#Let Lloyd and Cole be siblings I beg of you

[astroturf-enthusiast]

We were robbed of Lloyd and Cole having any bonding about their ghostly happenings

[kaiaden]

Ninjago Season 1 DR au

Prepare for madness.

Fic (this is still being written so some things may change depending on my opinions later on):

Kai had been traveling to the Monastery for a few weeks now. He couldn’t wait to arrive, he traveled through all kinds of new places on his way. He missed the others.

— The Merge was pure madness towards those final moments. At first, Jay was violently pulled and yanked into the middle of the storm with a scream as his mech was unable to withstand the pull of the storm.

Zane pulled a civilian on board before he was hit by some tech that didn’t look like it was from Ninjago, and was able sucked into the center. Not even a scream was heard.

Cole was next, he had tried his best but he was too close to the storm and before anyone could reach him, he was sucked in with a scream. “I’ll find you!”

The pull was stronger now and Kai held onto the ledge of the Bounty’s railing, holding onto Nya’s hand, who linked her other with Lloyd’s. “Don’t let go!” Kai screamed.

“I’m slipping!” Lloyd shouted, at the end of their small link, trying to hold onto his sister and brother.

“Lloyd!” Nya yelled, trying to pull their younger brother up with her arm.

Lloyd grabbed onto Nya’s hand with both hands as Kai tried to pull the two up, but the pull was too strong. “Please! Don’t let go! Don’t let go!” Kai begged his siblings.

Lloyd looked up and met the others eyes. Kai and Nya saw the look of anguish and fear on his face. “Please don’t let—“

Kai was cut off when Lloyd was yanked into the middle of the storm with a scream. “No!” Kai screamed out. Nya also suddenly was pulled in and Kai could only watch as his baby sister and brother, both whom he basically raised, were pulled into the middle of the storm. Not knowing what happened to them.

There was a flash of light and Kai screamed as his world broke down around him, and faded into darkness.

—

Kai didn’t know what to feel about the Merge. He had yet to find his teammates. He couldn’t think straight as he finally approached the Monastery.

The Bounty rumbled as it came to a stop, and Kai walked out onto the deck. He looked at the Monastery as he got off. Surely someone would have run to see who was here? Right?

Kai walked into the Monastery and found nothing but dust. The controllers that Kai and Jay had left behind in their rush were in the same spot, Zane’s pot of stew still on the stove, probably bad, Cole’s punching bad still on the floor from breaking the hook on the ceiling, Nya’s small project sat unfinished, her tools untouched, Lloyd’s favorite dragon plush on the floor.

Kai picked the plush up and brushed some of the dust off. Lloyd had just gotten the plush, it was weighted, along with the hoodie Lloyd had gotten for his 18th birthday, the day the Merge happened. Kai hugged the plush close to his chest and he fell to the floor. If only he could’ve pulled them up.

Maybe he wouldn’t be all alone.

This Au is where Lloyd doesn’t end up in the Monastery, leaving Kai to deal with it all. Where is Lloyd? And how will everything play out?

[doylldonmagar]

Ninjago headcanons. A couple years ago I posted a bunch of headcanons on Pinterest, so I decided to copy all the ones I could find over to Tumblr. So these are all mine, you may notice quite a few are about Zane, that's because I was a major Zane fan. I may reblog this with my more recent ones later. Hope you like them!

Lloyd is constantly finding stray cats and dogs and the little kid in him falls in love and he constantly brings them home and begs Wu to let him keep them. Wu always says no, but Lloyd secretly feeds them, and the Ninja find out and help him.

Jay and Zane have a lot of inside jokes. All the ninja have inside jokes with Zane bc Zane sees everything and makes everyone feel good about themselves so when Jay falls in the parking lot and Zane sees, it becomes a joke between the two of them and Zane will never tell anyone that Jay fell in the parking lot bc he is hecka loyal.

Zane is one of those people who are inzanely (did you see what I did there?) good at telling stories and reading books aloud, so he sometimes reads books to the ninja, and Lloyd loves it and it takes him back to when he was a kid and on nights when Lloyd can't sleep he'll go wake up Zane and Zane will tell him stories until he falls asleep. And some of the ninja complain about Zane reading to them bc they can't play video games while he does, but they all secretly love it.

Lloyd and Zane are super close.

Lloyd really doesn't like pictures of himself, so he avoided family pictures whenever he could, but he managed to get that one with just his dad and him, and he didn't really like it until his dad was banished and then he wished he had more pictures of the two of them.

Lloyd talks to himself when he's alone and once Zane was in the next room, and Cole overheard Lloyd talking to himself so Cole asked him about it and Zane covered for him saying that Lloyd was talking to him.

When Lloyd was still a kid, he would wake up in the middle of the night and wake Kai up and they’d go out onto the deck of the bounty and just talk, sometimes read a comic together. Then when Lloyd would fall asleep, Kai would put him back in bed.

Zane has perfected his cooking and can look at a picture of food or read the name of a dish and make it. If one of the other ninja follows the recipe and Zane doesn't, Zane's will still taste better.

Zane is always the butt of the jokes and the straight man bc he always falls for it.

Zane always covers for everyone. Jay breaks a vase while dancing? Zane will fix it/buy a new one/or say he broke it. Kai breaks the TV after losing a game? Zane will fix it or say he broke it. Sometimes people are sure he didn't do it, but he won't say who did.

Zane is the cool parent figure, Cole is the protective but responsible oldest sibling, and Kai, Jay, Nya, and Lloyd are the reckless younger siblings.

Lloyd will skateboard at 2am.

Lloyd loves cooking and Zane loves helping him, so Lloyd's like, one hobby is cooking and is pretty good at it. edit: Lloyd is terrible at it. Loves cooking but can burn anything, might burn down the kitchen while he's at it. But he's really good with spices, and always knows the right combination and amount.

Zane drinks whatever. He'll be busy will something and ask one of the others to bring him a drink and they bring him whatever they want. Once, Kai wanted to see how Zane would react to alcohol so he brought Zane vodka (don't ask me why they had it) and Zane just drank a lot of it and moved on so they always test him with random things: soda with hot sauce in it, bourbon, fruit punch, whatever. They even take turns choosing what to give him.

Zane never gets mad at ANYONE. Not even Wu when they find out he was hiding something again. He is easy to talk to, so when one of the ninja messes up something of his, it's easy for them to apologize and he always talks them through whatever they're going through.

Lloyd watches Zane cook and so Zane offers to help him learn so now they cook together and for Lloyd's birthday Zane gets him a purple apron.

[ninjamelissajulien]

DR2 notes

- ok teen riyu super cut

Pixal mentioned!!!!

Lloyd that’s ptsd

Kai my beloved

I love Kreel ngl

Inch resting with Cinder. Didn’t think I’d like him

Fugidove VA I can tell

Cinder fuckin don’t break their backs dear god

Master of smoke… what happened to ash???

EUPHRASIA

bagels are always good

Morro theme

I love the new intro

New colors for imperium outfits

NYAAAAAAAAAA

What is with people trying to make Lloyd eat rancid things

Also panic attacks canon with Lloyd and Zane

Are we not gonna mention Ash???

I love Sora so much

Can we fucking chill with the TEAPOTS PLEASE

Arin is such a scrunkly

Uh oh. I bet this is gonna go after Jay - shattering the goodness inside him.

I love euphrasia so much

CINDER FUCKING CHILL JESUS CHRIST

Ohhh the worm curse I forgot about that

Element masters but evil… force from the East banished them…

I do love that the new ninja are 3 girls 1 boy

Jordana I fucking love you

Aww Nya comforting Lloyd

Ash mention how the fuck did Kai beat Cinder so fast wtf I blinked and he was down

Ok I have to say the fighting is beyond amazing, but also holy shit shatter spin is terrifying and also Zane is fucjin dead rip

The sound that cinder makes with each hit is the gong sounds

They keep zooming in on one of the wolf warriors- also are they real people or the masks manifested

THEY FUCKING LEFT EUPHRASIA BEHIND

Life. That’s the dragon that claimed Lloyd. Lloyd’s element is Life.

The imperium source was Energy. Another is strength. Motion. The other 3 aren’t mentioned.

I love you Kai. So much. I’d kill for you.

Protective Kai for Wyldfire also Zane why are you staying behind

Jordana vs Cinder is fucjing funny

OK GOODBYE RANDOM PIECE OF CLOUD KINGDOM

RGB siblings real

WYLDFIRE you crazy son of a bitgh

God the animation is GORGEOUS

LMAOOO KAI YOURE THE ONE TO TALK

CAN THINGS NOT ATTACK NYA PLS

Leviathan theme

God Arin and Sora are brotp

Damn jays voice is deeper

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT

Jesus fucking Christ “the real Jay would never forget me” they’re going for that aren’t they

What was Kai’s - was it seabound

Of course Kai would jump first since Cole isn’t there

Me: ok I need to pause to go to the bathroom I’ll pause at the beginning of 4

The beginning of 4:

These bitches gay good for them good for them

WHAT DO YOU MEAN COLE WAS THE CHEF DOES NO ONE REMEMBER THE FIASCO OF COLES CHILI

Yep that’s Cole’s kid

God I love the sound of Nya’s element

Rontu I love you

BE NICE TO GEO

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO COLE TO THE RESCUE

Cole I love you so much

Forces from the East meet the Journey to the West

Coles powers are stronger

Bonzle is the key… maybe the undead open the gateway

What was last time???

SCRATCHED THE SURFACE???? TRUE POTENTIAL AIRJITZU TORNADO OF CREATION DRAGON FORMS????

THE PLUSH 😭

COLES BACK

please I’m begging you do we get a whole fucking episode about the backstory of the plush because u want that so badly

W… what… bonzle that’s a lot to just casually drop on someone

I love Bonzle’s voice.

Fuck yeah new story animation I love these (genuine!) also sorceress comes in later

A place more permanent than the realm of the departed… interesting

Cole holding Geos hand I saw that you gay cutie

No. Fucking. Way.

Rontu you amazing beast

Motion was one of the source dragons

God if that is Andrew as Egalt he’s fucking fantastic

Garmadon mentioned!!!!!!!!! SPINJITZU BROS MENTION

the ninja cured his loneliness 💔

MY FUCJING HEART BONZLE WHAT THE FUCJ

Wyldfire I love you you dumb bitgh

My favorite gif of the high five

ARIN 😭

THESE BITCHES GAY

aww Zane 🥹

What the fuck Ras is tripping

SACRIFICE???? JESUS ITS DARK

These worried parents

JIRO

THE SIBS

DETECTIVE FUCKING ZANE LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOO

The rocky dangerbuff mustache

Do it wyldfire

CMON ARIN. NOT LIKE THAT

NO MOTHERFUCKER NOT YOU

Mention Lou I’m begging you

Or Marty Oppenheimer

“I was never the performer in my family.” Me: I… I mean… Lou… but the triple tiger sashay…

Have I mentioned the animation because Jesus it’s so good

The monastery?

Also I’ve noticed I haven’t heard any sound effects from Kirby yet which is interesting. Not bad by any means, but interesting. It’s nice that Andrew’s Cole is becoming his own 💙

Cole why are you staring at the wall oh

“Totally annoying and I was completely blameless” sure Cole sure also interesting that this is now the SECOND time Jay has been mentioned

Chen’s noodle house mention

3 mentions

I don’t know who you are but I love you you queer queen also sprite???

Aww wyldfire

Bonzle 😭😭😭

Uh oh who’s knocking THESE FUCKERS AGAIN????

Zane you handsome dumbass I love you

AAAAAAAAAAA MY GUCJING HHEHEJEKFHFJKJWAAAAAAAAA

KAI YOU MAGNIFICENT MOTHER FUCKER

Uh oh

That happened fast

WHAT OK THE FUCK NO EXPLANATION

Damn nindroid-phobic where the fuck is Jay

Zane I love you

Me: where the fuck is Jay *two seconds later* THERES THE MOTHERFUCKER

wait the shatter spin JAY GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE

EIGHT EPS FOR THIS MOTHERFUCKER

Ok so amnesia yes but admin jay not too long lmao just bring up Nya

Are we not going to mention Nindroids

Hey can we get to Jay????

/ZANW don’t ZANE HESUS CHRUST DINT SCARE ME LIKE THAT

Jay???? Jay????? HELLO JAY????? JAY?????????? WE JUST NIT GINNA JAY??????

I forgot about Jordana lmaooooo

Oh yeah I forgot Cinder lmaooooooooooo

Wow the super old “using jay’s voice for Kai as a whimper” sound

Are we still not bringing up Jay

BONZLE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

oooh flashback

Boy Euphrasia really got sidelined didn’t she

So we really aren’t going for Jay aren’t we

Who is this Janet????

GO RIYU GOOOOOOOOO

Arin and his seatbelt

You motherfuckers STOP WITH THE GODDAMN TEAPOT

Cole Rottweiler confirmed

TAKE OFF THE MASKS. TAKE. OFF THE. MASKS. TAKE THEM OFF

Euphrasia!!!!!!!!!

Take. Off. The. Masks. Now.

Uh oh ARIN

Don’t you fucking dare tempt arin

I TOLD YOY TO TAKE THEM OFF

WHY IS IT ALWAYS KAI WHY ALWAYS KAI SOMEONE RESXUE KAI PLEASE MY SCRIMLY

GO NYA GO

I will kill myself if something happens to Kai

They better not

I will do it

I’m not on my meds

Where

Nokt

Hello

Kai

Hello

Hello

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

Kai

I’m suing.

[mislamicpearl]

Thoughts on DR S2 episodes 16-17:

These two episodes were SO good!

Spoilers below

Aww, Zane patting Lloyd's shoulder as he breathes a sigh of relief.

Dang, I really wanna see Zeatrix get revenge on Ras honestly.

Wait a minute wait a minute, the forbidden five member that's with Ras has an elemental power? What is it?? He never uses it in the games, he just uses shatterspin!

Yo, Arin was finally able to do proper spinjitzu just from one short session of second-hand teaching from Frack. I can't wait for him to throw that in Lloyd's face!

But also his tornado had some shatterspin lines in it?? Was I seeing that right?

I literally said out loud "if Lloyd loses to this guy (invisible man) that would be REALLY pathetic!" But no, he's protected by his protagonist status. Sora and Nya were protected by their girlboss status. Cole and Zane unfortunately had neither so they had to be cannon fodder.

Wow I was certain they were going to pit Cole up against Geo. Still sucks he lost though (but still not as embarrassing as Zane, who literally just had to fight a dude *still grumbling*)

OMG Cole falling a long distance AGAIN ahahaha!

BUT this time he finally learned and used earth bending to catch himself up! Nice.

"I can't control metal!" You should attend Toph's metal bending school Cole. I'm sure if Nya could make ice that ONE season, you can use your power to master metal.

Aww, despite Frack (still a dumb name, that's what I use to swear when I don't want to swear) working with Ras, I think the rapport he has with Cole is very sweet. If Cole's not careful he's going to end up adopting another child lol.

Yoooo the Arin and Sora friction is so good, I'm loving this drama!

Ohoho, Ras wants control of all the elemental powers, what a surprise.

"Your anger isn't helping Wyldfyre." "It's helping me stay angry!" Love Wyldfyre ahahaha and Cole's face!

The fact that I was actually outraged when the crystal disappeared right as Nya was going to grab it!

WU SPRITE CAME TO COLE AGAIN! Are you going to tell us where it took you last time Cole??

Omg yes, Nya's going straight after Jay, thank you!

And awwww the goodbye hug between her and Lloyd, ugh the sibling energy of these two.

Nya and Kai communicating literally through the power of their sibling bond.😍

It's so hilarious and perfect that as soon as Kai hears about Jay his first reaction is to insult him hahaha.

Ohhhh the forbidden five member that's sleeping in the Nether space is the one possessing Jordana!

Glad to see Arin didn't let his anger with Sora overtake his job, he's actually doing pretty good with his suspect board!

"My social encounter algorithm registered high levels of cringe" OMG I HAD TO PAUSE THIS I WAS LAUGHING SO HARD, THIS IS JUST BEGGING TO BECOME A MEME! INTERNET GET ON IT!

My sister: Brent Miller must have been dying laughing trying to read that line.

Me: Brent Miller probably WROTE that line. XD

Geo has apparently been rendered mute since he and Cole met up lmao, is this Lego's attempt at damage control..?

It's going to turn out Wyldfyre was right and Blekt (dumbest of the dumb names) actually is the one behind all this isn't he?

"He probably got distracted by all the temple city conce...ssions..." *both Cole and Sora stare off into the distance* lmao what was that??

When Frack said he had a question about Cole's power I totally expected him to ask why the earth was screaming - are we ever getting back to that?

NEURO!!! OMG THANK GOD HE STILL EXISTS, HE'S HERE! Probably they didn't want to get his VA back and that's why he wasn't put in a position to talk to the ninja?

Oh and that purple haired girl was probably Chamille.

Man, all of the fights with everyone using multiple powers was so cool!

Ahahaha Zeatrix's face at the bubble power was hilarious! Same girl, what a dumb power.

Except that she used it like a freaking queen??? That elemental bomb was so cool and smart, she pulled a Kuma! (@ One Piece fans again.)

Okayyy we finally get to hear the name of Lloyd's power, he's master of life! Like in the movie right? Neat.

Bro really said the word "YEET" hahaha

Holy frack, Zeatrix killed Lloyd!

[mimi-ninjago]

thrid wheeling

pairings….Lavashipping, COLE X KAI

Quick note:

Lloyds thrid wheeling, i'm not shipping him with kai nor cole, shipping lloyd with any of the ninjas are weird, they've known lloyd sense he was a kid.

"lloyd!"

"lloyd!"

lloyd grumbled, but woke up from his nap, "kai?" he said, rubbing his eyes, "i need you to third wheel on something!" kai said stumbling on his words.

"what?.." lloyd said, after now being awake, "you? kai? a date?" lloyd mocked, "bro please!!!" kai said, while being on his knees begging .

lloyd grumbled, "fine." he said, "leave my room, let me get ready" lloyd said, "thanks lloyd!" kai said, rushing out of lloyds room.

lloyd sighed, then getting ready, he put on something casual, he just wanted to get food, if they were even eating out.

lloyd went out of his room, where kai and cole were waiting, while cole had an annoyed face, "alright, lets go!" kai said, "shotgun!" lloyd yelled, running outside, while kai chased at them.

lloyd viewed kai as his older brother, same with nya, sense lloyd never really had any siblings, he was alone, but after being taken in by his uncle, and being a better person, kai mostly was his role model.

cole laughed, but knowing he was gonna be the one driving, ran after them as well.

kai got front seat, leaving lloyd annoyed at kai, as he sat in the back seat, cole got in the car, "cole, can you tell kai, that it isn't fair, he basically pushed me!" lloyd exclaimed, "nah, it was fair and square lloyd" kai said smirking.

lloyd frowned, and slouched back, cole smiled, "cmon guys, were going out to eat, can you guys not argue" cole said, lloyd slouched back up, "were going out to eat?" lloyd said, "no duh, he just said" kai said.

lloyd punched kai's arm, "ow! the hell was that for!" kai said, "guys!" cole said, lloyd went back seat again, "lets just go get food, and kai, don't argue with him, while on our date." cole said.

kai nodded.

after heading to the restaurant, the three got their seats, cole and kai started flirting with eachother, lloyd was annoyed, but same time didn't care, it was their date after all, lloyd than went on his phone, and getting a text from nya.

text messages

Sis🐾🌊

Sis🐾🌊: so hows the thrid wheeling?

lloyd⚡️🧪: boring so far, i'm just here to get food, and make sure kai doesn't embarrass himself 😂

Sis🐾🌊: 😂😂

Sis🐾🌊: well then, text me if anything goes bad👏🏽

lloyd⚡️🧪: you know i will🫡😂

text msgs end.

lloyd laughed to himself about the messages, then putting his phone down, to order his food.

"cmon cole, you have to try it" kai said, while pointing at a picture of a cake, that the placed served here, "maybe.." cole said, "lloyd, doesn't this look good?" kai asked, as he pushed the phone towards lloyd.

"i mean, sure" lloyd shrugged, "when does our food come" lloyd said, while slouching again, "it's coming soon lloyd" cole said, "anyways, cole, i got you this" kai said, handing him a necklace, cole smiled, "aw!" cole said.

cole gently grabbed kai's hand, and giving it a peck, "look our food" lloyd said, in a happy tone.

as the food was placed down on the table, lloyd immediately started eating, kai as well.

as everyone finished their food, and payed for the check and left.

kai than kissed cole, as cole did the same thing, "bleh" lloyd said, as he gotten into the back of the car, before witnessing more of their kissing.

[shatterspin]

Hey, it's me again. I just re-read what I sent yesterday, and, dude (gender-neutral), I was fasting when I sent that, and I was barely awake, and it sounds like I was hating on the Arabic dub...? I mean, sure, I think they're horrible, and part of me dislikes them, but they were still my childhood.

And about the jokes thing, I get that not every single joke can be translated, but at least they can replace them as you said, or when they translate them, they should try to make it less of a mess than they end up being (like the tashkeel usually ends up wrong when they translate everything literally, and you'll have me, kinda likes e3rab, being like, "No, that should be mansoob, it's maf3ool behe?")

It's been a long time since I watched Zane's Sacrifice in Arabic, but I remember little me found it really funny (on an unrelated note, I have a cousin called Zain, and I hated him, so that might have contributed). With Garmadon getting possessed, his screams were... well, I found them funny. It sounded more like he was pooping than getting possessed.

I watched Ninjago on CN Arabic. I don't remember that much of it since I was little (again, I was about 4-5 when it started, and I started watching it on CN MENA in English when I was about 11; I'm almost 17 rn), and I asked my little siblings about it, and they barely remember anything. But I remember most of what @localguy2 said. I don't think they aired the pilots as I didn't know about their existence recently. CN was obsessed with replaying the same episodes over and over again. They also skipped many parts in the episode itself (like any romantic parts), and they ended up cutting some other parts of the episode, where it got confusing. But I do remember S1's finale airing, like I vividly remember watching Wu get out of the Devourer, sipping his tea, when I was little, so I think @/localguy2 just missed it or something. Which just reminded me of another thing. CN Arabic was so inconsistent with its timings. Like let's say, they would air Ninjago from Sunday to Thursday at 5pm. They would randomly decide to put the new episodes on 1 pm on a Friday, and they'd repeat the old episodes between Sunday-Thursday. So, even without CN itself skipping episodes, we already lost many episodes because of that, and catching up with the plot was practically impossible. I don't think I ever watched SoG on CN Arabic, so I either missed the episode, or for some reason, CN decided not to air that one. And wait, DotD got released in Arabic? I never saw it, and I was so confused how Cole was human again. But I never watched DotD in Arabic.

As of Hunted, I switched to watching Ninjago on CN MENA where they air the episodes in English. They still have the thing where they cut out "romantic" scenes and other stuff (for example, in Crystallized, you know the scene where Harumi is getting the Overlord back? They skipped the whole thing. Like you had Lloyd begging Harumi to be good or something idr, and one second later, the Overlord was walking towards Lloyd). They still skip some episodes (not sure if that happened with Ninjago there, but it's currently happening to Monkie Kid). I recently watched some Ninjago on MBC3 (in Arabic obv because I was bored and they were there, so yk?), and I think they're doing a better job than CN Arabic.

Anywayyy, I should probably go back to sleep; I woke up for su7oor, and I ended up typing my whole life story... sorry

ah it’s okay to be a bit mean to such things

i get what u mean abt the jokes thing needing to sound properly but the fact that ur even MENTIONING e3raab to me should be illegal. i already graduated i should not be subjected to thinking about e3raab anymore 😭😭

mbc3 and CNa had unusual rerun times and it was always a mess trying to figure out when the rerun of an episode of a show would air and would require watching the channel for so long (oh the days of me trying to find out when son//ic x reruns were on mbc3 bc they used to show the new episodes when i couldn’t watch tv (i still remember that it’s reruns were at 3 am 😭)) so some of tkose repeating episodes could’ve been the reruns.

even on netflix when i was looking thru the arabic dub for double trouble they just cut the whole scene between nya n bizarro jay which i thought was weird of netflix but i guess that’s just because these episodes were the ones that were shown on TV. but i remember seeing a video on youtube abt the cut off lmk really weird and random scenes off?? i get the whole thing abt the arab world and not showing kids any sort of pda but they used to sometimes allow non-pda but still implied things thru? the cut offs r more lenient these days but they’re still extremely weird and very obvious. i remember spacetoon used to rewrite scenes and edit the scenes so heavily just to not let any romance plot thru, it usually just made them funnier but kids wouldn’t notice much of a difference

[bracedfangirl]

Not something for mortal eyes

Yeahhhh ya girl started a new year of school so here's a super angsty one shot that doesn't finish the idea because I can't write long enough fics to explore it. Essentially, open scary ending.

It's a bit messy because I've written this over the span of multiple days, but I hope y'all like it.

Time to tag some angst lover mutuals:

@rosiehunterwolf @fishybehavior @anxiousworm @vlanderzine @chio-780

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If Kai were to be honest about his issues, this particular month would be the worst ever time of his life, somehow managing to top the kidnapping of his sister and Zane's death combined with almost every possible nightmare scenario he's ever seen coming to life.

They all spent the weeks of racing to that stupid tomb sleeping little, Jay from his well usual panic when it comes to new scary foes, Cole from his physical inability to sleep anymore, and Zane's first time where he was legitimately scared of being attacked at night.

Then there was Kai and his sister, trying to last through nights wide awake because of nightmares they believed were worse than anything reality could be.

At least they believed that until reality just came and slapped them in the face.

The way Lloyd's face looked when they finally got him back was enough for them to all beg their master to just go to a goddamn hospital and let him sit this out.

Due to Zane's suspicions none of them were allowed in the medbay when he cleaned and wrapped Lloyd's wounds. The way the water turned that nasty, awfully recognizable shade of brown after they attempted to wash Lloyd's gi and Zane's face when he walked out of the infirmary certainly managed to give them all horrifying ideas.

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

And then the nightmare just got worse and worse and more and more real.

Because their master sent his half dead nephew in battle.

All the ninja violently argued against the decision, right up until Lloyd stumbled into the room and spoke up in the most terrifyingly fearless way Kai's ever heard him speak.

"I'm going in there and smashing that stupid rock right in front of his face whether y'all like it or not."

Now that left little argue room, even though Lloyd looked like he was barely standing and the way his eyes looked so hollow and lifeless filled Kai with a weird, horrible sense of dread.

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

Dread that Kai managed to completely forget about in the heat of battle, because somehow and somewhy his brother held through it and well kind of even beat Morro in a fight while looking like a walking skeleton.

Of course the "we're taking Lloyd to a doctor after this" part of their plan wasn't forgotten about. They just kinda delayed it till they reach back ashore...

But because Kai is now absolutely sure he's destinied to get gray hairs by 20, the worst of the disaster decides to hit right when they get off that stupid boat.

Lloyd suddenly freezes in place then collapses in violent spasms while emmitting a horrible choking noise.

That's when Kai spots that the whites of Lloyd's eyes have turned practically red they're so bloodshot, and that blood is literally pooling from his nose.

After about 15 seconds of blind panic from everyone Kai finds himself clinging to his shaking and now grey faced baby brother with his sister right beside him holding onto Lloyd just as tight.

The shock still hasn't really passed, as Zane stressfully trying to get an ambulance to respond is a noise he can barely make out, forced into the background by Lloyd's ugly wheezing.

And it's not going to pass anytime soon as Kai realizes that they have absolutely no idea what the hell is happening with Lloyd, much less what to do about it other than call help and pray it arrives in time-

His little brother suddenly makes a deathly noise before spitting a mouthful of blood by Kai's feet, followed by him slumping with a relieved deep breath.

"*wheeze* o-okay... o-okay... I-I think I'm good."

That snaps Kai back to reality and promptly turns his brother instincts on.

"Absolutely fucking not... We're taking you to the ER right fucking now."

"What the ever living fuck even was that Lloyd?! You just collapsed and spewed blood!"

"I-I think... It's pretty... Obvious what this was..."

The pained smile Lloyd gives after that is terrifying, and the clarity that hits Kai's mind from it makes it a hundred times worse.

Of course. Of fucking course long term possession destroys your body. It's such an obvious and straightforward thing, but somehow it never even crossed Kai's mind once.

He's sure not even Zane considered it.

And Lloyd knew. Through all this his little brother knew something like this was coming, probably even felt it but just went his usual Lloyd Garmadon way of hiding problems until they get huge-

To be fair... He did have someone to learn it from...

As the ambulance sirens get louder and louder in the background one of the creepy sentences Morro said from Kai's most recent nightmare suddenly echo in his head, urging him to hold onto both his siblings tighter.

"There's things in this world that aren't for mortal eyes... You're about to witness one though anyway."

[antluvspath]

Head cannons for ninjago characters!

(People keep finding this post haha I want to let y’all Ik I made this when I was 15 and my spelling/grammar might be bad lol)

First up Cole

He’s bisexual! He loves masculine men like himself. loves women who can be fem, masc, and androgynous. And loves all enbys

He’s also trans (ftm)

He’s definitely brown poc man tbh he could be anything just not white (but I think he’s Afro indigenous)

He makes beats but never finishes them or doesn’t add anything more

He loves all types of music (even country)

Hates scary movies

He’s a foodie he’s probably tried so many delicacies

This is canon I think because he mentioned he went to dance school or a performing arts school so yeah he’s a dancing man

He definitely was in a poly relationship with Nya and Jay at one point

He’s the shortest male in the team 5’8

Loves rocks, stones, crystals

Zane

He’s black. Yeah I know he’s a robot but his hair just reminds me of a lot of black boys I know growing up. When I saw him when I was younger I thought he was black.

I think his dad is Haitian too :D!

Technically he has no gender since he’s a robot but I think he’s just male so yeah

His sexuality can be whatever just as long it includes him being able to be in a relationship with pixal because they’re cute

I think he loves pomes and reads them from time to time

Also studies philosophy

It is canon he cooks for the team but I think he learns meals from stories he likes :)

He loves birds that live in snowy areas

He’s 6’2

Jay

He’s bisexual but leans more towards females and doesn’t really know if he likes enbys since he hasn’t dated a lot of people

He’s a cis male to me but if you think he’s trans that cool :D

He definitely had a crush on all the boys at one point

At first I did think he was white but now I think he’s Vietnamese! (Tbh a lot of theses characters are Asian so don’t be surprised when I say a character is Asian)

He likes to take runs and long walks

He can play some instruments but mostly electrical

He loves superhero type media

Has adhd

Has a good relationship with his family

I think he’s tall but tbh I don’t how tall-

He’s into robots and coding

Kai

Ahhh I think he’s cis and straight- but if you think other than that that’s fine too!!

He tries to make weapons he sees in anime he likes and hangs them in his room

He’s Chinese and Japanese

He’s a Leo ♌️ he acts too much like one for me not to think that

Hes shorter than skylor he’s 5’9and I think she’s 5’11

He actually really wanted to be an older brother and begged his parents for a sibling

He’s definitely social media famous

He loves the out doors and gets tan easily

Nya

Tbh I don’t know her sexuality she could be anything if it involves Males also think he’s cis but if you think she’s trans that cool

Like her brother shes Chinese and Japanese

She actually likes cooking sometimes but doesn’t do it as much as she wants

She’s a little more curvy and round

He lives for cars and motorcycle just anything in that topic 

Really wanted to be an engineer growing up

Wasn’t really girly growing up but she started to be a little fem when she grew

She’s 5’6 in my opinion I think a lot of the female characters are tall not all but most

Loves the beach

Lloyd

I think he’s gay tbh after Harumi he realized he only liked men but thought he was bi at first

He’s Japanese

He likes every villain in any story he likes

Probably has ptsd let’s be honest

Feels too much pressure from being a literal Demi god/ green ninja

likes to be feminine but is too shy to wear it out in public

A bit of a try hard

He likes skateboarding or roller skating

He’s a big mamas boy

Had a crush on Kai but got over it

Has a great relationship with pixal and skylor

Nya and Cole treat him like a son/younger brother

He vents to Zane because Zane is more calm

Loves any type of tea

And likes cowboys

I feel like he’s 5’9-6’0 feet but idk really

Anyways that’s the end I’ll do other characters too

[ninjaslegos]

It's Alright

Where Lloyd learns the hard way that heroes don't always make the right decisions.

He had known you since, well, forever. Unlike him though, you didn't live at Darkly's Boarding School for Bad Boys, but rather off the streets like the runaway orphan you were. You taught him how to steal, which he used at school to impress the teachers and other students. That's when the two of you became the best of friends, and unlike his classmates, he felt like he could actually trust you. Despite your sneaky ways, you weren't really a bad kid, you were kind, playful, and funny.

When he was first taken by the ninja, he was worried sick about you. Did you miss him? Were you looking for him? Were you okay? He insisted they come pick you up, too, and after lots of promises and begging, the ninja obliged and let you live with them. The two of you shared a room, played together, ate together, and were inseparable. Cole even joked with Kai and Nya about having another set of siblings on The Bounty.

When he was hit with the Tomorrow Tea, he aged suddenly, and felt like you wouldn't want to be friends with him anymore. He was a teenager now, while you were still just a little kid. He was excited when you assured him it wouldn't damage your friendship with him, and even strengthened the bond as he could actually protect you now, and keep you safe.

When his father was finally free of the evil that gripped his soul, he would spend time with you and Lloyd, to the point of accidentally mistaking you as his own kid, and calling you (Y/N) Garmadon, for fun.

So why now, after all you'd been through with him and his father, would Garmadon forget it all and use you as a bargaining chip?

Lloyd fought back tears as he saw you in Ultra Violet's grip, held by the throat and beaten to the point of bruises and blood. You must've gotten caught at some point when you got separated from everyone during the first fight. "What do you even get out of hurting a child?!" Lloyd yelled at him through the camera, trying not to show weakness. Had this not been done through video call, he probably would've had you back by now, but he couldn't turn himself and the others in. They were all that was left of the resistance.

"I could've sworn this kid meant something to you, do they not?" He grinned. "I must say, Ultra Violet had a lot of fun playing with them, and I don't think she wants to be interrupted."

Skylor stepped up, trying to shield Lloyd from the view of your barely-conscious body. "What do you want, Garmadon." She asked in an unamused tone of voice. He wished he could stay as calm as her right now.

"Simple, just turn yourselves in, all of you, and they won't be hurt. Watch, I'll even have them be put down to make this easier for you." He nodded his head towards Ultra Violet, who scoffed but lowered you to the ground to stand up properly. You stumbled a little, trying to balance yourself, but the moment you were steady, you tried to run off. "Honestly, they really have been a nuisance, it'll be a win for everyone." He sighs as he grabs you by the back of the shirt and gives you back to the woman behind him. She held you by your hair to keep you from running.

"Don't do it, Lloyd!" Your high pitched voice cried out to him. You sounded so scared, he wanted nothing more than to be there with you, to hold you and tell you everything was going to be alright. "Don't give in, the resistance is all that's left to stop Garmadon!" You begged.

Everyone either looked away or visibly flinched as Ultra Violet smacked you hard, telling you to shut up. "As much as I hate to say it," Shade spoke up with a frown, "we don't really have a choice here. We can't give ourselves in to save one kid when defeating Garmadon will save countless other lives."

Lloyd turned on him instantly, snapping at him with rage, "how can you say something like that?! Even if that wasn't my best friend, all life is precious, and if we can save both them and the world, then I'll do it!"

Shade gulped and backed down, not wanting to cause any further drama. Lloyd tried to think of a plan, but it was starting to get hard as Garmadon was rushing him.

"Come on, it's a yes or no question. It's really not that hard." He taunted. "Your resistance, or your best friend."

Misako came up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "he must be bluffing, there's no reason for him to kill a child like this, plus he knows that he'll lose his one bargaining chip, and therefore appeal to get you to reveal yourself." She spoke with her wisdom.

"But he's different now! How do you know he's not going to keep hurting them if I say no?" He whimpered. He hated feeling so vulnerable, especially in front of his team. He was supposed to be the leader, but with no powers, the death of his old team, and the kidnapping of his friend, he felt almost hopeless.

He wished he listened to you when you told him about your suspicions on Harumi, because you were right. You always were, and all of this now was because he dared doubt you. He doubted you because he loved her, and truly, blindly believed she loved him back. You were a clever kid, able to tell people's true intentions, and always able to change a situation around with either your pure kindness or your sweet humor. You were even doing it now, begging him not to think about you, to save himself and to focus on what could be a pleasant future if he just worked hard.

Misako, once again, tried to calm him down. "Garmadon was my husband, once, I know that whatever may happen to (Y/N), he wouldn't kill them."

"Just do it, Lloyd. You're saving everyone the trouble of having to hunt you down, and you're saving your best friend." Harumi spoke up from the right of Garmadon, barely on screen. He was actually surprised to see her look so uncomfortable, especially on the part about saving you, but why?

Whatever, she wasn't worth his time and thought. He turned to Nya, "what do you think?" He asked.

She chewed on her lip nervously. "I want to turn ourselves in, for (Y/N)'s safety, but at the same time we can just wait it out a couple days, then rescue them." This gave him little comfort, but it made him feel better about the choice he was going to make.

Garmadon's booming voice gathered everyone's attention. "Tick tock, time's up! Have you made your choice, Green Ninja?" He spoke with a malicious edge to his voice, one that put him at unease.

You were crying, but he watched as you tried to put on a brave face. "Save the world, Lloyd, not me." You sniffled a little, "it's alright."

He steeled himself for what he had to say next. "I'm not turning myself in. None of us are. Your ploy isn't going to work on us."

Garmadon sighed, shaking his head. "Is this what you all think?" He looked around as slow nods came from the members of the resistance. He then broke into a sadistic grin, filling the whole room with dread, and drowning everyone in it with a sudden feeling of wrongdoing. "Perhaps this will make you think twice, next time!" He exclaimed, then turned to Ultra Violet, "kill them."

Some people were already crying as the whole warehouse exploded into screams of rushed 'no's and the demands of 'wait, stop, don't do it'.

And the enemy was deaf to them all.

Lloyd's world stopped; a part of him shattered as the sight before him became ingrained into his memory. The sickening crack of your neck, the haunting look in your dead eyes, the way your body shuddered one last time, it would give him nightmares for the rest of his life, and no amount of therapy would get rid of this trauma, or the way he felt.

He fell to his knees first, then his hands as tears forced their way to his eyes and dripped down his cheek, onto the floor. When he finally found himself able to speak, all he could do was scream for you. "(Y/N)!!" His hands found their way into his hair and started to pull as he kept sobbing your name. "Please, get up, get up, say something!!" He yelled at the screen, but your body remained breathlessly still. He blocked out the world and tried to struggle against his friends, who were trying to drag him away so he could properly calm down. "You have to, please (Y/N)!!"

The days passed by slowly. Hour by hour, minute by minute. He could barely sleep, much less close his eyes, because every time he did, he would see your dead face, and the blood on your skin, and the tears that stained your cheeks. He ate less and less, the sounds of chewing reminding him of the crunch of your bones, or he would hear your voice either begging him to save you or blaming you for his death. His friends started checking in on him less, as no matter what they did, he wouldn't answer them, or just blame it on himself.

Why did he ever listen to them? If he just followed his gut, he would've known you were going to die, and made up a plan on the spot. He spent his whole time now either thinking about the many plans he could've made to save you, or remembering everything you did. How you smiled at him after showing off a new trick you learned, or how you laughed at any joke he made, or even how you would comfort him by trying to bake cookies with Zane after he had a rough day. He missed it all so much now, and because he was panicking, and too damn stupid to think about anything at the time, he would never have any of this again. Your bed would be empty from now on, he wouldn't wake up to you jumping on his bed in the morning, and he'd never get to watch you grow up; something he missed out on. You were like the ninja, never coming back.

He was a broken man now, and he vowed that if Garmadon ever tried to talk to him again, he wouldn't know peace until he was in pieces. He destroyed a piece of him, so when he got better again, he was going to return the favor and take down his entire empire.

[gwenbrightly]

Lloyd Nearly Gets Tetanus

Written in celebration of Ninjago’s 10th Anniversary.

Lloyd had never really liked his eyes. Sure, they had come in handy when he was still dedicated to leading a life of villainy and he needed to look scary to keep the other kids from picking on him. But now they reminded him too much of the father he’d never really gotten to know. Of the legacy his family had been cursed with.  Of the way his family had been ripped apart as a result of the Great Devourer’s venom. 

He really hadn’t expected the Golden Weapons to react to him. After all, he definitely wasn’t Green Ninja material. Kai would have been a much better choice. He had that comforting, protective big brother presence that Lloyd found himself clinging to after all he’d been through in his admittedly short life. And he’d actually wanted the title. Unlike Lloyd himself, who would rather hide in a cave for the next decade than fight his father. 

 It had been a shock. A big one. And even the initial surprise (and terror) of being labeled as the Green Ninja was nothing compared to the way he felt when he glanced in the bathroom mirror early the next morning and noticed that something had changed. His eyes, which had always managed to stay consistent in color up until now, were green. Green. Not blue, or brown, or some other color that he could live with while pretending the whole thing had been a sick dream, but green. Inescapable proof of the destiny that had been thrust upon him.  

Lloyd’s breath caught in his throat. This couldn’t be happening. It was too much. He scrambled backwards, away from the mirror, and tripped over a snag in the carpet. His elbow bumped against the floor as he fell and he let out a cry of pain. That was going to leave a mark. But that was the least of his problems. He lay on the floor for what felt like hours, unable to rouse himself from the mantra of this can’t be happening that repeated itself over and over in his head. Pathetic. 

Creak…. Somewhere on the Bounty, someone moved, causing Lloyd to sit up. If anyone saw him like this… no. The others already worried about him enough as it was. Lloyd couldn’t handle having to talk about this. Not now. There would be too many questions. What if they decided it was a sign that he was meant to fight his father here and now? After all no one else’s eyes had changed colors when they’d discovered their destinies. Well. No one would be able to notice the change if they didn’t see him at all. He’d just have to hide so good that Kai and Nya, and the others, wouldn’t find him.

 “You’re fine.” Lloyd told himself quietly as he stood up. It was definitely a lie, but he couldn’t afford to acknowledge that. He crept towards the kitchen – he’d need supplies if he were going to pull off this vanishing act – and tried not to think too hard about anything involving the color green. He already knew exactly where he was going to go; it didn’t take long to snag a box of animal crackers and a bottle of water and make his way down to the engine room. The motion activated lights flickered on. There, behind some pipes and machinery Lloyd couldn’t name, was his query. The perfect hiding spot. He’d initially discovered the hollow they formed while exploring the Bounty when he’d first arrived, but Nya had called him away before he had the chance to really appreciate it. He crawled and squeezed his way to the furthest depths of the hollow and prepared to settle in for the long haul.

 “You look like I feel…” Lloyd dejectedly told the caged lion on the front of his box of animal crackers. And then lights went out and he was left in total darkness.

 ___________________________________________________________

 “Has anyone seen my son?” Everyone glanced up from their pancakes when the warlord spoke.

 “Um, no,” Nya said carefully, “we thought he was still asleep. He’s had a rough few days.”

 “That is what I had hoped, but I checked his room just now, and he wasn’t there.” Garmadon stated. He looked worried. 

“That’s strange.” commented Kai, frowning. The others nodded. After just narrowly escaping the Serpentine yesterday, they had all assumed he’d want to surround himself with family and forget the experience. Not hide away somewhere.

 “Perhaps we should look for him. He’s quite good at getting himself into mischief.” Zane prompted, getting up from the table. Everyone was quick to follow his lead, feeling extra protective of the small boy. 

Knowing his habits better than anyone, except maybe Kai, Nya began searching Lloyd’s favorite hiding places. First was the little alcove beneath the steering wheel, then the Bounty’s roof. A few dead leaves drifted lazily on the breeze, a bird screeched in the distance, but Nya found no sign of human life. She called Lloyd’s name several times.  There was no response. With a frown, she clambered down from the roof. Where else would he go? Neither the training room, where Jay was digging through the cupboards where they stored weapons, nor the living room, where Cole and Kai had pushed the couch away from the wall, yielded any clues to Lloyd’s location. They were running out of places to look.

 “He can’t have just… disappeared,” she told her brother, attempting to hide her worry. She collapsed onto the couch while she tried to think of anywhere they might have forgotten to check. Kai sat down next to her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. 

 “He’s gotta be here somewhere,”Kai agreed, “Lloyd’s not stupid enough to go wandering off on his own again so soon, and I think we can rule out kidnapping – Garmadon said there were no signs of a struggle when he checked Lloyd’s room earlier.” 

“That’s promising, I guess.” Nya admitted with a sigh. The small boy wouldn’t have gone anywhere without a fight. Which meant he had to be here. Somewhere. But why couldn’t anyone find him? Why would he hide from them?  

“You don’t think he would’ve gone into the engine room by himself, do you?” Kai wondered aloud. Nya stared at him. Oh. 

 “Has anyone checked there yet?” she asked. He shook his head. “Kai, it’s not safe for him down there. There’s all sorts of broken machinery and old pipes, and the lights haven’t been working lately…”

 “We need to get down there before he hurts himself.” Kai decided, standing. Nya leapt up behind him, praying they would find Lloyd unharmed. Tetanus shots were the last thing she wanted to deal with. The walk to the engine room took far less time than it normally would. Kai and Nya sped down the hallway to the stairs before edging their way down into the dark room. Nya powered on the flashlight app on her phone. 

“See if you can get the lights to turn on. They usually start working okay if you poke them with a broomstick a few times.” She instructed as she wandered deeper into the engine room to look for Lloyd. Kai grabbed the broom that was leaning against the wall by the stairs and got to work poking the light with a bit more force than was truly necessary. When Nya had made it about halfway across the room, the lights flickered to life. Finally.  

Satisfied that the lights weren’t going to go out on them too soon, Kai joined her in looking under and behind the variety of machinery and junk that cluttered the engine room.  Together, they hunted for the small boy, certain that he had to be hiding somewhere in this mess. They searched behind the engine itself to no avail. Next, they looked in an old chest. They even pried up a loose floorboard to see if he had somehow gotten himself stuck underneath. Alas, there was nothing there. 

“Maybe we were wrong. Maybe he did get kidnapped by Pythor or-or-” Nya choked on her words, anxiety mounting. Anything could have happened to Lloyd. 

“Nya stop.” Kai insisted. He drew her into a side hug. “Maybe the others found him while we were down here.” 

She allowed him to guide her back towards the staircase, trying to understand how Lloyd wasn’t where they had been so certain they’d find him. Just as they reached the first step, Nya heard a small voice whisper,

 “No. Come back. Please don’t leave me down here.” 

“Lloyd!” Nya cried, wrenching free of Kai’s grasp, “Where are you?!”

 “M’stuck…” came the muffled reply. 

“Where?” Kai repeated. There was a rattling in the corner of the room, and Lloyd spoke again. 

“Over here behind this… this whatever this piece of junk is. The lights went out and I got stuck…” 

The siblings glanced at each other and followed the sound of his voice. They could just barely make out his shadowy form inside of the hollow he’d been hiding in. He looked so small, curled in on himself and facing away from them. One of the pipes had toppled over, blocking his way out. 

“Oh, Lloyd… what were you thinking?” Nya asked softly as she and Kai began tugging away the pipe. She wished he would turn around so she could make sure he wasn’t hurt, but he stayed frozen in place. “Just get me out of here.” Lloyd begged. The resignation in his voice sliced through the air like the katanas he was always begging to play with. 

“Something’s wrong,” Kai stated, saying what they were both thinking. Nya nodded in agreement. Whatever had happened, Lloyd definitely hadn’t come down here for fun. The pipe finally came loose, opening up a path of escape for the small boy. Only, he didn’t move right away. It was almost as if he were trying to avoid them. “You can come out now.” Kai prompted. 

Lloyd seemed to pause for a moment before scooting backwards towards them. He shakily made his way out of his hiding place, to the relief of his adoptive siblings. 

“Thank you,” he said to the floor. Nya scooped him into a hug. She could feel him beginning to relax. 

 “Do you have any idea how worried we were?”

 “I…. It was stupid, I know.” Lloyd admitted, still not looking at either of them. He tugged his hoodie down to cover his face. Why was he acting like this?

  “Lloyd, honey, please. Talk to us. What’s wrong?” 

Lloyd sniffled.

 “I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

“Okay,” Kai told him slowly, “we don’t have to talk yet. Do you need something to drink? A snack?” 

The boy gratefully accepted the bottle of water Kai held out to him. They sat there, together, not saying anything for what felt like an eternity. Nya leaned against the wall while Lloyd quietly sipped his water. Kai hummed absent mindedly. The engine whirred in the background. Eventually, Lloyd sighed. 

“It’s my eyes.” He told them so quietly they almost didn’t hear him. Nya blanched. 

“Your eyes?”

 Lloyd let out a small whimper as he removed his hood and looked at Kai and Nya.

 “There’s something wrong with them.” 

They stared at him in surprise. For the first time, since they had found him, Nya could clearly see his tear streaked face and the source of his distress.  

“They’re definitely… different,” Nya began carefully. Oh, First Spinjzu Master! How was she supposed to handle this? “but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” 

“Yeah! There’s no reason to freak out.” agreed Kai, flashing him a weak smile. Lloyd didn’t seem to believe them. 

“Guy’s. It’s because I’m the Green Ninja. Isn’t it?”

 “It could be.” Nya offered. In all honesty, it was the most logical explanation for the striking emerald green color his eyes had taken on. Lloyd’s lip trembled.

 “And if it is… what if it’s a sign? What if the universe wants me to take down my father, like, right now.” 

Yep, there it was. Nya was pretty sure she had figured out exactly why Lloyd had resorted to hiding down here. He hadn’t wanted to be pushed into another hopeless situation. She caught Kai’s eye and nodded.

 Kai turned to Lloyd and asked, “Can I ask you something, Lloyd?”  Lloyd shrugged, but didn’t answer. The master of fire continued anyway. “When Zane first found his true potential, he started being able to freeze things on command. Do you think we suddenly decided he was the world’s most powerful ninja and sent him off on the most dangerous solo missions we could think of?”

 “N-no... Of course not.”

  “What about when Cole started bench pressing twice as much as before?” Nya added, “Or when Jay learned how to charge his cell phone with his elemental powers? Did we push them into situations they weren’t ready for?”

 Lloyd cringed, clearly not missing the point they were trying to make. He looked back down at his feet and muttered a soft, “no,”.  

“Then why would we treat you any differently?” Kai wanted to know. Lloyd’s heat snapped up. His voice wavered as he replied.

 “I’m the Green Ninja. It’s my destiny to-”

 “Screw destiny!” Nya cut him off, frustration filling her voice. She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all. “You’re just a kid, Lloyd! The color of your eyes doesn’t get to dictate when you face your father – you do!” 

 It was then that she realized that he was crying. Poor Lloyd. He hadn’t even made it a full 24 hours on the Bounty before trauma had struck again. Nya took a deep breath. She gathered Lloyd into another hug before he could protest and began brushing away his tears. Kai joined her, and, together, they held him as he continued to cry. “We won’t let anyone make you do anything you're not ready for.” Nya promised, ruffling Lloyd’s hair. 

He didn’t say anything, but his breathing began to slow from the near hyperventilating it had been moments before.

 “Nope. Why else would we have these cool powers?” Kai added. He winked at the small boy. 

“They are pretty cool,” Lloyd admitted with a sniffle. As the small boy started to relax, Nya and shared a smile of relief with her brother. 

“You’re safe with us, kiddo. Always.”  

[crystalgirl259]

The Flame and the Dragon Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Letter

Blood smeared the knuckles when they made contact with the thick wood of the thickest tree trunk. The Sorcerer hissed and hollered as he banged his hands furiously against the tree. His entire body shook with rage at the evidence his newest spy brought him. He waited too long. He pulled himself away from the free and covered his face with his hand. Now it was only a matter of time before Kai gave into Cole's seduction. He banged the tree again, then composed himself and pulled the hood of his cloak over his raven hair.

He watched the cut of his hand swell and bubble until perfectly healed skin was revealed.

He waited too long. The second he suspected the teen had Occulti blood he should have acted! His growl morphed into a roar.

"Damn to the depths of my lust and pride!" He bellowed. He had known he had taken a heavy gamble when he decided to change his strategy, but it was too difficult to resist such a tempting specimen, especially since if his seduction proved a success it would devastate the Dragon Lord more than a thousand of the most vicious monsters. Now, his miscalculation had caused him a major setback. It was worse when it became clear exactly who this mysterious specimen was.

It had been easy to ignore the first instance as merely a single occurrence.

It wasn't uncommon for humans to discover untapped abilities in traumatic or near-death situations. Many people held biological connections to magical ancestors. The religions might have changed, but the blood certainly didn't, he himself was proof of that. Still, many lines had become so thinned by mundane human blood any inherited power could only be tapped through stress or shock and usually only once. But the skills used to defeat his monsters and the premonitions were too much to be a coincidence.

That Occulti whore was dead and she continued to be a thorn in his side.

A wicked smile curled across his lips as he approached the road. The raven sat immobile like a statue on his shoulder awaiting instructions. It didn't matter now. She failed then and she will fail now.

"I'm running out of time, and I'll be damned if I let some Occulti whore destroy over one hundred years of patience and hard work!" He thundered and looked to the crow. It shot up and waited for orders. "Watch them, if they do anything together, inform me immediately; I don't have much time to carry out the next stage of my plan." He commanded. The crow bowed its head and flapped away into the night. The Sorcerer's grin widened as he chuckled then burst out laughing when he came to the main road.

He turned around taking one last look at the castle in the distance.

"Enjoy your concubine while it lasts, prince." He smirked recalling the conversations his spies had recorded. Episodes of the life the boy had forsaken to appease the dragon's wishes. Memories of a high-ranking man who fancied him. Of the childhood instances experienced in Ignacia. Of the siblings he had sacrificed himself for, who were no doubt still terrified for their brother's safety. He may have feelings for the dragon, but Kai was like any other human when it came to sacrificing.

As the Sorcerer walked along the forgotten path, he noticed a cold stream still flowing and an evil idea formed in his mind.

He dunked his hands into the freezing liquid and used his magic to create a small ball of water.

"Enough talking, time for some screaming." He cackled as he blew into the bubble turning it into an ice ball. He then shook the ball violently before throwing it into the air. He smirked as it broke apart and a grey, shimmering mist blew through the wind towards the castle. That should buy him some time...

****************

Nya hollered and roared in rage as she slamming the door to her house shut. It screamed in protest as it suffered the force of his anger. The only thing the village idiots were good for was gossip and apparently, Morro's dismissal of Kai's fate had spread faster than an infectious plague. So much now even other towns were mocking them. No matter where she went to who she begged to help her, she was simply laughed at. One of them even suggested she join her brothers and started to believe in children's stories.

A frustrated hand ripped at Nya's raven bangs.

The only one who seemed remotely worried was the librarian, Dr. Saunders, but he was just one old man. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't go wandering through the dark forest, let alone take on a dragon-hybrid monster. She stormed into the kitchen, her angry steps echoing loudly in the empty room. Nya growled and started grabbing whatever her furious mind thought she would need and stuffed them into a bag she already had set up on the kitchen table.

If no one will help her, she would find that castle and get him back herself.

She stuffed the bag with food, maps, and anything else. She strapped it tight and threw it over her shoulders, donned her thickest coat to keep out the freezing winter air, her cloak, and her heaviest boots. Once she was secure, she turned to the staircase.

"Lloyd, I spoke with Mrs. Grumbmiller, you're gonna stay with her until I get back, is that alright?" She called loudly. Her words echoed through the house, and she braced herself for her younger brother's protests. Instead, she found only silence and she started to panic. She quickly realizing Lloyd hadn't run downstairs when she came inside. He didn't come crying and begging to know if anyone would help them like he had done every time she came home over the last two months.

When their previous attempts had failed.

After two months of trying, Nya and Lloyd returned home only to discover the town was debating what to do with their house and shop now that they were gone. It was only because of Nya's fury that the town would act so irresponsibly. Nya refused to leave their home unattended. Despite Lloyd's protest, Nya left him behind to protect the shop under Mrs. Grumbmiller's care during the lonely nights. Panic started to rush through Nya's entire being.

She bolted from the stairs, checking each room on the ground floor, painstakingly for her younger brother.

When her search failed she thundered up the old steps. Her eyes scanned every room, meticulously for any sign of the young boy. Nya's eyes widened when she entered her own room. Lloyd had been known to sleep there some nights when his worry became too much. Again she found it all empty, even missing a few things. The realization made her sick as she bolted upstairs, heading straight towards Lloyd's bedroom. She panicked and threw the door open but her heart sank into her stomach.

The room was empty, but dressers were left open, empty of clothes.

Her thick winter cloak was missing from the hanger as well as Lloyd's thickest pair of boots. The only evidence that the boy had been there at all was a note left on the bed. She grabbed it with haste and read it as fast as she could. Her eyes bulged with horror and fear as she read over each word, filled with tears.

Nya,

If you're reading this then I'm already gone. I'm sorry I didn't wait until you came back but no one is going to help us, I know that now. I can't leave our big brother to suffer in that horrible place. He's only there to protect me, so I've decided I'm going to go back to that castle, and no matter what I must do I will free our big brother. No matter what. I've already taken more than enough remedy so I won't choke, so don't worry about me.

Please don't come after me, Nya.

I know you and what you're planning. You'll try and switch places with Kai and I can't let that happen. That dumb duke is right about one thing, you two have sacrificed everything for me, now it's my turn to help you.

I love you, Ny-Ny.

Nya screamed and cursed, crushing the little note in her hand, cursing her baby brother's foolishness. Her hands clenched the window as she looked outside. Though Winter was fading quickly, new frost still encased the ground. Winter was still dangerous and it was the most hazardous time of year for someone with Lloyd's condition. She could also swear that those dark clouds rolling in were the signs of an incoming blizzard. A bad one at that.

Snow was already falling and getting heavier with every passing second.

She screeched as she tied on her boots and hopped down the hall, before finally falling over and stormed out the front door. If Lloyd died, she was going to murder him. As soon as she was ready, Nya bolted down the street and towards the woods for any sign of Lloyd as she vanished into the night. She was in such as rush that she didn't notice or hearing the hammer of footsteps approaching the now-empty home. The snow-covered any evidence of her footprints within seconds, masking her trail in the process.

Seconds after Nya left, Morro and Bansha arrived with Noble's collection wagon.

"Nya! Lloyd! Kai!" Morro hollered as he shoved the door to the dark house open, not even bothering with chivalry as Bansha stepped inside behind him. As soon as they entered, they saw that the house was vacant of light and life. The lamps had burnt out, the doors were locked, and no sound echoed through the rooms.

"Where are they? I thought Nya would be back by now!" The duke screeched like an angry owl.

"They're not here, Morro." She quirked, not wishing to be on the wrong side of the Duke's anger.

"This is ridiculous! How long do they plan on being gone? It's been four months!" He bellowed throughout the house. He hissed in a furious rage when no one answered him.

"Morro, you don't think... maybe..." Bansha trailed off nervously. She nervously rubbed her arms and flinched and looked at the floor when Morro's heated glare turned to her.

"If you are going to say what I think you're going to say, I don't want to hear it! There is no such thing as dragons or castles or any of this nonsense! It was a lie! A trick of their little minds!"

"But Morro, think of it!" She protested. "Kai's been gone for almost four months, and ever since his disappearance Nya has been going around town and asking anyone to help her, and Lloyd's been doing the same thing, swearing on their lives that he's been kidnapped and taken hostage by this dragon; they've even gone so far as to seek help from other towns! Why would they keep this story of a 'dragon' kidnapping Kai going if it wasn't true? What if Kai really was kidnapped?"

Morro glared at the girl and opened his mouth to protest but found he could not.

Instead, he stormed back through the door scowling.

"Alright, say this 'dragon' does exist and their story is true? Why would Kai stay with such a monstrosity?" He chuckled darkly.

"Well as you said, Morro, he would do anything to protect his family correct? Maybe, he was forced?" She suggested.

"Excuse me, duke." A smooth voice interrupted Morro as he was about to scream again. The two of them turned around and saw a tall man dressed in vibrant red and purple colors that made him glow in the darkness of the storm approached them. His hood shadowed his face and eyes and only pale streaks of black hair were visible.

"Forgive my forward intrusion, but I'm afraid I couldn't help but overhearing your plight, the plight of your town, and I think I may know what has befallen this unfortunate family." He said with the best fake saddest look he could muster. The pair exchanged equal bewildered glances until Morro's gaze hardened and he returned his glare to the man.

"And who are you?"

"My name of no importance to one of such caliber as yourself, sir." He bowed respectfully. Morro soaked the flattery up like a sponge, but Bansha shivered, catching the sinister smile crossing the man's face.

"Know only that I wish to aid you, I have traveled much in my lifetime, seeking wisdom and the destruction of injustice; if this creature is who I fear we must act quickly or I fear this boy, your fiancé's fate, may already be sealed."

"What are you talking about? What will happen to my Kai?" Morro demanded.

"My entire life, my lady, has been devoted to the destruction of a terrible beast who is responsible for the downfall of my ancestors." The man began. "A hundred years ago they ruled these lands until they were brutally betrayed by this creature, as punishment he was cursed to become a dragon and since then I have hunted him down in hopes of avenging my family's senseless destruction and it seems I have finally found him." He spoke with the passion of a tragic hero but remained focused on their reactions.

He could see they were both skeptical but there was fear evident in their eyes.

Fear that he knew was the perfect fuel for creating an angry mob or a rebellion or an army to obey one's will if it would promise the return of their safety.

"What does your personal crusade have to do with my fiancé?" Morro demanded again as Bansha's hands found his arm and squeezed it tightly, shivering at the frightening presence the man radiated.

"As I said, sir, the dragon is a monster." He spat. "He seeks an end to his curse, and unfortunately, that freedom includes the seduction of a beautiful and talented mortal, and apparently he's settled for this boy you've fallen for, so just you watch; he will descend his destruction on the entire town if given the chance!" The man spoke, emphasizing the destruction of the town and the word seduction.

"No!" Morro screamed and thrashed in fury and rage. "Kill him! Destroy him! Slice off his head!"

"Calm yourself, my lord." The stranger soothed in a sophisticated voice that commanded obedience. "There is still time to save the boy and his family, but I need your help, yours and this town's if you are willing to help me?" He asked as his eyes were soft and his voice pleading. "My only request is that you let me kill the monster, all I ask is to avenge my family, your land shall be yours once more and whatever riches are in the castle, I'm wealthy enough that I do not need such trivial things, all I seek is to avenge my family."

"Of course," Morro announced, throwing his cloak over his shoulder and howling in his delight. "We must get to the town hall immediately! Bansha, go and gather my council, tell them to rally the people, we have to rescue my fiancé!" He ordered, leaving no room for argument. Bansha shivered and nodded mutely, before rushing down the street desperate to get away from the man.

"By the way, who should I say you are when I explain you to the city?" The duke turned to the man as he hauled after his maid. He was shocked, however, to find the man had vanished into thin air. The only difference to before was the thundering of the incoming snowstorm clouds...

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Destroyed

Hehe Damage Branch Number 9 (or 5, depending). I will never stop.

Summary: As the ninja vanish one by one, Lloyd begins to fall apart.

Trigger Warnings: kidnapping, mental breakdown

1588 words

It was bad enough when it was just Cole.

Lloyd remembered the day they’d declared him missing like it was yesterday. Cole hadn’t been seen for days, and while they had been worrying since day one, they’d hoped he had just gotten caught up somewhere.

Day two had been full of distractions, too many low-grade criminals and too many things to take their minds off what was really important.

Day three was when they started to really, truly panic.

Day four officially marked their brother as missing.

Lloyd thought he could handle it. At first, he worked with the others and the police, doing everything in their power to figure out where Cole had been taken.

But as time dragged on, Lloyd found it harder and harder to get out of bed.

His brother was missing, and they had no leads.

Soon enough the others were splitting their time between searching and taking care of Lloyd. And Lloyd felt bad, really he did, it was selfish of him to distract his siblings like this. But he couldn’t get up, he could barely even eat. He just couldn’t.

It all reminded him so much of his brothers’ time in the First Realm. He’d thought them to be dead. He’d never felt more hopeless, then, never more absolutely full of despair.

But that was when he was too focused on staying alive himself, too busy fighting his stupid father. He’d cried himself to sleep every night, but he’d known he couldn’t afford to go off the deep end.

Cole’s disappearance alone should have been less bad than that. 

But something ugly twisted in Lloyd’s stomach when he wondered what could have possibly happened to his brother, and Lloyd was scared.

A gentle knocking sounded at his door, swinging open slowly before he even acknowledged it.

“Hey,” Jay said, bags under his eyes and hair a tangled mess. He handed Lloyd a bowl carefully, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’m going out tomorrow, gonna go around the neighborhood to see if anyone knows anything.”

“Which neighborhood?” Lloyd asked quietly, holding the spoon but finding himself too nauseous to eat.

“As many as I can hit,” Jay responded, smiling sadly at him. “We’re going to find Cole, even if I have to work through every person in Ninjago myself.”

Lloyd, finding himself with oddly teary eyes, just nodded. 

He just… he missed Cole so much. He knew, somewhere deep inside himself, that Cole was still alive. But for how long? What if they didn’t find him in time? What if Lloyd was the reason? He was so busy being helpless, what if because of him they never found Cole?

“Hey, hey, don’t cry, Green Bean,” Jay said, brushing his fingers through Lloyd’s hair in what was probably supposed to be a soothing gesture. It would have been nice if it hadn’t been for the rats nest of tangles Lloyd was sporting. Jay settled for rubbing circles on Lloyd’s shoulder instead. 

“I miss him,” Lloyd said, his voice barely coming out through his cries.

“We all do,” Jay agreed, letting Lloyd pitch forward and cry into his shoulder. “But we’re going to find him. I bet you he’ll be back before the month is up! Positive thinking works wonders,” Jay said, hugging his baby brother tight. “Get some sleep, Lloyd.”

———

Lloyd woke up with his entire body a burning numb.

Jay was gone, likely to do whatever it was he’d said he was doing yesterday. He was too tired to remember.

Lloyd pulled his blanket over his head, planning on going back to sleep so he could wake up whenever someone was around.

He hated being alone.

He stared at the blanket, letting his mind wander. 

He wished someone could be with him. But that was selfish. They were out looking for Cole, like any good sibling would do. Lloyd wasn’t any good. If he were, he'd be out helping.

He had hours to wallow in his misery before Zane came in to check on him.

———

 The weight of the world was crashing down on his shoulders.

Jay had yet to come back. His phone was going straight to voicemail, and it had been too long. Way too long.

Lloyd didn’t know what to do.

Jay wouldn’t just not answer their calls, especially when they were all distressed as they were. He had to have been caught up with something, or… or… 

He knew. Deep down, Lloyd knew what had happened.

Wrapping his mind around it sent tears pouring down his cheeks. Not again. Please not again.

God himself wouldn’t answer his pleas.

Jay was gone. Taken, maybe dead. He wasn’t coming back. Just like Cole. It was happening all over again.

Lloyd didn’t know what to do.

———

Barely a few months later was the day Lloyd found himself at his tipping point.

Zane had gone out — a stupid, stupid decision, and Lloyd should have begged him not to go — and though it had hardly been an hour, Lloyd was getting nervous. 

It was only a quick trip. Zane would be there and back, he’d be back within the next fifteen minutes, even. There was no reason for Lloyd to have any idea that Zane wouldn’t be coming back.

Of course he would come back.

Zane wasn’t going to succumb to whatever horrible, horrible fate poor Cole and Jay had met. Zane was strong. Zane was smart. Zane would be fine.

In the back of his head, Lloyd wondered if maybe Cole and Jay had just run away together. He giggled through the tears at the thought of them having been at a cozy little cottage this whole time. Happy and unharmed.

He almost wished they’d abandoned him. It would be easier to face than whatever the reality must have been.

The clock kept ticking, as it always did. No word from Zane. No nothing.

Lloyd was too scared to call.

He was too scared to hear the dial tone, too scared that it would go straight to voicemail. He was too scared that they wouldn’t be able to track his phone when Zane didn’t pick up.

They never had any luck with tracking phones. Not before, not now. 

Whatever had happened to his brothers was smarter than that. He wished bad things could be stupid.

Hours later, he heard the door open.

The relief was almost enough to get him out of bed.

He was beat to it, though, as his own bedroom door swung open to reveal… Kai and Nya. Right, they’d gone out together earlier to talk to the police again. Together. Safe.

Zane wasn’t safe.

When his last two siblings left asked him where he was, Lloyd couldn’t answer. Zane was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be back. He was supposed to be with them.

“Where is he, Lloyd?” Kai asked, his voice soft, but sounding like a demand all the same. “Please, you’ve got to tell us.”

“Gone,” Lloyd whispered, trembles and shakes running up and down his whole body.

“What do you mean gone?” Nya asked.

She knew what he meant. They both did. The siblings shared a look of terror.

“We have to find him, we’re going to, we’re going out right now—”

Lloyd surprised all three of them when he interrupted Nya with a scream that ripped from his throat like fire.

“I can’t!” he sobbed, throwing himself around the two. “Not again, not again, I can’t, I’m sorry,” he cried.

“We’ll find them,” Nya promised, hugging him tight. “We will.”

“You’re okay, Lloyd,” Kai said, his own cries muffled as he tried to comfort his baby brother. The last brother he had left. “We’re here. We won’t ever leave you.”

———

Lloyd had never believed Kai to be a liar. But today, he knew it to be true.

Kai had lied to him. 

He’d told him he’d never leave, he’d promised him, he’d sworn it, how could he do this to him?

His brothers, every single last one of them, were gone! They’d left him!

He didn’t know what to do. With Kai gone, what more did Lloyd have? It was Garmadon’s reign all over again.

But this time they’d been ripped from him one by one, they were gone, it had been a year since this had all started. Cole wasn’t ever going to come back, was he?

All Lloyd had left was Nya. His father was an evil incarnate, his mom was hardly ever around, his uncle probably only saw him as the Green Ninja.

The Green Ninja.

Lloyd scoffed. That legend, that destiny, had taken absolutely everything from him. It had stolen his childhood right from under his feet, it had caused him pain and hardship that most could never even fathom. It had put him through absolute hell, for years!

But he had dealt with it. It had all been okay, because his family had been with him. His brothers. They’d been by his side every step of the way, they’d made all of it worth it.

Was it worth it now?

No, Lloyd decided, clenching his fists tightly by his side. It wasn’t worth it, it wasn’t fair, it wasn’t any of that. He couldn’t live like this, not anymore. 

He was going to find his brothers, he was going to bring them home, and then nobody was going to come after them ever again.

Even if he had to burn the world to the ground to do it.

[nonexistent-anime-echo]

Electrical Clogs AU Intro

A/N: I FOUND A SHIP! It's Jay/Echo (also known as Steampunk) and I feel like it could be really heccin cute so I'm going to write about it. So here we go! This is honestly my new favorite Jay ship. I still ship him with (almost) everyone but this one's my favorite right now. I think I'm going to say this is in an AU where either Jay or Cyrus updated his systems, so he's more modern (kinda like what Zane did when he rebuilt himself). They kept his original brownish/rusty color so it was easier to tell the difference between him and Zane (since they look so similar). Also, this takes place I'm thinking between seasons 4 and 5.

I'm also in a Oppo mood so enjoy some slightly suggestive Zane and Kai

Another warning: ECHO IS NOT INNOCENT IN THIS AU. I tried to keep him innocent but my brain was working against it and I also thought it would make more sense, since he'd lived with the ninja and had internet access for a while. He'd pick up on things at some point, probably based on phrases and reactions. That or he did whatever the Ninjago equivalent of googling something is to understand things better. Basically, Echo matured from being with our color coded morons for so long (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) im sorry if i ruin echo for you, if you're really worried about it just don't read this

More information on this AU here

----

  Jay woke up to cold metal poking him and opened his eyes, yawning. 

  "Echo, what are you doing?" he asked, looking at the android in front of him and smiling.

  "Counting your freckles," Echo replied. He continued to poke Jay's face. 

  "Echo, you're fun and all, but can you keep that to a minimum?" Jay said, still smiling. "It's relaxing but not the best thing to wake up to."

  "Of course!"

  "Jay, did you really fall asleep at the table again?" asked Zane as he walked into the room.

  "Maybe."

  "Hello, brother!" said Echo excitedly. 

  "Hello, Echo," said Zane, smiling.

  There was a pause. 

  "Jay, you need to stop falling asleep at the table," said Zane. 

  "But Zane —" Jay groaned, laying his head back down on the table. 

  "Jay, it's better for your back if you're on a bed!" said Zane exasperatedly.

  Jay groaned, standing up. 

  "Wait, why are you up?" said Jay as he caught a glimpse of the sky. It was still dark out, and the moon hung high in the sky.

  "Uhhhh —"

  Kai walked into the room, yawning. His eyes widened as he saw Echo and Jay. He covered his bare chest, his face flushed.

  "I've seen enough, let's go, Echo," said Jay. Echo glanced at Zane and Kai before following Jay to their room.

  "Jay, why couldn't we stay?"

  "I'm tired," said Jay. "And your brother's right, my bed's more comfortable than the table."

  "Oh," said Echo. "Well, goodnight!"

  "Goodnight, Echo," said Jay, laying down on his bed. He paused for a minute. 

  "Hey, Echo, how would you like to share my bed with me?"

  Echo's eyes lit up. 

  "Sure!"

  Jay smirked as Echo curled up next to him. He shivered slightly, since Echo hadn't warmed up yet, but welcomed the chill. He quickly fell asleep to the sound of Echo's mechanical whirs.

----

"Jay, what are you doing in bed with my brother?"

  Jay woke up to Zane's harsh tone.

  "It sounds bad no matter how I explain it —"

  "Don't tell me you —"

  "I'm proud to say Echo's still as innocent as ever," Jay interrupted, sitting up and folding his arms defiantly.

  "Good," said Zane. "That doesn't make me any less frustrated that you have Echo in your bed with you."

  "Zane —"

  "Good morning!" said Echo, yawning and smiling. He got out of Jay's bed, walking out of the room. Zane watched.

  "I don't know if it makes me feel better or worse that he fell asleep next to you."

  "Why is it so bad that he fell asleep next to me? I honestly didn't even know he slept —"

  "You could've rolled over and knocked him off the bed or done some other damage to him —"

  "Zane, he's copper," said Jay. "Copper's a fairly strong metal."

  "Zane's a fairly strong metal!" shouted Kai, snickering.

  "I know how you meant that!" Zane shouted back, his eyes pink. 

  "My point is he's made of a strong metal," said Jay. "I'm not going to dent him if I roll over and knock him off the bed or accidentally roll on top of him."

  "It's just — he's my little brother," said Zane.

  "I know," said Jay with a small smile. "You're naturally going to be protective of him."

  Zane sat down next to him.

  "The most I'll do is give him little cheek pecks, but we're not quite to that stage yet," said Jay. "Think of it like I'm your almost brother-in-law. Not quite, but I'm with your sibling, so I'm almost your brother-in-law. If that makes sense."

  "It does," said Zane. "I still don't know if I'm comfortable with it or not."

  "I won't spend any time with Echo without you around until you decide," said Jay. "If you decide it's okay, then we'll discuss it then. If you don't, then I'll have you tell me what I can and can't do with him."

  "I'm not saying you have to be in my sight all the time!" said Zane, sounding a little frustrated. "I know you won't hurt him! I just would feel safer if you didn't do certain things with him until I figure this out!"

  "Okay," said Jay. "What don't you want me to do with him?"

  "Well, you don't move a lot in your sleep so I'm not too worried about you sharing your bed with him," said Zane. "Just treat it platonically until I figure everything out."

  “If you aren’t worried about me sharing a bed with him, then why’d you freak out about it?” asked Jay. 

  “Probably because I wasn’t expecting to wake up to see one of my best friends and my brother in the same bed,” replied Zane. “Just please be careful with him. Don’t do anything inappropriate or suggestive. I don’t care that he won’t know what you’re doing if you start being suggestive, just please don’t. I want him to stay innocent.”

  “I do too, I’m not going to do anything,” said Jay. "I promise."

  He walked out of the room, leaving Zane with Kai. 

----

Echo messed with the drawstrings on his joggers. 

  "Hey, Echo," said Jay, sitting down next to him. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he caught sight of Echo's fidgeting.

  "I'm fine," said Echo. "I just wish I understood things like what happened with Kai and Zane last night."

  "You'll understand in time," said Jay, smiling. "Don't worry. If Zane lets you understand, that is."

  Echo's eyes briefly flashed red. Jay's eyes widened; Echo's eyes never flashed red.

  "I don't want to be innocent and pure anymore," Echo mumbled. "I want to understand the jokes you guys make."

  "I would help you with that but Zane would literally murder me," said Jay. "We all care about you. That's what matters, right?"

  "Wu wants us to start training," said Lloyd, walking over to Jay and Echo. "And my dad."

  "Can I come?" Echo asked excitedly. Lloyd chuckled.

  "Sure, Echo," he said. Echo's eyes lit up. They walked to the training area. Echo quickly ran inside, coming back out in his ninja outfit. 

  After a bit, they stopped for lunch. Zane and Echo sat off to the side, talking. 

  "Brother, why are you so determined to keep me pure and innocent?" Echo asked, laying back. Zane hesitated. 

  "You're my little brother," he said. "I don't want you to be traumatized."

  "Why would I be traumatized?"

  "Trust me, some of the things I see online are pretty traumatizing. I just don't want you to get hurt."

  They were silent for a few minutes.

  “Master Wu, please don’t make us train more,” said Cole, collapsing on the ground next to the table. 

  “We’re begging you,” said Kai, getting on his knees and putting his hands together. “Please don’t make us train more.”

  Wu narrowed his eyes, staring at Kai and Cole. 

  “We’ve been training all morning,” said Cole.

  Zane and Echo ignored the rest of the conversation.

  "How would you feel if I didn't let you go to fight?" asked Echo, staring at Zane. "I could, I've lost you once and don't want to lose you again."

  "That — that's different," said Zane, not making eye contact with Echo. 

  "Hey, guys," said Jay, walking over to them. "Did — did I interrupt something?"

  "No," said Zane quietly. Echo got up, hugging Jay tightly and smiling, looking at Zane. Zane gave a little half-smile. 

  "Are you sure everything's okay?" Jay asked, looking at Zane with a worried expression.

  "Yeah," answered Zane, standing up and brushing off his thighs. "Everything's fine, Jay. Did Kai and Cole convince Wu to let us have the rest of the day off?"

  "Yeah," said Jay. "They wouldn't leave him alone about it so he just gave up."

  Echo let go of Jay, running around the forest Wu had taken them to. Zane and Jay laughed a little.

  "He has so much energy," said Jay.

  "You do too," said Zane. Jay started climbing a tree, resting on one of the branches. A yell caught his and Zane's attention. Jay quickly jumped down from the tree. 

  "Echo," he and Zane said in unison. They ran toward where the yell had come from. Echo was slowly walking backwards toward a tree, cornered by a wolf.

  "Echo, run!" Jay shouted. "We'll take care of it, run!"

  Echo started running toward Jay and Zane. The wolf followed him. It caught up to him, grabbing his arm and almost tearing it off; Jay and Zane stopped it before Echo could lose his entire arm. Echo started hyperventilating.

  "E-Echo, try to stay calm —" said Jay as Zane looked at Echo's arm. "It'll be okay, calm down —"

  As Echo's hyperventilation got worse, Jay started to panic. He glanced at Zane nervously. 

  It's the only way to get him to calm down.

  Jay kissed Echo, forcing him to hold his breath. He heard Zane say something next to him, but ignored it. Echo put his undamaged arm on the back of Jay's neck, urging him to come closer. Zane threw himself between them.

  "Okay, that's enough," he said, shoving Jay away from Echo. 

  "I was just trying to get him to stop hyperventilating," said Jay. 

  "I understand but —"

  "Guys — whoa, what happened to Echo?" said Kai, stopping in his tracks as he saw Echo's arm. 

  "He was attacked by a wolf," said Jay. He watched as Zane picked up Echo, who whimpered and reached toward Jay with his undamaged arm. 

  "Zaaaaanneeee," he groaned. "I want Jay to come with us."

  "No, sorry," said Zane, walking away. He stopped when he reached Nya. Jay looked at his back and stuck his tongue out.

  "Jay, what'd you do?" asked Cole, walking over and glaring at him. 

  "He was hyperventilating! I was just trying to get him to stop —" said Jay, staring at Cole. 

  "You really seem to have upset Zane by doing that," said Kai. 

  "He's Echo's older brother," said Jay. "I would've been surprised if he wasn't upset."

  "There's more that happened," said Cole. Jay looked down at the grass. 

  "He's probably upset because I'm the one that initiated it and Echo was trying to pull me closer," he said. "I guess he thought Echo wanted to make out with me or something? Echo's too innocent to even consider that."

  "At least, that's what he wants us to think," said Kai. Jay looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

  "Kai —"

  "You never know," said Kai. "Maybe his dad explained things to him."

  "I doubt it," said Cole. 

  "Well, he's definitely not dumb and he's had internet access since before Lloyd defeated the Overlord," said Kai. "I just find how innocent he seems unnerving."

  "That doesn't mean he's not innocent, Kai," said Cole. Jay let out a whimper. Kai and Cole stared at him.

  "I wish Zane would just let me be with Echo," he said. "I'm not going to hurt him."

  "You have to remember that Echo is Zane's little brother," said Cole. "He'll come around. Just give it time."

  Jay nodded, getting up and following Kai and Cole over to Lloyd. They walked back to the bounty in silence.

----

Echo felt his arm. It was completely fixed; you wouldn't be able to tell a wolf tried to tear it off. 

  "Zane, I know what we agreed on, but he was hyperventilating and I didn't know how hyperventilating would affect him —" Jay's voice was slowly getting closer. "I know you're his older brother —"

  "Jay, I'm just trying to protect him," Zane's voice replied. Echo laid back, waiting for them to enter the room. 

  "From what, Zane?" Jay sounded angry; Echo winced. When Jay was angry, he gave whoever he was angry with hell. Echo heard electric crackles from Jay, confirming his suspicions that Jay was angry. 

  "I don't want anything bad to happen to him!" Zane shouted. 

  "And you think I'm going to do something bad to him?" Jay yelled. The crackles got louder. There was a sound of metal hitting the wooden floor of the bounty, followed by Jay's sobbing. Echo so badly wanted to comfort him, but Zane would be upset if he did. 

  But does that even matter right now?

  Echo stood up, walking out of the room, running over to Jay. He hugged him tightly, looking down at the floor. Zane was laying there, dazed but not unconscious. Jay held onto Echo as if his life depended on it, sobbing into his shoulder. The sound of footsteps rang in Echo's sound processors, telling him someone was running to see what happened. He hugged Jay tighter. Kai and Cole came into the hallway, and, upon seeing Zane on the floor, stared at Jay intensely. 

  "What happened?" demanded Kai, helping Zane up. As Zane swayed a little, Kai helped support him.

  "I — I —" began Jay; he couldn't finish what he was trying to say, continuing to sob into Echo's shoulder. Echo rubbed circles into Jay's back, trying to calm him down. After a minute he stopped sobbing, looking at Kai and Zane. 

  "Zane and I were fighting," he said, not making eye contact with either of them. "Not physically, just verbally. I got too upset and electrocuted Zane."

  "Maybe you shouldn't have done that!" shouted Kai. 

  "K-Kai, calm down," said Zane. "It's partially my fault we were fighting in the first place."

  "He electrocuted you," said Kai. He moved to stand defensively in front of Zane. 

  "Kai, I'm sorry," said Jay, looking at him. 

  "You should be apologizing to Zane, not me!"

  "Kai, seriously, calm down," said Cole. "Jay probably did it on impulse."

  Kai walked away with Zane, glaring at Jay as he did so. Echo and Jay broke apart, smiling.

  "Thanks, Cole," said Jay. 

  "No problem," Cole replied, smiling. "I just know you wouldn't electrocute without a decent reason to."

  "Which would probably be never."

  "C'mon, Jay," said Echo, grabbing Jay's arm.

  "Well, I guess this is a 'Bye for now' moment," said Jay. "See ya later!"

  "Don't have too much fun!"

  "Cole, no," said Jay as he walked away with Echo. They walked into the room Jay shared with the others. They sat down on Jay's bed; Jay leaned back. Echo leaned over him.

  "E-Echo, your brother —"

  "Who cares what Zane says?" Echo said.

  "Echo, when did you even —"

  "I've lived with you guys and had access to the internet for how long?" Echo answered, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "If you're uncomfortable —"

  "I'm fine, I'm just worried about how Zane's going to react if he finds out —" said Jay. His face was bright pink.

  "He doesn't have to," said Echo. 

  "How are we supposed to prevent him from finding out?" Jay asked, relaxing under him.

  "Still working on that," said Echo. He laid down, his head resting on Jay's chest. Nya poked her head in the door. 

  “Hey, Lloyd, Zane, Kai, Cole and I are going to see a movie,” she said. “Wanna come?”

  “Nah, we’ll stay here,” said Jay. 

  “Zane won’t be too happy if you stay here alone with Echo —" Nya said nervously.

  "It's not like we're going to do anything," said Jay. "Go enjoy your movie. We'll take a nap or something."

  "O-okay," said Nya. She left. "We'll be back in a bit!" she added as she walked down the hall.

  "Guess we got our chance," said Jay, sitting up. Zane walked by and glared at them before he left.

  "I'm not going to do anything to him, tin head!" shouted Jay as Zane walked away. He heard Zane groan a little before hearing five people step off the bounty. Echo pushed Jay back, pinning him to the bed. 

  "This is weird," said Jay with a chuckle. "I'm so used to seeing you as innocent and pure."

  "Well, now you know I'm not," said Echo with a smile. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Jay's. Jay nipped at Echo's lower lip. Echo parted his lips, allowing Jay to deepen the kiss. After a few minutes they broke apart. Jay was breathing heavily. 

  "Didn't — didn't know you had that in you, Echo," he said, smiling. "I kinda like it."

  "Thanks," said Echo. He collapsed on Jay, smiling and closing his eyes. 

  "Maybe we should take a nap like I told Nya we would," said Jay, relaxing and closing his eyes. "I'm tired."

  "I agree," said Echo. He positioned himself to where he could listen to Jay's heartbeat, eventually falling fast asleep on Jay's chest. Jay smiled and fell asleep not long after.

----

A/N: So there we go! My wonderful intro story to my Steampunk AU, which I think I'm going to call the Electrical Clogs AU (thanks to midnight---hollow for the name!). I was mainly using Oppo as a filler ship to kind of show how protective Zane is (I guess I could've done that without the ship but oh well, I felt like writing some Oppo). Hope you enjoyed!

[strangermask]

HC storytime

Welcome to the first HC storytime. A mini-series where I write about my hcs for fandoms I know about. Won’t have a full-on schedule unless I feel as if people are really enjoying this, so enjoy!

Word Count: 1,613

Fandom: Lego Ninjago

The main character(s) in the writing: Kai

HC: Lactose Intolerance

Warnings: Mention and action of vomit/puking

When Kai was eleven, he would get sick. He would get bad stomach aches, burp a lot, and throw up. However, it only happened when he drank milk, ate cheese, or something that involved milk. Nya was getting worried about her big brother and went to grab the village doctor. “What is the problem again Nya?” Dr. Huntre asked, carrying his brown bag.

“Kai keeps getting sick after drinking milk and eating cheese,” Nya answered.

“What do you mean?”

“He gets tummy aches, he throws up, and he burps a lot.”

It took some time for the two to reach the Four Weapons. As the two enter the shop, they could hear someone throwing up. They ran to the bathroom to find Kai laying his head on the toilet.

“Kai, are you alright?” Dr. Huntre asked as he hurried over to the poor eleven-year-old boy.

“I’m fine.” Kai lied as he threw up again.

Dr. Huntre thought about the symptoms Nya explained to him, and when it happens.

“Kai, what have you recently eaten?”

“Ice cream.”

“How long has it been since you ate ice cream?”

“I ate it when Nya left.”

Kai threw up again. Dr. Huntre searched through his bag and found his notepad along with his breath test tool.

“Kai, can you breathe through this?”

Kai nodded and did so. Dr. Huntre looked at the tool and saw the number at 138 PPM. He looked in his notebook to look for Kai’s last recorded breath test.

Kai Ash Smith

Age-11

Breath Test-97 PPM

(I don’t know the moderate amount for children. I did look it up, but it told me 97-99%)

Dr. Huntre realizes what’s going on, and sighed in relief.

“I think I know the problem,” Dr. Huntre said as he put his notebook away. “Kai, you seem to be lactose intolerant.”

“What does that mean?” Nya asked.

“Inside the body, there are these little workers called lactase that break down milk and other milk-related food. They do that so the body doesn’t have problems in the future. In Kai’s case, there aren’t enough lactase in his body, so he has more trouble digesting milk and other milk-related food.”

“Is there a cure?” Kai asked.

“I’m afraid not, but there are ways to help you so you don’t have to go through this every time.”

After Kai started to feel better, Dr. Huntre told Kai about the other food options he could eat so that he still got the calcium he needed. Kai gladly took the other food option, but he would still eat ice cream.

In the present time.

“Three years Kai,” Nya told Kai.

“Nya, please don’t do this again,” Kai asked.

“It’s been three years, and you still haven’t told them about your lactose intolerance.”

“They don’t need to know.”

“They do.”

“Why?”

“What if someone makes a giant dairy feast and you eat that? You’re going to end up being stuck in the bathroom for a long time.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Now that’s a joke.”

Kai rolled his eyes.

“I’m going to visit Mom and Dad for a while, and I am going to visit Dr. Huntre,” Nya said.

“Why are you going to Dr. Huntre?” Kai asked.

“To tell him about your recent behavior.”

Kai stuck his tongue at Nya, and she did it back. She left the monastery and Kai was now alone in his room.

I do want to tell them, but what if they make fun of me?

“Kai, lunch is ready!” Zane called out.

Kai left his room and went to the dining room. He turned into a ghost when he saw what was on the table.

Oh Nya, why did you jinx me? Kai thought to himself.

On the table, there were: cucumber leek soup, ham & cheese grits, oven-baked chicken with mozzarella cheese, and a Colby Cobb salad.

“Are you okay Kai?” Zane asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Kai responded, “Just surprised by the big feast.”

“Well we didn’t have many ingredients and most of them were going to expire soon.”

Kai’s stomach dropped. If the food they had were going to expire soon, you knew Zane was the one cooking. Kai smiled nervously. He sat down with the others and began to eat. There was no way he was going to hurt Zane’s feelings.

After lunch.

Kai regretted having seconds, and he knew he was going to get scolded by Nya. She wasn’t here right now, so at least there was that.

Besides, it won’t happen immediately, Kai told himself. It takes about thirty minutes anyway, that’s plenty of time to find a way to cover this.

Kai began to think of ways he could avoid telling everyone he’s lactose intolerant. He could probably just say he drank soda for the burping part. That was easy. But the hardest part was coming up with an excuse for the stomach aches and the vomiting. Food poisoning? Zane would blame himself. Got the stomach flu? Straight to the medical room, and a ticket to them finding out. Ate a snack that was expired?... That might work. He’ll just tell them that.

“Hey, Wu wants us outside for training,” Jay said.

“I’m coming.” Kai got up.

The two went outside to the training yard and began training.

Meanwhile, with Nya.

“How’s Kai?” Maya asked.

“He’s doing better after the incident,” Nya answered. “But he’s being super stubborn about his health.”

“What do you mean?”

“He won’t tell anyone about his lactose intolerance.”

“I guess it’s your mother and my fault for that.” Ray chuckled.

“What do you mean?” Nya asked her father.

“Well Kai has my stubbornness, and your mother is also lactose intolerant.”

“You were a very stubborn man when I first met you,” Maya smirked.

Ray chuckled a bit.

“Oh, Nya, you said you were here for something else?”

“Oh yeah, I’m going to visit Dr. Huntre afterward,” Nya said as she took another sip from her tea.

“What for?”

“I need to inform him about Kai’s behavior, plus there is something I need from him.”

“Shouldn’t you go then?”

“It can wait for a while. Right now, I’m spending time with my parents.”

Back at the monastery.

The training session was finally over, and everyone was tired. Kai went to his room to check what time it was.

12:54 PM

It can't be thirty minutes already! Kai bit his lip.

Time wasn’t lying. He clutched aching stomach, cursing to himself. He toughens up, and he went to look for the guys. 

Kai found them in the gaming room. Jay was the first to notice Kai.

"Hey Kai," Jay waved when noticed Kai's pale face. "Are you alright? You look pale."

Kai nodded. The pain in his stomach is getting worse.

Zane looked over at Kai, and he looked like he was going to throw up.

"Is something wrong?" Zane asked.

Kai was about to say something. Then he felt it. Vomit was starting to rise. He ran to the bathroom and went straight to the toilet. He then threw up.

Everyone heard the red ninja vomiting and went to check on him. He was found laying his on the toilet seat with vomit hanging from his mouth.

Cole came to Kai's side and rubbed his back.

"What happened?" Cole asked.

"Probably ate something bad," Kai answered before throwing up again. Cole was feeling suspicious.

"Okay, let's get you to bed for now."

Cole helped Kai up and carried him to his room. Zane grabbed the bathroom trashcan and followed the two.

The three got to Kai's room, and he was laid down in his bed. Zane put the trash can near Kai.

“Stay in here and rest, I’m going to try to find some medicine for you,” Zane told Kai.

He nodded, and Cole and Zane left the room.

After a few minutes of looking for medicine, Nya came home.

“Hey Zane,” Nya said. “Are you looking for something?”

“I’m looking for medicine for Kai,” Zane answered.

“Did something happen?”

“He’s been throwing up for a few minutes. He says he ate something bad, but I only recall him eating lunch.”

“What did you use for lunch?”

“Mostly food that would expire soon, which were mostly dairy products strangely.”

“How much did Kai eat?”

“He had two servings, is there a reason why you’re asking me these questions?”

“I’ll be right back.”

Nya ran to Kai’s room. There he was, lying down while suffering.

“Please don’t tell me you ate two servings of dairy,” Nya begged.

“You’re the one who jinxed me.” Kai glared.

“Why would you eat that much!”

“I didn’t want to hurt Zane’s feelings!”

Kai threw up.

“This was the reason why you should have told them you’re lactose intolerant!”

“Wait, Kai is lactose intolerant?” Lloyd asked.

The Smith siblings looked at the doorway. Lloyd, Cole, Jay, and Zane were there.

Before Kai could say anything, he let out a large belch. He hid under his blankets, turning red.

After explaining.

“So Kai has been lactose intolerant this whole time?” Jay asked.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Cole asked Kai.

“Because you guys would make fun of me and poke at me for it,” Kai answered turning his head away. “Just like everyone else.”

Everyone looked at each other.

“We promise we won’t poke at you or make fun of you for it,” Zane promised. “We’re going to go easy on our use of dairy for cooking from now on. For now, you need to rest.”

So Kai spent the last hour being in pain.

And everyone did go easy on the dairy. They also made sure to poke or joke about Kai’s lactose intolerance.

[littleogreboii]

NYA! KAI FORGOT TO DEFROST THE CHICKEN! Chapter 6: wisdom should come swift with a hot chocolate and not tea *cough* wu *cough*

First | Previous | Next

Summary: Lloyd questions his life choices as a 16 year old, runaway dropout. Kai is pulling ideas out his ass for his Buzzfeed articles, which means he’s doing great. Nya is getting sick and tired of how incompetent her mentor is.

Chapter Summary: Cole and Pixal together are 10 ten times more wise than Wu and Nya will stand by that.

AN: Swearing again woo! There’s the tiniest bit of alcohol in this chapter and a heck of a lot of sex talk. No actual sex though. I really regret not making this a Cole, Pixal and Zane centric fic.

AO3 | FF

Nya doesn’t speak to Jay during the whole car ride. She’s already exploded at her brother, she doesn’t need to explode at Jay too. Besides, Jay’s not her responsibility. Jay has two perfectly good parents at home to yell at him. It helps that Nya can also feel the guilty anxiety radiating off of Jay in waves. She doesn’t say goodbye or thank him for the ride. She simply gets out and slams the door behind her.

She knocks on Pixal’s door and tugs on her hair while she waits. Cole’s the one to answer and god had Nya hoped Pixal was home alone. Cole takes in her appearance for a minute before waving her inside. He leads her straight to the living room where Pixal’s wrapped in a blanket. Pixal immediately rises when she spots Nya.

“Nya?” Pixal rushes forward. “What’s wrong?” And seeing the concern of Pixal’s face becomes Nya’s breaking point. “Oh god, Nya? What happened?” Pixal hesitantly raises a hand to Nya’s cheek.

“I’ll go make some hot chocolate.” Cole suggests, leaving the two girls to talk. He pauses as he hears Nya release another sob. “I’ll make that hot chocolate with rum.”

Once Cole’s gone, Pixal guides Nya to the sofa. “What happened, Nya?” Pixal resists the urge to bounce her foot on the floor. Skylor is usually better when it comes to this sort of thing. 

“Kai’s a fucking idiot.” Nya sobs.

“Well that much is obvious.” Pixal smirks. “What’d he do this time?”

Nya scowls. “He nearly set the flat on fire for what? Some stupid article?”

“What a dick.” Pixal leans back resting an arm along the back of the sofa. “You know my offer still stands?”

“Thanks, Pix, but I can’t do that to Kai.” Nya looks up at Pixal and grins through the tears. “Besides, I wouldn’t feel right living in this mansion.” 

Pixal scoffs. “How many times do I say that this isn’t a mansion? This might as well be a cottage.”

“Pix, have you ever seen a cottage?” Cole cuts in as he returns with 3 mugs of hot chocolate. He passes one to Pixal and one to Nya.

“Yes!” Pixal replies indignantly.

“Right.” Cole nods as he sits in the arm chair. “Let me rephrase that. Have you ever seen a cottage in person?”

“I fucking hate you.” Pixal scowls.

“Sure. Love you too.” Cole blows a kiss at Pixal. “Anyway, have you given any thought on why Kai’s suddenly become Jay version 2.0?”

Nya frowns. “He’s an idiot?”

“Yeah, but this is Kai we’re talking about. Mr. I’m gonna bottle my feelings until they explode and then get angry at everyone for not noticing my feelings.” Cole raises his voice to imitate Kai.

“A+ Kai impression.” Pixal gives a thumbs up, her mouth barely leaving her mug.

“What are you trying to say?” Nya leans forward.

Cole shifts in his seat. “Well neither of you really got a childhood and working at Buzzfeed? That’s essentially childhood on speed. So Kai’s probably just picked a god awful time to decide he wants a childhood.”

“Most kids don’t nearly burn down their home.” Nya states.

“Most kids aren’t friends with Jay.” Cole points out. “Besides, I never said Kai was aiming for the average childhood experience. He’s aiming for that Buzzfeed manufactured shit.”

She groans. “Oh great, so I’ve just gotta wait for my brother to decide he wants to be an adult?”

“I didn’t say that.” Cole frowns. “It’s more ya gotta remind him there’s better ways to go about it. Like remind him he can be an idiot, but there should still be a couple brain cells at work.”

“How the fuck do I do that?” Nya loves Cole very dearly, but sometimes he sounds like a remixed Wu.

Cole shrugs. “I dunno.” And Cole’s wisdom again fails him at the most crucial point.

“Through sibling bonding.” Pixal suggests, picking up Cole’s slack. “Think about it, when was the last time you and Kai did anything together for fun?”

Nya goes to answer, but Cole cuts her off. “And hangouts with all of us don’t count.”

“Ok, you got me there. But what would we do?” Nya tilts her head.

Pixal furrows her brows. “Something dumb like…” She furrows them further, before relaxing them. “Nope. Sorry. I’m not dumb enough to plan this bit.”

“Go to an arcade or something. Go to maccies. I dunno. Just don’t put too much thought into it.” Cole suggests.

“Arcade and maccies could work.” Nya sips her hot chocolate. “It would be fun to annihilate him at air hockey again.”

Pixal leans forward and places her hands on Nya’s shoulders. “Destroy him.”

Nya nervously laughs. “Ok?” She looks to Cole for help.

Cole rolls his eyes. “Ignore her. Pixal’s just mad that last time we went, Zane beat her.”

Nya smiles. “Ah. I see.”

“Zane cheated.” Pixal states.

“They didn’t.” Cole corrects. “You can’t blame Zane for you being a horny bitch.”

“They were wearing a fitted crop top!” Pixal cries. “How was I meant to focus when they looked that fuckable?”

Cole looks at Nya. “I’ll never forget her face when I owned up to telling Zane to wear that top.”

Pixal scowls. “You also told them to wear those leather jeans!”

“Well yeah. If I’m gonna commit sabotage, I might as well go all out.” Cole shrugs.

Pixal straightens. “That’s it! No sex for a week!”

Cole leans back. “That’s fine by me. I’ll just jerk off in the shower.” Cole smirks. “Or did you forget that sort of thing will only hurt you more than me?”

“I hate you.” Pixal deflates, but rises again. “Ok fine. No kisses for a week.”

Cole jumps up. “No! No! Don’t do this to me! Please, I’ll do anything!”

Pixal looks at Nya. “Men. They’re all idiots.”

Nya smiles. “Amen.” And they clink mugs.

Pixal turns back to Cole. “Beg bitch.”

“Oh hell no!” Nya jumps up. “No! I do not need to see this!”

Pixal laughs. “Your loss.”

Cole sits back down and whispers, “Thank you, Nya.”

Pixal scoffs. “Don’t think you got out of it. We’ll continue this later.”

Nya seems to reach a realisation as she sits back down. “Oh god! I’ve totally intruded on your night. I’m so-”

“Apologise and I will punch you in the face.” Pixal states. “Cole and I were waiting for Zane to finish work.”

Cole nods. “Yeah, besides that all we were gonna do was order Chinese.”

“But this is your date night.” Nya protests.

“So?” Pixal shrugs. “We literally do these every few days and no matter who’s here, Zane and I will end up fucking, and Cole will spoon us afterwards.”

Cole sighs. “What she’s trying to say is that this is probably more awkward for you than us.”

Nya quirks her head. “You two are so weird.”

Cole chuckles. “Believe me. We know.”

“News flash. You’re weird too.” Pixal adds.

“But in all honesty, if you and Zane are gonna be fucking, I’m gone.” Nya states.

Pixal nods. “That’s fair.”

Cole gets up. “Come on. We’ll take you home.”

Pixal frowns. “Wait, I have to come too?”

“Yes. Now get up.” Cole smirks.

“You’re a villain, Cole Brookstone.” Pixal gets up and points at Cole. “You hear me? A villain.”

Nya laughs. “You two are so cute.”

Pixal tilts her head. “Geez Cole, how much rum did you put in her hot chocolate? It’s almost like Nya just laughed.”

“You’re a little shit, you know that right?” Cole ruffles Pixal’s hair, before pulling her into her side. They look into each other’s eyes and Cole leans down so they can touch heads.

Nya resists the urge to melt into a puddle. “That was fucking adorable!”

“Right, home time, Nya.” Cole guides her to the door.