#not a fan of the lloyd angst i guess
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Fixing Problems 💋 | Rhett Abbott Imagine | Outer Range x Yellowstone crossover
Takes place sometime after the events of S1 of Outer Range and S4 of Yellowstone around 2023 hypothetically
Link to my Masterlists (might make a Rhett Abbott one in the future)
Characters & Pairings: Rhett Abbott x Lana Dutton!OC (romance), The Abbott family & the Dutton family, Maria Olivares (past romance w/ Rhett ), Lloyd Pierce (platonic), Rip Wheeler (platonic).
Content warnings: profanity, light angst, fluff, mentions of violence and death. Implied smut at the end | female OC (she/her) | wc: 4k
Premise: Rhett Abbott was a man of an unwanted reputation in his hometown of Wabang, Wyoming. None were surprised by the fact he found himself back in the town he longed to escape following his breakup with Maria. But then a few months later Rhett was no where to be seen after his family took a trip out of town and returned without him. Now he’s back for a short time to settle some things and low an behold, Maria is back too. When she tries to mend things with the cowboys she’s in for quite the shock that Rhett Abbott is no longer a man on the market—and what makes it more shocking is his woman hails from the family of the country’s largest land owners.
Note: So fair warning, I have not seen the entirety of Outer Range but for some reason have been reading a lot of Rhett fanfiction and have a gist of it. But I am a big fan of Yellowstone and S5 drops tomorrow. I had this idea but was like ‘maybe I should wait,’ but I don’t want the thought to slip now that it’s fresh in my mind. So for this Lana was born on New Year’s Day of 1997 since Evelyn Dutton died in March of 1997 so she never knew her mother unlike her four siblings. Also although S5 isn’t fully out, we know from the trailer that John wins governor of Montana.
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“Hi, Rhett.” God that was not the voice he wanted to hear on this sunny Saturday morning in Wabang. Rhett Abbott had awoken with a smile on his face and giddiness in his chest at what the day had in store for him….but seeing Maria again for the first time in two years was not what he expected.
Or wanted at all for that matter.
Closing his eyes as if to pray it wasn’t Maria behind him, Rhett checked his phone for the time and a message he was expecting before preparing himself to face the woman who left his heart in pieces. When he finally does face her, Rhett remains stoic, “Hello, Maria.” There is nothing warm in his greeting, which is evident in the frown that takes over her expression. But what the fuck would she expect? He left his home for her and returned no less than a few months later on his parents porch with a bag and tear stained eyes.
If Maria thought he’d be happy to see her after all this then she was off her rocker.
Rhett had moved on and was in a place he never thought he would be. Happy. Content. Looking forward to the future.
He was not gonna let her take that away from him.
Or even let her think she could have a chance.
“How are you?” She offered a small smile, hoping to lighten the mood. But Rhett wasn’t having it.
“Fine.” She waited for him to return the question, but when he didn’t Maria shuffled on her feet, adjusting the purse on her shoulder, “I heard you were back in town. Was asking ‘round and they said you’ve been gone.”
“Yeah,” he nods, checking his phone again. “I’ve been in Montana the past year and half.” That surprises the woman, eyes widening slightly. She didn’t know what—or better yet who—was in Montana, but there was an obvious difference in how Rhett carried himself. It was completely different from how he was when they reconnected and surely when he returned back.
“Oh,” was all she could say. “That’s amazing uh—I guess.”
“It was,” his voice takes another edge, almost in a longing way. Maria glanced him over, feeling a tightness to her chest—almost like she realized there was something—someone—hidden between his words.
“Well, I was hoping to get a chance to run into you.”
“Well you did,” Rhett’s tone indicated he wasn’t happy with the fact. He leaned against the brick of the building he was standing in front of. It had been a busy day for Rhett to do some last minute things before he was set to head out the next morning. He found himself outside of the pharmacy having just got off the phone with Cecilia when Maria stopped him as he was exiting the store. “So what’d you want?”
Maria bit her lip, remembering how his eyes would flicker to her mouth whenever she did, but Rhett never faltered his gaze. It threw her off for a moment but she quickly recovered, “I wanted to talk to you…about us.”
Rhett made a face, looking away briefly, “Us? What’s there to talk ‘bout, Maria. That ship sailed long ago.” His tone was cold, but again Rhett did not care. There was nothing that Maria could do or say to change his mind. She could pout all she wanted, give him puppy eyes or pour her heart out to him, but it would be to no avail.
Rhett Abbott had found his solace. And it was not with her.
Moving to walk in the opposite direction toward his truck, Maria stopped him before he could even take a full step, “Wait, Rhett! Please,” she put a hand on his arm, but frowned again when he shook her off. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened between us. I-I know I said some things, and I regret it—I would take it all back if I can.” The expression on her face was one of pleading, hoping to get through to him. “Maybe we can work something out. Fix things—.”
“No,” the word flew from his lips, ignoring the way Maria faltered back, surprise coating her expression. “That’s not gonna happen, Maria.”
“But, Rhett—.” The sound of his phone ringing cut her off. Rhett removed the device, turning away as the smile overtook when he read the name, “Hey.”
“You sound relieved. More so than when you get out of pushing cattle. What did I save you from this time, Rhett Abbott.”
“Oh, just you know,” he glances over his shoulder, noticing how Maria has her arms crossed over her chest and disappointed their conversation was cut short. “Runnin’ into some old friends.” He turned away before he could see her reaction to the offense of calling her an ‘old friend.’ His voice goes lower to prevent Maria from hearing, “and this one was the last person I wanted to see on what was supposed to be a good fucking day.”
“I see,” he could just picture her smirk on the other end of the line that paired with the chuckle she let out. “Well, lucky for you, cowboy, I just passed the town's limits. Send me your location. I’ll be there very soon. And just for the hell of it, keep her there—I’d like to say hello.” Rhett didn’t know how she managed to put it together Maria was who he was referring to, but then again surprising him was her second nature.
“You sure about that?”
“Oh, darlin’, you should know by now that I never second guess a decision once it’s been made.”
They said their goodbyes with Rhett sending off his location before locking the device and putting it back in his pocket. When he faced Maria again, she was displeased and tried to not show it but failed. “Who was that?”
Rhett kept his face neutral, “someone.” If there was anything about the woman on the other end of the phone, it was that she loved her entrances. And there was no way Rhett was going to deprive her of one—especially when it was her first one to Wabang. Part of him looked forward to the look on Maria’s face for when that moment came. Not to mention those around them. Ever since he returned to Wabang there have been whispers about him. The usual gossip, but mostly wanting to know what the hell he had been up to in Montana after his family took a visit and he never returned.
“Someone?” She repeated, eyebrows narrowing in suspicion. The possibility of Rhett having someone was not what Maria planned for when she sought him out that day. It was to her knowledge when she asked around he was single or possibly hooking up with the usual buckle bunny. Not many could give her a straight answer since he’d been gone. They really had no fucking clue of what had become of Rhett Abbott.
Rhett gave a curt nod, “That’s right.”
Maria wasn’t having it, “is this someone special to you?”
“Look, Maria. I’m just gonna lay it flat with you,” he glances away at the sight of a familiar black Ram truck turning the corner. Behind it was a dark tinted SUV. As it proceeded down the street, Rhett spotted the giant yellow ‘Y’ on the truck’s side. “I’m engaged.”
“Engaged?” She exclaimed, as though she could not believe it. When the fuck did that happen and why did no one in town know? It had to be a lie to get her to back off him. The thought made a slight anger rise in her that Rhett would say something so serious as his way to reject her. Narrowing her eyes and spitting a tone that was almost mocking, Maria failed to notice the truck pulling up to a stop behind her, “To who?”
His eyes were looking past her, smirk taking form, “to her.”
When Maria spun around on her she froze at the sight of the black Ram with bright yellow lettering spelling ‘Yellowstone Dutton Ranch’ around a large ‘Y’ in the center of the side door. The back windows were tinted preventing anyone from seeing inside, but Maria didn’t have to wait long because the door was opening and a foot clad in a shiny nude heel was stepping out.
It was almost like when you watch a show and only get a small portion of the person the camera is panning its way to before they fully emerge. In this case, the second heel—which Maria was able to notice the eye-catching red bottom beneath it—followed the first before the body and face they belonged to was visible to her eyes.
She wore a light tan dress that ended right above her knees and accentuated her curves paired with a matching coat hanging over her shoulders and brown gloves on her hands. The dress had a neckline that cut beneath her collarbones, allowing the layered gold necklaces to bounce off the light around her. Brown hair with warm tone highlights was pulled back into a slick bun save for a few strands to frame her face, which stood out with the bright red lipstick coating her lips and the pair of cat-eye like sunglasses covering her eyes. Tucked behind one of her ears was a cigarrete.
She was beautiful. Like a model who just stepped off a runway and Maria instantly felt a wave of envy course through her. Several people passing by even stopped to get a glance at the woman, making no hidden attempt to hide their jealousy or attraction. Some of the older men traveling on the sidewalk had done a double take when they saw the name of the ranch on the truck.
And Rhett? He was biting his lip so hard to hide his grin that he was afraid it would start bleeding. And when he let his eyes travel over her figure, a low whistle sounded under his breath, the man praying his cock would not react because the last thing he wanted was a hard on in the middle of broad daylight.
Maria heard his reaction, turning back to see the awestruck expression which gave away everything he was feeling in that moment. It made her upset—remembering when he would look at her that way. Now it was directed toward this mystery woman. His fiancé. It fueled her jealousy more.
“Hey there, cowboy,” her voice was smooth like honey. Flirty and playful. Maria knew that tone—she’s used it on plenty of men. She’s used it on Rhett.
“Hey yourself,” he greeted, watching her step onto the sidewalk before shutting the door behind her. Maria had stepped back a bit as the woman strutted toward them, the bottom of the coat brushing against her knees. The sound of her Louboutin’s clicking against the pavement echoed before she came to a stop in front of Rhett. As much as he wanted to bring her into his arms with a kiss, Rhett settled for a soft peck on the corner of her mouth to not mess up her lipstick.
Both were obvious to the strained look of the woman to the side, who’s jealousy was so visible one could probably sniff it from a mile away.
“How was the drive?”
She took her gloves off first—aware of Maria’s eyes on her left hand which held a diamond ring—, placing them in the pocket of her coat before removing the sunglasses, “As bearable as it can be with those two idiots.” The gesture of her head had Rhett glancing to the truck she arrived in. In the front he spotted Lloyd in the passenger seat with Rip behind the wheel. The window was up, but he could make out their wave to him and returned it with a small smile. With a chuckle he turns back to his fiancé, “I’m sure it wasn’t too bad, baby.”
Her brow raised in a playful glare, “Maybe I’ll drive your truck back by myself tomorrow and you can take up camp with them. See how long you last.”
Rhett laughs—the sound sending a dagger to Maria’s heart—pulling her to his side, “I’m sorry you had to endure that.” She makes a ‘hmmph,’ which only makes him grin. “What’s with the SUV?”
She scoffed lightly, “I told them not to come, but when your father is the governor of Montana, the protection detail is a given. Whether I like it or not.” Maria visibly reacted to the revelation that not only was Rhett engaged….but his fiancé was the daughter of Montana’s governor.
Now she remembered where she recognized the name on the truck. John Dutton had recently been elected the previous year during turmoil with his family's ranch and Market Equities.
Maria watched as the woman, whose name she had yet to know, removed the cigarette behind her ear before placing it between her lips. Instead of lighting it herself, Rhett pulled out a lighter and did it for her. The two kept eye contact the entire time which felt like Maria was intruding on an intimate moment.
The—not so settle—sound of Maria clearing her throat broke up the happy reunion. While Rhett was annoyed, she found it amusing, turning her attention to Maria. With the glasses removed Maria was able to get a good look at her face. From afar she was beautiful, but up close she was captivating.
Blue green eyes stared back at Maria, framed by neatly groomed full brows that matched the color of her hair and a thin line of eyeliner winged out. Other than the eyeliner and lipstick, it appeared she wasn’t wearing any other makeup—something many would be envious of. And though there was a good sized scar on her left cheekbone—as was two on her chest forming an odd shape—it did not take away from her beauty. In fact it made her look more intimidating.
Rhett broke the silence, “Maria, this is Lana. Lana Dutton.” Lana, who was now looking Maria up and down, gave a smile. But it wasn’t friendly which had Maria raise her defenses. “Darlin’, this is—.”
“I know who she is,” Lana gently cut Rhett off, blowing smoke out as she did. “So nice to put a face to a name.” In that moment Marie felt a sense of pride, nearly smirking at the fact that she was still a topic of his life. But it soon deflated when Lana said, “oh don’t look too happy, Maria. I can smell heartbreak on a man from a mile away and when Rhett landed in Yellowstone he reeked of it. Not to mention he was drunk off his ass and well, you know what they say, ‘Loose lips sink ships.’” Maria’s smirk turned into a frown, Lana taking another inhale of smoke.
“But that was a long time ago,” Lana spoke again, “you sure did a number on him, but thankfully Rhett realized his worth.” The couple met each other’s gaze, Rhett conveying a mix of emotions at the woman who captured his heart.
Neither paid attention to the shame Maria was showing. The dark haired woman was having trouble finding the right words to say. What Lana said cut into her, which only made her angry. Quickly she tried to think of a way to divert the attention away from her, “I doubt drowning himself in booze and fucking any piece of ass had him realize that.”
She expected a flash of anger from Lana, which Rhett certainly gave at the insult, but to Maria’s surprise, Lana simply laughed in what could best be described as, ‘you done fucked up now.’ Maria tightened her jaw, taking a step back when the brunette pulled away from Rhett to move toward her. This time when Lana took a drag of the cigarette, she let the smoke waf in Maria’s face—the smell nearly making her gag.
Lana’s expression was cold, unwavering as she spoke, “Is that your way of trying to get me to see Rhett in a different light? To judge him based on the decisions he used to make—which were a direct result of how he felt the world viewed him? Don’t think I don’t know what girls like you do. You sought him out from the moment you heard he was back in town—hoping to slither your way back into his life as though you weren’t the reason for y’all’s breakup two years ago.”
“You don’t know anything,” Maria hissed, glaring at Lana as the anger swelled. With the heels Lana was wearing it made her about an inch or so taller than Maria and with them being so close the scar on her face was more pronounced.
“Please,” came a scoff, “I know everything. I see how you hold yourself. How you let your eyes drift to him only to be disappointed that his eyes are on me. I see how you’re comin’ up with ways to challenge me—as though you have a chance to remove me from the picture, but Imma let you in on a little secret,” Lana falls into a whisper as she leans closer causing Maria to stiffen. People around them pitted glances as they walked past, trying not to eavesdrop but Lana was smarter. What she was about to say was for Maria’s ears only.
Lana’s lips curled up, “You see this scar on my face?” It was a rhetorical question, but nonetheless Maria nodded. Behind her, Rhett muttered a low, “darlin’,” in warning. Though it turned him on immensely by what he was witnessing from his fiancé, he didn’t want her jeopardizing herself. They weren’t in Darby, Montana anymore. Anything she said here could have consequences.
But Lana was relentless. If someone was threatening her, she threatened back ten fold. And she was gonna make sure they knew to never mess with Lana Dutton again. Unfortunately for Maria, it was her time to learn the lesson.
Eyes locked on Maria, voice so low Maria had to strain her ears to hear, the dark brunette was sent to chills by what the Dutton had in store for her. It made her throat constrict for air seemed impossible to breathe.
“The man who gave me it is currently rotting at the bottom of a cliff after I blew a hole through his head with a shotgun. Because where I come from, we take matters into our own hands when people become problems. So take my advice when I warn you, Maria, don’t become my problem.”
The fear on Maria’s face almost had Rhett feel sympathetic, “Lana…”
“And if you question the truth of my words,” Lana’s head gestures to Rhett, “You can ask him. He was there to witness it.” With that, both out of fear and curiosity, Maria glances at Rhett. Part of her was praying Lana was bluffing in an attempt to scare her, but the look Rhett gave her was enough proof she was in fact telling the truth.
Alarms bells were ringing in her head—telling her to get the fuck out of there and pretend like she didn’t just hear a confession to murder. From the governor of Montana’s daughter for that matter. And Rhett was engaged to her? If she had the balls to kill someone in cold blood, what did that say about her family?
Have they killed before?
The anxiety filled Maria’s veins as she let out a shaky breath, unsure of what to do. Lana’s gaze was becoming too much for her and from what Maria gathered it was to get a point across. ‘Tell anyone what I told you, and I’ll come for you.’
Lana brings her cigarette up, taking the final drag before throwing it to the pavement and stepping on the bud. Not once did her eyes leave Maria’s. “I would warn you to keep this between us. If rumors start to spread about Rhett Abbott’s fiancé…I’ll know who the source is.” Stepping away, Lana bids a nod, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Maria. Hope we never have to cross paths again. For your sake.”
Taking his hand, Lana pulls Rhett away to where his truck was parked beside the curb a few cars down. Maria was left frozen, her face pale by the final threat Lana had given— which unbeknownst to her had the two men in the truck chuckling. “What I would give to hear what Lana just said. Poor girl looks like she’s seen a ghost,” Lloyd mused, watching the couple walk up the sidewalk. Rip put the car in drive, prepping to follow them, “Whatever it was, she won’t be a problem. Bitch wouldn’t be stupid enough to if she were smart.”
When Rhett and Lana made it to his truck, her back was immediately pushed against it as Rhett’s lips crashed onto hers. His rough hands cradled her face, Lana smiling against his lips which were sure going to be stained from her lipstick. There was an immediate pressure against her abdomen from his groin. Obviously her little stunt was well received.
When they pulled away, Lana was amused by some of the looks they were receiving from around them. “You,” he breathed out, mouth closed to hers, “are somethin’ else. You know that?”
Lana bit her lip with a cheeky look in response, as if to say, “I know.” She brought her left hand up to his cheek, stoking the soft skin with her thumb. “Had to make a statement. Can’t let some has been try to throw me off my rocker, cowboy.”
He lets out a laugh, arms going to loosely wrap around her waist. “That why you dressed like this? I ain’t used to ya dolling up like this but—,” he trails off to check her out, loving what he was seeing. “I could definitely get used to it.” Normally Lana wore a tank top that made her tits look like heaven and tore up jeans with her boots and leather jacket. As the youngest Dutton, she worked on the ranch as a hand and—like the others who wore the brand—did dirty work when it was called for.
The man she told Maria was just one of the many Lana had sent to the train station.
Only after John was elected governor did she get involved in politics and the business side of her family’s ranch. The media was always lurking, trying to get a glimpse of John Dutton’s youngest daughter who was more like his personal bodyguard. It became a constant annoyance for her. Avoiding reports soon became a second nature for Lana and the times she and Rhett went out they had to keep things professional for the sake of image. It was her father who encouraged her to try getting involved in other things now that he was more of a public figure than just the man who owned the country's largest ranch.
Answering Rhett’s question, Lana gave a shrug, “Just thought I should make it clear to the people of Wabang that Rhett Abbott is off the market and—not to toot my own horn—but she has style and is surely what they would call ‘a catch.’”
“Damn right she is,” he murmured, tipping his hat back a bit to pull her into another kiss. “We sure gonna be the talk of the town tonight.”
“Good. That was the plan.” Lana places one last kiss before playfully pushing him away and hopping into his tuck. “Now let’s get the fuck out of here, cowboy. Lloyd and Rip know to get started on packing your shit while you and I make up for the lost time these past couple weeks.”
Rhett didn’t hide his grin, feeling the tightness in his jeans increase. Boy was he in for the ride of his life when he fell in love with Lana Dutton. “Yes ma’am.”
#rhett Abbott#Rhett abbott imagine#outer ranger#outer ranger imagine#Yellowstone#Yellowstone imagine#outer ranger Yellowstone crossover#Lewis Pullman#Rip wheeler#lloyd pierce#original character#Rhett abbott x oc
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can you please do a Lloyd X zielo daughter reader basically the reader is the daughter of zielo and in this zielo is a good guy also zielo is the god of everything Lloyd and the other ninjas don't know because the reader is always in human form and when do they find out simple one day the reader and the other got attached and zielo happened to be walking by and when he see his daughter in danger he immediately saved everyone and of course everyone is shocked including Lloyd that not only is the reader not fully human but is also a demigod (zielo is from the murder of me both the reader and Lloyd are immortal the reader is always in human form because she is nervous of telling the others and this is just pure fluff I hope that this isn't to much)
ooooo, this sounds like a goodie! I do have to do some research but don’t ya worry, I will gladly write this. Thank you lovely person 🫶 ps I also went full out on the fluff near the end and added a bit of angst 💛. Hope you and everyone like it
Btw, most if not all of my oneshots/headcanons are gonna be in 3rd person because I find it easiest to write in.
Also, I have a mini game for you while writing a certain section of this I was listening to ‘The night we met’ by Lord Huron have a guess where the lyrics ‘and your eyes were filled with tears, when you had not touched me yet’ inspired a section in the oneshot 💛
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Lloyd Garmadon x Zielo daughter reader
Y/n= your name
f/c= favourite colour
h/c= hair colour
e/c= eye colour
For this reader uses she/her pronouns however you can replace them with whatever pronouns you feel comfortable with. Warning- cursing 💛
btw- this is Zielo (creepyyy fan art.)
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How do you tell someone you’re immortal?, that you’re not a human? That you’re the daughter of a god, of the Zielo making you a demigod. These questions haunted Y/n’s mind daily always having a mental debate with herself about how she should tell her friends, her newfound family, her partner about her heritage. Should she tell them about her heritage? She knew she had to eventually otherwise the dreaded conversation of when can I meet your parents will occur from none other than Lloyd, she had pictured it so many times in her mind that the entire scenario has been imprinted inside of her ranging from awkward side of her having to tell the blonde that she is infact the daughter of a god, to Lloyd being confused and rambling about the situation and then the worst part of it all the judging eyes. The judging eyes of Lloyd staring at her in disappointment about her heritage, I mean her father is a good person he ain’t evil but the bright emerald green eyes judging her every word haunts her in her mind. She felt a pinch being pressed onto her right shoulder causing her to turn her head to look at the culprit and there were the emerald eyes looking right at her.
“hello~” Lloyd sing song out his attempt at bringing Y/n’s attention onto himself.
“Lloyd? Why on earth did you pinch me.” Y/n asked her eyelids blinking slowly at the confused expression beginning to form on her face.
“Are you okay?” The blonde questioned his hand slowly moved onto the table and near to Y/n hand “you looked like you were in another realm or something.”
Y/n hummed in response trying to plan out her response in her head she could say ‘oh you know thinking about my dad being a god and that I’m practically a demigod and did I mention to say immortal’ and then Lloyd would say ‘wait what’. But after repeating it in her head a few times she decided she didn’t want to send her beloved blonde boyfriend to an early grave.
“y/n?” Lloyds voice spoke again, a concerned look now appeared on his face.
“sorry, lot on my mind.” Y/n gently smiled, she wasn’t lying when she said there was a lot on her mind she just didn’t specify what exactly.
Lloyd moved his hand to be directly on top of Y/n’s “do you want to say what’s on your mind?”
I’m a fucking demigod, the daughter of Zeilo, immortal and I’m not even fully human she desperately wanted to yell, today had been the hardest in a long while for y/n to keep her heritage under-wraps she wanted so badly to tell someone about herself, about her struggles of fitting in, about everything. But now wasn’t the time.
“I’ll be fine, it’s nothing that I can’t handle.” Y/n declined shaking her head
“you sure?” Lloyd questioned, his grip on y/n’s hand tightened slightly.
“Yes Lloyd, I’m sure.” Y/n grinned showing Lloyd that she was fine (well physically, mentally ummmmm). In an instant her eyes narrowed playfully at Lloyd “you still didn’t tell me why you pinched me.”
“Oh well, um I heard that pinching helps get people out of a daydream.” Lloyd sheepishly answered now regretting his decision to pinch her.
“it hurt.” Y/n complained, she removed her hand from Lloyds grasp.
“Sorry.” Lloyd mumbled, lowering his head slightly in guilt.
“Probably gonna have a bruise there.” She smirked, y/n turned her head away from Lloyd.
“Wait what-“ Lloyd eyes widened in shock, he didn’t pinch her that hard? Did he?
“Yeah, gonna have to say that I got the bruise from the terrifying blonde ninja.” The smirk on Y/n’s face grew as a horrified look grew on Lloyds face.
“Terrifying??” Lloyd questioned
“Yup, and the terrifying blonde ninja is also incredibly gullible.” Y/n sneaked a look at Lloyd from the corner of her eye, he looked like he had seen a ghost.
“I am so sor-” Lloyd sympathetically said, he was about to apologise until he repeated the sentence Y/n had said in his head “wait gullible.”
Y/n couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed to her heart content, Lloyd held an annoyed expression on his face.
“not funny.” Lloyd deadpanned.
“it was very funny.” Y/n chuckled slowly coming out of her laughing fit, her cheeks burnt bright red from laughing.
“I thought I hurt you.” He sulked as colour finally returned back to his face.
“From a pinch?” Y/n questioned
“yes!” Lloyd exclaimed his arms raised to show his point.
“Sorry, sorry. Couldn’t help it.” She giggled placing an apologetic hand onto Lloyds shoulder
Before Lloyd could think of a snappy come back to say and to get revenge on his h/c girlfriend for making him think he had hurt her, however Jay ran into the room in a panic.
“Ultraviolet escaped she’s been spotted near Borg tour!” Jay yelled, entering the room he stopped himself midway into the room and took a slow look between Lloyd and Y/n “have I interrupted something?”
Lloyd replied with a “yes” while Y/n said “no” both looking at each-other in confusion, until they recalled what Jay had screamed.
“Ultraviolet escaped!” Lloyd exclaimed, he rose up from his seat in a shock already pulling his green GI mask over his head.
“everyone’s wanting on the bounty, Pixel will fill us in on the way there.” Jay explained rushing out of the room and towards the bounty parked outside the monastery.
“guess our little ‘debate’ will have to wait.” Y/n smirked grabbing her f/c GI mask from the table and standing up from the chair.
“oh believe me, I’ll think of something on the fly.” Lloyd replied his voice slightly mumbled from the mask, he grabbed y/n’s hand and rushed with her behind him to the bounty both mentally preparing to fight ultraviolet once again.
Yet, in the back of y/n’s mind she had the sudden sense that something was going to go terribly awry.
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Y/n was right, and she wished she wasn’t. When her and the ninja team arrived it appeared that ultraviolet was expecting them and ambushed them, it was no wonder why people called her crazy. She was crazy enough to go against eight ninjas and so far ultraviolet was winning. Everyone was getting tired, bruised and beat by some miracle ultraviolet had gotten stronger, faster and crazier. Y/n was on the ground her lungs breathing heavily attempting to regain her breathe, her nose was bleeding and she was barely able to remain conscious. This was certainly the opposite of winning. Looking around at each of the ninjas all of them desperately trying to remain focused on the fight at hand and not to fall on the ground out of exhaustion and pain, the fight was far from over that’s what Y/n was thinking and was about to stand up once more regaining her composure to enter the fight once more when a flash of light appeared infront of everyone.
A figure stood in the place of where the flash of light had landed, the figure didn’t look human they had skin as pale as snow, long and sharp fangs were seeping from their mouth and their almost black eyes were staring daggers their eyes going from ultraviolet to the ninjas and finally to y/n. Her eyes widened at the realistic of who this figure was, it was Zielo, it was a god, it was her father. Once Zielo eyes reached his daughters they immediately went darker.
“which one of you hurt my daughter.” Zielo threatened his eyes scanning the room at everyone nearby.
Y/n quietly moved her eyes from the ninjas and to ultraviolet hoping her father noticed her gaze and would send all of his fury to ultraviolet and not to her friends. Luckily he did, his head quickly turned towards Ultraviolet her eyes dilating realising the sudden danger she was now in.
“I-I- should g-g-go!” Ultraviolet stammered out, her gaze fixing to the opposite side of the street “I-I-I- h-have to uh feed my spider, yes! S-s-spider.”
Ultraviolet turned around and began legging it out of the street, the moment she had disappeared Zielo lifted his hand up and snapped his fingers. The sound of ultraviolet confused and scared screams was heard in the distance. Silence filled the room once the scream had fully disappeared.
“is she?” Jay stuttered he subconsciously took a step away from the terrifying being standing in-front of them.
“course not, just sent her back to where she came from.” Zielo replied, his dark eyes surveyed the room until landing on the nervous face of his daughter one last time. Internally Y/n was hoping her dad wouldn’t utter a word and would simply vanish after he saved both her and her friends, a smile erupted onto Zielo’s face when he saw Y/n “Y/n! Are you okay, who am I kidding your whole face is bleeding. What do you need? A tissue, some food, a hug~”
Y/n blinked slowly at her father, he had called her out. Her own father had called her out. She could just ignore his statement and act confused as to how this very strange man had known her name, yet she didn’t. Not really.
“yes I am fine, uh random god who is definitely not my dad.” Y/n mentally face palmed, she had done the exact opposite of what she was supposed to say.
“Wait dad!” Kai exclaimed looking at Y/n and Zielo trying to find some similarities between them, now he could see it. He could see the resemblance.
“no- yes.” Y/n lowered her head in shame her eyes lingered at the ninjas and their shocked faces before sighing “everyone met my dad Zielo, the god of everything.” Her voice lowered near the end of her sentence hoping her friends wouldn’t hear her. They did, Y/n secret was finally out.
“Did I hear you correctly? The god Zielo is your father meaning you’d be a demigod?” Zane inquired his head titled in question wanting to understand more about the situation.
Before Y/n could reply Cole intervened “but why doesn’t y/n look like him, you know with the teeth and the um other things.”
“good question.” Nya whispered leaning into Cole
Y/n inhaled deeply mentally trying to figure out her wording on what she’s about to say, it wasn’t the exact words she was hoping for. It was the exact opposite, it was similar to the words she had in her head from nearly an hour ago.
“you know my dad the god of everything as you now know and I’m practically a demigod oh and did I mention to say immortal” Y/n rambled, her arms went into every which way exaggerating her point.
Zielo faced his daughter with a confused look on his inhuman face.
“didn’t you tell them?” He questioned causing Y/n to rapidly turn her head towards him.
“not really a conversation I wanted to use as an introduction to my friends and boyfriend!” Y/n snapped “yEaH iM tHe DaUgHtEr Of ZiElO lOvElY tO mEeT yOu.”
“Being on earth has made you so much more sassier than before.” Zielo mumbled incoherently.
“You aren’t human.” Lloyd finally spoke, he had kept quiet during the whole interaction and now he wanted clarification on what Y/n is supposedly saying. Y/n grimaced slight as she was reminded that Lloyd had found out then and there that she wasn’t like the rest of them.
Y/n nods her head “surprise.” She tried to smile to try and distinguish the situation her dad had gotten her into (even though she was grateful he had saved both herself and her friends). Instead of the judging eyes y/n had feared to be on Lloyds face when he would eventually found out the truth a warm and loving smile began to grow on his face.
“oh my masters that why you were distracted you were thinking about this.” Lloyd said in a relieved tone his head moved to look up, the smile still remained on his face.
“Wait what” Y/n raised an eyebrow at her blonde boyfriend internally questioning why he was happy about her heritage, she thought Lloyd would’ve been the one to say wait what.
“Do you two need a moment?” Kai questioned his eye scanning the room.
Before Lloyd or Y/n could reply, Pixel did “I think we should.”
“right, come on scary powerful god of everything let’s show you round the greatest flying ship of all time.” Jay announced, he was about to grab onto Zielo’s arm and drag him away but he thought better of it. He didn’t want to upset the being that could destroy him in an instant.
“yup! Let’s go!” The ninjas apart from Y/n and Lloyd all awkwardly side stepped out of the street with Zielo shuffling behind them glancing at the weird antics of the supposed mature and respectful ninja.
Y/n blinked slowly when the ninjas left he eyes were no longer on Lloyd.
“look Lloyd, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about my heritage I thought you’d be disappointed that I’m not you know entirely human and that I’m a Demi god. Which isn’t a bad thing cause you know I’m immortal I’ll practically never die, and since you’re a Oni AND a dragon then you probably cannot die either so basically this is like a win, win situation.” Y/n explained her eyes never once landing on Lloyd, however his eyes were on her. Y/n’s eyes finally landed on Lloyd “why are you looking at me like that, I know it’s difficult for you to process this. It’s difficult for me to process that now you know something I should have told you a long while ago. Lloyd, stop staring at me and talk.”
Lloyd slowly stepped forward, the smile present on his face yet more loving as if he had fallen in-love with y/n all over again and in some way he had. He fell in-love with a side of her he had never seen before. Still Lloyd didn’t speak, he didn’t utter a word to Y/n.
“Why aren’t you saying anything, you should be upset at me, angry, disappointed, possibly disgusted. Why aren’t you doing-“ Y/n was cut off by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her into their embrace. Lloyd was hugging her.
Silence surrounded them, not one of them muttered a single sound as they both enjoyed being in each others comforting embrace.
“I’m not alone.” Lloyds voice mumbled into Y/n’s h/c hair.
“what?” She whispered wanting to hear what he had said.
Lloyd chuckled under his breathe it was then Y/n realised he was crying. She lifted her head up to look at him, tears ran down his face.
“I’m not alone.” Lloyd whispered repeating what he had said a bright tearful grin on his face.
“You’ve never been alone.” Y/n reassured, uncertain why Lloyd was getting emotional. Was it because he was so upset about her heritage.
Lloyd shakes his head the tears continued to flow “I get to spend every day of my life with you. I don’t have to worry about you dying of old age or leaving me, you’ll always be by my side.”
Tears slowly made their way to Y/n’s e/c eyes as she realised what Lloyd had known.
They weren’t going to leave. They weren’t going to die.
They were going to live out the rest of their immortal lives together
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Previous/next/first
I am going to rewatch one episode of ninjago a day until I ether give up or finish, I was going to watch one yesterday but my mom was hogging Netflix and we only have one screen on our acount. So this is a bit late.
I will put my thoughts down as I watch it and rate each episode out of ten.
Day 2
Season 1 ep 2 home
I miss the previously on ninjago I know in the new seasons they combine it with the intro but it just isn’t the same
Also original intro was amazing. Yet another problem with newer ninjago, we don’t have stylized intros. Which leaves the new intros just glorified recaps, plus the newer whips aren’t as good as the old ones. I would never skip and old intro but I almost always skip a new intro.
The Netflix captions say Kai is talking but it’s jays voice. Might just be a Netflix issue though.
Ah the sacred Flute oh how useless you will be in 2 episodes only to be used once in the finale and never to be seen again
Last episode don’t wu have to go through a hallway to get to the tv room. The anatomy of the monastery is weird.
My favorite master wu quote is said in this episode, “what is weird? Someone who is different, or someone who is different from you?” When I first watched this episode it stuck with me because of stuff going on in my school at the time. When ever I would feel down about bullies I would think about this quote and try and not care about what people say. Because the just thought I was different than them and what they said doesn’t affect me, and that I shouldn’t focus on it.
Also the rest of the ninja are being jerks
The compilation of Zane braking social norms will never not be funny
I laugh at sad romance scenes too sometimes
Ah good old sensei wu angst
THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND. THE MAIL MAN
One of the best characters ever.
Props to him for walking up that mountain
It always confused me about how the ninja had fans back then and how Kai got a fan letter. Like I know he has no other family to get letters from but still he could have been writing to a pen pal or something
And I thought Cole and his dad weren’t talking. And how does the mailman know to give it to Cole here and not at the dancing school he told his dad he was at
Rocky and Cole were the best friends and I love there friendship
Wow Zane good job at making me sad
Rocky is a baby at heart and I want to squeeze him
Baby Lloyd liking trap doors is funny when you think about what happens in season four. I guess you can call it karma
Oof Cole can’t cook for crap
Why is Zane wearing a pink apron so funny to them? I never got this joke as a kid. I just didn’t really find boys wearing pink and people laughing at them a funny trope.
Also sensei wu you were just preaching about how difference makes people unique but know you are laughing at Zane for wearing his apron. Shame on you
Wow what a waste of the wonderful food Zane made for you
Falcon my beloved how I miss you
Also the theme that plays here is one of my favorite themes of all time. It’s just so calming.
This whole interaction is fudging adorable
The girl = go ballistic line might be a stereotype but it manages to make me laugh every time
Stop bulling zane guys not cool
I love how there skeptical of zane actually finding Lloyds secret headquarters but the trust him so they follow him anyway
I wish the tree house was a Lego set that would have been so cool
Also the snakes are idiots. Who makes a tree house that is only supported by three branches
That snake fell with cole’s voice
This thing is so unsound I’m surprised people walking on it didn’t make I collapse
Cole gets the first award for being the first brainwashed ninja
Poor lloyd
Well Cole it’s a good time to build up resistance to jays lightning it’s not going to be the first time you get shocked
Jay is incredibly lucky
Flute ex machina
Rip Lloyds treehouse
Also rip the monastery
Kai I love you but blaming Zane will not help anything
Wow everyone jump on the blame zane train I guess. You jerks
Wow Lloyds first imprisonment
Honestly I could care less about the snake B plot
You deserve to feel bad you were jerks to Zane
Hugs :D
The bounty is the best home they ever had. Also it has survived multiple travesties against it.
Food fights with the whole family
Poor Lloyd. Guys just go and grab the little gremlin already
Final thoughts
I think this episode was good. It had funny moments and good dialog, but suffered from a boring B plot involving the snakes and Zane bullying. Also the whole fight scene with Cole had no consequences and no one ever brings it up again. Over all I give this episode a solid 7.5/10
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Oh bestie, Sam Kerr is our golden girl fr, like she is one of my absolute heroes and even more so after that incident haha. When she scored that goal against England in the semis (we'll just ignore the result of the game), I remember I was watching the game in a pub with a bunch of mates and the feeling around the place when she shot that - if i could bottle it and keep it forever, i would. I've followed and watched a lot of sports my whole life but that was easily a top-3 moment for me. Not that you asked, but thought I'd share that core memory with you anyway lmao.
I would actually really love P to end up at the Sparks. I really like the Sparks and wanna see Cam and Rickea keep doing well, but I need them in the Paige sweepstakes, so I will in fact be cheering for Indy on Saturday (well, Friday I guess?) (I never know whether to refer to things based on my timezone or the timezone it's happening in 😂).
And cheers to Nika finally getting to play! The gameday fit sent me, what an icon. I know she only played a few mins, and CC immediately hitting a 3 in her face was 🥴 but I'm just glad she's finally back on the court!
Also, the snippet you posted?! I know it's for the plot so I'm trusting you here, Nivi. Lowkey love the angst though (i'm just a girl). But, don't break our hearts! Please. Side note: their cruise vacay was so sweet, I'm so happy they got that time together. I'm patiently waiting for the Azzi island post that we'll never get but I'll give it maybe one more week before I totally give up hope (I know she looked fucking good that entire cruise too #stopgatekeeping 😩)
Much love 💗
-🙋♀️
Sam Kerr is an international treasure at this point tbh. I remember watching that game and her goal and I was so sure the outcome would be different, especially cause I'm just not an English fan, after that but alas... I love hearing core memories!
No fr though the Sparks needa take a page out of the Mystics books and start trying to tank harder like it's okay besties, we can sacrifice a year because y'all (unlike the Mystics) have a pretty solid shot at getting Paige. Begrudgingly rooting for Indiana is really about to become the tagline of the W season for all Paige fans 😖
NIKA SLAYYYYY! Not quite what I wanted from that game but I'm a big Jewell Lloyd fan so tbh, I enjoyed it anyways. Really, really need Aliyah out of this slump though, I miss her.
It's for the plot and it's for growth and it'll all make sense soon I promise!
Listen if she can post grad pics a couple of weeks out, maybe we'll vacay pics like next week? Or maybe a summer dump? I'mma hold out hope til the very end because I NEED TO SEE IT.
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Hey, I sent this ask once already but I don't think it went through??? (If it did I apologize for bugging you!) I read this fic you wrote a while ago about Lloyd and Ronin talking during season 5 after that part where Morro sends that fake message, and I'd like to read it again but I can't find it? Could you link it please? Sorry again for bothering you.
Hey no don’t worry about it, I’m glad you asked!! One, because I’m almost positive Tumblr ate your other ask; and two, because I am a hundred percent positive Tumblr also ate that particular fic :’) I was going to just repurpose it for a later season 5 fic, but I’ll go ahead and post it below the cut in case you’d like to read it a whole lot sooner XD
If Lloyd was any less exhausted right now, he’d have some choice words for Morro about shoving him in a cage, of all things.
Because really, of all things, a cage? Again? Morro’s so proud of himself and his precious plan, he could at least get creative while he’s at it. Spice Lloyd’s life up a little every once in a while, instead of sticking with the same stupid routine every other person who’s ever gone after his powers has.
But unfortunately, Lloyd is so bone-tired right now he doesn’t even know if he could manage a glare hot enough for Morro, and if he’s going to pick a fight with him, he’d like to be able to finish it without passing out from sheer exhaustion in the middle. He’s been humiliated enough, and he’s clinging to the meager shreds of his pride he has left with a stubbornness.
A stubbornness that’s fading faster than he’d like, so when it takes Ronin three tries before Lloyd realizes he’s saying something to him, it feels a bit like rubbing salt in a wound.
“Huh?” he manages, scrubbing at his eye and wincing as the bruise behind it throbs. His vision clears a bit, at least, enough to where Ronin stops looking as much like a brown blob on the floor and more like…well, Ronin, tied up on the floor.
Right, he remembers, with a sinking pit of ice in his stomach. They’d used Ronin to send a message to the others. The thought of his team heading into a trap makes his stomach writhe into painful knots, and he struggles to sit up, as much as he can in the cramped cage.
“I asked if you were alive up there,” Ronin’s saying. He still looks pale and shaken from when Morro possessed him earlier, but his voice sounds firmer than it did, less like the trembling rasp he’d tried to curse Morro out with before he’d left them both alone.
Save your strength. I’ll be needing it.
Morro’s words float through Lloyd’s head like particularly unwelcome knives, and he shoves the thought of what’s coming away.
“I’m—” his attempt at a reply cuts off in harsh coughing, his throat dry and scratchy from hosting Morro’s voice as much as he has. And probably from the lack of hydration. That might have something to do with it. “Yeah, m’alive,” he finally manages, his voice thin.
“Figured that, with all the racket up there,” Ronin says, but there’s a note of relief in his voice.
Lloyd doesn’t know what to say back to that, so he shuts his mouth, staring hazily at the bars of the cage as they blur and swim in his vision. Ronin doesn’t say anything either, save for an occasional huff as he twists his arms in his bonds, rubbing his hands together as if to quell the small tremors that still run through them. Lloyd studies him closer, how unnaturally grey his color still is, and his stomach twists again. He knows too well how that feels.
Maybe he should have picked that fight.
Lloyd bites his lip, slumping back against the cage bars. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs, and he hates how young he sounds.
Ronin tilts his head up at him, the corners of his eyes creasing. “What are you sorry for?” he says. “You’ve got it a lot worse than me, kid.”
“Well— maybe, but—” Lloyd stutters. “It’s my…if I hadn’t…I should’ve fought back. When he possessed you, and…everything else.”
“In your shape?” Ronin eyes him, and Lloyd shrinks under his scrutiny. “You look like death warmed over. In a busted microwave. Nice sentiment, kid, but there’s no sense in gettin’ yourself trashed for me.”
“I wouldn’t have gotten trashed,” Lloyd mutters, crossing his arms tighter around himself.
“Yeah, you would’ve, already have,” Ronin scoffs. “You’re just like the rest of ‘em, suicidal hero kids, all of you.”
“I’m the Green Ninja,” Lloyd snaps, hoping desperately that Ronin doesn’t catch the waver in his voice. “I’m not — I should be able to take him. I shouldn’t be here, I should—“
“Please,” Ronin cuts over him, sounding tired. “You’re what, ten?”
Lloyd blinks rapidly, before scowling. “I’m fourteen.”
“—fourteen, FSM help me.” Ronin runs a hand over his forehead, trailing it down to pinch the bridge of his nose. He shakes his head, going silent for a beat.
“Fourteen,” he repeats, voice quieter. “FSM.”
Lloyd doesn’t know what to say back to that, either. He feels very small and a bit stupid, which is kind of how he’s been feeling all the time lately, and he’s not a fan.
“Still should’ve stopped him,” he finally mumbles, wrapping his arms around his legs so he can rest his chin on his knees.
“You couldn’t’ve stopped him,” Ronin says, bluntly. “Morro’s crazy, kid. He’s hellbent on that Green Ninja thing, and he’s the kinda hellbent that gets people killed.”
Lloyd frowns. “It’s my title. It’s my job, I want to be able to keep it—“
“Could you kill someone for it?”
Lloyd flinches back, eyes going wide. “Wha— no! No, I couldn’t — wouldn’t, I’m not — I don’t—“
“There you go, kid,” Ronin sighs, cutting over Lloyd’s floundering. “Morro doesn’t care how many people he has to get rid of, so long as he gets that gi. He’s always gonna have that upper hand on you. Different playing fields.”
Lloyd stares at him, taken aback. He’s never thought about it like that before, and he doesn’t think he’d like to. Just because Morro’s more — more bloodthirsty, or whatever, doesn’t mean he’s stronger. It doesn’t mean Lloyd won’t fight for the green gi.
Lloyd presses his lips together. “That doesn’t mean — I’d still fight for it. I-I’d die for it, if I had to.”
“I bet you would,” Ronin snorts, without humor. “But you won’t kill anyone else. Death is only on the board if it’s yours. You’re the worst kind of selfless type, I’ve seen it before.”
Lloyd chews on his lip, at a loss. Talking with Ronin is confusing, he decides, too confusing for the headache that’s building behind his eyes, at least. He keeps ending up lost for words, and he doesn’t like that. Doesn’t like feeling wrong-footed, though that’s definitely nothing new—
“You shouldn’t,” Ronin suddenly says.
“Huh?”
“Die for it,” he continues, sounding insistent now. “You shouldn’t. Don’t. Your life’s worth a lot more than some scrap of green, kid.”
Lloyd tilts his head, momentarily thrown by the direction the conversation’s turned. “I…I don’t want to,” he admits, weakly. “I just—“
“Then don’t,” Ronin interrupts, bluntly. “Stay alive. Fight dirty if you have to, you’re Garmadon’s kid. Don’t let your family’s never-ending fling with destiny take you down with ‘em.”
“That’s not — I’m not trying to die,” Lloyd insists, irritated now.
“And you got people waiting for you,” Ronin continues, ignoring him. “Your team, y’know, they’re real anxious to get you back.” A flicker of emotion crosses his face, almost like regret. “They’re uh. Puttin’ up a real fight for ya, kid.”
Lloyd squeezes his eyes shut tightly, fighting back the sudden burn. “I know they are.”
“Good thing, then. So just, uh. Don’t give up on ‘em, okay? Be a real shame if they gave me this much trouble for nothing.”
Yeah, I’ll bet they gave you trouble, Lloyd thinks, his throat tightening. He shakes his head, blinking back the burn in his eyes. Enough. His family’s out there, fighting for him, and that’s enough for him.
“I’m not gonna die,” he says fiercely, dragging the fire that’s left in him from the smoldering embers in his chest. “I’m gonna beat him. And then I’m going to end the Cursed Realm, before it ever gets here. And I am not. Going to die.”
Ronin’s eyes flash with an emotion Lloyd can’t name, but he nods, seemingly satisfied. He turns away, the scars on his cheek standing out as he stares through the clouded window.
“You know what’s in the Cursed Realm, right, kid?”
Ronin’s voice is gravely, rough in ways that makes Lloyd think of the hardened kind of people he’d run into on the streets occasionally. People who were used to life going the worst way possible, and were ready for it. He used to want to be one of those people. Now he thinks he might be scared he’s going to get his wish.
But there’s an undercurrent of what could be sympathy in Ronin’s voice, if Lloyd looks for it. He swallows.
“Yeah,” he mumbles. “Yeah, I know.”
“You good with ending that, too?”
Lloyd swallows again, and this time it gets stuck in his throat.
“I have to be, I guess,” he whispers.
Ronin closes his eyes, leaning his head back against the wooden wall, and Lloyd feels kind of like he used to when he’d turn a test in at Darkley’s, and had no idea whether he’d passed or failed. “S’what I thought.”
Lloyd turns his head away, biting his lip hard enough to taste metal.
He doesn’t know what to say to that, either, so he doesn’t say anything more.
He’s supposed to be saving his strength, after all.
#answered#my fic#technically#i think this is one of three ill-fated fics tumblr decided to eat#not a fan of the lloyd angst i guess#Anonymous
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Y'all suck at dissecting Kai's character, so I guess I have to do it.
And I'm not even a Kai stan. He's a bottom tier ninja for me, which I guess means you can trust me, cuz I'm not biased, but also why am I the one doing this? I don't know about y'all, but recently on my dash, the method by which Kai fans try to make him sound good is... saying the writers hate him, ignore him, and that he isn't written well? Which... I mean there is a little bit of truth to, but like yikes guys, is this the best you got? Kai is a wonderful character with plenty of attention from the writers, a meaningful piece of the cast when put in secondary rolls, fairly consistent character writing with actual progression and valuable qualities that help the team without having to be the smart one- despite what some posts might tell you.
Let's get one thing cleared up: Ninjago isn't the best written show. By high level Hollywood standards, most the character arcs are kinda weak or too heavy handed, character consistency can be iffy, and most things serve the plot rather than the characters. There is no character you can point to and say "wow, this character is written so well! No complaints!" Nya and Jay were butchered by their weird love plot, Cole's one season doesn't actually give him an arc, Zane's been nothing but the robot numbers guy for like 10 seasons now, and Lloyd seems to be incapable of doing anything but relive the same one piece of dad angst for depth. Sorry, it's true. All the characters suck when you look at it from a large scale writing perspective. So when I say Kai is well written, I mean by ninjago kids show standards- cuz that's the scale we're working on. No, you couldn't drop Kai into a well written drama, but as far as ninjago goes... he's got a lot going for him, and by no means is he the biggest victim of poor writing.
(fair warning, wall of text below)
The title is a bit disingenuous. There are plenty of good Kai character break downs. What I am presenting here is a more positive perspective. On the whole, I will tend to give the writers the benefit of the doubt, and credit for what they do right writing is hard guys. That's what I'm doing here. I don't see much sense in getting mad the writers on behalf of Kai, or any other character. Ninjago is a simplistic ensemble show that works because of the identifiable simplicity of its main characters with some deeper layers hidden underneath if you keep watching. They've given us a damn good show with some damn enjoyable characters, so here are some criticisms I feel are a little flawed:
First, let's get the 'focus' thing out of the way. Apparently there are people saying Kai doesn't have a season yet? Which... what? I mean, I get that the pilots aren't a full season, the first two seasons, though he is the central protagonist, aren't "Kai seasons" as we've come to define ninja focus seasons, season 7, though he gets majority focus, he shares with his sister. But like... did y'all just forget about season 4? You know, the season where he had the title card, was on the box sets, got the love interest, and the majority of the A-plot? not to mention it's the best season don't @ me Like... if season 4 isn't a Kai season, I can make a damn good argument that season 3 isn't a Zane season, and I doubt anyone wants to go down that rabbit hole. I really can't wrap my head around this one. And I get that the fandom hates season 11 for some reason, but like you can't just pretend it doesn't exist. Kai has a consistent arc across 30 episodes in which he takes his powers for granted, loses them, and learns that, not only does he have value within the team without them, but that his element is intrinsically a part of him that he reclaims, bringing them back more powerful than ever, and with new respect for them. That's one of the most solid arcs in the whole series- the location is even thematically connected to his element. That's some good stuff right there! (Quick plug for season 11 if you haven't watched it in a while. Give it a rewatch, you might be pleasantly surprised)
Not to mention the writers give him fun side stuff all the time. Lots of fears of tech and water to overcome, a deep protective streak with Lloyd, becoming a chancellor, having a true potential actually relevant to the plot as a whole, blacksmith responsibilities, befriending dragons, hanging out with his dad. Not to mention actual focus stuff we haven't talked about yet, like his whole "my dad is evil" phase, and his "I might be evil" phase with him and Skylor. And on top of that, even when he doesn't have an explicit side plot, he's always just a fun and dynamic side character to make jokes or give exposition.
Now, into character stuff. Let's start with Kai's hot headed-ness. Some people say he's been loosing this quality, and I will admit, that's true! But those that claim this makes him inconsistent... I strongly disagree. In early seasons, Kai's temper would lead him to snap at his friends or make stupid decisions that set the team back (see episode 2 Zane freak out)- these are bad things. These are character flaws, yes? Now, in newer seasons, people say that he's inconsistent, cuz sometimes he'll be hot headed, and sometimes he won't. I'd say, this is exactly how being hot headed... works? It flares up without warning, and as an individual gets control of it, it'll pop up less and less often because they're channeling it into productive things - like say directing the anger towards an enemy (see season 11 end freak out). Kai has gained control of a character flaw, and though it still pops up on occasion, the fact that it's a once in a while kind of thing speaks to his growth. I have a little brother who has this exact personality, and watching him grow up, I can tell you, this is how it is. He used to snap all the time, and he still does sometimes, but much less frequently, because he's a more mature person with better control of his emotions. This is a good thing. This is overcoming personal flaws. This is progression we're seeing.
And while you're hyper focused on this one aspect of him, things like his cocky confidence haven't changed a bit. I mean, that season 3 bit between him and Pixal, and his season 11 "fire maker" streak have the exact same energy. You can not convince me otherwise.
Another adjacent quality that hasn't been dampened is Kai's impulsiveness. This can be a good quality of his, he'll get into a fight without thinking, getting the jump on the enemy. Good stuff. But, this has become such a well defined trait of Kai's that it has been used in a comedic capacity. This is what happens when a character is extremely consistent to the extent that both the audience and the characters in universe would be able to predict their actions. Kai's impulsivity used to be a more serious quality that put himself and others at risk, and was a big power move whenever he did something rash, but it's become such a staple of the show that it's now being used for comedy. That isn't Kai's impulsivity going away, that's Kai's impulsivity being recontextualized for the sake of the show. The season 9 "Who's stupid enough to jump on that thing" isn't a joke at the expense of Kai just for being dumb, it's a joke at Kai's being so predictably impulsive that everyone already knows he'll be the one to put himself in an insane amount of danger without thinking twice (you know, something stupid that might get him killed). But because in this instance, the danger is warranted, this is bravery. It's a complement to his character- it's what ends up defeating the colossus. Why are some people so bothered by this joke?
Oh right, cuz for some reason people want to peg Kai as the smart one? Look, Kai isn't stupid, none of the ninja are. All of them have smart moments (all of them have dumb ones too) and Kai can certainly handle himself, but "smart" is definitely not one of his defining characteristics- I think some people are confusing smart for his actual strength. Connected to his impulsivity, Kai has very good simplistic instincts. He sees the big picture and looks at the most surface level solution- which when the situation calls for it, that does indeed make him smart. But the same logic that led him to think "This snake has a glowing target on its head, lets hit it" also led him to think "I'm in a video game, therefore I am immortal." Are you really going to look at me and say he figured out Lloyd was the green ninja through logical deduction and a careful consideration of the facts? No. He had a gut feeling, and he trusted it. Instincts- instincts paired with his impulsive following of said instincts is what leads him to solve problems- and sometimes, that can be extremely effective. This goes for other ninja too. Jay isn't the smartest ninja- I would really only classify Zane and Nya as having intelligence define them (hence their ship name). But Jay is extremely creative and crafty. He also knows his was around mechanics, and as such, this will lead him to come up with creative tech based solutions which are smart. But, idk about you, if I had to point to another ninja as being 'dumb' it would 100% be Jay. Kai is a lot of things. He's passionate and determined and confident and persistent. He's a good improvisor, he's powerful and he's charming! These are all wonderful qualities, he doesn't also have to be the smart one. I am the worlds biggest Pixal stan, and she's a smart, sassy, powerful character, but I'm not gonna sit here and tell you she's also hilarious and adaptable and strong willed. She's a straight man to all the ninja's antics, extremely tied to her samurai x suit, and lets people push her around all the time. That doesn't mean she can't be funny, or self interested, but when she does act these ways, it stems from her other more prominent qualities. That make sense?
And while we're clearing up what Kai isn't, please stop characterizing Kai as an overly protective brother - especially romantically. The only two times he's been romantically protective to Nya are in Wu's Teas which I mean, come on and in the pilots when Jay is literally a stranger. For crying out loud, by the end of the pilot, he's smiling when Jay and Nya hug. That's not overly protective, that's just normal, any reasonable person would react this way, protective. And it's such a great stereotype break for a kids show like ninjago, having an older brother who actually trusts his younger sister to be her own independent person who can make her own decisions. I mean, I guess it's fine if you HC differently but like... idk, I don't buy it.
Now, is there still room to criticize the writers? Yes. Hell yes. But not to an extent greater than any other character. Could he have had more of a defined reaction to events of the most recent season that I won't name for the sake of spoilers? Yes. But could Zane have reacted for more than .5 seconds at being an evil war lord for apparently 60 years? Yeah. Has Kai taken a back seat in the past 4 seasons? Yeah. But so has Lloyd- and he's literally the main character of the show. Not to mention two of those seasons have gone to people who had to wait over ten seasons to get one to themselves, and one of them is a 40 minute special. Kai's doing just fine.
Anyway. Kai is great. He's a fun, stereotype breaking, impulsively driven, ball of energy and confidence who gets a good amount of screen time and some fun side plots.
One last thing to clear up: no hate to anyone. This isn't targeted at anyone specific, this post has been a long time coming, I've just seen some weird overblown claims on various platforms over the past few months and I finally sat down to write about it.
I like the Kai content we have. After all, if the writers were really that bad at writing him, then no one would like him.
Wow this was so much longer than I thought it would be. Um... if you have other long winded rants you'd like to see from me... let me know I guess?
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Love your Kai analysis! This lego has got more layers than people give him credit for :'P I'm curious about your thoughts on how fandom has warped other characters? Personally I feel like fanon Lloyd is the most different
Thank you for asking!
Well first of all yes, Fanon Lloyd is very different from Canon Lloyd.
Fanon Lloyd is like.............. This Ultwa Twaumatized bean uwu He’s EMo!!!!! Which yes, I will admit that Lloyd has been through a lot, but gosh the people in this fandom like to hammer it on thick. They turn this kinda awkward teenage boy with daddy issues into this..... Angst machine who feels no positive emotions bc!!! He’s Been Thwough So much!!! Uwu No One who Suffews feews happiness!!!!
Idk, it just rubs me the wrong way because he has so many other attributes besides “He’s the green ninja and BAD THINGS HAVE HAPPENED TO HIM” Like I promise if you use your eyes there’s other stuff.
There’s also the smaller fanon bit that makes it seem like he’s the Almighty Lloyd who can Do No Wrong........... like ok.
Jay gets similar treatments although I think the fandom leans more towards !!!! Awkward Bean!!!! Smol !!!!(Hate that word btw) He’s so anxious!!!!!!!!!!!! wuwuuuwuwuw!!!!!!!!!! Even though that’s like........... Not his character whatsoever..
This is gonna sound weird but I think people see Jay as like a surrogate baby/doll. They wanna put him in cute outfits and make him look just darn cute, but they also want him to crack under ANY sort of social pressure so they can get someone character of the day to take care of him. (Aka whichever character they feel like projecting onto)
Which........ They can I suppose, it’s their own write to do that, but like they treat it as gospel. As if your own, personal and very self indulgent headcanon is actually canon and if people don’t follow it then they’re.... Idk whichever witch hunting term is popular rn.
Zane has basically been turned into a walking “Haha he’s a robot!” gag character by the fandom. I mean these people think Zane not understanding jokes is the funniest freaking thing in the world. Despite the fact that it’s CANON that the ninja consider him human because of his HUMAN SOUL, most people just like to focus on the android part.
See Zane is one of the only character’s we see ACTUALLY have some sort of consequence for the trauma he’s experienced. We see him struggle through a panic attack and he has to be talked out of it by Pix. We even see him struggle with anxiety regularly in LATER SEASONS.
And BOY... Does the fandom latch onto that. The fandom focuses more on the fact that it happens instead of how it’s resolved. I just don’t understand how on one hand it’s “He’s a robot!!!!!” and on the other hand “But He has ANXIETY!”
Like yes, that’s the point. The point is that despite Zane’s body being robotic, his soul is deeply human, perhaps even moreso than some of his teammates.
Cole.... I don’t have much to say for Cole. He’s managed to remain generally unscathed to my knowledge, although sometimes y’all really push the “HE’S STRONG” angle so much that it’s his only personality trait.
Nya.... Oh Nya... Uhhgggg ...... It’s safe to say I HATE Fanon Nya. She’s been turned into the most obnoxious feminist stereotype and it is annoying. The fandom seems OBSESSED with pushing the idea that she is the only useful member of the team. Which is obviously not true. Like do you guys know what the heck a TEAM IS????
This is also where I bring up the weird culture of bullying the characters because.... A lot of the time I see said bullying is pushing the other characters down to make Nya look better.
Like I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a fan of Nya, I used to hate her in earlier seasons, but now she’s more bearable. But Oh my LORd... The fandom pushes Nya’s awful flaws to and ELEVEN and then acts like they’re virtues. Like you think Canon Kai has an ego?? Look at freaking fanon Nya she’ll give him a run for his money.
Safe to say that this particular fanon, aside from Kai’s, makes me the most angry.
Pix also gets the treatment of being put on a pedestal. I suspect it’s just because they’re girls, since tumblr is obsessed with em, but who knows.
Generally I’ve seen Pix keep her very GENERAL personality, but it’s still made annoying by the fandom. They make her humble character into a judgmental and harsh one. they take the women who can calmly talk Zane out of a mental breakdown, and turn her into an egotistical quiet spoken jerk.
I just don’t know how it’s done.
Y’all already know how I feel about Kai’s fanon. Absolute garbage, throw it away, thank you very much.
For a bonus, here’s Skylor. Skylor, like all of the girls, is also put up on a pedestal. It’s not nearly as bad as Pix and Nya though and that’s when i thank the stars she’s a side character.
Generally the fandom just ignores her personality altogether and creates whatever the fluff they want. I can’t even describe it. I guess flirtatious minx? And that’s it? Like what are you going for here.
Idk man, at this point I feel like I’m rambling, but thank you for asking!
#ninjago#ninjago lloyd#ninjago nya#ninjago jay#ninjago zane#ninjago cole#ninjago pixal#ninjago kai#ninjago skylor#Anonymous
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Official Girl— Zion Kuwonu
Warnings: mild mature language.
Theme: Angst / Fluff ??? I guess I vauguely know the diff.
Summary: you and Zion have been together for almost half a year, but it didn’t feel like it cause when it came down to the public eye, he was single. And you were just his friend.
A/N: I did not proofread any of this so if there’s some spelling errors I apologize, and I hope it isn’t cringe! Enjoy🖤
You and Zion have been dating for almost a year and to your surprise no one even knew expect the PRETTYMUCH members along with their girlfriends. Neither of your family members knew either. You had a million thoughts going through your brain debating which thought was the placebo of why he would want to hide your relationship for almost a year. Don’t get it wrong, your relationship is great, he makes you happy. But hearing him tell the rest of his friends any beanz that ‘you’re aren’t his girl’ and ‘just a friend’ kinda made you think back on the days where you were stuck in the friend zone with him.
Sighing you slouch in your chair turning in your essay. You decided to go to los angles to study for your major. You wanted to get out of your hometown experience new places and people. You met Zion through one of your friends. You’ve never even heard of ‘PRETTYMUCH’ until she showed you a few of their music videos and interviews you started to hone in on them. Next thing you knew your friend bought you guys tickets and meet and greets in los angles.
Zion had his eyes on you on and off the entire time on stage. And boy was he thrilled to see you at meet and greet. And that’s the cliché way you meet Zion and became his “girlfriend” more like “girl-friend” groaning you hop out the bed going to grab a cup of water but your phones text tone vibration on the cherry wood table stops you. Moving towards your phone you see a text from the devil himself. Crazy how the universe works.
[ From: Babie 🤧🧡 ]
Hey mamas you wanna go to a birthday party with me? I promise I’ll stick by you the whole night ❤️
Moral of the story to the last sentence Zion typed was prettymuch had a album release party with a lot of their friends and Zion invited you. But twenty minutes into the party Zion left you and was faded and tipsy.So you ended up taking an uber back home and went to sleep. Zion didn’t get a wink of sleep that night worrying about you.
[ To: Babie 🤧🧡 ]
Hm. Fine I’ll go but you better keep your promise.
[ From: Babie 🤧🧡 ]
I promise babygirl. The party isn’t until late around 8pm so I’ll come pick you up. I love you can’t wait to see your fine ass🥵
Rolling your eyes at his flirty remarks. One thing you can’t knock him for is he always reminds you how beautiful you are. Sitting your phone down you go back to the previous task, grabbing the glass and sticking it on the dispenser filling it half empty half full. Sipping on the ice cold water you make your way back to room deciding how you would kill two hours worth of time.
Waking up an hour and a half later you decided to go ahead and take a shower. While waiting for the water to heat up you grab your phone turning on your Bluetooth speaker to blare music for your invisible fans. First song to come up on shuffle was official girl by Cassie. You place your fingers in the shower feeling the warm water slide down your fingertips. Stripping out of your clothes you jump in the shower.
“You gotta love me in the light and the dark” you sung out loud. As you were singing the lyrics it resonated with your feelings towards Zion.After your quick shower you got dressed and did your hair in a style you loved. Looking at the clock wondering would Zion be on his way yet,It’s 7:30pm and he hasn’t sent a single text or call. Going to your messages you decide to text him.
[ To: Babie 🤧🧡 ]
Zion what time are you coming to pick me up?
Setting your phone back down, you grab your platform boots slipping them on and tying them up. Grabbing your favorite perfume brand lathering your body up in it. fifteen minutes later and you still got nothing from Zion. You launch the Instagram app seeing Zion posted on his Instagram 3 minutes ago a screen of his monitor and fortnite asking for someone to join the lobby.
You roll your eyes wondering why you even texted him in the first place, him and fortnite have a better relationship than you and Zion. You decided to text one of the members.
[ To: Raisin Bran ⛓ ]
Hey Brandon is the party still going on tonight?
[ From: Raisin Bran ⛓ ]
. yeah , we’re actually here where are you and Zion?
[ To: Raisin Bran ⛓ ]
‘Zion’ is on fortnite rn, ill be coming in uber please give me the address🙄
[ From: Raisin Bran ⛓ ]
. I mean you don’t have to come if you don’t want too.
It’s better to have fun, then being cooped up in the house doing nothing, what could go wrong? You though you yourself. Pulling your leather skirt down a little you stand up and place an uber order Your uber arrived twenty minutes later,On the way to the party you have been listening to music with occasionally conversations with the driver. Your phone vibrates, and from the vibrations you know who it is. And you dread wether you should reply or not.but deep down you know you can’t ignore him.
[ From Babie 🤧🧡 ]
Yo Sorry mamas I didn’t see your text.
[ From Babie 🤧🧡 ]
I’m coming to get your fine ass now🥵
[ To: Babie 🤧🧡 ]
No worries Zion lol, I’m catching a ride to the party.
[ From: Babie 🤧🧡 ]
Who’s takin you?
Ignoring his question you decide to screenlock your phone and enjoy the soft ride. The ride was about an extra twenty minutes to get there but it was a pleasant ride nevertheless
Getting out of the car you thank the driver and prepare yourself for the house full of sweaty young adults, blaring loud music and the smell of different strains of weed. Pulling your skirt down a little you walk up to the door ignoring the few whistles and hollers from the drunk guys falling around and laughing on the grass. Knocking on the door you await for anyone to open the door it was starting to get a little chilly outside. “Y/N?” Someone speaks in a puzzled tone. Turning your head around your eyes are met with nick, nodding your head you step off the steps to be engulfed in a hug.
“How are you, what are you doing here by yourself?” Nick questions
“Well I’m not by myself now am I ?” You joke sarcastically, nick shows his cheeky smile while opening the door for you. Upon your sight is a house filled to the rim of people, red solo cups scattered all over the floor, multiple groups of people playing games and kissing.
“Where’s Zion?” Nick asks, while the both of you walk into the kitchen, the constant questions of “Zion” is starting to agitate you more and more. You wanted to have fun and not think about Zion. Because frankly Zion hasn’t been thinking about you. Before you could answer nick’s question soft delicate caramel tattooed arms wrapped around your shoulders with a sweet scent of strawberries and mint leaves.
“I’m here” his voice hones in on your ear lobes, his lips reaching your temple slightly and rapidly before any one could catch eyes on it “hey mamas” Zion’s voice vibrates across your skin.
“Hi” you answer softly not really wanting to talk to him you’d hoped to avoid, nick offers you and Zion a drink grabbing the shot you swallow it down like it was water. Passing the shot glass over to nick for another round.
“Woah mamas slow down okay?” Zion mumbles from behind you with his hands firmly placed on you lower back. Ignoring his comment you drink down another shot earning a “wooo” from nick as he fires you up for your last shot of the day with a slice of lime from the fridge.
“Thank you nick” you smile eating the lime in one hand and firmly grasping the cold water bottle in the other. You turn around to say something to Zion but he’s gone in the back talking to someone. you decide it’s really time to have fun since you’re “single” in the dark. Before you could head over to the dance floor a guy walks up to you with a sheepish grin. His teeth were pearly white and aligned with each other not missing a single space or gap, his skin screamed Melanin “hello how are you?” He asks very politely.
“I’m fine and you?”
“Good if you’re breathing, I was wondering would you like to have a dance? If you don’t mind” he hesitates,not even thinking of an answer you grab his hand reporting to the dance floor. (A/N i thought about the lyric from you by Lloyd ‘And uh, I want all my sexy ladies to report to the dance floor immediately’ lol sorry I may have made you cringe)
you get on the dance floor dancing to the song that’s blaring through the speakers. Taking sips from another shot you grabbed on your way to the dance floor why not? You did say you wanted to have fun. Softly the mysterious man lays his hand on your hips digging his fingertips into your waist. Even though you knew you were with Zion. You wasn’t just going to grind up on some guy even though your devil shoulder told you too.
Zion finishes his conversation with a friend he used to know in Canada, now he was on his way to look for you trying to keep his promise of never leaving tonight. Meeting nick back at the kitchen his thick eyebrows knitted in confusion. Nick not wanting to hear the anger bounce off on him, he decides to point in the direction of you and the mysterious guy. Fuming with vexation, he squeezed the bottle in his hands until his knuckles turned white. Heading over towards the problem he grab you by your arm softly but cautiously. The guy stands back smirking at the sight of a jealous Zion. while you were a bit staggering from the four shots of alcohol you took.
“Hey chill out we were dancing and having a good time!” The guy slurs his words. You started to sober up slightly at the sight of Zion’s muscles in his jawline clenching on and off his knuckles turning ghostly white as he holds in every excuse to lay this guy out with his fists. His face almost beat red.
“Have a good time with someone else not her” Zion excuses the both of you guys away from him and into a quieter location, closing the door behind him Zion let’s out a groan of frustration as his fingers roam through the tangles of his dreads. “What the fuck was that y/n?!” Zion yells but not too aggressive because even though he’s mad at you, you’re still his baby and he’ll never disrespect you.
“What ? I can’t have fun? I mean I’m not your official girl anyways” you slur your truth with hidden sarcasm. You were tipsy and when you’re tipsy the truth comes out. And in the back of your mind you knew once the truth came out things were going to change.
“Y/n what the fuck are you talking about? , of course you are my girl mamas” his tone of voice changes obviously struck by your words, not wanting to look into his eyes with your glassy eyes, you turn your head, not even batting an eye at him, you just couldn’t your heart shattered even thinking of telling him how you felt.
“No I’m not Zion” you choke at your first sentence “I’m your friend, you know the girl who hangs out with you occasionally and comes in your Instagram lives, I’m the girl you say ‘Nah she’s the homie’ I’m not your fucking girl Zion, and it’s been that way for half a goddamn year!” You bark at him, Zion tries to reach for your hands but falls short as you pull them away from his reach “ if you don’t wanna be with me tell me. If you’re embarrassed by me tell me. Fucking give me something I’m tired of being your unofficial girl” you wipe your tears heading straight for the door but Zion blocks it.
“Wait Mamas listen,” his words fall short trying to bite back the tears, his whole world crashing down in front of his eyes “i couldn’t be so fucking proud to have you as my girlfriend, you don’t understand how happy I am to hold you in my arms every fucking day, how proud I am to have you in the studio with me because that’s the only way I can work faster, babygirl you are everything and more I’ve ever needed”
“Zion this secrecy is making me feel like I’m not good enough” your voice cracks filling the room up with icy cold tension. You’re trying so hard to stop crying but you can’t, all the bottled up feelings are just slipping through the cracks. Zion rapidly walks over to you to hold you in his arms. Your brain wants to push him off,but your heart wants to be held until your cries muffled into the music in the background. His slender golden fingers hold the back of your head while the other tightly on your lower back.
“I deserve more Zion, but I don’t wanna pressure you dear, but I’m tired, I’m tired” you speak into his trashed denim jacket. You pull out of his embrace. Walking towards the door, leaving Zion in the room with his thoughts. Passing by nick and Brandon as you wiped your tears, hearing their cries of your names just makes you regret even coming to this party in the first place. The guy you danced with earlier snatches your wrist in a halt just as you were about to grab the door knob, this day just couldn’t get anymore hetic you thought.
“Babygirl.. did he make you cry?” His eyebrows knit up in a bunch, you stumble over the cups placed on the floor snatching your arms at of the young man’s grasp not before you feel an arm around your shoulder engulfing your body into his chest. “Don’t touch her got that? She doesn’t belong to you” he grits his teeth, spitting the poison out on him “oh but she belongs to you?” The guy questions trying to provoke a fight with Zion.
“She doesn’t belong to anyone she’s her own woman, but we are dating and I don’t appreciate anyone treating her less than what she is, so if you want all your bones to be intact and still have teeth to eat with tomorrow I suggest you back the fuck up” your eyes look up at the flushed pinked tint that was painted across his face the slight flinch of his muscles in his jawline.
“Can we leave please?” You plead to him and instantly he grabbed your hand taking you out the party. The ride home was slient. So many things were going on, bottled up emotions were spilled and you just thought to yourself how awkward this would be in the morning. Zion opens the door for you following right after you in the cold house. Taking off your boots you curl up on the bed shaking as the goosebumps multipled on your skin. Zion walks over to you throwing the covers over your body tucking you in like a parent to a kid.
“Can we talk about this?” Zion says breaking the ice, letting out a choked hoarse sigh
“I’m afraid too” you speak barely above a whisper hoping he didn’t catch it.
“Well then listen to me” Zion grabs your legs placing them on his thighs so his fingers hook under your calves “ I’ve never been this deep in love, everytime I get really deep into a relationship something always fucks it up, and I didn’t want anything or anyone to break us up hence why I’ve been hiding us. Specially from the media. It’s a dog eats dog world out there mamas” his fingers tapping on your now timid skin “and I don’t want you to be hurt because of my job, or those whom support and love me, their opinions won’t matter to me I don’t give a shit but I don’t want you hurt babygirl I love your smiles earlier in the morning,” Zion chokes up “ I wanna keep seeing the crinkle in your nose as you curse the sun for being bright, have you re-twisting my dreads, your sudden outbursts of Disney soundtracks”
“I cherish all that shit mamas” Zion finishes like a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulder.
Your eyes begin to soften at how raw Zion is being right now. Zion was never the type to show his cards on the table. Everyone knew this. But seeing him fold like a deck of cards really breaks your heart. “I love our date nights where we just watch movies or play board games, cause it’s just us and no one to interrupt us or tell us how to love each other, but it seems I’ve hurt you more this way instead of the other way I was trying to protect you from. I’m sorry mamas” his Cinderella glass slipper eyes lays upon yours, shattering you into pieces
You never thought how hard it’s been on him to hide all of this or his reasons. You lean over to him placing your head on his chest. Playing with his fingertips. “It’s okay Zion, I understand now, I’m sorry for blowing up on you” his lips pressed on your head while his fingers caressed your waist. Your eyes slowly getting heavier and heavier before you could even hear his response. You dozed off, all the tears and alcohol felt like a melatonin. Zion took this opportunity to sneak a picture of his view to post on Instagram for the world to see. Showing you off was something he always dreamed off and right now seemed like the perfect time. “No mamas I’m sorry, but I’ll show you better than I can say it”
The next morning you woke up to your phone constantly blowing up by notifications, frowning you grab your phone deciding to put it on do not disturb until you see prettymuch fan account names liking and commenting on your posts, taking you on stories, your twitter was blowing up. Opening up Instagram you see Zion has tagged you in a post, smiling at his efforts you like the picture.
130,468 likes
zionkuwonu: I'll never diss you and I'll kiss you on your little pearl.
Maybe the talk needed to happen to move onto bigger things, before you could repost it to your story, The door swings up with Zion smiling bigger than his heart holding a teddy bear in one hand and roses and a self care basket the other. Sitting up against the headboard you accept them feeling the water build up in your eyes. “You’re right mamas, you deserve more” he leans over laying soft pecks against your lips. “And I will always give you more” his lips connect to yours again.
“So face mask night and a movie?” You squeak caressing his jawline
“It’s whatever you want to do babygirl” he mumbles, before taking another picture of you with the gifts.
You were now his official girl.
#prettymuch imagines#prettymuch#zion prettymuch#zion kuwonu#zion kuwonu imagines#zion kuwonu concepts
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Thinking journal for season 12 Prime Empire 😎😎😎 (1/2)
So, I'm keeping this during all of season 12 to put down my thoughts as they appear. It's mostly for not ranting every single time a new episode comes out so please don't mind me too much 😅 I'm following the English release so please no spoilers 😙
I'm gonna split it in two, since apparently the season has 16 episodes. So this is the first part, enjoy my rambling 💜💜
It's the 30th of March and here we go!
IN GENERAL
I'm so, SO HAPPY, we have a theme for this season. For my experience apparently silly themes (tech ninja, ghosts, pirates) had brought very surprising results so I'm SO DOWN FOR THIS 😍😍
It seems that they fixed the mood, there is a specific mystery and a specific mission to follow. I like it too
THE NEW WHIP IS DOPE AS ALWAYS
I'm really glad there are plenty of references to past episodes, comebacks are my jam
The only thing that still kinda bothers me is the length of the episodes. It's not all bad, I just think the 20 minutes format was better. One thing is splitting 20 in 10 minutes, another is putting together 11 minutes of important stuff. Doesn't bother me too much, I just wish there was more time for my favorite show 🤷♀️
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENTER PRIME EMPIRE?
Is it normal for me to feel really old after they made the "what is a VCR?" joke? Like, I'm a uni student so still pretty young, but I lived through the transition from that to the DVD so... eh, I laughed anyway👵
Jay is smart, I really believe he is. Yet I saw him putting a possibly corrupted motherboard into a legendary game randomly found into a villain's lair, and I was like "Of course he did that, I love you you dumb*ss" raising my glass of juice towards him 😎
Okay, I'm down for this Lloyd. I'm down for a season with Lloyd being creeped out just because, being silly, just a ninja helping his friends and- (remembers there's a Harumi avatar in the sets) I'M NOT READY
The ending was actually nicely creepy. Cool nods in approval
DYER ISLAND
THAT INTRO THOUGH, THAT WAS EPIC! Love the techno sounds, love the clear gaming connection, I rate it 10/HECK YEAH LONG LIVE THE FOLD
I was scared about how the shorts were supposed to play along with the season, but it looks fine so far with the mechanic and later for Scott. Good 👍
Ah, Fist to Face, that game came all over from the nostalgic season 1. That's what I'm talking about 😎
So they just associated that Unagami is probably Dyer's avatar like that? Like sure, I thought about it, but it looks a little rushed. Mm, I wonder if there's something more behind it?
LEVEL 13
Cyrus Borg is back and he TALKS!!! Finally, he gets some action! Go tech dad!
I'm so happy he referenced the Digiverse, I would have been very disappointed if he hadn't. Time flies Borg...
Not gonna lie, I thought the next to follow up Jay's spot as best in videigames was going to be Kai or Lloyd. It's not disappointing though, since pretty much all the ninja have been seen playing, and to be honest I like the implication that Cole and Jay probably played a lot together. As bruiseshipping or as BrOTP, I still love them together no matter what 💙🖤💙🖤
Ooooohhhhh, that's why Zane and Pixal are left behind. It makes sense, sure, but I don't understand the implication of the plan: they saw Dyer entering Prime Empire, so why looking for him in real life? Mm, maybe they will investigate about his life and what happened... PIXANE ON THE CASE 😍
Already saw Prime Empire's world in the shorts, of course it looks DOPE, still very happy to finally being there!
SUPERSTAR ROCKIN' JAY
I don't know why, but Kai questioning the double jump made me laugh. Also poor him, he just got his powers back from last season and they're already gone again 😂
And of course. Them. Wow. It must be the most amazing and CURSED thing I've ever seen so far, the League of Jay 🤯 I'm so happy they exist and they freaking use past seasons' suits!!! Awesome!!! Never thought I was going to see Jay's old plain haircut again... yeah, he got better with the curly one, but I'm feeling nostalgic 🤷♀️
Their nick are histerical omg, Jaybird, Dee-Jay, Jaywalkin, I'm loving this way more than I should 😂 Also they freaking screamed "JAY-NJA GOO!!!" and I don't know what to do with that, it's too great for me to comprehend 👏👏
And then, THIS happened:
Your Honor, I would like to confirm this as THE MOST SECRET DREAM I'VE EVER HAD FOR THIS SHOW FINALLY COMING TRUE!!! A NINJA FROM NINJAGO DOING THE NARUTO RUN!!! 🤯🤯🤯 Done, I'm done, conclude the season, this is more than enough for me 😍
First Kai gets hit and fall from a building, DYING, then Lloyd gets desperate for his brother (MY BROTP 💚❤💚❤), then Kai respawns and Lloyd looks so relieved and Kai is all panting while slowly realizing it's a game and MY HEART CAN'T HANDLE THIS MUCH OKAY???
As a very passionate Kai fangirl I always expect the cringy moment, it really is inevitable for my favorite hothead. I love that idiot so much it's unbelievable, even if it's an absolute and costant suffering 😅 Holy Garmadon it was painful seeing his VERY slow realization that in this game you only have four lives
... SO HE HAS ONE NOW!?! NINJAGO CREW YOU ALREADY KILLED ZANE, NYA AND LLOYD ONCE AT THE END OF A SEASON, DON'T YOU DARE PLAY WITH ME AGAIN 😱😱😱
Okay, I did not expect to hear about Mr. Cuddly Wamp ever again since Hands of Time and BOY if I'm happy it was actually a password, I love this show 😂
SCOTT FINALLY!!! YESS!!! 😍😍😍
Okay, for as long as it is not debunked, I will hold onto the Scott is Jay's brother/twin theory. I'm sorry but: his jacket has dragons AND lightnings on it, they have very similar skin in avatar mode, he said he was waiting for him in the short, he could very well have his same hair under cap and hoodie and he's a mechanic too. I know, I know, they could have the same skin because Scott helped him for the avatar, and there might be shadier reason behind the 'I was waiting for you' thing, and there are tons of good mechanics in Ninjago... STILL HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE??? 😍
SCOTT HAS ONE LIFE POINT TOO??? NO! NOOO!!! NOOOOOOO!!! Don't you dare appear and steal my heart only to die at the end of the season, come on!! 😭
So for now it seems like he just wants to survive. Can we actually confirm he's an avatar and not an NPC? I mean he could be, but I don't see the point of an NPC self aware of his life points. Idk, maybe I'm overthinking this 🤷♀️
Lol, Kai is the only one weirded out by the Jay-con all around him. Probably because he hasn't heard from his fans since Skybound 😅 (I'M STILL HERE MY FLAME BABE, ILY ❤❤❤)
And in all of his glory, freaking Superstar Rockin' Jay!!! 😎😎 Okay, I loved the design since the first time I saw it, but it looks possibly even better in the show 😍😍😍 And Jay looks absolutely adorable in it, and he's got a guitar, and he was waiting for his friends, and he hugs them (I'm weak for LEGO hugs for some reason) and he is so happy and AAAHHH 💙💙💙💙💙
I'm very curious about how Scott will play into the situation, clearly he will provide some kind of insight about Prime Empire. I can't wait to know more about him!! 😍
I AM OKINO
I did not expect this when I saw this Okino guy in the trailer... and I'm so happy I was surprised, I love him 👌
And he's voiced by Alessandro Juliani?? HECK YEAH!!! With all the hype about the DnD 13th season, and consequentially the knight theme, I really miss Nexo Knights and having Aaron's VA around makes me happy... any hope to have Giles Panton as well? I miss Clay the most 💙💙
This is what I'm talking about, the game theme needs this stuff! I was already happy to see life points, double jumps and respawns, but this? The NPC guide? Awesome 👍 It's nice to see the take on the matter, the guide seeing so many players getting killed, first because they did not listen, then because they were actually just unlucky. The touchy matter I always expect watching Ninjago 👏👏
At least I THINK he's an NPC? For now I don't really see a way of knowing, and it doesn't look like it matters. He didn't show life points so maybe? Does this mean he can't die? I have questions people
Which brings me to the cube thingies. That's what happens to the dead players? I mean, I would understand if they just become pixels, but there's also the drone that takes the datas every time. Idk, feels like there's more behind it. And honestly? It looks like great material for angst, like one of the ninja dies but then they discover they just need to get where Unagami stores all of the players! I hope it's something like this!
They designs of the players are really cool, I already saw them in the other episodes, but seeing them this close just confirmed it. Between this and Jay's awesome avatar, I see lots of great cosplay ideas coming 😍 I wonder when will Kai and Lloyd use their avatars, and why would they since I'm guessing Jay did for disguise and to distinguish himself from his fans
PLEASE TELL ME WE'LL SEE SCOTT SOON, I ALREADY MISS HIM!!! 💙💙💙 I have too many theories about that tech dude, I'm so excited about who he might turn out to be!
I was a little skeptical about the new ninja suits, but seeing them in the show convinced me, very cool! Especially on Nya 💕💕💕
THE GLITCH
Alright, Okino is indeed an NPC. Cool the fact that at first he could not understand the fact that he was in a game, but when reality changed he was forced to. Welcome into the crew! 😙
I'm kinda worried about it though, either they will shut down the game and he will stay inside or he will sacrifice for them. He's a very loyal samurai, I can see that happening and I'm SCARED
I WAS SWEATING BULLETS AT THE AMBUSH!!! I 100% saw it coming, we all freaking saw it coming, even the ninja did but where like 'we can walk and die or we can risk and die so might as well'. But still, my babies DYING and respawning so fast was not pretty 😱😱
Nya got the scariest death until now in my opinion, holy Garmadon Dyer DOES have a twisted mind...
Seeing Kai so scared of being in a new situation and with one HP reminds me A LOT of the Digiverse, and that's actually a nice touch. Give him a cellphone, hothead is a social media expert, but put him in a game and... huuhhh... 😅
Have I mentioned I love the ninja's new emoji masks??
BECAUSE I DO!!! 😂😂😂😂
So Unagami knows about them trying to stop him and he sent the rat people because of it. Considering how little we know about this guy, I'm wondering what we are about to discover
Alright, going to the next challenge, very curious about this adventure. So... beware of the rats, ninja? Still not sure what I think about the rats 😅
THE CLIFFS OF HYSTERIA
I would like to say Okino is the edgiest character of the show I've ever seen... but I've seen MORRO. But still poor guy, he got a case of the Matrix
Oooohhhh, the major question in videogames: better go grinding for more money to get the better stuff but while losing lots of time, or get the least expensive just to go on with the story but definitely risking to lose lives?
Ah there we go, so the energy cubes mean something! Also reference to the Sushimi guy of the set (gosh that name, I can't 😂). So do people actually die in Prime Empire or they are just kidnapped kinda? Can the ninja just bring back? ANGST POTENTIAL
Cole please don't die please don't die please don't die for the love of Garmadon please don't die somebody help-
HOLY FSM KAI I MEANT HELP FROM SOMEONE WITH MORE THAN ONE LIFE DON'T DO THAT BE CAREFUL PLEASE I FREAKING LOVE YOU YOU RECKLESS HOTHEAD ❤❤❤
Nya giving Kai a sweet look after seeing her brother is okay, that's what I live for 😍
So apparently Unagami is trying to build some kind of device using the energy cubes of the dead players (sounds kinda creepy like this 😱) to create some kind of portal? To Ninjago? I don't understand, if Unagami is Milton Dyer then why this? Just to bring his army and conquer? I mean I guess, sounds a little simple though. Then again, if it turns out it's not Dyer, it could be Unagami wanting to be real and get into his creator's world? Mm...
I like the message, having the ability to choose your own path. Very fitting for a game themed season, I hope it gets explored even more!
More for the "I love the ninja emoji masks of this season"'s compilation 😂😂😂
THE MAZE OF THE RED DRAGON
Duuuude, Jay being good at mazes comes all the way from Possession, the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master! 😍 ... or maybe I just rewatch this show too much... could be both really 😅
Unagami is NASTY!
Confirmed the thing about going into the real world, what scares me is how much powers Unagami seems to actually possess. Like, can he do the block thingy whenever he wants? Just straight up pause and do whatever? Wow...
Jay being extra 😎
I mean, of course he is, he's got better statics! 😂 I like how he seems so focused and in charge, I still hope we see more of him... and Scott... WHERE IS SCOTT???
I love dragons, this metal one is cute 😍
So now we have two ronin: a samurai looking for a path on his own in a digital world... and a shady guy named Ronin 😛 Total respect for Okino, he really showed the values he believes in. No matter he was programmed his way, I hope he finds what he's looking for. Better come back for the final battle!
One Keytana down, two more to go. I know one is the price of the race, while the last one... I don't really know.
More of the masks because I love them 😂 Here we have Vegeta Lloyd and Kawai Cole ✌✌
#ranting#this is kinda therapeutic#i feel good#i like this season#ninjago#lego ninjago#prime empire#ninjago season 12#ninjago spoilers#spoilers#ninjago s12#ninjago kai#kai smith#ninjago jay#jay walker#jay gordon#ninjago nya#nya smith#cole brookstone#ninjago cole#kai ninjago#ninjago lloyd#lloyd montgomery garmadon#lloyd garmadon#ninjago zane#zane julien#ninjago pixal#pixal borg#ninjago okino#ninjago scott
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Angst Week Day Three: Hunger, Slipping (Cole)
Warnings: slight body shaming, slight fat shaming, eating disorders, vomit, self-harm through eating disorder, ‘intense’ social anxiety
Some of the parts may seem super extra but this is also about social tendencies and how the ninja are stereotyped by citizens and how the ninja portray themselves in public!
I almost deleted one of the parts at the party because it seemed too extra, but I wrote a line about highschool that I really liked so I didn’t delete it lol, I also wrote that part at midnight haha
~~~
“Why can’t they see what I see? Why can’t they hear the lies? Maybe the fees too pricey for them to realize, your disguise is slipping...”
He hadn’t had cake in forever… in fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he ate cake! So when Cole found out Darkley’s was providing them with cake, the young angsty rebel dancer inside of him wanted to eat as many pieces as he could fit in his mouth!
And he did! He ate a lot of the creamy chocolate cake, and it was delicious! But after that day at Darkley’s, things got weird.
The team made a few jokes about his love for cake, naturally. They all teased each other, it was all in good fun, he didn’t mind. But then they were out in public for a press conference one day, and the kids and teachers at Darkley’s presented each ninja with an award.
Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Nya, and Zane all received certificates with their names on it.
He received a piece of cake with his name on it.
A kind gesture, sure, but when Gayle Gossip asked why Cole received cake, Brad answered, “Cole is obsessed with cake! The day they saved us, he ate almost the entire cake by himself!”
Cole blushed and laughed along with everyone else— it didn’t matter.
A month or two later, after the final battle, there was a special on the television about the ninja, which the team all watched together.
There were a bunch of kids and each said why they loved the ninja.
“I like the black one a lot!” one kid spoke up. Cole sat up straighter, beaming. Finally! After hearing every single kid talk about literally everyone on the team but him, he was excited to hear someone liked him!
“Why do you like the black one?” Gayle asked.
“Because he eats a lot and likes cake and food and I do too!” the kid continued brightly. Cole’s grin fell as his teammates roared with laughter.
Another kid spoke up, “Yeah! I like the food ninja!”
… the food ninja? Is that all he was? He just hadn’t had cake in years because it was banned in his house… no one liked him because he was brave like Kai or caring like Zane or creative and positive like Jay (all things said about them in the interview)... they only thought he was funny because he liked cake…
~~~
Between Tournament and Possession…
He was really nervous. He didn’t want to be here.
But, of course, the day of the banquet the mayor was throwing in celebration of some historical thing, Lloyd, Kai, and Jay had plans together, Nya was sick, and Zane and Lloyd were on a duos mission.
Cole and the others agreed that they didn’t want to be rude and decline the offer to attend, and Cole had thought they were going to offer to change their plans, but no. They decided that Cole should go to some city banquet by himself.
Alone.
Cole chuckled hastily as he adjusted his collar and tie. He looked around at all these people he didn’t know, all dressed up and laughing daintily as if they’d known each other for years…
The room was filled with hundreds of people, yet Cole still felt alone.
Some banquet this was.
He’d spoken to a few people throughout the night. The mayor kindly thanked him for his service, his wife agreed, and they shook his hands.
A younger woman, probably in her early twenties, approached him and said, “Are the other ninja going to be attending this evening?”
Cole has shook his head. “No, sorry. I was the only one available to come tonight.”
The woman looked him up and down and snorted. “The fire ninja couldn’t come?”
Cole held back the want to roll his eyes. So, she just wanted to get at Kai. “No, he’s busy,” he replied in the most polite voice he could muster.
She scoffed and marched away from him.
He shrugged. Whatever. Good riddance.
After that, Cole overheard an awkward argument between a girl and her friend.
“Come on, Mia! Go talk to him!” one girl said, non-discreetly urging her in Cole’s direction.
“Ugh, but I don’t want to, Riley!” the girl, Mia, groaned.
“It’s not like he’s doing anything else! He’s been standing at the drink table all night! Besides, imagine how cool you’ll be when you go to school Monday and tell everyone you danced with one of the ninja!” Riley argued.
Mia hummed in thought. “Yeah, but I’d rather it be the fire ninja!”
Another girl who wants to get in Kai’s pants, Cole thought, slightly agitated but grateful that he never had to deal with any of the crazed fans like Kai did.
“Yeah, but he’s not here, so this one will have to do!”
Mia then leaned in and began whispering something to Riley. Cole wished he could say he didn’t care to know what they were saying, but the lonesome teenage in him took over and he leaned a bit closer and listened a bit more intently.
“— I can’t be seen with the earth and food ninja, he’s, ehhh, he’s just not my type, ya know? He’s a little too chubby and if I go around telling people I was with him can you imagine what guys at school would think they’d have a chance with me?”
Cole stiffened. Is that… is that… true? He had been eating a lot more than usual lately, but… he didn’t want to! People just kept giving him food and expecting him to eat it and he couldn’t say no because they made it specifically for him because they thought he’d like it and he wants to make his friends happy! Besides, he trains a lot and he can’t go a day without exercising, does that do nothing for him but make him really strong?”
The Riley girl sighed. “Yeah I guess you’re right. Of all the ninja, why did the least interesting one have to be here?”
Cole wanted to speak up, but he knew it was just some popular teenage drama, and he wasn’t about to get into that. The team dropped out of school for a reason, their lives are hard enough without that toxicity.
Still, it hurt a bit. Not that he was into her in the slightest, but as a publicly closeted gay he can’t go around denying girls because he isn’t attracted to them.
He was probably dodging a bullet. If she did talk to him and they ended up dancing, he would just be next week’s gossip. Some lie twisted by the popular tyrants of Ninjago High.
He’s worth more than that.
Besides, it’s not fat, no no no, it’s just muscle. It’s just hard to tell beneath his dead shirt, vest, and jacket…
And of course he was the least interesting! He was silent, closed off! He didn’t talk much during interviews like the rest of the team because he preferred the background! He didn’t flirt with girls on the streets like Kai or crack jokes like Jay! Naturally, he’d be considered the ‘least interesting’!
It was just a string of bad luck. Just some mean girls, two of whom must have some rich parents because teens aren’t really supposed to attend banquets thrown by the mayor.
People didn’t hate him that much, they just loved Kai that much. And who could blame them? Kai’s attractive, flirtatious, radiates power, and extroverted, as opposed to his silent, strong, introverted self!
Things went from bad to worse as the night went on.
He didn’t feel comfortable asking anyone to dance, and he was too anxious to start a conversation with anyone, so Cole spent the evening standing by the refreshments table, drinking water whenever he got thirsty.
It was weird… for awhile everyone seemed to be focused solely on dancing but… as the night went on, he found that people were starting to stare at him. And not stare at him in awe because he was a ninja, but as if he were doing something wrong.
Cole checked his hair in the reflection of his glass, but it was the same as when he arrived. His shirt was still tucked in, he hadn’t rolled the sleeves up, his pants weren’t wrinkled or dirty… what was he doing wrong.
Eventually, a man around the age of the woman from before finally approached him and blatantly demanded, “Food ninja, why aren’t you eating?”
Cole blinked. “Excuse me?”
The man threw an exasperated look at his group of friends, who were slowly inching closer and closer to the conversation, before saying, “You’re the food ninja. You’re, like, obsessed with food and desserts and you haven’t eaten anything tonight, what’s up with that?”
It felt as if someone had stabbed him in the gut. “I-I’m not hungry…” he muttered sheepishly, slowly wrapping his arms around himself, almost like a protective bubble.
“Not hungry? What’s wrong with you? All anyone’s seen you do is eat!”
“That-that’s not-“
“The fire ninja is the angry hot one, the blue ninja is the funny one, the white one is the serious one, the green one is the hero, then there’s the girl, and there’s you, the ninja who eats a lot!” the man exclaimed, drawing the attention of most of the room, who all now stopped to watch.
“I- those are just stereotypes!” Cole meekly replied, willing the rage inside of him to fade so he wouldn’t act out in public.
“Okay, then tell us something about yourself, food ninja, what do you do other than eat?”
Cole felt everyone’s gaze on him. Was he being set up? Surely citizens were more competent than that! Were they just trying to get him to make a scene? Was this some sort of test? His breathing was getting faster and faster. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“I like to draw! I read a lot, and I’m actually pretty serious too! I used to dance, but now the only dance I enjoy is a hip-hop type of dance, I climb trees and go on walks— I love nature so much!” he wanted to say, but his words were caught in his throat.
Everyone was staring at him.
Then he heard a snicker. Soon, more and more people were trying to hide their laughter.
He can’t let this be on the news. He can’t let this incident get publicized. He can’t be the one who starts giving the ninja a bad rap. He can’t he can’t he can’t he can’t he can’t—
His eyes flickered into the cruel eyes of the man before him for just a moment, before he hung his head.
The man chuckled. “See, you’re the food ninja. The food ninja eats.”
Cole, defeated, just nodded.
As he turned to walk away, probably to the food table to fulfill his stereotype, he heard whispers.
“Heh, didn’t think he’d just give up like that. He can’t hold his ground. No wonder he’s the least valuable ninja.”
Cole clenched his fists. How did that phrase get out? Who spread it?
“I bet he didn't want to eat because he noticed how much weight he’s been gaining. He can’t keep up with the other ninja if he gets much fatter,” a female ‘whispered’ to her friend, who in turn attempted to hide a laugh.
Cole looked down at himself as he continued to trudge along. Was he really gaining weight that fast? Was it that noticeable?
“I think he’s funny. Ya know, he’s just so relatable because I wish I could stuff my face all of the time and then work it off like he does. I heard that’s why he trains so much.”
Cole scrunched his nose. He didn’t… he didn’t just eat all of the time and then work it off. Yeah, he works hard, trains a lot, exercises a lot, but he does that to prepare, not to lose weight he gained…
“I really wish the other ninja were here. They do more than just stand around and eat. Like, FSM, at least talk to us, right?” Laughter followed.
Cole held back tears. So, was he reduced to the food ninja because that’s all that was memorable about him? Was he really that bland and boring?
“Maybe I didn’t talk to you all because you were too busy talking about me behind my back!” he wanted to scream at the group. But he didn’t.
He eyes the cake on the table. His stomach flipped and his mouth felt dry. He didn’t want to eat the cake right now. He was so sick of cake! He had it like five times a week! He was starting to intensely dislike the taste and texture of cake!
… but everyone was watching him. He took a shaky breath before cutting a piece and placing it on his plate.
“Hey, save some cake for the rest of us, eh?” someone shouted at him when they saw the cake on his plate. The room erupted into laughter and Cole begrudgingly shrugged and shoveled cake into his mouth as they expected him to.
The party lit up again. People went back to dancing, the room was loud and full again…
But not before he heard a girl murmur, “FSM, what a pig.”
~~~
“How was the party?” Jay asked from the couch when he heard Cole enter the room later that night.
Cole grunted and shrugged. “Fine, I guess. Really wish you guys were there. I didn’t know anyone, it was kinda awkward… everyone was asking about you guys, though.”
He looked at the scene before him. The whole team was in the living room, half on the couch and half on the floor. Nya was surrounded by tissues and wrapped in a blanket, a bowl beside her, and Zane and Lloyd looked as if they had just gotten out of the shower. His heart ached. If they were all home… why didn’t they come late?
Zane gave him a sympathetic look. “I apologize, brother. If Lloyd and I had known our mission would have ended before you got home, we would have joined you without thought.”
Lloyd snorted. “After we got all of that mud off of us.”
Zane giggles. “Yes, after we washed all of the mud off!”
The group laughed, and it was almost like Cole was invisible. He was the only one who didn’t understand.
He started towards the fridge, as the guests at the banquet had insisted he take some leftovers to “appease his appetite”, and he wanted to put them away, when suddenly the group remembered he was there.
“Didn’t you eat at the party?” Kai bluntly asked. “Eh, just didn’t finish the chicken, okay? Zane’s using it for dinner tomorrow.”
Cole blushed, biting his lip, as he placed the leftovers in the back. He wasn’t hungry, but suddenly he felt like everyone was watching him again.
He slowly grabbed the box of leftover pizza, his stomach aching at the sight, and brought it with him to the couch.
He plopped down beside Jay, rolled his sleeves up, and carelessly threw his tie on the floor, before starting a piece of cold pizza.
He wanted to throw up.
~~~
Eat eat eat eat eat
Cole didn’t want seconds during dinner tonight, but it seemed like everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to pile mountains more food on his plate so they could say “First Spinjitzu Master, Cole, Save some for the rest of us!” and laugh, as they do every night. He knew they meant no harm, but...
Eat eat eat eat eat
He felt sick. He couldn’t eat anymore. But he had to. Everyone was watching him.
Shove it down.
Just keep eating.
Don’t look up.
Focus on the food.
First Spinjitzu Master, when had he gained all of this weight… it’s because he was a pig. A disgusting pig. That’s why no one likes him, yeah, because he’s a fat pig.
Eat eat eat eat eat eat
He couldn’t eat anymore.
His stomach ached, he mouth burned…
But he had to. He is his appetite. If he doesn’t eat he’s not important. If he doesn’t eat will anyone know who he is?
He vigorously shoved more food in his mouth, then excused himself to go to the bathroom.
Laughter.
His throat burned.
He panted, attempting to ignore the burning sensation before once more lifting his fingers to his mouth and puking.
Too fat. His dad would be so disappointed.
Too fat means too slow means too useless on missions.
The scent of the vomit only served to aid in his purging, the smell was putrid.
Why did it hurt so much? So much pain.
Panting. He was panting.
This was what he was supposed to do, right? If he’s not hungry, then who is he?
His head hung, resting on the toilet seat, all thoughts of sanitary had left his mind after his first round of purging all those weeks ago.
Who is he?
He was coughing now. His knees ached, his throat burned, his lips were dry, and his head pounded.
He begrudgingly lifted his heavy head, wiping the leftover spit of vomit running down his chin. Like always, he shakily grabbed the febreeze and sprayed the room, praying that no one would be able to smell it.
Let them think what they want.
He attempted to steady the shaking of his hands.
Then he walked back into the kitchen.
He was… hungry.
“I bring you pain, the kind you can’t suffer quietly. Fire up your brain, remind you inside you’re rioting, society is slipping, everything’s slipping away...”
~~~
I don’t know. Might make a sequel where Zane catches him puking.
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Ninjago Tag Meme
tagged by @firstfandomfangirl
imma cri I haven’t watched the show in a couple months
1. Favorite character?
Jayyyyy
2. Favorite Episode?
Oh gosh there’s so many I can never decide uhhh I love Double Trouble, Island of Darkness, Codename: Arcturus, The Void, The Forgotten Element, Stiix and Stones, pretty much all of season 6???, SCAVENGERS GOODNESS IT CRACKS ME UP, and uhhh I haven’t seen the next two seasons more than once so I don’t really remember any favorite episodes but any scene with Cole singing glow worm is a good scene
3. Favorite Season
UHHHHHHHHHHHHH season 6???????? all of them???? idk???
4. Favorite Whip
uhh the time one
5. Favorite Enemy(ies)
Garmadon and Morro
6. If you could spend the day with any character, who would it be?
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm actually Cole honestly he’s more of my best friendo type
7. Train with Wu or train with Garmadon?
G A R M A D O N he’s superior in every way shape and form
8. Lloyd or Morro? Why?
Okay if it’s pre movie designs Lloyd then I would choose Morro but if it’s post movie designs then Lloyd
9. Fangpyre venom, Great Devourer venom, or Tiger Widow venom?
Fangpyre cause I love turning into snakes angst
10. Which parts (scenes) made you cry?
I uhh don’t ever remember crying but Zane’s death scene still smacks me with feels
11. How long have you been a fan?
*squint* August 2015 I think but I started watching it maybe a month or two before that
12. What are your thoughts on movie Zane?
I LOVE HIM HE’S PURE
13. Would you rather die like Morro originally did, or like Zane did?
Uh Zane duh I would do anything for my friendos
I guess I’ll tag @alotofninjagostuff bold of me to assume she ever sees she gets tagged until years later
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The one where Lloyd was bored
This is for that anon who sent me the prompt, I know I kind of went off into angst land a little bit but I hope you like it!
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Alright he admitted it. Lloyd the green ninja of prochepy, the one who had the power to defeat the overlord (no matter how much it hurt) and has helped save ninjago many many times. Was completely and utterly board.
He had tried to hang out with the ninja but the last time he had seen Zane and Jay it looked like they were fleeing from an overpowered training bot. Cole was cooking and no one wanted to get into the middle of that. Nya was off with Skylor and he was almost positive if he interrupted Nya would somehow find away to get itching powder into his suit again. Even if he was wearing it.
That left Kai.
“Lloyd?”
Speak of the devil and he shall spear.
“Why are you on the floor?” came the slightly surprised question from the red ninja.
“Didn’t you hear? Its all the rage now a days. Then again. You are getting on in years” the blonde teen smirked at his older friend. Or was it child? Lloyd was still confused about that. Huh imagine that. Being confused about your on age. Lloyd closed his eyes attempting to turn his thoughts away from wandering down that path again. He was fine, really he was.
“Oh I see how it green bean.” Kai narrowed his eyes at the little green monkey he called his brother. “Fine I guess I’ll leave you here as I go on an amazing adventure without you.” Kai turned his back watching for Lloyds reaction from the corner of his eye.
Lloyd popped one eye open. Glancing warily at their resident hothead with growing excitement. “What kind of adventure?”
Kai grinned slightly, he had him. “Oh you known Just a little bit of friendly competition. You,me. The dragons and the sky.”
“…loser buys noodles at Skylors place?”
“Do you even have money?” The spikey haired ninja raised his eyebrows at Lloyd.
“Possibly, but it doesn’t matter anyways. Since I’m going to win.” Lloyd responded as he stood up. Now to the untrained ear it may sound like he was arrogant. But he knew Kai. He knew the way he would struggle to adjust his dragons acceleration to match the wind force, or how sometimes his dragon would breathe fire in front of his opponent. That’s not to say that Kai didn’t know every trick Lloyd had up his sleave as well.
Forming their dragons was one of Kai’s faviorte things to do. Calming your mind and watching your soul take form as a dragon was an energy fix like no other.
As they took off in the sky Kai made sure to subtly look out for Lloyd. While he trusted him with his life, Lloyd did still struggle with maintaining his dragon and they didn’t need another incident like last time.
Lloyd breathed in the harsh air as it tore through his lungs when they spiraled downwards. Up here in the clouds it felt like nothing could get him. Morro couldn’t reach him and the nightmares could try as hard as they could to tear him down but he was to high up. Where the expectations of the world couldn’t touch him. Up here he felt… free.
Kai grinned seeing his brother like this. Recently they had been worried. Lloyd thought he could hide it but they saw. They Saw the way his eyes dimmed when he used his powers. Surprise hidden in there. As if he expected something else to come out. Saw the way he flinched every time the wind picked up. Or how he would suddenly pale when a fan ran up begging him to tell the story of how he defeated his father all those years ago. But looking at him,as they raced to the ground at breakneck speeds. Playing chicken to see who would pull out first. Kai knew he would be okay. It may take sometime but Lloyd could heal, and they would be with him every step of the way.
“Alright bud,” he whispered to his dragon. “Let’s finish this.“his dragon started to inhale deeply. Lloyd looked over eyes widening as he heard the sound and noticed the smirk that Kai’s lips had formed.
“Oh no you dont!” The Blonde laughed as he sped up in an attempt at avoiding the fire.
They returned to the temple with singed eyebrows and a grin on there mouths.
Sitting at the table with his family cracking jokes. Jay subtly trying to slide his food onto Zanes plate never noticing as Zane did the exact same thing. Cole digging into food only he could stomach. Nya had tried to get out of it by claiming sick but sensei Wu had suggested a special tea. That statement made her feel better real quick. Lloyd glanced around and knew, that while he may not be fine.
He would be, eventually.
#ninjago#lloyd garmadon#kai smith#jay walker#cole brookstone#zane julien#nya smith#my give#prompts#my first time posting a fix#please send me constructive criticism
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Tagjago
Tagged by @electric-bluejay heck why
Rules: Answer the questions and tag whoever you would like to. At least 5.
1) Favorite Character(s) - hhhhhhhhhh I love all of them help
2) Favorite Episode - hhhhhhhhhhhhh ALL
3) Favorite Season - s4 tournament of elements
4) Favorite Whip - A tie between the Anacondrai Whip and the rebooted whip
5) Favorite Enemy(s) - hhhhhhhhh ALL OF THEM HELP HELP HELP
6) If you could spend a day with any character, who would it be? - hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I CAN’T CHOOSE HELP MEEEEEEEE
7) Train with Wu or train with Garmadon: GARMY
8) Lloyd or Morro? Why? - Lloyd. Before ninjavatar it would probably be Morro but now Lloyd is my child
9) Fangpyre Venom, Great Devourer Venom, or Tiger Widow Venom -
welp I like the angst that comes along with the devourer venom but it’s not the one I would like in me.
10) Which Part(s) made you cry? - A LOT
11) How long have you been a fan? - heck uhhhhhhh right when rebooted started idek when that was
12) What are your thoughts on movie Zane? - help me I’m scared help me he’s too cute help me he looks like such a flat character help me I need more help me they’ve reduced his whole character to the word robot help me I must protect him
13) Would you rather die like Morro originally did (no Cursed Realm) or die like Zane did? - Idk which one was less painful... probably Morro’s so that I guess
uhhhhhhhh *runs away*
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Neck Deep - The New Era Of Pop Punk Scenes
Neck Deep have bounced into success with their fresh approach to modern day pop-punk, and with their debut album Wishful Thinking receiving an incredibly positive response, we caught up with them amidst their UK headline tour to talk about how it all started for the band as we reminisce about what it was like discovering music growing up.
First thing’s first, where did the name Neck Deep come from?
Lloyd: Title Fight
Ben: Haha fuck off. It came from a Crucial Dudes song, the song is Boom Roasted and there’s a line in there that’s “neck deep in what you couldn’t be” and I just thought Neck Deep, that kinda clicks. It’s nice and snappy, it’s short…
L: Everyone thinks it’s from a Title Fight song, but it’s not.
Well there we go. Now, there’s this new era of pop-punk in the UK at the moment and you guys are kind of at the forefront of it. How do you feel about being the leaders of a new pop-punk generation?
Fil: Definitely, though I don’t think we are the leaders.
B: I don’t think we are THE leaders, but if people see us as that, I mean there’s a lot of other good bands out there doing some really good stuff so I don’t think we’re the only ones. But, to be a part of that whole revival is awesome. Considering we were all big pop-punk fans.
F: Yeah, we all grew up listening to it, so it’s just playing what we like the most really and it just happened to coincide with when people were like “oh I actually kind of like this again now”.
So what bands influenced the formation of Neck Deep? What were your favourite albums growing up?
Matt: We’ve got all sorts really.
L: Take This To Your Grave by Fall Out Boy.
M: Dookie by Green Day.
B: Any Blink or New Found album.
F: Sticks And Stones, the self-titled one.
B: Pretty much just ALL the pop-punk, Sum 41.
L: All the classics.
B: Basically anything that was on Kerrang back in the day I used to really listen to. I even used to have a soft spot for American Hi-Fi, just shit like that that came out in the early 2000s.
L: Like Goldfinger.
B: Anything that was on Tony Hawks or Kerrang in the early 2000s is what we were getting into
L: We could name SO many bands
B: Yeah anything from that era, because we were all kids so that’s how we found our music. We didn’t go on the internet and search for it, it was either on TV or in a game, or CDs that came with magazines.
M: When you wanted to see Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit and you had to sit there for 4 hours waiting for it to come on.
B: Or, what was that Kid Rock song?
L: American Badass was the best.
B: American Badass, that was it! There we go, Kid Rock was our main influence.
Haha, amazing! Now, you’ve already received a lot of great feedback for your album [Wishful Thinking], does it feel that the hard work is finally paying off?
B: Yeah definitely.
F: I mean, it’s not even technically out yet but we did the stream and everyone seems to really like it.
B: But the fact that, we were all starting to get a bit anxious because we’ve had it for so long.
F: Yeah it feels like we’ve had it forever.
B: It feels almost old to us now, but to have it out there and for people to be giving us such a good response and to be able to play the songs live finally, yeah, it’s a good feeling.
What were the influences when writing the record?
B: All sorts really. We wanted to take it back, because there is this whole new wave of pop-punk and we wanted to sound like classic pop-punk, but just done well.
L: That’s what we listened to, that’s what pop-punk is to us. We’re not trying to make a new sub-genre of pop-punk, we’re not trying to be like “Oh my god it’s so original” we just want to make dead good, catchy pop-punk.
B: Like the stuff we listened to when we were younger, because they are still our influences. The music that we grew up on is still the music we listen to day-to-day. We didn’t want to make a fucking genre-defining album; we just wanted to have a good crack at making some solid pop-punk.
Are there any particular stories or themes in the writing, on the lyrical side of things?
B: I just sort of write from experience and what’s going on in my life at the time, and writing the whole album we were all pretty happy. Like, a lot of people have already said “Oh this album is so happy” and I guess it’s because we were all pretty stoked the whole time, we’re not negative people.
L: We’re not kids, we’re 22 now. We’re not 16 year-old kids that are dead angsty, so not every song is going to be like “I’m so full of angst grrrrr”.
B: Yeah, at this point in our lives, we’re doing this pretty much, not as a living but we’re doing this full-time and that’s all we’ve ever wanted to do and as far as our personal lives go I think we’re all fairly happy so it kinda shows through in the album. I think general themes throughout the album lyrically are probably; growing up and rather than being like “my fucking ex-girlfriend moan moan moan” I actually wrote about being in love instead.
F: Gay.
B: Fuck off! You listen to Blink and you listen to all the love songs they’ve got, they’ve got loads!
M: Have they?
F: Yeah of course they have!
B: Going Away to College, Josie… Mark writes loads of love songs.
M: And the other one [Tom DeLonge] writes about shitting and pissing everywhere.
L: Well he did like 20 years ago, now he writes about fucking space!
B: But yeah, with us it’s definitely about growing up, being in love and some other bits and bobs here and there.
F: Bit more diverse than the EP isn’t it, it covers a bit more ground in terms of themes.
B: Yeah definitely.
What’s your favourite track and why?
F: Oooooh, erm. What’s the last one called again? Candour? Yeah probably Candour. Just, because it’s so fucking good.
L: Candour is mine as well.
B: Mine is probably either Losing Teeth or Damsel In Distress.
F: Or Staircase Wit actually.
M: I like Zoltar Speaks, because I really like the chorus in that and the bit at the beginning is hilarious.
L: Candour’s just got all the FEELS man.
Dani: I think Mileage is pretty good.
F: Yeaaah Mileage is a tune, I like that one.
M: Tell you what, we like the whole album.
Haha! Okay, good. So what are you hoping to achieve from this tour?
(This is where Dani said something rude and the boys demanded we don’t quote it, we’ll leave it up to you to work it out)
B: I’d said just for us to put on a show, to showcase us.
F: It’s a bit of a chance to prove that we can do a headline tour, because we’ve not really been around that long.
L: Show people we can actually do it.
F: Because we had no idea how well it’d actually do, but a bunch of the shows are sold out so we’re really happy with that.
B: We just want to give people a good show mainly, to show off us rather than us supporting someone. Not that we don’t like supporting people but…
F: We’re dead big believers in putting on a show, we haven’t done anything crazy yet but we never want to just fucking come out, go “here’s a song, here’s a song, here’s another song” we’re always trying to think of little things we can do.
B: Foam, fireworks…
M: We’re sorting out a little firework thing to go on the end of my guitar.
B: I thought you were going to say on the end of your knob then.
L: We’re not fucking Rammstein.
Ahahaha! Right, and obviously you’ve kicked the New Year off in style with the tour, how can the year get better for you?
B: More touring.
L: Loads more touring, we’re going to some places we’ve never been.
F: Tour in hot places.
B: And hoping that the album does well, we still have the success of that to see to.
L: Yeah, as much as we like the album and at the end of the day we’re happy with it and that’s all that matters. BUT at the same time, you want to know that other people have enjoyed all the effort that you put into it. So, if people want to actually purchase it and not illegally download it, that’d be great.
F: If you’re going to illegally download it at least come to a show.
B: Yeah, so basically we just want everyone to enjoy the album and tour as much as possible.
Interview By: Tamsyn Wilce (BTNUK)
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those left behind (part three)
Read on FFN.
In the aftermath of Harumi and Garmadon and the loss of Ninjago, Lloyd and Nya try to piece together what’s left of their family - and figure out what comes next. It’s a slow process.
(Aka Crippling Angst! Post-Finale Edition)
The noodle shop is unusually dark when Lloyd finally reaches it, slipping down from the rooftops when the street is clear. Skylor's shop is in a part of town spared from the worst of the destruction, but it's obvious she hasn't been left alone - or if she has, she's taking precautions. The neon-lit sign is dark and the windows are boarded up, though Lloyd can see bright lights and hear the sounds of life through the cracks. From what Lloyd has gathered from people, she's been giving away whatever food she has, offering up the restaurant as a shelter to those who have lost their homes.
The apartment above the restaurant, though, still belongs solely to her. Lloyd just hopes she doesn't punch him in the face for breaking in.
She doesn't. In fact, it looks as if she's been expecting him, her expression only slightly surprised when he climbs through her window, after knocking quietly to warn her. The first thing she does is immediately cross over to him, pulling him into an embrace so tight Lloyd feels his ribs creak.
"Lloyd, I...I heard what happened," Skylor says, her voice heavy as she pulls back. She looks as pretty as she always does, her bright red hair twisted into her signature ponytail, but her eyes are slightly puffy, as if she's been crying a lot recently (Lloyd would know).
"I saw – I saw it," she continues, her voice hitching as she suddenly pulls him back into another hug. "I'm so sorry."
Lloyd's heart twists at the pain in her voice as he returns her embrace, clinging tightly to her, but he can't help but be thankful that he doesn't have to explain to yet another person what Garmadon did. Skylor finally releases him for good, giving him just enough time to compose his expression.
"We're going to fight back," he tells her, after taking a breath. "Nya and Pixal and I - a few others, too, but we – we don't really have anywhere to stay, and we-"
"Of course," Skylor says, without even needing to hear the question. "Downstairs is pretty crowded, but I should have enough room up here to fit you guys. The shop's not the best place for a secret base, but…it's worked. Just let me know what you need me to do."
Lloyd has to blink rapidly against the burning in his eyes at that. Skylor sounds determined, strong and steady.
And like she actually trusts him-
"Thank you," he says, as if he can convey what this means with two pathetic words.
Skylor gives him a half-smile. "Of course," she says, tapping him gently in the arm. "Anything for a friend."
Lloyd tries to return her smile, but it feels like he fails miserably. Something suddenly occurs to him.
"You said you saw - are you okay?" he asks, worried. "You weren't anywhere near that - that thing, were you?"
"I'm fine," Skylor says, reassuringly. "I was pretty sheltered when everything went down." Her eyebrows crease in concern. "How are you doing? I can't imagine-"
"I'm fine," Lloyd says, abruptly. "I'm just - I'm staying on track. I need to fix this, so-"
Skylor's hand circles around his arm, gentle but firm. Lloyd meets her gaze, and he's thrown to see tears glimmering in her eyes.
"I loved him too, Lloyd," she breathes, her voice shaky. "I get it."
Lloyd's heart constricts, and he feels the burning sensation in his eyes intensify. I'm sorry, he wants to wail. I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, it's my fault you lost him-
"Come on," Skylor says, still holding his arm as she pulls him downstairs. "I'll introduce you to everyone."
Getting 'introduced to everyone' ends up being more like 'getting roped into serving food while Skylor's harried-looking staff barely give him a second glance', but Lloyd doesn't mind. The restaurant is full and active, people from all walks of life crammed into every corner - the offer of shelter and free food is a hard one to pass up. They need all the help they can get, and Lloyd gets to be useful for once, so that's - that's nice.
He eventually finds himself beside Skylor again, who has yet to let him out of her sight, filling up the familiar red and gold take-out boxes with food for people and handing them off to servers. A dark-haired woman walks up, her forehead creased as she addresses Skylor. "I'm sorry, but I have to go - the rest of my family is still at home, and I…"
"Don't worry about it, Lloyd can cover for you once he's done here. Go ahead and go," Skylor says, with a tilt of her head at him. Lloyd shrugs in compliance, sealing up the box he's working on and handing it off to the woman.
The woman glances at him as she reaches for it, opening her mouth - then abruptly does a double-take. Her expression softens, and she gives him a pitying look, taking the box from him with extra gentleness. She gives him one last sympathetic look before walking away, handing the box off to a young boy who's staring at Lloyd like he's a ghost.
Lloyd frowns, confused. She's not the first person to give him a look like that tonight. Everywhere he goes, he seems to be getting odd looks like that, ones of affected pity. It could be that his father is the city's new tyrannical…dictator, or whatever he is, but it's still a little strange-
"The TV was on in the shop the other night," Skylor says, quietly.
It takes Lloyd a minute to figure out why that's important, but when he does, his stomach drops.
Oh. Oh no.
"Guess you saw the show, then," he says, his voice tight. There are hundreds, thousands of TV's on display in Ninjago. Every one of these people probably saw it.
He hadn't been surprised, per say, to find out that Harumi would pull something like broadcasting the complete shattering of his soul along with the better part of his body to all of Ninjago – after everything else she's done to him, it's hardly out of character.
That doesn't mean he's anywhere remotely near okay with it.
"I cut the power," Skylor says, cutting through his brief flare of panic.
Lloyd stills. Once again, he feels an overwhelming rush of gratitude for Skylor. No wonder Kai-
"Thank you," he says, swallowing. "That – means a lot."
Skylor gives him a gentle nudge. "They like to think they're looking out for you, that's all," she says, quietly. "After everything you've done for them, the city kind of sees you as their own, you know?"
Lloyd doesn't know – he's the one who failed the city. He's the reason all these people are living in terror right now, why half their homes are destroyed. They should hate him.
But he just swallows and nods, filling boxes with an almost manic sort of concentration. Work like this can be mind-numbing, which is something Lloyd would really, really like right now.
He helps Skylor fill the rest of the boxes with food and then makes his way into the crowds of people, making sure the hood of his jacket is securely up and carefully keeping his head down as he hands people the boxes. Aside from murmured thanks, he's not acknowledged much, everyone either too shaken, too scared, or too busy clinging to their families, looking lost and haunted.
Lloyd feels his throat close up. All these people are here because he lost. They're like this because of him.
He blinks furiously as he stops at the next table, where a woman is sitting with a little girl by her side, talking in a hushed voice to the man across her. He carefully sets a box in front of them, the woman barely pausing to nod at him in thanks.
Before Lloyd can leave, the girl, who can't be older than eight, squints up at him, her eyes suddenly widening. "You're the ninja!" she gasps. "The green one! You're alive!"
"Um - yeah," Lloyd says, internally flailing. "I'm, uh, breathing, and everything, so-"
"I thought you were dead," she says, her tiny face going somber. "You went through all those walls-"
"Mei!" her mother hisses in horror, her hand flying over her daughter's mouth. She looks up at Lloyd, mortified. "I'm so sorry, she was watching on the TV and she won't stop talking about it-"
Lloyd shakes his head, trying to fight back the rising wave of panic on his gut, the dizzying anxiety threatening to strangle him.
"It's fine," he gets out, mentally begging the little girl not to say anything else, not to talk about it, to please stop talking about it-
"I have something for you!" the girl says, squirming out of her mother's hold and wrestling something from her jacket pocket. "Here," she says, proudly handing out a neon pink band-aid. "These are my favorite kind, they always make me feel better." She pauses, frowning up at him. "I guess I should'a grabbed a lot more, though…"
"Mei," her mother says weakly, but Lloyd leans forward, taking the band-aid from her with slightly shaky fingers.
"Thanks," he says, giving her a tremulous smile as he pulls the band-aid loose, sticking it over one of the purple-black bruises on his exposed wrist. "Feels better already."
The girl grins brightly at him. "I told you so," she says. "See, mom? They always help."
"That's - that's nice, Mei," her mother says, before glancing up at Lloyd. Her expression softens. "Thank you," she says, quietly. "She's a big fan, that means a lot."
"Of course," Lloyd says, hoping his smile isn't as weak as he feels. He needs to get out of here now, this was a mistake-
"What happened…" the woman shakes her head. "She's not our princess. We're behind you, all of us."
Lloyd remembers Skylor's words, about the city looking out for him. He swallows.
"Thank you," he says, his voice almost a whisper. The woman gives him a gentle smile, and the girl waves cheerily at him as he slips away, his heart beating painfully in his chest. He glances down at the bright pink strip on his wrist, pausing. He misses the days he believed that band-aids could fix everything. It can't have been that long ago that he was that young, but it feels like an eternity-
He's yanked from his thoughts as the door rattles, sending everyone in the shop into a tense silence. Lloyd immediately relaxes as Nya and Misako walk in, followed closely by one of Skylor's employees, who bolts the door behind him.
Skylor darts forward, immediately embracing Nya tightly. Nya clings to her almost desperately, her expression screwing up, and Lloyd looks away, swallowing.
"Hey, mom," he says, as Misako embraces him. "Any luck with Mistaké?"
"Nothing," his mother says, her expression downcast. "The shop was dark when we got there, and there were too many of those bikers on the streets to get any closer."
Lloyd looks down, deflating. "We can try again later," he says, taking a breath and looking back up at his mother. "I'm sure she's fine, mom."
"It's not her I'm most worried about," Misako says, her eyes creasing further. Lloyd shifts awkwardly, and Nya and Skylor break apart, joining them before he has to come up with a reply.
Skylor steps toward Misako, addressing her. "I heard about everything, I'm so glad you're alright."
"We're better off now, thank to you," she says, smiling at Skylor. "And thank you for letting your friend know about us."
"Oh, yeah," Skylor says, as if suddenly remembering her employee. She motions to the dark-haired man that led them in, pulling him over to the group. "Lloyd, this is Dario, he's solid - Dario, you know him, this is the green ninja," Skylor says. "Lloyd Garmadon."
Lloyd stiffens.
I have no son.
"Just Lloyd, actually," he says, quietly. Misako goes still, and Skylor's eyebrows shoot up.
Dario looks between them, as if sensing the suddenly awkward air. "Uh, nice to meet you…?"
"Here, I need your help in the kitchen," Skylor says, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from Lloyd and Misako, mercifully ending that exchange. Unfortunately, this leaves Lloyd alone with his mother, who doesn't exactly look thrilled with him right now.
"Lloyd, you can't throw away your family name like that," she says, staring hard at him. "I know it's hard, but you can't just-"
"I'm not throwing away anything," Lloyd says, agitated. "I just – I'm giving it a break, okay, mom? I doubt anyone's gonna be happy with the reminder that the person trying to help them is the son of the person that's tearing their city apart."
"Son-"
"Hey, Lloyd, can I borrow you for a minute?" Skylor suddenly reappears, grabbing Lloyd's arm before Misako can get a word in edgewise. "Thanks, we'll be right back," she says, flashing her a smile.
Skylor drags Lloyd through the crowds and back upstairs, pulling him through her jarringly quiet apartment and out onto the little balcony overlooking the streets. She finally lets him go, stretching her arms over her head before leaning against the rusty old railing, releasing a pent-up breath as she stares out over the streets.
Lloyd joins her after a second, leaning carefully against the railing next to her and saying nothing.
"You know," Skylor says, breaking the silence. "It's okay to be angry at him."
Lloyd glances at her, and she shifts. "I mean, I get that – that it's not really your father in there, Nya was telling me about it. So it's not really his fault, but-" she pauses, her cheeks puffing up as she blows a breath out, tense.
"I hated my father," she says, her voice bitter. "I mean, I loved him, because he was my father, but he used me. Used me to hurt the people I cared about, to attack Ninjago. And he hurt me. It wasn't the same situation as you, not by a long shot, but…"
Lloyd says nothing, wrapping his arms around himself, his fingers clenching tightly into the skin of his arm.
"The staff – you know, the one that took all your elements – it had something to do with it. I watched as it took everything that was good about him left and twisted it, little by little, until he was someone I didn't even recognize anymore." Skylor looks out over the skyline, blinking rapidly. "And I just…I remember thinking, asking myself, why I wasn't enough. Why I couldn't keep him with me, why I wasn't enough for him to resist it."
Lloyd blinks rapidly against the burning in his own eyes, his lips pressed tightly together and his fingers digging so tightly into his arm that he's going to have bruises.
"It sucked," Skylor says, her voice watery as she gives a bitter, rueful laugh. "Sorry, this – probably isn't helping any. I just…" she shakes her head, looking up at the sky, moisture sparkling at the edges of her eyes. "He was the first one to really see me, you know, back at the island. He – he would know how to deal with this. What to say."
Lloyd doesn't have to ask to know who she's talking about. He doesn't want to, because hearing his name right now will break his composure, which is barely held together as it is.
"You're not alone, okay?" she finally says, her voice steadier. "Just, remember that. If you ever want to talk – or if you never do – you're not alone."
Lloyd glances over at her, and his heart drops as he sees tears spilling over from her eyes, leaving sparkling trails down her cheeks. Skylor doesn't even acknowledge them, her expression unchanging as the tears drip down onto her shirt collar, leaving tiny little splotches.
Lloyd is frozen, unsure of what to do - comfort her, he should comfort her, he should say something, but how can he say something when this is all his fault-
"Skylor?" Lloyd's voice comes out a cracked whisper. "Thank you."
She takes a shaky breath, her eyes still on the city skyline as she wraps a hand around his arm, squeezing lightly in a comforting gesture.
"It's okay," she says, with a tremor in her voice. "We'll be okay."
She sounds like she doesn't believe herself. Lloyd doesn't, either, but he appreciates the sentiment.
"Huh, this is actually a pretty nice place," Ronin says, as he surveys Skylor's apartment from where they're crammed around her kitchenette table. "It looks a lot nicer than the outside."
"Hey, don't hate on it," Skylor says, shooting him a glare as she emerges from the stairwell. "Or I'll charge you double next time you come in."
"What, I don't qualify for the 'Ninjago is in ruins' evil-takeover discount?" Ronin says.
"Is that a thing?" Lloyd says, through a mouthful of noodles.
"It is for some people," Skylor says, as she sets a giant paper bag on the table. She pulls out several of the shop's takeout boxes, passing the food to those who aren't eating already. She snatches Ronin's away before he can grab it, giving him a look.
"Fine, fine, your apartment is a work of art," Ronin grumbles, and Skylor hands him the box.
"Thanks, Skylor," Nya says, her stomach growling as she opens her box. Food hasn't even crossed her mind in the past few days, and it's just now hitting her how long it's been since she's properly eaten.
Skylor waves off her thanks, pushing another box of food on Lloyd, who immediately starts devouring that as well, barely even pausing to inhale. Good, Nya thinks - he's thin enough as it is.
"So," Skylor says, taking a seat at the table with them. "Not that I'm not totally open to starting up a secret rebellion in my apartment, but do we have a plan of any kind?"
"Blow up Harumi," Lloyd mutters, stabbing at his food darkly.
"That's…not really an effective plan," Misako says, eyeing her son in concern.
"I disagree," Lloyd says, through another mouthful of noodles. "Harumi will be dead."
"He's got a point," Nya says.
"FSM help us," Ronin mutters, rubbing his temples wearily.
"Alright, let's talk about an actual plan," Misako sighs. "What do we know about the situation here in the city?"
"As far as I've seen, Harumi's the main one running the show," Skylor says. "Garmadon's a major player, but he's still on a leash."
"I thought so," Misako says. "Lloyd, you said he…" she hesitates.
Lloyd stiffens, obviously thinking back to memories he'd prefer not to relive. "There's…something in there with rational thought," he says, his voice eerily blank. "But he only seems to listen to Harumi, yeah."
"Huh," Ronin says. "So blowing up Harumi actually isn't that bad a plan."
"What about the people?" Nya asks, ignoring that one.
"So far, the majority of the citizens have been left alone," Pixal speaks up, the only one of them not to have taken food. "The few that have visibly protested Harumi's reign have been attacked or apprehended, but most of the citizens who are complying, or at least staying quiet, are safe."
"Pixal's right," Skylor chimes in. "The streets are running wild with Sons of Garmadon, but if you keep to yourself and stay inside, no one bothers you much. Of course, half the city is destroyed, so not everyone can do that," she finishes, bitterly.
"We're working on a way to help them out," Lloyd says. "If we can get them safely out of the city, we can see if other villages will shelter them."
"Oh yeah - then there's the matter of the other villages," Skylor says. "We don't know how far the Sons of Garmadon's reach goes, but I know some villages are pledging themselves to Garmadon out of sheer terror."
"Can't blame them," Ronin mutters. "That stone giant could wipe them out in minutes."
"Right now, our biggest priority is the actual city - we stop them here, we free the other villages," Misako says, looking up from Skylor's laptop, where Pixal has been downloading information. "Obviously, our biggest worry is that giant Colossi walking around, but the Sons of Garmadon pose a large threat as well. There's a lot more of them than we'd thought, so they're going to be spread pretty far over the city. Our priority is keeping the people safe, so we need to keep a constant eye on the Sons of Garmadon in case they attack any more innocent people."
"Okay, we have got to come up with a better name for them," Skylor says, rubbing her temples. "The 'Sons of Garmadon' is too much of a mouthful to keep saying over and over again."
"Just call 'em by their initials, then," Ronin says. "Problem solved."
"You mean like the letters, as in the ess-oh-gee's?" Skylor says. "Or like a word, as in the sogs – ugh, that doesn't work out well."
"I vote the SOG's, as in a word," Lloyd says. "It sounds dumb."
"Why is that your reasoning?" Ronin asks.
"They're dumb," he says, simply.
"I'm working with children," Ronin sighs.
"And this is new?" Nya says, kicking him under the table.
"Names aside," Misako cuts in, sounding strained. "We will need a plan for dealing with them, as well as the Colossi, eventually."
"There is considerable weaponry left in some of the old bases," Pixal says. "Not all of it is up to date, but it is a start."
"And I can build us something with whatever else is left," Nya says. "Maybe with enough firepower to make a dent in that thing."
"I will help you," Pixal says. "If we combine our knowledge, we will have a better chance."
"Build multiple weapons, then," Ronin says. "It's better if we're all prepared."
"How many guns do you need, anyways," Nya says, under her breath. Ronin winks at her.
"In the meantime, we can at least patrol the city as usual, and see if there are any citizens that need help," Lloyd says.
"That'll be risky, kid," Ronin says his forehead creasing. "Are you sure you're up to that? You know, with…" he gestures vaguely at Lloyd. "Your, uh, powers…and all." The others glance at Lloyd in concern at Ronin's point, Nya biting her lip.
Lloyd's fists tighten, his expression turning irritated. "I'm not a ninja for nothing, you know," he says, his voice strained. "Just because my powers don't work, that doesn't mean I can't fight."
"What happens if you run into Harumi?" Nya asks, thinking of the Oni mask.
"Or your father," Skylor adds, quietly.
"I've got two fists," Lloyd snaps, hotly. "I'll figure something out."
He's met with blank stares, and he deflates the slightest bit. "I'll get another sword," he says, dully.
"I'll make you a gun," Nya says, trying to inject some positivity into her voice. "A really powerful one."
"Thanks," Lloyd mutters.
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