#lloyd voice: everything is connected (eventually)

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

If it's not a spoiler could you explain a bit more about your dark matter from season 2? Where did it come from, what is it for what kind of substance is it like dust or more liquiy? Does it simply make someone want to do bad things or make one not see the differences between good and bad? Just making someone more aggressiv? Is it magic or something more scientificy?

If Magic is the "physical" form of the Element of Surprise, then Dark Matter could be compared to being the "physical" form of the Overlord's Essence (Essence of Oblivion / Void Essence)

The Overlord spent so long sealed on the Dark Island that his Essence started to seep into the land, hence why it can be mined for later on (leading Garmadon and the Shark Army to eventually shift their focus onto finding the Dark Island after reading about it in Soto's journals, as Soto was searching for it for similar reasons)

So basically it's a physical manifestation of "a void". Like actual, hypothetical Dark Matter, it is exceedingly hard to detect (not for the Overlord tho obviously), and does not absorb, reflect or emit light or energy. Which, makes it the perfect substance to oppose the Inheritor of the Green Element and/or the Golden Master

Other than those ~science-y~ parallels, I'm tossing everything else about this stuff under ~magic shenanigans~

The show compares the consistency to mud; I've always gotten more of a "solid but gooey" vibe from it. Like maybe a very funky and evil jello.

For my purposes the stuff essentially makes those it afflicts turn into an empty shell of themselves, and not inherently good or bad. Turning them into a void; banishing their sense of self to oblivion, bla bla bla. But after the "processing" that the Overlord, Garmadon, and the Shark Army perform during the mining, the Dark Matter not only turns people into empty shells, but then fills their void minds with ideals that align with the Overlord's (which, of course, is part of how the Overlord outwits Garmadon).

Nya, as in the show, is the first test subject of the "improved" version of the matter, which then gets spread to some Army members and Ninjago City in the Final Battle.

Don't worry -> Lloyd's NRG Ability can nullify the effects.......but at what cost?

[lloydfrontera]

Do the Fronteras after finding out consider Suho as another one of their son? Also, I feel like the Fronteras doesn't exist anymore in the sequel I mean why not become peace makers between the two of their cousins? Heck do the Fronteras still even have connections to the Sultan's family?

Also, I would like to know the following: what this telepathy between Javier and Lloyd? Lloyd doesn't have insomnia anymore right since his body is Suho's? Also, does Javier keep asking Lloyd lullabies, and not ask for a recording? Heck, he could have also used that paper he read when he fell asleep by himself?

they do yes!

in ch 333 we get to see arcos' feelings about it and god. it's so sweet.

I want to tell you everything, Lloyd… But I have no clue as to how I should talk to or ask you about this. I already see you as my precious son. I am grateful for you. Count Frontera raised his gaze to the sky once more. He was at a loss for words. The sky was incredibly dark and blue, filled with light from the moon and stars, clouds, and shooting stars. He sighed as his heart filled with uncertainty and regret. Unable to distract his mind he simply reached out and tightly grabbed Lloyd’s hand. He hoped his unspoken feelings and thoughts would be conveyed to his son: Whatever you do, whatever you hide, you are my precious son that I will always be thankful for. In the cold and cozy night, they affectionately held each other’s hand. It was a stroll between a father and son or two people who hoped that would become true someday.

then later on ch 347 we get another glimpse of their thoughts about him

"I was curious. I felt suffocated as it was. So, I wanted to ask if Lloyd was doing well. You know, since an angel cannot lie." She felt him tighten her hand. "But I could not dare say my question out loud. It seemed like I would be wronging the current Lloyd. I feel too indebted to that child to do so." "You made the right choice..." His voice cracked. "I did, right?" "Yes..." he said, lacking certainty. This time, she wrapped his hand. "He will tell us when the time comes, right? The boy has a kind heart." "Yes... I believe he will." "I know it. He is a good kid." Her eyes grew red and teary again while his nose reddened. Clutching each other, the two decided to put their trust in Lloyd and wait for him to eventually tell the truth. They hoped for the best while trying to put on a smile. He is a kind... dutiful... and hardworking kid...

they already know he's not who he says he is but they trust and love him enough to wait for him the tell them the truth himself.

and finally in ch 402 (my beloathed </3) we don't get to see much of them interacting but we do get a little snippet of how their relationship developed and it's really sweet.

lloyd does start calling them father and mother, even if he's a little awkward and embarrassed about it at first, and they both reassure him that it doesn't matter that he's not their biological kid, they've thought of him as a son for a long time. which. i will sob about it extensively thanks for asking.

as for whether the fronteras exists in the sequel,,,, i really do not know. i feel like they would've been mentioned already considering how far into the novel we already are but at the same time it feels weird for it to not even mention them! like! even if lloyd didn't perpetuate the family name as the eldest son because charlotte was a magentano, then at least julian's kid should've carried on with it!

like you said, if they were around they'd be a pretty damn powerful family what with lloyd marrying the queen of magentano and julian marrying the princess of asfahan and the infrastructure lloyd left them with. they should be active participants of the court or at least present, unlike the asrahans that have been pretty much exiled to the borders. and if it eventually died off for some reason you'd think that would be mentioned if only in passing. but the complete absence of it or the estate feels weird unless it's building up suspense for an eventual reveal.

i don't know! it's weird! i wanna see where this is going!

as for the telepathy,,, the wording is a bit unclear but it's implied the absolutes (?) of every realm get to a mental channel to talk to each other. at least while they're in vicinity to each other. javier and lloyd use it right after rakiel ripped both of them off and berkis can listen to them talk on it, but it's implied the demon king can't hear them and he's on the same level as them, so... maybe it's only when they're in the same realm? again, kinda hard to know right now.

and no, suho does not have insomnia anymore, he lost his circles and his manaheart so unless he upgrades again, he's nowhere at the level of a swordmaster and so he doesn't experience swordmaster syndrome.

and yes, javier does keep asking lloyd to sing him lullabies. it's not mentioned whether he needs them anymore, probably not, as you mentioned he fell asleep on his own even as a human while reading outloud to lloyd but i suspect he just likes falling asleep quickly while hearing lloyd talk <3

i swear,,,,,, i'm not trying to make these so long,,,,,, it just,,,,,, happens 〒▽〒,,,

[spicyicymeloncat]

Ninjago Movie universe but it vaguely follows the story of the show

Pilots

* The skulkin are high school students and are also a weird biker gang

* Nya is opposed to them because she’s also a biker and to her biking is about honour, whilst they see biking as tool of intimidation

* Nya is so impressive she nearly becomes the new leader of the bikers before Garmadon suddenly appears to steal that title at the last second

Rise of the snakes

* The serpentine are various humans

* Skales was vice principal before taking over from the other hypnobrai general and hates Lloyd

* The fangpyre general(s) are conjoined twin art teachers that turn everything into snakes (as in craft projects). They once involved Jay in an art project where they painted him to look like a snake against his will

* The venomarie general is a science teacher and Kai accidentally makes meth in a Chemistry class

* Pythor is still a snake though. He’s like Bigfoot and Lloyd finds him and hides him in his room like he’s an awful roommate. Eventually Pythor screws Lloyd over and leaves to live in the sewers

* Pythor threatens to release the great devourer who like meowthra, is an irl snake. He never does but it’s teased

* Pythor eats Wu but Garmadon punches him in the stomach and spits him out again. Garmadon ends up yeeting Pythor into the atmosphere

Legacy of the Green Ninja

* The overlord is the spider that bit the snake that bit Garmadon

* Dareth is a ninja wannabe who got to be part of one honourary adventure

* Garmadon revisits the island and fights the spider (the overlord) that bit the snake that bit him before it disappears into Ninjago city

Rebooted

* Pixal is the ai voice connected to all the ninja mechs. Zane is dating her despite the fact that the other ninja thinks she isn’t sentient. He’ll bring flowers to the screen of his mech, and one day when no one is watching she says in her robotic ai voice that she loves Zane too so maybe she is sentient??

* Borg is the tech company technically owns the garbage dump as their personal waste bin. Jay’s parents work for the company

* All the mechs are built by the ninja, Pixal was technically software from Borg

* Cryptor and the other evil nindroids are just various electronics that Zane has beef with (cryptor is a microwave or something)

* The overlord spider appears before the ninja and there’s a slapstick sequence of them trying to kill it before Zane explodes himself to bits to kill it. The ninja slowly descend into chaos for the whole day trying different ways to fix him before Zane fixes himself

[alj6574]

Spoilers for S2 Dragons Rising

This season was so good!! I love Cinder’s voice so much!! Kai has officially adopted Wyldfire, is it bad that I love his familial dynamic with Wyldfire more than whatever the writers were trying to do to push Kailor into a romantic relationship? I find it funny out of all the two canon relationships that are mentioned in dragons rising. Kai never mentions Skylor, his supposed love interest. Kailor fans might come for me for saying this but I was never a fan of their relationship, the writing for them was never strong. So I was happy that we moved Kai’s focus back onto being a more mature protective brother and father figure, and of course protector of Ninjago.

Also the flashback with him and Nya. I loved that their bond and the harmony between them allowed them to achieve dragon rising together. Also Egalt and Wyldfire bonding was so cuteee, she truly is the best when it comes to connecting with dragons.

Also poor Lloyd and Arin, as a Lloyd kinnie, it hurts to see the green bean struggling with visions and anxiety (coming from an anxious person, I felt seen when it came to the show depicting panic attacks). Lloyd is so focused on doing everything to become the next Wu, that he forgets that his uncle would want Lloyd to forge his own path.

Garmadon got mentioned, I hope he makes an appearance in season 3.

The Jaya angst, Nya saying Jay would never forget but it’s so ironic cause Jay has amnesia from a traumatic injury involving the merge. I hope she gives him some grace when they eventually meet up.

Can I say I love Bonzle and the witch lady? Wholesome as a cake, I love her bond with Cole and Geo.

Zane and Cole back together again, while the founders are his newest found family, he doesn’t forget his original found family.

His hug with Lloyd was so cute tho. ❤️

Cole and Geo are adorable, also is it me or were there more hints to Cole being fruity. Geo looking at Cole’s picture, the hand holding. I think I even saw an aro ace flag as well. And of course the rainbow cole was holding.

Also not going to lie I was upset that we didn’t get a reaction from Cole about Kai being locked away for possibly a whole millenniu. I understand that Cole was grieving Bonzle but nothing, no reaction about Kai. His best friend, partner in crime, his other half, first friend he made when he became a ninja, nothing nada, zilch. No reaction, my lava heart was hurting right there asdadfsxfdadhhh.

Lava either you depict it to be more than friends or not, they have the sweetest bond, and it was hard to believe it had writers couldn’t write in a reaction to Cole having a mini breakdown about Kai being gone.

Hopefully we will get more moments between those two soon, I give this season a 9/10 also who choreographed the fight scenes they haven’t been this fire since early ninjago.

#let Cole and Kai hug, I miss their dynamic so much

[misculenica]

Guilt, Pride, and a little Bitterness on the Side

Long post - evaluation/exploration of Solas and a more negative-leaning take of his character. (coming from a diehard solavellan fan)

Something I've not really seen in the DA fandom, is the fact that, regardless of approval level/romance, Solas must just really hate Inky.

Allow me to explain, my dear lovelies:

Looking at it from Solas' pov; his plan for the orb at the beginning of the game goes to hell real fast. Hundreds, if not thousands of people die (horrifically, painfully, screaming) because of a situation He created.

But it's not just his fuck up/miscalculation - it's Inky's. The one survivor of the explosion, the one who foiled the plan to tear down the veil, the one who stole his power (we can consider it was an accident/coincidence, and Solas probably recognises it as that, but damn. If it were me in his shoes, I would be rather malcontent about that).

Yes, we may also consider this is a lucky break for Solas - he has another option laid out before him, and all he has to do is make himself appear useful and relatively harmless to keep close by for the eventual snatcheroo of the foci.

There's a messed up connection between Solas and the Inquisitor there - every death, every ounce of suffering and heartbreak is both of your faults. You're bound in blood, as it were - for an catastrophic event neither of you anticipated.

I imagine he has a great deal of guilt over this throughout the game - he's fucked over the world again - and he's got some random person caught in the middle, someone he's forced into a position of power (someone who is either a horrible person ready to take power, or a perfectly fine person who is likely to do horrific things that will tear them apart inside and out). He's corrupted you, essentially. He's not only harmed/killed countless people. He's made you the one responsible, he's making you into a puppet, puppeteer, and a monster. -- Again, from his perspective, he fully expects that power corrupts absolutely - he's hurting you on multiple levels.

Additionally, we're going to have to look at this on a broader level to get a grasp on the scale of this.

The events of the Conclave - tearing open the veil, causing rifts across Thedas - it's damaging the world and the Fade (sending animals into a frenzy, bringing demons through, making whole areas uninhabitable). Physical beings are being put in mortal peril, but we have to consider that so are spirits.

We know Solas favours the Fade/Spirits to the waking world and mortal beings. He outright states it on several occasions.

And we know that the Breach and the rifts force spirits and demons through, and drive them insane as a result (even Cole appears to have panic attacks over the rifts on occasion).

Allow me to put it more tangibly;

Wisdom, Solas' friend.

I think that chapter of the story is what highlights his bitterness/guilt the best - if not his entire character.

All I can ever think during this scene is this; if Inky hadn't been at the Conclave, his friend wouldn't have died. If Solas hadn't given his orb to Corypheus, his friend wouldn't have died.

It's his fault she's gone, and it's your fault too.

I'm always reminded of this scene at the end of the game when I think of Solas and his mentality. In this scene, he's- well- this man is fucked up.

He says 'it is not your fault' and you can tell he's meaning it's his. But I can still see it in there; he wants to blame Inky, he wants it not to be his fault, and the voice acting really convinces me of that (bless you Gareth David Lloyd). But he can't, because it all comes down to him and his countless mistakes (and terrible luck, like seriously, I think the universe has a personal grudge against this man).

That expression says guilt, shame, regret, bitterness. This is a man whose every effort has proved in vain- all the suffering, death and irreparable destruction. Everything he's done to you, it's all his fault - because he thought he was the smartest guy in the room, he's the only one who can fix everything because he's so prideful and experienced.

Now consider if you were his friend, if you were his goddamn vhenan. It cuts real deep.

Solas is a man who's been tested time and time again, and every time he's been found wanting.

He's a complex, compelling character (that I love absolutely), and he's objectively a terrible fucking person, and he knows it. Everything he touches burns, everything he tries to fix he makes worse, any advice he offers eventually turns bitter, and he knows it.

I'll leave you with this;

[pthalomars]

Synopsis of Jay's Empire AU⚡⚡

[[Made by me and @culturalmochi ]]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

this is the advertisement script: 

[Do you want to join Prime Empire?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It was-" Lloyd started again

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scott looked at her with a look of dread.

"This is worse than I thought.."

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

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

"Like an NPC?" Lloyd said.

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

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

"Because he's just like me."

"What??" The ninja said in unison.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Absolutely not." Scott replied.

"What? Why??" Cole butted in.

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

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

Scott looked at Jay's unconscious form.

"Fuck, okay, let me try something." 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[miraculous-ninjabird]

For prompts how about Kai comforting Zane?

I rewrote this prompt like 6 times I just couldn’t decide how I wanted things to go. Hope you like it!

Title: I don’t have a cool title I’m sorry

Word count: 909

Rating: T just to be 100% safe. Some emotional distress and implied (but not directly mentioned) ptsd

Something was wrong. That much was obvious. Everyone was ecstatic to have Zane back, but the nindroid didn’t seem happy to be there.

The entire time after coming back from the palace and getting ready to leave, Zane had been completely despondent. He kept his distance from them, and while he would interact when approached, it was limited. The most anyone could get from him were curt responses that left little room to continue the conversation. It would have been a lie to say Kai hadn’t been just a little hurt by that fact.

He had wanted to approach Zane, but with everything going on trying to get out of the Neverrealm, there hadn’t been a good time. Now that they were back home, he was determined to figure it out.

“Zane?” He called as he knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Zane responds. It should have been a good sign. Zane hadn’t let anyone into his room since they’d returned two weeks ago. However, the distress in the response had him worried.

Carefully, Kai pulls the door open. He is shocked to see that almost the entire space is covered in ice. Zane is on the floor, body completely rigid. Desperate eyes meet Kai’s, and he realizes with a start that Zane is actually frozen to the floor.

“Help,” is all Zane says, and Kai doesn’t hesitate.

He gets down on his hands and knees to shuffle across the floor. After all, it wouldn’t do any good to slip and fall.

When he reaches Zane’s side, he immediately gets to work. Using his flames, he makes quick work of the ice connecting Zane to the floor.

“What happened here? Are you okay?” Kai frets.

“...no.” Zane’s voice is so small. He’s shaking. Kai isn’t sure if nindroids were capable of crying, but Zane looks like he wants to.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Kai presses gently.

“I remember. Being the ice emperor. All of the things I did. I was recalling some of the...worse moments and this happened.”

Kai’s heart sank. Of course. He’d been so caught up in the excitement of finding Zane, getting his powers back, and coming home that he hand’t even considered how Zane must have been feeling.

“None of that was your fault.” Kai starts, but Zane just shakes his head.

“It was. I gave those orders. I caused all that suffering. I enjoyed it. Part of me is still proud of what I did.” His trembling intensifies. “And it also seems I have lost my control over my own powers.” There is a pause.

“I...I am not fit to be a ninja anymore. Perhaps it would be better if you exclude me from the team.”

“No! Don’t even go there!” Kai blurts. It comes out far more aggressive than he meant it to sound. Then, softer he continues. “You deserve to be here just as much as any of the rest of us do.”

“I can’t accept that you really believe that. You saw what I did! I hurt you. I hurt Lloyd. And so many other people. My actions went against everything we stand for as ninja. I have no right to be here.”

Kai takes a deep breath. He would get though to Zane. Some way or another.

“I’m not saying those actions weren’t awful, because they were. But it wasn’t you. The staff corrupted you. Vex used you. The Zane that I know, the one sitting right here in front of me, would never have done those things.” He lays a hand on Zane’s shoulder. “And even if it had been you, I’d still forgive you.”

“I...what?” Zane gives him a startled look. “Even after everything I’ve done, you’re still willing to forgive me?”

“Of course. It’s obvious that if you had the chance to change things, you would. And that’s good enough for me.”

Suddenly Kai finds his arms full of nindroid. He pulls Zane against his chest, wrapping him in a hug. Zane mumbles ‘thank you’ into his shoulder over and over again. Kai didn’t really think that was necessary, but it seemed to be helping so he said nothing.

As they sat there, the ice in the room slowly receded until the room was back to its normal state. Zane also seemed to be doing better, as he was no longer trembling.

“What about my powers? I won’t be much use if I can’t control them.” Zane looks up at him.

“That can be worked on. You’re more than just your powers.” Kai reassures.

“And what of my impulses? I still have thoughts, telling me to act as I did while I was the emperor.”

“If that happens then I’ll stop you.” Kai tightens his grip just a little. “I’m here to support you. And I’m sure the rest of the team is as well. You should talk to them.”

“I am not sure I am ready for that. I would prefer to stay here with you for a little longer,” Zane snuggles closer. “I wasn’t even aware of it until now, but I missed you desperately.”

“I missed you too, snowflake.” Kai drops a gentle kiss onto Zane’s forehead. “We can stay here for as long as you want.”

Things weren’t going to get better right away, but that was okay. Zane will get there eventually, and Kai is going to make sure that he is there for him every step of the way.

[fanfalc-616]

The Rights Of A Nindroid

This is chapter Four

(Previous chapter here)

Do you guys hate me yet? Because if this doesn’t make you hate me I’m sure the rest of the story will (:

It has been what Zane believes to be one week since his capture. He is unsure if this is entirely factual, however, due to issues with his internal clock and a lack of windows.

Any time not spent being experimented on or in ‘training’ is spent in the locker that he was put into on his first day.

Today he is once again taken to the training room and chained down, and he takes a deep breath as he prepares himself for what will come.

But much to his surprise, the light is slightly dimmer- just enough that he is actually able to make out his surroundings.

Someone else enters the room alongside the woman, and Zane feels his eyes widen and shock overtake him as he recognizes them.

“Cryptor?” He breathes, watching his old foe walk in, completely unrestrained. “What-“

“Do not speak, Original. You have not been spoken to.” Cryptor orders, his voice cutting through the air like a whip.

Zane opens his mouth to speak, but the woman does first. “It hasn’t learned it’s place yet. You’re here to help teach it of that.”

Cryptor nods. “Yes, Master.” He agrees, completely devoid of emotion. “How should I go about doing so?”

“However you see fit.”

Cryptor nods and makes his way over to Zane, red eyes glowing menacingly. “What are you?” He demands.

Zane arches an eyebrow. Now this he is more familiar with. “What are you?” He replies.

The electricity goes off again, this time feeling like fire. They had somehow mastered the way to trick his sensors into simulating different kinds of pain- a rather frustrating accomplishment.

When it dies out, Zane has his jaw clenched, and he glares up at Cryptor.

“Do not backtalk.” He orders. “You are a nindroid. You are lesser.”

“You are also a nindroid.” Zane frowns. Shouldn’t Cryptor be on his side?

“I am aware of my status below humankind. You, however, are not aware of yours. Being nindroids means that we are lesser to them. You think differently, and a Master has ordered me to teach you the truth.”

Zane stares for a few moments, trying to connect the one in front of him to the proud general he once knew.

“What have they done to you?” He breathes out, horror overtaking him.

This isn’t right. This is not- he and Cryptor had always been enemies of the worst kind, but this is not a fate he would wish on anyone.

Does he truly believe this? That he is lesser to humankind? That he is nothing more than a tool for them to use?

“I have been taught my place.” Cryptor says the words with too little emotion, but Zane can just make out a flash of fear on his face, an expression there only for an instant.

“You are a nindroid, like me. Humanity is above us. And one way or another, you will come to this realization.” His words are firm, no sign of doubt behind them. But in his eyes there’s pain, an expressed emotion that once again vanishes in an instant, the nindroid clearly forcing it down.

Zane shakes his head. “I won’t.” He returns confidently. “Rather, you will remember that you are their equal.”

An electric blast simulates the feeling of bruising strength that could easily crush metal, and another scream is torn from him, leaving him panting as he tries to keep his inner workings cool.

“You can hurt me all you wish,” he gets out, “but I will never give in- because ninja never quit!”

Another electric shock makes him feel as though his sensors have been impaled with thousands of razor sharp blades, but Zane grinds his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut to prevent any further screaming.

He’s done playing their games.

He will escape from this prison they have made, and free Cryptor alongside him. And if he is unable to liberate himself, then his friends will be the ones to save him.

“As I said before… you will learn your place.” Cryptor’s voice has the slightest twinge of regret, so minimal that only another nindroid would be adept enough to hear.

“I already know my place. It is beside my fellow ninja.” Zane counters, once again bracing himself for the pain.

This time it is like ice, an element that in reality would not harm him, but the electricity still tricks his sensors into thinking that he’s far too cold to withstand.

A small whimper escapes him, but he does his best to muffle the noise. Even so, Cryptor’s next words chill him down to his core, even without the assault from the sensors.

“It’s not. If it was, they would be trying to rescue you. Yet you’re still here- and that is because they have recognized your true place. Beneath them.”

Zane grinds his teeth as he shakes his head. It has only been a week, only a week. They’re coming for him, no matter what they try to convince him of. It may take some time, but they will free him.

He takes a deep breath and repeats his previous words, just as determined as these officials to make his point, to prove what he believes in.

“A ninja never quits.”

{ { { { { { { { { { ~ } } } } } } } } } }

Cole stares blankly at the wall, trying to piece together something, anything they could do to help Zane.

It would be suicide to try and go up against the government straight on, so they need to come up with something else. Some other way to force them to release Zane.

But what? What could make them do that?

So far, all they’ve drawn are blanks.

With a sigh, Cole puts his head in his hands. There has to be some way to rescue him, something that they just haven’t thought of yet. They just need to figure out what.

It seems ridiculous that they could straight up kidnap Zane and still be in the right. Legally, Zane does belong to them, so unless they can somehow change that-

Wait…

What if they can change that?

If they can’t go after Zane directly, maybe there’s a more roundabout way to do it. A way to prove that Zane shouldn’t be considered an object, and therefore can’t be legally owned.

But how could they do it? Would it be possible to make Zane a legal citizen?

Well… there’s only one way to find out.

Cole gets up from the couch and heads off to find the others. It doesn’t take long before they’re all gathered on the bridge, and he shares what he had come up with.

“Would that work? Could we actually do that?” Jay looks hopeful, practically vibrating with his excitement.

Lloyd shrugs, looking over at Nya. “I don’t know much about legal things,” he admits, “except for how to get away with stuff that isn’t- Darkley’s education wasn’t exactly good for academics.”

Nya frowns, tapping something out on her BorgWatch. “I’m not sure if it would… but it’s worth a shot.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Kai demands. “We need to get him back!”

Lloyd shakes his head. “It won’t be that simple,” he warns, “they’re going to do everything they can to keep him.”

“There’s nothing they can dish out that we can’t take.” Cole forces confidence into his words that he doesn’t feel- as of right now, they need to just stay optimistic. “One way or another, we’ll get him back.”

Jay wears a determined expression as he nods his agreement. “I’ll start looking for what the legal process could be.”

“I’ll help.” Nya adds. “It’ll go faster with two of us.”

Lloyd smiles. “I’ll do some digging on the government itself- maybe we can get some dirt on an official or two and make them help us.”

“And I can start pressuring them for information- they’ll have to give up some stuff eventually.” Kai decides.

“You’re really good at annoying people into giving you what you want.” Lloyd agrees with a quiet snicker.

Jay shrugs. “At least he’s putting that skill to good use.” He jokes back.

Kai glowers at the two of them. “Now is not the time for jokes! We have to focus on rescuing Zane!”

“Take a deep breath.” Cole puts his hands up placatingly. “They’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation. But you are right- we need to get him back as quickly as possible.”

Nya nods her agreement. “Let’s get moving.”

So everyone heads of to do their thing, and Cole realizes that he didn’t come up with an idea of how to help.

Is there anything he can do to help? All the others at least have some special skill, something they can do to assist. But what does Cole have? Dance? That’s hardly going to help here.

With a sigh, he heads back over to the couch, staring at the wall as he tries to come up with an idea.

There’s gotta be something he can do… right?

He needs to help, he can’t just let his boyfriend be held hostage like this, and everyone else has something they’re doing… why can’t he help? He’s supposed to be strong, but… strength isn’t really helping here.

Because the reason Zane went out was because he was trying to take care of one of Cole’s chores because he would always do it wrong- intentionally, even! And if Cole had been the one to go shopping, if he had actually taken care of his own chores, Zane would still be here.

So in the end… this is his fault.

Taking a deep breath, Cole shakes his head, trying to dislodge the thoughts. No, he can’t think like this, he needs to focus on the task at hand.

But that’s the crux of the problem- he doesn’t have a task.

He got Zane into this… and there’s nothing he can do to get him out.

Shaking, Cole puts his head in his hands, silently cursing himself.

Be strong. That’s the one thing he’s supposed to do.

Tears are forming in his eyes, and Cole shakes his head. How is he supposed to be strong for the team… when he can’t even be strong for himself?

[only-lonely-stars]

The Future is Bright, Chapter 6

[Chapter 1 (Beginning)] // [Chapter 5] // [Chapter 6 - you are here!] // [Chapter 7] // [Chapter 10 (End)] (FFN)

Cole now knows what he’s seen, but he still doesn’t know what it means. There’s still so much to know, and the mystery is centered in Shintaro. Good thing he has an ally who can help him find answers!

Summary: What would happen if Cole had indeed had a reflection in the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master? How would that have changed his life later? What would it have been? This story follows what might have happened if he had seen something, and what it was; who he would have become. What if his future was already decided?... (Rated T for safety. Alternate title: the Cosmic Spoilers AU.)

Chapter 6: Drawing Conclusions

With the drawing from the First Master's tomb in tow, Cole hadn't wasted much time in going back to Shintaro, and had left a couple of days later. If he had any luck– assuming luck was real, like destiny apparently was– it would be enough to help him find whoever he was meant to find. Then it was just a matter of dealing with whatever that was.

When he at last arrived back in Shintaro, Vania greeted Cole with an enthusiastic hug, almost knocking him over. "Cole! It's good to see you!"

Cole laughed and hugged back, grinning. "Good to see you too, Queenie! I missed you!"

She beamed at him just as widely, almost vibrating in her excitement. "What's going on? I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon!"

He nodded, brushing his hair back. "I had something I needed to talk to you about, and I figured in-person was better than a letter."

Immediately, her brow creased with worry. "Something to talk about? Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all!" He put up his hands defensively. "It's okay– everything's completely okay. I just wanted to talk to you about something that happened, and maybe get your opinions on it? If it's not a problem, that is."

"Oh! No, it's not a problem! I love talking to you." She turned her head questioning. "Did you want to talk somewhere private, or just anywhere?"

"Somewhere private, I think." He smiled awkwardly. "It's kind of... personal."

"I can do that!" She clapped her hands. "Follow me!"

Cole did as she asked, and she led him into the palace. They followed a few hallways, going deep into the palace, until they at last stopped in a private room with a fireplace. She shut the doors behind them, and together they sat on a couch before the fireplace.

When they were at last comfortable, she smiled at him. "So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"

He sighed. "Okay, so I have to explain a little bit before I can get to it, but I'm kind of wondering if you can help me figure something out. It has to do with Shintaro."

"Okay." She nodded. "What do you need to know?"

"Well…" He shrugged. "I guess I kind of need to know about Shintaro customs, and stuff. There's a bit of a backstory to why I need to know."

"Go ahead and tell it," she urged him enthusiastically. "I have plenty of time, don't skimp on the details."

"Okay." He sighed, relaxing a little and managing a smile. He was just talking to Vania. There was nothing scary about that: she wouldn't judge him. "So, you probably heard about what happened a few years ago in Stiix, right?"

"Of course. All those ghosts!" She laughed. "That's one of the stories we heard about the soonest, I think."

"Probably, it was a big deal." He found himself talking with his hands as well as his voice, waving them around a bit. "Anyway, right before that, we were dealing with Morro. He wanted to get the Realm Crystal to summon the Preeminent. Still sound familiar?"

"Yeah, completely!" She leaned forward, invested. "What about it? Did you stop him?"

"We had to find it before he did– not that we succeeded, but it was okay." He thought back to the events. "It was hidden in the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb, and he made it only accessible to Spinjitzu Masters like him. Morro had possessed Lloyd so he could get in."

"That's terrible!" She frowned. "Is he okay after that?"

"He's okay." Cole smiled at her concern. "This was years ago, remember?"

"If you say so. I just wanted to make sure." She smiled back.

Cole chuckled. "Well, that's sweet of you."

She smiled a little more. "I try."

He grinned back. "Okay. When we got there, we found a bunch of traps that only Spinjitzu Masters could survive. One was this huge maze of ice– and when I say huge, I mean huge. Gigantic."

"A maze of ice? Wouldn't that melt?" She frowned in confusion. "Unless it was enchanted…"

"Maybe, I don't know. Whatever it was, it wasn't just normal ice." He paused, attempting to describe it. "When you look at your reflection in the ice wall, it shows you a reflection of your future self, and when we made our way through, I saw mine."

She gasped, staring at him in rapt attention. "You're kidding. It shows the future?"

"Yup."

That's– that's incredible! It must have been fascinating!" She grinned brightly. "Future vision sounds incredible!"

"It's really cool- no pun intended. It kind of showed me that I was going to be human again, which was really nice. Made it easier to deal with being a ghost."

"I can imagine." She leaned in a little closer. "Speaking of which, what was it like being a ghost?"

He chuckled. "Numb, really. You don't feel anything, just kind of cold. Not on my list of top ten recommended experiences."

"Probably not." She sat back, trying to control her excitement, but still clearly enamored with the story. "So… did you just see yourself as human? How does that connect to Shintaro?"

"I'm getting there." He pulled out his sketchbook as he spoke. "When we saw our reflections, Kai, Zane, and Jay saw themselves dressed like senseis. Jay even saw Nya with him, which was just proof that they've always been meant to be. Thing is, I didn't see the same thing." He flipped to the right page and handed it over. "Jay, Nya and I went back last week to take another look, and I drew what mine looked like."

She took the sketchbook gently and examined the drawing, tracing the lines with a light touch. A soft smile bloomed on her face. "You're an incredible artist," she commented.

"Thanks. I'm okay." He smiled, watching her look at it with that sweet look on her face. "So… what do you think?"

She hummed. "Well, it looks like Shintaran robes, obviously."

"Yeah, it does." He shrugged. "I don't know what the heck I saw, but I've kind of been on edge about it since we first visited. Do you know anything about what it means?"

"Hm…" She looked at him, and then back at the drawing, and held it up to compare. "Well… I can kind of tell some things." She examined it a little more closely. "In this, you're wearing white and blue. That's something not many Shintarans wear, because it's the royal colors, but it's not unheard of for non-royals if they want to emulate the royals. Plus, you're wearing your own crest, not the royal one."

"Wait, there's a royal crest?" He looked at her quizzically. "I've never seen it."

"Oh, absolutely!" She smiled at him, brushing her bangs out of the way. "It's a spear and some clouds. You might've seen it around the palace somewhere if you looked close enough."

"I don't know." He laughed. "Last time I was here, I spent most of my time underground."

"That's fair." She laughed too and looked back down, pointing at the sketch to direct him. "See your belt? That's where you might wear your crest in Shintaran formal wear."

"Huh! It's still my dragon..."

"Yep. Either that's the crest you stuck with for just yourself if you came here, or that's the crest your family would take on. Either way, it's not unheard of either." Her brow furrowed. "That said, the style of robes is pretty impractical for everyday wear. This is formal clothing, like I said, so I think it's probably likely that it's royal clothing. That explains the colors better."

His heart caught in his chest. "Royal clothing? Are you saying I become part of the royal family?"

"If you got married and your yin was a Shintaran royal, yes." She smiled up at him again. "Sounds like you'll be moving up in the world."

"Huh." He smiled faintly, head spinning with the possible meanings and making him feel a little dizzy. He had thoughts about how little he knew of Shintaro, yet it was clear how much this meant here… was there extended royalty in the Shintaran royal family?

Eventually, he found his voice. "That's… that's a thought."

"I bet it is." Her smile formed into yet another infectious grin. "That said, it would be awesome!"

That threw him for a loop. "Huh? How come?"

"Because then you'd live here! Then we could see each other all the time!" she chirped. "I mean, it's obviously not great to leave Ninjago, because that's your home and you love it and you've always protected it, but it would be amazing to have you around! You'd love to live here in Shintaro, I guarantee it."

He shrugged. "Oh, I wouldn't know... I haven't put much thought into that part of it."

"Maybe you should."

"Maybe…" He reached over and pointed at a gold smudge on the paper next to the sketch of himself. "Okay, see that?"

"Yeah. Is that supposed to be there?"

"Yep. The ice walls sometimes show other people, too, but all I saw was a blur. It's my one clue to whoever my yin is supposed to be. She's got really bright blonde hair– just like yours, actually." He shrugged. "I don't know how common that color of hair is here, but either way it narrows it down."

"It's not that common," she noted. "I haven't met many other people with the same color. Most people here are brunette."

"Then it's even easier."

The conversation fell quiet, and a familiar anxiety crept back into his mind. His mind spun tales of the possibilities, some of which he dared not even think... but he was snapped from his thoughts when he felt Vania's hand on his arm. "Cole? Are you okay?"

He laughed humorlessly and nodded, shaking himself. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I'm just– it's a lot to think about."

"I can imagine." She smiled compassionately. "I know you haven't really liked the idea of a relationship– just about everyone knows that. It must be pretty hard, knowing in the future you've got that, despite how much you don't want it yet."

He nodded. "Yeah, uh, you hit the nail on the head." He brushed his hair back anxiously. "I don't do relationships; never have, actually. Now the creator of entire realms has given me cosmic spoilers and told me I'm marrying someone from another country. It's hard to process."

"I'd bet it is." She nodded along with his story. "Having your future set for you before you get to it isn't fun."

"You must know about that, right?"

She let her hand rest on his arm comfortingly. "I do. I didn't really ever get told I could be anything but the queen in the future. It made some things easier, but others harder." She laughed quietly. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be told that, but about whoever you're going to end up marrying."

"Yeah, that's it. I don't know what to do, if I'm honest."

"Well, you could do a couple things." She shrugged, letting go of his arm.

"What do you mean?" He leaned in, listening intently.

Vania giggled at his blatant interest, and then began counting on her fingers. "One: you ignore it. Not the best idea, in my opinion, but it would work for a little bit. The future comes to pass whether we want it to or not."

"Yeah, definitely can't just expect it not to happen. Already tried that." He smiled.

"Yeah, exactly." She smiled back. "Two: you wait. You can let it happen in its own due time and do other things now, instead. Instead of pushing it and trying to find her, you can let her find you."

"But that'd leave it hanging over my head," he dismissed. "That's happened for long enough already, too."

"I figured you'd say that." She laughed quietly. "Three: you start looking for her now with what you know. She's got to be a noble or royal, and since she's blonde, you've got plenty of clues." She shrugged absently. "Of course, you could be wrong about part of it, and get mixed up, but you could try at least."

He nodded, thinking it over. Would it be worth it to look for her? Of course, there was always the possibility that he, Jay and Nya had been wrong. What if he was wrong? Or… what if she was right under his nose? What if they were right?

He sighed. "I guess I should figure out who it is, but I'm starting to wonder if I'm right about what I actually saw."

"Well…" She paused. "You drew it while looking at it, didn't you?"

"I did." He shook his head. "I just– my mind's playing tricks on me. I kind of wish I could see it again, but a third visit, and going alone at that, doesn't sound like much fun."

She hummed. "You have a point… I must admit, I'm extremely curious. It sounds fascinating to see the future!"

"It really is." Would it be worth it to go alone?...

She closed the sketchbook and handed it back. "Well… what if I come with you? We can look at it together and figure out what we're doing to find your yin."

"Really?" He took the book back. "You'd want to see it? I thought you wouldn't want to."

"Sure! It sounds fascinating, and I'd love to know a little more about my future, even though it's already mostly laid out for me. It would be another adventure!" She grinned. "That is, if you don't mind me coming along?"

"No, I'd be happy to bring you!" He grinned back. "That place is a little creepy when you're alone, seeing as it's a tomb."

"Well then, let's make it not creepy!" She got to her feet gracefully, seemingly energetic. "Let me just change and talk to Hailmar, and then I'm ready to go. We can make a day of it."

"Okay. It's a bit of a trip, dress warmly." He pocketed the sketchbook.

"Will do!" she chirped. "Make yourself at home! I'll come find you when I'm ready."

"Okay." Instinctively he wanted to come with her, but he kept himself back. There wasn't a reason to follow her, just that... well, she was the one he came to visit, but it would only be a little wait. There wasn't a need to miss her already.

Having gotten his thoughts in order, Cole stayed in the room and took the book out. As he looked at the sketch, his thoughts swirled in confusion. Who was this blonde royal he was supposed to be marrying? His suspicions fit too perfectly… but was it what he suspected?

[purplerose244]

Thoughts journal Ninjago season 13!!! 🤩🤩 (3/4)

I am enjoying the season A LOT. The reveal has been thrown already, everything seems to be leading towards something special about Rock Mom and I couldn't hope for something better!! I know Lou will be back so I guess a flashback?... I'M SO EXCITED 💕💕

Alright, let's start!!

DUNGEON PARTY!

Side note, we're past the season and no Nexo Knights reference. Me sad, but me not quitting like ninja!! 💪💪

Korgran of METALONIA?!?! WHERE KARLOF COMES FROM!!! Oh you just love to feed me with good throwbacks, now do you Ninjago crew 😍

Plundar the thief, yeah, the attire gives it away although it is nice. And Fungus... huh... well that explains the mushrooms on the hat I guess 😅

Yep, there we go, a party of adventurers, the DnD situation promised 👈👈 He said loot, I saw a 20 faced dice, nice nice

In these recent seasons adventurers just won't like to do adventures for one reason or another, first uncle Powers, now these guys? I mean Ninjago is in danger every freaking time and you risk your life at every step and there's a new formidable villain every like five seconds but... huh... what was my point again?

THE ANIME STYLE IS BACK 😂😂 Oh boy I can tell we're in for a train to crazy town

I'm thinking this dude looks a lot like He-Man... of course he does, the HECK, am I noticing this just now? 😑

I do agree with mister Korgran's father reluctance about talking like that (I saw too many anime characters like that 😂), but Karlof uses the third person too. Either it's common in Metalonia, or there's a general lack of education there 😅 (I LOVE METAL BOY I MISS HIM 🖤🖤)

Talking axe that doesn't talk, nice 😂

Okay... okay, I need a moment

This is too cute. I know her head is a bit too big but LOOK AT THEM 💛🤍💛🤍 Has Chompy never grown?... wait he did got big that one time... okay... okay, never mind

Well that's a pretty nice party, you got your barbarian, your magic user and your rogue. Kinda misses a healer but still... tomorrow I'm doing a DnD session with my friends and I wanna sound like I know stuff 😂

I just noticed that I haven't seen hidden trap doors like that since Chen, the ABC of villains right there my friends 👆

So the King didn't become evil just because of the skull, he actually wished to obtain it and use the dark power. I get that he wants to defend the city but he is basically remorceless about everything else, so he is guilty. Also DRAGON ABUSER 😡

Poor Vania, but she overcame her Skylor situation very quickly. Proud 💛

There we go with the encouragement, you go Rocky!! We have a crazy Skull dude to turn into dust!! 👿👿

Wait, a promise he made a long time ago? Rock mom?

DUNGEON CRAWL!

ROCK MOM!!! YAAAASSS!!! FINALLY SHE'S HERE!!! 🖤🖤🖤

Oh holy FSM, my heart 💔

MY HEART HURTS SO MUCH. Cole as a kid, Lou is back, Rock Mom IS SICK AND WILL DIE, all the drawings, the picture of them together 😭😭

I cannot, freaking, this kid doesn't want his mom to be sick and he's gotten into troubles at school and she wants him to fight and be strong and right and SHE HAS HIS SAME EYEBROWS 😢😢😢😢😢😢

This scene was really heartbreaking, such a genuine situation with a kid that wants her mom to be fine and proud of him 🖤

Just looked at her VA and it's Erin Matthews 🤩 So first I'm counting it as a Nexo Knights reference just because MACY AND ROBIN ❤🖤❤🖤 Second, wasn't "the mom" going to be voiced by Jillian? Is it... is it Maya? Is she coming back? MAYBE NEXT SEASON??? NYA SEASON?!?!? 🤯🤯

Oh, we're moving on? So... so there's still the stuff about Rock Mom's past to uncover, still unsure if she was the one of the blades for the two tribes

PLUNDAR WE DO NOT DISRESPECT COLE INTO THIS HOUSE VANIA MY GIRL YOU ARE SPEAKING FOR ME TOO 💪💪

The connection between Cole and his mom is the earth itself, I'm loving this concept so much. It's true that he never found himself this deep into his element before, the Caves of Despair were mines but never this deep. This really is rock bottom... HECK YEAH

Well Cole...

Welcome to the colored eyes because of elemental power ninja team!! 💚❤🧡 (without counting the forbidden scroll moments) I LOVE WHEN IT HAPPENS!!! I'M GETTING SO PROUD AND EMOTIONAL!!! I'M PROUDOTIONAL!!! 🤯

Aww, Cole saving his son sensei, very nice. They did save each other a lot 🤷‍♀️

This place reminds me a lot of the Fire Temple where Kai got himself into trouble in season 1 but then saved Lloyd, one of my favorite and most memorable episode of the show... I'M TOO NOSTALGIC RIGHT NOW LET'S MOVE ON

NEVER MIND COLE IS TAKING CHARGE LIKE OLD TIMES HE IS FINALLY THE LEADER AGAIN I'M GONNA CRY ROCKY I'M SO HAPPY YOU DESERVE THIS 🖤

Wu's spinjitzu!! Always nice to see it 😊 And yes Adam is a good boy, and for my arachnophobia is a little freaky saying it 😅

Ah, good Plundar, Cole needs all the appreciation of the world because HE IS SUCH A GOOD PERSON AND AMAZING WARRIOR AND I LOVE HIM AAAAAA

This is probably my favorite episode for now, got Rock Mom, got elemental powers, got a lot of Cole in all of his glory: the leader with a clear smart mind able to lead even strangers, with big heart for what's important 👏👏

I feel like this season is giving him glory, I'm curious about how it will end!!

GRIEF-BRINGER

Okay I know it's the name of the dragon... and it gets me a little antsy 😅

Back to the munce! Still doing as good as ever I see! 😅 And lol, you can't blame Nya for not being nice Jay! Although she is kinda best friends with Ronin who double crossed her multiple times... okay, I see your reasoning Bluebell

There we go, Nya making them listen. I honestly could have seen her just grabbing one of them and make them fly through the the room, still cool though 😎

Back to the geckles! Also doing as good as ever! 😅 These little purple guys are so dang cute, seeing my flame babe trying to lead is so PRECIOUS, and even more PRECIOUS is Zane giving him support... and a rock in the face 🤍🤍

Gotta say

I'm more and more fascinated by their culture 😂😂

Aww little Gleck, everything had started with him after all... wait... HER NAME IS LILLY?!?! ROCK MOM HAS A NAME!!! AND SHE IS GILLIE/MILLIE!!! I KNEW IT!!! 🤩🤩

I think I saw the name somewhere, didn't think it was actually her. I always headcanoned her as Gaia, but Lilly is a very sweet name too 💕

It is pretty nice that even though we as viewers didn't know what happened to Lilly, the ninja knew. It's obvious, they've known each other for so long, but still. It feels nice to see this 😊

Oh-oh, Skull dude is up to something... and he said the title 👈👈

Zane keeps being the sweetest thing ever created, le cute dude 🤍🤍 Never thought I'd see Tin Can and Hothead discussing about lies while two slugs race each other...

I don't know if it's the new animation but the armored suits look CRAZY GOOD, the metal and the details are awesome!! I approve the suits of this season 👍

Pff, they are talking down his sister, if he knew they would be literally toasted 🔥

HUG HUG BEAUTIFUL LEGO HUG!!! And she lifts him up, omg the Smith siblings are back and they are so CUTE 😍

Yep, only he can talk down his sister... and possibly be annihilated right after 😅

Oh, the dragon that almost destroyed the two tribes... OH THE DRAGON THAT ALMOST DESTROYED THE TWO TRIBES!!! 😱😱

NO GUYS DON'T LEAVE LLOYD AND ZANE BEHIND, THEY ARE THE MOST PRONE TO SACRIFICE THEMSELVES 😭😱😭😱😭😱

The cringe Kai, the cringe never leaves you alone you beautiful idiot ❤

I cannot believe the animators managed to make Lloyd's LEGO hair swoosh, I must applaude them 👏👏👏 Also POOR BABY ON THE GROUND GIVE HIM A VACATION FOR CRYING OUT LOUD

Well aren't things getting even more complicated 😅 Where is Cole? We need season superstar pronto!

MASTERS NEVER QUIT

Awww, major throwback to the show's most famous motto right in the title! NINJA NEVER QUIT!!! LET'S GO THEN!!! 🤩

The upply team! With the lava beast back... I could easily make comment about how it could be a representation of Cole's feelings since it's LAVA with EARTH and FIRE, and he is running from them... I'M JUST RAMBLING MOVING ON 🖤❤🖤❤

Cole misses the Caves of Despair maybe, he wants to have a round with the carts like in Possession 😂 Was that why he knew it was going to work eventually? That would be histerical, especially since back then they all almost fell into the lava 😅😅

The Heart of the Mountain? Secret temple of the masters of Earth? Possibly hidden in Shintaro? Spinjitzu Burst? Wu, let me ask you this... just in case... is there... perhaps...

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD US??? 😡😡

He is definitely and officially old, only reason why he keeps forgetting to warn people about stuff 😑 I mean, it's not major like with Morro or Aspheera, I guess it's an improvement?... kinda?

So you learn spinjitzu burst if you're surrounded by your element, that sounds pretty awesome! I wonder how it could be with all the others, this can open up kinda like a quest for the true potential but with different places and lots of OP powers and I'M INTO IT 🤩🤩🤩

Okay season, I get it

YOU WANNA MAKE ME CRY 😭😭 I love this aztec vibe, so cool and appropriate she looks STUN 🖤

I didn't expect this much introspection about Cole, I thought it was going to be kinda last minute like with Jay in Prime Empire. I'm so thankful it's not like that, freaking yes. YES. GO COLE BURST OUT!!

... okay, take your time sweetie, no rush. The other ninja are just going to be fried but eh, happens all the time 🤷‍♀️

VANIA MAH GIRL 💕 I understand Wu, I mean the guys kinda learned all they needed already back when they started to train Lloyd. Ever since then, they had been not master and students, but just family. And you always need family, no matter how far you go 🖤

Awwww, Wu! You got your own development too! 👍 So nice to hear "ninja never quit" again, can't be too sure but it's been a while 😍

Let's hope the guys are doing fine resisting while Team Cole arrives 😎😎

[razeluxe]

Razeluxe’s Top Ten Male Characters

So I’ve been thinking about doing a particular list for my favorite characters across anime and games for quite a while and with some advice I decided to break it into my favorite male and favorite female characters. Most people that know me can probably guess at my top three favorites but if you don’t know me... well you ‘bout to learn lol. This was harder than I thought to compile...enjoy my fanboying of the boys lol.

By the by, I’ll do my best to keep spoilers to a minimum.

10) Apollo Justice (Phoenix Wright Series)

I’ve played only two games that this character was in (Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies, slowly working through Spirit of Justice) and this character particularly in Dual Destinies struck me even more than Edgeworth who is another amazing character. Apollo has an amazing spirit and it was only through playing Dual Destinies that I really got to understand Mr. ‘I’m Fine’ and his stupid ‘Here comes Justice’ puns. I feel his original game didn’t allow him to shine (still a great entry in the Ace Attorney series I don’t care what anyone says) and Dual Destinies allows him the development he deserves. He gets hurt during a trial and it allows a deep dive of his character even if his personality shifts for a while. Damn he’s savage. He’s considered the underdog in the Wright Anything Agency but he’s to me the hardest working person there who is also the most factual in court.

9) Gokudera (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)

Or as I like to call him, Scowludera since he’s scowling like 90% of the time. This Ichigo ripoff’s character development is insane. And I think that trend follows most if not all the characters in this list. His relationship with his sister is interesting and he’s pretty explosive in terms of personality and intelligence. His fights are all really interesting too, he has some of my favorite interactions in the series thus far (haven’t read the post anime manga chapters yet sadly, but he’s more than earned this spot on this list). He butts heads with people a lot and he can be ignorant but he grows from his experience and you get to see it bit by bit. This dude is loyal to the bone. RIP if you aren’t Tsuna or Reborn. Also, I’d like to shout out this anime as one of the few to do the shounen genre proper justice. Go watch it. Also his sister Bianchi is <3. Oh wait. Male list. Oops. Can we also talk about his weapon? Not gonna say spoilers but that thing is dope and probably one of the best ever designed weapons. And his kitty Uri <3

8) Joshua Bright (Trails in the Sky)

This will be short as I don’t want to spoil anything, but Joshua is a very easy character for me to connect to personally. His feelings, actions, development probably relates more to me than a lot of characters on this list. He’s got good people around him...I’m very happy for his ship and support it 120%. Also the Trails Series, both Sky and Cold Steel are probably my favorite series of anything period. Go play it. There is more to this character that meets the eye and has broken my heart more than once ;_;

7) Neku Sakuraba (The World Ends With You)

Neku Neku Neku. Another very relatable character for me (see the theme here? lol) He initially shuts out people and over time, through his experience in the Reapers Game, he starts to open up and bring people into his circle. He goes through some crap, like a lot of trauma. When you learn of him it’s no wonder he wound up disliking people and society. He’s extremely creative and that creativity manifests itself in different ways. Kinda like me. It’s worth mentioning I used to roleplay this character back in the day, the very first canon character I used to write for. 

6) Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles)

One of the only blonde’s on this list. Shulk is a character that is driven by revenge but eventually changes. He goes through some pretty traumatic stuff that I absolutely will not spoil. His personality when he encounters a certain characters shifts big time and it’s kind of scary considering how early you see this. Also he gets points for being a notably intelligent character. I mean, the dude has his own lab...and is able to fix and adjust stuff. He’s really a great and well balanced character despite all the crap he goes through. Also I used to make fun of this character and dislike him a little bit, but then I grew up. 

         The list gets real starting...now. Not that it was fake before. :o

5) Jaden Yuki (Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)

Anyone who has actually watched the entirety of GX might know why he’s here. His character development in the latter seasons so unreal and interesting. I’m not spoiling crap but there is a lot more to the character than meets the eye. Like a lot lot. Over the course of the series he loses his innocent eyes and his personality changes a lot...His character is probably one I can relate to in terms of the reasons for his actions, the way he gets down about himself, the way he acts in the final season...it hits me hard...he’s too dang relatable...just like..

4) Rean Schwarzer (Trails of Cold Steel)

Surprise surprise. Rean is here. -hears crickets- Guess you’re not surprised. I wonder why. I think I relate to this character more than anyone else on this list. Except number one. Number one is in his own league. Rean is a character who generally carries a happy disposition...he has a unique power but you can see he is actively scared of it. It’s something I actively deal with...he’s so scared of himself that he puts distance between family and friends. He never feels he’s good enough. He’s made headway through this, but...

One thing that’s extremely interesting about this character is his selflessness. You may think this is driven to the ground in character stereotypes but for Rean it’s different...his selfless has been described as abnormal by characters in game, and it’s not for positive reasons...Rean deals with some real unhealthy stuff. This is getting long.

As of this post Cold Steel 4 comes out in one month and I’m extremely worried for his character. If you’ve played 3 then you’ll know why. Also if you haven’t played the Trails series, go play it. No buts. Heck I’ll even buy the game(s) for you if I can.

--

Oh look we’re at the top three. I want to say that while numbers two and three here are pretty interchangeable, these characters have been in my top three for over a decade and a half and I don’t see this changing anytime soon. Rean I love you but you have your work cut out if you ever want to breach the top 3. I wanna post a few honorable mentions here. They didn’t get into Smash but they do get Mii Costumes at least! -shot-

Davis Motomiya (Digimon Adventure 02) 

This character was everything I was when I was a kid. The way he tries everything to woo Kari is too cute. Also his unwavering faith in Ken. Also Davis Cries Veemon.

9S (Nier Automata)

Not mentioning any spoilers. Just watch this character and see how his vision of the world changes over time.

Okabe Rintaro (Steins; Gate) 

Okabe’s shift from his ‘persona’ as things get real and his efforts to fix everything is too relatable for me ;_;

Yosuke Hanamura (Persona 4) 

No, I do not ship him with Yu. They’re great buddies for sure, and he’s pretty cool. Really likable character for me personally save for a few moments in the game...he’s also the main in the Arena games. “Let’s do this, Jiraiya!” He’s so cool lol.

                    Top 3 time. Fiercely dedicated to these guys.

3) Robin (Teen Titans Go! 2003)

Robin is such a raw character that carries his past and tries so hard to move from it yet it embodies him to his core. He has since gained a softer side from forming a team, and has been doing normal teenager stuff...which is good for him. However at times that Batman side impacts him so hard that he can only concentrate on his mission, and starts shutting out everyone and everything to do things himself. It actively gets in the way of his interactions. He deals a lot with moving on from failure and acknowledging his friends more, which he does get better at over time. He is also represented by the color red. My favorite color. He’s badass and yet carries so much crap. I connect to this character a lot even now. Third canon character I ever wrote for.

2 Lloyd Irving (Tales of Symphonia)

I love Lloyd. I love his voice, I love his attacks, I love his stupid double sword logic. He says wielding two swords makes him twice as powerful lol. I love his development. I love his idealism and how it matures over time. I love everything about Lloyd. It was legit love at first sight. I remember being 15-16 and seeing him on that Gamecube boxart and saying “I wanna play that guy” Most people I feel (guys in particular) probably looked up to certain characters growing up as a child/teen. Lloyd was mine.

1. Zidane Tribal (Final Fantasy IX)

While it was love at first sight for Lloyd, that was not the case for number one on this list. I was 13 when I first played FFIX. Zidane upon encountering him, I always thought he was a cool character, but he was nothing special.  Even at Zidane’s lowest point I thought he was an okay character at best. I had not finished the game.

Fast forward a few years and I decide to play FFIX again, this time determined to finish it. I had went through some things, grew up a bit before turning this game on. This damn bandit...I remember writing this bit years ago: “His infamous mantra labeled above describes him well, but under his ability to console others with a smile, to cheer people up and meet them at their point of need with his abundant optimism lies a blonde who masks his pain and keeps his issues to himself. Despite his many friends and buddies he harbors a deep loneliness that, like his problems, he keeps to himself. One would have to look carefully to notice his character flaws for Zidane does an impressive job of hiding these problems. Whether it be through his energy, his theatrics, or focusing on other people, Zidane can cover things up quite well.”

Zidane has an absurd amount of depth to his character that I was never able to comprehend as a kid, beneath his flirting, his playful attitude, he hides a lot of feelings, a lot of anger, a lot of sadness. It used to boggle me how he’s able to uphold his sense of virtue despite what goes on in his life and the end of disc 3 answers this for me. It goes without mentioning that this was the second canon character I’ve ever written for, and I still love writing him. I could and write walls of text about how Zidane is so amazing, a chivalrous thief, a lover and a flirt but I think I can let you go lol. Hit me up if you really want to hear me ramble about any these characters, also play FF9.

...So I wrote all of that and forgot to write about Zidane’s ship...have to give it its own paragraph because I love these two together and she does wonders for Zidane as a whole as does he to her. She’s a princess and he’s a thief, they take their time to show them together through different things, different ordeals...particularly the ordeals. Its interesting seeing them both at their worst moments and the many funny moments..Man, that boat scene gets me every time...If I ever write a top ten couples list this couple would no doubt be in the top two if not number one. And I’d probably write way more than this about them because they’re great. Also they’re canon. A healthy canon. Also Dagger’s hot. Oh wait wrong list.

Okay finally done. Not editing this anymore :P

[d-criss-news]

When it was announced that The Rosie O'Donnell Show would be back for one night only with a guest list of about 15 million Broadway talents, many of us wondered, would it be a return to the glory days of her multiple Emmy-winning daytime talk show or more like her ill-fated attempt to resuscitate the primetime variety format on NBC in 2008. It turned out to borrow from both those predecessors while evolving into something completely different — a low-tech lovefest that felt like eavesdropping on a group chat among friends looking out for one another in a time of need.

It was spontaneous, messy and blighted by some of the worst audio glitches imaginable. Yet it was often affectingly intimate, and even over an endurance-testing three-and-a-half commercial-free hours, also strangely addictive. The lack of slickness seemed to carry through to the relaxed manner of the guests, and their refreshing unpretentiousness.

Conceived by actor-producer (and occasional tech-support helpmate) Erich Bergen and live-streamed on Broadway.com and the website's YouTube channel, the show was a benefit for The Actors Fund, the charitable organization founded in 1882 that supports performers and behind-the-scenes theater workers. It raised more than half-a-million dollars, O'Donnell announced at the end of the marathon, sitting in a Hamilton hoodie and offering a champagne toast in a glass emblazoned with the face of Barbra Streisand.

She conducted the entire show from behind a laptop in her New Jersey garage, its floor spattered with the paint spillage of countless craft projects. "I'm a little bit of a Broadway nerd, I admit it," said O'Donnell, establishing her dual role as host and superfan.

Part of the show's unique pleasure was seeing favorite Broadway performers chilling in their own homes, almost all of them dressed down, with little visible attention to makeup or hair, and zero concern about unflattering angles. It was a great equalizer, proving that even artists who can hold packed theaters in the palm of their hands with a song are housebound and trying to make the best of a bad situation just like the rest of us — staying close to their families, killing time, learning to cook, wondering how long this unnerving isolation will last. Or how much longer we can put off that shower.

It was kind of comforting to see Idina Menzel sitting by her microwave and confessing, "I guess I'm going a little bonkers," while lamenting a failed lasagna attempt and sharing the challenges of homeschooling her son when she's no math genius. Likewise, hearing Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker talk about watching Columbo reruns or catching up on The Crown, while SJP begged for no spoilers on the final episode of The Sopranos, which she may now get to at last. Seeing Annette Bening on her Los Angeles balcony wearing a "Make America Kind Again" baseball cap was as much a tonic as watching Neil Patrick Harris do a card trick with his adorable twins. And who doesn't want to meet Gloria and Emilio Estefan's cute rescue dogs or hear about Lin-Manuel Miranda's kids' reaction to their first exposure to Singin' in the Rain?

Then there were the musical interludes.

Where else could you catch Patti LuPone, in magnificent voice, singing the urgently upbeat 1930s standard "A Hundred Years From Today," unaccompanied while sitting by the jukebox in her basement? Or Kelli O'Hara nestled into an armchair honoring Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday by wrapping her crystalline soprano around "Take Me to the World," a hymn to unity from Evening Primrose? Or husband and wife Audra McDonald and Will Swenson duetting on the Charlie Chaplin evergreen, "Smile," from their Westchester living room? Or Darren Criss pouring his heart into another Sondheim classic about the desire for connection, "Being Alive," from Company, accompanying himself in a lovely pop arrangement on acoustic guitar from the sofa of his Los Angeles home? And while sound problems plagued Barry Manilow's selection of hits, ending with "I Made It Through the Rain," I was tickled to see his Judy Garland Kleenex dispenser.

Many of the song choices were thoughtfully apropos of the current crisis, offering comforting reassurance of the eventual return of resilience and togetherness while people in major cities all over the country self-isolate as the infection rate of the coronavirus pandemic continues to climb. Maybe Tituss Burgess at his home keyboard singing "The Glory of Love" is exactly the kind of uplift we all need right now.

Even in the seemingly random numbers, the entire enterprise was characterized by a spirit of generosity and sharing.

Kristin Chenoweth celebrated a Starbucks romance in "Taylor the Latte Boy." Matthew Morrison goofed it up on ukulele to a mashup of "The Bare Necessities" and "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from his Disney Dreamin' album. Alan Menken whipped through a medley of his songs from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors, among others, at the piano. Ben Platt, also at the keyboard, did Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love." And Adrienne Warren, the sensational star of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, growled out "Simply the Best" from her bathtub. That was on the third attempt during a particularly troublesome audio patch, by which time her bubbles were history.

Prompted by O'Donnell, more than one guest reminded viewers that The Actors Fund is not just about Broadway artists pulling star salaries but also stagehands, makeup artists, wigmakers and ushers who work in what is very much a gig economy. The organization provides emergency financial assistance, social services, affordable housing, healthcare and insurance counseling and addiction support.

"Everything's a one-off," said Tony-winning actor Brian Stokes Mitchell, who serves as chairman of The Actors Fund. "That's how we get by, and many people are living on the edge right now."

"We're all just one, two, maybe three paychecks away from bankruptcy," added Billy Porter, whose mother is in an Actors Fund nursing home. "In this community, our whole job description is insecurity," said Judith Light.

Porter, along with Lea Salonga and longtime activist Light recalled how Broadway was on the frontlines of another life-threatening struggle during the early days of the AIDS crisis. All of them urged viewers to stay strong and take the time to reflect on the value of solidarity.

While O'Donnell has never been shy about her opposition to Donald Trump and everything he stands for, the show was remarkably light on politics, with just the occasional dig slipping through. She opened with a little celebratory "Yay!" while admitting she had missed the president's daily coronavirus press update, and then explained that she and her guests were not there to talk Trump. When Harvey Fierstein, O'Donnell's 2005 stage husband in Fiddler on the Roof, reminded her of all the election work still to be done, she said, "Let's all just know, we deserve a leader who tells the truth." And the delays in making coronavirus testing more widely available prompted a comment that the government should have gotten busy on that back in January when the writing was already on the wall.

Mostly, however, the hastily revamped Rosie O'Donnell Show was about bringing people together at this time of anxiety and isolation, as the host reconnected with artists whom she has championed since her reign as the Queen of Nice. "Everyone in the community loves you," she told Chita Rivera in a particularly effusive greeting. "You are our queen mother!"

Many of the performers would have been decompressing after rehearsals or Sunday matinees if the Broadway shutdown hadn't happened — Criss in American Buffalo, Broderick and Parker in Plaza Suite, Warren in Tina, Lauren Patten and Elizabeth Stanley in Jagged Little Pill. Sunday would have been LuPone's opening night in the gender-flipped revival of Company. Gavin Creel, who abruptly ended his London run in Waitress to fly home and is in isolation in a cabin in upstate New York, revealed the fear that he might have contracted the virus, given that several others in the cast have fallen ill, with one of them testing positive.

The show bridged the gap separating us from artists whose work we normally experience on the other side of the footlights. Most of us will never again get to see Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber exchange greetings in song on the birthday the two composers happen to share. From those celebrated veterans to rising-star newbies, the common denominator here was everybody facing the crisis just like us, reaching out a hand of friendship, albeit from a mandatory safe distance.

[melodicsiren]

If Sharing a Body was a Little More Complicated- Morro Flips Out and Swears a Bunch, Featuring Hurt/Comfort and Character Development

It was an unfortunate side effect of being in a living body, the fact that it required sleep. Eventually though, they had to rest. Lloyd’s exhausted psyche would slip into dreams, and Morro would lie down and close their eyes, his own consciousness remaining alert within, to keep the little ninja from taking back control.  

It was boring. 

So when, during their third such nap since his takeover, he felt Lloyd tense up from a nightmare, he decided to enter the dream with him and enjoy the show. 

Dreams were odd things. The dusty landscape was indistinct and constantly shifting, but never felt out of place. The contents too, the things that happened within, were also inconsistent; and for Morro, who was floating above it all without being truly connected to it, it was more than a little confusing. 

Below him was a small child wearing pajamas and a black cloak, huddled in a ball on the ground and crying as a shadowy monster with glowing red eyes loomed over him. The scene flickered, and it became clear that the crying child was Lloyd himself as his form changed to his current appearance. At the same time the other ninja arrived, poised to fight against the monster with him. For just second it seemed like the nightmare part of this dream was about to end- but then the shadow reached the white one. There was an explosion, a horrible sound of scraping metal, and when the shadow drew back, the white ninja was left a scattered pile of mechanical debris. Lloyd’s shape reverted back to a child as he screamed, reached out, but couldn’t seem to move, as the shadow swallowed up his friends one by one and spat them back out disturbingly broken. Alone once more, the child looked up into the red eyes above him, shaking as silent tears tracked rivers down his cheeks.

“Why... Father...?” 

Morro had seen enough. He left the dream, rising back to near the surface of consciousness. It was obvious what the dream meant emotionally, but it made him curious about his host’s actual history. 

So he went looking. 

Sharing a body while still being a separate entity was an interesting experience. He had access to everything, but didn’t necessarily have to connect with it. So while he could use all its senses and move its limbs, he hadn’t bothered to look into Lloyd’s mind. There had never been a reason to. Now though, he was seeking information, combing through the boy’s memories to find his answers. 

And the more he looked, the more enraged he became. Until he could no longer sit still, yanking them into wakefulness, and flying out of his small hideout in Stix at full speed. 

Despite the early hour, the ninja and their sensei were gathered around a table in the main room of the tea shop, trying to come up with some sort of plan. They were unprepared for the sudden hurricane that blasted the door off its hinges and swept into the store, sending everything flying off the shelves and up-ending nearly every piece of furniture in the room. Following the storm was its source; Morro came flying in, glowing too bright, and clearly so angry that he couldn’t properly contain his powers if he wanted to. He was shaking with rage as he glared at Wu, the wind whipping around him with gale force. 

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” The ghost shrieked, his voice only empowered by his element, booming loudly enough to shake the building.  “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING LETTING A LITTLE KID GET INVOLVED IN ALL THIS SHIT!? THIS FUCKING 12 YEAR OLD KID!? WHO ALREADY HAD MORE SHIT TO DEAL WITH THAN HE SHOULD, AND YOU THOUGHT WHAT? ‘COOL LET’S MAKE IT WORSE’!? WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU WHEN BOTH HIS PARENTS JUST DIPPED OUT HUH!? THE ONLY FAMILY HE HAD LEFT AND YOU JUST LET HIM GET DUMPED AT THE SHITTIEST SCHOOL EVER!? A SCHOOL FULL OF WANNABE BULLIES- DID YOU EVEN KNOW HE GOT KICKED OUT!? THAT THIS TINY KID WAS FUCKING HOMELESS FOR OVER 3 MONTHS WHILE YOU WERE BUSY PLAYING MASTER!? HE NEVER GOT TO BE A KID AT ALL!! EVEN I HAD MORE OF A CHILDHOOD THAN HE DID!!”, he choked slightly, tears finally escaping down his cheeks, even as he continued to scream, “YOU DRAGGED HIM INTO THIS HELL- YOU DRAGGED ALL OF THEM!! I SAW IT IN HIS MEMORIES!! ALL THE SHIT THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH- YOU THINK JUST CAUSE THEY HAVE POWERS THAT’S OK!? THE ROBOT KID FUCKING DIED!! I DIED!! YOU STARTED ALL OF THIS, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!! NO WONDER LLOYD HAS NIGHTMARES!! WHY- JUST WHY!?!?”

Finally, both the wind and Morro’s rant petered out as he floated above them, breathing heavily. 

The silence was deafening after that. No one knew what to say. eventually it was Kai who broke the quiet, his voice meek, unsure. 

“Does that mean.. you’ll give him back...?” 

The ghost blinked. In his anger he had forgotten everything else. His gaze shifted to take in the other ninja, their expressions all sharing the same desperate and frightened look. He could feel Lloyd inside his mind, exhausted and scared, reaching out not as a ninja, but as a child, for the people he considered his family...

He had everything he’d ever wanted. All the power he’d sought after since he was a child. And in front of him was the evidence of the price of that power. This group of kids who had seen so much more danger and destruction than anyone should have to- and Lloyd who had no choice but to take the responsibility of leadership, because destiny said he had to. 

All of a sudden, he just felt tired. As he sunk to the floor, all the ambition, anger and resentment that fueled him drained away. Once he was standing in front of the others, he pulled out, releasing Lloyd and drifting back, as the boy collapsed, was enveloped by his siblings in a tight group hug.

There were a lot of tears, and soft, happy voices sharing welcome homes. Tensions rose slightly as Wu stepped towards them, Morro’s ghostly shoulders hiking up as he felt a bizarre surge of protectiveness for these near strangers he only knew from someone else’s memories. 

Then he realized Wu was crying. The man had stopped few feet away from the pile of young ninja, looking so much older than he ever had before. 

“I... am so sorry.” He was shaking. Somehow seeing him looking so fragile was frightening. 

“I never meant- I didn’t think... I was only thinking about this place my father created and the prophecy he left behind. Not the lives of the people who were in it. I should have been better...” 

Someone in the group sobbed, and the old master was pulled into the hug, trying to hold all of them at once as he hiccuped along with them, more ‘I’m sorry’s being mumbled into their hair. 

Morro watched them, and as he did, he realized something. 

Wu was human. 

As old, as strong, as wise as he was; he wasn’t some infallible deity. He made mistakes, sometimes huge ones, just like anybody else. And when he did, or realized that he did, he acknowledged it, and apologized. Morro couldn’t remember how Wu had treated him once it was clear he wasn’t the green ninja, only his own feeling of betrayal. Maybe it just didn’t have to matter any more. 

He drifted over to the group and tugged on Wu’s sleeve to get his attention. The master’s gaze was heartbroken as he turned his head looked at his old student. 

“Oh, Morro...”, but the ghost just shook his head. He already knew. He didn’t need to hear it. 

“I don’t want to be the green ninja any more”, he smiled ruefully, “But I’ve opened a can of worms that I can’t put back on my own...”

[lloyd-henreid]

bruise.

(tw: self harm)

“There’s such a lot to do,” Flagg said happily. “And we’re going to move very fast.” They walked toward the stairs together, past the dead men in their cells. When Lloyd stumbled in weakness, Flagg seized his arm above the elbow and bore him up. Lloyd turned and looked into that grinning face with something more than gratitude. He looked at Flagg with something like love.

Lloyd didn’t know he was bruised until he shrugs off his prison jumpsuit in the abandoned thrift store in Quartzsite. He stands nude in between two ransacked rows of shirts, looking down and tenderly touching the large purple bruise that encapsulates his upper arm. He’s mystified by it at first, but when his fingers trace it he realizes it’s where Flagg grabbed him to keep him on his feet.

There are other bruises on him from when he threw himself onto his cot or against the bars in his cell or when he devolved into symphonies of panicked self harm, but there’s nothing quite so fascinating to him.

Lloyd is nearly skin and bones, where just hours ago he sat near cradled by death itself, trapped without food or water. He knows, even in his recovering delirium, that his body is fragile. Flagg’s steady grip on him might have become the clashing of two boulders upon his arm with how fantastically deep the bruise it. And when his own fingers glide across it and send bursts of bright pain through his arm and body, with it comes a corporeal and crippling sense of euphoria that almost brings him to tears.

Even as Lloyd selects an old shirt, he pinches the bruise and swallows back the ball of emotion in the back of his throat. He selects his loose jeans and pinches his arm and doesn’t seem to mind or notice the wetness in his eyes and the shaking in his hands, too busy digesting the realization that he was alive. He was fucking alive.

It’s a handprint---a branding---of the blessing he received.

He slips into the clothes that hang loosely on him, and he turns when he hears a jingling sound and sees Flagg holding up car keys just outside the broken window with a big, beautiful grin on his face.

Lloyd smiles back weakly. Already the draw to him feels natural. Perhaps it did from the very first moment he saw him with Lloyd’s greasy-dry face jammed against the jail bars. Even in his fear, Lloyd was not blind to the dazzling oasis that is Flagg, whatever the fuck he really is.

He takes a deep breath, arms folded loosely with either hand resting on the opposite arm, pressing discreetly to the stinging bruise, and drags his feet back to the battered pickup truck that got them there.

Two weeks later and the bruise has turned yellow. It’s healing perfectly, and when Lloyd looks at it in the mirror, his sleeve rolled up to his shoulder, it sends molasses thick hot and cold aches through his chest. Panic rises quickly in him, his mind send rapid signals through his body that oh no, no, this isn’t okay. This isn’t right.

Lloyd wraps his hand around the bruise and it manifests only a faint, distant pain. He would scream in fear if he wasn’t burying his voice beneath six feet of feigned competence, even if he really did feel that his mind and memory and intelligence had heightened significantly after Flagg had graced him with his presence. And maybe that was a part of the fear. The bruise had become a brand of honor for Lloyd, a blessing and a reminder that he was the first pick and graciously given life. Maybe it was the reason he had begun to feel smarter and wiser and braver.

It made sense to him.

It was the gateway to where he stood now, dressed in sharp, dark clothes, fingers glittering with gold rings, gold chains around his throat and diamond studs in his ears. His stomach was full, he was impeccably clean, his hair was brushed and he was about to go down to the lobby of the hotel to have a drink with two informants to discuss their assignment in Lake Havasu.

But the bruise was fading. It was nearly gone, and with the pounding, accelerating panic building up in the back of Lloyd’s mind, he convinces himself that everything he’s been given will fade with it too.

He pictures Flagg’s face in the Phoenix prison, grinning as he hoisted him up, haloed in the invisible light of infatuated reverence.

Lloyd tucks his sleeve harder against his shoulder, baring his arm completely. He doesn’t really think about it, vision bleary from the panic. He balls up his fist and throws it full force into the fading yellow splotch. It feels like almost nothing, just a mild stunned feeling from the impact. He does it again, skin prickling, the ache more vibrant, and he does it again, and again, and again, and again, his fist connecting with the exact yellowed spot, numbness and sharpness bursting through his arm, each blow heightening the pain and his existence, grounding himself into the sleek tiles of his Vegas suite.

He doesn’t know he’s gritting his teeth and sucking in sharp, fuming breaths with every beat of his fist. The act is angry behind it all. Anger at himself, he’d say, but he doesn’t know. Lloyd is zoned into the act, eyes locked on the fading bruise now vivid red and aching brightly, stuffed with uncomfortable heat and a distinct ticking throb in the muscle and bone.

He stops. Eventually. He raises his eyes to his reflection, panting softly, fist still balled up and hovering above his arm. He swallows hard, pursing his lips tight and take a deep, long breath through his nose before rolling his sleeve back down, adjusting his hair, and relaxing his fist.

Lloyd collects himself, quicker than he should, staring into his own eyes and thinking idly to the blistering, broken pain in his arm as he runs his hand over the jet black stone hanging from his neck, finger tracing the bright red mark in its center.

He nods to himself, turns away, and goes to have a drink.

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Worst Films of 2019

Well 2019 has delivered some of the most disappointing, ugly and just downright disgraceful films I've ever seen. With 2020 on the rise, I can marvel at the fact that I wasn't the only one of the cats that fought his way through hell to get through this year. On an international scale, I believe a phoenix swept over the film industry and became the terminator of many franchises. Like you all, I survived this dark year in film and it is with great pleasure that I bring you the list of what films to avoid like a hungry lion looking for his next meal. So lets see who is the king of my list of the worst films of 2019. If you would like to see the full review, then click on the titles of each film. The first film on my list just hurts.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: It is with a heavy heart that I had to put this film on my list. Star Wars has always been apart of my life and apart of my soul. At any given time, you can find me playing a Star Wars game, watching any of the movies or even revisiting The Clone Wars series. As much as I wanted to love this film, there is just no denying that this was just the worst film the franchise has ever seen. There are some truly amazing and fun sequences and a great lightsaber fight, but that all doesn't matter when your core story is too busy negating, betraying and apologizing for past films that tried to expand and do something new. All of the new and old philosophies were completely destroyed by conveniences of stuff just happening and lazy writing. As for a trilogy, it was a unplanned, unfocused and perfect example of how not to tell a story ark. It hurts my ever loving Star Wars soul, but this was the worst of the franchise and just a massive disappointment.

Terminator: Dark Fate: I love and hate this franchise. I love that they keep trying to make a good film without the creator James Cameron at the helm, but I hate that they are staying modern day. Now with the risk of erasing everything after T2: Judgement Day, there was a chance to do something right. Well after the opening scene, the door was flung right open for an interesting path and it ultimately failed. This film followed the same mistakes of being heavy on big action sequences and less on heart and character development where it was needed. It was great to see Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger back together again and they had an awesome villain to battle, but I just thought this film was just meh all the way through. This was the last chance for the franchise and they blew it.

Captain Marvel: Well not all of them can be winners. The Marvel Studios brand is one of the most trusted brands in the industry and they have earned it. Almost every entry in their series of films have ranged from classic to alright. This film on the other hand was just a waste of a potentially great origin story for one of their most iconic female characters. I honestly could not connect to the main character enough for me to care. She had no real weakness in the film and no vulnerability. Yeah sure she's only known the life of a soldier, but that doesn't mean she isn't human. The storytelling in the film was all over the place with some stupid decisions and there just wasn't enough substance. A character with a snarky attitude and no regard for anyone else doesn't make for a good hero or a origin you want to study more about.

The Lion King: Double dipping doesn't always work and this was the prime example of that. I love the original animated classic and I think it truly is my favorite animated Disney film. I didn't go into this film judging it against the original because that would just be dumb and unfair. It is undeniable that this film is a technical achievement, but that was about it. The voice acting was a serious mixed bag. The child actors for Simba and Nala, Timon and Pumba and Zazu were truly the highlights, but the adult versions of Simba and Nala were flat and purely directed. Shot for shot remakes are not a good idea and this was that. If you diverted a little more from the source material, then this would've been an interesting remake. Listen up Disney, don't do this again.

Dark Phoenix: Oh man. The X-Men film franchise has truly seen some better days. We can all agree that this film franchise really had no since of continuity or an idea of where it wanted to end. Well with a reboot mid stream, I knew eventually there would be another attempt at the Phoenix Saga. Once again they've missed the X on the spot. The fact that this was the last film in the franchise that started in 2000, is truly a relief. We've had some amazing films, but this was by the far the worst of them all. Goodbye X-Men. I'll always have Logan in my heart.

Cats: I mean. Is there really anything else I can say about this insanely bizarre film? I had seen the Broadway version of the show on DVD a few years back and I could't understand it. The film made it better, but I couldn't get over the horrific nature of the CGI cat fur on the acts. It ranged from weird to “What in heavens name did you do to Jennifer Hudson?”. I know it was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s vision and probably director Tom Hooper's dream picture, but this was just too strange to be adapted to film. Not even the star power behind the film could save it. If an example of why certain shows work best for the stage was needed, then look no further than this atrocity.

Hellboy: Why was this rebooted? Oh yeah that's right. The studio didn't want to complete Guillermo Del Toro's superior vision of what Hellboy 3 would've been. Let me be clear, I gave this film a chance to show me a new, darker and more violent version of the iconic badass. What I got was a violent, darker, noisy and whiny little bitch of a character. I love David Harbour, but he was really dealt a terrible hand and I think he knows that. There are some awesome visuals and a great fight scene with big trolls, but after the first 15 minutes the film just dissolves into a horrible mess of a film. I didn't care by the film's last 10 minutes as we retread the same themes of the first iteration of the character. Thank God there isn't gonna be a sequel to this trash.

And now we’ve arrived at the last film I hated. The crowning turd of 2019, is none other than...

Men In Black: International: Where do I even start with this abomination. I loved the original and third MIB film. It wasn't a great trilogy, but it was consistent. The character Agent J earned his place among the MIB and the chemistry between him and Agent K was a perfect example of how to do a buddy cop film in the sci fi comedy genre. This film ignored all of that and focused strictly on the comedy and just never took itself seriously. The main character Agent M, had an interesting beginning and 5 seconds after she finds the MIB, they give her everything. She didn't earn anything which made her immediately boring and unnecessary. Chris Hemsworth is a great actor and he has great comedic timing, but this was the most obnoxious and unlikeable character he's ever played. This film had no heart, no real stakes or even an idea of what the story wanted to be. Like I said in my review, this film franchise should've stayed dead after Men In Black 3.

That's all folks and thank the heavens. These were the worst films of 2019 and I say this every year, but I really hope I'm right. Let's hope 2020 has a shorter list of worst films.

[darkhymns-fic]

For Sweet Cookies and Almost-Dates

Sheena wants to ask Colette out on a date. Zelos tries to help. But Sheena is just that good at self-sabotaging.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters/Pairing: Sheena Fujibayashi/Colette Brunel, Zelos Wilder, Raine Sage Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Made for @talesfemslashweek​ and the first prompt! Cookies - First Love. I wrote this as very silly, forgive me.

---

“Sheena, babe. It’s now or never.”

“I know what I’m doing, okay?! And don't call me that!” Sheena gripped her arms tight, pacing back and forth inside the house. Not like her status as Chief allowed her much time for luxury, and with some of her friends visiting Mizuho again, she couldn’t waste this opportunity.

Zelos sat on the floor, shifting every so often and so goddamn unused to Mizuho’s seating arrangements. “Seriously though. Little Angel’s only here for a bit anyway. Us former Chosens gotta reassure the new world and all.”

“Oh my god, just shut up.” Sheena pushed back her hair, knowing she messed it up again for the billionth time. “Okay, I’m ready. Now back off and don’t leer for once in your life.”

Zelos just shrugged, already prepared for Sheena to crash and burn.

---

“I’m just saying,” Raine was postulating, looking down at the outdoor grill set that some locals were using to cook up their fish supper. “If you add a nice confectionary taste to it… say some strawberry tarts, or some pudding, it would really balance well with the crispiness of the food.”

Usually where Genis would calm his sister down, Colette only approved of it, delightfully clapping her hands. “That’s such a creative idea, Professor!”

Sheena, who was just a few feet away, ignored the nightmarish dinner suggestion, and walked straight up to the ex-Chosen girl. “Hey.”

Colette turned around, her smile never wavering. “Sheena! It’s been so long. Sorry, we were both just traveling so much, or we would have visited sooner.”

“Oh, that’s um, that’s not a problem at all!” Sheena responded with too high of a voice. She cleared her throat. “Not like I wasn’t busy being Chief and all! I don’t think even Lloyd and Genis have stopped by yet.”

“Oh, that’s right. They’re really working hard on gathering the Exspheres!”

If they continued this conversation, Colette would just start talking about their friends and all they were doing, all while Raine side-eyed with some suspicion. But she would stand her ground. She would do what she came to do, what she had wanted to ever since Colette had kindly asked for her name despite being marked for assassination.

Colette, would you like to go out with me? Like, to have lunch? In, in a date kind of way? Not just as friends. Unless you want us to be friends? W-why am I messing up in my own fantasy?

“Colette.” She said suddenly, just dropping the name from her mouth like a lead weight. The addressed girl gave Sheena her full attention. Then blinked when nothing followed up.

Sheena started again. “Colette,” she said once more, but still… that was it.

“Um, yes, Sheena? I’m still here!”

God damn it she was so cute. Sheena took another breath, clenched her fists, and leaned forward to give it her all. “Colette!”

Colette flinched from the loudness of her voice. So did Raine, who frowned disapprovingly. “Excuse me, there is no need to shout.”

Faced with the Professor who never really trusted her, and the wondering eyes of the girl she liked, Sheena was faced with a decision that would define her from then on.

She hightailed it out of there, right in front of her friends and people.

---

“Man, Sheena. I didn’t think you’d blow it this bad…” Zelos shook his head, leaning away from one of the house’s windows once she came back in.

“You were watching!? I told you to lay off!”

“Clearly you need a master to show you the ropes. Here, lemme practice one of my best pick-up lines.” Zelos winked, flicking a strand of red hair over his shoulder. “Or I could just go over to angel face herself and demonstrate-”

“You’re going to do nothing to me, or to Colette, unless you want a knee to your stomach.” Sheena took another breath, loosening up her limbs as she prepared herself once again. “I can do this. So just… stop trying to make me feel bad about it.”

Zelos had a serious look on his face, all traces of his amusement gone. “Hey, I know you can do it, Sheena.” Then a grin. “But you can’t blame me for enjoying all the trial and error stuff going on, too! Ah, the beauty of first love~”

“Ugh.”

---

“Hello there, young lady! Are you here to buy my secret notebook?”

Colette shook her head. “Oh, that’s okay! I’m sure we got that the last time we were here, too!”

“Ah, I recognize you now!” The shopkeeper was the only one of his kind in Mizuho, though he still dressed in his traditional ninja garb as he doled out his deals. “Then that means you’re on the lookout for an assortment of secrets. Or maybe… you’re looking to be my new secretary? Eh?”

Colette blinked. “No, I don’t think so!”

“Well, I have all sorts of other secretive wares that you might be interested in-“

“Oh, a doggie!” Colette gasped at the little canine seated by the stall, a Shiba Inu with a wide smile and a short wagging tail.

“Ah, that’s my dog, Secretariat! Please no petting.”

How is he able to… do that actually? But Sheena had no time for worrying about mysterious shopkeepers and their weird way of talking. She walked up to Colette again, breathing out a sigh of relief when she saw that Raine was nowhere in sight.

Colette still had her good hearing though and turned quickly to Sheena. “Hi! I was wondering where you went!”

“Chief Sheena! Are you here to share some sec-”

“No thanks, I’m good.” Sheena closed her eyes for a moment, then faced Colette again. “Look, I just- I mean, um, I want to ask you something!”

“Oh, of course!” Colette waited there for Sheena’s question patiently.

The wind blew through the trees in the following awkward silence. Even the shopkeeper had to turn away, no longer so confident about his secret wares.

“Do you…uh…” Sheena’s mouth went dry instantly. Not even with Lloyd had she been this weird about it! “Do you… are you having fun traveling with Raine?” Why am I so bad at this?

Colette looked a bit surprised at the question, and… there was something else in her eyes. But it went away before Sheena could observe it better. For an information-gathering ninja, Sheena couldn’t really read people well, she realized…

“I have! It’s been so helpful having the Professor along when we’re traveling to the other cities. We’ve also been trying to help the half-elves we come across whenever we can.”

“That sounds good! Great!” Sheena said probably way too enthusiastically. “I mean, I think I might not do so well traveling with her myself, what with her cooking and all.” She kicked herself mentally for the comment. Why would Colette want to hear her trash talk about her own teacher?

“Oh, that’s fine. I actually…” Colette looked to the side, then leaned forward towards Sheena with a conspiratorial air. “I can control my tastebuds now, so it’s never bad when I eat her cooking! And it makes her happy, too!”

Dang, with that handy ability, they really did make the perfect traveling team. And also, just the way Colette tried to whisper her a secret was so adorable. She had to take her chance now.

“Hey, so, I got something else to tell you…” To prepare herself, she drew a big, deep breath.

And it was then that a giant bug flew right into her mouth. “Ack!”

Colette, worry etched in her features, held up her hands. “Oh! Are you okay?”

Not really, I just swallowed a bug! But she didn’t say that. She just continued to hack and cough.

The dog yipped loudly, and the shopkeeper stood back a little, probably weirded out by his Chief. Colette wasn’t moving away, however. She rushed to Sheena, placing gentle hands on her cheeks. Oh goddess oh what the hell she’s touching me she’s so close. “Just! Um, try to breathe! Should I get the Professor?”

Even after everything, Sheena still didn’t feel much affinity for Raine, but maybe that was better than dying because of a bug. This was so dumb! And gross!

But eventually, she turned away from Colette to cough out whatever bug that just decided to ruin everything. Just. Everything. But she didn’t see a bug? Did she swallow nothing? Like actual nothing?

Colette would have seen it, right? But she was still there, holding Sheena’s face in her soft hands. “Sheena?”

“W-water! Just! Um!” Sheena flinched, sneakily getting out of Colette’s hold like the top ninja village Chief she was! And then stumbled slightly as she did so. “I need water bye!”

Colette stayed in place, hands held over nothing as she watched Sheena bravely run away from her again.

---

“Hey, Sheena. Third time’s the charm, ain’t it?”

Once the ninja crawled out from under the tatami mat and her overwhelming embarrassment, she stood before Zelos and sighed. “I guess.”

Zelos was reaching into his pocket. “Here. This also swoons moi whenever the ladies do this for me!”

“That better not be a dirty euphemism, I swear to-”

“Some cookies! I mean, most people give me fish or whatever, but I remember Colette having a bit of a sweet tooth.” He tossed a small bundle of chocolate chip cookies to Sheena, who caught it deftly in her right hand despite being halfway deep in depression.

“I just give her this?” That seemed far too easy… So easy that even I can’t mess this up!

“Exactly,” Zelos then said as if he could read her mind? Could he read her mind? Please that would be a nightmare.

“Just give her the sweet cookies, and then go and sweet talk her. She’ll be all over you before you know it.”

Well, how could it get any worse?

---

What was it about Colette that she liked so much anyway?

Sheena had never connected well with anyone, certainly not in her village, even though it seemed most people accepted her now. And she definitely didn’t connect with that loud-mouthed Chosen, no matter what anyone thought! But even as she was ordered to slay Colette, something kept putting her off it (besides falling into pits).

One night, before joining Colette’s group, she had snuck into her room at an inn, kunai in hand, ready to slit her throat. But the moonlight had hit her hair in just a certain place, making Sheena blink rapidly. The girl had been pale, tucked deep underneath the covers and, for a short moment, Sheena had wanted to kiss her. Even Zelos wouldn’t have been this creepy.

But she had wanted to and had even reached out to stroke away a few strands of the girl’s hair from her face before she realized what she was doing. She had then promptly leapt out of the window in shame.

There had been other, less-weird happenings afterwards, such as sitting next to Colette by the campfire, or staying near her when the girl would stumble over a rock in their path… and then they’d both just fall over. Still, Colette never seemed to mind. The light feeling in her stomach always fluttered whenever Sheena was near her, zapping away at her voice.

Luckily, this would be a lot more different now. She would talk more! And just giving her some cookies wasn’t as weird. Or as creepy. Hopefully?

“Sheena! Are you okay now?” Colette was already rushing towards her before Sheena could prepare herself more. Had she been waiting? “I got so worried when you started choking…”

“It’s- it’s okay! Happens all the time.” Did I really just say that!? Sheena blushed, grasping the cookies tightly in her hand. “Colette, sorry, but I wanted to tell you something… and maybe it’ll be easier if I give you something instead.”

At that, she saw the wonder in Colette’s eyes, a soft smile lifting her cheeks. Even after all she had been through, she managed to be so excited and happy at times. Sheena couldn’t help but admire it fully. “You mean like a present?”

“Yeah, like that.” Okay, here goes. With a deep breath, Sheena raised up her hand that held the cookies, to present it to Colette with all the love she felt. This would be her first gift to Colette… maybe something they could even look back to, as they went on their date. Yes, she could do this! “Colette, will you go out-”

She flung the cookies straight past Colette’s head….

Straight past the small river that ran around the Chief’s house…

Straight past the startled shopkeeper tending to his not-so-secret dog…

…And right into Raine’s face as she walked up the path. Cookies exploded everywhere in a crumbly mess.

“Why do people keep throwing things at my head?!”

For the third time that day, Sheena ran away again past a wide-eyed Colette, basically stumbling into the swinging panel of the house head-first.

Even Zelos didn’t have the strength to make fun of her anymore.

---

“I’m an idiot and I should just die.”

“That’s more my line, you know,” Zelos was saying, but Sheena could tell his heart was not in it. The guy didn’t even laugh obnoxiously. That’s how she knew she messed up so badly.

She eventually was convinced to leave the house instead of burying herself under a kotatsu to wallow in her misery. Though getting a few stares here and there as she walked through the village, it was at the very least with amusement instead of vitriol? That counted for something?

Ugh, she still wanted to die though.

It was already time to say their goodbyes to Colette, and Sheena was less than thrilled. She couldn’t even force a smile. She had one task! Just one! And she couldn’t even do that. At least Zelos wasn’t making fun of her anymore. He looked about as disappointed as she was, occasionally patting her back in comfort without making it creepy. Even if he did, she didn’t have the energy to smack him anyway.

They both came near the village gates, where Raine saying something quickly to Colette, and Colette was talking back. Raine then shook her head, but Colette looked so adamant, until the Professor could only shrug. This was followed by Colette rushing over to Sheena.

“Sheena!” she shouted so suddenly, it brought the ninja out of her funk.

“Uh-”

“I have something to ask you! Um, would you, um, would you please go out with me? Like on a date, I mean? Like more than friends? But just friends is fine too…”

“I uh-”

“I think you’re very nice and so much fun, and you’re always looking out for me! If it’s okay, could we maybe go out to Meltokio next week? There’s supposed to be a festival and I’d like to be with you for that!”

“I…I…uh…”

Zelos nudged Sheena in the ribs. “Say yes, idiot,” he hissed.

“Um! Y-yes!”

Colette smiled wide at that. She even did a little hop on her toes at the answer. “That’s great! So, I will see you there next week? Or should I come here?”

“Uh.. uhhhh-”

“The Chief here would love to be picked up by her angel, as long as you both got some Rheiards!” Zelos said helpfully.

“Okay! I will be here next week! I’m so excited!” Colette reached out for a hug, which Sheena only had enough sense to return. Then once she stepped back, Colette gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Both were soon blushing fiercely.

“Ah, sorry! I just… got a little carried away.” Colette smiled nervously, but still so cutely. “I’ll see you later!” Then in a whisper. “M-maybe we can have some cookies at the festival…”

Soon she ran off back to Raine, who while clearly not approving, gave her precious student a gentle smile for her initiative.

Once both left, Sheena was still standing there, stunned.

Zelos patted her back again, this time with a little more enthusiasm. “Guess you got lucky there.”

Yeah. Yeah she did, and she was so glad for it.