I just have the urge to see Porsche coaxing Pete from Vegas's side, those first few numb, liquid hours in the hospital while Vegas is stabilized. Peeling him out of his blood-soaked uniform, limbs as limp and heavy as a doll, and ushering him into a warm shower. Standing with him under the spray, washing the blood from Pete's hair, from under his fingernails. Holding him as the tears come. Dressing him in clothes Arm or Pol has brought from the compound, from the room Pete will never share with Porsche again. Returning Pete to Vegas's room where, outside the door, a pale Macau is wrapped up in, surprisingly or not, Tankhun's arms. Tankhun takes one look at Pete, and pulls him in too.

Big brothers Tankhun and Porsche looking after Pete, who has shouldered so much on his own, and Macau, who is just a child thrust so suddenly into the horrible truth of his family's world.

How I Write

tagged by @bronzeagelove. Thanks, luv! Been so long since you tagged me. Enjoy! XD

Tagging: @ljandersen and @nikkiwrites, if you'd like to play!

Rules: bold what applies to you.

present tense or past tense / first person or third person / double 1.5-spaced or single spaced / action or emotion / similes or metaphors / OCs or existing characters / fluff or angst / music or white noise / character or plot / make them cry or make them laugh / tea or coffee / happy ending or bittersweet / morning or night / comic sans or times new roman or verdana or calibri / google docs or word /

Hi! I would love to hear your thoughts/predictions/hopes for s3, now that we got the episode titles :D

Hey Nora!! Let me go grab my tua theory hat real quick. Spoiler alert, it looks exactly like the umbrella hat on the 3 right here:

Full disclosure, I've only got like a pinky toe in the tua fandom right now, but I'm still going to see what BS I can spin from these titles.

1. MEET THE FAMILY. The description on imdb is "The siblings get to know some more of the 43 children in an alternate timeline." So, I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Netflix likes to start things off with a bang, so s3 of TUA will probably be no different: we'll probably get a vague flashforward/flash-sideways to a "what if" scenario that will make sense by the last few episodes, and the rest of the episode will be sowing seeds for the s3 plot. The big question is, what family are we meeting? I think this episode will revolve around themes of family (no-brainer) and redefining the relationships between our Umbrella siblings in light of the season 2 finale, as well as their new Sparrow 'replacements'. To that end, initial Sparrow sibling parallels will be presented and subsequently complicated in this first episode. I also predict we'll see varying reactions to this alternate Reginald, as the Umbrella siblings are thrust into an outsider perspective that follows on from season 2.

2. WORLD'S BIGGEST BALL OF TWINE. This is going to be a multi-layered metaphor. I can feel it. It will no doubt refer to the plot that's about to unfold (is it an outside threat to both parties - the Umbrellas and Sparrows - from, say, the Commission, or is it more to do with the two rival Academies?), but I wonder if it also refers to the Wizard of Oz type scenario the Umbrella siblings find themselves in: they aren’t in Kansas anymore. (But you know what is in Kansas? The world's current biggest ball of twine.) Also kind of want to see Klaus knitting again in this ep - perhaps as a way to subtly re-address his ongoing addiction issues, especially now Ben is gone.

3. POCKET FULL OF LIGHTNING. This probably has to do with powers. Sparrow powers, Umbrella powers. There'll be a lot of new flexes in this season, so who this refers to is anyone's guess.

4. KUGELBLITZ. Here's where it starts to get interesting, because this title carries forward the subject of lightning from the last one. According to a very quick internet search, kugelblitz literally means "ball lightning" in German, and refers to both a) a glorified WW2 tank designed to take out aircraft (a certified Big Boi), and b) a theoretical black hole made from light/radiation rather than matter. So this is absolutely going to be a new, unseen power - probably from the Sparrows. Hopefully from Christopher because a cube executing a move named after a sphere just makes me chuckle. Ah, fun with shapes... But in addition, this power is probably going to pack a huge, debilitating punch to whatever narrative is underway at this point in the plot. I'll bet money that whoever wields this power is the tank character in their party or they are after this at least.

5. KINDEST CUT. This throws me back to the barber shop meta, I'm not gunna lie. Someone's going to get hurt, either physically or emotionally, and it's going to be the lesser of two evils. If it's a follow through on the barber metaphor, then Reggie will be the one to orchestrate it. Or, in a surprise twist, will he be the one gTetting hurt or being silenced? (Remember that cutthroat allegory that chases the siblings through the first season, particularly Allison and Klaus. It was about becoming voiceless.) 6.MARIGOLD. Big shout out to this post for spreading the word on the marigold symbolism. I'm pretty sure this will be Reginald backstory, which ties in with the creation of the Umbrella Academy. Also, because I'm a sucker for flower symbolism and reading into things, consider that marigolds:

a) fall into two families, the calendula which means "little clock" and the tagetes, which is named after the Etruscan prophet Tages. The Etruscans believed heavily in predestination - some events are set in stone, and cannot be changed. (Consider the way the apocalypse seems to always come for one set of siblings...) b) are named as such colloquially because they were offered in place of money to the Virgin Mary. (More divine imagery, and reference to a pure mother figure...) They are Mary’s gold. So maybe it’s a reference to Reginald’s wife, which would fit with the flashback scene we see in 1x10.  c) are a flower of duality. They have strong connections with the sun and resurrection, yet the marigold is thought to be a flower of grief because it blooms in autumn. Again, think about that flashback in the first season. At the end of the world and a wife dying, there was the promise of rebirth. d) It's also a very common flower. Remember, there's actually 43 siblings out there. We've only met 14.

Also Netflix loves to do this thing around the halfway point (usually episode 5/6) in a season they're producing. They'll switch up the narrative with a twist or turn that provides a new perspective. 7.AUF WEIDERSEHEN. Once again, a German connection. And, obviously, a goodbye. Considering the last season focused on Kennedy, are we going to get some earlier Cold War time-travel shenanigans? Or maybe WW2? I think Blackman has said something about the Berlin Wall, which is interesting. A country divided... Umbrellas and Sparrows allegory? But as an aside, I'm also kinda lowkey hoping it's a nod to Auf Weidersehen, Pet. If you don't know the show, here's the wiki summary for the first season:

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. They find work on a German building site in Düsseldorf but despite promises of hostel accommodation, are forced to live in a small hut that reminds them of a World War II POW camp. The rest of the series is driven by the interactions and growing friendships between the various characters.

In episode seven, three of the “Magnificent Seven” visit an intercontinental hotel. Just saying. If s3 was to go this route, my money would be on Luther, Diego and Five getting up to shenanigans in this one. I miss 125 shenanigans.😢

8.WEDDING AT THE END OF THE WORLD. Honestly, I’m holding out hope that one of our fave siblings gets married. I feel like that’s a trap though... Actually I feel like it might actually be a trap. As in, this is when the rising action really kicks it up a notch. But also remember the title of 1x01: We Only See Each Other At Weddings and Funerals. Maybe the siblings get split up, possibly in episode 3/4, and they’re trying to reunite through episodes 5-7. Also thinking about hotels and apocalypses...  There’s something very fatalistic about these titles so far. I have a feeling that the B-plot or the subtext is going to reveal a lot more about Reginald’s history and the destruction of his world.

9. SIX BELLS. This makes me think of church bells, which is some nice continuity with the wedding of the last title. But church bells are rung for all sorts of reasons - as a call to worship, or in celebration or mourning, or to tell the time. (Thinking back to those marigolds suddenly.) But why six? Now I’m thinking of bell ringing (change ringing), and the way different bells have different cord lengths to control the time of their chimes. It’s a highly mathematical process. Will this episode be Five’s time to shine? Will he coordinate his siblings through a large attack? 10. OBLIVION. Does anything even need to be said about this one? Hotel Oblivion baby ✌✌ Any further theorising would require more knowledge of the coming plot tbh.

Edit: I wrote most of this at 2am, so I’ve just tidied it up a little. Thank you for the ask, Nora! This was fun to think about. 

DRUNK ON SOMETHING STRONGER THAN THE DRINKS AT THE BAR

If you had been one of my readers before, I hope you didn’t come back looking for the only constant thing in my blog - an annual new year entry, both farewell and a hello to another year. Because if you did, I’ll have to say sorry, I’m disappointed myself.

The truth is. The new year passing by felt like a one lucky stroke of long breath. And then...just like that, we’re back again.

Back again. To where we once were. You can name it in your own. But I can be sure we all were struggling.

I’m still struggling. To be honest, 2021 doesn’t seem any different. Which was why I found it really difficult to write just about anything, anything please. We can only hope for it to be better.

But hope is different now. Forget everything you once knew about hope. 

Hope is a whole new definition I have yet to define. I feel terrible telling you that I have yet to find another courage to redefine such a thing I thought I already knew.

Sometimes, staying low is an act of courage...though it will never seem like it.  That’s okay. Staying silent can restore strength. If you’re at your weak point then there’s no shame in telling. Hey, there’s a sense of liberty in acknowledging our vulnerabilities. And maybe, just maybe, we gain back strength to face all this - whatever “this” might mean for us.

Many took their last breath already. Christine Dacera surely took hers the very first day of the year. All these series of unfortunate events still rage on. But let’s keep breathing, anyway. Let’s keep fighting.

You see, hope is no longer mine to give; Oh dear God knows I’m running low of it. But comfort, maybe I can send a ripple of comfort. Just one tiny bit. Let’s stretch a mile further. Many of us need it now more than ever.

Oh well. Better late than never? Cheers.🍷

nlg

2021 Ninjago Calendar Fic List

For convenience, we’ve compiled all the calendar fics into one post.

The link to the collection can be found here. 

January: Souped Up by Corey || coreys_riffin

February: Candy Hunt by Xan || greenho4

March: The Great Flower Chain Making Competition by Gwen || GwenBrightly

April: Rainy Day by Nikki || nikkiwrites (notgood23)

May: Rooftops and City Lights by Nala || ineedhelpwithmylifern

June: Paint Fight by Saga || lloydshoulddyehishair

July: Their Adventure by Vylad || Vylad

August: Ninjago Space Adventures by The Duke of Kansas || TheDukeOfKansas

September: Changing Leaves by Nala || ineedhelpwithmylifern

October: The Candy Thief by Dango || Infinitaetas

November: Metronome by Coni || npop

December: Snow Day by Moxie || Mattecat

Shop Wishes and Birthday Kisses - Wakatoshi Senpai

You were sat at the table of your cafe, sipping on a cup of coffee. This months bill was high, only because of the high demand for your brew. You sighed, knowing that you would have to ask for another loan. Without knowing someone sat next to you, you jumped when you felt their hand on your thigh. "You look stressed, take a break." His voice was soft and strong. You suddenly become flustered, "I-I can't, these bills are due at the end of today." He smirks, "Why didn't you finish it earlier?" Sighing you reply, "I don't have enough to pay for this month. I just don't know what to do." You lean on his shoulder, why you don't know. But his build allowed for comfort. The two of you sat like this for a short while before you felt a tear fall down onto your lap. You wipe your eye quickly, hoping he doesn't notice. "Hey, hey don't cry. It's alright. I didn't tell you my name. I'm Wakatoshi." He spoke soft and caring. "Y/N, I just don't know what to do about this. This months bill was higher than all the rest because of all the coffee I had to buy." He stroked my hair softy, "I can help you." Your eyes lit up, "You really don't have to." "But I want to. Better to give then receive yeah?" You sat up, "Are you sure? It's quite a hefty price." "Anything for a princess." Light pink brushed your cheeks. He lifted your chin using his hand. "Thank you Wakatoshi." You smiled. He smirked and pulled your lips to his. Unexpected, but perfect. His lips were soft and fit with yours. You both pulled away, lust still in his eyes. "Thank you for the best birthday ever."

Shout out to my best friend for sending me Ashton pics to help me get through work. You're the best. 😍😘💕👌🏻 @nikkiwrites

Okay but we never think about Suibian!!! We never think about how the sword is meant to embody the principle by which one lives. Swords are named and used and died upon.

Jiang Yanli is a sword. Wen Qing is a sword. But this is not their narrative.

Swords are passed down through generations.

Suibian seals itself off instead of risk being passed to a new generation because no one is worthy of drawing it.

Xue Yang was not worthy of drawing it. But maybe Mo Xuanyu was. Maybe Nie Huaisang saw that. But as always - they were too late.

Suibian waits. It waits for its master - and its master bequeaths it to his shidi. Wei Wuxian gives his core - his sword and his self - to his shidi.

When Jiang Cheng unsheathes Suibian - that is the moment he finally understands his shixiong's desires. His burden.

Wei Wuxian is also, ultimately, a sword. He bequeaths himself to Jiang Wangyin thirteen years before he is ready. And thirteen years too late.

But - Jiang Cheng sacrifices himself first.

Suibian is a desire: break free. Suibian is a sword: I'm here. Suibian is a hope a plee: Anything.

WIP Title Tag

Rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips.

Tagged by @nikkiwrites. Thanks, friend! I think at the time of the actual tag, I hadn't had many new WIPs. Maybe I have a couple new ones by now? We'll see. I'm also only going to add maybe 10 WIPs, and tag two people. I'm a rule breaker :P

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Outlaws: Chapter 2

Bury A Friend WIP

Tumblr Ficlet Dump

Ryder/Reyes

Tit for Tat

Delirium

Bad Seeds

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Tagging: @starsandskies and @bronzeagelove, if you want to play

Hi! I love your metas and thoughts about tua and if you are still doing that I just wanted to ask what your thoughts about this is (if you have any and want to share):

https://i-seeaspaceshipinthe-sky.tumblr.com/post/645716695650107392/this-dead-girl-statue-is-following-him

I think it’s very interesting that the statue in the crypt that reggie put baby Klaus in s1 is the same as the one at the mansion in s2 when Klaus is giving Dave the dog tags.

Hi @softforklave 🥰 Thank you for the ask! I’m always up for sharing thoughts about TUA.  This is such an interesting detail! A great catch by @i-seeaspaceshipinthe-sky. I hadn’t noticed this at all (I was too busy staring at Klaus, probably). 

Logically, it could just be the set  designers repurposing an old prop. But let’s assume the use of this statue is intentional. I find it incredibly interesting that a sleeping child, as depicted in the screenshots in op’s post, was used as a headstone marker in the Victorian era to denote the death of a young child. They often appear with very few clothes, symbolizing that young, innocent children had nothing to cover up or hide. 

The fact that Klaus grips tightly to this headstone as Reginald tells him “Four more hours” - slamming the mausoleum gate shut on him again and taking away his last vestige of hope that his father will show him mercy - highlights the death of Klaus’s innocence in this scene: trapped in the dark closet, it is this moment that haunts Klaus the most; it is this betrayal that cuts him the deepest. 

And then this statue reappears in season 2, at this crucial moment when Klaus bears his soul to a young Dave. He comes clean about his reasons for his pursuit of Dave, his desperation for him not to enlist. He has nothing to hide. However, in bitter irony, this is perhaps the moment Dave loses his own innocence. It is this moment, after all, that spurs him to enlist months before he was meant to do so in the original timeline. 

Does this, in some way, conflate father and son? Although they are so different at their core, perhaps there is a parallel to be drawn in this moment between Klaus and Reginald as they lift the veil of childish hope from a young man’s eyes and say: this is the way of the world. This is what it expects from you. 

I do wonder about the parallels between Reginald and Klaus during the second season. Klaus, as the (albeit unwitting and unwilling) head of a cult has a similar power and authority to Reginald. They wield it differently, of course, but the fact that they have superior knowledge and foresight that drives their actions and influences those they have power over - that is the same. Ahh, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention @softforklave. There was a lot more character analysis here than I originally thought. I should know better than to doubt TUA’s set designers by now. I hope this meets your expectations.

Also, as an aside, wouldn’t it be interesting if - as I’ve seen in some fics - the ghosts from Klaus’s time in the mausoleum followed him around and stuck with him throughout his life? And the ghost of this (presumably) Victorian child is one such “guardian angel”.

Merchant of Death

More original fantasy story concepts from yours truly written with the help of a prompt.

THE MERCHANT OF DEATH

Write about a character who happens to run a weapon-shop in the biggest city of the kingdom.  The catch?  This character’s wares were ‘harvested’ from the fallen bodies of heroes.  Double catch?  Suddenly, a young ‘hero’ steps into their shop looking to purchase a new weapon.

Peregrine Remus was well known for his weapons shop, the most popular in all of the small town of Veritas, the largest town in the Blue Country.  He was known for the great quality of his weaponry, no customer was ever disappointed.  He’d been in the business for many years, finding and restoring weapons, sometimes even making them from scratch.  Though, few actually knew how he got his weapons, most didn’t care.

Near Veritas was an abandoned field.  Long ago, a large battle was held there, what it was over no one knew, but everyone stayed away from it.  Everyone, but Peregrine.  This was the field from which he got his weapons which needed so much work, and the pieces he would melt down to make the weapons from scratch.  Few knew about his nightly trips to the thousands of years old battlefield, but, again, most did not care.  As long at the heroes of the world were getting the weapons they needed to become heroes and fight for Xinovia, nobody wanted to know where they came from.  Not even the aspiring heroes.

It was on that day, though, that one fateful day, that would change.  The day a young man entered the shop in a hurry, calling out that he was in need of a weapon.

Peregrine, who had been asleep behind a counter, jolted awake.  Standing before him, his hands placed firmly on the counter, was a young man.  He was obviously of Blue decent; his eyes were a dark blue and his hair as black as a raven’s wings.  He was clad in the silvery blue armor of the Blue Country’s Knights Order, though he tried to cover it with a blue cloak.  The crests of his rank were covered by dark smudges, painted over, and even ripped out of the cloth parts of the suit of armor.

“What kind of weapon did you have in mind?” Peregrine asked, standing from his previously slouched position in the chair.  He scratched his stubbly face, listening intently as the warrior describes his weapon of choice.

He wants a sword.  Preferably not blue, or having anything to do with the Blue Country at all.  Nothing knightly, he seemed to want to get away from that aspect.  It was a bit difficult, but Peregrine was not known to give up, especially on well-paying customers.  Sadly, though, he did not have what the warrior was looking for.

“You have to have something.” The blue clad man exclaimed, his eyes shifted around uneasily.

“I tell you what,” Peregrine started, “I’ll take you out to where I gather my materials, and you can show me what you want.  I’ll fix it up for you, good as new.  You can pay for it and be on your way.”  The warrior agreed, and they set off for the abandoned fields of battle.

The field was overgrown, with grass well past their waists.  Skeletons and empty armor suits lay around, weapons sticking out of them at awkward angles.  Some weapons were missing.  There was little sign of blood, most of it had been covered or dried up completely.  Trees grew out of some bodies which left some pieces of skeletons hanging out of tree trunks.  It sent shivers down most people’s spines when the public finally ventured to it.  For a man who’s seen it throughout his entire career and a hardened warrior, though, this was nothing more than an everyday obstacle.

“Take your pick.”  The weapons master said, motioning to the large field.

Not even flinching at the request, the blue-clad warrior walked amongst the bodies, searching for his ideal weapon.  Many different types of swords lain around, few were what he wanted.  There were red blades, but they held the knightly crests of the Red Armies, and were, therefore, looked over.  Bows from the green country littered the ground, most of them broken and useless.  Daggers were, surprisingly, still in the scabbards attached to the belts of the fallen warriors.  It wasn’t until he reached the far edge of the battlefield that he found the weapon he was looking for.

A tall blade, black as the distant tower of the secluded country.  It was decorated with silvery blue runes, and had a decomposing leather-bound hilt.  It had many engraving, none of which made much sense to the young man, though he was from the Blue Country, the smartest country in all of Xinovia.  Without any thought, he grasped the hilt, and pulled it from the dirt between the ribs of a long dead soldier.  He walked back to the man.

“I have found my weapon of choice.” He said, and handed the blade over.  Peregrine froze.  He would not touch the blade.  “It seems to be in rather good condition.  I only request that the leather hilt be replaced.”

“That is a black blade.”  Peregrine said.  “I cannot help you with that.  I refuse!”  The young man’s eyes narrowed. “The black blades’ metal is rare and only comes from the wood of the Black Country, a country no man dares travel to.  You can keep the weapon, I won’t charge you for it, but I cannot help you fix it.”

“I understand…” The young hero said, lowering the blade back to his side.  It fit his sheath perfectly; perhaps he could alter it to fit the sword.  He did not actually understand why the man could not simply replace the leather wrap, but he got out of it without paying anything at all.  Perhaps that was an upside.  “Thank you for your help.”  He bowed, and turned to continue across the plains.

“Be careful, young hero.” Peregrine warned. “I don’t deal with black weapons for a reason.  I once sold a black dagger to a young man much like yourself, and the whole world witnessed it drive him mad.  He committed many crimes before he eventually died.  I heard he killed himself with that very dagger, and someone else came by and picked it up.  The same fate probably awaits them.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I believe I will be fine.  I’ve dealt with much darkness in my times.”

“The darkness is growing more powerful as we speak, I still advise you to be careful.” Peregrine said, and watched as the ex-knight of the Blue Armies continued across the field.

I don’t know the original writer of the prompt, if you know please message me and I will give credit where credit is due.

This part is so interesting to me. Li Lianhua knows he could just let He Xiaohui badger Fang Duobing into letting him stay in a guest room instead of the woodshed. So either LLH was willing to stay in the woodshed to appease FDB or he was confident in his ability to answer FDB's questions with enough omissions/outright lies that FDB would be convinced of his sincerity and let him go.

With reference to the first scenario: would LLH do that? I don't think so. Sure, the woodshed is probably just as good as what he's used to in terms of living conditions, living in Lotus Tower, but would he - knowing he already has a deadly cold toxin in his body - willingly subject himself to what he must know is going to be a cold night in a woodshed to appease the easily appeased (fooled) Xiaobao?

No. No, this is hubris. Li Xiangyi, you really were prideful - he thinks he can talk his way out of it. And then Xiaobao tells him to shut up.

And to come find him when he's ready to stop playing these games:

He put Li Lianhua in a time out lmao.

And oh, he knows he just invited the sly old fox to try his persuasion games. See below: "That Li Lianhua told me to tell you he's injured." Fang Duobing: I must immediately seem unbothered by this, he wants me to be worried. I'm going to drink this tea real quick to show how unbothered I am.

And yet...

He goes to check anyway and is exasperated that he has been willingly clowned.

But here's the interesting bit.

Having drawn him here, Li Lianhua could just as for a quilt. But he doesn't, because he just has to bury every little bit of truth, every little weakness, relating to how ill he is. So he asks first for good food, knowing Xiaobao will deny him because he's just provoked him, and then asks for the quilt as an appeal to Xiaobao's basic morals.

But Xiaobao denies him again, because he's pissed off. And he doesn't know that it's a sincere request because Li Lianhua habitually runs circles around the truth: "Oh? I thought you had a heart disease, what cold toxin?"

Li Lianhua's face here is of a man's hubris coming home to roost. Humbled by sickness, he asks straightforwardly for what he needs - a pot of warm wine. For a man resigned to dying, he really hates being seen as weak. Because he can't let go of Li Xiangyi. Not yet. But Fang Duobing has already, for so long, only seen him as Li Lianhua.