#have i finally said all i need to say about lloyd and his trauma? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

babyjakes · 2 years

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the devil's thirst.

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summary | stupid little babies who wanna act big need to be reminded how utterly pathetic and helpless they truly are.

pairing | mean!daddy!lloyd hansen x little!reader

warnings | mean!mean!mean!daddy!lloyd like so mean, very cruel!!, denial as punishment (no cumming for a month), lloyd is a sick bastard (canon) and threatens to cut various body parts off, fake soft!daddy!lloyd for a hot minute, my strawberry shortcake trauma insertion, mocking/degredation, restraints (rope), watersports (forced wetting), fingering, black rubber gloves bc lloyd doesn't like messes (whew daddy!!), forced orgasm, squirting (i mean, ,, it's also pee but, ,, ,, you know), pussy slapping/clit spanking, big big crying kink, so much cursing, name-calling (whore, slut, bitch, all the good ones), no aftercare/lloyd makes her clean up the mess D-:, dude wtf even is this and why did i write it :^))))

word count | 2,742

an | idek what to say about this one so i'm just gonna link this hate anon i got about having a piss kink where i responded with piss ari and cursed the haters bc i think it's funny and neat okay byeeee-

Unsurprisingly, when it came to being your daddy, there were certain parts of the job that Lloyd found especially enjoyable. He did it all well, of course- took care of your needs and wants, doted on you, treated you like the princess you were. But he would be lying if he said the darker, more sinister parts of the role weren't his favorite; it was only in his nature. He was cruel, wicked down to the bone, and that meant strict rules, along with even stricter punishments. Considering this, you were never one to act up much.

Much.

When you did end up on Lloyd's bad side, the consequences were usually swift and scathing. One philosophy he held was that it wasn't a true punishment unless he had you in tears. And being the notorious torture fanatic he was, he had plenty of methods to extract those pretty sobs from poor little you. All in all, your daddy was very hands-on with your discipline. So the one time he finally decided to punish you by depriving instead of dealing out, you knew you had taken things too far. But it was too late to do anything about it. Lloyd Hansen gave second chances to no one.

"A month?" you exclaimed in horror, jumping down from your seat on the dark polished wood of his study desk. Hands coming to rest on your hips over your frilly tennis skirt, you stood with shock still clear on your face.

Not even pausing to look up at you, Lloyd nodded as he continued to sort through the paperwork before him. He knew it drove you crazy; that's why he did it. The more worked up he could get you, the better. He loved seeing you pout and fuss. "That's right, princess. A whole month, no playtime. And if you even so much as think about touching that pretty little clit of yours, I'll cut it off and feed it to the dogs."

Grimacing in disgust, you somehow found it in you to protest, "Ew- no, Daddy! You wouldn't!"

Chuckling softly at your outrage, the man nodded, "Oh, I would, sweetheart. Actually- maybe I'd keep it, put it in a nice frame up on the wall. You know how much Daddy loves your little button, wouldn't wanna let it go to waste. Oh- and the same goes for your nipples, young lady. Daddy knows his naughty girl can get off on those alone when she's needy enough."

Huffing softly to yourself, you crossed your arms, stomping the rubber bottom of your platform Mary Jane against the floor. Finally looking up to meet your gaze, Lloyd smiled widely, having gotten exactly what he wanted: a precious, pouty baby. How cute.

"No fair, Daddy," you whimpered, bottom lip puffing out in an attempt to change his mind.

"No fair? Why's that, princess? What were you expecting when you stole Daddy's bike for a midnight joyride, a fucking pat on the back? A new pair of shoes?"

"N-no, but..." Sniffling, your frown deepened. "You never give me punishments like this, Daddy. Always just..."

"Give you what you want? Play rough with you, let you cum?" the man finished your sentence for you as you lowered your head in shame; there was no denying that he was right. "Oh, you'll get that too, sweetheart. This is just part one of your lesson, so quit being a brat and whining about it, or I'll double the time."

"No- please, Daddy!" you were quick to beg, eyes bulging with tears as he did nothing but laugh at your pathetic desperation.

"Good. Now get out of here, Daddy's got a meeting. You might wanna take a walk around the garden, baby. Don't think you're gonna like the sounds I'm about to pull from these bastards."

When the promised day arrived, you were a much different girl than you were only a month ago, any last hints of brattiness and defiance completely put out as you could really only be described using one word at that point: needy. In the morning as he helped you get ready, your daddy dressed you up in your favorite Strawberry Shortcake pinafore with matching pink stockings held in place by pretty lace garters, and of course he let you wear your favorite lingerie set, the baby pink lace with little strawberry patterning just so adorable against your perfect body. With how cute you were looking, it took everything in him not to bend you over your bed and fuck you into oblivion as soon as you were all dressed and ready for the day. "So beautiful for me, angel," Lloyd cooed against your hair as he held you on his lap, running a gentle hand up and down your back. "You remember what today is, don't you?"

Big eyes blinking innocently, you nodded, too busy holding your breath to respond.

"I knew my princess wouldn't forget. Daddy can't wait to give you the rest of your punishment- and some relief, of course." Smiling down at you, he pressed a kiss to your forehead before continuing, "But in order to get all that, you need to be a good girl for Daddy first, okay? I've got some work to wrap up in my office, and I want you sitting pretty on my lap while I do it. Do you understand?"

"Yes Daddy," you nodded obediently, jumping slightly as his other hand came up to rub against your thigh. Cheeks burning in embarrassment, you bit your lip, knowing better than to start begging early.

"Oh sweetheart, you poor thing," your daddy crooned sympathetically as he ran his fingers delicately over your trembling skin. "Look at how badly you need me- are those tears in your eyes already, princess?"

Not wanting to open your mouth in fear of breaking down completely, you simply let out a weak whimper, turning to tuck your face against the fabric of the man's shirt. Chuckling at your actions, Lloyd wrapped his arms around you, pressing a kiss down on the top of your head. "Okay, okay- Daddy'll quit teasing," he promised. "Now come on, little one. I have a surprise waiting for you in the study."

Lifting you into the air with ease, he was kind enough to carry you all the way from the bedroom to the office, letting you stay hidden away in the safety of his familiar scent and the darkness of his shirt. "Don't tell me you're gonna be a teary-eyed baby all day," he frowned as he flipped on the lights to illuminate the grand room, stepping over a bit and rousing you in his arms. "Hey pumpkin, look- look over on the couch and see what Daddy got you."

Wary eyes cautiously coming out of hiding, you glanced over to the plush brown sofa, a small gasp escaping your lips as you whispered, "Strawberry sodas! Daddy, those are my favorite!"

"I know, my love. That's why I got them for you, thought maybe you'd like a treat for being such a good girl all month for me. You wanna have one while you sit on my lap?" the man offered as he gently placed you down on your feet, smiling as you gave him an eager nod of a response. "Go grab one, baby. Actually, make it two. Daddy'll try one with you, can't remember the last time I had something sweet."

As you skipped across the rug to grab the pretty glass bottles full of sparkling pink juice, Lloyd settled himself down in his black leather office chair, smirking silently at the sight of you bouncing in excitement from the "treat" he had bought for you. "Look Daddy, cute baby strawberry cartoons on the bottles!" you beamed as you made your way back over to him, climbing up to straddle one of his sturdy thighs as you faced in his direction, handing him one of the drinks.

"So cute, angel. Almost as cute as you," he smiled widely as he helped you pop off the cap before opening his own. "Cheers," he sang as he tapped the glasses together softly, trying to keep from salivating as he watched your puffy lips pink with lip gloss wrap around the mouth of the bottle.

Taking a few gulps, you hummed lovingly at the sweet taste. "Soo good, Daddy. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome, princess. Go ahead, drink up. The whole box's for you."

"You stupid, stupid baby."

Choking against the wad of lace shoved between your sticky lips, you let out a humiliated whine as Lloyd stood above you, towering over your trembling form with his hands pressed neatly behind his back. "Look at you," he snapped, "couldn't even get through tying you up without the tears starting. Isn't this what you wanted? You were so sad when Daddy wouldn't wreck your pretty little cunt on the spot- remember that, whore?"

Sniffling pathetically into your spit-soaked panties, all you could do was cry harder at the man's degrading words. Sobs wracking through your chest as you stared wide-eyed up at the terrifying man above you, you struggled to comprehend everything that had happened in such a short span of time. Where had your loving, doting Daddy gone? You should've been suspicious when he was so kind that morning, but silly little you, all you had thought was he had woken up in a good mood. Now it was clear that he had much darker intentions settling just below the surface the entire time; it was all a part of his game. He had played you like a pathetic little pawn.

Kicking your legs with what little strength you had left, you tried to struggle against the tight ropes holding you bound and open against the smooth leather of the office chair, but it was no use- you couldn't move more than a fraction of an inch in any direction. Watching you writhe and attempt to escape, Lloyd laughed a loud and mean laugh, his spit hitting your face as he grinned in sick delight. "Poor little slut. Can't get out of Daddy's knots. You know better than to squirm, sweetheart, but I'll let you get away with it this time. I have so much fun in store for you, I don't wanna waste any time on trivial matters like spanking your nasty little fuckhole."

Icy eyes trailing down, the man's gaze settled on your exposed pussy, the soft, delicate petals of your sex puffy from excitement and neglect. "Oh baby," Lloyd cooed, crouching down in front of you as his eyes became level with your dripping heat, "look so sensitive already. Haven't been touched in weeks, and it really shows. Daddy's gonna have so much fun with you. Aren't you excited, angel? Isn't this what you wanted?"

Crying harder against your makeshift gag, you shook your head desperately, a wicked smile forming on his face as your daddy nodded knowingly. "No? Why's that, princess?" Reaching out a hand, he snatched the panties from between your teeth, giving you only a moment to cough and recover from the forced intrusion. "Speak."

Lower lip trembling terribly as you fought back stronger sobs, your voice came out in shaky gasps as you stuttered, "P-please Daddy... p-please! Have'ta- please... h-have'ta go p-potty!"

Pure depraved thrill shone in Lloyd's eyes as you let out your admittance. "Stupid, stupid baby. Drank all those strawberry sodas, how many was it again?" Warm tears rolling down your cheeks, you whimpered with heavy regret, your tummy throbbing against the ropes holding you so tightly in place. "And now look at you, so full- you could nearly burst. Stupid fucking baby. Never use your fucking brain, do you? Time to teach you how tiny and dumb you really are, slut. You wanna know what happens when little girls cum with a tummy this full?" he asked cruelly, reaching into his back pocket to pull out a pair of black nitrile gloves, snapping them onto his large hands for a dangerously tight fit. "They piss all over themselves. Like the pathetic fucking babies they are."

The panties being shoved back in your mouth knocked the wind out of you, but it was two of Lloyd's thick fingers piercing into your drooling folds that had your eyes rolling back into your head as you struggled to catch air. Digits pounding brutally in and out of your aching walls, the man quickly made you into a sputtering mess, the friction provided by your slick and the rubber of the gloves sending burning shocks through your gut and up your spine. You begged, pleaded through the fabric wedged between your lips, but it was no use; Lloyd would get what he wanted. He always got what he wanted.

"So fucking wet, little slut- such a fucking mess you're making," he grunted as he increased the speed of his fingers, focusing his attention on the tender spot he knew could get you to snap in seconds. Warmth building up in your tummy, you did everything you could to fight the urge to release, but it was a losing battle. "Needy little whore went all month without getting to cum once- no way you'll last long. Horny little bitch, always ready to take whatever Daddy wants to shove up her filthy little cunt."

Ripping his fingers from your tight grip, he smacked his gloved hand down several times against your tender pussy, dissolving you into a squeaking, sobbing mess as your flesh burned agonizingly from the assault. "Stupid-" smack, "little-" smack, "baby-" smack, "gonna-" smack, "squirt-" smack, "all-" smack, "over-" smack, "and there's nothing she can do about it," he grinned widely as he shoved his fingers back in, his other hand coming up to keep smacking over your throbbing clit, "absolutely nothing. Can scream and cry 'til she's blue in the face, but Daddy doesn't care. Daddy's gonna make you cum, little girl. Gonna make you gush all over yourself, 'n there's nothing you can do about it. So keep fucking crying, you pathetic little bitch. Get those pretty cheeks nice and wet for me- maybe if you're good I'll fuck your face when I'm done."

Speeding up his thrusts once more, the thumb of his other hand settling in to rub tight little circles harshly against your burning nub, there was nothing you could do but lay there and take it as Lloyd brought you to the edge of climax within minutes. Noticing the growing look of terror on your face, the man's crooked smile grew wider as he taunted, "There it is, look at that. Knew she couldn't hold it in. Dumb little babies can't keep themselves from cumming, not when their daddies are finger-fucking their pussies this good. Come on, you fucking whore. Cum for Daddy, make a big fucking mess like the stupid fucking baby you are." With the curl of his massive fingers hitting just the right spot, and the pad of his rubbered thumb stroking painfully against your bundle of nerves, with a broken sob, you heaved as you submitted to your punisher. Your orgasm sprayed out against his relentless ministrations as he laughed cruelly in delight, "That's it. Filthy. Fucking. Baby. Give it to me. Give it all to Daddy."

When the waves of terrible pleasure finally began to subside, you were left gasping for air as Lloyd slowed his hands down to a gradual stop, mercifully reaching up to pull the panties from your mouth to allow you a little more space to breathe. "Dirty little girl, look what a big fucking mess you made," he shook his head heartlessly, rising to his feet as he snapped the gloves off his hands and tossed them to the ground. Grabbing a switchblade from his pocket, he flicked out the metal edge, running it harshly over the ropes holding you in place to set you free.

As soon as your sore muscles were released from their bonds, you collapsed against the sturdy frame of the rolling chair, still struggling to catch your breath as Lloyd spoke to you with disinterest, "Now clean it up. All of it. And throw the clothes away. Stupid little baby, ruined her favorite dress. Covered in piss now, pathetic. Disgusting." Reaching under his desk, he grabbed a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaner, tossing them at you, ignoring when you whimpered at them hitting you in the face.

#eun's writing #the devil's thirst #lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen smut #lloyd hansen fanfiction #daddy!lloyd hansen #dark!lloyd hansen #the gray man #chris evans #chris evans smut #lloyd hansen x reader #lloyd hansen x y/n #lloyd hansen one shot #lloyd hansen imagine #the gray man fanfiction

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cherrybombfangirl · 11 months

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Hey you, yeah you! Interested in my in progress Ninjago fic that I'm fucking obsessed with and want you guys to become obsessed with as well?

Ao3 Link: Battle Cry (8840 words) by cherrybombfangirl

Wanna read a Ninjago fanfic that spans everything from the pilots to Crystalized? It includes me fixing everything that needs fixing in my humble opinion as a writer myself (love triangles be gone), and my ninjago OC and the small OCs that come with her.

Yeah you wanna read it!

This fic includes:

My Original Character Amy. She’s a human clone and a former assassin/child soldier, the Master of Space (forcefields and portals), falls in love with Lloyd and is very protective of him plus they have a cute aspec romance, and her arc is all about learning that her emotions aren’t a weakness to let people love her and that’s she’s not a broken monster.

The rainbow colored ninja being very queer as the universe intended: Gay Ace Cole, Trans and Pansexual Kai (plus Lavashipping galore!), Trans and Bisexual Nya (she and Kai swapped genders and names), Trans and Bisexual Jay, Genderfluid and Pan Zane, Asexual Demiromantic and Genderqueer He/They Lloyd, Genderqueer and PanAce Pixal and other characters are obviously queer as well.

Mental health issues galore that you can’t convince me these ninja don’t have at this point: everyone has PTSD, depression, anxiety, and lots of trauma!

Also autistic and adhd ninja because i said so: Autistic and ADHD Lloyd (he gets the autism from Garm and the ADHD from Misako), ADHD Kai (gets it from his mom), ADHD Jay (also from his mom), and Autistic Zane (his father built him that way because he is also autistic).

Addressing the Garmadon family’s generational trauma BECAUSE THE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL-

Lloyd’s relationship with his mom is complicated BUT after Lloyd has an understandable anger outburst Misako realizes “Fuck I messed up and hurt my kid” and spends a very long time trying to be better and fixing her and Lloyd’s relationship- and they do have a good relationship by the end! (because fuck doing nothing over actually working on fixing their mistakes and actually making up for it and people being complicated and imperfect people)

Love triangles are OUT, trauma triangles are IN

Jay actually gets character development in Skybound AND KEEPS SAID DEVELOPMENT, including Jay having to learn how to have a healthy relationship with Nya and stop bulldozing over people’s boundaries/having unhealthy obsessions with people (which is actually a result of trauma)

^^^ also actually exploring Jay’s birthmom in Prime Empire instead of introducing her then only mentioning her once several seasons later (and not even by name)

Also more sibling stuff in general over the romance because Jay and Nya’s relationship over Kai and Nya’s WHY?!?! (also Smith sibs adopting Lloyd, and all the ninja being even closer as a family obviously)

Consider the stupid love triangle with Wu Garm and Misako GONE. Don’t worry though, I give the brothers a much more believable and angsty reason to start fighting in Season 4 :))) (hint, it has to do with their repressed trauma from their dad’s not so great parenting)

Kai gets his own season with plenty of angst and character development as he deserves. The Green Ninja thing and Chen’s staff thing and being abandoned with a baby sister to take care of and putting all his worth on protecting others will ABSOLUTELY BE DISCUSSED

^^^ also Lavashipping will be included with Kai and Cole finally confronting their feelings for each other and going from on and off friends with benefits to the cutest boyfriends/husbands ever

Exploring the Dragon vs Oni and Creation vs Destruction concept more and using Lloyd and his family to illustrate that what the world really needs is a balance of both (also Lloyd and his dad keeping some Dragon/Oni features at the end!!!)

The ninja actually having to recover from when they very severely injured, or say, fucking possessed (why didn’t they even mention how Lloyd would’ve had to recover from that, the fuck)

Also Wu being confronted multiple times for his bullshit (which, suprise suprise, is a result of trauma), and he actually has to fix his mistakes and try to be better

Fixing everything wrong with Rebooted, Skybound, March of the Oni, Fire Chapter, Prime Empire, and Crystalized (I’m a writer myself, there are some things that drive me crazy and I NEED TO FIX THEM-)

More family time and mundane domestic stuff in between the ninja-ing- just the ninja spending time together and acting more like family/roommates in general

Prime Empire actually makes sense, Jay gets actual character development AND we actually explore his birthmom

Morro and Harumi are deeply traumatized BUT they let said trauma make them assholes and use it as an excuse to hurt people and they become even worse (Morro and Harumi stans BEGONE THIS IS NOT FOR YOU)

^^^ this will include Harumi developing an unhealthy obsession with Lloyd and it turning into creepy/predatory behavior, and there will be off screen sexual assault at some point, be wary of that

Exploring what life with Lloyd and his parents pre-banishement was like, complete with angsty-fluffy feels

Actually talking about addressing everyone’s trauma in general (and giving them more trauma because I’m that bitch :DDD )

There’s probably more I’m forgetting but that’s the gist of it for now

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nonbinarykai · 3 years

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Ok since two people asked

Why Lloyd is my least favorite ninja and how I rewrite him

Notes:// you know the rodeo by now, long post so it’s going to be under a read more, and I’m not gonna tag this with Lloyd because of the criticisms I have against his character, if you don’t want to hear Lloyd be critiqued then don’t reas the post

Why I don’t like Lloyd

Maybe it’s because I’m a Kai kinnie or maybe it’s because I have a bias agaisnt the younger sibling but Lloyd has never really been a favorite of mine

He was enjoyable in s1 but after that he kinda lost all personality for me and I stopped enjoying him

I think this is mostly for two reasons:

1. His screen time

2. His “character arcs”

I’ll go ahead and knock out his screentime here because it pretty much speaks for himself

Lloyd takes up so much screentime in the show that it’s actually jarring, he’s the character with the most seasons, having s1-2, s4, s8-11, and finally s14 ((the island special)). Which I think makes lloyds writing flaws all the more noticable

A big reason, albeit a bit of a petty one, for why I don’t like him is because he constant hyjacks other characters plots and makes them about him, this happened with Kai in both s4 and s11

Even if he’s not the main focus of a season, he always has a side plot focusing on him like in s3 and s12

The writers need to include Lloyd in other seasons is making it harder for the other main characters to actually have enough screentime to grow and develop on there own

And as a side effect of this, Lloyd gets to become the most important character in every season he is, taking roles from other characters who needed them

My best example is Cole being leader, he was set up and established as leader in the pilots and s1, and he did pretty good in it! Cole being a leader is a interesting concept that I would have loved to see been developed

But after Lloyd grew up they threw that plot point into the trash so they could have the mystical green ninja be leader even though throughout s1-7 he hardly actually talks to the main cast and him being leader doesn’t add any interesting dynamic like cole and kais rivalry despite Kai being a sort of right hand man to Coles leadership.

And in s1-s7 especially everything literally revolves around Lloyd to the point where his existence is more important than everyone else’s, and everyone’s motivations are to protect him.

Again I understand he is important, he’s the green ninja, but you have to let your other characters grow and develop, Lloyd is not the only main character in your show

Like for fuck sakes I don’t need 3 arcs about Lloyd and his dad, can I finally have another Kai season

Lloyds character arcs honestly kinda suck

Im going to be honest with you

Lloyds kinda an ass

The reason I like jay more then Lloyd even though jay has been way more mean spirited then Lloyd throughout the entire series is because you can atleast make the argument that jay doesn’t know when his jokes can hurt. And the show doesn’t portray jay as in the right, he gets what he deserves for some of the meanier things he says.

The same can’t be said about Lloyd

Lloyd says things to the other ninja that is honestly so mean spirited it’s jarring to hear it from him

Best example being when Lloyd told Kai to get over his shit when Kai was grieving in s4

But what makes it so frustrating is that the show always portrays Lloyd like he’s in the right which is why a lot of his character arcs feel flat or uninteresting

The only time this doesn’t apply is in s2 and in s3, in s2 the show paints Lloyd as being unfair to Misako when he RIGHTFULLY gets mad at her for abandoning him, I’ll get back to this later

The second time in s3 is when he’s traveling with Garmadon and having to be taught to balance his powers, which is actually one part of s3 I really liked, it was nice to see these two bond and have Garmadon teach Lloyd something that wu would other wise not teach him. And it’s a real shame the season cut it short AGAIN

The biggest example of the show making Lloyd seem in the right no matter what is in s4, Lloyds whole arc there was to learn how to view things from a different perspective and appreciate the things others have done for him. And this is would work if the show decided to do the same.

Again back to that scene with Lloyd and Kai in s4, the show treats Lloyd as if he’s in the right and it’s never addressed after this. Even though this is supposed to be the beginning of lloyds arc where he’s supposed to learn to view things from a different perspective

This scene would have worked if

1. The show didn’t paint him in the right for this, either by having Lloyd apologize or having the show acknowledged how it might have hurt Kai

2. If the plot Lloyd has remained a side plot instead of taking up the entire focus

Seriously, s4 could have been the ONE season where you can have a Lloyd side plot thats not forced and yet they fucked it up and made it the entire focus of the season thanks a lot.

To quote what I said in my Nya anayalsis awhile back

“I’m not upset that he has a flaw, just that it’s not recognized as one”

Lloyd would work way better as a character if the show just let him have consequences for his actions

Ever since he grew up and got the green ninja role he’s been treated like he can’t do no wrong which is clearly not true

But since we’re already on this topic

Hurting Lloyd doesn’t make him a good character

I feel like Tommy ((and sometimes the fandom)) really misunderstand what the use of suffering for in a story

There atleast 3 reasons writers make there characters suffer

1. To undergo a arc and realize where they have been wrong or to give a character a lot more depth to expand upon

2. If the story is a fallen hero one and the character suffers because of his Huberius

3. If the story is a tragedy

Ninjago is neither a fallen hero story or a tragedy and his pain doesn’t develop him as a character

A lot of writers don’t understand that suffering isn’t what makes a character good, it’s what pushes them to become good, you can’t just throw a character at the wall and expect them to instantly be a well written fleshed out character

A lot of the suffering Lloyd has to endure is mostly for no reason and it’s really mean spirited because it adds nothing to the plot, it’s just there to hurt him

Let’s bring up s11 as an example, Lloyd didn’t HAVE to fight the ice emperor from a writing standpoint, if anything it should have been kais battle because his lose of power and Zane going evil would have been a perfect reflection of s4 and tie it up after it ended kais character a bit open ended

But no let’s have Lloyd do it instead because haha isn’t trauma COOL and HIP

Now to be clear, I’m not saying that all of your stories have to end on a happy ending or anything like that, if your a writer then your allowed to do whatever you want with your personal writing

What I am saying is that ninjago is an actual SHOW made by PROFESSIONAL writers and they can’t understand the concept of a story structure

And the lack of actually addressing his trauma is really bringing down Lloyd as a character

Because it comes to a point where you understand why Lloyd is sometimes mean or distrustful of other people and it’s frustrating because you know that it’s flaws of him that are never going to be fixed because there writers want there trauma baby

How I would rewrite him

I’ve seen a lot of people suggest Lloyd become a villain in a future season and you know what, I sort of agree

But not in the way you think

I feel like it would be way more compelling if Lloyd was a villain but is still a ninja, instead of Lloyd switching sides, the show is switching perspectives

More or less I want Lloyd to be a reflection of the “true” villain, which is how wu ((and subsequently Lloyd)) put small Victories as more important then the ninjas life, passion, and desire, and how there black and white thinking of good and evil ends up to a lot of problems because there’s a lot of grey area there choosing to ignore

I want Lloyd to start of being loyal to wu’s philosophy and the protagonist, for random example let’s say Kai, sudden turn on these ideas in order to look outside the box to find if there truly is a better way to protect people without harming himself

I want Lloyd to be upset over what he thinks is a turn to the dark side when in reality, it would make his motivations make sense and not make his turn to “villainy” be out of character.

And over the course of the season he starts to realize how wus and subsequently his leadership has hurt the others and himself, and have him reflect on if all the pain they suffer through just to clean up wus mistakes is really worth it like wu says, or if there’s a better way like kai says

As for Lloyds actual character himself, I’d like for his flaws to be more noticeable

Have Lloyd be a gifted kid who gets praise when he doesn’t deserve it but still kinda acts like a brat because he’s still mentally like 10

Have him be a control freak who follows the rules way to strictly and is all serious when they have to do missions

Have his idealization of wu be realized and critiqued because honestly wu sucks ass

Would this make his character less like able? Maybe, but then he’d actually have depth and something to improve on

He can still have his s3 and s4 arcs, it’s just now they’re more important because he’s actually learning to be better

AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IM PURPOSEFULLY MAKING LLOYD WORSE SO THAT KAI LOOKS BETTER

ILL HAVE YOU KNOW AWHILE BACK I MADE A POST SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT KAI AND HIS FLAWS SO THERE (/hj /lh)

#ninjago #kai smith #ninjago kai #sorry this post is way less structured then my other ones

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pthalomars · 3 years

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Synopsis of Jay's Empire AU⚡⚡

[[Made by me and @culturalmochi ]]

The way it starts out is that Jay goes on a solo mission, finds the hard drive for Prime Empire, and gets trapped in the game.

Nobody knows where he went, so the ninja are desperately trying to find him.

Time in game moves a lot faster than in real life, so a few weeks for the ninja is a few months (close to a year) inside of the game.

Jay met Scott and he showed him the ropes of the game, but tried to subtly warn him about Unagami. Jay spent a lot of time leveling up and grinding so he could get high stats, but later found out that he wasn't able to leave or communicate with the outside world. Enter Unagami.

Unagami tells Jay that he sees potential in him, and that he's impressed with his progress through the game. They begin to have a sort of mentor/mentee kind of relationship.

Once again, time moves much faster in game. So jay starts to miss the real world and tells Unagami that he misses his friends. Unagami tells Jay, "if they were really your friends, they would have come back for you by now, wouldn't they?"

Later on, Jay is approached by none other than the ninja! His dearest friends finally coming back to rescue him and bring him home!

But as he spends more time with them, something feels... wrong. It turns out they're NPC's, and in his mission objective list, it says he has to "discard" them. So he does, and they crumble into little pixelated cubes. He levels up.

This repeats several times, each time the ninja dupes become more rude, indifferent, hateful. At some point they become so far removed from their true counterparts that the only thing in common they share is their appearances.

Then comes the time where Unagami is ready to open the game to the rest of the world. He brings Jay to help him spread the word by broadcasting an advertisement for Prime Empire.

That's when the ninja find out where Jay has been this whole time.

So the real gang enters Prime Empire and find Jay, who looks displeased to see them even if he tries to hide it.

Everyone is so happy to see him and to bring him out of the game, surrounding him with hugs and tears of joy.

But then Jay checks his objectives. "Discard the ninja". It's the same as it's always been, so he goes along with it.

But as Jay journeys with his friends through the game, he slowly comes to the realization that they aren't NPC's.. they're his real friends.

Scott, when he was first sucked in by the game, leveled up really fast and eventually gained the attention of Unagami. Unagami said he saw "great potential" in him and gave him access to the coding of the game. For Scott, this means he can essentially influence and change parts of the game, but not always by his own free will. With him being connected to the coding, that includes his thoughts, emotions, memories, trauma, etc. this connection also gave Unagami a way to keep track of where Scott was and what he was doing at all times.

so eventually, Unagami wants to bring empire to the physical world, but he needs help getting the world out. he tells Scott his plan and Scott is like "actually, fuck this :)" and escapes from Unagami. in order to keep him from tracking his every move, Scott cuts off his own connection to the game's code. He hunkers down in his hideout and tries to plot a way to a)escape and b)prevent Unagami from taking over the real world.

so finally, Jay enters the game! Scott finds him running away from red visors and picks him up and takes him to his hideout. Scott explains the general rules of the game, gives him tips on how to survive, glitches, cheats, all of it. but he tries to warn him about Unagami and Jay is too enraptured with the thrall of the game to pay any mind to Scott's warnings. Jay starts leveling up and progressing, very similar to how Scott did, and gained the same kind of attention from Unagami. he saw great potential in him. at that point, Scott says that Jay can't come to the hideout anymore, and Jay asks why. Scott says "i already told you, but you didn't listen to me." and so Jay goes to Unagami. Unagami promises him steep advantages in the game, protection, etc and Jay is going along with it because, to him, its still just a game. the gravity of the situation hasn't quite hit him yet. he doesn't know that he's trapped.

so now, Jay and Unagami have a sort of mentor/mentee kind of relationship, and Jay very much fits into the role of the teachers pet. the red visors are **VERY** protective of him and will often accompany him wherever he goes unless he tells them to leave (sometimes they listen, sometimes they dont). There is one red visor who is particularly close to Jay. she goes with him everywhere and is the most protective of him compared to the other RV's. Jay tries to talk with her sometimes, and one day he asks her what her name is. her voice glitches out a lot, like something is corrupted in her code. she repeats "four o-oh four-r-r AA e-rror-r four o-o-oh four-r AA" and Jay is like "hmm.. rora? can i call you rora?" and she just nods at him. (Rora becomes important later!!)

so anyways, going back to how Unagami has adopted Jay as his mentee, Jay has the same kind of access to the game's coding that Scott does. including the influence of his memories and past traumas. this manifests in several ways, but one of which is how the NPC clones of the ninja interact with him. Jay has a lot of issues with self esteem and often fears that nobody really cares about him, finds him annoying, etc. so with each iteration of the ninja dupes, they become meaner and meaner until the only resemblance they share to their irl counterparts is their physical appearance.

Jay (not realizing that Unagami is the one creating the dupes) goes to Unagami to vent about how he misses his friends and wishes they could join him in the game. Unagami tells Jay "if they were really your friends, they would have come for you by now. They probably forgot about you. but it's not you ever needed them anyways. here, you are powerful, loved by everybody, adored by the masses. in here, you are important." gotta love that gaslight gatekeep gameboss moment. eventually, Unagami is ready to bring prime empire to the physical world once he's seen Jay get to the same point that Scott was at. Unagami says that he needs Jays help to deliver the message, and that crossing the line between digital and physical means that Jay can go back to the real world while still maintaining the same power and reputation he has in the game. Jay agrees and works with Unagami to make an advertisement.

this is the advertisement script:

[Do you want to join Prime Empire?

“What is Prime Empire?” it’s a fully immersive, futuristic video game experience! Using the latest virtual emulation technology, players are quite literally part of the game. Customize your avatar, meet other players, level up, and compete in tournaments!

“But how do I join?” The answer is simple, silly! Prime Empire can be found in your arcades, in your consoles, even on your phones! You would have to live under a rock to not find your way in.

“How do I win?” Your quest is to seek out the legendary Keytanas. But be warned, there are challenges that you will face. Deadly forests, dangerous races, and more! Will you rise above the rest and claim your rightful victory?

Join today, but don’t delay! Only the first 100 players will get a chance to meet yours truly (winks). In the Super Star Rocking Jay event, I will teach you the ropes of the game, along with exclusive tips that will give you an advantage over other players!

Do you have what it takes? Prove your worth and become part of Prime Empire!]

however, Scott has caught wind of the ad, and so he hacks into the broadcast and tries to warn everybody to "STAY OUT OF PRIME EMPIRE!!" but once again, his warnings fall on deaf ears.

however, now the ninja know where Jay has been all this time! they manage to be part of the 1st 100 players in the game and go to the super star rocking Jay event. Kai, Nya, Lloyd, Cole, pixal and zane all get in the game. but due to their own coding, pixal and zane despawn and get plopped back in the real world within the first 10mins of the game. They spend a lot of time outside of prime empire trying to find ways to re-enter the game.

so now we finally get to when the (remaining) ninja meet up with Jay, and he is disappointed at best when he sees them. but when they surround him with love and hugs and tears of joy, it throws him off guard. all of the NPC's were never this kind to him. He checks his objective menu and a new notification shows up. "discard the ninja". same as it's always been. part of the objective has always been to "not let the ninja know that you know they are fakes." but after all of this time, Jay has grown tired and so he doesn't really bother trying to keep up appearances. he won't flat out say that he thinks they're fakes, but his demeanor is completely off.

the ninja make it to okino and they start going through the forest, the cliffs, and finally the maze of the red dragon. throughout this time, there are several little moments that lead Jay to believe that these might be his real friends. he tries to write them off, but it keeps nagging at him. in the canon scene where Unagami pauses the game and talks to okino, its the same except its Jay that Unagami talks to. "just wanted to check in with you, everything is still going according to plan, correct?" Jay responds with "yes, but these ones are different. none of the other clones have acted so.. so close to my real friends." Unagami scoffs "these ones are just as fake as the others. make sure you complete your objective. we are very close to bridging the gap, and I wouldn't want anybody to hold you back from being at my side when we cross over." Jay agrees and the game resumes.

Jay has the perfect opportunity to let his friends perish at the hands of the dragon, but something in him screams at him to help them win. he points out the scale on the back of the dragon, they defeat it, and Jay gets the dragon summon. instead of keeping it, he gives it to Cole. "i figure you guys will probably need it more than me. I've got higher stats, i can take care of myself." (that dragon summon becomes important later) so ANYWAY now its time for the speedway 5billion. but they don't have enough credits so they have to get some extra money. the gang goes to the dance battle, but! theres also a karaoke battle they have to participate in. Jay and Cole sing Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears (this song is also important later!) and they win the contest and get enough credits to enter the race. however...

by this point in time, Jay is pretty sure that this group is his **real** friends, and he doesn't feel like he can go through with his objective anymore. besides, would clones really dance with him? sing his favorite songs with him? watch out for him when danger approaches? smile at him with such kindness and sincerity? clones wouldnt, but his real friends would. once again, his connection to the code means that Unagami is able to track him, and also take peeks into his mind. Unagami senses this realization and pauses the game again to confront him. "Jay, you must not let these clones cloud your judgement. you still have a mission to complete." Jay says "Unagami, these aren't dupes! they're really my friends, and they came back for me! i can't just "discard" them like you want me to. I won't!" "you WILL if you ever want to leave this digital space. if you will not join me in bridging the gap, then you will be left in here for all of eternity. the choice is yours, Jay walker." and with that, the game resumes.

the ninja are all talking and they realize that Jay has gone silent. "Jay? you good?" Kai asks. Jay snaps out of it and reassures them that he's fine. but thats when he sees *him*. in the crowd of NPC's bustling about the city, he sees nadakhan. staring at him with that evil, calculated grin and begins approaching them. Jay's eyes go wide and his stomach drops. "are you sure you're okay?" Lloyd asks. "we.. we need to get out of here. we need to leave *now*" Jay says with a quiet, wavering voice. Just as he moves to flee, Nya gasps.

It was the scene of Nya dying. She was cradled in Jay's arms, muttering her last words before going completely limp. The master of lightning shook with broken sobs, clinging to his friend as if holding her tight enough could bring her back. That was the day that Jay Walker had lost everything.

And now, that moment was set on an infinite loop, broadcasted on every screen in the capital city of Prime Empire.

Jay was frozen, unable to do anything but succumb to his rising panic.

Nya was in a similar state, feeling the sharp pains of her chest that came from her old wound. She remembered dying, the pain and vulnerability. Now her final moments were in full display.

The rest of them gazed in horror and confusion, unable to comprehend what was going on. Jay thinks he heard Kai yelling, maybe he was asking why his sister was dying over and over again. Cole sounded like he was trying to warn everyone about the approaching assailants. Those of which looked like clones of the Misfortune's crew, including their tyrannical captain.

It was all too much. Jay felt his digital blood freeze in his veins, his air cutting off entirely, and his vision slowly turning to static.

Nadakhan. Nya. Tiger widow venom. Kai. Nadhakan. Nya. Zane. Cole. Nya. Lloyd. Nadakhan. Nya. Nya. Nya. N-

Jay's friends tried to reach for him, to help him, but then it happened.

An explosion of lightning burst from Jay's body, flooding through the city with blue and white pixelated sparks. And once the wave had passed, the city went dark. The screens that were looping that wretched day were now idle. The Misfortune's crew were nowhere to be seen. Jay had fallen unconscious.

"What are you guys doing here?" Scott asked, his face contorted in concern.

"Scott, it- its Jay. He had this weird power surge and he-" Lloyd stuttered before him and his friends were roughly yanked inside of Scott's hideout.

Cole was carrying Jay's limp body, and followed Scott's instructions to lay him on the workbench. But not before he had thrown all of his tools and blueprints on the ground in a rush.

"What did you say? About a power surge?"

"It was-" Lloyd started again

"It was like he exploded," Kai cut in, "we've never seen his element act like that."

"The city, it went dark." Nya added.

"And there was something going on with the city screens, they were showing-" said Cole.

"My sister dying! Over and over again! That's not part of the game, right?!"

"Guys guys! Chill the fuck out, one at a time." Scott demanded. They all went quiet before Nya spoke up.

"The screens showed one of Jay's memories. One of his most traumatic ones. NPC's started changing into people that.. are related to that memory. They started attacking us from all sides. Jay had gone into a panic attack before he surged. That wave of power blew out the whole city's power and everything went dark. After that he passed out."

Scott looked at her with a look of dread.

"This is worse than I thought.."

"What do you mean worse? Scott, what's wrong with Jay?" Cole asked. Scott sighed.

"He's.. he's become part of the game."

"Like an NPC?" Lloyd said.

"No, not an NPC. His memories, his soul, his life force- it's bleeding into the coding of the game. His emotions and memories are able to affect the behavior of the game. Environments, NPCs, everything."

"How do you know all of that, Scott?" Nya interjected.

"Because he's just like me."

"What??" The ninja said in unison.

"When I first came into the game, Unagami wanted me to bring Prime Empire to the real world. To break out of this digital prison and conquer the rest of the physical world. I agreed to help him because I didn't see any other way out of this hellscape. He granted me access to the code. So I'm just as connected to Prime Empire as Jay is. My memories are there too.

But the thing is, is that I've cut myself off of the code. It's the only way I could hide from Unagami, since I had abandoned ship and didn't want to help him anymore. I'm a threat because I can affect the code.

But if I don't connect to it, I stay hidden.

But Jay, his connection is so strong by this point. Everything he does changes the game.

He's gonna be okay, for now, but I can't guarantee the same for all of you." Scott finished, his eyes sunken and tired.

"Wh- what are we supposed to do then? How can we get Jay out of here?" Kai asked.

"Beat the game. As far as I know, there's no other way out of here."

They all looked at each other, faces grim but determined.

"Well we can't leave here without Jay, can we stay here until he wakes up?" Said Nya.

"Absolutely not." Scott replied.

"What? Why??" Cole butted in.

"The longer you guys stay here, with h i m, the more danger all of us are in. Jay is part of the coding, Unagami can find him. And that means he can find u s."

"Well how do we wake him up? There's gotta be some way!" Lloyd pleaded.

Scott looked at Jay's unconscious form.

"Fuck, okay, let me try something."

so Scott does the only thing he can think of that might work. he reconnects himself to the game's code in order to "plug in" to Jay and wake him up. when he plugs in, Scott sees Jay in a dark, endless room. he's crouched on the ground, sobbing and shaking

But thrashing from his body is manifestations of his trauma, like a horrible amalgamation that is distorting his physical form and its. Horrifying.

Scott looks at him and tries to approach him without getting hurt

He gets to him and he makes contact with his shoulder and then the surge of energy happens and he gets unplugged and shot across the room, and Jay wakes up with a start, chest heaving and his eyes still wet with tears. Cole is there right next to Jay, and Jay clings onto him like a lifeline. Kai wraps his arms around Jay too and they hold him and comfort him as best they can. Lloyd and Nya go over to Scott to see if he's okay. he groans and sits up, Lloyd and Nya help him stand. "what happened? what was that??" Nya asks. "I woke him up. but its not safe anymore. you guys have to get him out of here, or else Unagami is gonna show up and if he does.. well its safe to assume it'll be game over for all of us."

"we still have to win the highway 5billion and get the second keytana." Cole says, "and we need cars." Scott sighs at this, "i've got cars you can use, i won't be using them very much anymore anyways." "what does that mean?" Kai asks. "did you not hear me? its game over. you guys have to get Jay out of here." Scott says. "Scott, you know the game better than anyone, we need your help. will you race with us?" Nya pleads. Scott is about to reject when he looks at Jay. Jay is looking at him with a look that breaks his heart. "fine. I'll race with you guys."

so they fix up the cars and enter the SW5B and Scott is like "i guess if we're going in, i might as well get a new look." so he customizes his avatar (if u check my post with his redesign, thats the avatar he has, the glowing parts of his outfit change colors!) and they start the race! Scott doesn't have his own car, instead he's jumping from vehicle to vehicle and taking out the other drivers so that the ninja can win. he uses his baseball bat as a melee weapon but it can also shoot lasers! Kai still gets that loot box upgrade and has the running mech, and just like in canon, Cole and Kai get cubed. so does Scott, he gets run over lol. now its just Jay, Nya, and Lloyd and they make their way to the temple of madness.

then we have the fight. in canon its Lloyd and harumi, but in this au, Jay enters the arena instead. he gets in and the game picks his fighter. expecting it to be someone he's fought before, he prepares himself. but nothing could have prepared him for who he saw standing in front of him. it was echo zane.

Nya stares in horror and Lloyd is confused. "who is that? that can't be zane, right? why would he be part of the game?" Lloyd asks. Nya can't say anything, and neither can Jay. Jay wants to give up, he cant fight echo. someone who helped him in the most dire of times, only to be left alone on that island for the rest of eternity. Jay had never gone back for him, and that guilt he felt had just kicked into high gear having to look echo in the eyes. but then echo starts attacking him, and Jay has to defend himself. Jay wins, and sees echo disappear after the final blow. the walls of the arena disappear and Jay falls to his knees. Lloyd and Nya move in immediately to help him up. "seriously, what the hell is going on?? why aren't you guys saying anything??" Lloyd demands. "we can't talk about it right now, Lloyd. we'll have to tell you later." Nya says quietly. her voice is tight and dies in her throat. Lloyd gets the hint and doesn't push it any further.

so the three of them make it through the sushi restaurant and make it to the gate with the 3 keytanas. Jay, Lloyd, and Nya go to put in the blades and they open the gate. standing in front of them is none other than Unagami. "Jay, you have disappointed me. you were so important, so valued, and you have thrown that away for the sake of your so-called 'friends'. thankfully, there is still a place for you." Unagami says. "i don't WANT a place with you! you've hurt me, you've hurt my friends, you've hurt so many innocent people. all of those cubes? those are REAL PEOPLE! i can't let you do this Unagami. I won't let you get away with this." Jay says defiantly. Unagami sighs, "i was hoping it would not come to this. but if you chose to act this way, you will face the consequences. you will help me bridge this gap, whether you like it or not." and Unagami holds out his hands. an intense blue beam of light bursts from his palms and hits Jay square in the chest. the light is absorbed by his body and his form begins to glitch and spasm violently. mochi and i have called this the Blue Screen of Death. (tw for mild(?) body horror) Jay is overcome by the blue and his body begins to grow and distort, all the while he's screaming and his cries are glitched out and staticky. Lloyd and Nya watch, frozen in fear as their friend begins to grow to massive size, writhing in agony. Jay thrashes and knocks into both of them, sending them off the side of the platform and cubing them. the last two energy cubes join the gate and Jay crawls through.

(with this scene, in the background, the lorde version of everybody wants to rule the world would be playing, just as a nice parallel to the song from earlier at the karaoke battle)

MEANWHILE, as pixal and zane attempted to find ways to get back into the game, find milton dyer, etc, zane gets captured by the mechanic. everything goes the same as it does in canon where the mechanic hooks zane up to the gate.

and now, we get a look at where everybody who got cubed resides. Scott, when he was cubed, was greeted by Unagami personally. he criticized him for his actions and expressed his disappointment before ultimately locking him inside of a digital cell. Scott figured that this was how the rest of his life would be, trapped in a cage with no way out and no way to die. but then! Rora shows up. that corruption in her system from the beginning? that was her beginning to break away from her coding and becoming more of a person. she saw what happened to Jay, and she wants to help him. she breaks Scott out and they agree to work together to save Jay. but they're gonna need all the help they can get. together, Scott and rora free the ninja and all of the other cubed players and they make it through the portal.

and thats where they see Jay, now as tall as the skyscrapers in ninjago city and wreaking havoc on the entire area.

everyone looks up at him in utter horror and see just how corrupted he's become. he's wailing in pain as he drives his guitar down on building after building. thrashing and flailing, causing the structures around him to crumble and collapse. "how the fuck are we gonna fix this?!" Nya cries. "i can help." Unagami approaches them. everyone gets into fighting stances, ready to beat Unagami into the pavement. "i did not realize that corrupting him would turn out like this. i know how to fix him, but i need your help." "why should we help YOU?" Kai growls. "if you want to save your city and your friend from complete destruction, you *will* help me." and so Unagami explains that if they can lure Jay back through the portal, Unagami can undo his corruption and fix Jays "coding"

so now the ninja are trying to figure out how to get Jay's attention and bring him back through the portal. it seems like nothing is working, and then Cole gets an idea. he starts singing the lyrics to everybody wants to rule the world. it seems to get Jay's attention, so he keeps singing.

the others hear him and they join in. now they have Jay's attention, and he's closing in on them. that dragon summon from earlier? now thats when that comes in handy. Cole calls the digidragon and rides it so that Jay cant crush him while he lures him back to the portal. low and behold, they manage to get Jay through the portal, Unagami purifies his "coding" and they return to the physical world once again. Unagami gets to have his talk with milton and all of the npcs+pcs that want to come out do, and the others stay in the game. the city is in shambles, the portal closes, and zane+pixal+wu reunite with the others.

the car ride home is very quiet. everyone is exhausted, Jay is asleep and leaning on Cole's shoulder. they have a lot to talk about, but for now, they just want to sleep through the night. they make it home, go to their separate rooms, and go to bed.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats pretty much all of it!! theres a little epilogue that has snippets of what Scott, racer 7, okino, and rora do now that they're outside of the game, but thats just kinda there lol.

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greenygreenland · 3 years

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Sink or Swim: Kai x Reader [kinda angsty]

-tbh i had a tiny crush on Kai growing up

-i still swoon over him when he's cool but like, lloyd has stolen my heart

-you all live in yang's temple still

-as a note, i write for female readers because uhhh yeah plz don't be mad at me ;-; (and either way, you can always change the words around in your head if it bothers you)

Summary: Kai needs help. You're there for him, catching him before he sinks.

Kai's got Lloyd, but who's got Kai?

Ninjago was filled with a variety of perils. Some were easier to see, such as destruction of any population within the premises of Ninjago city. Other times, it was minuscule, like a speck of dust. If you looked hard enough without blinking, you could see it. But most times it was invisible.

The sun was bright today, shining past the swiftly moving clouds as you clashed under its heat. Sparks flew as your katana slammed into Cole's, who skillfully parried your blows. You readied another combo, twisting to the right and faking a slash before spinning and striking to the left.

"Cole look out!" shouted Kai. Cole wasn't fast enough, and you knew it was because he wasn't used to using a katana. His hammer lay on the platform leading inside, right by Jay's side under the sunshine.

You suddenly realised Cole would be split in half if you didn't stop. But how could you when the inertia practically sent you flying towarss him? "Cole--!"

Clang!

Kai parried the attack. He hit your blade with so much force that it was sent flying across the courtyard, thankfully, clattering harmlessly on the ground. You heaved out a harsh sigh and slapped your knees. "That was close. Sorry Cole." He chuckled, giving Kai a good slap on the shoulder.

"For once our Hot-Head wasn't distracted by his 'oh-so-perfect' looks." Cole said. "How did you do that so fast?" Kai sheathed his sword with a shrug. It was odd to see him so quiet, especially around this time in the day. His expression remained relaxed, but it was void of its usual smug smirk. "I don't know, I just improvised."

You can't help the frown settling on your lips. There was an edge to Kai's voice, as if he had just returned from an unseen battle between life and death. He looked normal, yet the way he forced out a small laugh made you cringe.

"I'm going inside, think I might shower." he abruptly announced. "Don't train too hard or you might bake in the sun!" You watched as he fiddled with the strap on his sheath, twiddling it and running it between his fingers. He caught your stare and flashed a fleeting smile your way, yet it didn't feel genuine. "Kai--"

He pretended not to hear you and rushed through the temple doors. Your frown deepened. "He looks upset." Jay rested his cheek in his hand with a snort. "I'll say. He looked like he was thinking hard about something."

"But what?" Cole inquired with a sigh. "Nothing's been happening around Ninjago, shouldn't he be happy about it? He can play video games all he wants now, or, I don't know, talk to Skylor on the phone? Morro's gone and Lloyd's fine now." Zane raised doubtful brow. He took a seat by Jay and leaned his head back against one of the supporting beams. It was an odd sight to see everyone so deeply in thought again, especially since none of you should have been deeply in thought in the first place.

"Lloyd has not fully recovered." Zane notes. "He suffers from mental trauma and is regaining his strength as we speak." Nya hummed in agreement. She set her weapon down with a thoughtful nod and leaned against a supporting beam. "I don't know about you, but he seemed kind of sad. Why don't you talk to him (Y/n)?"

"Yeah, you're his girlfriend so you guys share a special connection." piped up Jay. You cam't deny that. Your relationship with Kai was special, so he told you certain things no one else had ever known about him. Whether it be about his past, or even what he dreams for the future, you knew it all.

Well except this.

You stood up, ignoring the low cracks from your aching body. "I'll be back." You pulled open the temple's doors, gently shutting it behind you as you surveyed the vast room. The main hall was empty, save for Sensei Wu who sat at a table drinking tea. He turned to you, eyeing your troubled expression knowingly. "Kai is in his room." he simply stated. You smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you Sensei."

You sprinted up the stairs, caring not if you skipped the creaky steps or walked right over them. It was quite tranquil in the halls of the quiet temple, yet somehow, it made you uncomfortable. "Kai?" You stopped in front of his door. "Kai--"

Sniffling. That was the first thing that caught your ears. Your fingers paused on the door handle, slipping past the cool metal as you continued to listen to the sounds. You knew what crying sounded like, but this? It was earth-shattering. The way he cried sounded exactly like raw agony. It was painful to listen to, yet you couldn't bring yourself to walk away.

If Kai was suffering, you had to be there for him like all the times he had been there for you, or Lloyd, or Nya and Jay and Zane and Cole.

Your fingers wrapped around the door handle. You gently knocked and peeked inside. He sat on his bed with his back facing you. His katana lay on the floor instead of of by his bed or next to his pillow like he usially did.

"Kai?" Your voice came out as a gentle whisper. "Are you okay?" His crying ceased so quickly that if you hadn't been standing outside listening, you would have thought everythimg were your imagination.

"Yeah." he steadily said. "I'm okay. I just needed to take a break after that spar. It got really intense." He laughed. It wasn't a happy one. If you knew what it felt like to have your organs ripped out, you'd describe it as listening to Kai fake his laugh and fake his happiness. He put on a brave face for the world, and perhaps that was because he knew people relied on him to step up when Lloyd couldn't.

You opened the door a little wider and let yourself in, softly closing it behind. "If something's wrong Kai, you can tell me." He sniffled quietly. "No, I'm fine." He laughed; you didn't miss the quiver in his voice. "I'm just a little tired."

"No, it's something else. I won't judge you, promise."

Kai sniffled and grabbed a tissue from his nightstand. He blew his nose with a shaky breath and tossed the tissue in the bin. For a good minute, he sat there in silence, slowing inhaling and exhaling rattling breaths. You made your way over to him and took a seat at the edge of his bed. He kept his back towards you as he sniffled some more, so you sat there, watching his shoulders quiver.

Slowly, Kai entertwined his hand with yours. He gave it a good squeeze, as if reassuring himself you were still there. You didn't want to say anything to him yet. If you did, you were sure it would break his already fragile tranquility. Thankfully, he made the first move.

"I know you wouldn't leave me," he began, "but sometimes I can't help worrying. What if we go on a mission and none of us make it back? Lloyd almost died, Cole's a ghost.... What if something happens to you? Or--or Nya and Jay or Zane?" He let out a rattling breath that spoke of all the battles you both endured. It was hard to believe you both survived every single one of them.

"Kai, we've lived this long." you said. "Why not longer? And even if one of us does die, life will go on. It always does in Ninjago, and it blooms again into something new." You squeezed his hand. "You're thinking about your parents too."

The quiet Kai stayed in was enough of an answer.

"I understand it hurts. You know, my parents died when I was very little. I don't remember how they looked like, but I remember what I felt. They made me so happy. It was short, but I found it again in you and the others. Even if something disappears, it's never truly lost." You smiled even though Kai would never see it. "Lloyd's still here because you saved him. None of us are going anywhere for as long as we can help it."

Kai's shoulders slumped. A sigh left his lips and he finally turned to face you. What strikes you the most about him isn't the puffiness under his eyes, or the bags and crinkle in his brow--it's the life that's been sucked out of his expression. His eyes were hollow, as if someone had completely wiped the emotion of happiness from existence. The deep frown tugging at his lips is even worse. It's thin, tight, and quivering.

"I-I'm sorry..."

You placed a hand on his cheek. "Kai." It's all you can muster, a name, a look of sorrow, and worry. Howw had you not seen this? How had you missed something so plainly put?

You gently pulled him closer, wrapping your arms around his warm body as the rain fell from his eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I should be there for you, but I didn't notice. I love you though and I'm here now." you gently whispered.

"You're not alone Kai. You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. We're all here for you and no one is leaving." His cries started out soft, but with each word that left your mouth, his whimpers grew, gaining and gaining in volume until a heart-wrenching sob ripped through his throat.

Tears gathered in your eyea and you allowed yourself to cry with him. It hurt to think about losing anyone, it hurt to see your boyfriend so battered, so beaten and defeated. What cure could you offer to remedy his pain you shared?

There was no answer to that. And so you sat there, keeping your arms tight around each other as if either of you would disappear. Right now, it was sink or swim. You had to fight the ache and push forward, even if it felt like you were both drowning.

Please don't forget to reblog so this can reach more people! Thank you all for reading!

#ninjago zane #ninjago jay #ninjago cole #lego ninjago #ninjago #ninjago x reader #legoninjago #ninjago wu #ninjago kai #kai smith #kai x reader #lego ninjago x reader #sorry i can't add read more #i'm on mobile

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blursed-ninjago-ideas · 3 years

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Ok, I accidentally hit “answer privately” instead of publish! So we’ll post it like this. the ask is gone though. It was Bunker Kai au, Movie Kai reacting to the horrible daily life threats show Kai deals with.

Kai had to admit, his alternate was pretty epic, but a few thing bothered him.

The way he’d never finish what was on his plate without looking around for something. The way he seemed on edge anytime anything blew on him. The way he wouldn’t sleep without a weapon in arms reach (If not in his hand) The way he refused Pajamas. The way he looked away from anything that even remotely resembled a snake. The way he had to have hot showers or nothing.

The way he nearly took Kai’s head off when he hit the old security alarm.

He’d never forget the blank and scared look in his alternate’s eyes. Kai had tried to calm him down, but he seemed to be still asleep and not listening while he attacked.

Eventually Kai figured out that staying away from him was the only real solution to not getting killed. After four minutes of standing in the corner the other Kai finally seemed to be snapping out of whatever trance he’d been in.

“What happened?” He asked, still shaking.

“I tripped an old alarm and it woke you up.” Kai explained fearfully “then you totally lost it on me”

“Oh.” Was all he said before sitting down on the floor with a heavy thud.

Kai just stared at his double.

“I must’ve thought there was an intruder on the bounty.” He reasoned “But I’m ok.”

“Are you sure?” Kai asked, slowly approaching.

“I’m fine, I’m ok. There’s no danger.” The Other Kai kept repeating. “Everyone is safe, you’re ok.”

“Hey, other me?” Kai asked.

“No one is going to hurt me. I’m safe. I’m ok.” He just kept muttering.

“You ok?” Kai asked, lightly touching his shoulder.

“What? Yeah I just….Just trying to bring myself back to reality.” Other Kai explained “I was already having a nightmare, so the alarm must’ve sent me into a panic.”

“What about?” Kai asked.

“Oh you know, watching my loved ones die. Getting killed by a villain while they’re forced to watch. Failing to stop the bad guy and watching all of Ninjago get plunged into darkness.” He laughed humorlessly.

“Are you sure that’s really reasonable to worry about?” Kai asked.

“What? No that’s all happened. Well I mean I haven’t died while my family was forced to watch, but my heart did stop for a minute there. You know Cole spent almost a year as a ghost, right? And don’t get me started on being the only one left on the team except Lloyd that hadn’t been corrupted by the concentrated dark matter. If Lloyd hadn’t won that fight I would’ve been the only one left. Sometimes that thought sneaks up on me. Oh, and Lloyd getting captured and tortured, that one is a pretty common occurrence, despite out best efforts.” He listed

Kai’s eyes went wider with every word.

“You’re a teenager!” He cried out.

“And?”

“I thought we lived pretty extreme and dangerous lives for our age but…” Kai shook his head “You seriously have regular nightmares about dying?”

“You…don’t?” He asked in confusion.

Kai shook his head.

“Of course you don’t, you had a normal childhood.” Kai sighed “It’s good. It’s good for you. I’m glad you’re in a better place.”

“Do you need therapy?” Kai asked.

The other laughed.

“Yeah, let’s just trust someone with all our deepest emotional traumas and secrets, I’m sure that won’t go bad! If a villain ever found out we had a therapist, they’d find them and force them to talk. I don’t think withstanding torture is something they train most therapist in.”

“That’s messed up!” Kai yelled.

“Yeah…and?” the Other Kai asked.

“And….and…” Kai fumbled, trying to find something to say in retort.

Finally he gave up and sat down next to his alternate self.

“And it’s just how it is.” The Other Kai finished for him.

“I’m sorry.” Kai said.

“Eh, it’s not a big deal.”

“It is!”

“For me. I have bigger things to focus on then my nightmares.”

Kai stared at the ground, trying to keep himself from crying angry tears.

It wasn’t ok.

ok there!

-Ivy

#Mod Ivy #ninjago #lego ninjago #blursed ninjago snippets #blursed ninjago aus #bunker au #prompt twist

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ninja-go-to-therapy · 4 years

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Whumptober 5: Where Do You Think You’re Going?

On the Run

I finally got around to writing something for my own damn AU, and it’s not even canon! I’m great at this.

Summary: Months after escaping from Prime Empire, Scott finds himself in Paris with none other than Unagami. It doesn’t go well. (This is of course part of the Miraculous crossover that I talk about sometimes on @blursed-ninjago-ideas)

Trigger Warnings: death threats, violence, panic attacks

4517 words

The years of his life Scott had lost to Prime Empire were hard to come to terms with. Every day he had been in there, he was well aware of the passage of time, but it was still the hardest thing he’d ever gone through.

Every day he had convinced himself that he would get out soon.

That first day, he was certain he’d be out by the end of the week. By the end of the week, he thought it couldn’t possibly be longer than a month.

It had gone on for years. Thirty, specifically.

Everyone he had ever known and loved had grieved and moved on. He had missed decades with them. His friends. His family. Everyone.

And it was all Unagami’s fault — right. Unagami was actually just a stupid little child who hadn’t really known what he was doing. He was supposed to be trying to get along with him, because he needed to be a role model or some shit.

Honestly, now that the kid wasn’t actively keeping him trapped inside a game for decades, he wasn’t all that bad. Sure, he could be a bit of a brat at times, but that was a phase that all children went through.

And apparently, he lowkey — that was the word Jay liked to use, right? He was so behind on the current slang — idolized Scott. Yeah, the child who’d been trying to turn him into a lifeless, numb, empty little energy cube for years and years and years, thought he was cool. That was… something, he supposed.

He was mostly doing this because Jay had all but begged him to. Said it made him a good person and he needed to let go of his anger.

Scott didn’t know if he would call it anger. He couldn’t bring himself to hate Unagami, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t a little… well… uncomfortable around him. Yeah, that was definitely the right word.

But that was dumb. That debacle was finally over, and even if the nightmares and trauma didn’t go away, it wasn’t like Unagami acted malicious anymore. He wasn’t trying to kill anyone anymore.

So what if every time Unagami did much of anything, Scott’s grip on whatever it may have been that he was holding tightened enough to break a bone? That wasn’t that concerning. Everybody did that. Probably.

And hey, he could have had worse problems than scratching up his hands when he was nervous or anxious or really freaked out or really scared or flashing back to that cramped dark horrible nothingness when he was just lines of code trapped in a little energy cube with no way to get in or out or anything — and, uh, everyone had a random bad dream once in awhile. Or every night.

But he could put that aside, because he was a mature adult.

So here he was, babysitting an arcade-game-turned-boy, who was surprisingly energetic and very bright-eyed.

“When are the ninja coming back?” Unagami asked, popping up from behind the couch.

Scott barely suppressed a surprised curse. This kid was way too light on his feet. “I don’t know,” he said, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Unagami, unlike most kids would, actually accepted that as an answer and went back to his BorgPad, tapping away at the screen.

The thing was, nobody had seen the ninja in a few weeks, now. Scott was beginning to get concerned. After Lloyd had disappeared — which had been information divulged to Scott privately by Jay, because they didn’t want the general public to know — the next few days had been spent in a raw panic. And then, total radio silence.

He hadn’t heard from the ninja since.

He hoped they were okay. He was a little too familiar with people disappearing only to never be heard from again. Well, not until thirty years after the fact.

He wasn’t bitter, not at all.

“What are you doing, anyway?” Scott asked, trying to get his mind off the subject. He was supposed to be taking care of the kid for the day, he might as well have been trying to make some sort of connection.

“Hacking the Hexagon!” Unagami said, looking up from his screen with a big smile.

Oh, that was nice — wait, what?

“Excuse me?” Scott asked, jumping over the back of the couch and crouching on the floor, where Unagami was sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce. Scott peered over his shoulder at the screen.

“If they didn’t want it hacked they shouldn’t have made it so easy,” Unagami shrugged.

Was it… was it normal for a child to be hacking into government facilities from a BorgPad?

Scott was going to go out on a limb and say no. …It was probably just an AI thing? Yeah, it was probably fine.

He watched for a moment as Unagami’s fingers flew across the screen, lines in a language Scott didn’t understand everywhere. He’d never had the ambition to learn how to code.

But damn, back before Prime Empire, people had hardly even dreamed of tech like this.

It was kind of crazy.

Scott was going to be honest with himself. The BorgPad was cool. It had tons of features that were all put together onto one little device — texting and pictures and games and social media and more. It had everything.

But at the end of the day, it was just another reminder that Scott had missed out on so much while he’d been trapped inside the game.

Back in his day, people had been perfectly content with “low quality” arcade games and flip phones. But now… well, people like Cyrus Borg were completely changing the world.

It was cool. But it stung.

“As long as you don’t get like, in trouble with the law or something. I don’t want Dyer buggin’.”

Unagami gave him a weird look, but slowly lowered his gaze back to the screen.

Right. People didn’t say that anymore, did they? His vocabulary was really outdated. He was really outdated.

He sighed, standing up and heading to the kitchen so he could make some tea. Jay had given him some, claiming it was really calming.

Scott could use a little of that right now.

The label was faded enough that it was basically unreadable. Scratch that, it was completely unreadable. Did tea expire…? Nah, Jay wouldn’t have given it to him if it was bad.

As the tea was brewing, Scott leaned against the counter, fiddling with his phone. It had been brand new technology at the time, and had been pretty expensive.

Now, according to Jay, it was “mega-outdated”.

That hurt more than it should have. He remembered being so excited about this thing, but now it was nothing compared to the technology of today.

“You want some tea?” Scott asked when it was done, going for a mug.

“What does it taste like?” Unagami asked, setting aside his tablet and coming over to observe the tea with interest.

“Uhh… I dunno, haven’t tried it yet,” he shrugged.

“I think I would like some, please.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Scott went to pour it, but as he was doing so, he found his mind wandering to wondering where the ninja had disappeared to again. It was strange that they had just —

“Is that supposed to be happening?” Unagami asked.

Scott looked down at the tea, concerned to see a bright glow spilling from the kettle. “Uh…” before he could come up with a rational answer, it brightened, all but blinding the two as it took over the room.

When it faded, there was nothing left but a broken mug on the floor.

———

What the fuck?

What had just happened?

The last thing Scott remembered had been sitting in the kitchen making tea, but now… now he was outside, near some giant metal tower, in a place he absolutely did not recognize.

He didn’t recognize the place, but he did recognize the feeling.

He was in a new realm.

The first thing he could feel was the panic.

Not again. Fuck! Not again. He couldn’t go through this another time, he couldn’t lose more of his life to a monster, he couldn’t — he couldn’t — he couldn’t breathe. He gripped the grass he was sitting on, practically hyperventilating.

“Scott? Are you alright?”

Oh first master, Unagami was here too.

“Get away from me!” he yelled, though he made no move to put distance between them. Instead, the little brat only came closer.

“You need to breathe.”

“I said get away—” Scott’s words died in his throat. Something was different. Something was wrong.

“Captain Clockwork,” a voice said, booming throughout his head.

“What’s going on?” Scott demanded.

“I am Hawk Moth. I can feel your distress. The anger, the grief, all of it. You just want things to go back to the way they used to be, don’t you?”

“Yes…” he found himself agreeing, nodding along.

“I can help you with that. I can give you the power to take back your life. All I need in return is for you to retrieve two pieces of jewelry for me, called the Miraculous. Do we have a deal?”

Scott didn’t even have to think twice. “Yes, Hawk Moth.”

———

Unagami was concerned.

Scott was freaking out, clearly on the verge of a panic attack, and nothing he was doing seemed to help. And then, out of nowhere, it just stopped.

And then Scott started talking to nobody, and then his body, for the briefest of moments, was enveloped in a purple so dark it may as well have been black.

When it was gone, Scott looked different. He was wearing an outfit that could only be described as old-timey-steampunk.

It wasn’t that strange, considering that sort of stuff was perfectly normal in Prime Empire. Still, Unagami should probably make sure that Scott was okay.

“Scott?” he asked, stepping a little closer.

Scott glared at him dark enough to kill.

Wide-eyed, Unagami took a small step back. “Scott, what’s wrong? Who were you talking to? Is this a video game, like Prime Empire?”

“You would just love that, wouldn’t you?” Scott yelled. “You would just love to ruin even more people’s lives!”

“What?”

A ball of light burst into existence in Scott’s hand, which was closed tightly in a fist. He threw the light off to the side, launching at a huge television screen on the side of a building. Almost immediately, it turned into a box-style TV.

Scott smiled wickedly. “Oh, would you look at that? The power to downgrade tech. If I can do that to a TV, I wonder what will happen to a stupid. Little. Arcade game.”

Unagami narrowly dodged a blast from Scott following those words. “Scott, stop! You’re — you’re not in your right mind!”

“Oh, I’m in my right mind!” he screamed. “I’m finally free, and what am I met with but a world that moved on without me? You took away my life!”

“Scott, please, you are not thinking clearly!” Unagami said, desperate.

“Save it, you little brat! Now hold still so I can kill you!”

Unagami tripped, falling back into the grass. He scrambled back, doing his best to get to his feet, but regardless, Scott had the upper hand. He was done for.

He squeezed his eyes shut, accepting the inevitable.

Suddenly, he was being lifted, and then he was in the air. What?

He opened his eyes.

“I’ve got you!” a girl dressed in red spandex with black polka dots all over it said.

“What’s going on?” Unagami asked.

The girl looked confused. “Uh…” they came to a stop on a rooftop. It was then that a boy dressed in what looked like a leather catsuit joined them, vaulting up with an infinitely long pole.

“How do you do, M’lady?” he asked, smiling at the girl.

“Not now, Chat. I just saved this kid from the latest akuma, but I don’t think he’s speaking French.”

“Language barrier powers?” Chat asked. “That’s a new one.”

“I don’t know, from what I could tell, the akuma was speaking in the same language as him.”

“What’s going on?” Unagami demanded. “What happened to Scott?”

Chat frowned. “It sounds kind of like Japanese. But like, not quite? It sounds like Japanese on drugs.”

The girl sighed. “Wonderful description, Chat.”

“Thanks! I try.”

“Wait, I’ve heard this before! It sounds like that language the ninja speak!” The girl said.

“Oh yeah! Maybe they’re from the same place?”

Unagami tuned out their rambling, glancing over the edge of the roof to see if he could still see Scott. Luckily, he couldn’t.

Or was that unlucky?

Scott was the only person he knew here, but at the same time, he’d lost his mind out of nowhere. And now he was on some sort of evil… violent rampage… manhunt… chasing after him… well, that was uncomfortably familiar.

“Okay, well, our miraculous allows him to understand us, I wonder why it doesn’t work the other way?” Chat glanced at Unagami. “You can understand us, right?”

Unagami gave a frustrated nod.

“Okay, well, do you know why that guy got akumatized?”

Unagami had absolutely no idea what that was, but it was clearly in reference to what had happened to Scott.

“I don’t think he does. We have to get back to fighting before this guy destroys half of Paris,” Chat said, tapping his wrist as if there was a watch there.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” Scott yelled from the streets below.

“Oh, hey, that was French!” Chat said. “Akuma powers are awesome.”

The girl gave him an unimpressed frown.

Various balls of light were transforming technology into older versions of themselves left and right as Scott rampaged.

“Shit, okay, Chat, can you drop him somewhere away from the akuma?”

“Sure thing Bugaboo!” Chat said with a wide grin. He held out a hand to Unagami. “Hold on tight, kid.”

———

Ladybug landed in front of the akuma gracefully, her yo-yo at her side.

“Ladybug, I presume,” the akuma said.

“That would be right.”

The akuma glared at her. “Look, I don’t particularly want to hurt you. Just hand over the earrings and the kid, and I’ll be on my way.”

“What do you want with him?” Ladybug asked, eyes narrowed. “What could he possibly have done?”

The akuma laughed, and it started low, but it quickly gained a touch of psycho, edging on hysteria. “What didn’t he do?” He yelled, his arms widely gesturing — though his right hand stayed tightly closed. That could be important. “He kept me trapped in a video game for decades. He made me live every day in fear that it would be my last! He ruined my life! He took everything from me!”

Well… fuck.

That was actually a pretty valid reason to be upset with somebody. But how on earth had that happened in the first place? Well, the details didn’t matter. She had an akuma to fight.

Against all reason, Ladybug decided to try getting through to the poor guy. “You don’t have to do this! Hawk Moth is manipulating you!”

“I don’t care!” He screamed. “He made me into Captain Clockwork! He gave me the power to take back my life!”

He threw a blast of energy at Ladybug, which she only barely managed to deflect with her yo-yo. It bounced back to what looked like a brand new car, which immediately turned into a station wagon.

Oh boy.

“Time has moved forward without me. I don’t fit into this world, so I’m gonna make this world fit me!”

She needed to figure out what to break. Whatever he was holding, that could be it.

Unceremoniously, Chat dropped from the sky, landing in a heap next to her.

“I did not get that right…” he muttered, getting to his feet with some difficulty. “What’s the plan, M’lady?”

“I don’t know, but I think the akuma is in whatever he’s holding. We need to get him to drop it.”

“May I offer a distraction in these trying times?”

Ladybug smiled.

“Hey, the future isn’t all that bad!” Chat exclaimed, dramatically vaulting himself to be behind the akuma so that he had to turn around and his attention was off of Ladybug, while she quietly summoned her lucky charm.

“We’ve got video games! And bullet trains, and iPhones, and — ooh, we’ve got anime! It still baffles me that people ever managed to live without anime. A tragedy, really.”

Captain Clockwork glared at him. “We had video games and anime back in my day. It was good enough, it didn’t have to change!”

“That’s sort of the way of life, buddy,” Chat shrugged, batting away a blast with his baton.

“It shouldn’t be! I shouldn’t have gotten left behind!” he screamed, sending blasts of energy one after the other at Chat.

“Left behind?” Chat asked, lowering his guard slightly when the akuma, breathing heavily, stopped firing.

“That boy you stole away just a few minutes ago,” Captain Clockwork said, laughing hysterically. “He kept me trapped inside a video game, for thirty years. Thirty years! It’s not fair! It’s not fair! I’ll kill him!”

“How did a little boy trap you in a video game?” Chat asked, legitimately curious.

“He is the game! He ruled Prime Empire! He ruined my life!”

Chat was regretting asking, because now the akuma was backing him into a corner, his fist glowing. He wasn’t sure he’d ever battled an akuma so full of pure rage before.

Chat extended his baton, sweeping it under the akuma’s feet and knocking him to the ground.

“This is so cool!” Alya shouted from across the street, filming with her iPhone.

“Alya,” Nino all but begged. “We gotta get to safety!”

“But I’m getting some great footage on this thing!”

Captain Clockwork growled, blasting violently at the pair. Alya’s brand new, expensive phone immediately reverted to a flip phone.

The way Alya screamed would have suggested someone had been murdered. “No!” she shrieked, being dragged away by Nino.

“Phones don’t need to be able to record! Just use a fucking video camera! They didn’t have to change it!” Captain Clockwork yelled, running after Alya.

That got the couple’s attention enough to start running.

Chat put himself between them, crying out when he intercepted a blast.

“Chat!” Ladybug yelled.

Chat grunted, rolling with great difficulty away from the akuma.

His baton immediately grew in length, turning into what looked like a perfectly regular, non-magical, old-fashioned baton.

“Oh fuck.”

“Hand over the ring and I won’t hurt you,” Captain Clockwork demanded.

“Sorry, I’ve got a contract,” Chat replied, using the baton as a sort of cane to help him get to his feet again.

He didn’t manage to dodge the next blast, which turned his magical very technologically advanced leather suit into a hoodie and a cheap pair of sweatpants.

Panic gripped him, and he quickly went to feel for his mask. Oh, thank god, it was still there.

Captain Clockwork charged up another blast, but before he could use it, Ladybug grabbed Chat and swung her yo-yo, getting them both away and into a back alley.

“Are you okay, Kitty?” she asked, setting him down gently.

“I’m alright,” he affirmed. “I need to detransform, make sure Plagg is alright. Maybe when I retransform it’ll go back to normal?”

Ladybug purposefully turned around.

“Claws in,” he said.

Immediately, Ladybug could hear a low groan from her partner’s kwami.

“Here,” Chat muttered, presumably offering him some food.

“Thanks. God that really hurt…” Plagg muttered.

“It did?” Chat cried, worry seeping into his voice. “Are you okay? How can I help?”

“I’ll be fine, Kitten,” Plagg said, laughing somewhat through the now very obvious pain. “Just defeat this guy and you can buy me some extra nice cheese to make up for it.”

Chat laughed. “Sure thing Plagg. Claws out!”

Ladybug waited a moment, then turned back around. Luckily, Chat had been right, and his suit was back to normal. “Okay, so we’ve got my lucky charm, but I still don’t know how to use it. Did you learn anything about the akuma?”

“Well, apparently the kid he was trying to obliterate trapped him in a game for thirty years,” Chat shrugged. “I dunno if that’s important though.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard. He keeps screaming about it every chance he gets. But as long as we free the akuma, he’ll be fine. Did you happen to see what he was holding?”

“It looked kind of like a phone, but like, one of those really old flippy ones. Like the ones they used in High School Musical!”

Ladybug sighed. “Well, that’s something. Actually, my lucky charm is a flip phone.”

“That’s weird… think he’d like that?”

“Wait! I have a plan.”

———

Meanwhile, Unagami was hiding behind a trashcan as Scott got closer and closer to his whereabouts. His heart was pounding loudly in his ears.

“Unagami,” Scott called out, his voice sickly sweet and too high in pitch. “Come out, come out wherever you are…”

Unagami held his breath, praying Scott didn’t find him.

“Isn’t it ironic?” Scott asked, something out of Unagmai’s sight crashing loudly. “The hunter becomes the prey. Bet you never thought you’d get retribution, huh?”

He hadn’t meant to ruin Scott’s life. He’d just been following his father’s instructions. He’d apologized. He thought Scott had forgiven him. He’d acted like he had.

Had he felt like this the whole time?

Angry and hurt and wanting to kill him?

And… was this how Scott had felt while trapped in Prime Empire?

Scared for his life, fearing every second that it could be his last? Keeping himself hidden away for years with the constant terror that he would be found?

The trashcan was thrown, and there was Scott.

“Found you.”

“I’m sorry—” Unagami said.

“Save it! Sorry doesn’t make up for the lost time! Sorry doesn’t make up for the fear I lived in! Sorry doesn’t fix things!”

He charged a blast.

Out of nowhere, a bright blue tornado threw Scott across the street.

It slowed to a stop, revealing none other than the blue ninja. “Unagami?” he said, bewildered. “How are you here?”

“Why are you defending him?” Scott screamed. “He trapped you too! He took all of your friends! He hunted you down like a wild animal! Aren’t you angry?”

“Scott? Jay cried, even more bewildered than before. “What the… wait, but Unagami is just a kid! Sure, he caused a lot of pain, but it wasn’t his fault! And he’s done all he can to make it right!” “That’s not good enough!”

“Ice to see you!” Zane yelled, dropping down from the rooftop.

Scott growled, charging a blast of energy. “Just let me kill the little brat! He’s not human! He’s not a person! What difference does it make?”

Unagami froze.

Scott… didn’t see him as a person? All this time?

He thought they had been bonding. He had thought… well, he hadn’t thought they were friends, exactly, but he had at least thought…

It was true that he wasn’t human, but Unagami had likened himself to Zane. They weren't human, but they were still people. But that wasn’t how Scott saw it at all. And he had never known.

Zane screamed out as he was hit with a blast. The light encompassed him, and suddenly he was left with rusty copper skin.

Unagami’s eyes widened in horror.

“I — I — I — do not feel — Jay — I cannot — what is happening?” Zane stammered, his voice box glitching heavily.

“I can downgrade tech,” Scott said, laughing darkly. “You’re tech.”

“Scott, this isn’t you!” Jay attempted. “You’re better than this!”

“I don’t want to be better than this!” he yelled. He threw Jay to the side, completely knocking the boy unconscious.

With Zane unable to even move, Unagami was about to die.

“I never meant to hurt you,” he said.

“Hurt doesn’t care about intention.”

In what was either the best or the worst timing ever, the boy from before — Chat — waltzed over to them casually. “You were right, Captain Clockwork!” he exclaimed loudly. “Old technology is better! I’m just surprised that you didn’t notice I took your phone!” he said, waving around an old flip phone.

“What?” Scott — Captain Clockwork? — gasped, opening his fist. “No you didn’t, it’s right here?”

But then it wasn’t. Ladybug’s yo-yo string wrapped around it, and yanked it hard.

“No!”

Ladybug snapped the phone in half easily. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!” she declared, catching the butterfly — Unagami wasn’t even going to ask why a butterfly had come out of Scott’s phone — easily. “Gotcha!” she set the butterfly free, and in a stark contrast to the previous shade of sickly purple it had been, it was now a pure white. “Bye bye, little butterfly.”

Scott fell to the ground, his new avatar — or whatever it was — dropping.

“Miraculous ladybug!” Ladybug shouted, throwing the fake phone into the air. A swarm of butterflies took over, somehow undoing all the damages that Scott had caused.

Honestly, it was far from the strangest thing Unagami had experienced recently.

———

Scott came to on the sidewalk. Hadn’t he just been near some big metal tower thing? And how had he blacked out in the first place? What the hell?

“What… what happened?” he groaned, unable to get to his feet.

Zane — when had Zane gotten here? — said something in what sounded like another language.

“Everything’s alright now, sir!” a girl dressed as what looked something like a superhero said, smiling gently at him. “You don’t know what an akuma is, do you?”

Again, Zane repeated her question, this time looking at him. Ah, he was the translator.

“No…?”

Her and a boy in a leather catsuit shared a look.

“A bad man called Hawk Moth took advantage of you,” the boy explained, reaching out a hand and helping Scott to his feet. “You were feeling some kind of negative emotion, and he used that to turn you into a supervillain.”

A supervillain? What kind of negative emotion could he have been —

He spotted Unagami, who was staring at him in nothing short of terror from against the brick wall of a building. Oh yeah.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing that couldn’t be undone,” the girl assured. “All property damages have been magically repaired, so you don’t have to worry!”

“It’s not the property damages I’m worried about,” Scott muttered, looking at Unagami, guilty all but stabbing him through the heart. The kid looked traumatized.

Before anyone could say anything else, Unagami ran. Jay immediately went after him, but the others stayed behind.

Scott knew that if he went, he would only make things worse. “Please, just… what did I actually do?”

By the end of the recap, Scott had sunk back to the ground.

There wasn’t really a way to fix this, was there?

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dysfunctional-lego-ninja · 4 years

Text

Into the Sword Again

Prime Empire Jaya oneshot - alternate ending to Episode 12: Stop, Drop, and Sidescroll (1464 words)

Nya and Jay didn’t leave the fighting arena right away. While Jay had taken the Yellow Key-Tana, he didn’t move for the end of the level. “I . . . I need a minute.”

He moved away from her, back to the doors to the level leading into the level. Finding the doors still operable, albeit leading to nothingness, he sat down in the open doorway, letting his legs dangle over the edge and into the cyber void. Concerned, Nya followed him.

“Jay?” She sat down next to her husband. “You okay?”

Jay sighed, absently running his fingers across the Key-Tana blade. “Not really,” he admitted quietly.

Nya wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head into his shoulder. “It’s about Nadakhan, isn’t it?”

The young man put the blade back into his inventory. He nodded. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I wish I’d learned that before getting tangled up in this stupid video game.”

He slumped forward, resting his elbows on his thighs and his chin in his hands. “I just . . . I ran right into another dumb decision. And people all over Ninjago are getting hurt―including our team―because of my mistake. Even if no one but me and you remember it, I still feel guilty for the damage Nadakhan caused. And now . . . it’s happening all over again.”

Nya gently stroked Jay’s hair, holding him close. “You didn’t know that Prime Empire would turn into this, babe,” she said quietly. “While you could have been more cautious, you didn’t know what the game would do―none of us did. Any one of us could have made the same mistake.”

“But anyone didn’t―it was me―again.” There was a tremor in Jay’s voice. “This is the second time I let an unstoppable force loose onto Ninjago―the second time I had to watch the team get picked off one by one―and the second time I could do nothing to stop it.” A tear slid down his cheek. “Sometimes . . . I just . . . I just want to . . . I just want to wish it all away.”

“James Imperial Walker. Look at me.” Nya firmly turned Jay’s head toward her, clasping his cheeks in both hands. Her gray eyes smoldered in a way that anyone would have found terrifying―including Jay had he been in a different frame of mind. “Don’t you dare say that―don’t you ever say that you want to wish it all away―”

The Water Ninja’s anger extinguished itself just as quickly as it had flared up. Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes, now racked with pain. “Babe, please . . . don’t say that. I know it’s hard, but you’re better than that. You resisted Nadakhan under torture, even when you didn’t know whether you’d be rescued. Even with everything we’ve experienced, none of us have gone through the kind of physical and mental trauma he put you through, and yet here you are―still bearing the burden of those memories and managing to carry on with a smile on your face.”

More tears trickled silently down Jay’s face. “I can’t keep faking it. . .”

“Your smile isn’t always fake.” Nya thumbed away his tears. “I know you well enough to know when you’re truly happy. Which is a lot more often than you might realize.” She gently ran a hand through his curls. “I can hear it in your laugh―and I can see it in your smile.” A soft, sad smile of her own lifted the corners of her mouth. “Your sweet, innocent smile that I love so much. How do you do it?”

“Do what?” Jay quietly slid his hand over hers, resting his cheek in her palm.

“How can you be so childlike and so mature at the same time?” Nya gazed tenderly into his blue eyes. “You act so silly and kiddish, but you can be as confident, brave, and wise a leader as Lloyd or Cole.”

“I don’t know. . .” Jay murmured, looking down at his knees. “It’s not something I do on purpose.”

Nya’s slender fingers entwined themselves in his auburn curls. Her other hand gently tilted his chin up, her eyes meeting his again. “You’re so strong, Jay,” she said softly, admiring his face with a tender gaze. “Stronger than you’re willing to let on or believe yourself.”

“I don’t feel strong.” Jay couldn’t look at his wife. “Strong men don’t . . . you know. . .”

“It’s the strongest men that do cry, sweetheart.” Nya leaned forward and gently kissed his tearstained cheek. “It takes a lot of courage to express these kinds of feelings openly. There can be a lot of strength in being vulnerable.” As she spoke, she felt the urge to look away herself. “I wish I could do that as easily as you.”

Jay was quiet for a moment. Then, with a deep breath, he lifted his hand to Nya’s cheek. “You’re strong in your own ways, my love. While I might have been able to persevere through Nadakhan’s manipulation, you died because of him. But you faced that end with so much courage. And it’s fueled you. You’ve said so yourself before that you fight even harder to keep us―and yourself―from suffering that fate.”

“Well I haven’t really been doing a good job at that recently, haven’t I?” Nya forced a rueful smile, trying to ignore the tears pricking her eyes.

“Oh, Nya. . .” Jay gathered Nya into his arms and gently lifted her onto his lap.

In spite of herself, she felt herself shaking with hiccuping sobs. Wrapping her arms around her husband’s neck, she buried her face in his chest. Jay tenderly kissed her forehead, holding her close to him and rocking her gently in his embrace. “It’s okay, it’s okay. . . You don’t need to hold it in, baby girl, you don’t need to hold it in. . .”

Nya didn’t try to control the salty water flowing down her cheeks. She cried hard into Jay, her chest heaving with each harsh breath she took. Through her sobs, she could hear Jay murmuring to her. “You don’t have to carry this weight alone, Nya. You have me. Please let me share the load with you.”

She couldn’t answer him for a while, but his words were comforting. Finally, when she could speak again, she looked up at him, gray eyes shining silver with the film of her lingering tears. “Only if you don’t try to carry your own burden alone. I’m always here for you, Jay. Even when you can’t take it anymore, I’ll still be there.”

“What if Unagami takes you away too?” Jay’s voice was quiet again.

“If he tries, I’m not going down without a fight―just like the others. And just like you.” Nya’s face was serious. “If that happens, you’re gonna have to be strong for the team one more time. Wu, Zane, and P.I.X.A.L. are still counting on us. But for now, you don’t have to be strong alone.” Her gaze remained steady and strong on him. “If I get cubed, it’ll be fighting side by side with you to bring down this digital son of an Oni.”

For the first time during the exchange, Jay managed a weak smile. “Thank you, Nya. You mean so much to me.” He gently kissed her hand. “I love you so, so much, my warrior queen.”

Nya returned his smile. “I love you more, my lightning strike.”

“I love you even more than that, my Yin. . .” Jay leaned down, tenderly touching his lips to hers.

“My love is beyond even that, my Yang.” Nya returned his kiss passionately.

“My beautiful, courageous wife. . .”

“My sweet, strong husband. . .”

“My dearest Nya. . .”

“My darling Jay. . .”

They remained locked in this embrace for what felt like hours, murmuring words of affection and love in between kisses. Even in the tender moment, the salty sting of fresh tears intermingled with the sweet taste of their lips.

Jay’s tears had dried on his face as they pulled away. Hoisting his legs up onto solid ground once again, he took her hand. “What do we do now?” she asked softly.

Jay lifted her to her feet, a new resolve in his eyes. His expression had darkened into a determined, fierce scowl. “Whatever it takes.” He drew the Yellow Key-Tana from his inventory again. “We get our friends back.” He startled her by pulling her into another, harder kiss. When he drew back again, he looked her right in the eye. “And we stop Unagami.”

Nya nodded, a little stunned. They walked across the arena up to the doors exiting the level. Jay breathed deeply. “Into the sword again.”

“But this time, you’re not alone.” Nya squeezed his hand tightly. “You’ll come in with one - and you’ll leave with everyone.”

Jay gripped the hilt of the Key-Tana tighter. “Game on, Unagami.”

Then they stepped into the light.

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glassprism · 4 years

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Since you're also in other fandoms, are there any ships/pairings you like? Who's your favourite pairing in POTO? Who are your favourite characters (from POTO to all your other fandoms) and why? Ooh, here's a rather unusual one: who's your favourite side character (name one for all your fandoms!) and why?

Yeah, definitely! Though whether some can be counted as actual “ships” is debatable, as you’ll see in a bit.

For Phantom, my favorite “ship” is the love triangle - E/C/R. Not in a polyamorous, threesome way, but one where I love the dynamics of the characters, the way they affect one another, the ways Erik and Raoul are similar and different. So it’s not quite a “ship” in a traditional sense where I want characters to end up with each other, but more in the sense that I like to explore and analyze them.

As for other “ships” or pairings, I’m just going to list, like, every fandom or random-ass thing I’ve ever loved in semi-chronological order (time to go back to my middle school fandoms!). Under the cut for length.

Harry Potter: Sirius Black and Harry Potter. I adored the godfather-godson bond between the two (absolutely no romance; I clicked on an mpreg fic of the two when I was but a wee lass of twelve and it scarred me): how Harry was the last living reminder of Sirius’s best friend, whose death he still feels responsible for; how Sirius is the parental figure Harry wanted, how they were never able to be happy god damn it Rowling. (You can imagine how much my eleven year old self cried when I read the fifth book. Oh boy, the tears.)

Star Wars: Vader and Luke. Again, totally familial, father-son relationship only. (Speaking of scarring experiences, I once stumbled on a romance fic between the two, where yes, both of them were still father and son, and I have that summary etched into my brain permanently.) The way Vader obsessively hunts down Luke, the first emotional connection he has had with a person in literal decades! The way Luke has just ached all his life for a father figure, to the point where he will take a homicidal Sith lord if that’s who he is! How he never gives up on trying to redeem him! How Luke is right. Loud screeching.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Will Turner and Bootstrap Bill and Will Turner and Henry Turner. More sad father-son dynamics (you may be noticing a pattern here). Repeat what I said with the Star Wars relationships, only with more pirates and less homicide. (And way more parental abandonment guilt.)

Halloween: Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, remake universe. Yet again, no romance, just a severely messed-up brother-sister relationship. I can’t begin to tell you why I like the horrific relationship between a serial killer and the little sister he was so obsessed with he ruined her life, completely traumatized her, and ended up leading to her death, but I do. Maybe it’s the dark obsession aspect of it, that in the midst of all his murders, there’s still one person Michael Myers longs to have a connection with, the baby sister who represented total innocence in his mind. Maybe it’s the “what could have been” aspect too, as Laurie never recognizes him or realizes their connection until it’s far too late. Maybe I need to re-examine my life choices. I’ll figure it out someday.

Bat Boy The Musical: Bat Boy/Shelley. Yes, this is a romance; yes, they are half-brother and half-sister, yes, you can get on me about this, but in my defense how about you watch the musical and NOT come out of it shipping these two against all your better instincts.

POTO: E/C/R, as stated above and for all those reasons. Oh, and you know what - The Phantom and Gustave from Love Never Dies. Can’t get away from those father-son ships. I actually care about that relationship than E/C or R/C in LND (maybe because both E/C and R/C suck in the sequel so what else am I going to latch onto).

Batman: Listed here, but my heart really lies with three ships. Jaytim is the first: it’s the whole “angry woobie destroyer of worlds who hates everyone meets seemingly well-adjusted and cheerful individual who is secretly hiding their own issues” dynamic. Bane/Talia from The Dark Knight Rises is the second. Doesn’t matter if it’s familial, friendship, protector and protectee, or romantic, I eat it up, and to be fair, it’s never explicitly stated what the relationship is in the movie. All we know is that the two grew up together in a hellhole prison, probably dependent on and solely trusting only one another, and that bond continues even after they leave, and not even death will make them leave one another. Finally, we have Jason Todd/therapy from the Arkham games. Because the poor guy needs it.

MCU: STEVE/BUCKY (aka Stucky). This ship (again, could be friendship or romantic) dominated my thoughts for four years. Steve’s fish-out-of-water status! Bucky’s horrific imprisonment under Hydra. The way the two find each other after and the angst. The fact that Steve refuses to kill Bucky and, even after seventy years, succeeds in breakthing through to him because their connection runs that deep. The fact that Marvel just ruined this relationship so now I have to rely on fanfic. Oh yes, and I also slowly fell into the Kastle ship (Frank Castle aka The Punisher and Karen Page). Another “hardened killer with sad backstory who connects to idealistic young woman with hidden darkness” dynamic.

Terminator: T-800 aka “Uncle Bob” and John Connor. Returning to sad father-son dynamics, I have this from Terminator 2. A robot learning emotions! A boy learning to take his place as a leader and all-loving hero. The bond they form, partially because the T-800 will do nothing else but protect John and partially because John has no father-figure of his own, so his robot bodyguard will do. THE ENDING.

ASOIAF/GOT: I actually have very few ships from here other than Arya/Gendry (and only when they’re older) and, weirdly, Theon/Sansa from the show. The Gendrya ship is just cute, it may well be the most wholesome ship on here, while Theonsa has shades of Stucky in it, I suppose, given that Theon has been tortured so badly he can barely remember his own name, until Sansa turns up and reminds him enough that he breaks out of it to help her.

Favorite characters from each of those:

Harry Potter: My favorite characters from here are probably more side characters, so I’ll just say Hermione Granger. Her focus on academics, fear of failure, and conviction that the library holds all the answers, felt all too reminiscent of myself.

Star Wars: Darth Vader, no contest whatsoever. Cool mask, cool cape, cool lightsaber, and the absolute worst life one can imagine.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Interestingly, Will Turner. Yeah, I guess Jack Sparrow is cool and Elizabeth is absolutely awesome to watch and has the greatest change in the series, but oh-so-serious Will, with his deep loyalties and slow slide into moral ambiguity because of those loyalties, fascinates me.

Halloween: Laurie Strode, all versions. My favorite final girl, my survivor of trauma (except in the remake, where, well, she doesn’t survive). Also, her daughter in the Thorn trilogy, Jamie Lloyd, the most tragic little girl to walk across a horror movie screen.

Bat Boy The Musical: Ah, wow, haven’t thought about this. I guess Bat Boy and Shelley, more by default than anything.

POTO: Christine Daae, no contest. Love her character, love her arc, love her songs, love her costumes.

Batman: Listed here.

MCU: Bucky Barnes (unless he counts as a side character), but I also love Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Karen Page, Elektra Natchios... and I’ll leave it at that.

Terminator: John Connor. (There’s a reason I haven’t watched Dark Fate yet... or ever.)

ASOIAF/GOT: Three of them! Daenerys Targaryen, who I love because she tries so hard to rule well, who is so observant and cognizant of the things going on around her. Then Sansa Stark, who makes such astounding growth, who retains her empathy and compassion throughout, who is capable of startling perception and insight which most others underestimate. And finally, Cersei Lannister. She’s terrible. I love her.

And favorite side characters from each of those:

Harry Potter: Sirius Black may well have been my first fictional crush. But Remus Lupin is the kind of person (and teacher) I aspire to be.

Batman: I swear, depending on the comic series or movie, everyone is a side character. I’ll just link to my old ask again.

Star Wars: Batman syndrome all over again; every character in Star Wars might be a side character elsewhere, and every side character gets to be the main character of their own comic, book, movie, etc. Erm... I really liked Rose from the sequel trilogy and Chirrut Imwe from Rogue One. I find Mara Jade from the Legends universe fun to read. WAIT I GOT IT - Queen Amidala’s handmaidens from Episode I (Sabe, Rabe, Eirtae, Yane, Sache). Highly trained in both politics, decorum, and weaponry, able to be utterly nondescript or the Queen’s decoy at the drop of a hat? I love.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Hmm... you know what, I thought Syrena the mermaid was pretty cute.

Halloween: Rachel Carruthers! Your typical girl-next-door but well done and with a touching relationship with her foster sister. I will die mad about her death in the fifth movie.

Bat Boy The Musical: Uh.... I’ll get back to you on this...

POTO: Carlotta is super fun.

MCU: Oh heck, Dottie Underwood. (My taste in female characters goes like this: a) intelligent and observant, 2) sweet and compassionate, 3) batsh*t insane. She’s the third.)

Terminator: Not sure how much of a side character she is, but Kate Connor. Wife and second-in-command to John Connor, able to heal wounds and kick butt depending on what the movie requires.

ASOIAF/GOT: I’ll probably think of someone else, but you know what? Queen Rhaenys Targaryen, younger sister and wife to Aegon the Conqueror, whom he wed out of desire. Playful, spirited, loved to fly, sponsored musicians, initiated reforms for the smallfolk, what’s not to love? (Apart from one possibility of her death... but we don’t talk about that.)

#Anonymous #GP gets asks

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gwenbrightly · 5 years

Text

Never A Perfect Moment pt3

Finally finished this bohemoth of a fic... Enjoy some Kailor this fine evening!

“You’re sure the flowers aren’t too much?” Kai questioned, fiddling with his hair (for what must have been the hundredth time in the past five minutes). He stared at his reflection as though it could provide the answers he sought. His visit to the hospital had to be perfect. If he messed this up... he’d never forgive himself. From the doorway, Nya shot him a bemused look. How he could be so confident sometimes, yet act like a total wreck now, would always be a mystery to her. She gave her answer, slipping into the cramped bathroom to stand next to him,

“She’ll love them.”

“What about my hair? Does it look okay?” he reached for the hair gel, but his sister rolled her eyes and used her good hand to swat him away from it.

“You look fine. Leave it alone before you end up looking like some sort of rabid porcupine.” Ugh. What was it with people comparing his hair to animals?

“You could always be like Jay and just… not bother to style it at all…” Lloyd’s suggestion floated in from nearby.

“Hey!” the master of lightning cried indignantly, “I’ve been home less than a week and this is how I’m treated?! That was a low blow, greenie…”

“I missed you, I promise. But seriously, you need a haircut or something.” Lloyd told him, earning a glare. They probably all needed one, if they were being totally honest.

“Somehow, I doubt your commentary is helping Kai.” Zane observed.

“Probably not… Honestly, Kai, you gotta stop psyching yourself out over this.” Cole added, joining the conversation. Over the past few days, Kai had questioned the wisdom of being so open about his feelings for Skylor several times (even if it had really been mostly due to his panic over nearly losing her). The others had become surprisingly invested in it, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Giving up on retrieving the hair gel from Nya, he joined the others in the living room.

“Says the guy who’s more interested in food than girls.” he mumbled, seating himself on the couch.

“Pft… I just haven’t found someone who appreciates cake as much as I do.” the master of earth insisted. The others shared a look.

“Either way, Cole does have a point. You and Skylor have been through a lot together. Surely this can’t be any worse?” Zane offered, giving Kai a comforting pat.

“Indeed. It’s obvious you two are meant for each other!” agreed Pixal. He calmed at this, knowing she didn’t say such things lightly. Not since she had come to realize the full effects of the perfect match incident. The nindroid had felt terrible about the heartache caused by her actions, often keeping her observations about her family’s love lives to herself.

“Thanks, you guys. I dunno why I’m so stressed out over this.” Admitted Kai with a sigh.

“Everyone feels a little nervous when they tell the person they love about their feelings for them,” Nya told him, “it’s a big step.”

“Just be yourself, and be honest, and everything will work out just fine... I learned that the hard way.” Jay piped up. Having experienced his fair share of hiccups when it came to his romance with Nya, he knew that the master of fire needed to hear this advice. His girlfriend nodded in agreement.

“You got this.”

“Definitely!” Lloyd encouraged.

“Heck yeah I do,” The master of fire said, confidence growing, “Now where are the keys?”

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

“You have a visitor, Miss Chen.” the voice of Marc, one of the nurses frequently tasked with caring for Skylor, called softly, his voice seeping into the rather bizarre dream the master of amber was currently having. A bright red porcupine vaguely resembling Kia was battling snakes made from living noodles. Bits of chow mein flew everywhere with each chop slash. The scene faded away once she registered that the person calling to her actual existed and wasn’t just a figment of her imagination. What a confusing dream… where had that even come from?

“Huh?” she replied with a pained groan, struggling to prop herself up on her pillows and wishing she could just go back to sleep. Exhaustion was hardly a new concept for the master of amber, but she was pretty sure she’d discovered a new peak level of tiredness that hadn’t existed up to a few days ago. The drug induced haze she’d been experiencing had finally worn off, leaving her with a deep-rooted lack of energy, and memories of unrelenting pain that continued linger even now that she was on the road to recovery. And an abnormally overactive imagination, it seemed.

“Your ninja friend is here to see you again.” Marc explained, distracting her from any further desire to question her strange subconscious, “Do you want me to leave you two alone?”

“Oh... um... Yeah, that would probably be… good.” Skylor replied, cringing inwardly. She’d been dreading this moment since she first became lucid enough for him to describe the events of Kai’s previous visit. While the nurse hadn’t been present for everything that occurred, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what else she might’ve let slip.

“Hey.” the master of fire greeted awkwardly from the doorway.

“Hey...” she murmured back, smiling weakly.

“I, uh, brought you some flowers…” he stated, holding out a rather large bouquet as he approached her bed.

“Wow… thanks, Kai… That was really sweet of you!” the redhead commented appreciatively. Kai placed them on the table next to her and pulled up the nearest chair.

“I figured you could use something to brighten this place up a bit.” this hospital room was anything but homey.

“It was definitely needed…” Skylor agreed. Having been raised in the colorful environment of her father’s island had given her an appreciation for beauty, if nothing else (years of trauma and manipulation aside). She’d quickly grown tired of staring at the stark, clinical whiteness of her surroundings. It would be a relief to return to the comforting warmth of her apartment once she was finally well enough to escape from this place.

“So…. How are you?” he asked quietly, glancing at her face, which was still far paler than it should’ve been, “I mean, you look much better than the last time I saw you but...”

“I’m… healing, I guess?” she said with a small shrug, relaxing onto her pillows a bit, “There’s still some pain, and I’m so exhausted that I feel like I could sleep for the next 50 years... But I feel way better now than I did for a while, there…”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. I never want to go through anything like that again…” Skylor told her companion. Absorbing Garmadon’s powers had been a terrible idea in hindsight, even if it had saved her friends. Nothing could have prepared her for the resulting pain and illness.

“I can’t blame you. It was all pretty horrible… Finding you in such bad shape? Was terrifying... We – I was so scared I was gonna lose you…” admitted Kai, sobering. They were quiet for a moment as memories of the events leading up to this day washed over them. This really had been a close call. Skylor shakily reached out, catching one of Kai’s hands with her own. Giving it a squeeze, she broke the silence.

“H-hey now, you can’t get rid of me that easily… but thanks. For everything. The doctors say if you hadn’t acted so quickly, things might’ve ended very differently. I… I’m glad you made it back okay.”

He returned the squeeze without hesitation.

“Me too, Sky. The thought of never seeing Nya, or Lloyd, or Pix, or you again was… unthinkable – there was never a doubt in my mind that I…. I had to get home somehow… There were so many things I never got to say, and I couldn’t just...”

“Give up?” she finished for him. He nodded.

“I know how you feel. Seeing the Bounty being crushed on live TV nearly broke me... it was devastating to think I’d lost so many people I cared about in one awful go. I came so close to just... losing hope completely, but then, sitting there in my apartment, waiting for the nightmare to just be over... I realized that if you were strong enough to go through losing your parents, your brother, and your master, all at different times, and still come out of it okay in the end...” Skylor’s voice cracked as she spoke, “I could face this, too. Even if it felt like I had lost everything. Because that’s what you’d have wanted me to do. And somewhere out there, Lloyd and Nya were hurting just as much as I was.”

Fingers still intertwined with hers, Kai gave the redhead’s hand another squeeze.

“Wow - I didn’t realize... C-can I ask you a question?” the master of fire asked tentatively.

“Of course.” she answered. Inhaling deeply, he looked into her eyes searchingly, and began to speak.

“The other day when I was here, you were a little out of it, but... you said that you were in love with me-”

“I - yes. I am. Have been for... Well, pretty much since we first met, actually. And I wanted to tell you. I was just...” Skylor interrupted, frantically praying this wouldn’t backfire on her.

“Waiting for the right moment?” he suggested, with a sheepish smile, “Yeah, I... I’m in love with you, too, Skylor. So if you were worried that maybe I was just joking that time back on your father’s island... I wasn’t then, and I’m not now.”

The master of fire scooted as close to her bed as he could before continuing.

“I was scared of messing things up for so long that I nearly missed the chance to tell you how I felt completely. But now? I just wanna be with you. I wanna talk to you on the phone until 3am and drive everyone else crazy with all our obnoxious inside jokes! I wanna go out with you and not be too much if a coward to call it a date and bring you flowers whenever I happen to be near the restaurant! I love you, Sky, and I’m so sorry it took me such a long time to tell you that to your face.”

“You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.” the redhead replied, eyes bright. She looked so happy it made Kai’s heart burst with affection. Gently, he used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

“Mmm. Actually, I’m probably sure I actually do,” he insisted, voice thick, “Meeting you was one of the best things that’s ever happened to me... And I kinda just really wanna kiss you now…”

“Oh? Well, what’s stopping you?” Skylor inquired, looking at him in a way he’d never seen before.

“Absolutely nothing.” he replied, emphasizing each word as he leaned in. She laughed as she met him halfway.

“Wow... I should’ve done that a long time ago.” Kai mumbled against her lips when they finally parted again. The redhead hummed quietly in agreement.

“Soo... I guess we’re together now?”

“Yep. It’s official. You’re stuck with me.” he said with a grin. She lightly punched his shoulder. They smiled at each, still only inches apart.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” she replied before kissing him again.

___________________________________________________________________

Day by day, Skylor’s health flourished, as did her relationship with Kai. He visited her whenever he could, staying for several hours; the rest of her ninja family, along with June and Chad also visited multiple times, ensuring that she was never bored or lonely while stuck in her dreary hospital room. Flowers, stuffed animals, and boxes of candy brightened her surroundings, though she eventually had to insist that Kai stop bringing her gifts every time he showed up. Their first date was a trip to the hospital cafeteria on the day the doctors deemed the master of amber strong enough to leave her bed. The hamburgers and fries weren’t perfect, and neither were Kai’s increasingly cheesy pickup lines, but after having waited so long to simply be together, neither of them cared. They stayed there, laughing hysterically over dumb stories, and tossing fries into each other’s mouths (and missing a large fraction of the time) until one of Skylor’s nurses finally came to drag her back to her room, insisting that she needed her rest. She slept better that night than she had in a long time.

Finally, the date of her release from the hospital rolled around, and not a moment too soon. Skylor was beyond ready to finally go home. To say she had gone a bit stir crazy wouldn’t have been a lie. Sitting on her bed, the suitcase June had brought her already packed, she smiled when her phone vibrated, signaling an incoming text.

Kai: Hey, stranger! Just pulled into the parking garage!

Skylor: Can’t wait to see you, fire boy :)

Kai: Be up before you know it!

The redhead leaned backwards and stared up at the ceiling, sighing happily as she read her boyfriend’s messages. It felt so good to know to know with absolute certainty that Kai loved her. And that she’d be leaving this place in a few short minutes. True to his word, the master of fire quickly arrived outside her room.

“Guess who?” he sang, swinging the door open. Skylor scrambled off her bed, greeting him with a soft kiss.

“Hey, Kai.”

“Hi. You look good today.” Kai complimented holding her at arm's length. She rolled her eyes.

“I mean, I'm in desperate need of a shower, and look like I haven’t seen the sun in years, but I'll take it.”

“So, you ready to get oughtta here?” the master of fire asked, grabbing the suitcase.

“Please,” Skylor told him, “if I never see this place again, it’ll be too soon.”

“Alrighty then. Let’s get you signed out before the doctors change their minds.”

“Good plan.” She stated, following him out the door and into the hallway. Jen, the nurse who practically lived at the front desk, already had the release forms ready for Skylor when the duo reached the waiting room.

“Congratulations, Miss Chen! It’s nice to see you doing so well. You just have a few papers to sign, and then you can be on your way.” The woman announced cheerily. Skylor quickly scanned the paperwork before grabbing a pen. She carefully signed her name to each dotted line, relishing in the feeling of freedom that came with it.

“Everything looks good to me,” Jen remarked, “Just remember to stay hydrated and take it easy for the next couple of weeks or so. We don’t want you ending up back here too soon, now do we?”

“Noted… thanks for everything!” The redhead smiled weakly.

“Of course. Now, I’m sure you’d like to get outta here. That boyfriend of yours looks like he’s starting to get antsy.” observed Jen, nodding towards Kai, who was staring longingly towards the exit.

“He looks even more anxious to leave than I am.”

“He’s probably thinking about the night you were brought in… I was here, you know… The guy was absolutely devastated. It was obvious how much he cared about you – physically tried to fight the nurses when they took you back without him…” The nurse recalled, clearly pleased that they were a couple now. Skylor blanched at this.

“Oh… I… No one had told me that… I- you’re right, I should probably get going.”

“Have a nice evening!”

“You too!” Skylor called over her shoulder as she headed for Kai.

“All set?” Her boyfriend asked.

“Yep. Let’s go home and have a quiet movie night and a nice meal that didn’t originate from the hospital cafeteria.” She begged. They exited the waiting room and stepped into the elevator that would take them to the level the parking garage was on. Watching the floor number meter count down, Skylor leaned against Kai’s shoulder, which, she had discovered, was the perfect height for a head rest.

“You doing okay?” He asked, noticing how quiet she’d gotten. She burrowed into him.

“Yeah, m’fine. Just… thinking.”

“About what?”

“Kai, did you seriously fight the nurses when they wouldn’t let you come back with me?” Skylor questioned, stepping out of the elevator, Kai close behind.

“Well yeah, but don’t worry, Lloyd wasn’t very supportive of me wanting to burn down the entire wing in revenge…” he joked, which earned him a look.

“Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best idea ever, but I stand by my choices.”

“You really are one in a million.”

“And I’m all yours. Me, my awesome fire powers, and this minivan Nya hooked us up with.” Kai stated, pressing a button on his key fob to unlock their ride, which they had just arrived at. He opened the door on the passenger side and helped her climb in before getting in himself.

“I’ll try not to fall asleep on the drive home this time,” The redhead assured him, referencing their trip to the zoo that had occurred not long after Skylor had first taken over her father’s restaurant. He laughed, turning the key in the ignition,

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. Your body is still healing from everything it got put through.”

“As romantic as the image of you carrying me into my apartment and tucking me into bed is, I’m pretty sure we’d both end up back in the hospital if you tried that so. Think I’d better stay awake if it’s all the same to you.” Skylor commented with a wink, “And besides, it shouldn’t be a very long ride.” Kai nodded. Their vehicle turned a corner.

“The colossus somehow managed to miss your entire neighborhood, so the streets should be pretty clear.”

“That’s good. So… how’s the gang today?” Asked Skylor, knowing how hectic life had been for them in the wake of Garmadon’s defeat. Getting the city back on its feet entailed a lot of hard work, and they had all seemed exhausted whenever they came to visit her.

“Zane declared our food stores too measly to cook a decent meal with and took Pixal on a shopping spree this morning at 5am, and Nya’s more than a little jealous that you got released from the hospital before she gets to be rid of her sling, but other than that, everyone seems to be holding up okay.” He answered lightheartedly. She stifled a giggle.

“Somehow, I’m not surprised by any of this.”

“My family does have a flair for the dramatic.” the master of fire admitted readily. He himself was no exception, as he’d proven time and time again (he was still being lectured by Lloyd and Nya for his stunt with the colossus).

The duo continued to chat as Kai drove along the streets of Ninjago City, enjoying how easily words flowed between them. They reminisced over past adventures and discussed Wu’s progress in rebuilding the Monastery of Spinjitzu. They occasionally stopped talking to sing along with whatever song was playing on Kai’s playlist, sometimes competing to see who could butcher the lyrics the most horribly. Time passed quickly. Street signs flew by. And soon, they were pulling up in front of the master of amber’s home.

“Sweet freedom!” Skylor exclaimed, shakily climbing out. She inhaled deeply; somehow the air here felt different, fresher, lighter, than that of the hospital, or even the warehouse the resistance had taken refuge in. Kai bit back a laugh when he saw her face.

“Welcome home, Sky.”

“Home,” She agreed, “It feels like a lifetime since I left, but at the same time… like it was only seconds ago…”

“A lot of things have happened since then.” He said, reaching to shut the car door, which Skylor had neglected to do in her excitement at having arrived.

“Yeah, I...” The master of amber paused when she heard the strains of the song Kai’s phone was playing. The music was much quieter without being played through the car’s speakers, but she could still recognize the lyrics.

“Is that... Shut Up and Dance With Me?”

“Uh, yeah. It is.” Kai confirmed, pulling the device from its stand.

“You wanna...?” Skylor started, hesitantly. She glanced at him, shyly. He raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t hard to guess what she was thinking.

“Dance with you? In the middle of the sidewalk? Sure, I mean, you only live once.” Kai relented with a grin. He pulled her onto the grassy area that lined the sidewalk, more than a little concerned his girlfriend might topple over if they weren’t careful.

“Just tell me if you need to stop, okay?” She nodded and took his hands.

Oh don't you dare look back

Just keep your eyes on me

Kai spun her gently, smiling as her face lit up. She pulled him into a spin of her own, harder, faster, than before.

I said you're holding back

She said shut up and dance with me

They stumbled around the stretch of greenery, laughing as their movements grew increasingly clumsy. Finally, the two collapsed next to each other, breathing hard.

“If my neighbors didn’t think I was crazy before, they definitely do now!” Skylor gasped, cheeks flushed. She looked so alive.

“Worth it!” Kai breathed. He leaned over to kiss her.

“Maybe there’s no such thing as a perfect moment, maybe things never line up exactly how we want them to. But right here, right now? I’d say we’ve gotten pretty darn close to perfection.” She told him before allowing herself to be wrapped in his loving embrace. No matter how much chaos life threw at them, Skylor knew they’d be able to handle it. Together.

#Ninjago fanfiction #Ninjago #Kailor #Kai #Skylor #Guys guess who actually finished this finally!!!!#Cute hospital confessions #Kai is an anxious bean #And kinda awkward #But that's okay because skylor is too!#They love each other and it's sweet #The hospital staff all ships them #Dancing to music on the sidewalk is totally normal what are you talking about????#Can't believe it's over!

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fishfingersandjellybabies · 5 years

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So. Dont know if you still want to talk about it but I literally just got out of theaters to see Doctor Sleep and just!!!! Got so many thoughts like holey batman. I appreciate mark's attempt at paying homage to both the books and movies. I still wish so badly that jack from the books could have gotten his small bit of redemption but I have to acknowledge that movie jack was in too deep to get it and just am so happy Danny was with Wendy in the end. I've got so many feelings I cant put into words

YES ALWAYS PLEASE

Under a cut for spoilers for movie and book

Like I totally get why they needed to reference the 80s movie so I knew there were gonna be some creative liberties

I was SO SAD THAT THEY KILLED BILLY AND DAVID OMG. And that John Dalton wasn’t a bigger part. But I really liked how they redid Billy to be a mix of Billy and Casey Kingsley? I don’t know who that actor was unfortunately but his performance was great. BUT GOD HOW THEY KILLED HIM I wasn’t expecting it and it made me so sad. The way he looked at Dan!

I agree! I would have loved to see that moment in the book where Dan and the ghost of his father blow kisses to each other after the battle. I would have also loved for them to keep the detail of Dan actually being blood related to Lucy and Abra to make that moment even more powerful.

But at the same time, I like how they basically made the ending of the movie the real ending of The Shining novel, if that makes sense? While still keeping it pretty in tune with the general ‘defeat Rose’ of the book. And I LOVED the twist of the ghosts in Dan’s head killing her instead of her cycling after the push off the outlook.

And GOD, that moment of Abra saying she won’t leave Dan, and that being enough to get him out of the hotel’s grasp, and KNOWING that’s what happened in The Shining novel between Dan and Jack!!!!! It was so emotional. and such a good homage for us bookworms.

I loved the girl who played Abra, I hope her career takes OFF. She played the part so well.

And while I wish we got the happy ending that is in the book with Abra and her Uncle Dan and his newfound halfsister and David all living happily ever after, I appreciate that Dan saw his mother in death. Especially more so now after thinking about it, because I saw a post yesterday that talked about how Dan said (in the film) that he couldn’t even look at his mother as she died. But there in his own death, she was right there to greet him and go with him into the afterlife.

And back to ghost Jack I would have liked for him to be in that moment too but like you said, in the movie universe Jack was too far gone, and damn, even Dan talking to ghost Jack/Lloyd in the bar was such a tough emotional scene that just hit you right in the heart. because it reminds you of the childhood trauma Dan went through and still carries with him? and he was so childlike in that scene refusing to take the drink?

and while I was bummed that they killed Dan in the end, I teared up so bad when Abra told Lucy that Dan and her father were okay. Like i don’t know why but I did. And I also had the biggest grin when Abra went to go deal with the ghost woman in the bathtub like little Dan had.

and I like that twist too? That Dan finally released the spirits in his head and they took care of Rose no biggie, but instead of just being able to suck them all back into his head at once, they overpowered Dan too? Like, I don’t know why but I feel like that was almost...more realistic in a sense. And the fact that Abra got saddled with them after. It just...all made sense, how the filmmakers dealt with them and made that all work. Though I do also miss again that ‘happy ending’ of the book where Dan was free of all the spirits for real and forever.

And I love the book and basically everything about it, and while I miss a lot of the details in the movie universe/adaption, I thought the adaption was just so well made and well integrated into both universes? You just don’t see adaptions like that anymore nowadays! It just blew me away. I mean, even those reenactement actors for the scenes of the original Shining movie - those actors/costume designers/editors/etc did AMAZING. I honestly wasn’t sure if someone of them were the original scenes or not when they started. (though I’d be lying if I wasn’t secretly hoping for a Jack Nicholson cameo SOMEWHERE, like with the original Danny actor (he was apparently in the baseball game scene, but I forgot to look for him))

this is also very long because I’m with you - I have SO MANY EMOTIONS ABOUT THIS MOVIE. I am honestly debating going to see it again like. next weekend haha

#doctor sleep #just. so good. so GOOD yall #anon #asks

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mariellewritesalot · 5 years

Text

Notes on the Romantic Narrative

As an homage to my favorite film of all-time “Silver Linings Playbook” finally being on Netflix, and a coping mechanism to everything I’ve been feeling as of late: I am writing to you about some musings I’ve been making and breaking for the past few months. About love, or lack thereof, in my life.

First, to give you an image of how I pay attention to detail in life and movies, I will start with a few reasons why I love this gem despite the huge changes they made on screen vis-à-vis the novel: 1) It portrayed mental illnesses in a way that didn’t feel pushy or overly-romanticized: healing is not linear, 2) Pat’s character development throughout the film was the epitome of his motto (and mine), “Excelsior”, 3) I love how the story sort of revolved around the Eagles and football to anchor the heaviness of the entire plot line, 4) The casting!!! I mean, wow, and 5) It makes you believe in silver linings, even in the safest sense of the idea, not too grand and definitely not perfect. Safe. Who could forget that scene where Pat runs after Tiffany with his letter? The relief we all felt knowing that her hard work and feelings were not for naught? If you haven’t seen it, I hope you have the time to. It’s a moving film, honestly.

Anyway, I digress. I am going to go personal in this bit and I might not like it, too. I am stating the obvious when I say that I am a hopeless romantic and that I tend to look at life in rose-colored glasses. Some probable reasons are because my parents have the kind of love story that really makes you believe in fate and second chances, plus the fact that I grew up with romantic films, songs, and books. I was sold to the fairy tale idea of happily ever afters despite the proof that it doesn’t apply to everyone in real life. I wanted my own story to tell. After all, I am a writer. I live for the things worth telling.

Nowadays, I also spend a lot of my time online where my timeline is bombarded with couples or romantic gestures, as if the algorithm is working against the realist in me. I can’t say I hate it, because one thing I get from this mindset is the tendency to highlight the good things, both in people or situations. The “too kind for my own good” complex. The only downside is that I may get disappointed more times than I should. It’s a tricky predicament if you think about it in my context: I grew up with mostly men in the house, in my own bubble, going through life thinking that somebody is going to sweep me off my feet, backed up by High School Musical films and the media pushing love teams down our throats...but then it hits me in real life as I grow older: movie moments do happen in real life, but they aren’t as common as they make it out to be, they’re the exception to the rule. They are as rare as they come.

Some of us aren’t as lucky.

In reality, when the hurt runs too deep, it feels almost impossible to rise above it. The hopeless romantic dies out and is replaced by a semi-angry realist, tired of how the world consistently proves that it moves in circles. They become someone who occasionally relapses into that romanticized haze every once in a while because it gets lonely. When you’ve fallen in love a few times in life, it’s hard not to expect yourself to fall into a trap, any moment now. The withdrawals grow stronger just when you’re starting to get the hang of things. It’s an exhausting ordeal, if you ask me, turning numb but knowing that you can’t shake off the romantic within when it resurfaces in the most inappropriate of moments.

I used to think that I’d be one of the lucky ones who meet the love of their life early on; someone who’s capable of being in a long-term relationship in college or maybe even after...and I still think I am, but maybe I haven’t met him yet. Maybe I have, but the timing is off or we just don’t know it until a little further down the road. Now I’ve been single for too long, and there is nothing wrong with it, just the fact that the trauma I went through has really soiled my chances of healing fast; more from the events than the actual person who did the hurting. Being here though, I am able to see how I am in a generation where #hugot culture is the norm, relationships are only as good as they are on social media, and 80% of young people are desperate to find love or at least a semblance of it. It’s nauseating, accidentally giving into the “sana all” culture and thinking I am incomplete if I don’t have someone who’s technically obligated to care for me, vice versa. I am not a fan of it, but it’s not exactly easy to exclude myself from a narrative I have been in for years. I wish it didn’t feel so off.

Because...hey, there are pros to being single. For starters: I am young. I don’t have to worry about it yet at least for the next ten years or so. I am not supposed to have the same timeline as other people. I can go to bed without worrying about somebody else. I don’t have to ask for anyone’s approval. I have more time for the things I love doing. I am not being emotionally abused or taken for granted or cheated on, which were common themes in my past relationships. It’s a treat, until I am once again hooked by the media I consume and made to think that there’s more to life than being alone.

Maybe it’s the fact that I spent half of this year trying to get over the one I thought was the love of my life, or how I’m spending the other half denying to myself that I may be having feelings for a person and consciously running away from them through various coping mechanisms I never thought I’d use. Love is a gray area right now because I don’t see myself being in a relationship anytime soon, but if I ever do, I’d want something serious. I love meeting new people right now, but at the same time, my comfort zone feels good. I find that it helps tone down my anxiety when I am in control. I’m proud of myself for choosing to navigate through life by my own right now, turning down people who want to become a part of it for my sake and theirs. I just have a lot on my plate. Although I do believe that I’ll never be ready. No one ever is, but I want to put my faith in timing. I just have to learn the ropes here first. I hate that everyone around me is rushing because I feel like I’m that person being squeezed into the middle of the crowd in a mosh pit. I am choosing to make sure I am a better person than I was first before I dive into it, head first.

So yeah. Lloyd Dobler is not going to blast In Your Eyes by Pete Gabriel on a boombox outside my bedroom window (though I’d love Closing Time by Semisonic more). Dylan Harper is not going to organize a flash mob to tell me he made a mistake. Patrick Verona is not going to hack into the school speakers and sing to me at the football field. Troy Bolton is not going to show up outside my window to apologize, armed with Margherita pizza and chocolate covered strawberries. Ted is not going to steal a blue french horn for me. Johnny Castle is not going to dance with me in front of everybody to prove our love. Chuck Bass is not going to buy me a ring and carry it around even when we aren’t together anymore, hoping for the chance to get me back. Augustus Waters is not going to show up with orange tulips and a trip to Amsterdam. Pat Soltano is not going to run after me with a love letter he wrote a week ago...and I’m okay with it. I don’t want to buy into the notion that I need saving, or that I can be swayed by gestures that can so easily be just a move to win me over with no follow-through. I don’t want to be put on a pedestal, anyway. Also...sometimes, it’s in the little things. We fall in love with the way people remember something we said to them months ago, the way they show up after a long day, and the way even the tiniest gestures feel so big it fills up everything else.

I feel like one day I’ll be given the love I deserve and I don’t have to yearn for movie scenes like the art geek I am. You see, what makes love stories unique is the fact that it happens when you least expect it. Grand romantic gestures are welcome, but they aren’t really the basis of how deep love could be. I could only hope to be with someone who speaks my love language or at least tries to understand it. Until then...I’ll keep relearning everything until I make sense of what I truly want out of love and its intricate mess of a web.

I’ll love; even without pretense, without hope or agenda, without expecting the universe to give me back everything like it owes me.

#daily life blog posts #romance #romantic movies #silver linings playbook #random thoughts #marielle fatima #mariellewritesalot #october 2019

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umbrahighpriestofgiratina · 5 years

Text

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Tales Of Arrival Prologue + Chapter 1

This fic is rated Teen for blood, mild gore, adults doing adult things like drinking and swearing, and some dirty jokes and such.

About time I had another B fic huh? (Greenhorn Prometheus doesn't count, it was a three-parter that was written out ahead of time, shhhhhhhh)

So, this is a fic that took me some come convincing to write, (I was never really that fond of the actual PMD games, though I generally like the fics better) but in the end I got attached to an idea and was like "hell, let's go."

I will be up front in saying this is a Tales Of Symphonia/Pokemon Mystery Dungeon crossover, and that you should note three things about that:

1.There will be some massive fucking spoilers for Tales Of Symphonia, especially around the character Kratos Aurion, so if you're particularly concerned about that then I recommend playing the game or watching an LP before reading this fic.

A. That said... If you have not played Tales Of Symphonia, do not care about spoilers relating to it, and are just here because you saw "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon" in the title, you should be fine - this fic is like at least 70% PMD, albeit a celebration of what I like about the genre and a satire of what I don't.

%. This is set in a PMD version of the Yangverse. It's fundamentally the same world, just with no humans and a lot of PMD elements added to compensate.

But anyway I should go ahead and get into this. But before I do big thanks to @masaeanela and her Tales of Symphonia LP, without which this fic wouldn't have been possible. Here we go:

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Tales Of Arrival

(Banner by Shinywolf!)

Prologue: New Life

Kratos could see the vast darkness of space staring out before him.

Derris-Kharlan had been drifting for a long while. It'd be a while before it'd establish itself as a proper living planet. His communications with Yuan had ceased just the other day. He had already scattered Cruxis' Exspheres into space. He could barely see where he left in the sky anymore.

Normally he'd pretend it didn't hurt. But leaving everything behind-

No. He had to.

He looked in the direction in the sky Derris-Kharlan had drifted from. Lloyd. He was back there. Kratos wondered, hoped, that he and his gaggle of friends were doing alright.

He looked to where Derris-Kharlan was drifting in the cold void of space. This was the only place for him. He realized now the blood on his hands. The countless people Cruxis had killed he was complicit with.

He didn't deserve to stay home. He didn't deserve redemption. He didn't deserve a happy life with his son, the only family he had left.

As he thought this, however, he noticed a strange light in the dark, starry sky. Looking at it, he thought at first it was a comet or meteor shooting through the sky.

But then he realized it was heading through Derris-Kharlan's atmosphere at incredible speed.

Heading straight toward him.

He tried to get out of the way. But it was too late. The light consumed him.

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

Kratos woke up in a colorful, pulsating, void. He couldn't feel his body. Almost like he was part of the void.

Then he heard a voice.

"Hello? Hello? Kratos, you there?"

"How do you know my name?" said Kratos.

"Oh, goody, it is you!" said the voice. "Listen, I know this is kind of sudden, but something's coming to my world and I need your help with it."

"...Why me?"

"You're... uniquely qualified. For multiple reasons. But before I bring you over I need to ask you some questions."

"I-"

"First question! Do you like groan-inducing puns?"

"...Spare me."

"You're lucky I can't think of one. Second question! Do you get bothered by noise and ruckus around you?"

"I try not to let it get to me."

"Hmmmm... Third question! Your friend is crying right in front of you! What made that happen?"

Kratos thought back to Mithos. To Yuan. To Lloyd.

"...It's probably my fault."

"Ouch. Not much of the self-esteem type. Question four! Do you occasionally consider yourself to be dull and overly cautious?"

"Of course not."

"Sure you aren't. Anyway, final question! Have you ever wanted to communicate with aliens from another planet?"

"I'm assuming you're one?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny."

"Hmmm... Some beings from my world came from the stars, but other than you, Derris-Kharlan hasn't encountered any aliens yet... so yes, I suppose."

"Okay! Hmmm, let's see, yes, yes... I think I have a form cooked up for you!"

"...Form?"

"Anyway, remember that question about the aliens and how you said you'd like to meet them?"

"Yes? I'm guessing wish granted."

"Yep! Wish granted."

The void turned a blinding white before Kratos lost consciousness again.

Chapter 1: Welcome To The World

Kratos stirred, groaned, and finally opened his eyes. What he saw was blue sky, much more blue than on Derris-Kharlan. He tilted his head a bit, saw trees, grass, and -

"Hey you! You're finally awake!"

What Kratos saw next to him was a small, black-and-red fox wearing a teal robe, with inquisitive blue eyes staring right at him.

"I was just about to get help... Are you OK?"

"Yes... I am alright," said Kratos. "Let me just..."

He sat up. And then realized he wasn't himself. His body was now much, much smaller in proportion to his head, and fuzzy. And his arms were... wings. Not like his old angel wings, like bat or dragon wings, with claws at the end instead of hands.

"How... How did this happen?"

"Someone must have knocked you out!" said the fox.

Kratos gave the fox a look.

"It must have been a feral Pokemon... Do you remember anything about it?"

"No... and I mean... What am I?"

The fox gasped. "Oh no! You must have amnesia! Uh, you're a Noibat! Though, not like any Noibat I've ever seen. Your colors are all different..."

"So I'm a creature known as a Noibat, then."

"Yeah! And I'm a Zorua! My name's Edbark. Do you remember yours?"

"...Yes. It's Kratos."

"Kratos? Huh. Sounds foreign. Well nice to meet you Kratos! I'll be sure to help get your memories back!"

"I don't need-"

"Come on! I'll take you to a doctor in the city."

"...Fine."

Edbark started to trot off. Kratos sighed and started to try and follow, only to stumble over. Edbark turned back and gasped.

"Oh no! You've forgotten how to walk!"

"I'm fine," said Kratos. "I just need to get used to this new body..."

"Come on," said Edbark. "I'll help you."

Edbark propped Kratos up with his back, then they walked away together.

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

Eventually, the duo reached the outskirts of what seemed to be a city. There were many houses both small and large and dirt roads, as well as towering buildings which Kratos could only fathom a guess at the purpose of.

Having figured out how to walk by himself, Kratos went closer and saw the city was populated not by humans or elves or half-elves or dwarves or even angels, but by a staggering array of different animals, plants, and even inanimate objects, all moving around as if they were people.

"What... is this place?" said Kratos. "And what are these creatures?"

"This is Rainbow Wing City!" said Edbark. "And man, that amnesia really got to you... These are Pokemon! You're a Pokemon, I'm a Pokemon..."

"I thought you said I was a Noibat and you were a Zorua."

"Noibat and Zorua are both kinds of Pokemon silly!"

"...I see."

The two continued further on into Rainbow Wing City, passing various buildings and a great variety of Pokemon. Kratos marveled at the bazaars and shops and facilities run by colorful creatures he couldn't even count. Eventually the two reached what seemed to be a castle - Kratos noticed one of two in the city, along with a cathedral.

"And this place is..." said Kratos.

"The Adventurer's Guild!" said Edbark."They can help you out!"

Edbark dragged Kratos inside. Kratos noticed more facilities and corridors and dormitories inside, as well as what seemed to be an... Inn? With a bar?

Eventually Edbark dragged Kratos into a central room. Seated at the end of the room was a strange, cream-and-green mustelid-like creature wearing a red vest, flanked by two floating grayish blue automaton-like beings.

"Guildmaster, it's Edbark!" said one.

"And... some Noibat?" said another.

"I see, I see," said the mustelid. He approached the duo. "Edbark my boy! Who do you have here?"

"Guildmaster Stoakes!" said Edbark. "This is Kratos! Poor guy has amnesia! All he can remember is his own name... You gotta help him!"

Kratos was about to object that no, he did not have amnesia, he remembers the last four thousand years or so up until this point fine, but then he realized they probably weren't going to listen and decided to just roll with it.

"Hmm, amnesia, huh?" said Stoakes, scratching his chin. "He'll need some rest and recovery... But the Adventurer's Guild never turns down a person in need. He can stay here, we'll have Nurse Betania take a look at him."

"Yay! Thank you, Guildmaster Stoakes!" said Edbark. He turned to Kratos. "These guys have got you covered. I'll be back!"

He scampered off, and the two automatons escorted Kratos to another room as Stoakes followed.

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

A large pink oval with white tufts on her body and an egg nestled in a pouch on her belly now looked Kratos over. She looked him up, down, and sideways as she prodded and investigated his head and body. Kratos begrudgingly obliged as Stoakes watched.

"Well," said the pink oval, who was apparently Nurse Betania, "This is odd. He doesn't seem to have head trauma or other trauma or any injuries at all! How the hell does he have amnesia?"

"Well I wouldn't know." said Kratos.

Stoakes thought to himself a bit. "There's one possibility... Some nefarious Pokemon, somehow, wiped his memories."

"Well that gives us fuck-all evidence as to who!" said Betania, huffing.

"It seems it can't be helped." said Stoakes. He sighed, then turned to Kratos. "My offer for you to stay here still stands. Though... what do you remember?"

Kratos paused to think of a convincing reply. "...My name, Kratos Aurion. And apparently your language, basic functions of living, certain basic concepts... I remember nothing of this world or its people."

"Hm. Awfully specific memory wipe," said Stoakes. "Whoever did this to you must have had a very strange goal in mind... Nevertheless, you're safe with the Adventurer's Guild."

"Thank you."

"Hmph. Adopting another one, I see, Stoakes," said Betania.

"It can't be helped! Rule Number 1 of the Adventurer's Guild! Always help those in need, no matter who they are!"

Kratos was suddenly reminded of his son Lloyd's fondness for the Dwarven Vows. "I appreciate it."

"Besides," said Stoakes. "You came to Rainbow Wing City at a good time! The Seeking is soon! There will be a big festival and everything!"

"The Seeking?"

"I'll let Edbark explain that one, he gets excited about old myths and legends and stuff like that. Anyway, we should probably find you a room..."

He led Kratos out of the infirmary and down the stony hall to a set of rooms.

"Here's an empty dormitory. Since we're hosting you, you get to stay free of charge here instead of at the inn."

"Thank you for your generosity."

"No problem, Kratos! Come to us for anything you need!"

He headed off. Kratos paused, then sat on the bed of his new room and stared off into space.

What the hell was going on?

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

And there you have it, the beginning of this crossover adventure! This will update in rough alternation with Heroes After All until one of them finishes in like 3000 years. Stay tuned!

#pokemon #pokemon mystery dungeon #tales of symphonia #kratos aurion #tales of arrival

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globefan · 5 years

Text

Michelle Terry interview with The Stage

Michelle Terry: ‘This job has taught me that democracy is really hard’

Natasha Tripney

- May 29, 2019

Shakespeare’s Globe artistic director Michelle Terry tells Natasha Tripney about taking over from Emma Rice during a period of trauma for the organisation, why she chose the ‘mythic’ history plays for her latest season, and why Shakespeare will always be relevant

Less than half an hour before our interview, Michelle Terry was on stage playing Hotspur in Henry IV Part I, and when we meet she’s still sporting the character’s black nail varnish and tattoos.

The artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe is careful with her words, but there’s an undercurrent of exhilaration to her responses as she curls up in an armchair in a corner backstage. That’s no surprise given this is the first ‘trilogy day’ of the venue’s summer season (there will be six in all).

Over the course of the day, the ensemble company will perform Henry IV, parts I and II and Henry V. “It’s extraordinary going out in front of an audience who you know is going to be with you for the long game,” she says.

Explaining the thinking behind this year’s programme, Terry says: “At a time when our nation is in such a state, it made sense to do the state-of-the-nation plays.” The intention is to put on all of the history plays sequentially. The programme began earlier in the year with Richard II in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse with Adjoa Andoh playing the title role. Henry IV and Henry V are playing on the main stage and the cycle will return to the Sam Wanamaker for Henry IV and Richard III, to better explore “the domesticity of these plays, to view them through the prism of candlelight”.

Having referred to them as the history plays, Terry quickly corrects herself: “Calling them history plays reduces them. They’re mythic. We wanted to do all of the myths.”

As Hotspur, Terry is in her element, her performance vivid and playful, dashing, daring, funny. It’s the performance of someone who has total understanding of the space, its potential for intimacy and connection. Her strength of feeling for the building is similarly palpable.

Coming home to Shakespeare’s Globe

When we spoke in 2016, Terry talked with great affection about performing at the Globe, describing it “as a place unlike any other”. When she was appointed artistic director in July of the following year, the trajectory made sense. She took over the role from Emma Rice, who left after only two seasons in charge after disagreements with the board.

Although Terry knew the venue well as a performer, she was less familiar with its workings as an organisation and educational centre. So as well as taking over under difficult circumstances, there was a lot to learn. Looking back, she is able to recognise how tough this transition period was. “The big learning curve was understanding my place as artistic director in the organisation, at a point when it was bruised and people needed healing. It was traumatic.”

In the theatre industry, she adds, “the line between the personal and the professional can be wafer thin”. It was very personal for everyone, but she hopes good has come from it. When she announced her first season, she said: “Emma Rice was the best thing that ever happened to the Globe because it has forced an organisation to go through a healthy form of protest.” Throughout our conversation she returns more than once to the image of collapse and renewal. “We’re still in the renewal phase of figuring out who, how and why we are.”

One of the main features of her first season was the ensemble company with whom she staged Hamlet and As You Like It. She has spoken about a wish to dismantle hierarchies and create work collaboratively with the actors in the creative process.

This year she will revisit and expand the ensemble model. Whereas last year a company of 12 actors performed two plays, this year a company of 10 (11 if you count Terry, though she only performs in Henry IV Part I) will stage all the history, or rather myth, plays. As with last year, it’s a diverse company, with a 50/50 gender split. Part of the thinking behind the ensemble is that it gives the actors more time to work on the texts. “We live together with these plays for 15 weeks,” Terry says. There’s also a longer preview period, because, while a lot of dramaturgic work happens in the rehearsal room, “with Shakespeare you need to test it in front of an audience”.

One of her main intentions is to “release the plays from literal casting”. This is something she reiterates throughout our conversation – that Shakespeare’s plays are anti-literal and mythic. Anyone can play any role. “Shakespeare had an interest in human beings.” That’s a healthier way of looking at his work, she says, adding: “To think what type of human being is this, as opposed to whether they are male or female. The plays are much bigger and multitudinous than that.”

They’re more than fairytales, they’re ‘fated tales’ and “the minute we reduced them to literalism we reduce ourselves”, she adds. Last year, Jack Laskey played Rosalind in As You Like It, and Terry played Hamlet. In the current season, Sarah Amankwah plays Henry V opposite Colin Hurley’s Katharine. Helen Schlesinger plays Falstaff across the season.

She’s aware “our core audience has been through quite a ride with different artistic directors over a short space of time” and wants to reassure them that the work is still experimental. “It’s still radical. Theatre should be provocative but nothing we’re trying to do is antagonistic. I hope it’s liberating.”

One of the biggest successes of that first season was not a production of Shakespeare, but a new play about a writer inextricably linked with him: the English poet Emilia Lanier. Terry had long been fascinated with her. The name Emilia occurs often in Shakespeare’s plays: “I kept accumulating information about her.” She decided to shape the first season around her and stage all of the plays in which Emilia is mentioned. When she approached the playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm about the idea of writing a play about the poet, “she burst into tears and I thought: ‘Here we go – that’s your commission.’”

Emilia review at Vaudeville Theatre, London – ‘Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s play roars into the West End’

Emilia, performed with an all-female cast, ran for just 11 performances at the Globe last summer, but during that time it struck a chord with audiences. The energy it generated, with its galvanising final speech and sense of reclaiming the stage, was incredible. A West End transfer followed. “It’s clearly chimed with many people, not necessarily just women. It’s about wanting to have a voice and be heard.”

The challenges of running the Globe

According to the Globe’s annual report, the 2018 programme, which consisted of 11 productions, attracted 364,422 theatregoers, which amounted to 89% of the Globe’s maximum capacity. School visits were down as was footfall, something attributed in the document to the terrorist incident at London Bridge and cuts to arts education. All of which means the Globe has been obliged to put its major Prospero Project – to create a new library and archive – on hold.

This also explains why, despite the success of Emilia, a decision has been taken not to programme any new writing in the main space this year, though there will be new writing in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in the winter. Terry cites the unpredictability of Brexit as another factor: “It means we had to be canny about the programming.” It takes time to invest in new writing, she says, especially as the remit of new work at the Globe is that it needs to be tailored to the architecture. “It made sense to give ourselves a year off to invest in writers for 2020.”

The Globe wants to stay reactive, she says, and that’s easier to do with new writing, but Shakespeare’s plays are timeless. “There’s always something in them that illuminates now.” There’s something comforting in knowing things have always been like this. “We’ve always been on the brink of civil war. We’ve always questioned leadership and power.”

What has her first year in the job taught her? “Democracy is really hard.” It’s hard for everyone involved, she stresses, be it assuming a position of power or giving power up. “How do you share responsibility, ownership, accountability? At a certain point the buck has to stop.” She believes theatre is a collaborative and collective art form and “if we’re not having collaborative conversations then it become a disingenuous transaction”.

She adds: “If theatre is to remain vital, then it’s vital we recognise that every individual comes with needs.” This includes parents – she spends a lot of time thinking about ways of improving things for parents in the industry – but it goes deeper than that. “It’s our responsibility to meet whatever those needs are in order for people to thrive, whether it’s an issue of childcare, carers, access. There’s not one size that fits all. Everything needs to be questioned.”

When Terry was six, her family moved from Nuneaton to Weston-super-Mare. In an effort to help her settle in and get to know people, her parents enrolled her and her brother in a local amateur dramatics group. “It’s hard being the new kid, but if you can pretend to be other people it’s easier.” She felt safest playing other people.

Though they’d sometimes go into Bristol to see plays, the Weston-super-Mare pantomime was one of her first introductions to theatre. The best pantomimes, she says, engage with the audience. “I had to sit in the middle of the row, the idea that someone might pick on me or talk to me was terrifying.”

Once she’d decided she wanted to work in theatre, she set about finding ways to make it happen. Following a degree in English at Cardiff University, she applied and got in to RADA. It’s important, she stresses, to have a period of time in your life when you “learn how to fail and how to pick yourself up”.

She made her stage debut in 2004 as Edith, the maid, in Peter Hall’s production of Blithe Spirit, alongside Penelope Keith, Joanna Riding and Amanda Drew. The production ended up in the Savoy Theatre in the West End. Barbara Kirby – who played Mrs Bradman – and Terry couldn’t believe their luck. “We’d always wanted to do theatre – and here we were doing it.”

Having worked on Blithe Spirit for a year, Terry ended up back in Weston-super-Mare working as a medical secretary. “That was awful,” she says. Having lived the life she’d dreamed of living, she was worried that was all she would get, that it wouldn’t happen again. Then in 2005, she was cast as Celia in As You Like It at the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme and, as she puts it, “got lucky”.

A Royal Shakespeare Company casting director was travelling from Edinburgh when his train broke down and he ended up seeing her show. This led to her being cast in Dominic Cooke’s 2006 production of The Crucible. From that point on she’s worked steadily. “There never was a shooting star moment”. There have, however, been “painful periods of not working.” Then suddenly, she says, there are moments in which you realise: “Oh my God, I’m 40 and I’ve been doing it for 20 years. Only then can you finally allow yourself to say: ‘Okay, we’re doing all right.’”

Terry’s work at the Royal Shakespeare Company included Pericles and The Winter’s Tale. In 2007, she made her first appearance on the Globe stage in Love’s Labour’s Lost. In 2011, she won an Olivier award for best actress in a supporting role for Nina Raine’s Tribes, in which she played a woman gradually losing her hearing.

She acquired a reputation as an actor of nuance and insight. The Guardian’s Michael Billington referred to her as “a thinking actor,” meaning her approach to the roles she plays is as analytical as it is intuitive. Observer theatre critic Susannah Clapp called her “one of our most glorious actresses”.

Terry starred in Marianne Elliott’s All’s Well That Ends Well in 2009 and The Comedy of Errors, both at the National, returning to the Globe in 2013 to play Titania in Dominic Dromgoole’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “Shakespeare is and will always be my first love,” she says.

Continues…

Q&A Michelle Terry

What was your first professional theatre job? Blithe Spirit for the Peter Hall company.

What’s your next job? No idea.

What do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out? One in five people won’t like you and there is nothing you can do about it.

Who or what was your biggest influence? My old amateur dramatics teacher, my music teacher and Shakespeare.

What’s your best advice for auditions? Auditions are a separate skill – treat them like they’re meetings. It’s as important for you to know if you can work with who you’re meeting, as it is for them to know if they can work with you.

If you hadn’t been an actor, what would you have been? I never gave myself the option.

Do you have any theatrical superstitions or rituals? Tongue twisters: I have a sequence I have to do before every show, otherwise God knows what will happen.

The following year she was back at the RSC for Christopher Luscombe’s double-bill of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, and reunited with McIntyre to play Rosalind in As You Like It at the Globe in 2015. One of her most flooring performances was in Katie Mitchell’s merciless production of Sarah Kane’s Cleansed at the National.

What drives her as a performer is “that feeling that you’re part of something that matters,” and she adds: “If you throw yourself into every role that you do, there will always be a moment where your life changes because of it.”

We talk about the cuts to arts in education. She grows even more impassioned, her frustration palpable. In order to develop an understanding, a love, of Shakespeare, she explains, it’s essential to have the opportunity to see it performed. “Theatre is so experiential. The plays are meant to be experienced. They are vibrant and vital and alive.”

Shakespeare is not just words on a page. We don’t appreciate the power of language to transform, she says, invoking Greta Thunberg, “this young kid standing with just words and everyone listening”. She mentions the Globe’s Playing Shakespeare education project for schools, in which 20,000 free tickets were given to students for Romeo and Juliet. “These London kids who experience knife crime every day are watching a play about knife crime – it’s so powerful. Theatre has the capacity to be miraculous,” she says.

One of the things she’s struggled with over the last year is “carving out time to be reflective, which is so important to staying creative”. Her daily life is “so atomic” and currently it’s hard to think past Hotspur, which lines landed, which didn’t. “It’s hard to find time.” Especially when running a major building.

Director Ian Rickson taught her a vital lesson about being an artistic director. He told her: “There are very few people who will understand how overwhelming it is – all I can say to you is: don’t miss the abundance.” With a job like this, she says: “We’re in the weeds all of the time. It’s important to take a moment to look up and realise how lucky we are.”

CV Michelle Terry

Born: 1979, Nuneaton Training: RADA Landmark productions: • Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare’s Globe, London (2007) • All’s Well That Ends Well, National Theatre, London (2009) • Tribes, Royal Court, London (2010) • A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare’s Globe (2013) • Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford-upon-Avon (2014) • Cleansed, National Theatre (2016) • Henry V, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London (2016) • Hamlet, Shakespeare’s Globe (2018) Awards: • Olivier award for best actress in a supporting role for Tribes (2011)

Shakespeare’s Henry plays run at the Globe until October 11

#Michelle Terry #Shakespeare's Globe

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blursed-ninjago-ideas · 3 years

Text

I deliberately left some scenes out because I didn’t feel like writing them, and other things I just took shortcuts on cause I have a huge headache, but I want this done.

Hydra is Nya’s hero name with the dragon miraculous.

He was debating what to name his latest Akuma. A jealous girl that resented her best friend’s boyfriend. The two were having a very explosive fight in the middle of the park by Collège Françoise Dupont.

Honestly Hawkmoth wasn’t sure which one he was going to get. They were both pretty upset. His little butterfly was heading straight for the fight, until it suddenly turned and changed course.

Sighing, Hawkmoth was pretty sure he knew what was happening, again.

Kai Smith happened to be walking past. The boy was a walking Akuma trap. It was a frustrating waste of his time and resources. If he could just figure out how to harness Kai’s emotions, the boy would be the most powerful weapon against the heroes. But Kai was too stubborn and spontaneous to control. He was so easy to akumatize. Hawkmoth didn’t have to do hardly any work to get him to surrender. He was just so set and focused on his own goals that Hawkmoth couldn’t get him to bother with the miraculous.

The Akuma settled itself into the pendant of a necklace Kai was wearing, and Hawkmoth was already calling the day a wash, but then the empathy link showed him something new.

It was a different than usual.

Kai felt…fragile. He wasn’t focused on any sort of goal. His emotions weren’t from worry or ambition, it was just raw and directionless.

It wasn’t like he had anything to lose, and it could turn out to be a worthy experiment.

Kai fiddled with his pendant again. It had become a handy fidget to have. Chloe had made it for him, it turned out she really loved making jewelry and seemed to have a knack for it. He was so proud of her and seeing how excited she got to show off a new piece made his heart melt a little. There was no pride or approval seeking, just pure excitement. She didn’t do it for attention, just to share the happiness she had for it.

It was a far cry from her old attempts at creative pursuits, only doing things she thought would impress, regardless of her own feelings.

Course all the growth on Chloe’s part came at a price, and Nya was the one that paid it. Kai hadn’t meant to neglect her. He just didn’t think she still needed him that much. Chloe was so young and in need of guidance, he had thought Nya was mature enough to not need him. But he should’ve really thought about how much it would hurt to not see him as much. Nya may’ve not needed his care or guidance, but she still needed his company. He was her big brother and the only constant she had growing up; it was cruel to take that away from her. Even if it wasn’t on purpose.

And Lloyd of course would always need Kai. That was his job. It was literally a written destiny that Kai would be there for Lloyd while he fought to protect others as the green ninja. Lloyd had suffered plenty and would probably always need Kai as an emotional crutch. He faced trauma and near-death experiences on the regular. If Kai and the others weren’t there to help him feel safe and loved, there was no way anyone, even Lloyd, could go through all that and not break.

But that left three people that needed Kai to be there for them, and there was only so much of him to go around.

He didn’t want to make that their problem. He toughed it out. He pushed himself. He could keep it up for a little longer. He could do a little more.

Nya had ideas for some new vehicles and wanted Kai’s help with them. It was a good way to spend some quality time and, her own confession, Kai was the better welder

Chloe wanted him to set up a challenge for her to test how far she’d come. It was a good idea, a concrete way to self-reflect and a tangible show of progress.

Lloyd had talked him into helping with a school project. It was nice to see Lloyd doing something that wasn’t life and death stakes.

He didn’t know how in the world he let Adrien talk him into modeling, but that was also on his plate.

It felt like there was a deadening static in his head that he had to force all his thoughts through, a buzzing not unlike an alarm. He had noticed his hands had started to spasm at random points. He wasn’t sure how concerned he should be about that.

Like many things, Kai ignored it. He had things he had to do and people that were depending on him. He had no time to deal with it. It could wait.

He was on his way to meet up with Lloyd, but he had to leave in time to make lunch with Nya, and he had to figure out what to do for Chloe, not to mention he had an early morning photoshoot the next day so he needed to get some sleep for that and probably should shower before it.

His hands found their way to his pendant again. He was pulling it back and forth on the chain, making a rhythmic zipping noise as it pulled on the chain links.

“I’M A PERSON! I DON’T HAVE TO BE AT YOUR BECK AND CALL!”

Kai cringed.

“IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL MAKING TIME FOR ME? ANY TIME! AT ALL? I’M SO SORRY IT’S SUCH A CHORE TO HANG OUT WITH ME.”

“Please don’t make an Akuma” Kai though to himself as he passed the fighting girls.

The shouting back and forth was not doing good things for his nerves. He was trying to take even breaths to counter it, but they just kept screaming.

Kai squeezed his eyes shut and pressed forward. He’d get away soon enough, go help Lloyd, maybe help the heroes if that fight attracted an Akuma, meet up with Nya, then head back to Le Grand Paris and brainstorm with Chloe, then hopefully go to bed, then get up, shower, go model for a while, he should probably take the opportunity to talk to Adrien about Chloe, the backstory someone that grew up with her would know might help him with her, and maybe ask about how Lloyd is doing while he’s there.

Probably should do a quick evaluation of Adrien’s mental health too. From what he’d heard from Lloyd, Adrien may need someone to be there for him too.

AND THE GUYS!

He had completely forgotten to check in with the others! Zane, Cole, and Jay! He needed to check on them too, plus he wanted to see them!

Kai was so busy planning out his tasks that he didn’t see the uneven sidewalk. He realized that he’d tripped as soon as he started to fall, but instead of catching himself, his brain decided that it wanted to do nothing instead. The wind got knocked out of him when he limply hit the ground.

Kai opened his eyes and started at the ground ahead of him. Normally he’d get up and brush himself off, and he would in a minute, but some reason he just kept staring ahead. The static stopping him from making any movements.

He felt like screaming, or even crying. He was in pain and he had just fallen down. It wasn’t a big deal, but it felt like Kai was fighting to keep himself in check and not have a full meltdown. The static in his head was blocking any attempts to steady himself.

He was gathering his courage to stand back up and keep going when a familiar butterfly flew to him.

Kai breathed rapidly, trying not to panic, or breakdown, or cry.

“A bit stressed are we?”

Kai didn’t respond, he just kept trying to breathe.

“Stretched too thin. Too many things you have to juggle. There’s nothing more to give is there?”

Kai felt like he was drowning already. Hawkmoth’s intrusion was pushing him passed his breaking point.

“You know who I am and what I want. I’ll give you the ability to make everything go away, all I ask for in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous. What do you say, Burnout?”

Kai’s eye twitched at the name. Why did it feel right? Why did it feel right? He was drowning under his own emotions and Hawkmoth already seemed to have a handle on it all. There were two options. He could continue to fight and struggle, or he could just give up and have some relief.

There was nothing Kai could tell himself that would make the fight look worth the effort.

“Yes Hawkmoth.”

Adrien ducked behind another tree, hoping to get the opportunity to transform, but the tree vanished into smoke against his back, leaving a nasty scorch mark behind.

Adrien had barely got a look at the new Akuma, he couldn’t tell who it was yet, but they knew his name.

Black smudges came down from his eyes and stained his dark grey, ash colored skin. He was wearing a long smokey cloak that seemed to be made of the stuff at the end, a small gold pendant in the shape of a small flame clasped it closed at the neck. Fingerless gloves shot out black fiery blasts and he was slightly blurred with his edges ending in smoke trails.

He looked like the personification of the aftermath of a forest fire.

Adrien jumped behind a bench and coughed from the smoke.

“What’s your deal? Campfire go out?” Adrien tried to taunt, hoping to get the reason for the akumatization out of him.

“I’ve burned too bright for too long and given too much of myself. Well now I’m going to make everything go away.”

Adrien finally caught on to the fire symbolism. It was too strong, even for Hawkmoth. Something was wrong. One more look at the spikey hair Adrien had written off as part of the costume and it clicked.

Adrien knew he recognized the clasp on the cloak. It was the pendant he’d seen Chloe working on. Adrien knew exactly who she made it for.

“Kai.” Adrien said, dodging the next blackened blast.

“It’s Burnout now.”

Adrien tried to get out of sight a few more times, but Burnout just blasted every hiding place he found. He only could grab a few seconds out of sight, if he was lucky. Not enough to transform, but maybe enough to do something else.

“Plagg.” Adrien said, lifting his shirt to let the kwami out.

“What are-“

Adrien cut him off, taking his ring off.

“Find Lloyd. We need Ninja Noir for this.” Adrien said, handing the ring to his kwami.

Plagg almost argued but thought better of it.

“I guess he’d be better for this job anyways.” Plagg said, darting off.

Lloyd managed to get away from the panicking crowd, wondering if he needed to help out with this one, when Plagg floated right into his face.

“Plagg?”

“Ninja Noir.”

“What happened to Adrien?” Lloyd asked, reaching for the ring.

“Doesn’t matter. Lloyd, it’s Kai.”

Lloyd gently pushed the ring onto his finger.

“Then this should be pretty easy. Ladybug might not even need me.” Lloyd laughed.

Kai’s akumatization were almost always joke. Give him what he wanted, and he practically surrendered his akumatized object.

Plagg shook his head though.

“No, Kiddo, this is different.”

“What do you mean?” Lloyd asked, trying to not panic

“I mean this isn’t his usual stuff. I think Hawkmoth might’ve really gotten to hi this time.”

Lloyd’s eyes went wide.

“Plagg, Claws out!”

Chat Noir wasn’t showing up. She was pretty sure she knew what it was going to tell her, but she used her lucky charm just to be certain.

A painting she knew was in Fu’s home. She needed reinforcements.

She was on her way to go find wielders for the two miraculous she grabbed when she ran right into Ninja Noir.

“Ninja Noir!” she yelped, helping him stand back up. “I’m so glad you’re here. It’s Kai again, but something is different this time.”

“So I’ve heard.” Ninja Noir said as he brushed himself off.

“Lucky Charm said we needed reinforcements. I grabbed the Bee and the Dragon. I’m thinking Chloe would be a good choice since she knows Kai and has used the Bee Miraculous before. For the Dragon I was thinking maybe Lloyd?”

Ninja Noir coughed.

“Um…No good with Lloyd. He’s caught up somewhere, saw him on the way over. How about we divide and conquer. I think I could get this to his sister.”

“That’s probably a good idea. She should know him pretty well.” Ladybug said, passing Ninja Noir the Dragon Miraculous.

“I don’t need another needy little brat hanging off me!” Burnout shouted as he flung Ninja Noir off of him.

Lloyd tried to not let it show how personal the remark was. Kai didn’t know it was him under the mask.

“We need a plan!” Hydra said.

“Now might be a good time for a Lucky Charm!” Beatrix said as she pulled Hydra out of the line of fire.

Ladybug jumped off the roof to dodge another blast, rolling when she hit the ground and flinging herself upright as she yelled

“LUCKY CHARM!”

A camera.

Ladybug started to look around for anything that stood out.

A gargoyle, an empty ledge across the street where another one used to be before Burnout got rid of it, Beatrix’s top, Ninja noir, Hydra, and the mirrored windows on the office building.

“Got it.” She said, shoving her teammates in the directions of where they needed to go, giving them a brief rundown of their parts as she did.

Burnout came flying around the corner just after Ladybug got her trap set.

“Water Dragon!” Hydra yelled, soaking Burnout before he could line up any shots.

“Say cheese!” Ladybug yelled, clicking the camera and blinding him with the flash.

While Burnout tried to clear his eyes and figure out how to attack again, Beatrix came swinging in from behind the gargoyle, holding Ninja Noir.

“Cataclysm!” he yelled as he swung by, taking out the pendant and freeing the Akuma.

Ladybug quickly caught it while Beatrix caught a now detransformed Kai on her swing back.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug yelled, throwing the camera in the air.

The magic ladybugs swept across Paris, bringing back everything Burnout had made “go away”.

“What? What happened!?” Kai yelled, trying to stand up, only to fall down on his unsteady legs.

“You were akumatized.” Ladybug explained.

“KAI!” Jay yelled form down the street. “Are you ok?!?”

Cole and Zane were not far behind him and the three were running full speed towards their friend.

“Well I’d better get going.” Hydra said.

“Yeah, me too. I’ll take your miraculous.” Ninja Noir added.

The two jetted off in the same direction.

“I…That was…..what did I do?” Kai finally asked.

“Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.” Ladybug assured him.

Kai didn’t look comforted.

“What got you akumatized anyways?” Beatrix asked.

“I…um….”

“You stressed yourself out again didn’t you?” Zane snapped.

“What?” Kai said.

“Ugh! You Always do this Kai! You are allowed to tell people no, you know!” Jay ranted

“I know that! Besides that wasn’t like that at-“

“Do you? Because sometimes you’re determined to take on more than you can handle!” Cole scolded with a hint of concern.

A beep from Ladybug’s earring interrupted them.

“Um…”

Beatrix nodded to her.

“I didn’t use my ability. I can keep this under control here while you go recharge.”

Ladybug looked a little hesitant, but another beep from her earrings and she was running off with a promise to be back soon.

As she left, Nya came running around the corner.

“Kai!” she yelled, while she tackled him in a hug “I was so worried! Are you ok?”

“I’m fine.” Kai said as he gently pushed her off.

“You’re not!” Jay snapped.

“You were akumatized!” Cole added.

“Everybody gets akumatized!” Kai huffed, crossing his arms.

“Yes, but that was significantly more destructive than usual, meaning you were feeling stronger negative emotions.” Zane said.

“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late, I got stuck. Is Kai ok?” Lloyd said, running to them from another street.

“I’m fine!” Kai yelled.

“Stop it!” Zane said.

“You don’t have to fix everything for everyone.” Cole begged.

“I told you guys I was fine!”

“Kai please.” Nya begged.

“I SAID I WAS FINE!”

Beatrix rolled her eyes and made a move.

“Venom!”

And Kai was frozen.

“What did you do that for!?” Jay yelled.

Beatrix put a hand on her hip.

“No you guys can lecture him about selfcare without him arguing. You’ve got five minutes, make the most of it.” She said.

“Oh.” Jay said in surprise.

Ladybug came back into the middle of an improv intervention.

“And I should’ve been a better sister. I was being selfish and demanding and I should know better than that. Sometimes it’s just hard to accept that I don’t have you all to myself anymore. You know I’ve never been great at sharing.” Nya laughed, with tears in her eyes “But you need to tell me ‘no’ sometimes! I need to hear it, Kai. You can’t just let me push you like this; you have to tell me when you’re hurting!”

“Um….” Ladybug muttered.

“We’re just about done.” Beatrix said.

“You can’t just hide ailments from us, and that includes mental and emotional fatigue.” Zane added.

“Alright, I think my work here is done. See you all next time I’m needed!” Beatrix said, grabbing Ladybug’s arm and leading her away.

“You may’ve won this time, Ladybug. But now I know something I didn’t know before.” Hawkmoth said to himself.

He’d finally figured out how to weaponize Kai Smith. That boy was going to deliver him the miraculous if he wanted to or not. It was only a matter of time before Hawkmoth got the perfect champion out of him.

“It will require a very precise touch, but this boy will be my greatest weapon!”

so yeah, that’s done.

-Ivy

#Mod Ivy #lego ninjago #ninjago #blursed ninjago snippets #blursed ninjago aus #miraculous au

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