Lemon, Boss 2

[battleshipmod]

The professor is enchanted by the odd collection of artifacts you’ve found, and you’re feeling flushed with satisfaction. Still holding the coins you found (just in case), you step back into the cafe, only for your footsteps to squelch into – mud. “The fog took down the golems!” Mr. Snikkit cries, wheeling a lemon-yellow mop bucket out from the back. “No worries though, the new hire gets here in just a second, you’ll be good to train them, right?”

New – hire? You look out front just in time to see an enormous yellow octopus sucker across the front yard and up the front window. The dragon breathes magic at it, seemingly annoyed.

“Go!” Mr. Snikkit calls, feverishly wringing out the mop. “Keep the octopus happy, you can show them the ropes later!”

You head out front, jumping over octopus arms as they grab patio furniture and throw it. The octopus and dragon seem to be in a slap fight, and you try to stand in the way. “Okay,” you try, pushing on the octopus’s squishy flesh. “No fighting?”

In response, the octopus slaps at you with a tentacle and the dragon breathes magic at you, but you dodge the tentacle and the magic washes over the dirt you’re still holding. Instead of golems this time, the dirt transmutes into little ceramic objects you can hear saying things. They’re the perfect size to fit into an ear, and when you pick them up you can hear voices? The dragon’s magic has made magic translators this time, and you can hear what the dragon and the octopus are saying.

“Just add another prompt to the collection, oh my god,” the dragon says with a huff. “Have you considered requesting more prompts?”

“I already have fourteen prompts!” the octopus says, thrashing in agitation. “I included five CCoF requests and nobody has even looked at them! Do you think I need to nominate some new tags? I could do Original Work, but no one is looking at my requests! I have nothing to read, and nothing to look at or listen to!”

It looks like to keep the octopus happy you’ll need to – make some gifts? A quick glance at what the octopus is talking about shows requests for art, and fic, and podfic, all waiting to be fulfilled. And you can absolutely do that. As the dragon breathes more magic under the roiling hotpot and the octopus bashes pieces of machinery together, you wave a hand to flag down the octopus. “Hello!” you call. “Can you tell me more about what you want for art or fic? And you mentioned you like podfic, too?”

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Lemon Boss 2 progress tracker

Lemon Collection | Prompt Collection (AO3) | Prompt Collection (Automagic App)

( Boss 2 Rules )

Team Strawberry Comes in SECOND PLACE!

[battleshipmod]

Over at the Fraise Lounge, you are utterly covered in dirt, but you watch in excited satisfaction as the pterodactyl fairies place each of your uncovered machine components on the blueprint. Now Professor Zzt can assemble the machine, and you’ll finally be able to go home. This has been such a progression from seafaring.

Professor Zzt, however, is nowhere near the blueprint. Instead you find him at the edge of the garden, chatting to a little spark in his tiny hands with a concerned, then newly intrigued expression on his face. He flutters over to the blueprint and starts to prod at the components, taking some notes in sparkling, floating writing. A couple of you sneak closer, hoping to overhear something, and as you start to pick out increasingly loud cheering…

Wait a second, those voices aren’t just coming from the spark. Neither are those footsteps. You turn towards the cafe just as a giant dragon swoops through the garden’s gate. “You found it! You really found it!” he’s shouting. And trailing behind him are some of your companions! You even spot another X-ray machine among the crowd. It’s.. wearing a wiggling pear? Your own X-ray machine (and Barry Turtleberry on top) rolls up to reunite with its counterpart.

There were indeed two machines in the cafe garden! Professors Fuzang and Zzt contact their other colleagues in the area (how does a giant dragon use a tiny spark-communicator, you wonder?), and soon the garden is filled with archaeology professors, the rest of your separated companions, and even café managers, who are apparently also interested (and willing to let their quest-assigned adventurers leave their duties).

Everyone watches, enraptured, as the professors and (mostly) pterodactyl fairies assemble one of them into a giant mechanical brachiosaurus. At first, nothing happens, but then the pterodactyl fairies breathe their fairy dust into vents along its long neck. The brachiosaurus glows for a moment, and then a giant cloud of steam huffs out its nostrils.

“Hmm… Just five more centuries, please…” the mechanical dinosaur grumbles and rolls over.

One of the machines has been rebuilt! You still have another one to go, but the professors are busy debating the implications of their findings, and the pterodactyl fairies are occupied with helping energize the groggy brachiosaurus and helping him take his first few steps in however many eras.

And on the other hand… You look around at everyone’s dirt-covered clothes, and the giant mounds of dirt in the increasingly crowded garden.

“...Why don’t we head back to the Shoulder Dragon Cafe?” you suggest.

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TEAM STRAWBERRY COMES IN SECOND PLACE!

Members of Team Pear and Team Strawberry will get one tag claim each for next year’s board, and pears will feature in next year’s lore! Teams Grape and Lemon, in joint third place, can also earn a tag claim by posting two treats by the end of the two week anon period. There may be an additional opportunity to earn tag claims through treats – stay tuned!

But, hmm… Something is happening with Team Lemon…

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As you’re heading over to the Shoulder Dragon Cafe, you hear frantic beeping and whirring somewhere below you – looks like your X-ray machine has recovered from its rest! On top of it is a giant red button that says “PRESS ME!” Obviously, you do.

The world around you freezes. Your companions in the distance are stuck mid-pose, Professor Fuzang is suspended in the air, even the wobbly metallic brachiosaurus wobbles no more.

“If you’re hearing this, one of us has awakened, but the other is still buried deep underground,” speaks a message emitting from the X-ray machine. “If it wouldn’t be a bother, could you excavate both of us? Ah, and please forgive the time bubble – I’m sure you have plenty of your own responsibilities, and we wouldn’t want to keep you from them with our demands. This will give you all the time you need.”

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Team Lemon now has access to the Team Lemon Continuation Collection! Treats from Team Lemon optionally posted to this collection in addition to their usual team collection will remain hidden beyond the main reveals time, until either Team Lemon completes Board 3 or the work is removed from the Continuation Collection by the creator.

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All treats may continue to claim tags and boss points as usual, in accordance with any post-game arrangements with their team. If your team has yet to complete all Bosses and Boards, you have the optional challenge of completing them.

This officially concludes the main Battleship 2025 game! You have 48 hours from the end of the game to edit your works, which will be revealed on July 30, 2025 11:00 AM Eastern Time. Please remove placeholders and otherwise make sure your works are ready to go live!

Due to an AO3 bug, works posted shortly before collection reveals may get caught in an unrevealed state. To prevent this, the team and main collections will be temporarily closing at 11:00 AM EDT on July 29th, 24 hours before reveals.