#points at sleeping Zain... do it for him

[hellscythearts]

XZero Week 2024 - Promise

(This requires a great deal of context from our RP blogs involving time loops and multiversal chaos and you're welcome to ask me and my wife more about it, but here's the long and short of it:

Think of this as X getting a sort of premonition pre-X1. Z hasn't died (yet), so why did he have a nightmare about something that hasn't happened...? 🫠 )

[writtenjewels]

Voice part 5

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

His dream was still on his mind as Salim got ready for his day. Jason's face was so clear that he must have seen it before. Salim was sure the man wasn't at the mixer—he would have remembered meeting someone who used sign language. So where had Jason come from? Some modeling campaign, perhaps? He was certainly handsome enough.

“Morning,” the voice greeted him from the player.

“Good morning,” Salim returned.

“Sleep well?”

“I had a strange dream,” Salim confessed. He described it as he made his bed and grabbed clothes for the day. There was silence from the player when he finished.

“Sounds like your brain's tryin' to tell ya somethin',” the voice said at last.

“That I should start learning American Sign Language?”

“No, smart-ass,” the voice said with an amused lilt in the tone. “That maybe you ain't really into what's-his-name.”

Salim considered this as he dressed. He had enjoyed his time at the art gallery, and it was him who asked to see Ethan again. The two of them were still getting to know each other. Salim wasn't into the kiss, but that just meant he wasn't ready for it.

“I've only been on one date,” he argued out loud. “I need more time with him.” He finished dressing and headed toward the kitchen, pausing to look back at the player. “Do you, ah, need to rest?” He wasn't sure how exactly it worked, but the player had been running all night.

“I'm good,” the voice assured him.

“All right. I'll be out in the garden.”

Salim spent the morning pulling weeds and watering his plants. A few of them looked nearly ready for harvest. After several hours of hard work and hot sun, Salim was eager for a break. He went in and made himself lunch, checking his phone for messages. There were a few from Zain that he answered. After some debate, he messaged Ethan.

'Looking forward to Tuesday.'

He finished lunch and cleaned up the dishes. Zain messaged him back and the two connected over a video call. The boy was excited as he talked about university life. He was making friends with his roommate, enjoyed all his classes so far, and had even joined the football team. When the conversation turned to Salim, he hesitated in mentioning his fledgling dating life. Instead, he stuck to discussing his garden and work.

[I hope you're getting out and meeting people too, Baba,] Zain said.

[Who's the parent again?] Salim teased, but knew his son had a point. [I'm so proud of you, son,] he went on. [And I'm happy you're doing so well.]

[I love you, Baba.]

[I love you too, Zain.] He ended the call. It was a bittersweet feeling, knowing Zain was growing up and not being able to see it first-hand. Salim sighed and headed into his room to get out of his gardening clothes.

“Hey,” the voice piped up. “You okay? I wasn't tryin' to listen in or nothin'.”

“I just miss him,” Salim sighed out. “Feeling the empty nest, as it were. He isn't wrong about me going out more,” Salim added.

“Where would you wanna go?”

“I'm not sure. Go out and watch a live game? Maybe a concert or a play.”

“Any of those sound fun,” the voice agreed. “What music do ya like?”

“I've been getting into British rock,” Salim confessed. “Zain introduced me to Queen.” He almost reciprocated the question before remembering he was talking to a voice on a tape. “I'm going to take a shower,” he announced, “then maybe do some chores.”

“I'll be here,” the voice responded.

The day went on mostly without incident. Salim caught himself looking through pictures of male models, trying to find a face that matched the one in his dreams. Zain was right: Salim needed to get out more.

With Ethan finally texting back confirming their date, maybe Salim would.

[myshiptrashcan]

Director's cut of ⭐At His Side⭐ plleeaaasseee

I love how flushed out this au is. Which always begs the question, is there anything you wanted to add in and didnt get the chance? Or anything that you unfortunately had to cut bc it didnt fit?

Hmmm. I did think about what the main story would be like if they were wing people. If they fell in the earth, then why not fly out? I figured the battle would keep one from flying not wanting their wings to get shot.

Like Merwin getting stuck in the wire and his wings are fucked. Keeping most of the characters grounded is causing me to really think. Like when Rachel fell why not fly? Were her wings slightly hurt causing Eric and her to use climbing gear instead. Obviously they need space for their wings to fly as well.

I did want to talk about Zain and Jason relating to each other more on how they feel about their wings and their parents . But instead I only made it a conversation they had that Salim heard as he woke up in little pieces. How Zain hates that he looks like his mother, his face and his wings and wishing with all of him to be like his father that he just adores. And if course Jason pointing out just how much alike Zain is to his father.

Sometimes it feels like they don't even have wings in this story. I honestly would have liked to draw better things for the story just to flesh everything out more. This world is built mostly the same as our own. I did mention things like proper baths and beds are something you have to pay more for. Bird baths and nests.

I actually added a few things to the story than I had intended. Like Jason being a Star trek fan. Which I have a wing au for as well lol.

I did want some kind of interaction between other strangers, them looking at Jason and Salim and perhaps causing some sort of trouble.

I did do more research than what was necessary for a fanfiction. Hours worth of studying for like a paragraph of words.

Also while Jason's military contract is probably the second shortest you can pick, he does have to go into base. Not sure if marines have drill, as my knowledge comes from my mom being in the Army national guard. But light military work is something Jason still has to do. Also also, maybe one or both of them finding a kind of job to do. Not wanting idle hands.

Wish I would have mentioned their nightmares a little more. It's the reason they're sleeping in the same bed together after all. Idk.

I didn't really want their relationship to be so focused on physical attraction but I did put some in there a little bit. Wanted to make their love feel a little deeper.

Jason has more stuff going on internally in ways of conflict and misbeliefs, while Salim's has more to do with perceived rejection of love while at the same time dealing with the trauma and shame of having his wings forceful clipped on top of the shared trauma of the temple.

Zain felt like a fun character to write for the first time, considering how little we know of him in game. I had hoped to get across how much he connected Jason with his mom. Even though he knew that Jason was not in fact his mother. Human brains are funny like that.

I do think Jason's father was interesting for me. Because while at first Jason saw only the bad, Jason's father did have many moments in his life where they actually cared and loved each other. Jason having happy memories with someone who at the same time hurt him so much is interesting to me. Idk. For as much as Jason resents his father he still loves him and still has this need for his approval, idk.

Oh and how I wanted to call Nick, Eric and Rachels new relationship the three kings even though I don't think they all can marry. Them three were all dating for sure. I did keep Rachel a bitch though in this. So she didn't really care for Salim in this story. Eric being a romantic legit thought that Jason and Salim were a thing and because he wanted them to succeed he did try his best to help Salim out too.

Jason's friends legit thought that they were a bonded pair. And although Salim didn't really lie about Habibi, Jason eventually used it as a affectionate term on his own. Which is how the word is used anyway. He felt like it was his little cheat at calling Salim darlin'. Which is funny because he was.

As it is. I always actually quite satisfied with the story and for the most part wrote everything that needed to be written. But I think that's all, at least all I can think of at the moment.

Thank you for the ask!!!

[thedreadvampy]

We had our team Christmas party/goodbye Ruth do today. and I need to show you what my friend at work made me for a leaving present because even for him it's a work of mad genius, I was just sitting there like WHAT. WHAT IS HAPPENING.

so you know, I get leaving gifts from my team, it's lovely, notebooks, pens, gift card, fond farewells, it's lovely, people say nice things about me

then my friend Zain says "I also got you something"

Now the thing to know about Zain is his party acumen is legendary. every year we're all resigned from the off to losing at Secret Santa because his gifts are insane. last year he made his secret santa a custom play set of one of our services in a branded box with tiny props. this year he made a custom Ken doll and box representing our colleague and it has a tiny collection bucket and a "collect them all!" sticker on the back where he'd found pictures of Barbies and Kens that looked like the rest of the Fundraising team. we'd just got done with a quiz where he made a custom video package, a Family Feud round with buzzers, and TWO Photoshop picture rounds. once. ONCE. we asked him to facilitate a team meeting and he wrote and animated a theme song. the man is insane. everything he does is so thoughtful, so labour intensive, and also so off the wall weird.

so I'm intrigued. especially since all he's holding is an envelope.

he says "I got you something. It's kind of an experience."

and hands me this letter.

(there's a bunch of good bits in here but I will particularly note that "It's going" has been his perpetual refrain for months every time I ask how it's going, to the point he usually doesn't even bother saying it any more.)

ok. I am confused. what is. THE DEVICE.

he puts THE DEVICE on the table. he hands me 4 cardboard floppy discs.

THE DEVICE is a large cardboard box. You will observe that THE DEVICE has an LED on the front. You may also observe that THE DEVICE has both a button. and a set of speaker holes.

this is because upon pushing the button on THE DEVICE, it makes a jaunty startup noise and an AI voice launches into a full minute setup speech before instructing me to load the included floppy discs into THE DEVICE. during the period of silence as I feed them into the slot, THE DEVICE says things like "ow, careful!"

THE DEVICE then makes loading noises, and instructors me to open THE DEVICE to see the contents of the discs.

inside the box, there are 4 gifts, each corresponding to a floppy disc and also to a conversation we've had at some point in the last 2.5 years.

this, of course, is in reference to my infamous Blobbyland post, and indeed to the fact that Zain, who is 3 years younger than me, actually FOUND OUT ABOUT MR BLOBBY from me taking about my popular Tumblr post

Gawrsh.zip references a conversation about Goofy dying in Kingdom Hearts, the first video game I remember finishing

EIGHT MONTHS AGO Zain asked me what my top 5 films of all time were and I said easy, Mirrormask, 10 Things, Angels In America, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Fury Road, boom. He's been just HOLDING THAT INFORMATION IN HIS HEAD FOR MONTHS.

the last one is my favourite. I was like oh no what could be in this poster tube cause what's left of the floppies is NIGHTMARE.EXE.

at my Halloween party last month, to which Zain was my only work friend who made it, we watched Nightmare on Elm Street and Zain, who had recently watched some video breakdowns on it, was pointing out humorous background details. and in the sleep therapist scene, both he and Tim pointed at the screen and started shouting TRAM CATS!!! and we were all losing our shit

the thing is there's a Very Weird poster in that scene. and now. now it's in my house also.

anyway I legit almost cried this may be the most unhinged and lovely gift that anyone has ever given me. I'm going to miss working with this weirdo so much.

[forensicated]

Smiffina Episodes - Episode 341

Gabriel's been cheating on Sheelagh with a woman called Zoe from the Larkmead Estate. He threatens Zoe as she drops him off, but then goes to stroke her cheek - which causes her to flinch when he raises his hand.

Sheelagh's irritating daughter, Siobhan, is in the station to spend a days work experience with them. She's no fan of Gabriel either, believing he's mistreating her mother.

Zain tells Smithy that they have a lead on Pete Larson, Smithy is pleased, telling Zain the sooner that he goes down the better. "What, so you can walk off into the sunset with his wife?" "No, me and Louise are finished." Smithy glares. Zain sighs telling him it's a good thing as sleeping with Pete Larson's wife 'is about as suicidal as it can get'. There's a link between Pete and the producers of some very high quality and realistic fake passports, however it's no go - the boss of the factory refuses point blank to confirm who is backer is - more frightened of Pete than the police.

After Sheelagh grovels , Gabriel dumps Zoe in a humiliating way, telling her he doesn't respect her and that she doesn't deserve the best of him. He throws £10 at her and walks out the door after she screams that she'll destroy him.

Zain is shocked when he goes for a walk to hear his name called, it's Pete Larson who knows he's looking into him - despite the two never having actually met before. He also knows Zain is doing up his flat. Zain is further infuriated when Pete admits he did lend the factory owner money to rescue the printing firm - but he knows he can't prove that he had anything to do with the nefarious dealings.

[authormahimistry]

Charming Handsome Sheikh

4

Elena

The room was in chaos. And not the people running around and everything falling apart in disarray. One of my guards was lying on the floor, clutching his side, the doctor and two nurses cowering in the corner. 

I kept my gun pointed at the nurse who entered during my phone call. She was standing beside Antonio’s bed, the heart machine beeping and going towards flatline. Smells of medicine and blood lingered in the air. 

“Close all the gates in building A,” I spoke to my ear piece, keeping my aim steady. “Call backup and stay on the guard. We have—”

“Now, now,” the woman spoke, her voice soft yet firm, flashing her hazel brown eyes at me. Her hair and face was covered, but I could notice the intense emotions swirling in her eyes. “There’s no need for backup, Agent Elena. I am not here to hurt anyone.”

“How old are you?” I asked her instead, flickering my eyes at the slit on Antonio’s throat, his eyes half open. He was dead. So it must be a personal matter that she came here to kill the man. “What did he do?”

She chuckled, moving to keep the knife in her white lab coat that was still covered in blood. “I don’t answer to polizia. He deserved il bacio della morte.”

“Kiss of death,” I whispered, and pulled off the safety of my gun. My arm and stomach strained. I still hadn’t looked at my bruises. Kiss of death was the sign given by a mafioso boss or caporegime that signified that a member of the crime family had been marked for death. Mostly because of a betrayal. That meant the woman or the girl in front of me belonged to one of the Italian mafia, maybe an assassin working for them.

“Keep your hands in the air and I won’t shoot your arm,” I ordered, taking a step closer and motioning the doctors and nurses to get out of the room. 

She sighed and looked over at me, her eyes narrowing. “Your ribs hurt, you are exhausted and sleep deprived, Elena. You won’t win against me, and I don’t want to fight you.”

Her observations were on point. But I didn’t care. I had risked my partner to get Antonio under the custody of the FBI, and even if he was dead, I could catch the assassin and ask her about her ties with him. With the Italian mafia. 

“Show me your hands and tell me why you are here? What did he do to you?”

“I only have one thing to say,” she raised her hands, standing still and looking at me. I heard the footsteps of other officers rushing in the hallway. “He was a bad man. You will find enough evidence against him on the rooftop of this building.”

I frowned at her words and before I could react, a small stab of injection pierced into my arm. My eyes widened when the transparent liquid was pushed in my veins. 

“I am sorry, officer.”

My hand still grabbed at her, punching and kicking her in the stomach, trying to hold her still, cuff her to something, but my vision blurred and movements got dizzy. She easily slipped out of my hold and walked to the window. I stumbled to the floor, tightening my grip on the gun. 

“It’s curare in a very diluted form and contains tubocurarine. The doctors should offer you artificial respiration until it subsides. It will take you out for a few hours, but drinking water will help a lot once you get conscious.”

“Poisons and knives…” I chuckled and took a wild shot at her, but she still ducked in time. Who is she? “Who are you?”

She never replied. She disappeared and fell off the window at the same time my vision faded and I fell into the darkness, my gun clattering beside me. 

***

“On the latest report, Sultan Zain of Azmia and Sultan Sadiq of Maahnoor are seen talking to the council of defenses and sending all the armed forces to the site of explosion…”

A deep sigh escaped my nose as I leaned back on the comfortable seat of my private plane. We were still in the clouds and it would take three hours to land in Azmia. My finger brushed across my arm, the tiny point where I still felt the stab of a small injection, the one that I was ashamed of. 

How quickly she had poisoned me and disappeared. 

Officers had found me unconscious a week ago, marking Antonio Fazio, the most famous drug and ring leader dead by a kiss of death. The assassin was right. The doctors had found me struggling to breathe and strapped an oxygen ventilator to my mouth. Not only that, but Antonio Fazio was also poisoned by her before she threatened the doctor and nurses to get away from him and then she slit his throat, while Antonio couldn’t do anything but watch her murder him. 

She was cruel and sharp, that was for sure. I will find her as soon as they allow me back to Manhattan. 

My Chief had given me a mini vacation to relax because I had done a lot. Not only Daniel was shot with five injured officers, including the ones that fought with the assassin, but Antonio was dead too. We had planned to catch him for the last six months and it failed. 

“Sayyida, would you like to have lunch?” The pretty hostess asked, but I shook my head and asked for a glass of orange juice. 

I didn’t like that I had failed my mission. That meant I needed to get stronger and as fast as that assassin—maybe faster. Strength wouldn’t cut it. 

“Did you receive any more information from the Prince or the Sultan?” I asked the air hostess when she returned with the juice. 

“No, Sayyida, but Sheikh Zayed,” she paused and cleared her throat when her cheeks flushed, “Sheikh Zayed asked me to deliver a message to you.”

Of course, he did. He wouldn’t miss a chance to annoy me. 

“What message?”

“He said and I quote, ‘Leave the stick in your arse in States and be on your guard, the explosion could be the beginning. Tootles xoxo.’ Yes, he said ex-oh-ex-oh in the end.” Her face was completely red when she finished, while I tried to hide my smile and thanked her. 

He is an absolute idiot. 

The idiot you love. I loved. 

My hand tightened on the glass as I took a sip of the cold sweet juice. He was my first love, first everything, until he showed me his real face and walked away with my heart, never looking back. 

The first time that I saw him, I was nine, wearing a green gown with a tiara pinned on my hair. He was taller than Khalid, standing beside him in dark blue clothes. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the mop of his dark hair, all wild with curled ringlets falling over his brows and mischievous eyes. 

He couldn’t stand still, whispering something in Khalid’s ear, making him chuckle until uncle Salman silenced them. Even then, he was not scared of the Sultan of Azmia and rolled his eyes on his back. He ate every sweet my parents offered them and went to look at the bookshelves in the study. He read every title of the book as if he was an old historian and laughed loudly when Khalid playfully pushed him. 

And I loathed it. I was supposed to be Khalid’s friend, and that new guy had stolen my friend. 

“Who is he?” I asked bluntly in a childish voice, directing the question to Khalid’s father. 

He raised his slashing brow, his face dark and stern with a scar on the side of his jaw that made him look evil, but I wasn’t scared of him. “That’s Zayed, dear. He is going to be Sheikh of Azmia.”

“Why?” I asked him. “Are his parents noble?”

Growing up with parents who ruled their country on its own had some benefits. I was well versed in politics of our land. Father always taught me to never stop learning and training. Both my mind and my body. 

“No. His parents are dead. He is an orphan.”

That word had made me look down on my hands in my lap with the sweet, boyish laugh of Zayed ringing in the background. Dead. I was nine and the only death I had seen was of plants and flowers as seasons changed. Not of any people. The thought of living and laughing at such a young age without my parents made me freeze up. 

He didn’t have a father with whom he could talk about books, horse ridings and show him how much he had improved his writing. Nor a mother who would cuddle him at night, reading stories about a magical carpet, train sword fighting with or cook sweets with her. 

I turned towards him when another man entered the study, asking to talk to my mother. Zayed and Khalid conspired with each other and announced that they were going to play in the gardens and ran out of the room with guards trailing behind them. 

I was curious, so I bowed and excused myself, going after them.

After years of that memory, I wished I hadn’t followed them. I wished I had stayed seated with my mother and father. 

At least there, no one would have dared to touch me. 

At least then Zayed wouldn’t have had to kill someone to save me.

Read today: https://www.mahimistry.com

Or Join my Patreon to read it: https://www.patreon.com/mahimistry

Patreon * Website * Ko-Fi * Instagram * All Links

[prvttystvr]

Dating House of Ashes characters

what would it be like to date House of Ashes characters? Here are some headcanons, for both monogamous and polyamorous relationships, hope you like them!

— JASON KOLCHEK: to say he is jealous is an understatement. As soon as he sees someone hitting on you, he pulls you closer and kisses you passionately. He loves to leave you quick little kisses on the forehead. He likes to go out to the park or to his favorite clubs. You often go out with his friends, especially Salim. When you stay at home, you watch action movies while eating popcorn. Every now and then you try to get him to read books together, failing. When you go to sleep, he is always the big spoon and, until he falls asleep, he gently caresses your arm. If you're in a gay relationship, he won't be entirely comfortable at first (yes, I love the headcanon about internalized homophobia in Jason). He will deny his love for you, but he will be reassured by you. Over time, he will accept it more and more

—SALIM OTHMAN: having already been in a long and important relationship, he knows how to flirt, even if he's feeling a little rusty. He always writes you long letters which he leaves on your bedside table, along with breakfast if he has to leave early. Sometimes, he even brings you flowers. Your dates take place in museums, where you explain the works of art to each other. Love to hug and cuddle you, fill your face with kisses. On the street he always holds your hand, as if he's afraid you'll leave. After all, he was left with the scar of leaving his ex-wife, but you fixed it. When you met Zain, he did nothing but analyze you. He wanted to make sure you were a good fit for his father and that you didn't hurt him. After her "search" came back positive, you immediately made friends. You often go out together or play pranks on Salim

—ERIC KING: being cheated on by his wife was worse than facing vampires. It took a long time to recover, and even while you were dating, he couldn't fully trust you. At first he was arrogant and conceited, but it was a wall that he had built to "protect himself". Breaking down that wall was complex, but behind it you found a sweet and cuddly man. At first, in public, he won't hug and kiss you a lot. Later, he will become more affectionate, filling your cheeks with kisses. He is quite obsessed with his appearance and how he should appear to others. As a result, your dates are often to fine dining restaurants and you will both be dressed up. He will often ask you if you love him, and hearing you tell him will be very reassuring. He loves to hug you in bed and fall asleep while you are in each other's arms. Over time, he recovered from his divorce with Rachel. In fact, you two hang out with Nick and Rachel from time to time

—RACHEL KING: dealing with her is complicated. At first she will appear distant, not very present. This is all due to her old relationships with Eric and Nick. She doesn't say it, but she is convinced inside that she is the problem. Gradually, she will open up more, showing her loving and passionate side. She is often busy with work, both abroad and not, but as soon as she can she calls you and chats with you. In her office, she keeps a picture of you. When you see each other, you start talking about her missions (she complains about Nick and Eric) and what you've been doing in the meantime. She brings you gifts from abroad, especially jewelry. You wear them during your dates. You like going to quiet places where you can spend time just the two of you alone. For example, go to the park with a packed lunch or go for a run at dawn. She says she's not jealous, but she makes those who flirt with you pay dearly. From an affectionate point of view, she likes to put her arm around your hips and kiss your forehead

—NICK KAY: after breaking up with Rachel, he had a lot of self-esteem issues. Thankfully, you have helped him regain confidence in himself and in others. Slowly he started to open up. At first, he didn't talk about his relationship with Rachel, but after a while he told you. He would occasionally make comparisons between you and her, but eventually he stopped, thinking they were annoying you. During the dates, he took you places he hadn't taken Rachel, making them special just for the two of you. He likes to be alone with you, without too many people around. As a result, he prefers to stay at home, watching some documentary (after the events with the vampires, he began to read up on ancient history). He also often invites his best friend Jason over. Initially, he didn't trust you. Not because you were a bad person, but because he only wanted the best for Nick. In the end, you two get along perfectly. He loves to caress you, especially your arms and hair, and whisper how much he loves you

—CLARICE STOKES: at first she will show herself as a presumptuous girl, but getting to know her better you will see her softer side. Every time you try to organize "science" themed outings, such as museums or theme parks. She likes to explain to you how machines or formulas work. She likes to attend concerts and hang out at her favorite clubs, of course doing all of this with you. She doesn't really like physical contact, so she shows her affection with tender words and small gifts

—NATHAN MERWIN: silly jokes are the order of the day, as well as having to put up with his big ego. Despite that, he loves you more than he loves himself (so he really loves you). You spend your time working out at the gym while he flexes his muscles to impress you. Sometimes you even stay at home, watching some action movie while eating some food prepared by Merwin. Unexpectedly, he is a very good cook. In public, he comes across as the "macho" of the relationship, but in private, he loves to cuddle with you. Sometimes you fight because he seems to be flirting with other people, but he will try to make it up to you by buying you something you like

—JOEY GOMEZ: right from the first date, he will do nothing but talk to you about his favorite movies. In fact, your outings will mostly be at home, hugging each other under a blanket, watching movies and TV series. He prefers to stay at home, playing video games with you, but occasionally likes to throw surprise dinners at your favorite places. He loves physical touch a lot. In fact, he likes to hug you from behind, resting his head on your shoulder. Often you organize outings with Merwin, his closest friend (maybe you're the third wheel)

—JASON + SALIM: it seems to be between two opposites. On one side there is Jason, impulsive and lively. On the other there is Salim, thoughtful and moderate. Your outputs vary all the time. Sometimes you go shooting at a shooting range or drinking at a club, other times you go to a picnic in the park or visit a museum. You are the middle spoon or the little spoon. Jason will never admit it, but he likes being the little spoon once in a while. Salim, on the other hand, likes all kinds. However, he often prefers to be the big spoon, so he can embrace both of you. When you stay at home, you cook together new recipes taught by Salim. You and Jason often make messes, but Salim is patient and ready to clean up. At first, it felt weird for Zain to have "three parents" (what? Four parents? Does he have another mother? I don't see any other mother :) ), but eventually he warmed to both you and Jason. After he leaves for university in London, he often video calls the three of you. Jason and Salim are very protective of you, almost like they are your parents. Jason is also a jealous guy. As soon as he sees someone hitting on you two, he doesn't hesitate to put his arms around your sides, bring you closer and kiss you

—ERIC + NICK: sometimes you don't know if they hate each other or really love each other. Every now and then Eric and Nick fight and you have to act as intermediary or "messenger" between them. When they make up, they continually apologize for bothering you. Sometimes you go to the gym together and compete to see who is "coolest". After working out, go somewhere to relax. Eric occasionally takes you out to dinner at some fancy restaurant, arguing with Nick over the fact that he doesn't want to dress elegantly. When you stay home, Eric prepares delicious snacks for all three of you and you watch some TV series together. There are some ups and downs, like when Nick brings up the affair with Rachel while arguing with Eric, or when Eric gets arrogant around you and Nick. In the end, however, you always manage to talk calmly and resolve any quarrel. Eric and Nick often say "I love you", but between them the "I love you" is very different. We could consider them "love insults". As mentioned before, sometimes you don't understand if they love or hate each other, but in the end you give yourself an answer. Seeing how Eric and Nick support each other and support you makes you believe that they are truly in love

—RACHEL + ERIC: they took a long time to tell you about Nick and Rachel's history, but by then they were both comfortable with you. While there was a little bit of jealousy within your relationship at first, you all found yourself at ease in the end. Rachel is often away on business. When she comes back, you and Eric always throw her a surprise "welcome back." Although they look similar, they have their differences, especially in the love arena. On one side you have Rachel, more passionate and impulsive. On the other you have Eric, more romantic and quiet. They often tell you about how they met, the academy, their marriage, Iraq, the vampires. They have a bit nostalgic tone about those memories, but they are happy to be able to create new ones with you. Sometimes they look like your parents, protecting you against everyone and telling you how to behave

—NICK + RACHEL + ERIC: you feel like you are inside a book. What used to be a love triangle is now a great relationship. You are all different from each other, but in a way you complement each other. It's never quiet at home, but that's not a bad thing. You always have something new to do: Nick preparing something good, Rachel teaching new physical exercises, Eric reading a good book while you all embrace in bed. Even when you go outside there are different activities that you do. Rachel and Nick like to work out, so they will drag you and Eric to work out. Eric on the other hand will take you to nice restaurants, insisting on buying him dinner. Sometimes you also have nice picnics in a park or on a beach. If it's hot, you can even take a nice bath (lucky you, surrounded by two handsome men and a beautiful woman). There is no actual "big spoon" or "little spoon" in bed. Every night you change both order and position, especially Nick. Every time you, Eric and Rachel wonder how he sleeps in those weird positions

—CLARICE + RACHEL: they are both erupting volcanoes. With them you are never bored. Both always have great outings, like going to an interactive science museum or tree climbing. Even at home there is always dynamism: jump on the bed singing at the top of your voice, play with fake guns, experiment almost setting the house on fire. You look like three children. They are not very cuddly girls, but nevertheless they love to kiss you on the cheeks or on the forehead. You often travel together, especially to accompany Rachel on her missions. She always refuses, but in the end you convince her

—————————

for the polyamorous relationships, I put the most popular ships, but if you want some more, you can ask me! <3

I think I’ll do also Until Dawn, The Quarry and The Devil in Me. For Man of Medan and Little Hope, I don’t have many ideas. I would like to do The Inpatient, but only to do Gordon😅 (I won’t do it also because not a lot of people know this game)

[silkyterrier34]

Some Facts for All of Your HOA Fandom Needs!

So I’ve been spending the past few months doing research on the American military and Iraq under Saddam Hussein. I figured I’d dump a bunch of facts and sources here so anyone making fanfiction or fanart can use this post for help. Keep in mind that I am NOT an expert! If something looks wrong, please tell me! I’ll be posting my sources at the end.

Here we go!

American Military (According to Gulf War Veteran Dad)

Adultery is illegal under military law because it hurts morale. If Eric wanted, he could have Nick thrown in jail for sleeping with another soldier’s wife.

Eric could’ve also had Merwin thrown in jail for his behavior during the briefing. My dad was shocked when he saw that scene because a corporal was disrespecting a lieutenant colonel and wasn’t facing any consequences.

Extremely dirty jokes are common. Dad still refuses to give any examples to this day.

The branches have a friendly rivalry where they all poke fun at each other. At least during the Gulf War, if the branches were going to gang up on someone, the Marines would be the scapegoat.

Marines are called “jarheads” by the other branches. Along the same vein, Eric would be called a “flyboy”.

Soldiers are notoriously good at falling asleep anywhere.

The policy of not leaving a man behind is taken seriously. Anyone who leaves a fellow soldier behind to be killed or captured without even attempting to save them faces execution. Apparently, even leaving Salim behind in that vampire pit would be met with harsh consequences once the group’s superiors found out.

Iraqi Military Under Saddam Hussein

The Republican Guard was a group of elite soldiers in the Iraqi Army that reported directly to Saddam and Qusay Hussein. Compared to the rest of the army, they were better trained, better disciplined, and better paid. While Dar was probably joking about being gifted palaces, soldiers in the Republican Guard have been rewarded with new cars and subsidized housing.

Certain positions in the military were reserved for people of a certain ethnic and religious background. (To be in the Republican Guard, Salim would almost certainly have to be a Sunni Muslim as opposed to a Shi’ite Muslim.) The highest positions as well as spots in military colleges went to those with the best connections.

There was a paramilitary known as the Fedayeen Saddam whose helmets were styled after Darth Vader. This has little to do with House of Ashes but I just had to share.

Iraqi men between the ages of 18 and 43 could be conscripted to fight during war. It doesn’t look like they could be conscripted directly into the Republican Guard.

When a boy turned 18, he had to complete roughly two years of compulsory military service (however, the duration had been lengthened to as long as five years during the Iran-Iraq War). As a student, Zain would have his compulsory service deferred until he graduated. If he had a brother serving in the military, he could also get an exemption that way, but I couldn’t find whether having a father in the military would clear him. [I’d recommend doing more research on this just to be sure I got this correct.]

Depending on the time and circumstances penalty for military desertion was amputation of the ear(s) or execution. Iraq announced that they would cease amputations and branding in 1996 (though the article in my sources sounds skeptical on whether they would follow through). During the Iran-Iraq War deserters were executed in public.

Iraqi Customs and Etiquette

Feet and shoes are considered very unclean. Just pointing the bottom of your shoe at someone is an insult. It’s also why that one Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at Bush. Many Iraqis (and other Middle Easterners for that matter) won’t even walk through their houses wearing shoes.

The personal bubble is small. Compared to the American preference of standing an arm’s length away from each other, people in Iraq will comfortably stand about a foot apart during a conversation.

When a woman an elderly person enters the room, it’s polite to stand.

People invite friends into their homes very early on in the relationship.

Food is only to be eaten with the right hand. Cleaning is done with the left. Gifts are either given with both hands or the right hand only.

Handshakes are the standard greeting. Close friends of the same sex may also kiss each other on the cheek as they shake. Between a man and a woman, the woman has to initiate the handshake.

Public displays of affection between couples weren’t allowed, but friends of the same sex are more than welcome to walk around holding hands.

When someone showers, gets a haircut, or shaves, it’s polite to say “na’eeman” as an acknowledgment. It’s like saying “bless you” after someone sneezes. (I’ve heard that giving someone a little smack on the neck after they shave is also acceptable, but I don’t remember what country that was for.)

Sex and Sexuality

Plenty of people have already covered this, so I’ll just brush over Jason’s probable experience. Growing up in the South during the late 1900′s, Jason would’ve likely been in a homophobic environment. During the events of the game, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was in effect.

In Iraq, being gay, while not outright illegal, wasn’t allowed. Those suspected of gay sex/sodomy were either hanged or had the bottoms of their feet severely beaten with a stick. But that’s only if they were caught by the authorities. Many (if not most) suspected homosexuals were executed by vigilantes instead. (It’s for this reason I think Salim would be going through some serious internalized biphobia.)

It looks like contraception was available in Iraq in 2003. However, it was hard to come by in rural areas.

Having sex in Iraq before marriage was extremely taboo.

Domestic Life in Iraq

A great emphasis is placed on family. One fic I wrote but never published actually makes no sense because it relies on the American work-centric view.

Households can either consist of a nuclear or extended family. Either way, the extended family keeps in close contact.

Whereas most Arabic speakers will affectionately call their grandmothers “Teta”, Iraqis prefer the term “Bibi”.

Wives in Iraq do not take their husbands’ last names. Children take their fathers’ surnames and keep them all their lives.

It wasn’t common practice, but a man was allowed to take a second wife. However, he needed permission from the courts and a good reason (i.e. his first wife isn’t bearing any children).

Under Saddam, married women couldn’t leave the country without their husbands.

Wedding rings were worn on the right hand during engagements but could be switched to the left once the couple was married. Women wore gold while men wore silver/platinum rings.

There are several engagement and wedding traditions in Iraq that it would take a while just to list them all (1, 2, 3), but one is where the men in the groom’s family go to the men in the bride’s family to put forth a proposal. (Now I have this idea in my head of Zain going to Jason’s family with a flipchart and being like, “Boy do I have just the man for your son/brother/cousin!”)

Under Saddam, Iraqi women could divorce their husbands, but in practice, it was very difficult. Whether it was a man divorcing his wife or a woman divorcing her husband, women more often than not got custody of the children while men would still be considered a guardian.

Misc.

I tried to see if I could find any Iraqi pickup lines or something similar, but I ended up finding some common dirty talk in the Lebanese dialect instead. I have no idea if this correlates with Iraqi dirty talk but I’ll link it HERE just in case. Just be warned that this reddit thread is NSFW.

According to Zain’s acceptance letter, Salim’s address is 112 Badra-Mandali, Kut. I’ve come to the conclusion that this is probably an error. The city of Kut is nowhere near the Zagros Mountains, much less the Soran district that the game is implied to take place in. It’s my personal headcanon that the university probably meant to write “Kirkuk” instead of “Kut”. Kirkuk is the name of a governorate and its capital city. If the university meant the city, Badra-Mandali is a street. If they meant the governorate, then they really messed up the address and Badra-Mandali is either a street or a city.

Shia Muslims were the most populous group, but Sunni Muslims held most of the power in the government. The relationship between Shi’ites and Sunnis is complicated in Iraq, and I’m not sure I’m the right person to try and explain it.

The CIA considered making a fake sex tape between Saddam Hussein and a teenage boy.

Camp Slayer is a real place and was used by the ISG during the US Invasion. It’s located in Baghdad, which is a couple hours drive away from the Zagros Mountains.

The Baghdad Zoo took a big hit during the invasion. Staff had to abandon the zoo in April, leaving no one to care for the animals. At one point, multiple lions managed to escape zoo grounds and roam the streets of Baghdad and it was up to US soldiers to round them up or shoot them. (If you’re wondering, the zoo’s doing fine now, but it took a lot of work and international help. You can find out more on their Wikipedia page.)

If you need any clarification or want more facts, just let me know! In the meantime, here are some sources of info! An asterisk (*) means that viewer discretion is advised.

1*, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6, 7*, 8

[ninjago-happens-here]

@ninjago-angst-week sorry I'm late!

Day 6: Anger

Kai hates the universe for everything. Surprisingly, his teammates don’t agree.

Or 5 times where Kai lets anger control him, and 1 time he doesn't.

Word count: 13,944

- Nya - It’s been 6 days. Kai has spent all his time at Wu’s Monastery doing nothing but training and passing out from exhaustion. The only reason why he kept going was his love of his sister- and his spite against the universe. First Spinjitsu Master, why had Lord-fucking-Germadon take his sister as a hostage? He was just a poor blacksmith, trying his best to make ends meet and to get a proper education for his bright, 14-year-old sister. But the universe has decided to throw another curveball at him by forcing him to become a ninja and complete this stupid course-

“ARGH!” Kai shouted in frustration as he was thrown off by the training course, again. “Failed,” Wu said and took a sip of his tea. Punching the obstacle course, with another shout, Kai seethed, seeing the colour red dancing all over his eyes. What did the old man know about saving people anyways? Why can’t he just fight Wu and be done with it? Graduate his class, be finally given the location to where his sister is, and end this chapter of his life- because he was all for it.

Looking for his tormentor, Kai noticed that Wu has slipped away, with all the stealth that only a ninja master has.

Taking deep breaths, Kai balled his fists even tighter, nails pressing indents into his palms. Tomorrow. There still was tomorrow. And by god was he going to pass because he won’t let his sister spend another day in captivity.

All he needed to do was complete the training course before Wu finishes his tea.

He had done it. Of course, it took a well-timed sword throw to technically pass, but he was done sitting around and waiting for some unknown force to rescue Nya. Master Wu told him to get a goodnight’s rest as they were going to leave in the morning. Yeah right. As if he wasn’t going to spend this night tossing and turning around again.

He didn’t spend the night staring into the ceiling of the monastery. Rather, he was rudely ambushed by 3 men dressed in black, who actually weren’t as much of a challenge that Kai thought they would pose. Huh, maybe the training Sensei Wu put him through was pretty useful after all.

All praises for the cryptic old man were thrown away once Wu revealed the 3 men to be his students. Seriously? Didn’t Wu just tell him to get a good night’s rest? Kai barely kept the snarl inside him when Wu did his spinjitzu thingy and he suddenly was in an entirely different get-up.

Hey! Kai thought angrily. What’s the big deal? The garment was loose-fitting and a solid shade of red, and whilst red may be Kai’s colour, the garb was still drab-looking and overall, not something Kai would have picked out for himself..

Wu then gave a quick introduction of the 3 men who attacked him, who were probably called Jey, Zain, and Coal. Hey, don’t look at him like that! It’s not like he had the time to go to school and learn Maths and the Ninjago Alphabet. Anyways, they were all, apparently Elemental Masters? Of lightning, ice and earth nonetheless. Now, Kai can understand Earth. And Kai of course can give a testament to fire. But what do lightning and ice have to do with the elements? Shouldn’t it be Air, Water, Earth, and Fire or something along those lines? What was the FSM thinking, naming these the elements of creation?

Just as Kai was about to head back into the monastery and actually catch a few Zs, Wu called to them telling them that they have to protect the 4 weapons of spinjitzu in order to beat Garmadon to them, for the Skulkin must have taken the map that Wu had hidden in the Four Weapons.

“And rescue my sister,” Kai stated, daring anyone to challenge this non-negotiable mission.

“We’re rescuing a girl? Is she hot?” The ninja in blue (seriously, why blue on a ninja? It really does not help his stealth) just straight up asked Kai if his sister was hot. Kai’s first instinct, of course, was to punch Jay hard in the teeth, followed by an elbow straight to his gut. But if he was going to be teammates with this guy, he had to control his urges and only glare at him through the convenient slit in his mask. The blue ninja chuckled nervously as Kai’s eyes bore holes into him.

“Does she like blue?”

“Back. Off.”

“When we find the weapons, we will find your sister. We rise at dawn to look for the Scythe of Quakes in the Caves of Despair,” Wu concluded the impromptu meeting at night, which diffused the tension between Kai and Jay. The fiery anger he felt pooling in the balls of his hands started to dissipate. In fact, most of his energy was gone too. Kai felt like he was sagging under the weight on his shoulders and immediately headed for his room, where he collapsed immediately upon reaching the soft, inviting mattress. It was the best sleep he had in possibly years.

Of course, Sensei Wu upheld his promise of rousing them at dawn to go collect the first Golden Weapon. What he didn’t warn the ninja beforehand was that he was going to use them to be his literal slaves, and Kai spent the morning running whilst pulling a carriage like a horse. This has to be illegal, Kai grumbled to himself. He was starting to be seriously short on breath. Luckily, his teammates seem to at least have some strength and endurance training, so whilst he was stationed at the easy middle, Cole was at the front spearheading the charge whilst still holding conversations like it was no big deal.

“So…huff, how did Sensei find you guys?” Kai panted, wanting to learn more about his teammates.

“Let’s just say if it wasn’t for Sensei Wu, we wouldn’t be seen together.“ Cole started

“I was testing my limits,” Cole gave a brief description of how when he was rock climbing, he found Sensei Wu already at the top of the mountain, drinking tea and offering him a cup.

“I was testing my inventions,” Jay also panted out, and tried to ramble about how he was testing a flying machine and crashed through a billboard (what?) before seeing Sensei Wu, was also drinking tea and offering him a cup. He couldn’t really talk too much, because at this point he was getting tired too.

“And I, was testing myself,” Zane said, whilst recalling how he was practicing to hold his breath underwater for even longer periods of time when he found Sensei Wu sitting next to him at the bottom of the pond, still somehow drinking tea before offering some to him, which immediately led Zane to choke.

“You’re right, if it wasn’t for Sensei, none of us would-” Kai said before Wu shouted at them to stop. They were here.

Immediately, everything felt more real to Kai. The drowsiness that he felt clouding his mind was cleared as pure adrenaline shot through his veins. He couldn’t fail now. Not when Nya’s life was on his hands. All he has to do was to collect 4 Ancient Weapons that have powers and he would be able to face off with Lord Garmadon. Jumping into action, he weaved through the Skulkin that were strolling and working in the area, body moving in autopilot and mind focusing on only one thing: Get the weapon.

On his way to the opening of the cave, Kai spotted Samurai reading the map to the 4 Golden Weapons on a watchtower. Kai immediately took a detour and climbed up onto the roof, where he could see Samukai reading the map.

“What’s the matter with you,” Jay whispered, hitting Kai on the head. Kai shushed him, before returning to watch Samukai laugh menacingly whilst holding the map upside down. Kai wondered how incompetent he was one week ago to have let this guy kidnap his sister. “The Golden Weapon is near,” Zane observed, before taking out a shuriken with a rope attached before looking at Cole for confirmation and then throwing it done, landing squarely in the middle of the map before pulling it back, holding the prize squarely in his hands.

There was no time to waste. Kai immediately backflipped off the building before climbing to the outcrop where 2 guards were stationed. Picking up a convenient lamp head, Kai carefully snuck by the 2 guards before ducking into the cave system. Kai began to start pushing the rock blocking the path to the weapon. But no matter how much he exerted himself, it didn’t move one inch. He felt like he was trying to make a sword again, doing everything he could but still failing. Grunting and groaning, Kai gave it his all.

Not soon enough, Kai heard the footsteps of his teammates.

“Hey, before you race off again, you gotta remember that we’re a team.” Cole’s patronizing voice made Kai stop his futile attempts at trying to push the boulder on his own. Kai looked at the 3 Ninja before sighing. “Yeah, whatever.”

The white, black and blue Ninja gathered around him and they all started to push, actually managing to shift the rock. Giving the rock his all, Kai did enough on his part to be suddenly be blasted by a golden light, shining from the cavern behind the rock. As his eyes got used to the sudden brightness, Kai spotted the Golden Scythe, sitting on top of a weird creature’s head.

“Woah, that is SO COOL!” Jay exclaimed, and his voice reverberated throughout the entire cave. Kai cringed from his volume. Here’s to hoping that the entire skeleton army outside won’t discover them. Cole shushed Jay again, before pulling out the Golden Scythe and jumping back down onto the cave floor. Wrapping it in a sheet of canvas, Cole once again reminded Jay to not be so loud.

“Oh, don’t be paranoid!” Jay brushed off the sentiment. Kai couldn’t believe that this guy was his teammate. “We’re totally on the other side of the caves!”

“Zip it, okay?” Cole admonished the blue Ninja whilst handing the wrapped Scythe of Quakes to Kai. It’s okay with him. As long as he can make sure that this weapon is safe which in turn ensures that Nya is safe, he’s alright with taking the Scythe. “Now that we’ve got the Scythe, let’s sneak out whilst the boneheads are still busy.”

“Alright team, everyone sticks together. Way out is right around the corn-“ Cole suddenly came face to face with Samukai. All Kai could think at that moment was Fuck the blue guy. Because seriously. Now he was going to have to fight these guys. And alright, honestly- Kai was more than happy to throw hands with the skeletons that captured his sister. In fact, he’s been waiting all week to do so. But come on, this guy was supposed to be a ninja? Pulling out his sword, Kai stayed in the middle of his teammates for a bit as they tried their hardest to protect the Scythe, but quickly they were drawn by enemies elsewhere and the red ninja was left in a precarious situation.

“Kai! Throw it here!” Thank god for Zane. Honestly, he took back what he said about how this guy takes things a bit too seriously, now that he was in the heat of battle and could feel every beat of his heart. Kai heaved the heavy weapon to Zane. Immediately, the heat was taken off him and Zane had to pass the Scythe to Cole as he was dog-piled by 3 Skulkin in seconds. Cole made it past a long line of skeletons before catching the Golden Weapon, but Kai could see 5 to 6. no, 9, 10- argh, who cares! Either way, there were too many enemies.

“Let me handle it!” Jay shouted, taking out a couple of enemies quickly, before exclaiming, “Hey! Guys!”

“It’s just like the training course! Over the planks, dodge the swords- here comes the dummy!”

Kai heard multiple enemies being defeated before a bright blue light shined through the caverns as this guy did spinjitzu. What. The. Heck. Kai’s level of respect for him instantly rose.

“Jay! What’s the key?” Kai waved at his teammate desperately. He had to do spinjitzu too- if he ever was going to see Nya again.

“Hehe, I’m just going through the motions! This is what Sensei must have meant when he said we already know it!” Jay laughed from inside his tornado as Kai watch him take down 4 enemies in one second. Kai contemplated this for a moment, before relying on his muscle memory to dodge a couple of Skulkin.

“Over the planks, dodge the swords- here comes the dummy!” Spinning in a beautiful vortex of red, orange, and yellow, Kai saw the world around him slow down as he moved with enhanced power and agility, taking down enemies with incredible ease.

“RETREAT!” Samurai shouted, and Kai could hear the screams of the skeleton army mixing with the beautiful chime of his team’s spinjitzu. Slowing down, Kai stopped his spinjitzu and surprisingly, didn’t feel dizzy. Man, this spinjitzu thing is really cool.

“Hah! Guess they didn’t want a second serving of these babies,” Cole flexed his biceps as Kai and Jay both shook their heads in dismay. “Good thing they didn’t check out the merchandise on the back!”

From the corner of his eye, Kai watched as Cole turned around to emphasise his point. Alright, 2 can play at the end game. Raising the Golden Weapon of Spinjitsu, Kai cheered and high fives Jay. That dude has many faults, but he would be able to have Kai’s back in a moment of need, and Kai vows to watch his back too.

“Uh… guys?” Cole stammered. Kai and Jay rolled their eyes. What was Cole trying to get at now?

“Didn’t Sensei say there was a guardian protecting the weapons?” Zane recalled. Kai tilted his head to the side, before turning to his right AND WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT.

“Is that- a..a, that’s- not what I think it is, isit?” Cole blubbered, his voice an octave higher.

“Y-you mean a dragon?” Jay stammered.

“Uh, that sure looks like a dragon!” Kai panicked, his voice on the edge of a scream.

“I sense that we won’t be able to spin our way out of this one,” Zane stated with the calmest out of any of them.

Out of the blue, the dragon breathed out a breath of earth, and Kai was suddenly flung to the side. Screams filled the cavern as his teammates landed from their dodge. getting up on his feet, Kai immediately started to run towards the exit, clutching the Golden Weapon tightly. Unfortunately, they were cornered, and Kai did the only thing he thought he could.

Removing the canvas, Kai moved to use the weapon but was stopped by Jay, stating something about how Sensei told them not to.

“Well you better keep your mouth shut,” Kai growled as he ran towards the otherworldly creature. Nothing was going to stand in his way from reaching his sister. Cole shouted something at him, but he raised the weapon high above his head and brought it down to the earth in front of the dragon, causing a split in the ground like a fault line and the cave started to shake. The dragon was temporarily rendered stunned as a large piece of rock fell on his head. It reacted too late, for Kai and his team were getting out of here.

“We gotta escape!” Kai said frantically. Looking up, he and his team saw the caverns opening up to the skies. “We’ll use spinjitzu!” Cole proclaimed, and Kai spun into his tornado, finding that the boost in speed and strength was exactly what he needed to make through the opening in the ceiling of the cave.

Landing on the ground in front of his sensei (on both feet, take that Zane and Jay!) Kai immediately devolved into cheering and celebrating with his teammates, because who wouldn’t after such an adrenaline high? They were 1 weapon closer to finding Nya, and Kai had learned the amazing art of Spinjitsu, and he had just escaped from a dragon.

“ENOUGH!” Sensei Wu shouted. Kai immediately felt his mood sinking. “I told you not to use the scythe!!” Of course, Jay, then Cole, immediately threw Kai under the bus.

“Using it was my only option!” Kai said, starting to get frustrated with his teacher and teammates. Couldn’t they see it that was a matter of life or death? He just saved all of their sorry asses!

“And what makes you think that you’re more important than your team? Huh? Huh!?” Wu got closer to Kai’s face, and he was not happy. Not happy with this at all.

“They took my sister, remember?” Kai stated angrily. Who did the old man think he was? Nya was everything to him, and losing her- Kai did not want to think about losing her.

“There are still 3 weapons left. Maybe next time, you can do it right,” Wu admonished him, and Kai could only watch as his teammates follow in their master’s footsteps. Whatever. It’s not like he needed a team. Hoisting the scythe onto his shoulders, Kai swore that nothing, not even the First Spinjitsu himself, would stop him from saving Nya.

Over the course of the next few days, Kai learned of a technique called the ‘Tornado of Creation’ as they journeyed all over north Ninjago and found 2 of the remaining 3 weapons. Just before they headed to the Fire Temple, Wu made them all rest, for some reason he was unwiring to share. Kai privately thought that it was for them to recuperate their energy because his sister was going to be the one they rescue next, and once he got his hands on the Sword of Fire, nothing would be able to stand in his way, his team included. If he was being honest with himself, Kai was grateful that they had time to celebrate his past achievements. They had been through so much climbing, exploring, and journeying these fast few days and they have beaten Garmadon’s Army too many times to not do something about it. His mood was so great that he even invited Sensei Wu to dance with them as Cole played the bongo drums that they had stolen from the skeleton army at one point.

Kai didn’t know when he fell asleep, but what he did know was that he was roused awake by a voice whispering his name. At first, he was groggy with exhaustion, but the second time Nya called out to him, Kai was wide awake. Looking at the source of the sound, Kai saw his sister standing directly at the edge of his camp. Immediately, Kai felt a great wave of relief wash over him. His sister looked, at least in the dark, fine and free from any visible injuries. He was just about to get up and reunite with his sister when she suddenly stated that she had to go, and started to run away from him.

Kai immediately shot to his feet, alarmed. There was definitely something wrong. He followed her as best as he could through the dense forest, calling out to her, but not receiving a reply. He was led to a temple sitting right next to a volcano. Ghostly whispers of his name reached him as he saw his sister’s vague figure entering the temple.

“Nya?” In a heartbeat, he arrived at the front of the temple. Fully pushing open the doors, Kai was blown away by the cavern and the inviting, welcoming warmth of the lava that slowly cranked up the further he went. In fact, it was slowly stifling, and Kai wanted to grab Nya and get out as fast as he could. Looking all over the place for her, Kai saw the image of his sister appear right in front of the Sword of Fire.

“Nya!” Kai said with a smile, running towards the platform. He was praising FSM for this miracle when suddenly, he skidded to a halt as Nya transformed into a large shadow that laughed menacingly. It was Garmadon. And he- was dangling Nya, wrapped in iron chains, on top of a pool of lava.

“KAI!!” Nya shouted desperately. The red ninja called back to his sister, as Garmadon taunted him, stating that only by removing the sword, could he save his sister. And as much as Kai hated the fact- Garmadon was right. There was nothing he could do but take the sword and save his sister. Nya begged Kai not to listen, but the chain had suddenly lowered her even more, and the screams of his baby sister were too much for Kai to bear. Taking a deep breath, Kai did a series of acrobatics pulling out the Sword of Fire and doing spinjitzu on the walls in order to get to Nya, and then to get her to safety on the other side. Landing o the warm rock, Kai pulled his sister up and told her to stay close.

Then Garmadon appeared directly in front of him, and Kai changed his mind. Not long after, he was getting beat up by a shadow- a shadow of all things! Then, Garmadon played extremely dirty and duplicated himself, and in no time at all, Kai lost the sword and Garmadon picked it up. Tired, out of breath, and running on a combined 18 hours of sleep this past week and a half, Kai collapsed and couldn’t move any further.

Just in time, Sensei Wu arrived and started to use his shadow to properly fight Garmadon. As Kai could only sit and watch, he saw Sensei Wu’s incredible usage of shadows, and his respect for him rose even more. But soon, the feeling of calmness turned into panic as he remembered his 3 teammates who were probably out like a light.

Nya gave Kai a hand to stand up, and they both moved to be closer to Wu. Soon, they were assaulted by Garmadon showing them that the Skulkin has taken Kai’s brothers and 3 of the 4 Golden Weapons.

“My brother must not unite the 4 weapons. We must keep them apart!” Sensei Wu commanded, to which Garmadon responded by rousing the dragon guardian. With a swipe of its flaming hot tail, the Fire Dragon blocked the entrance of the Fire Temple. There was no way out.

“He’s taken away all our options!” Kai said, starting to panic even more as the Fire Dragon breathed on them.

“All but one.” And soon, Kai lost his Sensei to the Underworld. Feeling terribly guilty for not being a better student and teammate, Kai collapsed on his knees. However, he was soon confronted with greater, immediate danger.

Luckily, he seemed to be able to talk down the dragon that was guarding the sword. They reached an understanding that they were trying to protect the weapons from Garmadon, and just in time too. He heard his teammates outside the temple and Flare did too, opening the temple dramatically. Too soon, he had to split from Nya again. But he would return in no time at all, with all members on his team.

Through a great load of traveling by dragon, managing to use the Tornado of Creation, and watching Samurai get vaporised whilst Garmadon passed into a portal to another realm, they eventually returned to Ignacia, and Kai could finally feel safe again. Of course, he immediately slept for 3 days straight after making sure that Nya was doing alright and that she could take care of herself for the next few days.

This was not the first time he was fuelled by only his fire, and unfortunately for his body- it would not be the last.

- Lloyd - The next time that Kai could say with 100% certainty that he hated the universe was when Garmadon decided that it was a good idea to turn them into all children. They then had to be saved by Lloyd, his baby brother, but in return- he had grown. Too fast. Way too fast.

And Kai had to look at his failure, his inability to protect Lloyd because it falls on his shoulder to at least stay beside the green bean whilst he deals with the fact that he was older now. And whatever fallout was happening with his body. Because whilst Lloyd can try to insist that he’s fine for the 100th time, Kai is not letting him get out of bed whilst he has a 40 degree fever.

So whilst Kai stews angrily at the edge of Lloyd’s bed, he reflects on all the things he’s going to punch the First Spinjitsu Master for. Honestly, he did not know where the thought came from, but today was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Kai will be honest- he hadn’t always been this friendly with Lloyd. In fact, if he saw someone else doing what he did to the kid when they first met, he would sock them in the eye, no questions asked. (In fact, he wanted to do that to himself now.) But then he got close to the brat. He saw himself in the kid, just- lost without an anchor as Kai had in Nya. And the ‘demon spawn’ became ‘kid’, and ‘kid’ became Kai’s baby brother. Kai’s baby brother who he lost at the arcade just because he was too focused on his ego, going after the damned Samurai who turned out to be his baby sister. Seems like Kai can’t do much protecting at all.

After Kai had rescued Lloyd from the volcano (Fuck you Pythor), it was revealed that Lloyd was the Green Ninja, and would, in turn, have to fight Garmadon And whilst at first Kai felt elated that the search for the Green Ninja was long over, he then felt horrible to see Garmadon and Lloyd falling out as both knew that they had to fight each other. Kai could see Lloyd’s lip tremble as his father released the hug, and almost start to cry when Garmadon disappeared after having saved the Ninja and the fang blades.

He knew that Lloyd had it especially hard, seeking his father’s approval and attention, yet not getting it as Garmadon tried his hardest to delay the oncoming final battle, but furthered it instead. He saw Lloyd look incredibly small in their tiny apartment, and wished that he had just earned more money, or that he had somehow managed to defeat the Great devourer instead of Garmadon.

Yet all he could do was comfort Lloyd when he opens up about Darkley’s (boy, wasn’t that’s something they’d have to unpack in the future) before they returned to the accursed school, or treat Lloyd’s sore muscles before the kid has to inevitably wake up at 5 AM tomorrow to do an insane amount of training.

He hates how all the pressure in the world is hoisted by the shoulders of his baby brother, and he would do anything, anything to give Lloyd a good childhood.

Now, he can’t even do that. Unless the element of time exists, all he could do was count the numbers of a good childhood Lloyd had on one hand. And goddamnit. All Kai really wanted to do was to give Lloyd the childhood didn’t have, not the incomplete one he had given Nya that ended with a kidnapping. Was that too much to ask for?

A drop of a hot tear escaped Kai’s eyes and rolled down his cheek. Quickly snapping his head towards Lloyd, he saw that he’s fallen asleep. Okay, thank FSM for that. Kai did not want Lloyd to see his big brother cry. Now, Kai didn’t want to be a bad brother. But he wasn’t Lloyd’s only family left. He’ll just ask Zane to watch over him as he runs the training course at Dareth’s dojo.

Or maybe not, Kai thought as he sat on the roof, hidden by water tanks and billboards as he had a meltdown. He didn’t even know why he was crying! All he knows is that suddenly, he can’t stop the water flowing from his eyes, even as his own body heat evaporates them as soon as they are shed. His head was still stuffy even though the night air breezed past him. All he wanted to do was to shout, screen- anything to release the tension he’s been building up in his body. Now that he’s reached his breaking point, he was ready to release like a coiled spring.

But he couldn’t. They were living in the midst of Ninjago city, not on the Destiny’s Bounty. And they would get kicked out of their cramped apartment if Kai just shouted at the night skies. So Kai hissed, growled, and wrapped his hands around himself, and squeezed as much as he could. He wanted to fight anybody, be it serpentine, skulkin, Garmadon, or even the First Spinjitsu Master himself.

The air around him got even more suffocating as his fist couldn’t find anything to connect to.

And suddenly, the roof hatch opened suddenly, scaring the living hell out of Kai Smith. Jumping into action and getting into a ready stance, Kai immediately felt the tension dissipate as it revealed that it was just Cole.

“Wow Kai, you must be really wounded up to be spooked like that,” Cole commented whilst giving Kai a smirk. Kai glared back at his team leader before futilely trying to wipe his face clean. Ah well. He tried. Cole snorted. “I always knew that you were a big softy.”

“Got any reason why you came up here?” Kai grunted. His ego had taken enough bruising these past few weeks.

“Of course buddy. I needed to spar with someone at full strength, and since Zane is looking after Lloyd and Jay won’t be able to effectively take my hits, I had to find you.”

“Psh, whatever. You’re in luck that I need to let off some heat too,” Kai shrugged off.

“Cool. Race you to Dareth’s Dojo?”  “You’re on.”

In a few minutes, Kai would come to regret his decision. Hey, it wasn’t his idea to race with the idiot who got himself dehydrated via crying. Still, falling in only just a step behind Cole (It’s been 80 years, Coke joked), he grabbed the energy drink Cole held out to him and take an unprofessionally huge gulp. Man, was he going to feel that later. Still, a promise was a promise, even if it was a verbal agreement. He watched Cole do his warm-up stretches before settling into his own normal routine.

Too soon, they rolled out the sparring mats, and Kai had a fleeting feeling of vertigo. Why had he agreed to this again? Oh yeah. Lloyd’s life is shit, and I can’t do anything. Balling his fists tightly, he started to bounce from on the balls of his feet.

Too soon, he ended up on the mat. And then again. And again. When he was defeated for the 4th time, Cole called for a break and sat down next to Kai, who was lying on the mat and just staring straight into the sky.

“Why did destiny make him grow up so fast?” Kai’s voice was trembling too hard for even Cole’s liking. “It’s not your fault-“

“IT IS MY FAULT! My fault, that I couldn’t protect him! Not from the serpentine, not from Garmadon, not from destiny!What’s my worth as a protector if I can’t even defend the one destiny said I must?!” Kai wailed out, enraged with everything. After his anger outburst, Kai breathed out deeply as his whole body sagged, the tension broken. They sat in silence as Kai contemplated what he was going to do next.

“You know Kai? Maybe you should talk with the Green Bean about this. But just so you know, no one is blaming you for what Garmadon had to do, and in turn what Lloyd had to do in order to save all of us,” Cole responded and stood up. “Thank you anyways for agreeing to spar with me.”

He offered a hand, to which Kai grabbed and was pulled upright.

“You go ahead. I’ll go wipe down the mats here,” Cole stated. It was a regular schedule that they had made up in order to reduce the amount of traffic using their tiny bathroom, and Kai gratefully accepted the chance to go first. If he was going to talk to Lloyd, he had to at least get his spikes up to regular Kai standard.

After doing the bare minimum amount of cool-down stretches, Kai took a swig of the energy drink as he jogged back home. After showering and gelling up his hair, Kai was ready to sit down with Lloyd and just- talk. He finished his bottle and prepared some sandwiches as the sun rose on Ninjago City, showering the apartment in fragmented light.

Just on time, Lloyd returned from his morning run, this time accompanied by Zane. Kai patiently waited for him to be done with his shower before Lloyd sat down right beside him and took out a peanut butter and jam sandwich from the small pile on the plate. Zane gave Kai an acknowledging nod as he went to grab his work bag before going back out the door.

“Hey, bud. How’re you doing?” Kai started tentatively. Lloyd, having just taken a huge bite of the pb&j, looked mildly alarmed at the confrontation, but still answered after finishing the bite.

“…honestly Kai? My bones don’t feel on fire anymore and Zane has said that my fever had gone down through the night. Still, I don’t regret what I had done,” Lloyd responded earnestly before taking another bite of the bread. If Kai didn’tknow better he would have thought that the kid had faced starvation before, because he was still eating as if the food could be taken away at any moment. Keyword: thought.

Kai really wanted to continue the talk after Lloyd had his fill, but knew that Lloyd’s busy schedule didn’t allow for such talks. So, he pushed down all the instincts that screamed that he was a bad brother and gritted his teeth.

“I know that that wasn’t your choice-“

“It was my choice!” Lloyd cut in even though he was still chewing. Gulping down another mouthful of food, Lloyd continued. “… because if I couldn’t even consider that my choice, how much of my life can I say that belongs to me?”

Kai was stunned into silence. In his mind, he didn’t think that Lloyd had thought of throwing the tea like that. He wondered how much Lloyd had been holding in inside of him, how much he had to endure being told by people that he hadn’t had a choice. Thinking back to the time where he couldn’t save Nya without listening to others on what he had to do, Kai felt even worse. Cole was right- he wasn’t at fault for this specific action that Lloyd did, but he was at fault for not being understanding enough, or even approachable enough.

Taking advantage of Kai’s speechlessness, Lloyd finished up his sandwich before reaching into the pile and taking out another, this time picking out a Nutella and cheese combination.

“It’s not just that. Now, I can finally go on missions with you guys. Now, you guys don’t have to hold back on me, and I can train for longer amounts of time. The Final Battle will be on us whether we’re ready or not, and I too would feel much safer if I am prepared to… to face my father,” Lloyd said before continuing to stuff his face with breakfast.

Kai’s brain began to work again, and he formulated a good enough response. “…Alright buddy, but just so you know, you’re still not going on missions with us.” Lloyd’s face immediately formed a pout and Kai grinned, rubbing his blonde hair. “Also, since when did you start speaking like that? ‘The Final Battle will be on us whether we’re ready or not.' Wow, such language. Much eloquence.”

“That’s because you guys gave me 2 hours to spend studying Uncle Wu’s books every day,” Lloyd huffed in annoyance, having finished another mouthful of bread. “But seriously Kai, please don’t be angry for me. It really isn’t your fault.”

Kai mused over those words as he watched Jay trained Lloyd with his acrobatic abilities. Of course, the kid was still getting used to his taller and larger limbs, but Kai could see him improve at an incredibly fast rate. Lloyd was right, in a sense. He didn’t really have the legal right to worry over Lloyd’s physical and mental wellness, but still- he was Kai. Master of Fire, protector of the Green Ninja, and he should be allowed to feel the fuel of his anger at any time he so pleases. If it happens to be an injustice to his trainee and well- who can blame him?

He accidentally fell asleep during Lloyd and Jay’s training, having to catch up to last night’s lost sleep, and boy was that a bad idea. He forgot one of the most important rules within the Ninja’s family: Do not fall asleep when with Lloyd and Jay, because those two can pull some terrible pranks.

Kai didn’t notice anything wrong until he passed Dareth’s trophies and saw that his beautiful hair was not spiked. Kai swore that when he sees those two again, he would chase after them until they begged for mercy because Kai cannot be seen in public with hair like this! Feeling his eye twitch, Kai wondered if Lloyd was going to be the cause of him popping a blood vessel.

Years later, Kai would realise that indeed, Lloyd would give him his first grey hair at 19. That damned brat.

- Zane - When Zane… left the team, all Kai could feel was a sense of numbness. He floated through a fuzzy reality as nothing seemed real to him anymore. His family was in shambles, broken pieces that were scattered without their missing piece completing them. The fact that Zane was gone didn’t really register to him until they had asked Lloyd to do a speech honouring the titanium ninja. Lloyd, face as pale as the gi Zane used to wear, couldn’t say any words, so he volunteered to step up for his brother. Lloyd looked at him with thanks, before disappearing off to whatever world he was in just moments before. Kai joined him, staring aimlessly at their ceiling, before having to get up and pen down words that he was going to say, to honour Zane.

He realised that he couldn’t, really couldn’t. The words just wouldn’t come out of his ink pen, even though he was pretty much literate now. He could only manage to jot down a few words that summarised what Zane was to him. A brother. A teammate. A fellow Ninja. Built to protect those who cannot protect themselves. But words can't do Zane justice. How could he capture Zane's cool-like grace, his calm calculation when it matters most? Zane's amazing cooking, his incredible kindness, and all-around sweet nature? How could he describe his first time meeting him, first time working with him, when he discovered his true potential and saved all of their sorry asses? How could he do all that?

Hot, angry tears dribbled down from Kai’s eyes as he hunched over their kitchen table. No, this wasn’t going to do. Kai decides that he'll just have to wing it.

As soon as he had finished his speech and paid proper respect to Zane, Kai left his family and just wandered around aimlessly, going from bar to bar to drink and inevitably get into fights.

Having been thrown out of almost all bars in Ninjago city for ‘disrupting common services’, whatever that was supposed to mean, Kai soon found himself standing in front of Yang’s Tavern. From what he heard, this place was run by quite a few Serpentine and they had a ‘Slither Pit’. Whatever that meant. What Kai needed to do was to feel his fist connect to something flesh-like, and he will be okay.

Months passed, as Kai found himself falling deeper and deeper into Ninjago’s criminal organisations. Under the name ‘The Red Shogun’, he would remain the undefeated champion, all whilst working for different kinds of bosses as ‘security’. Kai knew that he shouldn’t be doing this, that he shouldn’t be helping criminals get away with their criminal activity, shouldn’t have let human merchandise go under his nose. But he couldn’t bring himself to care. Nothing really mattered after Zane’s death. Nothing had mattered at all. Kai was stuck down in the pits of hell, drinking himself to half-death before the barkeep regulated his intake just so that he could bring in the cash that Kai made through betting, before receiving poor attempts to reach out by Lloyd.

Somehow, the kid had gotten the number of his burner phone. He even sent mail to the bar, to which Kai and his bar buddies had laughed at. Kai didn’t feel too bad for ignoring the kid. Zane’s death was partially his fault anyways. (Nromal Kai would have been horrified to hear him think this.) Kai was angry. Angry that Lloyd didn’t try hard enough. Didn’t try hard enough to defeat the Overlord, when he had a clear shot. Angry that Lloyd had apparently failed to defeat the Overlord 100%. Angry that he had been captured whilst literally wielding the power of God, only for the Overlord to use its incredible power to construct a new body. Angry that Lloyd didn’t try hard enough to keep the team together, to reach out to him, or even to speak at Zane’s funeral.

But above all, Kai was angry at himself. Angry that he had made fun of Zane for his passions and clothes. Angry that he did not try hard enough to train Lloyd, and ultimately failed to be with him in the ‘Final’ battle. Angry that he couldn’t have done his job as a ninja properly, getting captured and tied to a rocket ship which only made them have to try rescuing him instead of stopping Project Arcturus. Angry that he couldn’t do anything when Zane took on the Overlord by himself again.

And Kai was angry at Ninjago. At the world. At the universe. At the First Spinjitsu Master, who had no right to decide that his family had to face the world like that. Angry, and wondering why he was being put through this kind of torture: not being able to live, and yet not willing to die. Kai was a man of action and he had to stay in motion- so his knuckles split. So he goes ‘home’, to the hotel room in Yang’s Tavern, covered in bruises and sometimes even blood- just not his. So he has to take part in crimes, never rising above the level of a security guard, all whilst feeling terrible. He did not know how to get out of this state and feared that if he did, he would collapse into a lump of uselessness.

He fought all day and night, and in the moments where he wasn’t fighting, he was drinking. His sleeping schedule has shifted to between 6 AM and 2 PM. All whilst he kept grieving over a death that was not deserved.

After a year, Lloyd somehow inexplicably showed up on his doorstep, telling Kai to not drink too much ‘juice’ (he rolled his eyes at that and smiled fondly at Lloyd’s innocence) and asked him to show up at Chen’s noodle house where he was holding a meeting with his other teammates.

Unexpectedly, this led to a discovery that instantly brightened Kai’s mood before dampening it slightly. Zane was alive! But they had to fight through… an elemental tournament to get him? At this point in time, Kai was alright with doing anything, anything to get Zane back.

Just 2 weeks later, Kai would hesitantly retract his statement. Sure, they had gotten Zane back, but in exchange, Lloyd had to lose Garmadon to the Cursed Realm. Kai wonders if they’ll ever be able to make it through a fight with everyone intact, but today wasn’t about him. He felt a familiar spark of rage burning brightly through his chest as he watched Lloyd trying and failing to smile. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zane approaching him.

“Kai, can we talk for a moment?” Oh, dear. What is this about now? Was it about how Kai had almost killed their baby brother over a stupid staff?  Or the fact that Kai had very stupidly fallen for the Criminal Mastermind’s daughter? Did Zane find out about his criminal activity?

Well, it wasn’t everything that Kai had thought would happen, although the topic had come stupidly close to the last point. Zane confronted him, making him open up about his ‘feelings’ or whatever, before telling Kai that the alcohol content in his body was too high and that his livers were on the edge of failing. Well. Good to know that Zane is still regular old Zane who’d scan you without permission.

“Kai, all I’m saying is that you are free to tell me anything. To just let it all out -“

“I can’t let it all out!” Kai shouted in annoyance. What did Zane know about grieving- Oh wait. Doctor Julien. Well, what did Zane know about Kai’s specific method of dealing with his issues? He was fine.

“Why not, Kai?” Zane asked with a bittersweet smile. Kai looked around, desperately searching for an answer that he doesn’t have.

“Well- I can’t tell you that! Just know that it’s okay for me to feel angry!” Kai stated very, very eloquently. Zane just gave him a look that said ‘bullshit’. “It’s also okay for you to be sad, and to cry.”

“You’re-you’re wrong!”

“And you’re a hypocrite, Kai. You can’t make Lloyd do the right choices if you aren’t gonna do them yourself.”

“Well- Lloyd’s just a child! A teenager at best, really. Me? I’m a fully legal adult! I can make my own decisions!” Kai seethed. Zane looked sad for a moment, before straightening up and doubling down.

“Whilst according to Mill’s Harm Principle, you’re free to do anything that could harm yourself without damaging others, might I remind you that you’re still a role model for Lloyd, Nya, and even Jay? Please, Kai. If you can’t do it for yourself, at least do it for them.” Zane pleaded. And damn it. Whilst Kai wouldn’t lift a finger to save himself, just the thought of Lloyd doing what he’s done sent a shiver down his spine. Zane was right, as always. He had to be the big brother, and being the older brother means that he has to display healthy habits more. FSM knows that Lloyd would need it. So he sucked up his pride, arrogance, and ego, then threw it all away, metaphorically off the Bounty

He knew that they would always come creeping back to him later, but for now, Lloyd needed a functional older brother, and Kai was going to be exactly what he needs.

“Thank you, Zane,” Kai stated. Grinning, Zane waved Kai on to go save Lloyd, who now looked like he was drowning from some invisible force.

“Lloyd? Lloyd buddy, you there?”

- Cole - Of course, Kai couldn’t stop his blood pressure from reaching a boiling point. How could he? This month had been the worst month for his health since- well, since forever! Who would’ve thought that Wu’s dead first student would escape the Cursed Realm just to possess Lloyd in order to exact an act of stupid, grand revenge because he didn’t get the title of the Green Ninja?

Kai had to fight his baby brother, lose the staff of the First Spinjitsu Master, fail to defeat ghosts, bargain with a stupidcrook for some weapons that were actually effective to ghosts all whilst looking for the scroll of Airjitzu, who guess what? Turns out Ronin had it all along. And he had just handed it to Morro, which caused all of them to go to this cursedtemple, which was designed to be a terribly haunted house, because it just amplified Kai’s fear of water a 100 times more, and all that culminated in a stupid idea where they tied themselves together to not lose track of the other, which caused Cole to lose valuable time when the scroll of Airjitzu was dropped right as they were at the door to the temple.

Spinning around to check on his teammates, he saw a pale green sheen. Just as he was about to raise his weapon, he heard Cole’s voice calling out to them that they had the scroll. And oh. Oh no. No, Kai couldn’t deal with this anymore. He watched Cole realise with horror that now, he was technically dead, and wail.

Kai’s blood vessels were very, very close to popping. Being an alcoholic had not helped with his anger issues, and having faced too many setbacks, all whilst not having any powers or any victories, Kai was prepared to curse the entire 16 realms.

As Nya parked the bounty right next to the floating temple of Airjitzu, Kai could see her face widen in shock and horror at Cole. Fists clenched the tightest they had been in a while (and that was saying something, given that he had failed to protect Lloyd again) Kai could only take over the lead as he herded his teammates onboard the ship.

Cole’s a ghost now. So what? He can deal with that later. For now, they had to beat Morro to the Cloud Kingdom and the Realm crystal if he was going to have any chance of having Lloyd back.

Well, that was a lie, Kai thought to himself after the heat of the moment. Their ship was now charted towards the Wailing Alps, trying to make it as the Blind Man’s Eye passed over the top so that they may use Airjitzu to get the Sword of Sanctuary. And that meant they had time. Whilst Zane and Jay were working on some mechs to help them traverse the mountains, Nya was training with Sensei Wu to unlock her true potential faster, and Misako was packing them supplies. That meant that Kai and Cole were left in the bow of the ship. The air just felt denser than usual, even though by all logic, it should have been lighter due to their high altitude.

Kai watched Cole trying to tap a button on the control board, but couldn’t manage to get his hands to temporarily appear solid. He saw the frustration on Cole’s face grow as he gave up and slammed his hand on the board, accidentally touching on several buttons. Immediately the ship started to list onto the left side. So bracing himself Kai rushed to the position and immediately undid the damage Cole had done.

Cole then let out a scream of frustration. “All I wanted to do was to view the stupid GPS! Why. Can’t. I. Do. Anything. Right?” Cole angrily shouted, punctuating each word with a kick aimed towards the control panel, but never managing to connect. He immediately sunk onto the floor and held his face in his hands.

Kai sucked in air through his teeth. He wasn’t everyone’s go-to when comforting them from anger, but it seems that he had to step up this time.

“Hey, Cole?” Kai started gently. “Yeah?” Came a muffled response.

“I know that I’m not the best person to do this, but I just want you to know that I hate the universe as much as you do, and it’s alright if you wanna just shout and spar with me-“

“Hah! As if I can do anything good with this. Stupid. Body!” Cole replied, voice tense with frustration. Kai frowned.

“I’m serious Cole. And you will get better at using this body. Remember how Morro’s ghost friends had beaten us? Imagine them, not realising that we actually have a pretty powerful member right in their midst. Think of the recon missions you can do as a ghost! Imagine how satisfying it would be to just punch Morro in the nose without feeling bad for hurting Lloyd!” Kai picked a direction and resigned himself to it, smile getting more manic as he realised that hey! Cole’s new body is actually kinda cool. Cole snorted.

“Imagine all the pranks I’ll be able to pull on Jay. And imagine me possessing Mr. Cuddlywump-“ Both of them dissolved into laughter after this thought, each imagining Jay’s terrified expression as Cole’s voice comes out of the teddy bear that he thinks nobody knows he hugs every night.

“Hey- you know that being a ghost would be incredible for your stealth right?” Kai ribbed Cole gently, finding delight that it actually connected. Cole scoffed. “Oh, don’t remind me Mr-I-blew-up-2-trucks-filled-with-jet-fuel-and-thought-that-I-wouldn’t-be-noticed.”

“Hey! It was just one time.” Kai defended himself. “Seriously though, imagine all the cool shit you can do now.”

“Too bad that I won’t be able to eat anymore,” Cole said mournfully. Kai raised his eyebrow. “Nah, this just means that you can eat as much as you want and wouldn’t be scolded by Sensei Wu. Also, don’t we have Hungry Ghost Month right before Day of the Departed?”

“Holy shit, Kai. You’re right! You know, maybe being a ghost isn’t so bad after all,” Cole said with a hearty grin. With a grin of his own, Kai thought to himself that really, being a ghost is no big deal. We have a nindroid as a brother after all! Besides, at least Cole is still with us in, heh, spirit.

Too late did Kai consider the cons of being a ghost. As Cole watched helplessly from the banks of the river that Lloyd was drowning in, Kai had to bite his own tongue to stop himself from screaming as he plunged into the water to save Lloyd from drowning. Too late, after the defeat of the Preeminent, did he see Lloyd flinching from Cole’s touch, which led to a very heartbroken Cole and an extremely apologetic Lloyd. He saw Lloyd trying his best to just endure and adapt to the change, and his heart was filled with anger again.

It wasn’t as bad as his breaking point at Yang’s temple, but he now has a grudge against Morro that runs through the core of his being, like how ‘Nya is my Sister’ and ‘Lloyd is my baby brother’ are the code of his being. Still, victory tasted bittersweet as he gets to finally pat the golden head of hair his brother has.

Kai would be okay to go through anything, as long as he had his family with him.

- - Jay - Family. That’s what Kai’s life has circled back into, hasn’t it? He had fought skeleton armies for his sisters, fought snakes with his brothers, trained the youngest to fight the literal embodiment of evil, went through an entire tournament for one of his brothers, fought with Wu’s student to save Lloyd, and now destiny decides for him to face another whiplash.

His parents. His good-for-nothing parents. They had left Kai when he was 6 and Nya when she was just 3. It had been absolute hell, making sure that they had enough to eat, enough to drink, and enough to wear during the winter. Kai had to start working at the blacksmith shop when he was just 8, trying to find some independence from the goodwill of his neighbours. And whilst he was working odd jobs, being a stable boy, an errand boy, doing some house chores for the minimum wage- he also had to make sure that his baby sister could attend school properly.

He had properly started to work at the forge when he was 12, having sold most of his father’s previous work. Soon, he found ease in making spear tips, armour, and samurai-style helmets. He had been working on doing a good sword when his sister was kidnapped, and his entire life changed as he tried his hardest to bring her back. Since then, he hadn’t gone back to his old home in Ignacia.

But he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Looking at the smithing symbol on the inside of the Vermillion Warrior’s helmet, Kai had to take a quick journey back to his old home, back into his past. Picking up a decade-old helmet, Kai’s worst fears were confirmed.

“I knew it,” Kai said humourlessly as the puzzle pieces began to construct a monstrosity that he never wanted to know. In a fit of anger, he punched his father’s symbol, to which a secret hatch just suddenly opened. Curious, Kai took a look at the basement of the shop, only to see a double-edged blade as well as some old armour. What was he making? Kai wondered, before shaking his head. It doesn’t matter now.

With single-minded determination, Kai took the blade, old, and a new helmet, then immediately headed to someone who he knows would understand.

10 minutes later, Kai was sitting at a booth in Chen’s Noodle House, venting out all his frustrations to Skylor, who, bless her, had offered him free noodles as he spilled out his feelings. Of course, Kai didn’t feel much better after doing so, but at least he felt like he wasn’t suffocating anymore. Just as Kai was summarising his rant, incomes Nya, proclaiming something about how Skylor was the mysterious and new Samurai X. Kai’s stomach suddenly started to churn and he gulped. He had to break the news that their parents were still alive to Nya. And whilst that was mean, what Kai learned throughout his years as being a Ninja that being honest with your teammates was the difference between life and death. Funny, he remembered a weird dream that was focused on this exact point. But Kai didn’t have time to reminisce now. All he could do was think of ways of breaking the news to Nya.

Too soon, Kai Smith, no not Smith, Kai had to think of a better surname after this was all over. Anyways, their team has decided upon infiltrating Krux and Acronix’s secret base, which also meant that they will find his traitorous father. Instantly, he felt a searing hot pain radiate from within his ribcage. teeth clenched, fists tightened, he and Nya arrived at the swamp.

He had a single-minded focus on finding his parents and nothing could stop him.

“Kai, I don’t see anything. Give me the map,” Nya whispered. “Hmmm, what even makes you think that Acronix and Krux will be around here?”

“I honestly don’t even care if they are,” Kai said noncommittally and looked around his surroundings. In the distance, he saw a building, right where the blacksmith shop was situated on the map. Heart pounding, he raced up the planks leading up the shop.

Kai was in too deep to stop now, to have second thoughts. Seeing his father’s blacksmith symbol on the door, builds up his resolve to kick the door open.

“I knew it!” anger, like how lava flows down a volcano, seeped into his bones as his father stared at him like he was some kind of stranger. In all fairness, he was. Because what kind of ‘father’ was Ray Smith for abandoning Nya, for abandoning him, all those years ago?

“Who are you? What do you want?” Those words cut deeply into Kai’s heart, etching all kinds of feelings that Kai couldn’t process. Because all he could see. Was red.

“I WANT JUSTICE!” With a war cry, Kai drew out the double-edged blade that his father had watched. But this time, he wasn’t fighting to disarm, to defeat, or to stun. He was fighting to kill.

Running towards the blacksmith, Kai jumped to plunge the blade into his father’s chest, only for him to dodge, Raising another strike, he missed and hit the edge of the forge. Spinning around, his next shot was parried by his father.

Blocked by his father again, Kai gave his old man a chance to explain himself. But what was said was, “You’re red like a Vermillion Warrior. But you’re no snake.”

“No, I’m not, BUT YOU ARE! TRAITOR!!” Kai broke out of his father’s block, spinning the weapon before clashing it with his father’s hammer again. His next few strikes were dodged and a kick sent Kai sprawling over the anvil. Getting up again, Kai swung the weapon wildly, getting dodged before being thrown back by a well-timed shot from his father.

“You messed with the wrong blacksmith, my friend,” Ray said, standing over Kai’s body. hearing those words sent a hot shot of seething fire down to his free palm. Building up a fire in his hand, Kai stood up and spun the double-edged blade.

“Fire power…” Ray thought out loud. Shocked, he could only get out of the way as Kai threw a fireball at him.

“No… you’re certainly not a guard. You’re… my son!” Hearing those words made Kai pause. He didn’t know why, he just couldn’t move. Too many emotions were battling in him, and he could only focus on his father’s next few words.

“Kai! You’ve inherited my elemental power!” his father had actually said that. In joy. Suddenly, his fire was rekindled.

“That’s the only thing I’ll ever inherit from you!” Kai started to move, to continue the fight when suddenly his baby sister screamed for him to stop from the front door.

“He’s a traitor!” Kai explained through gritted teeth.

“He’s still our father,” Nya begged Kai to reconsider.

“Whatever it is you think, I can explain-“

“Yeah… BET YOU CAN!” Kai threw back his left hand, ready to unleash another fireball at his father when a jet of water put his element out.

“Kai, let him speak!” Nya pleaded. “There’s no harm in hearing him out!”

Kai then moved to throw the double-edged blade at his father, who had dodged out of the way. sensing that Nya would just put out his fire again, Kai pounced on his father and dragged him hip by the collar of his clothes, and began to wrestle with him.

“It ends here! NOW!” Overpowering his father, he managed the wrench his left hand free, and pulled it back into a punch.

“Kai, you don’t know what you’re doing!”  “I DO NYA! I ABSOLUTELY-“  “I’m not your sister, son.”

Kai suddenly stopped. His mother… was alive?!

“Huh? M-mom? I-I don’t believe it!” Kai released whatever he was holding as he turned around, trembling.

“That makes the 2 of us,” Maya stated sweetly, and suddenly all the memories that Kai had been oppressing came back- he could see the woman who cared for him, hear the lullabies she used to sing Nya to sleep, smell the floral shampoo and scent of mountain springs that hung around her. He remembers the taste of the food that she had made, and the warm, slender hands that held his own. As Kai watched his mother fuss over his baby sister, his resolve to fight, to seek revenger, crumbled away into pieces.

Removing his hood, he threw his arms around his mother, still smelling the scent of mountain springs, feeling the her skin, folded and cut in several areas, but still warm and firm.

But suddenly, he remembered the snake helmets and of Sensei Wu, and immediately pushed her back.

“Why, she’s as guilty as he is! They’ve been helping Acronix and Krux for years!” Kai seethed. “They’re the enemy!”

“Is that what you think?” Maya reproached. “We are not your enemy.”

“Then how do you explain this?” Kai took up the vermillion warrior’s helmet and showed his father’s symbol to his biological family. “Dad’s blacksmith stamp on every piece of Vermillion armour!”

“They forced us to work for them! Part of their revenge…” Maya rebutted.

“For what?”

“For creating the time blades,” Ray shook his head and creased his forehead. “It goes back a long tie, then Acronis and Krux were still Elemental Masters.”

Ray recounted how Wu had asked them to forge blades made of a chronosteel, a sort of metal that suctions your elemental powers away permanently if you used them to their true potential on the metal.

“We had worked for days and nights. At the end of it all, we were so exhausted, that we could not participate in the fight. But Wu had told us the results of the fights, about how he and Garmadon had sent the Time Twins and the Time Blades into a Time Vortex, essentially having them lost to time.”

“Yet, immediately after the portal has closed, Krux had gotten away. And he had gotten a glimpse of the Blimp too. He now knew that his brother was being sent to the future without him.”

“Now, he had decades to scheme and plan. He adopted the persona of the kindly Dr. Sanders Saunders. He had begun making the first batches of Vermillion out of the Great Devourer’s eggs. And his army would need weapons. Armour. Vehicles.

“So he went looking for us, and we had built a cordial relation with the old man.”

“One day, he suddenly revealed his true colours and held you two at sword point, stating that if we did not cooperate, he would not hesitate to kill you,” Maya said, eyes glistening with tears. “What could we have done?”

Kai didn’t know how to react. He stood there shell-shocked. His parents.. they weren’t traitors after all? The fire of anger fizzled out. “Okay, but what about the stamp?”

“I stamped every piece of my work, hoping that one day, someone would figure it out,” Kai’s father admitted. “So that together, we can stop Krux and Acronix’s plan.”

“What is their plan?” Nya asked. Ray shook his head and creased his eyebrows in fear. “To control all of time.”

That revelation shocked Kai into speaking again. He looked at his father, bruised, dirtied, and tired from their fight before. The feeling of guilt bubbled in his stomach, and Kai had to immediately right the wrongs.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Kai began, wincing internally at his bad apology. But Nya- blessed Nya, had saved him by asking about Krux and Acronix’s plan to control all of time.

“They made me design the Iron Doom, a machine capable of transporting the Vermillion warriors through time,” Ray explained, rolling out a blueprint of the iron doom.

“So you built a Time Machine?” Kai asked incredulously. Ray huffed. “No, just the shell. I’m afraid the Time Machines are bit out of my skill set.”

“But Cyrus Borg was forced to design a power source capable of powering the machine by using temporal energy from the Time Blades,” Maya said whilst rolling out another piece of blueprint next to Ray’s this time of some sort of machine.

“Oh no! That must mean that the pause we felt earlier… that must mean that there are 3 blades in the present!” Nya exclaimed. Kai thought out loud that if Krux and Acronix got the blade, there will be only one left. “And if they get that, their time traveling mega armour will be fully operational!”

Kai stared dumbfoundedly at the smile shared between his parents. “Sorry, full operational is… good news?” Man, if his parents could just pick a side already!

“They’ll never get it,” Ray said with a smile. “Master Wu found it shortly after Acronix disappeared. Turns out it had the power to reverse time. Wu knew it was too dangerous to keep, so we hid it, buried deep in a location where only a combined elemental power of Fire and Water can reach.”

“And since you inherited our powers-“ Kai’s mother gasped sharply. “You must leave. Now!”

Ray looked downright alarmed. “You’re right. If Krux and Acronix knew you were here, they could-“

At this moment, the door burst open and time stood still.

“Could force you to retrieve the Time Blade for us? Excellent suggestion,” Krux said with a menacing smile.

“No way! We’ll never retrieve the Reversal Blade for you!”  “You tell him, brother!”

“You will! Or your parents will face the same fate that they tried to protect you from.” Krux countered, his smile stretching impossibly wider.

“We’re done serving you, Krux. Bring your worst!” Ray shouted, charging towards the Time Twins. Kai watched in horror as Krux used the Pause blade to stop his father’s momentum immediately, before giving him a hard kick in the gut.

“DAD!” Kai shouted, watching his father still frozen in place, bouncing on the hard floor.

“Look what I found,” drawled the voice of Commander Machia, wheeling in-

“Master!” “Wu!’

“You know, it occurs to me that the Reversal Blade is the only way to undo Wu’s Time Punch.” Acronix grinned.

“I…I’m afraid that’s true,” Kai’s father said, having gotten out of the pause effect.

“If you want to save your master, you’ll have to retrieve the 4th blade.” Krux walked even closer to Kai, before snatching away the double-edged blade. “And I’ll take that.”

Lightning flashed over the skies, creeping in tendrils and thunder boomed, rocking the ship. Kai and his family were stuck on a ship, not able to help his other family back at the swamp to fight off a whole swamp’s worth of snakes! And to top it all off, he had to retrieve the 4th Time Blade for the Twins, directly enabling Krux and Acronix’s plan!

Kai felt anger in the many hot drops of rain the fell onto his skin. But he couldn’t afford to lose himself here, he and Nya would have to work together, get past all the challenges and get the time blade, save Wu and get out of here!

Yet, once he and Nya had returned to the ship, the blade was immediately knocked out of his hands and his father took another Time Punch. Just as he was about the throw hands with the Time Twins, he was hit with a jet of brilliant red light, trapping him a Pause as he could only see the ship moving away from underneath him. They barely had the time to pull up their fusion dragon before heading back to the swamp.

Upon their arrival, they saw the Time Twins enter a temporal vortex. They had to follow them. There was no other choice.

A long, tiring battle in the past 40 years ago had taken its toll on Kai and Nya. They had managed to reverse the Time Punch on Master Wu (though Kai wonders if maybe Nya used a bit too much) and they had managed to drive Acronix and Krux back into the Temporal Vortex, this time actually sneaking aboard the ship and trying to remove the Time Blades from the engine of the Iron Doom.

Unfortunately for Kai, he just couldn’t lift the Reversal Blade, but Sensei Wu had. Throwing the Time Blade to him, Kai almost didn’t register Wu telling them to use the blade of Ray before throwing both of them out of the time stream and back into the present.

After had used the time blade on his father, Kai and Nya were tasked with Master Lloyd’s command to return the Reversal Blade to its place in the Boiling Sea. Of course, Kai had complied, adrenaline still fuelling his body. And yet when all was said and done, Kai collapsed upon reaching the Temple of Airjitzu.

The days after Kai and Nya returned to the present without Sensei Wu were some of the worst. Kai felt like he was over bursting with emotions. Guilt, grief, and anger clouded his mind over the loss of Wu. Joy, confusion, and deep-seated anger clouded his heart over his parents. Kai didn’t know how to deal with everything. He couldn’t really talk with his previous confidence, he couldn’t move without double guessing himself, and his decision-making skills were in pieces, grounded into a fine dust.

Does he reconnect with his family or not? What could he do the aid the search of Sensei Wu? Are Nya and Lloyd doing alright? Cole seems to be the hardest hit out of all of them, maybe he should go check on him?

Lying on his bed in the Temple of Airjitzu, Kai couldn’t muster his strength to well, do anything! He just needed some time to just… process, everything that had happened in the past month. His parents, of course, had given him some space, and just said that when he’s ready to contact them. Kai thinks that they also didn’t know how to deal with his situation and just took a cop-out. Or maybe they just wanted to breathe fresh, non-swamp-sewer air and tour Ninjago after being in captivity in 10 years. Honestly, who knows?

Lloyd had walked in and provided a brief source of relief for Kai, but too soon had he walked away, going back to his training. Kai saw his baby brother’s eyes sporadically turn green, infused with his element, in just 3 days. Kai would have joined him too, doing whatever hellish program he had set up for himself, if he wasn’t just ambushed by his feelings whenever he tries to get up, wondering if that was even the right choice. He certainly felt that it was his fault that he lost Sensei Wu, and now his kid brother had trained so hard that his eyes became green just to find Sensei again.

Nya was dealing with her own reconciliation with his parents and sometimes offered Kai a shoulder to cry on. Mostly, she was by herself, as Jay had told Kai to ease his worry. Still, his worry for Nya is topped only by his worry about the future.

Cole had also been hit hard by the loss of Sensei Wu and was shutting himself in. Zane was still trying to spend time looking for Pixal throughout the Bounty and any of our other bases of operations, trying to tracer her down.

That left Jay, who really, was as much of a help as a hindrance to Kai. Hanging out with Jay meant that Kai soon developed a terrible sense of humour, an arsenal of horrible puns, and way too many prank ideas. Jay had made sure that everyone was fed, watered, and in some cases- slept. Of course, being the responsible one for once meant that Jay had to bully his most stubborn teammates into taking a break, or having some food.

“MOOOORRRRNNIIIIIINNG!” Kai was once again woken up by Jay’s terrible screeching. Turning to face the wall, Kai pushed a pillow on top of him just so he could remain in the land of sleeping for longer. No such luck.

“KAAAIIIIII! GET UP!” Jay, screamed as the door to his room flung open. Aw man here we go again, Kai grumbled to himself.

“So what would you like to have this morning? Eggs and bacey? Toast with jam? How about-“

“How about you shut up and leave me alone!” Kai shouted, irritated by the perky tone that Jay has adopted. Watching Jay’s smile become less bright and more forced, Kai couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Sitting up and rubbing the base of his neck, Kai apologised for his outburst. “Sorry, Jay- it’s just that I need some time, alone.”

Jay nodded solemnly, before sitting down at the edge of his bed. Kai watched as Jay took a deep breath before saying his piece.

“I know Kai, but… Nya… she needs you. You have got to fix your relationship with your parents, or at least start on the first step. I’m going to be honest: I’m not good with people like you are. I don’t know how to get Lloyd to rest, because he’s going to break his body this way. Don’t get me started on Cole, who won’t open up to me at all. And I can’t out logic Zane. He keeps saying that since he’s a robot, he doesn’t need rest as we humans do.”

Kai stayed silent for a while, mulling over Jay’s words. Truth is, if he could, he would have done so already. What did Jay know about these kinds of relationships, anyways? In fact, when compared to everyone else on the team, Jay has the best relationship with his parents. So what was the point of this? Kai felt his hands curl up into a fist, bunching his bedsheets. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he breathed out to calm himself down before he could impulsively do something he’d regret.

“No can do, Jaybird. I don’t even know where to start,” Kai said regretfully. Kai honestly expected for Jay to slink out of his room, to go pester Nya to try or to get Lloyd to see sense, or to even get his best buddy to open up about his troubles. Kai did not think that Jay seemed to double down, taking several huge gulps of air, and one the edge of hyperventilation. He saw Jay’s hands tighten into fists before he spoke in a trembling voice.

“Kai… did is something that I really, really don’t want to share. It’s something that I keep wanting to erase out of my memories. But I can’t, because no matter how much I try to see it as just a prank- it’s the truth. I’m… adopted,” Jay finished in a hushed whisper. Immediately, Kai sat up straighter. He hadn’t heard this before. “Please, please, keep this a secret, Kai.”

“…so, when did you find out?” Kai whispered back.

“It was at the height of our popularity craze right after stix. A letter had come in, about how my father had died. Immediately, I went off to my Ma and Pa’s scrapyard, but it turns out that I had been adopted, and that my biological father was… Cliff Gordon,” Jay’s teeth had begun shuddering as tears came leaking out of his eyes.

“Oh,” That’s all Kai could really say. I mean, how were you going to reply to that?

“Of course, I felt all sorts of different emotions at first. Relief that my Pa didn’t die, confusion at why I was abandoned on my parent’s doorstep, realisation why neither of my parents had elemental powers, and eventually gratitude because my biological father had written me into his will.”

“But Kai, you don’t just easily forget the feeling when you thought that your parents died. I’m sure that if Cole was himself right now, he would have knocked some sense into you.” Jay stated with a small smile. “Our lives as Ninja are really, really dangerous. Yesterday, we lost Sensei Wu. Tomorrow… well, let’s just say that as a Ninja, you have to cherish time with your loved ones. Don’t put off tomorrow what can be done today.”

And Kai seriously was lost for words. Jay was… 100% right. There were no faults, no counterarguments. Danger was a Ninja’s job description, and too soon he could leave this realm without patching things up with his parents- his parents had almost done so too when his father had been struck by the Forward blade. If he couldn’t do it for himself, and his parents- well, he could do it for Nya’s sake.

Suddenly energised, Kai stood up.

“Thank you, Jay.”

And off he went to call his parents, checking in on them, holding a conversation that had a semblance of normality. They had talked about safe topics, about interesting areas Ray and Maya had visited, about Kai and Nya’s adventures, and about Kai’s team, Sensei Wu- anything, really.

Tears of joy fell down his cheeks before he decided to barge into Nya’s room, throwing open her curtains and rousing her from her slumber.

Because now, they had a chance. They could reconcile.

And then they can find Sensei Wu.

- Kai - It was their first machine in 6 months, and Kai had managed to lose his powers. Again. This time, however, the warmth and fiery spirit that Kai could always cling to were gone as well. He had always felt utterly powerless without his fire. But without his anger? Kai was more than useless. He couldn’t even defend the civilians from the fire snakes, because he was out of shape as well and had to rely on Jay to save him. Jay!

Severely discouraged by this fact, he told his team to just ‘go ahead without him'. He would not be of any help to them anyways. He would only add more onto their already full plate as they would have to focus on defending him too.

Slumping next to an overturned car, Kai hid his face in his hands. What if he never gets his powers back? Would they hate him? Forget him? Maybe he could become The Red Shogun again, maybe pilot a mech as Pixal does.

Kai’s jumbled thoughts were interrupted by a kid (seriously, how many disasters have Ninjago faced to let people carry on their normal lives whilst it’s raining fireballs?) handing him a journal, stating that Kai was his favourite Ninja and could he please, please sign his notebook?

“Sorry kid,” Kai huffed out. “I’m not really a ninja without my powers.”

“Well then, why don’t you go help your teammates?” The kid, Max asked.

“Because, I’m useless, that’s why!”

“Well- if you don’t help the ninja, I will!” And with that, Max stormed away and started to head for the scene of danger. Kai called out to him futile to come back and resigned himself to his fate. Picking up the notebook, Kai saw a cartoonish sticker of him in his ninja mask at the front, before coming to an epiphany.

His teammates didn’t like him for just his fire. Nor did the Ninjago citizens. He carried everyone’s hopes and dreams on his back and he can’t just turn around now and leave him to face the enemy alone!

What was he thinking?

Immediately, Kai rushed down the street to the Ninjago Museum of ancient artifacts.

Kai didn’t always have to run red hot. He didn’t need to perpetually be angry. Sometimes, it’s okay to mellow out. But now is not the time. Now, he has to save his family from one crazy snake lady who was fuelled only by revenge.

Kai couldn’t just be fuelled by his anger. Facing off with Aspheera taught him that. Being angry all the time was exhausting when he inevitably turned off the switch. Anger clouded his thoughts, made errs in his judgment, caused him to be impatient- all whilst ignoring the important parts of his life- his family. And from now on, Kai would only tap into anger when it was absolutely necessary. What matters the most to him isn’t feeling invulnerable, like nothing could hurt him, especially if he was protecting his teammates. Rather, it was the job that Kai had to do. Emotions in battle are a tricky thing, but all the times he observed Lloyd setting aside his feelings for the greater good had made Kai realise that emotions can be easily goaded. Manipulate, by enemies such as Chen and Harumi.

In a life or death situation, Kai couldn’t just rely on his feelings. He had to embrace his moral code, the values that he holds dear, and act upon them, even though it may seem impossible at times. And he shouldn’t get frustrated with his team.

Kai may be angry, but the only time he’ll properly deal with his emotions will be when the battle is all over, and then he will learn how to compartmentalise, how to sort through his emotions. Maybe he’ll take up blacksmithing part-time again.

All Kai knew that was in this instance, he refused to let his life be ruled over uncontrollable feelings, mostly of rage. He was the master of his own emotions.

And nothing will stop him from helping out his team.

[recentanimenews]

The Duke of Death and His Maid – 10 – Not Weird at All

While sleeping in her little cabin, Alice dreams of when she was a little girl, hiding behind her mother Sharon’s skirts at the sight of Rob but always waving to young Bocchan, who always waved to her. Even back then, he didn’t see her as a servant, but a normal girl he wanted to befriend. We’re not talking about Prince Joffery here!

After that dream, there’s a sequence involving Caph going food shopping for the first time while Zain keeps an eye on her. Once she figures out what it means to “pay” people “money” for things, she gets the hang of it, and even stops a boy that was trying to pickpocket her from getting impaled on a sharp cast iron railing. Zain only comes in to “bail her out” insofar as he helps her pick up the dropped groceries.

When Bocchan can’t sleep, Alice offers to sleep in his bed with him until he can, then runs off to change into her pajamas without waiting to hear if he was okay with that. Having Alice next to him is stressful at first, but when he sees her beauty up close and how calm and relaxed she is, he manages to calm down. Granted, that would have happened faster if she hadn’t tried to strip out of her PJs more than once!

The meat of this mostly slice-of-life episode involves what should happen if Bocchan lifts the curse. Yes, he’ll presumably return home and take his place as the next family head. But what of Alice? While Bocchan professes his love for her and assures her if his family objects to their marriage, he’ll cut ties with them. That is the last thing Alice wants, but believing his future to be more important than hers is the last thing he wants.

After singing a lovely, pure duet of the nursury rhyme “The Owl and the Pussycat” together, Bocchan ends up insisting on escorting her back to her cabin, armed with the scarf and gloves she lovingly knit for him.

Assuming the curse will end some point before the end of the show’s run, Alice seems convinced she and Bocchan won’t be able to see each other anymore, at least not they way they currently do. But who says that’s the way it has to be? Doesn’t Bocchan get a say?

By: sesameacrylic

[evoedbd]

Sleeping Dragons

Summery -  After a very bad shift over University Break Runa is ready to kill someone... until she sees the most adorable sight the cafe has to offer.

Just a pure fluffy piece with some very minor cannon bending/alterations.  

**************************************** She was done. Finished. Over it. Every other variation of “fed up” that could be imagined. If she had to deal with ONE more giant slug lecturing her on the finer points of cabbage preparation, she was going to be arrested again. For murder, this time, not a simple misdemeanour.

She announced this in the most nonverbal way possible whilst retaining her job. She attempted to drive her flats through the floor with every short, choppy stride she took. Every breath was punctuated with a loud huff, her best imitation of a dragon, one might conclude. A nymph blanched, raising the menu to hide her face as the Waitress passed. A centaur’s hooves clicked nervously against the floor. Emeril was intelligent enough to swerve the guests she was seating out of the Waitress’ way. Nobody was foolish enough to risk her wrath on the best of days, and this was far from a good day for one Runa Amberthorn.

 The day had begun with accidentally waking an unusually moody Rong. That encounter started with outrage, ended with flame and singed pink hair. Then, there was the delay in pastries during the morning rush. Finally, it was that damned Slug. If his lecture wasn’t bad enough, he’d then tossed his soup AT her. Said soup was currently dripping from the tip of her nose. She was positive she’d be smelling the potent spices Roman had used for a week.

“Runa!” A female voice cut above the din of the cafe. Of course, there was always one person who didn’t get the hint. This time, that person was Nysa. An impossibly tall, lanky young woman who looked up (figuratively) to Runa as a big sister.

“Not now!” Runa barked, foot already resting on the first stair. All she needed to do was storm up them and she’d finally be away from the pesky customers. Away from talking Plants and walking Catfish. From prissy Lions with too much mane gel, and haughty Faeries.

“Its just that Amber didn’t want t-” Nysa’s voice faded off uncertainly. Runa’s glare had effectively silenced the other waitress. Without heed, the Charm Magician turned and continued up the stairs. Nysa’s hushed words and frantically waving hands were ignored. An irritation at the corner of Runa’s vision. Whatever it was could wait. Runa knew Amber, how the recently awoken Rong would take every opportunity to speak directly. The absence of a binding spell was staggering to them both. A rug pulled from beneath their feet. A missing sense. Despite the spell having been broken, their bodies refused to obey. They remained highly attuned to one another, enough that their hearts skipped a beat when entering one another’s presence. Consciously or not. Living side by side, it was a feeling Runa was familiar with. A skipped heartbeat stopped her dead in her tracks when she reached the top of the stairs. There was a thud. Nysa had bumped into Runa. She caught herself, letting her sentence trail off.

“-Be woken up...”

 Strewn across the aged wooden coffee table were several books. The wings of a dragon spanned the sprawled open pages. Red stood out against the whites of paper clouds. Blue flames sparked between teeth. Two white mugs, rims covered with dried coco trails, sat beside the books, both emptied. These were only briefly noted by Runa. Her attention was stolen by the sight on the couch.

 Amber was simply beautiful. All delicate curves and a notably feminine gentleness wherever Runa’s eyes wandered. A mass of golden brown spilled over the arm of the couch, golden brown waves cascading from above smooth, relaxed brows down to the middle of her back. A delicate nose perched on her face, with just enough hinting of a curve to give the finest touch of regality. It was a nose that was always active, with thin nostrils flaring at every new scent. Long lashes kissed the tops of Amber’s cherub cheeks, which invited the gentlest caress to trace along the curve to her refined jaw. Upon her petite lips lingered traces of a content smile; a smile so infectious it seemed to cause the air itself to pulse with a sense of peace with every breath.

One leg flopped off the couch, leaving her bare foot placed solidly on the ground. Amber’s lithe torso was sheltered by her uniform jacket, along with the slumbering form of a small Toddler. Amber had put her own arm through the wrong hole of the jacket, using it to form a net to protect the boy from falling off of her chest. Her other arm wrapped over the bundle, cradling the child close to her petite breasts. The Toddler, Cy, snored happily, burrowing his chubby face into the safety of Amber’s warm neck. Runa knew the appeal, after all, she had sought refuge there many times. Sought, and found. The scene almost reminded of a mother dragon, folding her wing over her egg in an effort to shield her babe from the harsh world.

 “She really is amazing with him.” Nysa’s soft whisper wasn’t enough to tear Runa’s gaze away.

“Yeah. She is.” Runa agreed in a sweet whisper. It was enough to cause Nysa’s attention to snap to Charm Magician. A soft smile was birthed upon Runa’s lips as she watched the softly snoring woman and toddler. She couldn’t fight how her cheeks began to ache, nor the intense burning through her veins. Patches of heat lingered everywhere, warming her until she felt she may actually glow like an ember before it erupted into flame.

“She really is a fighter for the underdog.” Nysa noted with an awed tone. She stepped closer to Runa, watching the amusement flare across the Charm Magician’s face.

 Runa remembered the scene when Cy had first arrived at Sweet Enchantments, and it was not a pretty one. An exhausted toddler had stumbled in wearing clothing several sizes too small, torn and cut to “fit”. His shirt not only restricted the movement of his arms but failed to cover his thin belly. Dirty wee toes poked out of holes in worn little shoes. His torn trousers dis nothing to conceal his bruised knees, which were crusty with dried blood. The poor boy dragged a bag used for disposal, which was entirely too large for him. In it were all his old belongings, no toys and clothes too small to be from even the same year. Nysa had broken. The young woman had sobbed violently, pleading for help from the adoption worker. The suited Lion had the decency to look apologetic, at least, but beyond that provided no help. No acceptable reason for Cy’s condition. All the Lion could state was that the family had chosen not to adopt him once his magic had shown. Dark magic. Exactly like his lowlife father. Amber had descended like a storm of holy wrath. In a few seconds, the child was in her reassuring arms, bag hanging from her hands and the darkest scowl anyone had ever seen plastered across her usually sweet face.

What followed was a tirade of outrage; words so cutting and criticising that the entire cafe had frozen in horror to listen. The Rong was utterly ruthless, decimating every procedure related to Cy with violent head bobs towards his condition when appropriate. She demanded explanations for why a blind eye was turned to the very evident neglect. She expressed how utterly inept the screening process of adopting families if such a discriminatory family could get their hands on a vulnerable child. How disgusting the utter lack of support was for the mother, who clearly had no better options for her baby. Next, she turned her focus on the Lion himself. How he could be so clueless as to the system that he couldn’t even offer her a direction to look. How he couldn’t even offer a moment of compassion to clean the dirty boy. It was believed that Lions rarely cowered, however Amber had the seven-foot creature shaking in his expensive shoes with the power of her rage. Amber had gone further, outright disapproving of the classist society that would punish an innocent boy for something beyond his control. Her conclusion: anybody who approved of this had better get the fuck out of the cafe before she lost it.

Nysa had stood there gaping. Emeril had actually taken shelter behind her hostess podium. Lucien and Roman had both watched from the entrance to the kitchens. Zane had walked into the room with the guests at the bar; his jaw dropped in utter awe. Liora herself had been halfway down the stairs, her calm demeanour concealing hesitation to intervene. Plates dropped from Runa’s hands, the smash the only sound in the cafe save the snarling breaths from Amber. Then, the break in tension everyone needed. Cy had begun to laugh.

 There had never been a discussion over whether Cy was staying.  Not with the Government, not with the Adoption Agency and certainly not with Liora. Silently, everyone involved had decided it best not to tempt fate when a maternal, hormonal human dragon was involved. Adapting to Cy had proven rather easy. He was Nysa’s son, but Amber was his protector, the dragon encircling the slumbering prince.  He adored Emeril and her younger sisters, who came by frequently on the weekends.   Liora and Lucien had earned the titles of Nana, much to Lucien’s abrasive disapproval. Apparently, his apron was a dress, and his objections entertained the toddler immensely.  Roman was often called Braba, which the Chef took graciously. Zain, remarkably, had almost cried when Cy had timidly called him daddy for the first time.   What perhaps had been the biggest shock, however, was how he addressed Runa.  The Charm Magician was never given a family title, nor a role in the boy’s life that could be noted.  Instead, she received something far more possessive than anyone had anticipated.   Runa, to Cy, had become ine.   It didn’t take a genius to figure out he intended the name to begin with an M.   Runa had simply shrugged it off, assuming he had picked it up from Dante, or from Amber… honestly, the Charm Magican couldn’t quite tell.

 “Trust me.” Runa began gently, her lips twitching into one of her rarest smiles as she watched the peaceful pair. Nysa had been privy to the later days. Days where Amber stepped up and helped the new staff learn whilst Runa was buried under legal documents. Nysa had watched Amber’s dedication to seeing Runa achieve college, to keep driving the Charm Magician forwards through everything. Yet, Nysa had never seen the early days. The days where, even timid as a mouse, Amber’s eyes blazed with determination. The girl who thrived off arguments with Runa, then burned the cafe with her redirected focus. That girl who would take no bullshit and give no excuse. The girl who had faced down giant wolves and driven herself to a magical blackout JUST for the slimmest of chances to save her friend. Nysa had seen that drive, but Runa would argue only she had experienced EVERY side of Amber’s stubbornness. Runa had started out as an obstacle, then a petulant child throwing a tantrum. She’d thrown her own will against Amber’s, locked horns, expected to win. When Amber flowed into another tactic, Runa had lost her footing. Even now, she continued to slip and slide deeper under the Rong’s spell. Runa wasn’t sure when she’d decided to enjoy the ride instead of fighting the force of nature, only that it had seemed like her idea. Thinking on it, that was probably Amber’s working. The gentle, disarming kindness getting under Runa’s plating. Rusting her defence from the inside out.

“You really have no idea.” She concluded. Well, she guessed she shouldn’t be so surprised. Afterall, she did have a knack for picking up dragons.

[writtenjewels]

So Far Away by Carole King

[Baba?] Salim blinked out of his thoughts and turned to focus on his son. Zain was watching him with a worried expression on his face. [Are you sure you'll be all right while I'm at school?]

[Yes, of course I will, son,] Salim assured him.

[Okay.] He didn't looked convinced, and honestly Salim couldn't blame him.

Salim hadn't been sleeping well ever since he came back from the Sumerian temple. His waking hours weren't much better: his thoughts kept drifting off to an American in a gray cap with a cowboy accent. That was where his thoughts were just moments ago. Did air support ever come to retrieve Jason and the other Americans?

[Baba,] Zain prodded him again. [Maybe you should go out tonight.]

[Go out?] Salim repeated in confusion.

[You've been in the house for days,] the boy reasoned. [Go out. Maybe make a new friend?] He raised both eyebrows in a clear signal. How embarrassing for his son to suggest such a thing, of all people.

[Zain, really, I don't think--]

[I just worry about you being by yourself,] Zain explained. [And besides, it's been five years since Maysa left.]

[I'll go out, if you're that worried,] Salim soothed him, [but I make no promises about any new 'friends'.]

Besides, he already had a new “friend” that he couldn't get off his mind. Of course, Jason wasn't exactly the same sort of “friend” Zain was alluding to, but he was also more than just a passing acquaintance. Salim didn't really know how to categorize his relationship with the marine. If he only knew how Jason was doing, it would ease a burden on his mind.

How was he going to contact the man? All he knew were names-- nothing about where Jason and the others were stationed or how long their tour was meant to last. Remembering Jason's comment about getting a drink when they were topside, Salim grasped at the flimsy straw and went bar-hopping. Salim only meant to look for the marine, instead sitting down and drinking. When he got home he was a little drunk but not any closer to knowing what happened to Jason.

Salim ended up falling asleep on the couch. At some point he heard a knock at the door. Groggy and hung over, Salim staggered to his feet. He had the irrational thought that it was Jason on the other side. Excited, Salim hurried to answer. He deflated when he saw it was just his neighbor.

[Please turn out your light,] he was scolded. [It's past midnight.]

Salim apologized and turned off his lights. Of course it wasn't Jason. How would the American even know where Salim lived? He really needed to get that man out of his mind. This ache in his chest, this pining for someone Salim knew for mere hours…

Allah. I think… I think I… Salim swallowed hard as he let himself think the words. I love him.

[musicofglassandwords]

COS snippet #15

here’s a bit of an example of how Kai and Lyssa’s relationship had progressed over the years.

hint hint, for new readers, kejan means my love, or my darling in Kai’s native language. and does Lyssa know that? nope

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Year One

Kai is 10; Lyssa is 9

“Vendaya tirka malor de zain,” Kai threw up his hands, eyes flashing at Lyssa, “What was that for?”

“All I did was breathe!” Lyssa folded her arms glaring at Kai, “So now I can’t breathe?”

“You put out my flame!”

“Then make another one!”

Xander groaned, covering his ears as the two of them filled the streets with their bickering, refusing to get involved.

Lyssa purposely skirted around the fountain in the middle of the street to avoid having to walk next to Kai. She knew that it was good to help Kai out since he was alone in an unfamiliar place, and he was a Lumen when it was quite literally the worse time to be one.

But that didn't stop her from thinking that Kai might quite possibly be the most annoying boy in the world.

He was really the worst.

Brattiness was ingrained in his system, apparently.

Lyssa sighed as the three of them wandered down to the shops. The hope that he would get better was getting smaller every day. 

Year Three

Kai is 13; Lyssa is 13

“Here, hold Roze,” Lyssa said, placing the pink-haired toddler into Kai’s arms.

“What am I supposed to do with her?” He demanded, holding the little girl like she would explode any minute.

“Keep her quiet please. Then I clean this place up while Xan’s working.” 

Lyssa put her hands on her hips as she scanned the small rrom they’d rented at the inn. Somehow Xander had already managed to throw his clothes everywhere and soot was streaked across the dingy bedsheets, courtesy of Kai.

“I don’t know how to hold babies!” He looked up at Lyssa nervously, “What if I drop her?”

“Well, she’s sleeping now,” Lyssa said, putting down the pile of clothes she was folding and moving to his side, “Just put your arm here, and support her here,” she explained, nudging his arms into position, “And if you’re worried about dropping her, then sit down on the bed,”

“Why can’t I just put her down?”

“ ‘Cause she’ll cry.”

Kai sighed, shifting his weight, and tilting his head at Lyssa.

“You know, Lyss, you’re pretty smart.”

“Of course I am,” she grinned at him, “Compared to you.”

“I take it back, you brat.”

“If you were smarter, you wouldn’t have eaten my sandwich yesterday!”

“I only ate half of it!”

“Oh, please, Kai Kai.”

Year Five

Kai is 15; Lyssa is 14

“Iken, can you open the door?” Lyssa called to him, rolling out the dough for a flatbread. It was nearly dusk time, and Xander would be home in a moment.

She didn’t expect the visitor to be anyone else than her brother. 

“It’s KAI KAI!” Iken screeched, dragging him in, and Lyssa looked up, her eyes lighting up with delight and surprise. Seconds later, Vera and Rozelle had marched into the doorway and tackled him onto the couch.

“Watch out, guys!” Kai laughed, picking Vera up and swinging her onto his shoulder as Roze and Iken clung to his legs. “Oh, no, I can’t walk anymore. Why are my legs so heavy?”

The kids giggled, as Lyssa rested her chin in her floury hands and smiled at the sight of the kids clambering all over him.

“Let me say hi to Lyssa, guys,” Kai pleaded, “OW!”

Iken had just scrambled up Kai’s back and yanked his head back by pullin on his hair.

“Iken!” Lyssa called shaking her head at him, “Go tell Ennis that Kai’s here.”

“Great, now we’ll have an enormous dragon raging through the buidling to come see me as well,” Kai grumbled as Iken raced off and the girls tumbled off of Kai, giggling. “I’m too popular for my own good.”

“As if,” Lyssa laughed, and Kai came over, holding out a small bunch of flowers.

“Kejan, I promise I didn’t steal these,” he said, pulling out a packet of flower seeds from his pocket.

“Thank you, Kai!” she said in delight, taking the flowers, and looking at the seeds. Lyssa loved flowers, but there was no room to grow them in the garden where she planted the medicinal herbs she sold in the night market. “Thank you so much!”

She hugged him quickly, and he ran a hand through his hair, his expression unreadable.

“You got flour on me,” he said after a bit of a pause.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, raising her eyebrows at him, “How long are you staying?”

“A while, if you’ll let me.” He reached over and sprinkled flour in her hair.

She shook her head at him, blowing a handful of flour onto his tunic. “We’ll always let you stay Kai. You belong with us.”

Year Seven

Kai is 17; Lyssa is 16

Kai flopped down on the field of the royal gardens, still smelling of smoke from his training.

“Where are the others?” he asked without opening his eyes. Lyssa turned her head towards him, her head aching from the hours she’d spent in the healing center, researching medicine.

“Xan’s working with Jay, and the others are spending time with the groomsmen in the stables.”

Her heart twinged as she looked at Kai; he looked absolutely exhausted. Jay was forcing him to work far too hard, pushing him to the breaking point. She rolled onto her stomach and propper her head up on her ahnds.

“You need to rest.”

“I wish,” he opened his eyes and under the sunlight they gleamed brilliant silver, “The soldier’s life isn’t for me, kejan.”

“What kind of life do you want, Kai?”

“Something where we’re all safe. That’s all I need. What do you want, Lyss”

“I want a place where we can live as normal teenagers. And the kids won’t be hungry and can live, relaly live” she poked him, and he smirked at her, “And I want you to stay with me.”

Because so often, Kai would leave and they would all woder when they would see him again.

Too many times had she dreamed of his demise alone.

She needed to have him safe by her side.

“Of course, kejan,” he winked at her, “I’ll stay with you. You know I always need you.”

Her laughter was brighter than the sunlight. 

Year Eight

Kai is 18; Lyssa is 18

“I love you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t, I’m so sorry.”

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Tagging:@joyful-soul-collector @thescholarsninja @stuffaboutwriting @panic-at-my-sexuality @nomadian-novelist @waterfallofinkandpages

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the tag list!

[zcinx]

( dominic sherwood, unknown, he/him )  welcome to  san francisco, ZAIN.  rumor has it they are a REAPER, but only they could tell you the truth! when i close my eyes, i think of them and imagine MIXED COCKTAILS, A COMPANY MAN TOEING A PICKET LINE, AND THE SOUND EXISTENTIAL DREAD MAKES.

          PREVIOUSLY ON SEASON ONE OF ASPHYXIA

i’m  going  to  keep  this  really  brief  and  just  touch  on  a  couple  of  major  things  that  happened ‘ at  the  end ’ of  the  season  as  a  prelude.

zain’s  feelings  for  alexia  changed  from  platonic  to  romantic.  it  was  the  first  time  he  ever  experienced  romantic  feelings  for  someone  and  at  first  he  was  very  confused.  he  was  human  when  they  first  kissed,  a  side-effect  from  one  of  the  portals  that  transported  him  to  mystic  falls.  it  was  all  a  dream,  mind  you,  but  it  felt  very  real.  in  the  end  it  was  real  and  they,  sort  of,  fell  into  a  relationship.  they’ve  never  had  the  conversation  about  whether  or  not  they’re  exclusive,  or  what  this  even  is,  but  he’s  a  bajillion  years  old  so  i  don’t  think  he’s  really  losing  that  much  sleep  over  it.  they’re  happy  and  that’s  what  matters. 

since  he  was  trapped  in  the  city  for  so  long,  unable  to  do  his  job  properly,  he  looked  at  it  as  an  extended  vacation.  he  learned  how  to  mix  his  drinks,  which  he  loves,  and  while  he’s  terrible  at  it  there  is  a  bar  in  town  that  lets  him  mix  on  slow  nights.  he  doesn’t  get  paid  anything,  just  in  experience,  but  the  customers  love  him  (  or  his  face,  it’s  hard  to  say  )  so  they  keep  him  around.  

he  lives  in  the  suburbs  in  a  quiet  little  cul  de  sac.  one  of  his  neighbors  is  older,  always  yelling  at  him  and  giving  him  a  hard  time,  and  he  spends  45%  of  his  time  being  sickeningly  sweet  to  her  just  to  make  her  mad.  he’s  not  sure  why  she  hates  him  but  hey,  maybe  she’s  right.  he  is  kind  of  annoying.  his  house  looks  like  its  straight  out  of  the  1930s  and  he  hasn’t  done  anything  to  modernize  it.  in  all  honesty,  he  really  likes  it.   the  entrance  to  the  winchester’s  bunker  is  also  in  his  backyard,  thanks  jack,  so  that’s  going  to  be  an  experience.

while  he’s  usually  the  kind  of  person  who  takes  his  job  very  seriously,  plays  by  the  rules,  but  lately  he’s  wondered  about  the  purpose  behind  it.  with  the  dead  not  staying  dead  and  so  many  supernatural  loopholes,  what  he  thought  made  sense  suddenly  doesn’t  make  sense  anymore.   it’s  his  job  to  do  as  he’s  told,  reap  whoever  death  tells  him  to,  but  when  you  have  loopholes  walking  around  all  around  you  it  makes  things  feel  a  bit  pointless.  he’s  basically  having  a  life  crisis.  

CONNECTIONS

- neighbors? he lives in a cute little house in a suburb. maybe even a roommate if they don’t mind living in a house that looks like it’s straight out of the 1930s. (1/3 taken by the winchesters) - regulars at the bar he sometimes works at? his drinks were terrible to begin with so maybe it’s something they bonded over and gave him tips on. now he’s actually pretty good so maybe he named one after them?? - he’s a reaper so people he’s reaped could be fun. - immortals or supernaturals who he showed up to reap only to be like GDI NOT AGAIN. bonus points if it’s happened like 45 times. - a murderer whose crimes he keeps showing up to only to be exhausted and beg them to stop and give him a break. (taken by aster)

[tellywoodtrash]

ebss 26.08.19 lb

running a low grade fever and fairly sure watching this will just make me feel worse, but here goes nothing. if it kills me, it kills me. at least i die seeing shrenu’s face.

———————————————————————

truly the mood today.🔪🔪🔪

what the fuck even are these fucking dumbass vows. you cannot force her to do these things, dil se. and if she doesn't, what, you'll hold her mother hostage forever? like, how is this even feasible?

god i hope she acts her way through this, like she did as janhvi, and takes her mom and ends up murdering them all in the last ep.

what kinda bs is this sarvagunn sampanna patni shit in this scenario? you're not a sarvagunn sampanna pati, then how can she be it to you?

rani, could you walk slower, for a person in a rage who wants to stop something that's time sensitive?

i am mummy.

i am the chopras.

i am pooja.

rani you toh........ are a loser.

pooja “mittal”. ugh. i want to set him on fiiiiiiiiiiire.

this show NEEDS to end with pooja poisoning all these ppls’ chais. there is literally no other way.

the fuck kinda aashirwaad is this amma, khush rehna? with these monsters? never. give her the will to kill them all in their sleep!

isko toh chodo.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS, SHE LIVES. THE FIGHTING SPIRIT LIVES. (we all know it gonna die when she sees him take care of her maaaaaaaa and cure her and blah blah, BUT FOR NOW IT LIVESSSSS!!!!!!)

oh ew, they're taking the room that she shared with dhruv itself? that's kinda ickyyyyyyyyyyy. (lol @ me, they're sharing wife itself, room kis khet ki mooli hai.)

"chalo, kabir mittal. suhaag raat manaate hain."

god, normally i'd get so excited for these words to be said for these two actors.... but............ sigh.

lol little blue pills. kahin unintended effect na ho jaaye sis.

she trusted ranjeet of all ppl to bring her the correct pills. lo, ho gaya plan successful.

great. just great. she dropped two pills into her glass as well.

fuck this fucker. bada aaya choti choti baaton pe dhamkaane waala. god where's that knife of rani's when we need it???

pft.

haan isko manipulate karna toh easy hai, but you literally also played yourself. idiot girl.

in a different showwwwwwww........ these beautiful faces, this sexual tension...... ouff. dillll jalllll raha hai meraaaaaaaaaa. (or that could just be the fever. unclear at this point.)

"i hope jab tak main baahar jaaoon, woh kabir ludak gaya ho."

yeah, me too. and i mean in the sense of a permanent ludaknaaa. an RIP waala ludaknaa.

great.

just great.

pooja sharma carrying on the proud tradition of her foremother gauri kumari sharma, being an absolute fucking hoot when intoxicated.

zain's nashe waala acting isn't as entertaining. but shrenu, god i love her playing talli. someone give her the role of a highly functioning alcoholic in the next show.

IN. 👏🏽 A. 👏🏽 DIFFERENT. 👏🏽 FUCKING. 👏🏽 SHOW. 👏🏽 I WOULD BE DYING OVER THIS CUTE. 😫😫😫

oh god naach gaana. please god, mujh bimaar pe aisa atyachaar mat karo.

hope he's dying.

———————————————————————

god you'd think at least the last few weeks they'd give us some good shit instead of whatever this garbage is. now i'll have to watch a 2 week long recap of whatever happened in the first weeks of the show? ughhhhhhhhhhh.

[zainaugstine]

                    ZAIN had been surprised that his father was in town and called him to come over for dinner with the boys. While he was a loving father, there was some coldness between the pair. He saw the way he interacted with his sons, and it was just different between them. Like his father, he spoiled his children though both of them seemed to lack the burning desire to consume everything that was in their path. Neither men spoke about it, but there was this unspoken knowledge that they both blamed ZAIN for his mother’s death. That was why his father spent most of his time out of the country, filming his films and producing them where he wanted. He owned the production company, all of the stocks and the master rights to every single film he produced and directed. The distance was intentional and ZAIN had always knew it. That’s why he was always at his uncle’s, they both understood he had committed his first murder while drawing his first breath of air. 

                    Standing next to his father, ZAIN watched the boys with him. JAHAN was chasing ZION as fast as his little chubby legs would take him. Even as he fell, he would get back up and continue chasing him. ZION liked to say he wasn’t any fun but he seemed to be enjoying himself, which made the younger AUGUSTINE chuckle as he watched them. Though there was distance between them, he did love his father and he knew he loved him and he shared certain details with him. Though he knew his father knew everything, their love language was having private investigators trailing each other. It’s how ZAIN learned about GINA, QASIM’S young white girl that was sleeping with him in hopes of getting his money. ZAIN sent him the file he had gathered on her, not surprised when his father sent him one concerning details about some business he had going on with THE PINES, along with a few pictures of various women he had in his bedroom at the time. His father had more sense than him and kept his curtains drew at all times. “You know me and SAFIYA are trying for another one?” He would be surprised if he didn’t. He saw the smile that seemed to be reserved for his grandchildren, full of love and devoid of any pain, light up his face.

                   “I’m aware. It’ll be nice to have another little one running around here. Though, I do have to say, planning a child but not being with the mother...is this some millennial thing I don’t understand? Your mother drove me wild, but I did love her and being married to her.” It was rare for QASIM to mention his mother. It always made ZAIN feel a sting of guilt and this time was no different. He knew that ZAKIYAH was the only love of his father’s life. “I assumed you two have been doing this dance long enough that planning a child would come after some kind of commitment. Are you still sleeping with other women?” 

                  “No, Dad, it’s not a millennial thing, people your age had whole families and didn’t get married except in the common law.”

                  “But are we commoners?”

                  “We’re AUGUSTINES.”

                  “Then my point remains.”

                   ZAIN rolled his eyes, earning an eyebrow lift as his father waited for him to answer his other inquiries. “There is some commitment, things are good right now. No, I’m not sleeping with anyone else. That’s something.”

                  “A ring is more, it’s not half a foot in while the other is still out” QASIM said, causing ZAIN to fold his arms over his chest. Before he said something smart, his father sighed. His hand came up to rest on his son’s shoulder. “Son, I’m tired. I’m not young anymore.” His father was about to be 65, and had always had the weight of the family on his shoulders since he was 18. His younger brothers were not as mature as he was and he had taken over when his father died when he was young. His grandmother died two weeks later of a broken heart. LOVE was insanely important and stressed, but nothing more than absolute LOYALTY. Despite any underlying resentments and tensions, ZAIN did look to his father for advice and valued his opinion over anyone else’s in the family. “It’s time you became the AUGUSTINE the family needs. You had almost ten extra years to get the playboy ways out of your system.” ZAIN was still quiet, he was better at processing when he was silent. Right now, he was wondering what scheme QASIM was up to. 

                To do that, it was best to give him the rope he needed to hang himself. “I’m retiring, going to spend the rest of my days spoiling my grandchildren, sleeping with women that are one third of my age and enjoying my last days on earth without being the responsible one. I’ve earned that.” They were still watching the boys and ZAIN still was refusing to speak, though his face said more than he could. He was surprised by the news of retirement, especially considering QASIM had just signed a major teen movie franchise and was slated to direct all 4 movies. He didn’t think this retirement was more than a stunt of sorts, but for what? “I’m leaving everything to you. The production company, the family industry, all the movie rights and master copies...everything that the AUGUSTINES own is yours ZAIN.” There was a catch, had to be. 

                Suddenly he was resentful that he was here with his children. His father squeezed his shoulder and they moved towards his outdoor bar. They took the same drink, cognac on the rocks and ZAIN fixed two of them, handing one to his father. “So it’s all mine, just like that? I hate when we beat around the bush. What do you need or want, Dad?”

                “That attitude won’t win you the friends you need son. You have to work on that. Do you think I get the luxury of walking around with a chip on my shoulder the way you do? We both know you’re able to turn on the charm for pussy, I need you to learn how to translate it to building connections. The ones that come with this power are unstable, you won’t be able to pay them off with a few hundred thousand like you do everyone else. Money is powerful, but POWER is POWER and the table you’ll sit at as the HEAD of the AUGUSTINES? All they will want is your POWER. You might be able to kill them, but there’s nothing to stop the next person from coming for your throat. Eventually, you won’t be able to kill all your enemies.” His words reminded him about the talk he had with ZION about being tough. There was a lesson here in his words. He felt his dark eyes boring into his freckled complexion and the younger man nodded, letting him know he was hearing him. 

               “The second thing I need son, is you married. The image you paint is everything. Angels get away with murder because they look angelic. You look like Satan in the media. That won’t help your seat at the table, but a family man, a lawyer doing good for the people of ANGELUS, loving his adoring wife and raising a family while giving considerably to charities? That is an image people can rally behind, can root for and will fight to the death to defend, no matter who you have killed.” QASIM let the words hang between them, just as JAHAN caught his brother who had fallen in the grass and was laughing wildly as he was tackled. 

               “My choice is, naturally, SAFIYA, especially because of the unnecessary explaining of how you got a 16 year old pregnant to anyone else. I’ll accept RUBI but I do have 10 candidates in mind, various princesses who will accept both children, though a few want the baby mommas to disappear completely. You have a week to decide for yourself, otherwise I’ll organize a ball and invite them all to see who performs the best in front of the family.” ZAIN threw back his drink, pouring another one as the words washed over him. He was about to walk over to his sons, begin to rough house with them both as he finished his second double shot. As he began to move from his father’s embrace, QASIM squeezed his shoulder. 

               “I have one last...significantly important need from you. This envelope contains a problem you need to get rid of. Both of us know you’ve already spilled blood, so this should be no trouble, son and certainly have no resistance to hurting those of AUREUM. This might be more sport than it is  honoring an old man’s request for you.” QASIM was a glorious bastard but ZAIN had respect for him and it. His father like to throw jabs about him spilling blood but how many times had it been for QASIM. He opened the file, a smirk on his face at the file. 

               “SOLIS would be gleeful to find out about this. Like uncle, like nephew in this case. Though, I’m surprised you allowed her two whole pregnancies and children before deciding to get rid of your problem. Looks like I’m not the only one charming pussy, Dad. I’ll get rid of your problem, you send the paperwork over to me to sign over the AUGUSTINE empire. Now, the burgers need to be flipped and I have two sons who I have to go flip over.” ZAIN handed him the file, he didn’t care about the details, he had the name and like other siblings who popped up over the years, he would be getting rid of them. After all, there was only room for him in his father’s life.