimism and happiness but tonight it was all authentic 100% non-forced From The Soul!
#a very exciting day of Not Much Happening and then Everything At Once#the constant (joyous) stress over the update and then the intense euphoria of experiencing it....#very very exhausted i have no energy left in me for literally anything#a sleep will fix that though#and ill be back to Chatter and Ramble#absolutely unprompted#scribble salad#i cant believe we're only at the very beginning... there is already So Much!#so much good stuff! incredible stuff! monumental work! i literally cant fathom that this is the Tip of the iceberg! what the fuck!#but thats something to swoon over another day#we have the update!#a plethora of audio clips and new information to chew on!#but yes yes i will make a tumblr post with all of the links#in order! labeled! for your convenience and viewing and reblogging pleasure!#and a different post with my personal thoughts and emotions! i have many!#alright yes stepping away from the laptop now#water. teeth. cats. sleep. yes. totally going to do that.#i already know im gonna lay down get cozy and then my eyes are gonna Fly Open. Wide Awake#perhaps i should take some melatonin lol#i want to be able to wake up in a timely manner Well Rested and ready to compile!!!#a melatonin night it is!#but yes i hope you all are having fun!!!#feel free to shoot me asks and such! i am more than happy to Respond and Discuss!#i will be making my main posts / sharing my thoughts before answering anything tho lol i will say that now#that way i can say my piece#and then if i get any asks about something ive already covered i can just Link the Post!#for ease of all of us <3#but yes goodnight!!!#i cant wait to scribble and talk and AGH!!!#to clown and everyone working on welcome home you guys are the fucking most and its just. its everything
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bbceurovision: Say hello to all our incredible Grand Finalists!
"The reason why we showed a pride flag in that scene [instead of our national flag] is very simple: Waving the German flag is a sign that only partially stands for solidarity, tolerance and acceptance, because sadly there are still way too many people in Germany who do not uphold these values — as you can see currently in our comment sections. So we rather wanted to show a flag that does advocate exactly these values, and say: This is way more important than our national borders."
- Lord of the Lost, Shop Takeover Q&A
#lord of the lost#lotl#esc#esc 2023#yes yet another post about FLAG GATE tm#mainly because i just discovered the whole video instead of just one screenshot and found it hilarious so i had to share#also the impact of that gesture when the clip is included in a video with all the other contestants who DO show their national flags#(not that they did wrong in showing their flags although i totally agree with lotl‘s mindset of national pride being an outdated concept)#(like just cannot wrap my head around it at all but maybe that's the german in me speaking...)#also sharing again to include their beautiful statement from their q&a#what a great occasion to listen to noituLOVEr / love revolution on my way to work in a few mins#and as per usual you know the drill: the comment section under the linked twitter post is full of hate and queerphobia#so take care of yourself when clicking on the link and remember that you are loved and not alone <3
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