#world of the coinless billy cranston

[augment-techs]

Question Game. What does self-care look like for you? Biggest lie you ever told? What is your biggest heartbreak? How do you keep yourself somewhat sane? + Coinless Jason

(For the sake of my sanity and everyone else's, I'm going with the open Huntsman AU version of Jason, because at least he is carefully curated in my head for vengeful activity in later works and this gives me a reason to talk about him.)

What Does Self-Care Look Like?:

Self-Care for Jason is having access to shaving tools and eating a meal that smells good and has a calorie count that will keep him alive for three days if he becomes trapped somewhere. It's not exactly healthy to focus on things that he had to rely on through the goodwill of Drakkon or Skull's trickery in their shared hallway in their cells, but it makes him feel less jittery than if he just leaves his stubble to grow or lets the staff of Promethea or the Rangers of the Prime Universe provide him with food.

Biggest lie you ever told?:

There never seems to be an end of the lies he's had to tell to make sure the Omega Rangers allow them to keep using Safehaven's Master Arc.

That he's sure that everything in the Coinless universe is going fine with Drakkon stuck in the Prime even though they left Billy still under Drakkon's obedience spell and he was too clever to be left to his own devices.

That he was perfectly healthy because Drakkon kept losing bets to the Red Ranger even after being in what amounted to solitary confinement for a little over seventeen years.

That the Green Dragon Coin from Drakkon was being cleansed with ease while they waited on their collection of turned Sentries to be returned back from the timelines and dimensions that the Grid had accidentally (or meaningfully) pulled them to when The Void was brought back into the Grid.

But if pressed, he might have to go with the fact that he ever said out loud, "Everything's going to be fine," before Drakkon stole the White Light from him... Maybe.

What is your biggest heartbreak?:

Watching Skull go through a two year cycle of being made to dehydrate, starve, and drown in the cell across from him without being able to do anything but make it worse when he cursed out or goaded Drakkon about not being able to PROVE Skull was a spy.

That and the time Jason got double pneumonia, was totally out of his mind calling for his mother, and woke up one morning a year to the day from being freed by Promethea to find himself out of his armor prison, curled up in a ball with his head on Skull's lap, the man brushing his hair like he was five--just the way his mother used to do it for him.

It was the best he'd felt in years and he'd gone back to sleep thinking it was a dream or a hallucination and not something to worry about. Which was completely false as he'd woken up hours later, his fever broken, to the reality that Skull had in fact managed to get out of his own cell, through all of the locks and codes for Jason, gotten the Red Ranger out of the prison armor without setting off the alarms, and had pissed Drakkon off horrendously.

All of this without breaking any rules. He had not tried to escape, he had not tried to help Jason escape, and Jason had never seen Drakkon shocked into silence at someone addressing him--to his face--about showing ethical obligations towards the prisoners under his authority.

Drakkon had let Jason remain inside his cell without being bound back into the prison suit for three days, but Skull had been removed to somewhere else during that entire time. And when he'd been placed back into the armor, Drakkon had a showcase set up on a screen across from him so he could see a movie showing off exactly how "merciful" he was when his authority was questioned--even by a sentry Captain whose charges of treason and espionage hadn't been confirmed.

The recording had sound, but there was never any screaming involved. The only screaming and crying came from Jason when Drakkon grinned and told him Skull would be back only once Finster had sown him back up again.

How do you keep yourself somewhat sane?:

Observing that there were, in fact, versions of Tommy Oliver that became wonderful fathers and husbands, teachers, teammates, friends, and even martyrs and being allowed to realize that Jason's mercy wasn't a defect in his character.

Talking with Kimberly in the aftermath of The Void, both of them in Ranger Colors again, though the White on Jason took a little getting used to, it wasn't as painful as he thought once Saba was taken back from Drakkon despite the madman's screaming and cursing at theft and ownership and how he'd won. The two of them were damaged horribly, but in different ways that made them both think they'd they'd gotten off luckier than the other; as fucked up as that was.

Seeing that even in the heart of darkness that was Drakkon's palaces and army, there were some good people that had helped the Coinless in their own ways under a guiding hand of an ally, even when Skull was in prison and couldn't offer a word without all of them at risk of being horribly killed.

Planning out how to return to the Coinless world and relieve Billy from his duty as regent, as well as remove the spell on him.

And learning music. Not just songs, but how to read sheet music and even play an instrument or two, despite having not special talent for it. Given that it had built him up back into being something close to sane after so many years completely alone except for Drakkon, it seemed the most obvious thing to embrace in his freedom.

@ajgrey9647

[ajgrey9647]

Self-soothing prompts: Wrapping themself in a large blanket that makes them feel small and safe. + Coinless Zack?

Pain in Multiples/No One Can Save You But You

His life had changed so dramatically and rapidly that Zack had no time to process the traumatic events as they unfolded. The Black Ranger had stubbornly held on to the big picture once his initial shellshock in the aftermath of Drakkon’s birth had receded. There hadn’t been a choice, really.

The survivors needed him to get his head together, to keep them safe, to formulate some kind of plan to defeat the monster. However, everything he came up with amounted to a suicide mission, their chances of success well in the negative percentile. Which Billy claimed wasn’t empirically possible as his mind scrambled for tight control of whatever it could find and, of course, mathematics and its precise outcomes fit the bill nicely.

Zack barely kept himself from the flashpoint of rage at the silly, pedantic statement, his hand smacking sharply against the assortment of scribbled papers littering the rickety table.

“Obviously, I don’t literally mean we have a -1000% of defeating Lord Drakkon, Billy!” he snapped, hating himself for his irritation even as the words tumbled forth. “I just don’t care for the words ‘certain death’, alright?”

The Blue Ranger retreated back to his tiny cot in the stark, barren room of the abandoned nursing facility like a scolded puppy.

“Oh God, Billy! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” the black-clad teen sighed, following his friend’s retreat.

He nestled on the lumpy piece of furniture next to where the blonde genius huddled under a ragged scrap of a blanket, only the wispy top of his golden locks visible.

“No, Zack. I’m the one who should be apologizing… I should have been able to determine a quicker way to infuse Jason with the White Tiger powers. Or invented a way to help fortify the Command Center against breaches. If I had, then Zordon, Alpha, and Jason would still be here,” he sobbed brokenly. “This is all my fault!”

Placing a shaky hand over the tightly bundled fabric, the Black Ranger hissed forcefully.

“That’s not true, man! If anything is anyone’s fault…well, I could have tried harder or looked longer to find Tommy before that son of a bitch hitched himself back with Rita! I could have convinced him his place was with us! Then there would have no need for new powers or any of that other shit!”

Of course, words were hollow in moments such as these.

The icy fingers of blame stretched far and wide, ensnared deep in the darkest parts of each Ranger’s heart. No amount of countering could convince any of them that they did not have a direct hand in the terrible emergence of this homicidal, superpowered dickhead.

Zack already knew full well where Kimberly Hart stood on her role in this nightmarish clusterfuck. Their conversation had gone no better than the one he’d had with the Blue Ranger. Full of rage and vengeance in addition to her bitter tears, the Pink Ranger spit fire as she insisted upon her failure.

“And if I pressed harder on my suspicion that Tommy was the Green Ranger way back before we finally found out, maybe that would have changed things, given us more time, I don’t know! Or if I had been able to get through to him when I confronted him in the Youth Center before the Sword of Darkness was destroyed…” she yelled, kicking violently at a haphazard stack of old wooden crates outside the kitchen.

The tiny girl had been profoundly changed the moment Drakkon’s deadly hands held forth Jason’s blood streaked red Tyranno helmet with its shattered visor. Something broke inside her at seeing the graphic evidence of her beloved big brother’s murder.

Kimberly often awoke in the wee hours of the night, screaming a heartbroken wail that echoed easily down the tiled corridors where the remaining citizens secreted themselves from Drakkon’s Red Sentry army.

“I miss him, Zack! I don’t know how to live without him here, to protect us, guide us… I’d give anything for one more of his big teddy bear hugs right now!” she moaned, her knees giving out and dropping her to the ground. “To hear his voice…”

From a battered canvas bag she kept guarded on her person at all times, her trembling hands pulled out a small, velvety plush dinosaur, it’s black plastic eyes seemingly gazing into their souls, the two small front legs adorned with soft, felt claws.

“Rexy…” Zack gasped in wonderment. “How the hell did you get that? And when? Drakkon’s goons…”

Kim cuddled the T Rex tightly to her chest in defiance.

“Don’t worry about it,” she retorted. “It’s one piece of Jason that motherfucker won’t ever get!”

She breathed deeply of the top of Rexy’s head.

“It still has his smell. I’m afraid of the day that it will be gone too.”

“Kim…”

But the Pink Ranger turned her head away.

“Just leave me alone, Zack… Please…”

As for Trini, she didn’t speak much for quite awhile after the events of Ascension Day, merely staring into space and only doing anything when guided physically by another person to do so. Usually that person was the Black Ranger. Caring for the catatonic girl was one concrete thing he could do to help anything in this godforsaken hellhole.

With his diligence, he’d finally coaxed the start of a few small words from the Yellow Ranger as they sat nibbling a stale piece of bread covered with a swath of crunchy peanut butter to disguise its brittleness.

“Evil won,” she whispered. “Rita…won..”

Zack couldn’t stomach hearing that sentiment.

“No, she didn’t. We’re still here, girl! And we’ll find a way to beat them! Just like we always do!”

But she shook her head, long dark swishing her upper arms.

“Not this time. There’s no going back. He killed them…”

Damn, but those early days were rough. Days? Hell, months to be more accurate.

They were all fortunate to have some time to regroup and rest within the confines of the crumbling facility Bulk had led them to before they’d been flushed out like a nest of fledgling mice into the night. More people were lost in the confusion and chaos… there was no to prevent that with the might of the jackal-like Sentries.

He, along with Kimberly, Billy, Trini, Bulk, and Skull, had managed to herd whoever he could to safety, delivering a series of satisfying blows to the marauders as he did so. Morphing into their respective suits was eerie and horrible without Jason there to call out in his deep, authoritative yell, ‘It’s Morphin’ Time!’ or ‘Tyrannosaurus!’

It was salt in their still fresh wound.

But once again, Zack was unable to take the time to properly mourn or grieve or fully appreciate the gravity of their new rebellious resistance. It felt like a movie or a nightmare or a really bad bout with alcohol… anything but reality. He always half expected to wake up in his bed before school or in the Command Center with his head bandaged or being given some elixir to reverse a spell… only to be depressingly disappointed.

The Black Ranger had not one spare minute, not when there were issues to address such as procuring food, medical equipment, weapons, clothing, or other supplies, finding safe places to hide out, or constructing their new Coinless leadership. Trini seemed to come back to life when this was going on, drawing on tremendous inner strength and determination in their fallen friends’ honor.

They would slay the dragon.

But the spiteful prick inflicted more lethal wounds before they even got that far in their day to day considerations, operating from a primal survival mode as they cared for what people remained of Angel Grove.

Rumor spread that Rita was dead, killed by ‘her’ evil Ranger’s dagger. Whispers swirled throughout what remained of the city where a lavish palace was being constructed even as the surrounding landscape slowly regressed, unnoticed in the wake of Drakkon’s coup. Those with firsthand knowledge described Rita’s final moments, screeching at the tyrant about his ‘careless, short-sighted, and impertinent decision’. No one knew to what she was referring but rather than argue, Drakkon turned toward his Empress, smiled beatifically as he declared his entitlement to a ‘prize from his battle’, and casually drove his blade through her torso.

Death and loss followed the asshole like a contagious disease.

Drakkon took Billy from them, as effortlessly as blowing a girlish kiss, his Red Sentry blasting a gory hole through the Blue Ranger as he stood protectively before Trini, her morpher already yanked from her belt and being twirled in the tyrant’s long fingers. Zack had swooped in then, challenging the dictator after knocking the murderous Sentry from the bluffs overlooking the ocean.

“Well, hello again, Zackary…” Drakkon purred, his helmet slowly roving up and down the Black Ranger’s battle-damaged suit. “Tough breaks, hmmm? Looks like you’re down another Ranger. Too bad little Skullovitch wasn’t here to save his precious boytoy this time.”

“Fuck you, you cowardly piece of shit!” Zack screamed, calling forth his axe. “I’m going to send you back to hell where you came from!”

This bluster only made Drakkon laugh wildly.

“Look around, dumbass… We’re already there.”

A white and gold saber appeared in the tyrant’s gloved hand.

“I’m glad we’ve finally gotten the chance to chat again…I never had the opportunity to regale you with my little convergence of the twain… Jason’s agonizing death when he refused to submit…”

“Shut up!” Zack snarled, swinging the heavy weapon in a wide arc that Drakkon deftly dodged with a combat roll.

Giggling, the evil Ranger slashed his blade through the air in an arrogant display.

“I tried to be merciful, Zackary, for what’s it worth… a quick, painless snap of his neck… like a chicken in a barnyard or a bunny rabbit outside its warren. But he just wouldn’t hold still… until I beat that hard head of his like a punching bag.”

Grinning through his lies, Drakkon wished he could see the Black Ranger’s face as he made up the nastiest details he could imagine.

“I destroyed that disgusting red helmet and he still thrashed around like an animal in a snare, covered in piss when he lost control of his bladder and running into things because his eyeballs ruptured under my fists. It looked like raspberry jelly smeared down his cheeks… But I really thought that crack to his neck did the trick when he dropped like a ton of bricks!”

Roaring in fury, Zack charged again, locking his axe with Drakkon’s sword as the tyrant continued to fib.

“I reached down to take his coin, Black Ranger, and that silky little belly was moving up and down. He was still breathing, crying and begging for his ‘mommy’”, he sneered in disdain. “So, I did the kindest thing I could… I hacked him open and field dressed him like a deer, pulling his guts out while he tried to scream…”

His words were cut off when Zack’s fist collided squarely with the hybridized helmet, knocking Drakkon backward toward the drop off to the turbulent ocean below. The Black Ranger was too enraged to question the tyrant about some of the inconsistences in his gruesome tale, namely that if he had gutted Jason, Drakkon should have been painted with his scarlet blood instead of just what dripped from the Tyranno helmet.

“And Zordon got to witness the whole shameful thing!”

Zack’s vision misted over with tears, the vile meanness of what happened to Jason making him want to vomit. And that was when Drakkon ceased his possumy, demure antics and proceeded to maul the Black Ranger like a pit bull, a stunning about-face that left the teen reeling.

His Mastodon coin was savagely yanked from his belt, depowering him in a flash of crackling black light. Only the sudden interference from Kimberly saved him from a deadly blow by Drakkon’s sword, as the Pink Ranger’s arrow struck the tyrant’s leg, dropping him to one knee.

She’d overheard everything, every vile detail he had had spewed and after seeing Trini cuddling Billy’s mangled corpse in her arms, watching Zack’s helpless struggle, she could no longer hold back.

“You son of a bitch! I’m going to kill you! Gut you just like you did Jason, you sick fuck!” Kim screamed.

Reinforcements arriving vibrated the ground they cowered upon and time was up. At least for now.

Trini dashed into the bracken, her blood-soaked shirt clinging to her upper body and Billy’s Triceratops coin hidden in her bra. Zack foolishly snared Kim’s waist and hauled her off into the woods as Drakkon bellowed in pain, pulling himself to his feet.

He glared after the retreating former Rangers, then lifted his hand, waggling his fingers like a toddler.

“See ya later, alligator!”

The Mastodon and Saber tooth Tiger coins were clutched tightly in his palm, perfect additions for those clamoring for the opportunity to serve in his ranks. He grinned, satisfied he’d supplied enough nightmare fuel to keep Kimberly and Zack awake for years to come.

The loss of his coin, forcefully removed from his body instead of transferred to another, left Zack in the throes of physical withdrawal as he adjusted from the enhancements of the Grid back to a mere mortal human. His skin was clammy, drenched in sweat, and he suffered the shakes to the point he couldn’t even feed himself without help.

Not that it mattered much.

He vomited everything he put in his mouth anyway.

So, ultimately all he could do at that point in time was lay upon a pallet in a ramshackle farmer’s barn somewhere in the countryside, listening to the world go on outside its sun-faded red walls. Unable to get up, or sit up, or speak more than a few words at a time, even that was exhausting.

Zack had the distinct privilege of hearing Kimberly’s loud, enraged cursing, swearing, and threatening all manner of violence upon Lord Drakkon, rebuffing all who attempted to calm her down. Skull curled into a ball somewhere near the cow pasture, wailing and wishing death for himself at the loss of Billy as Bulk tried helplessly to protect him from his own hand.

Eventually, both the Pink Ranger and Eugene disappeared into the night some time down the road. Kim returned as the devil’s right hand warrior and Skull not at all, both to Farkas’s immense grief.

Loss after loss after loss after loss. A whole goddamn mountain of them. And Zack was unable to stem the tide. What more were waiting just around the corner? Who else was going to die?

Zack was still a child himself; they all were. He wished Jason were here because he’d know how to handle things. Then thoughts of his deceased leader coalesced into images of his brutal, bloody murder and then the teen couldn’t sleep for fear of closing his eyes.

He didn’t want to be strong, dammit! He wanted someone to comfort him, to take over, to make decisions, to be a fucking adult, to fix things, right all these impossible wrongs…

But there was no one who could mentally or physically extend themselves to another, as all were as depleted as he was.

So, Zack settled for what he could given the circumstances. He pulled a heavy, old blanket from some unknown room from wherever the fuck they’d ended up now and disappeared into the shadows. Wrapping himself snuggly in the scratchy material, he scrunched into as small a ball as he could manage, feeling like an egg in a nest or an infant being swaddled in his mother’s arms.

And from that cocoon of safety, Zack finally allowed himself to release the agonized tears he’d saved up beginning the day that Jason ‘died’.

[ranger-ribbons]

"You don't have to be alone anymore." + World of the Coinless Jason, Kimberly & Bulk

This is also a piece you're gonna have to forgive me for, I don't know anything about them. We'll see where this gets us lol

~

Jason sits on a rock overlooking a small pond. He watches the water with critical, but haunted eyes. He wants, more than anything, for peace and quiet.

He's lucky he gets quiet.

Jason hears the screams again. He hears them even when his eyes are open. He hears them at night when the nightmares take hold. He hears them when his mind wanders and take him back to that fateful day everything changed.

Jason had been awake when Billy was killed. Contrary to the belief that he wasn't, and was therefore spared the pain of hearing Billy's death. Jason had heard. Jason had heard the sword stab Billy's chest, Jason had heard Billy's lungs fill with blood, Jason had heard Billy choke on his blood as it suffocated him, crawling up his throat to smother him. Jason had heard it all, and Jason can hear it when he's not distracted. The images of Billy dying, of Billy meeting his eyes as the light Jason had adored dimmed and was extinguished- those memories still haunt him, even all these years later.

Jason curses the day Tommy came to Angel Grove.

"Jase?" calls a familiar voice.

Jason doesn't turn, despite knowing who it was, and likely what they wanted.

"Hey, man, you okay up there?"

"Jason, please, come down."

Jason doesn't move. The screaming still echoes. Someone touches his shoulder and Jason reacts without thinking. He grabs the wrist and yanks, bringing Bulk into his vision.

"Whoa, hey!" Bulk says, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Kim comes up on Jason's other side. "Jase, it's okay," she says. "We're here. We know."

Because Kim had been there too, the day Billy died. Kim, just like Jason, can hear the screams as well. Unbidden, Jason's eyes fill with tears and he tries to hold them back. He feels like he's been handed a pamphlet that says, "Congratulations, you survived the war! Now live with the trauma!"

"Jase," Kim says. She kneels to his level, looking him in the eyes. Bulk squats to be below him, looming at him with eyes so soft, Jason almost can't believe Bulk ever bullied the Rangers back in school. "Jase, talk to us," Kim pleads.

"Please, Jason," Bulk adds.

Kim offers him a smile. Jason's emotions burst like a waterbaloon, and the tears come flooding down. Kim drags him into a hug, and Jason grips her dirt-stained jean jacket as if he'd float away if he didn't keep hold. Bulk wraps his arms around both of them and holds on just as tight.

Jason sobs, cries long and hard, pouring his grief into his tears and crying. The tears drip onto Kim's shoulder, but she says nothing. Rubbing his back, Kim hums a gentle song. She just sits there and lets him cry, lets him grieve. Bulk squeezes Jason's shoulder, says nothing. They both offer their gentle comfort and all the kindness this world will allow.

"It's okay, Jase," Kim whispers.

"You're alright, Jason," Bulk echoes.

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

~

@augment-techs

[skyland2703]

Playlist 100 ask: *ahem* Brainwashed!Billy/Sentry!Skull AU.

Note: I am NOT making this AU any easier on you~

Billy’s conscious was well and alive, he could see, he could feel… but he was a prisoner in his own mind. It was as if there were two of them, one, as he had always been, and another, upon who he had no control over.

To anyone looking at him from outside, he wouldn’t be Billy. He’d be Drakkon’s minion, the despot’s left hand, where the Ranger Slayer was right. He’d appear brainwashed, he’d appear someone who wasn’t a master of their own mind, following blindly everything Drakkon ever said.

They wouldn’t be wrong.

Because after all, there he was, holding a blade to the throat of the boy who— many, many years ago— had been his best friend, and saved his life risking his own. He had no will, no way to fight this monster in his mind, who was doing everything Drakkon told him to.

He needed someone to pull him out of it, snap him out of it, to build him back up, to have faith in enough in him, to save him.

Eugene Skullovitch, Red Sentry, and someone who had turned out to be a double agent for the Coinless, was staring at him through his perpetually tired grey eyes, as if studying him, through the visor of his suit.

He looked like he was seeing past the barriers that held Billy chained inside his mind, and something inside him felt breaking.

He smiled, “I know you’re in there, behind all of that.”

Billy wanted to shout, say that he was coming for him, but instead, what came out of his mouth was a loud grunt, “what are you talking about, traitor?” In a voice gruff enough for it to sound forced.

“You know what I mean” he smiled, looking as if he knew everything.

Maybe he could see the shifting confusion in the ex-blue Ranger’s eyes, or demeanour, and his smile transformed into a full fledged smirk.

“At least I get to die at your hands, Bones”

Something broke, at that moment, because Billy, Skull’s Billy, suddenly found an insane amount of strength, as if he’d go insane if he didn’t run to Skull yet, he’d die. His metallic fist clamps let go of Skull’s neck from one, and the knife off the other, the red Sentry fell to the floor, and smiled back at Billy, and then seconds later, scurried away.

Billy found himself facing the backlash of resisting the magic, crumbling onto the floor, in eternal agony.

It was worth it.

[ajgrey9647]

"Suck on it." + Boom! Comics; GGPR universe or Coinless Universe + Billy/Skull ^^

In the Moment/It's All That Matters

That night as they sat at the counter in Billy’s kitchen, devouring steaming bowls of Hamburger Helper and hotdogs, followed by shy, soft kisses, Skull considered one of the best of his life. To know that the blonde genius returned his affections made his heart feel as if he were soaring. He thought he must be dreaming that he’d tasted the Blue Ranger’s soft lips.

He kept his promise about keeping the Rangers’ identities a secret, not even letting his best friend, Bulk, know what he’d seen. Nor did Billy make the others aware that Skull had seen them morph. All that the scrawny teen could do was cheer quietly from the sidelines, though his stomach clenched with worry whenever he watched the deadly battles on television screens.

Seeing Tommy strutting down the halls at school made him bristle. Knowing that the viper was slithering about so close and being unable to do anything about it made Skull feel nauseous. He was right that Oliver, that fucking dick, was dangerous. More than once Tommy caught Eugene glaring at him angrily and he’d smile brightly before flipping him the finger.

That dreary, rainy Saturday afternoon, Skull lounged on his lumpy mattress, idly flipping through his new copy of a Spiderman comic, gifted from Bulk, when he heard a sudden series of blows hammering smartly against his bedroom door. He jumped causing the brightly colored pages to flutter to the floor.

“Hey butthead!” Stan screamed from the opposite side. “Your little boyfriend’s here to see you!”

Butterflies swirled in his guts as he scrambled to his feet, excited to be seeing Billy unexpectedly even here in this hell pit. Straightening his clothes and running a hand through his disheveled dark hair, Skull struggled to fight the goofy grin threatening to stretch across his face.

As soon as the door swung to, the problem of a cheesy smile was no longer his biggest issue.

“Hey there, buckaroo,” Tommy cooed, all sunshine and rainbows except his eyes which were bottomless black pools.

‘He really IS a demon,’ the punk’s mind realized despite the eruption of fear and panic blasting away logical thought.

“You two don’t be making out now,” Stan chirped before bounding back down the stairs to the living room where his buddies were plotting their newest escapade.

As soon as the older boy was gone, Tommy bulldozed his way into Skull’s bedroom, shoving him back until he tripped, landing roughly on the worn carpet in an untidy heap.

“Why are you here?” Eugene squeaked as he stared up at the menacing, psychotic teen who was pointedly swinging his door shut.

The patrician lips curled in an icy smirk when he heard the latch click ominously.

“You tell me, you chicken-looking motherfucker… Because I think you know.”

Skull inched away on his bottom under the Green Ranger’s contemptuous glare.

“I think you’re giving me too much credit, you fucking dick!” Skull spat, the words tumbling out to his bewildered horror.

Tommy’s head tilted as he considered the smaller, weaker boy scooting across the rug like a dog dragging worms out of its ass. His feline grin was full of sharp, white teeth and the black eyes flashed an emerald fire.

“Now, now, which one of us is running around pushing people off ledges, Eugeeennneee…” he hissed. “You can stop playing dumb. I know you know about me. And the other technicolor bitches.”

Somehow Skull managed to find his feet, not that it would do him any good. He couldn’t fight, not really, not skilled in any martial arts like the Rangers or this raging asshat. Dumb luck was the only thing that seemed to step in on his behalf and that wasn’t exactly a reliable weapon. His ass knocked into the splintered wooden chest of drawers, blocking further retreat.

“Did it make you feel good, Eugene, feel like a hero? Swooping in to save that little Blue nerd…” Tommy growled, coming ever closer. “Did it finally earn you some ass?”

Skull’s grey eyes were stormy as he stared back defiantly.

“Eat shit, Oliver, you pompous, power hungry, witch humping dumb fuck!” he snarled. “I bet you prance around in that Madonna inspired titty holder like you actually are in charge of anything, you sniveling puppet bitch!”

Tommy’s advance halted, his expression one of stunned fury at the scrawny little punk’s outburst.

“The fuck did you say to me?”

“What? Are you deaf AND stupid?” Eugene nearly yelled. “I had you figured out from the start even if I didn’t know you were a Ranger! You’re a sick fuck and I’ll be glad when Jason trashes your smug ass!”

This made the Green Ranger howl with laughter, his hands clutching his sides like a cartoon style bad guy.

“Is that what you think is going to happen, Skull? Haven’t you seen little Red Riding Hood limping down the school hallways? Or any of the rest of them? I know you saw what I did to Billy, the night you two sucked face…”

Inching his way around the room, Eugene frantically tried to figure out how he was going to escape this monster. Tommy slowly circled like a shark, awaiting an answer, amused at the boy’s glowering stare.

“What I think is going to happen is you getting your ass kicked five ways from Sunday!”

The green-clad teen rolled his eyes.

“So full of empty insults and pathetic wit. I’m going to bring those pitiful little children low, toy with them until they beg me for death, then drag them into the fiery pits of hell. But first I think I owe you for my little impromptu swim, don’t you, Eugene?”

At that moment, his shaky hand brushed a large plastic box perched on his nightstand and he instantly knew what he was going to do.

“Alright, Mean Green, come on! Take me out!” Skull challenged. “I’m not afraid of you, you nutty trash panda!”

Time seemed to stand still as Tommy took a large step forward, teeth bared and rearing an arm back to punch the smart ass into next week. He didn’t realize that the other boy’s arm was also moving until five seconds past too late. A wave of bright orange smacked him squarely in the face, painfully coating his wide eyes and invading his nostrils and mouth.

As the evil Ranger spat and hissed in fury, a mist of orange kinetic sand issuing forth when he bent forward to dig at his burning eyes, Skull ducked around him and out of the bedroom, sprinting down the stairs in a mad dash towards the living room. Fortunately, Stan was no where to be seen and his good ol’ ma and pa were who the fuck knew where…

Slamming into the front door, he hurled it open and darted out into the chilly rain.

Somehow, Skull had gotten lucky yet again…

However, eventually luck does run out and he was keenly aware of this fact.

The Day of the Great Battle was coming, though no one could know that and in the interim, Angel Grove was trashed along with many other cities across the world. The Rangers were hanging on by a thread, exhausted, demoralized, and knowing that they were most likely looking down the barrel to their own death. But they stubbornly refused to back down and surrender.

No where was safe and the frightened citizens had abandoned their homes, fleeing in terror from the army of monsters that seemed to come in wave after wave, prowling the streets as they gleefully sought weak, pathetic humans. Fires raged well into the night, the smoke permanently choking the air and giving everything the scent of burnt wood and decaying flesh.

This night was no different as Skull carefully crept amongst the shadows toward the park, not the popular one everyone else used, but a smaller one that he and Billy spent hours in as small children. The wooden play structure that served as their ‘ship’ somehow still stood against the dark sky, backlit by the moon.

And waiting inside, a lithe figure crouched.

“You came,” Skull whispered as loudly as he dared, hooking a leg up to climb into the makeshift tower.

“Affirmative,” Billy answered, leaping to his feet, his smooth hands gliding along the sides of Eugene’s face to pull him in for a deep kiss.

The lanky teen was happy to accept the passionate lip lock, relishing the warmth and softness under his lips. He wasn’t sure that he’d see the Blue Ranger again. And after tonight, he just might not, thanks to that demented, evil fucker cavorting up and down the city with his band of merry assholes.

Pulling back from his boyfriend’s lush mouth, but only slightly, he gazed into those amazing blue eyes intently.

“I thought you might be too busy. You mentioned that you guys might have found a way to stop that slimy son of a bitch, Captain Crazy Ass.”

Billy chuckled, always amused with the wide variety of nicknames and adjectives his boyfriend had coined for their deadly nemesis. It made the gravity of the situation a little more bearable.

“We’re harnessing the power of the White Light. They’re being made from the light of goodness and are stronger than any of our Ranger powers, including the Green Dragon,” he answered. “Ninjor, one of our allies, is feeding the energy into a coin that will create a new White Tiger Ranger. It should be ready in a day or two at most.”

“Sweet! I knew you guys would figure it out!” Skull crowed, pulling Billy tightly against him to twirl through the air. “So, who gets the honor of smoking that fucker?”

Steadying himself once he was back on his feet, Billy adjusted his glasses and quickly scanned the shadows for listening ears.

“Jason has the best shot against Tommy compared to the rest of us. He’ll have to take on these new powers and it might take some time to do it safely. We don’t want to risk overloading him by doing it too fast. It’s unknown how much Grid energy a human body can safely handle,” he whispered. “We just need to hold out a little longer.”

Eugene gave a theatrical sigh.

“Thank goodness! I miss the way things used to be, even going to school every day, just don’t tell Bulk I said that!”

Taking the Blue Ranger���s hands in his own, the skinny teen brushed his thumbs tenderly over the scratched and burned skin. Billy had been working nonstop, fighting the Green Goofy, repairing Zords back to back to back and earning painful electrical burns in his hurry, and assisting with this new power coin. It was obvious he was overwhelmed and exhausted.

“You know, in spite of all this fuckery and shocking revelation going on, I can honestly say that one positive thing came through,” Skull’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t know if I’d have ever got up the courage to tell you how I feel. Or to save a Ranger. Well, Rangers, I mean if you count me and Bulky intercepting Oliver before he blitzed Jason.”

He chuckled.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself during all this and it’s changed a lot. So, when this is over, Billy… I want everyone to know what you mean to me. I don’t care what anyone thinks about it. They can go pound sand!”

The blue eyes behind those wire frame glasses were sad and Eugene paused.

“What?”

Billy nestled closer into his boyfriend’s protective embrace.

“We not out of the woods. Not yet. Anything could happen between now and defeating Tommy. My brain can’t help but look at probabilities, Skull, and overall we don’t have the greatest odds until we secure the White Tiger powers.”

He was right. Skull knew it too, though he couldn’t bring himself to go down that line of thinking. Every moment needed to count.

Starting now. If Billy was feeling what he was feeling. There might be no second chances. Oliver was too goddamn nutty and unpredictable.

His hand moved to smooth the soft blonde hair back from the Blue Ranger’s face. Billy felt the charge in the air that sparked between them and his cheeks flushed shyly. All the uncertainty was making things happen at a faster pace than they would have if they could have gone along their natural course. Considering that they had never faced a foe as deadly as Tommy was proving to be, neither wanted to have regret.

Words were not needed once blue eyes met grey ones.

A sudden volley of passionate kisses and swarming hands was not something Skull expected from Billy. If anything, the punk was quite surprised that the Blue Ranger beat him to it. That evil asshole might liken Billy to an innocent, pathetic lamb, but there was a wolf hiding in this sheep’s clothing.

And he loved this unexpected contrast, seeing the meek, quiet boy ignite into full bloom.

Skull was more than happy to oblige Billy’s wild side as he no longer had to worry about frightening his boyfriend or if he was moving too fast. Time was a factor in their lives, looming over them like a Grim Reaper.

Scarred hands tugged at old black leather jacket, yanking it from the other man’s shoulders and down his arms before tossing it absently to the mulch below. They found their way to the hem of the faded orange t-shirt and worked it up and off to join the discarded coat below.

For once, Billy’s rational brain was offline.

Skull’s lips felt swollen from the deep, desperate kisses, the skin was his jaw to ear peppered with nips and licks before descending his throat in long sweeps.

“Fuck!” he couldn’t help but hiss, tilting his head back to give more access.

Where was this coming from? Billy had been holding back his human instincts for years, whether due to his shyness or the chaotic lifestyle of ‘Rangering’, and it begged for release. NOW.

Pulling Eugene’s face back down, those piercing eyes flashed with Grid energy, the Blue seeing the hints of Orange flashing in and out of existence, like a ghostly aura. Soul recognized soul, their places long cemented by forces beyond their control in the great vastness that comprised the mysterious, almost sentient Grid.

Fate or destiny or whatever you wanted to call it was not alone in making the decisions that shaped this world. The Grid was her chess partner in this friendly game.

Perhaps that is why it was so easy for the two new lovers to come together this way.

Breathlessly, Skull panted into Billy’s open mouth.

“Tell me what you want, Blue… I want to make you feel good, you deserve to feel so good…”

Without realizing what was going to tumble from his lips, the blissed out Ranger hissed painfully.

“Suck on it…”

He was too far gone to feel the embarrassment that he normally would have at uttering such crass and vulgar words, for desiring something so…so… primal.

But his boyfriend was more than eager to obey his strained wish, already sinking to his knees as he unzipped the pants confining an already engorged cock. His slim fingers slipped inside the waistband of the underwear and smoothly slid them down the smooth, muscular thighs.

Billy stared at the top of his dark hair as he moved and the moment his head passed the salivating lips, all thought was gone. He was fully flush with hormones and need and the way he needed this intimate moment with the man he loved.

Because in his heart of hearts, the Blue Ranger felt something ominous was on the horizon. Though no logic dictated this to be so, the Triceratops, the Blue energy felt the encroaching Green with its obsessive and monstrous force of will…

A more evil energy loomed, one unfamiliar but no less real…

Standing in the shadow’s a mere stone’s throw away, Tommy stood, watching the lovers. Of course, he knew the Rangers’ comings and goings. He even knew where they laid their heads at night. No reason to broadcast his knowledge because it wouldn’t matter in the end.

But this clandestine tryst revealed something he DIDN’T know.

‘Interesting… A new power for Little Red Riding Hood?’

He grinned in the darkness.

“We’ll see about that… I have a feeling things are going to go out of control…”

[ajgrey9647]

^^Cooking their favorite dish when the other one comes home from a long day of work + Billy/Skull (any universe, I'm not picky ^^)

The Truth in Orange and Blue

**World of the Coinless Universe**

Materializing in a crackling blue flash, he promptly collapsed to his knees on the soft bedroom carpet. Unable to remember the last time he’d been so bone tired, Billy grasped the sturdy wooden dresser and hauled himself upright. He panted with the effort, his entire body feeling like one giant bruise.

Tommy had been particularly vicious today, still mightily aggrieved from his tumble into the mall’s fountain a few weeks prior. His twisted knee did little to slow him down and he’d mauled the Rangers like a rabid, frenzied beast. Even the Putties seemed taken aback by his rage, if their odd clay faces were any indication. Goldar also pointedly gave him a wide berth on the battlefield, his beady red eyes fearful, which was bizarre.

Each brightly colored silk uniform was tattered and spotted with alarmingly large crimson stains. Kimberly suffered a dislocated shoulder where the Green Ranger had yanked her bow from her grasp. Zack limped on his shattered knee, Trini cradled her swollen left arm to her chest, and Jason was on their concussion protocol as the asshole had cruelly stomped on his helmeted head repeatedly.

Billy himself was moving rather stiffly as Tommy had swiped his razor sharp blade up his back before pummeling his ribs like a xylophone. 

‘I was the lucky one overall,’ he grunted, looking about his darkened bedroom cautiously. He wouldn’t have put it past the evil Ranger to come to their homes to continue his bloodbath. 

Frankly, the Blue Ranger was surprised he hadn’t already done so.

His stomach grumbled painfully, loudly, making him jump anxiously. Taking deep breaths, Billy attempted to settle himself. Of course, none of them had eaten dinner, the last few hours spent at the Command Center getting stitched back together. They were too tired, sore, and afraid to go grab a bite anywhere, instead just wanting to go home and collapse into unconsciousness. 

As he stood there silently debating if he could make it downstairs to the kitchen, decide what to eat, prepare the meal, eat, and make it back to his room without keeling over, Billy’s nose twitched at a delicious aroma wafting through his room. Straining his ears, he swore he heard the clatter of pots and pans, the beep of the microwave. 

‘Dad’s out so who could be puttering around down there?’

Gingerly, the blonde teen made his way to the door and cracked it open slowly to avoid the tell tale creaking of the hinge. He peeked around down the staircase and into the living room where the light from the kitchen cast long shadows about the empty sitting area. A shadow appeared to dance about as it moved from counter to appliance, and Billy even heard the few strained lyrics being crooned by the mysterious chef.

Obviously, the visitor wasn’t taking pains to be hidden so…

Quietly, the Blue Ranger tiptoed to the stairs and made his way down, his back still on fire and making him wince with the movement. Reaching the bottom, he poked his head around to find a tall, lanky teen gyrating and singing along with his beloved cassette player as he stirred something on the stove top. A glossy, black leather jacket hung from the corner of one of the tall kitchen chairs.

“Skull?” Billy muttered in confusion as the other boy executed a graceful twirl, a wooden spoon held before his lips like a microphone. 

Eugene’s gray eyes widened in surprise and embarrassment. He swiftly lifted his headphones and perched them around his neck. Red splotches flooded his cheeks and he grinned around his ever present bubblegum. 

“Well, hey there, Billy boy! I was starting to wonder when you’d make it home!”

Raising a brow, Billy moved into the kitchen to see what Skull was working on. It smelled wonderful.

“What are you doing here, Skull?”

The teen spread his arms as if it were obvious.

“Picking my ass? What’s it look like I’m doing?” he teased. “I’m making supper, goober!”

Gesturing at the pot simmering on the stove over his shoulder, he shrugged. 

“Nothing fancy. Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper. Only with hotdogs. Skullovitch specialty…”

Billy blinked several times behind his wire frame glasses before he could manage a response. 

“Uh, thanks, Skull. I remember we lived on that one summer when we were six,” he answered, feeling a ghost of nostalgia. 

Skull snapped his gum loudly, turning to grab a couple bowls from the cupboard. He scooped several heaping ladlefuls, the steam billowing from the cheese covered pasta. Sliding a bowl across the table towards Billy, he then settled in the chair across from him.

“Well, I know you had a rough day. It’s the least I could do.”

Billy paused, his fork halfway to his mouth and he felt his stomach twist in nervous knots. Eugene blew forcefully on his forkful of hotdog chunks and noodles before stuffing his face. He caught the other teen’s uncertain eyes and dropped a conspiratorial wink.

“Who’d have thought that after all those sunshiney afternoons playing superheroes that one of us would end up actually becoming one!” he commented nonchalantly. 

Billy’s fork clattered back into his bowl, spraying a small shower of limp noodles into his lap.

“What are you talking about, Skull? Superheroes?” he stuttered, trying to play it off with an impervious chuckle.

It fell flat.

“I saw you. All of you. Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and you. You’re the Power Rangers,” Skull explained. “I watched you transform in the park this afternoon when Mean Green showed up.”

He slurped more pasta and rolled his eyes in Billy’s direction.

“And I don’t even need you to tell me that that Grinch colored motherfucker is really Oliver. It all makes sense now, but I still wish you could have told me.”

The Blue Ranger was at a loss for words. Should he admit the truth? Or try to convince Skull he’d had some sort of sun stroke or dream? The other teen stared expectantly at him, his eyes bright and sure.

“It’s alright, Billy. Bulky didn’t see it and I have no plans to tell him either. Or anyone else. Don’t worry.”

All Billy could do was sigh, his shoulders slumping.

“I appreciate that, Skull. And the others will too. But it might take some time for them to trust you,” he confessed. “You’d really keep a secret from Bulk?”

Eugene scratched at the bottom of the plastic bowl with his fork.

“Bulk’s my buddy but sometimes he doesn’t think things through very well. Not that I’m much better most days. I do know that your guys’ identities getting out could be bad. I don’t even want to imagine what all your parents would say about you putting your lives on the line and brawling with giant monsters and wild assholes like Tommy,” he whispered.

He chuckled then, the corner of his lips lifting in a smirk.

“At least Oliver’s dad would have a reason to beat his ass this time. He’d feel proud to be proven right, that Tommy’s a fucking punk ass bitch. As I’ve heard him scream before with all their windows open.”

Then, Skull was reaching across the table, his warm hand covering Billy’s shaky one.

“I thought you sounded familiar too, that day at the mall when I charged that fucking dick like a bull. I thought I was just crazy though. And now that I know the truth, I can look out for you guys better and not rely on dumb luck like I had those times before.”

The blonde teen frowned.

“What do you mean? Those times before?”

Skull patted his hand gently before giving it a squeeze. 

“I’ve seen Tommy slinking around, like fucking Jaws in that old movie. Eyeing you guys like baby bunnies. Didn’t Jason tell you about when me and Bulk caught him waiting outside the Youth Center, hiding behind the dumpsters like a serial killer?”

When Billy shook his head, Skull took a deep breath.

“Yeah, I just caught sight of him. It was late and all the streetlights were coming on so I wasn’t sure at first. But something yelled at me to pay attention and then I saw his car. I just KNEW he was there to do something bad to Jase. So Bulk and I hauled ass and got to him first.”

Pulling his arm back, Skull scooped up his bowl and spun around off the chair, depositing his dirty items in the sink.

“Jason wouldn’t tell us why Tommy was so obsessed with him or what happened between the two of them. It’s crystal clear now. He’s gunning for the leader.”

This time when Skull returned to the table, he took the spot beside the other teen. He bit his lip nervously as he considered what he wanted to say.

“Look, Billy… Tommy’s worse than those other bad guys. He’s more of a monster than they are. So I’m gonna just go for it and say this rather than live in regret, alright? ‘Cause I’ll never be able to live with myself if…”

He puffed a shaky breath.

“I like you. Like ‘like you’ like you,” Eugene stumbled over his words before smacking his own forehead soundly. “You know what I mean, right?”

His brain felt like it was short circuiting, unable to come up with the words he’d rehearsed over and over as he awaited the Blue Ranger’s return. 

“I have love for you and I have for a while now. After the bullshit at the mall, I felt guilty because I felt something for a Power Ranger. And boy, did Bulk give me shit for that,” he plowed on, trying to puzzle out what Billy’s expression meant. “Something that day gave me courage and strength I didn’t have on my own. I couldn’t let the Blue Ranger be killed in front of me. No way was I going to allow that motherfucker to…”

Skull shook his head firmly.

“And  it was you under there! I must have known somehow, felt it or something. I don’t know… I felt this ‘thing’ in my heart, driving me forward!”

Skull felt like he was going to have a nervous breakdown. At this point, he’d rather wrestle a jacked up Tommy Oliver in a pool of chocolate pudding in their birthday suits than face Billy with his pathetic Romeo routine.

“Say something? Please? Cause I’m sitting here looking like ass…”

Something shifted in Billy’s eyes and before Skull could register what was happening, the Blue Ranger seized the neckline of his t-shirt and pulled him in for a desperate kiss. 

Eugene was right. Neither of them or any of the other Rangers knew what the future would bring, how much time they had left. They could die at any time and as young as they all were, so much would be left undone, unknown, un-experienced. 

Billy was not accustomed to living in the moment but he didn’t want to risk missing the chance to love and be loved in return for whatever lifespan he would be granted. As Eugene’s lips melted into his own, the Blue Ranger was certain he’d made the right decision.

[augment-techs]

Time for some fireside love and adoration in a Coinless Universe where BOTH Billy and Skull get to grow up to be badass (while still retaining their being hopeless and in love)~ Art and Attention to Detail and Ability to Make This Gif all credit and work by the lovely, splendorous, magnificent: @skyland2703

[ajgrey9647]

wip wednesday: no lie, this feels a tiny bit like a trap, but...hm.

A Momentous Occasion – Drakkon, Red, Prime Tommy Oliver, Prime Jason Scott, Prime Billy Cranston, Prime Matthew Cook, Coinless/Red Sentry Eugene Skullovitch. It’s a holiday celebration with our quad and the throuple….

lol this is a little long but I'm excited to show you what I have on this one :)

“You know…all those years ago, when you first took a shine to me,” Eugene began softly, “I was utterly terrified of you even if I never showed it. Why me? What was it that drew you to me in a manner that wasn’t all rage and hate?”

Red looked thoughtful as he searched the recess of his old ‘canine’ mind, his dark eye staring at the deep veining in the wood of the picnic table. He vividly recalled the fury that consumed him whenever a Red Sentry was in his line of sight, those lucky souls only spared from his jaws if Drakkon was present to bring him to heel. That darkly blossoming emotion was oddly missing when it came to Skull and their interactions. 

“Do you remember that day? You crept up on me with that old Chinese finger trap, high as a kite and giggling like a schoolgirl…” Eugene prodded, giving the other man a gentle smile. “I truly thought I was going to shit my pants.”

The sentiment brought a mirthful chuckle from Red, his gaze coming back into focus as he looked up across the table at Skull’s mischievous face.

“I apologize for that… though it was my intention at the time to needle you, to keep you off balance,” he laughed. “Being a creepy asshole was something that brought me joy back then.”

The former pet tried to find the right words to answer Eugene’s initial question. It was difficult as he didn’t quite fully understand everything that was happening in his own mind in those terrible years. At the time, Red believed himself to be fully in tune with himself and his thoughts, never questioning the things that didn’t make sense or went against his delusional reality. 

But there was… ‘something’... that pulled at him whenever he looked upon the Red Sentry captain, even before their one-on-one conversations. From his place beside the cold slabs of stone that made up Drakkon’s throne, the gray-haired man found his eye drawn to the same guard over and over again. A tickle of a memory…somewhere in the tangled and tattered ribbons of his mind, his ‘Swiss cheese brain’ a source of constant frustration though he was never allowed to voice it.

“I’m not sure what it was about you that I found so appealing. Yes, you made me laugh and amused me, as I told you that day, but I feel like I noticed you before. An aura maybe? A feeling of safety, of protection? I knew red wasn’t your real color,” he frowned, brow furrowing. “I’m not sure what that means.”

Red’s response surprised Skull. 

“Interesting… how would I make you feel safe and protected? You were a literal living weapon in those days. And you were the one who eventually saved me. I was so sick that I’m sure I wouldn’t still be here if not for you nursing me back to health.”

Red was quiet as he cast his mind even further back, back to a time before ‘his’ memories began, to his ‘other’ self’s thoughts… CJ’s mind. It wasn’t as scary or as difficult as it used to be…not after CJ had unexpectedly surfaced and caught them all by surprise. The primary alter was a silent observer, an anxious child that the older man coddled under a protective wing. 

“I think a part of me…the part that was ‘Jason’...maybe recognized you, that you protected me once before…” he whispered, seeing the memory coming slowly to life. “You and Bulk did. At the Youth Center… When Tommy…errr Drakkon…was waiting for me.”

Skull’s eyes brightened at the reminder of his and Bulk’s heroics in those early days before their world went to absolute shit.

“Yes! That’s right! You remember that?”

Red nodded, smiling gently at Eugene’s excitement.

“Yes, I remember now. This is a momentous occasion, isn’t it? Can you believe how far we’ve come?”

The sky looked as if it were on fire, brilliant orange, red, and pink streaking the horizon as the sun descended, the vivid colors playing across the lake’s idle waves. Faint laughter and merriment could be heard from the other cabins as families celebrated the holiday festivities, punctuated by the occasional pop of an errant firework. Skull sipped his icy beverage, a virgin strawberry daiquiri, before responding.

“Definitely wasn’t on my bingo card,” he quipped. “Who would have thought I’d be sitting at a Fourth of July cookout and asking Lord Drakkon to slip me a hot dog?”

Both men snickered, neither missing the childish inappropriate innuendo that always seemed to shadow the Coinless orphans in this universe. Humor helped a lot in their healing, though it frequently gave Tommy, Jason, Matthew, and Billy pause when they happened to hear one of the off-color jokes or snarky commentary about what the older trio had experienced. Even after all their time together, it could be difficult to reconcile that such horrific trauma was being used as teasing fodder.

Red grinned at his friend.

“I doubt he’d imagined such a ‘normal’ interaction after our years in the palace.”

Eugene tilted his head in consideration of the other man’s words. 

“‘Normal…’ There’s another thing I never thought I’d see again… To get a second chance to live in a world that ours used to be and should have been right now,” he mused, his gray eyes sliding out across the water, appreciating the wealth of color this universe had to offer.

The action wasn’t unnoticed by the former pet and he reached out a hand to give his friend’s hand a friendly squeeze of camaraderie. 

“I never get tired of it either,” Red whispered reverently. “Not after being locked away with only black, gray, and brown to look at outside my window."

He favored Eugene with a teasing wink, nodding at his bright orange shirt.

"In fact, I think now what color rightfully belongs to you..."

A deep laugh sounded from where the grill still smoked near the deck as a shadowy figure worked to scrap it clean.

"Yes, Eugene. Resembling a giant orange creamsicle is much more in keeping with your style..." Drakkon razzed playfully.

[augment-techs]

Touch Starved Ask Game: "Is this okay?" It's more than okay." Jason/Billy/Skull (feel free to send me any you have!)

April the first and September the twenty-third.

In the shadow of the tombstone that had gone up in the dead of night months ago while everyone else was busy inside the main of the city, pulling everything up from the ashes of Drakkon's disordered perfection, Jason was lucky he could make out the shape of the body that had observed both dates with fervor and respect for over twenty years somewhere else but was now finally able to do it in a singular location. Natural linen in the darkest shade of blue for mourning clothes and a pitch black shawl really blended in with the shadow of the stone. Really, Jason probably would have been spooked out of his mind if he hadn't seen the pale skin of Skull's face peeking out from the ball he'd curled into in the night, breath barely smoothing over the leaves of bergamot and chamomile herbs that had probably been beautiful in the spring, but looked sad and dry getting closer to October. "Fucking hell, you look like a corpse," Jason muttered, maneuvering the thermos of hot nettle soup he'd made at the break of dawn in a sudden attack of conscience under his arm, squatting down to shake the poor bastard awake. It took much longer than Jason was even remotely comfortable with to get the man moving. A twitch, a blink; moonglow eyes blinked open, completely unconcerned with the world at large or if the person touching him was friend or foe. Jason took half a second to look over at the stone, sweeping deep brown eyes over the marks, 'William "Billy" Cranston: Forever a Hero, Always Remembered' and tried not to call awareness to the chill that ran up his spine and made him bite his lip to keep from cursing as he looked to meet Skull's eyes properly. The man wasn't in any particular hurry to get up from what must have been an incredibly uncomfortable sleeping place, but he did get along after a moment of Jason not looking away, offering up a hand for him to hold onto. The skin to skin contact was like a meeting of warm butter and ice, but Jason counted it as a victory that the man could even hold on with any amount of strength as he hobbled onto his knees and then onto his rear as his knees splayed out like he was five years old; his other hand pulling at the shawl to straighten it out and dust off stray leaves that had blown onto it and into his hair. His heel tipped at the dark orange bottle he'd polished off the other evening, but it didn't fall over or smack against the tombstone, which, was about as good as the Tyranno Ranger could hope for. Especially since if Skull cut himself, with his luck, he'd probably bleed out from the alcohol thinning his blood before Jason could haul his scarecrow ass back home. Jason pulled his thermos up, looking awkward but pointedly not letting that get in the way as he cleared his throat and finally broke the (incredibly) eerie silence that encompassed the field and surrounding forest tree line. "Soup. Thin but tasty for your breakfast. No hard bits in case you puke it up. Is this okay?" Skull ran his hand over his face and then rubbed his eyes, mouth curling into something like a soft smile at Jason's trying his best. "It's more than okay."

[augment-techs]

crack vs smut, its a competition~

....

Amelia has been rooting for Ollie and Aiyon to get together since her breakup with Ollie. It takes like fifteen weeks of hard work in matchmaking from her, along with Javi’s help, but finally, she’s set up THE perfect kiss for them. And they’re just at the brink of their feelings for each other… and things are going good, things are going sooooooo good. 

Then Javi mentions that there’s a 69% chance of rain that evening. 

You can’t have candlelit dinners and love confessions and soft moments in the rain!! Not if you’re as sensitive as Ollie and start sneezing the second cold water hits your face!! Amelia panics. 

Javi has an idea. 

And so, while Ollie and Aiyon sit on the little table she’s set up in the middle fo the woods, with candles and a lovely dinner for them, Javi and Amelia stand with umbrellas on their heads, so they can make out in peace, getting drenched from head to toe themselves, because well… these boys NEED it. 

….

Drakkon would be absolutely enraged if he ever sees this. 

Bulk’s sitting on the stone throne which once belonged to Drakkon, he’d been complaining about how cold the stone felt on his ass, but now it’s warmed up, as is he. Kim’s straddling him, his entire cock completely inside her, and she’s never felt so full in her life, so content and so complete. 

She’d tried taking him completely a few times, but he always felt too big. But something about sitting on him, on the throne has gotten it flowing all too smoothly. 

It feels so good, the way Bulk’s groaning underneath her, the way she’s almost lost all senses of her own, and then they’re kissing, they’re kissing so hard, and Bulk’s callous hands wander through her short hair, then across her body, all the way through, exploring her, enjoying it. Nobody’s in the throne room at the moment, it’s past midnight, everyone has retired to their rooms, there’s no need for a constant sentry watch, anyway, now that things are almost almost back to normal; and even if someone were to come by, they wouldn’t care anyway. It’s probably Kim’s favourite place to take it now, and she lets Bulk know that by tilting her head back, and screaming his name as loud as she can, as she comes. 

All the best feelings.

…

Skull does not like road trips. He’s never liked them. He used to get motion sickness when he was a kid, and as his family fell apart when he grew up, he remembered one particular one when he was eleven, where he was vomiting all the way through, and their mom abandoned him and his brother halfway through, in the middle of a desert, to smoke weed with some bikers she found along the way. 

Yeah. Skull’s hated road trips all his life. 

This one’s different though. 

For one, he’s literally sitting on the top of the car, holding onto the chair his boyfriends had put up on top of the car’s roof, for his dear life. 

“A little wind never hurt anyone” Matt had said, before strapping him in securely. 

“You’re gonna love road trips by the end of it” Billy had beamed, “and if you need anything, just tell us through the sunroof!” 

Skull knows they had good intentions, but he’s not sure this is the best idea… 

…

It’s a blackout.

How unfortunate would that be, if Jason was stuck at the dojo alone, after practicing all the way until it was almost eight PM. 

But he wasn’t alone, Tommy was sitting right across him, the both of them without any flashlights, absolutely, and sitting away from each other waiting the blackout out. They had been practicing together, when the lights went out, and by the looks of it, it looked like it was through the entirety of angel grove. 

They were talking about things now, completely blind by the absence of light, and discussing random things. And they didn’t know how it happened, but then they were fumbling towards each other in the light, and then they were making out, then they were making out. 

And then they were fumbling around with each other’s clothes in the dark, and then they were both naked, and then Tommy was palming Jason’s cock, and then he was on his knees, his tongue wrapping around Jason’s head, and Jason’s eyes rolled back in his head as he received the best blowjob he had ever received in his life. 

“Oh god, Tommy… yes, yes, like that, just like that…” he was moaning, and that was the second when the lights chose to come back on, and Jason’s eyes met Tommy’s and the way the two looked at each other, it was almost as if the magic had lifted, and the both of them flew apart from each other as soon as they could, faces red, red, red, “WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING—“ Jason screamed.

“WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU DOING!!” Tommy screamed back, and then the moment was over. 

And they ran back to each other again, like the horny teenagers they were, continuing their shenanigans, once again. 

“We’re not talking about this tomorrow” 

“Talking about what?” 

…

“I got you another thing… apart from the marshmallows—“ She’d just come back from grocery shopping and getting some necessities or something, after being stranded in space for so long, and she’d also gotten Javi marshmallows, and Aiyon’s favourite flavour of Pringles.  

“you remember what Billy said?” she continued, now averting her gaze, and looking downwards— which somehow made her look sexy— and she pulled out a little box from her pocket, and taking Javi’s hand, she placed it on the middle of his palm, then, stood on her tiptoes to brush her cheek against his, sending his heart fluttering, as she whispered seductively, in his ears, “you better use all of these on me” 

Javi didn’t remember what Billy had said, at all, so, as Amelia skipped forward into her bedroom, Javi was left standing with the cardboard box in his hand, very, very confused, but with an amused smirk on his face nonetheless. 

He looked at the little cardboard box in his hand, and almost choked on his saliva. It was a ten pack of condoms… ribbed, condoms. 

Amelia was such a tease.  

Ollaiyon while Javelia play the wingmen to shame all other wingmen. This is so...post-Cosmic Fury. And canon now.

*looks out from the bushes* *creeps closer and closer to the printed words* *YOINKS* GOOD FOOD.

I am...thinking about that meme with the car given options at a fork in the road: One way is getting shanked in the heart by past events that feel very on point; the other turn is getting all fluffed in the chest like a worried animated mother hen. I would probably ram directly into the sign post.

It is so humiliating how even after reading some completely messed up shit with these two in multiple dimensions, it's the First Time Jitters/Himbo on Himbo action that always gets me.

I feel like she doesn't know those things are actually a bit of a false advertisement--BUT I DON'T CARE. They're listening to Billy and following directions. GOOD.

[augment-techs]

Hey umm!! Can I get a collection of all your commissioned art posts in one place somewhere 👀

...That's a LOT, honey. But lemme see...

I also sincerely hope you mean the ones by @felonius-glitch because otherwise there is not NEARLY enough room.

[augment-techs]

AND LAST BATCH:

1) Billy/Skull/Matt (bc I wanna hear you rant UwU)

2) Kim/Bulk

3) Bulk/Tommy

4) Conner/Kira (I chanced upon a fic by you yesterday that I had read and could not ascertain if it was requested or not. Don’t ask I was playing that “is it fluff is it smut” game with some friends🫣🫣)

Billy/Skull/Matt: It will never be canon, it will never be a fandom fave. But that does not matter, because the palace of possibility that goes on in my head is something that canon will never be able to take away from me. They would be lovely as just mutually supportive friends with benefits, but could you IMAGINE these three as a poly? Like, to say that they could alleviate each other's trauma is not saying enough, because ALL of these young men have been through their own kind of hell in many different ways and it kind of feels like...nobody else wants them? There is something comforting in finding kindred spirits in rejection and mutual awareness. Plus, they've all had the friendship/antagonism/growth thing. Also, they feel VERY pretty as a group. Their Colors would work so smoothly together.

Bulk/Kim: Of course I am partial especially towards them in the Coinless universe, but at this point I would take them in any and every other dimension.

There is something so comforting about a character that half the fandom hates finding love with the fandom darling that makes me go feral and foam at the mouth. And in the Coinless universe this is EARNED so hard that I also want to take a baseball bat to defenseless objects lying around the house. Kim is broken and terrified of herself in everything that's happened and everything that she's done, but Bulk actually stood by her the second she came back to the side of the light when she was ready to get torn apart. This is not mentioning this Darkest Hour Arc bullshit where Bulk will apparently protect Kim in any universe. Hello, good knight; the princess is still alive and about to burn down the tower~

Bulk/Tommy: This is ALLLLLLLLL @lordkingsmith fault, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to think about it. Truly, I could ship Bulk or Skull with anyone if I thought about it hard enough, but there is just something about how they presented it that made it feel...realistic.

Tommy feels like the kind of guy whose relationships are always doomed to fail if he involves himself with his teammates. From Kim, to Kat, to Jason, to Adam. He COULD do his best to mend any breaks in the bond, but he also feels damaged by his life in the foster care system in a way that makes it hard not to let go of the belief that his partners will eventually leave him; so it would take someone with infinite patience to see him through that kind of baggage. And Bulk is a ROCK. They could be good for each other.

Conner/Kira: I know the fic you're talking about. It was a prompt, and I didn't especially like it. I could see them in a poly setting, OT3 or OT4, but never as a singular couple. Largely because Conner never learns and Kira always seems annoyed with him. Even at the end of Dino Thunder, they were friends, but better in a group setting than alone together.

@skyland2703

[ajgrey9647]

Sneak Peak

From Truth in Flowers

Jamie tried not to gag on the thick, coppery blood running down the back of his throat, his entire face on fire with sharp, sickening pain. He could only staunch the flow pouring over his mouth and chin by futilely cupping a hand over his broken nose and split lower lip. His black frame glasses sat cockeyed over his ears; the lenses were misted with a fine spray of ruby droplets.

It took a moment for the stunned man to realize that he was no longer outside his beloved nursery, sitting under a tree for his afternoon break with a good book and a turkey wrap. His vision was bleary with reflexive tears, and the shock of having his head rocked backwards disoriented him.

A high-pitched voice was yelling something he couldn’t understand, angry and accusing while another one, in a deep baritone, responded to the incensed screaming.

Blinking his eyes rapidly, the hot tears breaking free to drip from his lashes, Jamie was able to discern that the floor beneath his knees was a familiar vivid blue marble.

‘What happened? Where am I?’

He tried to ignore the arguing going on from somewhere he couldn’t yet see, his mind struggling to replay the most recent events he could recall before things went sideways.

‘I was outside, taking my break… Reading in the shade…My phone pinged,’ he recounted to himself. ‘It was a messenger notification from…’

Yes, he’d gotten a new message from the sweet kid he’d befriended on a popular flower blog that he frequently commented on. Jamie had seemingly become something of a parental figure to this kiddo…this ‘Rosie Posie’ as she’d named herself, a poor, directionless girl who ached for guidance from someone older and wiser.

What had started as a frantic post into the void of the internet, ‘Rosie’ desperate to save her beloved grandmother’s sickly, rare flowering shrub, grew into so much more with the two discovering that they shared a deep love of art, books, plants, and birds.

Today’s simple post read: ‘What are you doing right now?’

Then, everything became a hazy, pain-filled, blur. It was by far not the most crippling injury he’d ever experienced, but Jamie found the surprise of it all, made the blow feel worse than it physically was.

There was a brief crackling sound, then something nudged his shoulder. Lifting his head, the gray-haired man found a strange robotic arm bravely handing him a thick, damp rag. The ring of energized light encompassing the appendage revealed that he was once more in some sort of containment field.

“Ai-yi-yi, ai-yi-yi!”

‘I know that phrase…from another lifetime…’

Jamie focused on the shiny automaton standing just on the other side of the barrier, a bright red light swiftly darting back and forth where it’s ‘eyes’ would have been located.

He slowly lowered his blood-streaked palm to smile tenderly at the frantic robot as he accepted the cool dressing. Clearing his throat of the choking drainage, the older man’s voice sounded stuffy from his swollen, disjointed nose.

“Thank you…Alpha.”

The raised voices suddenly halted, the argument pausing with a squeak of surprise.

The robot stood rooted to the spot, not noticing that another person was bounding down the single step to where the containment field was projecting. As the tear-streaked, reddened face swam into view, Jamie’s eyes widened, and he recoiled away from the pure fury emanating from the tiny woman.

‘Oh fuck!’

Kimberly’s outraged expression was glaring back at him.

“YOU!” she shrieked. “IT WAS YOU!”

The man flinched at her accusation. But before he could even think how to respond, the other voice sounded again, slightly up and over their heads.

“Jason?” it asked gently…uncertainly. “Or Red?”

Jamie stared up at the sage in awe, never thinking that he’d ever see his old mentor again. A warm smile lit his face, the familiar spark of determination and certainty, flickering in his dark eye.

“Hello, Zordon. It’s been a long time…” he answered. “And I’m not exactly ‘Jason Scott’ or ‘Red.’”

The Eltarian raised a brow, but it was evident that he was greatly moved at seeing the Coinless version of his first Red Ranger, the long-lost child that had suffered horrifically all alone before splintering into two, now crouching before him…safe finally.

“My name is Jamie…and I’m both of them…”

[augment-techs]

I’m obsessed with the Orchid ones. SO.

Orchid and Trillium + Billy/Skull

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

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

[augment-techs]

AO3 tag: Muzzles + Lord Drakkon/Coinless Jason

Can I offer a crumb of Episodic Adventure today, good lords, ladies and nonbinaries?

[augment-techs]

Thank fucking hell I keep snaps of most of the asks I'm working on, otherwise I would have screamed losing this prompt @lordkingsmith

It took a ton of doing because I had NO IDEA where to start, but here we are: