#I also just really need Cole to see his dad again

[penofwildfire]

I need Lou to meet Bonzle. She's a natural performer he'd love her.

[hugshughes]

Family Dinner C. Loveland

Colston Loveland x fem!Minter!reader

synopsis - The first time Colston meets your family, as your boyfriend.

wc - 3k

contains - unedited for the most part! WAIT. I didn't specify this in the fic but ITS THE READER'S APARTMENT COLSTON'S JUST STAYING OVER!! i was not giving them a shared apartment after dating for three months. set a couple months in the future (not specificccc just needed cause these two get together right after the cfp playoffs so it's like april), cursinggg, kissinggggg, touchingggg, makin outttt, my usuals. GUYS SHE HAD A DORM IN THE FIRST PART NOW SHE HAS AN APARTMENT OKAY????? ITS GONNA BE OKAY. hmmm um i describe the outfit???? like i always do and it's usually not a problem(?) soooo, um i literally think that's it. is minter!daughter!reader a warning?

an - SHESSSSS BAAAAAAACK!!!!!!! could NOT resist and i had the cutestttttttttt requests coming in sooooooo how could i not. this was the cutest thing to write.

-

You groaned as your phone sounded, your scheduled alarm had gone off. Scheduled for 5:30, so when you'd know to start getting ready for dinner at your parents.

Usually it wouldn't really matter, but since tonight was the first time you'd taken Colston home, you wanted to look a little nicer than normal. You shut your alarm off quickly, before turning to look at the boy sleeping next to you.

You crept your hand under his sweatshirt, your palm flat against his warm back as you rubbed back and forth, whispering his name gently.

"Colston, baby, we gotta get ready to go, Lovey."

His eyes squeezed tightly before fluttering open, his long and full lashes leaving a forever pang of jealousy on your heart. He smiled that perfect smile, and you gave one right back to him. He shuffled just a little, moving onto his side before he pulled you closer to him, wrapping his long, strong arms around you.

"Hi baby."

Your heart tripled in size. He sounded sleepy and it was the cutest yet hottest thing you'd ever heard. You let him snuggle into you, laying back on his stomach with his head now on your chest. You raked your nails through his hair, before lightly scratching the back of his neck. The act almost put him right back to sleep, but you gave his hair a gentle tug before it could, causing Colston to look up at you with attitude.

"You gotta get up, at least I gotta get up."

He just ignored you, kissing the concern off your face. His hands layed under your (his) shirt as he now leaned over you. He kissed you long and hard as your hands grasped at his jaw, then neck, then chest, then hair. You pulled him back by your grip in his hair, once again tugging it.

"Y'cant kiss me outta this, Loveland."

"Are you sure?"'

Then he kissed you again, and you almost gave into him as he kissed you so good that your mind just blanked. Oh right, dinner, your family, 7pm. You could tell Colston was stalling partially because he just wanted to kiss, but also partially because he was nervous. Colston didn't like being nervous, but how could he not be? It was his first time seeing your parents in the context of 'girlfriend's mother and father' instead of Coach and Mrs. Coach.

You pulled away after indulging in him just a tad.

"Cole, they already love you, you know that, I know that. My dad might be a bit weird but he's just being a dad. My mom is obsessed with you and me, so she shouldn't cause any problems. And as for the three monsters under the staircase-"

"My top three Minter siblings."

You gasped, before you pushed his face away from yours as a smirk encapsulated it. You let his head lay on your chest before continuing.

"Rude. But anyway, it's been known that they love you. They're probably our biggest supporters. What's our couple name? My sister was wondering."

Colston shook his head, laughing at your baby sister's actions. The kids did love him, they had loved him for way longer than when you began dating. Colston sighed, it would be fine. He started kissing your neck, now just because he wanted to kiss you.

"You cannot go giving me marks right before we see my parents, you psycho."

You could feel him smile into your neck, and you almost told him to do whatever he wanted to you. He was so hot, and he knew how it affected you. For the third time, you ran your fingers through his brown hair and tugged it, this time to get his face away from your neck. He gave you an innocent look, causing you to roll your eyes heavily.

You rolled out from under him, getting off your bed with a heavy heart. If you could, you would jump right back in bed for a makeout session, but you knew it was probably for the better.

"Stop looking at me like that, or I'll get back in bed with you."

"You say that like I don't want it more than anything."

You shook your head as you trudged into the bathroom to do your hair. Your phone played music that floated into your bedroom as hot tools and brushes ran through your hair. Colston came into your bathroom, wordlessly wrapping his arms around your hips, his head laying on your shoulder. Your heart melted as you heard him start humming along with Funeral by Phoebe Bridgers. You were rubbing off on him.

You did your makeup with one hand as the other rested on top of Colston's. When you were finished you turned around in Colston's arms, standing there, hugging him for just a little bit while the music played.

Soon enough, you left the bathroom, Colston following behind you. If was 6:15, and you had to leave at about 6:40, and you both needed to change clothes. You put on some jeans and a white sweater, standing infront of your mirror to adjust the collar. You watched Colston through the mirror, he slipped a crewneck on, tugging his chain out from under it. He sat on your bed to put his sneakers on, and when he looked up for just a second he caught your eyes in the mirror. He smiled at you, looking back down to tie his shoe.

"You look that good, and you're saying I can't leave marks?"

You shook your head, giggling as you walked over to him, standing between his spread legs.

"I can play nice, leave no trace behind."

Your knees almost buckled. He was so subtly hot. You shook your head with wide eyes. You leaned down and placed a completely innocent kiss on his lips, pulling away from him before he could get too into it. His hands ran up and down the sides of your thighs, gripping every now and then.

You took a step back, letting him stand up. It was time to go. You turned around to grab your shoes and Colston's palm met the fat of your ass. You turned back to him, a faux offended look on your face. He smiled, shrugging at you, fuck he was hot.

You put your shoes on, grabbing your phone and keychain as Colston slipped his keys, wallet, and phone into his pockets. Colston opened the door, letting you out first and closing it behind him. You exited your apartment complex, finding Colston's car quickly. You put the directions to your parents house onto the screen of the car as Colston's hand found its place on your left thigh.

The drive was silent other than the music, and the occasional robotic noise telling Colston where to turn. You instinctively pulled up his sleeve to trace over his tattoo, one of your favorite things to pass time with.

Colston pulled into the driveway of your parent's home at 6:57, right on schedule. You could tell he was nervous again, his leg bouncing as he turned the car off. You laced your fingers with his, calling his name to get him to look at you.

"Loveland, everything's gonna go perfect. You know them, baby. They know you, which is even better. You don't understand how happy my whole family was when I told them you'd asked me to be your girlfriend. You probably don't even understand how happy I was."

You brought his hand up to your face, kissing his wrist, rubbing your thumb back and forth.

"Serious?"

"One hundred percent."

He nodded, a smile lightly gracing his face.

"There he is."

You two exited the car, walking up your driveway to the front porch. You opened the door, knowing it would be unlocked and the only two people with authority to open the front door were likely busy.

"Guys? We're here!"

Your voice echoed through the house, the three children sitting on the couch bolting up towards the foyer. Your two youngest siblings jumped into Colston's arms while the oldest of the little ones, your first brother hugged you tightly. He was always your little best friend, since he came first among the littles. The other two eventually hugged you, before you all walked through the front of the house to the kitchen, where your mom and dad were handling dinner.

"Hey you two! How are y'all doing?"

Your mom smiled brightly, looking up from where she was pouring waters. You smiled, leaning against the island while you let her know the latest details of your life. Your dad had yet to speak, you knew he was already a bit awkward around people that weren't your immediate family, and Colston being one of his players probably made it worse.

"Dad, speak. You two spend more time together than I do with either of you."

Finally, you got your dad and Colston talking, and everything else fell into place.

You and Colston helped set the table, you subtly bumping hips with him to silently applaud his performance thus far. While you ate, you occasionally rubbed Colston's thigh, just to keep him comfortable and calm.

Your dad thankfully wasn't trying to do the whole, 'What are your intentions with my daughter?' conversation, but you couldn't confidently confirm or deny that he hadn't already tried that at workouts in the past months.

After dinner you watched as Colston helped your mom and dad clean up, your siblings dragging you to the living room to see one of their new things. You were sat on the carpet while you played with your siblings, patting the spot on the couch behind you when Colston came into the living room. You leaned your head on the inside of his thigh as you now sat between his spread legs.

Your parents soon came in too and you watched a hockey game as you talked to them. They asked about school, football, friends, everything. Colston played with your hair while he discussed his current life with your parents, the conversation becoming more and more fluent as time went on.

You moved onto the couch next to Colston when your ass started to feel the hardwood under the rug more and more. You curled into his side, his arm wrapping appropriately around your shoulders.

After some time, your siblings demanded Colston's presence in their playroom. You followed him upstairs, holding his hand for just a second before he was whisked away to the play kitchen.

You stood at the door, leaning against the frame as you stared at the group. You swore you fell more in love with him as you watched him shamelessly wearing a dress up cowboy hat given to him by your 6 year old sister, pretending to eat fake food served by your 4 year old brother, while he talked about video games with your 8 year old brother. He would be such a good dad, holy fuck you were thinking about making him a dad.

"Oh, honey, he's in deep."

You jumped slightly, turning and seeing your mom behind you. She'd just seen the amount of love in your eyes as you watched your boyfriend play with your siblings.

"It seems like you are too."

You blushed, looking away from her. She was right, of course. The two of you were both so heavily infatuated with the each other.

"He's just so.. I think I love him."

Your eyes widened when you realized what you'd said, your mom's smile widening when she heard it. Her baby was in love, with the perfect guy. You really did love him, you'd always known it, but it was the first time you were saying it. You loved him. Soon, it was past 9pm and your mother was telling your siblings it was bedtime. You and Colston said goodnight to each other your siblings, Colston giving in to their requests and ready a book for the younger two.

When the kids went to bed, you told your parents it was probably best for you two to head out as well. You said bye to them, and you giggled as you watched Colston and your dad bro hug.

When you got back in the car, you immediately jumped to hug Colston over the center console.

"I think you're just perfect, Cole. I swear, everything you do is like perfect."

You pulled away and held his face in your hands, looking into his dark eyes.

"I love you."

Colston's eyes widened, his heart erupting when he heard the three words. You two had never said that before. Colston had wanted to for a while now, but was nervous.

"I love you."

You smiled and kissed him sweetly, pulling away with butterflies swarming your stomach. You laced your fingers with him, resting them on your thigh as you began the drive back to your apartment.

You parked and quickly ran in to escape the evening chill in Ann Arbor. You got ready for bed together when you were back in your apartment. Colston's hand rested on your hip as you both brushed your teeth. Your eyes were not so subtly trained on his toned stomach in the mirror. He had opted for sweatpants and no shirt as pajamas, while you had comfy shorts and one of his tshirts on. You raised your sight line and made eye contact with Colston, who raised his eyebrows at you, questioning your staring. Your face warmed as you bent down to wash your mouth out.

Soon enough you were getting into bed with Colston, your head on his chest as you listened to his heartbeat. His hands rested on your bare back underneath your shirt.

"You made tonight so perfect, Cole. It means a lot to me, how sweet you are to my family."

You tilted your head up to look at him, seeing a smile fight its way to his face. He really was so gorgeous, the moonlight shining through your blinds bringing light to his face.

"Well, your family happens to be really nice, baby. I think your siblings would've kept me there forever."

You giggled, nodding against his chest. You couldn't help yourself as you shuffled upward, holding his jaw as you kissed him. Colston definitely didn't mine. His hands sliding to the curve of your ass when you got onto your knees, now hovering over him. Colston deepened and heated up the kiss, a grin adorning his face when he heard the smallest sound leave your mouth.

The two of you continued making out, hands wandering and minds racing. Colston's giggle broke the kiss as he couldn't help but react to a gasp you let out. You felt warmth spread from your chest to your face, laying your head in the crook of Colston's neck. He poked at your sides, laughing again as he called your name.

"C'mon, coach, don't be embarrassed. Don't hide from me, baby. You love me, 'member?"

You turned your head, shuffling to his chest to look at him. He was smiling down at you, you loved him.

"Don't abuse your power, Loveland."

His smile widened, pulling you closer.

"You know you're the first guy my dad's ever actually trusted with me?"

You snuggled into his shoulder, yawning. You closed your eyes, you became so comfortable with him rather quickly. You two just knew each other in a way no one else did. You'd known each other for over a year before you ever started dating, but you never really tried to be super close.

Colston was shocked at the admission, he was sure your dad didn't like him that much.

"Y'serious?"

"Mhm. My dad knows that you really care about me, he told me earlier he was glad he could tell you make me happy. He's never ever been even slightly fond of other guys I've had him meet."

Colston was internally celebrating. He'd won your dad over, though he would've had no idea had you not told him. Jesse Minter liked very few people that weren't his family, and sometimes, just sometimes, he liked the people that made his family happy. And he could see that Colston made you happy, very happy.

"I make you happy?"

Colston said it as a joke, stretching the last word for a few seconds longer than normal.

"For some reason, you do."

Colston pinched at your hip, giving your ass a squeeze before leaving his hand to rest there. You snuggled closer into each other, eyes gently closing. Light kisses left on foreheads and necks, hands rubbing back and forth, up and down, soothing. You two whispered three words to each other seconds before you were both asleep, warmth filling your stomachs. Both you and Colston had finally found the person for you, and knew that you were in it for the long haul.

[thecatundertheladder]

how about fsm's and lloyds first meeting in the fsm lives au?

First of all thank you so much for asking!!! I had a lot of fun writing this even if took ages. Right so I haven't completely figured out when the ninja actually meet Fsm, but I'll get to that later. I do have a rough timeline so probably in between seasons five and six (Possession will obviously get retconned a lot). Garmadon is alive btw.

Lloyd had never really made the connection between his grandfather and the First Spinjitzu Master. Like sure he knew it logically, but there was a real difference between 'my grandfather is the First Spinjitzu Master' and 'the First Spinjitzu Master is my grandfather'. And besides, the guy was dead, as far as he could tell, so it didn't really matter other than 'hey I inherited cool powers and also his arch nemesis'. Honestly, the only things Lloyd knew about his grandfather were that he invented spinjitzu, used the golden weapons to create Ninjago, fought the Overlord, and he had two kids, who happened to be Lloyd's dad and uncle.

So naturally it was quite a shock when one day at breakfast Wu announced that his father was coming to visit in a few days.

What resulted from that statement was a rather long and, uh, productive (not really) conversation (a very loud debate).

Cole: What?! But he’s supposed to be dead! Kai: No no one of my village elders said he just left this realm and would return when we need him most. Morro: Nah grandpa just does whatever he likes. Though he was in another realm last time I checked, at least that's right. Jay: What the fuck does that even mean?!

That ,of course, sparked a whole other debate about why Morro knew that. It got sorted out in the end, eventually, after a few thrown noodle bowls.

But while the others seemed to calm down after that, Lloyd steadily got more anxious. Because this was his grandfather, the man who had created Ninjago itself, and fought the Overlord the first time. Yes, Lloyd had done that as well, but what if he didn’t met his grandfather's expectations? What if he was disappointed in him?

Morro, on the other hand, was pretty excited to see his grandpa again; it had been two years, and despite Morro taking advantage of Fsm's omniscience to inform him about various coming and goings, he hadn’t had an actual conversation, and he had a lot of things to show him as well. But Lloyd had seemed pretty anxious since Wu’s announcement, so, like any good older cousin, Morro cornered him on the way to breakfast.

Morro: What’s up with you? You’ve been anxious ever since dad told us grandpa was coming here. Lloyd, mumbling: What if I don't live up to his expectations? Morro: Huh? Lloyd, louder: What if he's disapointed in me? Morro: As someone who's actually meet him, his expectations are don't die, and don't kill innocent people. Pretty low expectations if you ask me. You'll be fine.

This makes Lloyd feel a bit better, but he's still anxious, and he refuses to talk to anyone else about it because, to him at least, it seems a bit dumb to be anxious about meeting his grandfather when no else is (they are, Lloyd just hasn't noticed).

Anyway fast forward to The Day of The Arrival. Lloyd gets up earlier than usual in order to mentally prepare himself for meeting God. And, since he's expecting to have a few hours before the First Spinjitzu Master arrives, he doesn't really bother to make himself presentable before making his way to the kitchen.

This was a mistake.

Because when lloyd enters the kitchen there's man(?) sitting at the table wearing a black kimono with gold detailing. And Lloyd's first though is 'fuck, its the First Spinjitzu Master' before he realises that the man (? seriously why is it so hard to tell) is in his late thirties at most. So Lloyd's next thought is 'why is this random person in my kitchen?'

Lloyd, suspicious: Who are you and why are you here? Fsm, smiling: I'm your grandfather, and I'm your grandfather. Lloyd: You can't be my grandfather! You're like thirty! Fsm: I am not thirty, I'm a shapeshifter. Fsm, now vaguely concerned: You didn’t know that? Why didn’t you know that?

So, luckily, Fsm, by being themself, manages to almost completely allay Lloyd’s anxiety by getting up, telling Lloyd to follow him, and going to find both his children so they can smack them on the head because come on you two this is Morro all over again (Fsm can't really talk though, his godly domain should really be 'forgetting to tell people important information'). Because he can understand Morro not knowing that Fsm - and subsequently their descendants - isn’t human, but Lloyd is actually related!

Lloyd, meanwhile, is shocked. God, his grandfather, is in his house, looking all of thirty, and stalking through the monastery all while grumbling under his breath about his kids not telling Lloyd something, all while Lloyd trails behind him like a lost fawn.

It’s then Lloyd remembers his pyjamas and bed hair, and he just, internally cringes. Like, c'mon, this is the First Spinjitzu Master, and here he is looking like he just got out of bed (that he actually did just get out of bed is completely pointless in Lloyd’s mind). But something about this thought process must have shown in his face and body language (never mind that Lloyd is behind his grandfather), because suddenly the First Spinjitzu Master (man Lloyd really has to get his name) is turning around, stopping Lloyd in his tracks.

Fsm: Stop that. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I am 25,000 years old, and I have raised two children, I have seen a lot worse than bed hair.

That makes Lloyd blush, but his grandfather is already on the move again, seeking out his children.

Of course, once Fsm does find their children, Lloyd has the pleasure of finding out that his grandfather his half oni, half dragon (“dragoni”, his father says, “easier on the tongue”).

But once Lloyd processes that he’s not fully human (and, like in the show, he’s pretty calm about because it makes a lot of sense when he actually thinks about) he starts to bond with his grandpa and damn the First Spinjitzu Master is not anything like he expected him to be, but honestly, Lloyd is actually kinda relieved about that. He’s a lot more approachable than Lloyd expected, and it seems he’s where Wu and Garmadon got the more, um, eccentric sides of their personalities. Lloyd is still a bit nervous around him, but that slowly goes away over the few weeks that Fsm is staying for.

Throughout those weeks, Lloyd kinda starts to get comfortable around Fsm. Lloyd shows Fsm a bunch of video games (I've decided this includes Minecraft because, listen, Fsm would be great at Minecraft (specifically creative mode) and you can't tell me otherwise), as well as board games, which leads to the interesting revelation that Mystake (Mystake?! Who runs the tea shop?!) banned Fsm from playing uno a few months after it come out because he tackled someone after he had to pick up 16 cards.

Hope you enjoyed!

But yeah I’ll probably do a separate post for the family bonding.

Also I feel like I need to give fsm a proper name at this point. I’ve been calling them imaragami (ih-ma-rah-gar-mi) since I started thing this whole idea up but tbh it’s just a bunch of random syllables put together (I’m kinda attached to it at this point tho). But anyway what do you think?

[speedycoffeedelight]

An Animalistic Disaster

Masterlist

A.n : So I reached my main goal of the beginning!!!! 1k in both Wattpad and Ao3 !!! Lessgoo!!!!! ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧

Thank you everyone who read and liked this story and gave votes and kudos!! You guys inspire me to keep on writing!!!

As for the promised QnA. I think I'll do that once all the harem characters have joined. This type of thing won't happen much after all.

Also I promise I'm working on the next chapter. (⁠•⁠ ⁠▽⁠ ⁠•⁠;⁠) till it comes, here's some songs that goes with the story/ reminds me of them. Warning, I'm shit with love songs.

I'm not going to release the full playlist yet since it contains heavy spoilers. Same thing with the Oc's.

(Y/n)'s playlist

- Fictional by khloe rose.

(The feelings the reader had since she was little. Also the type of song that inspired me to write this self insert fanfic.)

- Rat by Penelope Scott

(This describes the relationship between the reader and her dad. How she feels deep inside. Also, I dunno if this counts much as a spoiler, but her dad is an engineer, so yeah. )

- W.I.T.C.H by Devon cole

(Wether someone calls her a witch or an ogre, she doesn't care. She can handle herself and that's all that matters.

And we stan a strong queen in this household)

Alastor x (Y/n)

-Never ever getting rid of me by Kimiko gleen

(You made him fall in love, so be prepared to deal with him 24/7.

Cause he ain't going anywhere honey)

Charlie x (Y/n)

- Adore by Mindy gleehill

( And here she goes, singing again. But this time it's directed towards the reader.

Poor girl can't control her heart around you. )

Vaggie x (Y/n)

- Boyfriend by Dove Cameron

(She knows she can treat you better then any man can.

And she's going to prove it )

Cherri Bomb x ( Y/n)

- Favourite by Isabel Larosa

(She's quite jealous of all the others stealing your attention. So can you really blame her for wanting to be your favourite?)

Pentious x (Y/n)

- Honeypie by Jawny

(He is determined to make you his and he won't stop till he does that.

He also can't get enough of your sweetness<3 )

Lucifer x (Y/n) [this is considering he gets chosen as a love interest]

- Checklist by Max

( What do you need? He's got it covered. He's going to spoil you rotten to have you all to himself.

The ruler of hell doesn't slack off in this area )

Husk x (Y/n)

- Older by lsabell Larosa

( I HAD to put this song here. Besides who wouldn't like an older man you could easily rely on?

This is basically reader's feelings about him.)

Angel x (Y/n)

- New side of me by Blake Roman

( He can't help but feel soft inside when he thinks about you. And it scares him.

He's never had anyone love him like you before.)

Niffty and (Y/n) [platonic]

- Sweet little psycho

(She's your very own sweet but psycho puppy.

Anyone disturbs you too much? Release her over them. :) )

Vox x (Y/n) [Will come in future]

-Criminal by Brittney spears

(He's our pathetic lovable criminal. You know you shouldn't fall for him, but what can you say?)

Adam x (Y/n) [ Will come in future]

- Genius by LSD

( Don't be fooled, he's no genius no matter what he might say. But he did make the correct call by falling for someone like you.

Someone who can manhandle and keep him in line.)

Lute x ( Y/n ) [Will come in future]

- Love like you

(She doesn't understand how she of all people managed to fall for you. This feeling should be a sin.

Yet, when she gets close to you, she can't regret it. )

An Animalistic Disaster playlist

- Can't sleep love by pentatonix

(I can just imagine the reader and Melody talking in phone like this. The reader can't decide what to do with all these feelings since all her fictional crushes have actually come to life AND living with her. She can't decide if she should act on it or not. Melody is already done with her shit and telling her to go back to sleep.)

- Bang bang by K'naan

( Okay, this is for my own brain rot. This is for everyone in the harem x reader. I can see the animation meme happening clearly in my head.

Every line is sang by different characters and when the 'bang' parts comes, a animal turns into human after getting hit by reader's love shot :)

Like-

She was walking around with a loaded shotgun - Angel

Ready to fire me a hot one - Cherri

It went- Charlie

*Sheep Charlie* BANG *human Charlie*

*Squirrel Cherri* BANG * Human Cherri*

*Deer Alastor* BANG * *Human Alastor*

Straight through my heart - Alastor

Maybe one day, if I learn to do animation.  I'll make something like this. )

Tag list: @legostars @glowinthedarkbones1150 @darifes @aria-tempest @rainbowcake1212 @luxylucylou

[heyimcelery]

Okay so I watched all of Ninjago Dragons Rising s2p2! I've got so many thoughts and I'm dumping them all here in a long list. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

to start: Cole!! He's a family man! He's got a boyfriend and they hold hands and they care for their kids and Bonzle so obviously came out to them and omg I wanted to cry. The joy of acceptance. I mean come one she kept saying how alone she felt, they're found family, she was repeating that she chose he town name and identity and the villains were insistent that she wants a person but just a spell like come on

But there's more than that, I have questions I have concerns!! Like wtf happend on Coles quest?? With Sensei Wu??? Like he disappeared and turned up again and said he would explain but never did.

Cole also came back from that in his bolder form so did he figure out he could do it on his own then? Is that what he learned on his quest?? If so it's gonna be a little awkward when he tried to explain that to his bf Geo.

With part 2 I really want to see the whole gang meet them and talk and catch up on everything. Like cole has been missing since the merge and no one this season cared. At all. They hadn't seen him in ages- didn't even know if he was alive until drs1 but nope no worries or concerns. Not even a question of what he was up to.

When he came through the portal Zane wasn't worried or confused at all, just oh? You need some help?? Sure let's beat these bad guys and not worry or show emotions! Is a tearful reunion for my fav character too much to ask?? Cuz he clearly deserves it. :(

And then into both Zane and Coke this season!! Love them!! They've always been my fav duo (gonna have to start shipping geo/Cole/Zane as poly now) it was so fun to see them going around together with Bonzle. They had some great moments and I'm praying we get more in the next part.

On the other hand it was a shame they got such small roles- just seperated from the others as a way to help Bonzle. It means they didn't have the same lessons or knowledge the others got which is totally unfair!! They have a lot to catch up on. They also never got a chance to be part of the main battle

It's dumb but I was kinda hoping for Cole to show off his stronger powers (he always seems to get new powers every other season but that's a discussion for another day). Like sure he could use his robotic mech suit but that's been done before! He can do his boulder thing now (unless somehow he still thinks he can't which means he kept up that form for several days on his quest) and when he made that giant mid hut to protect his family!! I want to see him do that again! Let me man go ape shit to protect Bonzle.

And on another note, Geo my beloved, you should get a chance to shine with your powers. A chance to show off or at least have a talk about them with Cole.

Next up WyldFyre. I was worried they would make her the annoying comic relief cuz if her injury but her talks about losing loved ones and dragon culture and her home were really sweet and it was great to see some development so driven by battles. I love those too don't get me wrong but like I needed to see this side of her. And I adore her relationship with Kai, being besties/mentors/dad for her works so great for both characters.

I will be first to admit that

Kai wasn't really my favourite. If you couldn't tell I love Cole followed by Zane. Always have and likely always will. I suppose that early Kai reminded me too much of some guys form my class and they turned into shitheads and I've always struggled to reconcile Kai's image form theirs. He was always a little too brash, hotheaded, and too often written as stupid to fall into my good graces.

And yet this season I adored him. Of course I've never hated him but like this season made me see what all his fans (many many fans) see in him.

I thought Kai being the first to master such a new, difficult and crucial skill was incredibly satisfying. Form all the way back to season 1 he's been the butt of jokes- having to learn he's not the centre of the universe and sometimes it's others like Lloyd who are the chosen ones. That's all great but him now getting a starting role, his ability being fueled by thoughts of his family, by his childhood and by protecting is friends was just too good to ignore him. Love this form of his character more than any other I've seen.

And now Kai is trapped :(

I'm glad he's got Bonzle with him tho so hopefully they can have each other's backs (she's meant to be a POWERFUL spell after all) they'll need each other if they're trapped with those other 4 guys. If they can apparently demolish everything then I'm rather worried for the duo. Tbh I'm sure they'll survive just fine, probably making jokes at Cole's expense all the while.

On a side note, I found it super cute how WyldFyre was willing to protect and go down with Kai. Besties I'm telling ya

Now Jay. I've never thought too hard about him I know he's one of the favs of the fandom but like Kai I was never so besotted with him. Still a great guy and omg I feel so bad. One of his worst fears was always being alone and now stuck, confused, forced to hide such a fundamental part of himself.

On the other hand he's got a gun now so that's fun!!

And you can't talk about him without mentioning Nya. He worst fears being him forgetting hurts my soul. And she was so sure it could never be true that she snapped out of her nightmare state!! She's going to break when she finds out.

She's already grieving her own brother, we saw her break down into WyldFyre (more proof she's an honorary sibling by now) but now knowing what's happening with Jay, I'm saying the angst is going to be overpowering. It's a greek tragedy fr

Part 2 is going to be rough. Jay only had a single scene but it's already a sign for the worst to come.

Speaking of things being rough, Lloyd is going THROUGH IT!! give this poor guy a break. I do appreciate that we physically get to see the effects of all his trauma- that everything that's happened has real consequences for his character and the story but I can't help but feel bad.

I've also suffered from anxiety for most of my life so to see it in a character like that feels really personal to me. Hope he gets a little break though, god knows he deserves it.

Have to say it's pretty funny that Lloyd's had so much Oni trauma that he forgot that he's part dragon too. Yes ninjas dragons can do spinjitsu why are you surprised at this point

The animation this season has been incredible, the fights were beautiful the angles so interesting and dynamic and I could go on for hours about how much I love it. It's always great when kids -and even animation in general is treated with respect. It doesn't dumb it's ideas and stories and characters for the sake of it's younger audience, and that makes it so much better for me who is definitely out of the age range.

I have my more points to make but I've been adding stuff in and off for ages so I'll probably go through this all later. Thanks for reading, please I want to know your own thoughts too I love discussing that kinda stuff!!

<3

[bugstinytalks]

Ninjago Ship Thoughts

First and foremost I’m gonna tell you my head-canons for the ninjas sexualities since it’s probably gonna affect my thoughts on the ships.

Cole - Gay - the entire “dad I’m a ninja” is so fucking queercoded so that’s my reasoning.

Kai - Bi - this man primarily flirts with women but he gives strong bisexual energy and I stand by that.

Zane - Pan - I don’t feel like Zane has a strong enough grasp on gender for it to affect who he dates.

Jay - Omni - I feel like he has a preference for women but I feel in my soul that he’s at least had a crush on a guy before.

Nya - Bi - I don’t know if she’s ever had a crush on a girl but a girl has definitely had a crush on her and she would not be opposed to dating a girl.

Pixal - Pan - I feel like she has a better grasp of gender than Zane but gender doesn’t affect who she likes.

All other characters are up in the air for me. I lean towards seeing lloyd as aroace but I’m not certain. Anyway I’m with my thoughts. (These are in no particular order)

(Jaya) Jay/Nya - let’s start with a canon ship! I like how this relationship is portrayed in later seasons and they have some cute moments earlier in the series, but I definitely like there relationship post Nadakhan the best (I’ve butchered the genies name I know it) Jaya is sweet and I’m happy that Nya was given strong characterizations outside of her relationship with men overall I’d say this is a solid 8/10.

(Pixane) - Zane/Pixal - I love this ship so much, she has half his fucking heart and there both so great. Zane and Pixar are both fully independent who love each other and there so cute. I think one appeal of this ship for me is that I can see the both as romantic or platonic partners because they both mean so much to the other. Anyway love this ship 9.6/10

(Kailor) - Kai/Skylor - I love Skylor she’s super cool but this pair really only interacts once and awhile to briefly flirt before they just go there separate ways. Obviously both of them are busy so it makes sense that they don’t get a lot of time together. Kai definitely had a crush on Skylor and I think Skylor reciprocated those feelings. There cut and interesting but don’t have as much development as they need for me to be compelled to be invested. Solid 6.5/10.

(Llorumi) - Lloyd/Harumi - these two have a fascinating dynamic that I think is really fun to watch but I cannot see them as romantic partners. I know some people see them as siblings and I really don’t see them that way. And again there really interesting as a duo and while I want the pair to heal and improve there relationship I don’t really want them to date. Overall 5/10 cool duo don’t see them as romantic.

(Lloykita) - Lloyd/Akita - It’s pretty cute, I love Akita so I do hope we see her again. There relationship feels like a summer relationship they have this brief sweet period of time together and they leave on good terms unsure if they’ll ever meet again or if the other will still have feelings if they do meet again. I also really like the idea of these to being together in a queer platonic way. It’s really cute and I love both of the characters individually so it’s a pretty solid ship in my opinion. 8/10 it’s sweet.

(Conia) - Cole/Vania - it feels like a lesbian and a gay man being best friends. I love these two I think there great friends and could even see them being platonic partners but like I don’t see them doing more than that. Solid 5/10 cool pair don’t see it as romantic.

(Lava) - Cole/Kai - There so cool and I think this ship is really fun. I think that these two are both really great characters who mesh well I can totally see them dating and think it’s a really cute ship. These two are bonding over there weird ass family lives and crippling self doubt! These two are a cute pair 9/10

(Bruise) - Jay/Cole - these two are so silly and honestly this is a cute ship. I think Cole was definetley involved in Jays realization that he wasn’t straight. I think this is a cute ship but not one I have super strong feelings on 7/10

(Mudshock) - Jay/Cole/Nya - the best solution for a love triangle is polyamory. That said I wasn’t a big fan of the love triangle but in Ninjago since Cole didn’t actually seem interested in Nya, and Nya only was interested in Cole cause a matchmaking system said so. These three are definitely great friends who joke about the love triangle and hang out but I don’t know that it’s my favorite ship. 6.7/10 Cute but not great.

(Polyninja) - Jay/Cole/Kai/Zane - I think this is probably one of the greatest things I have ever seen. All of these characters are so close and care for each other so much. Together they can help each other grow and thrive. It’s really an awesome ship solid 10/10

There are lots of other ships I will talk about but I’m supposed to be doing my summer class final so I’ve gotta go try to be responsible. Anyway have a good day/night I love seeing comments so say hi if you’d like to :D

[switchbladeist]

i'm gonna be honest, world's end left me a little deflated so here's my honest review

ospreay/fletcher: absolutely KILLED it. i always knew kyle was destined for success as a solo star and he just keeps improving. the match was fantastic but i really really feel like kyle should've went over again, simply because the c2 was a proving grounds for him and he'd already proven he could beat ospreay. however ospreay is one of the greatest of all time and i can't be mad that he won, his performance was fantastic

okada/ricochet: the match was okay. i adore okada to pieces but i'm just not feeling ricochet. and even though i'm not feeling him, i feel like the c2 was also kinda his proving grounds since he began cheating and i thought he was gonna cheat again to win. obviously okada/ospreay was the direction for obvious reasons. okada slapping his bald head and it echoing absolutely made me die laughing though

mjf/cole: i've had my fair share of getting upset over this so i won't do it again. i don't feel anything for adam cole and i know aew tried their best to make this feud work, but mjf was always the babyface to me. it made watching the segments almost unbearable. the match was decent, i don't like the fact kyle randomly took adam's side after clearly being upset with him and undisputed kingdom got booed, so that's all i have to say about that. i like adam, i like mjf, i do not care for the undisputed kingdom right now because it feels forced but i'll always be happy to see roddy and kyle together again. also i don't know if anybody caught it but mjf called thunder rosa's dad yosemite sam LMFAOOO

mariah/rosa: there wasn't a lot of heat behind this match but i think both women put on a fantastic match. a lot of people are complaining about mariah and her title reign but i think she gets better every night she's out there and i've enjoyed her work a lot. thunder rosa was great as usual, and i think this was a very fun (and painful) match

mercedes/kris: GODDDDD where do i begin. i'm gonna be honest; i was one of those people who was very complacent about mercedes when she first debuted because i didn't know what to expect, but she's blown me out of the water. she was always my favorite of the four horsewomen and i'm glad she's getting her flowers. kris being resilient and proving she's worthy while mercedes got overly cocky and confident since she won clean the first time and had to win by roll-up, UGH everything was just so good. this was my favorite match of the night. i love women's wrestling so much

takeshita/hobbs: another one of those ehh matches BUT only because i don't understand why takeshita was working on limbs and going off the turnbuckle so often. it just didn't feel like his style? the match was decent and they woke the crowd up near the end, overall i'd say it was a fun paced match and hobbs got something good out of it

ospreay/okada: jesus christ dude. i remember watching both these guys when they were still less known by the majority and i was marking out so bad the entire match LMFAO i totally didn't think they were going to outdo their g1 match but their performance was something special and arguably one of the best matches that night. i knew they weren't gonna give ospreay the title but when i realized near the end of the match that it was indeed The kazuchika okada and The will ospreay, both people kenny had rivalries with, i almost lost my mind. i didn't realize how much i missed kenny until he came out and i started bawling my eyes out LOL but yeah, kenny was sorely missed and this match was fantastic. i genuinely can't wait for kenny/okada to run it back

and then our main event..

mox/orange/jay/hangman: i'm gonna try to be nice about this. i don't really feel orange or jay right now and it's not personal or anything, it took me time to click with jay in japan too and orange's direction is a little confusing to me. i thought this was leading into hangman realizing he needed to be The Guy and the match ended up a clusterfuck that left me even more confused than i was going into the match. the pacing was off, marina took a finisher, i still don't get wheeler yuta, i don't understand the purpose of the death riders as it is but now i'm even more lost because mox won by the skin of his teeth after saying to "abandon all hope" and all this cryptic stuff.. and then they try stomping jay out? which leads to ftr coming out and then they bring out cope, and i popped but like.. why him? did we ever find out what happened with the hob feud or was the malakai match the end?

i'm not mad about this, i just don't get it. i understand ftr and the bcc feuded earlier in the year and the death riders just recently attacked them so they were bound to fight again but like.. where does cope fit into this? why is he planning on going for the title? was the point of the death riders not to uplift "complacent" talent who were fresh and needed a jump-start or did i miss something? cope is my guy, always has been and i can't wait to see him back in the ring but i don't really understand. i will say, christian's face was hilarious when he realized it was cope LOL

i think this ppv should've ended with ospreay/okada and kenny honestly. this was definitely not my favorite show this year but i am very excited going into the new year because we've got a lot of fun stuff lined up, like jamie vs julia hart and danny vs mark briscoe, plus wrestle dynasty + wrestlekingdom is coming up this weekend and jack perry should be coming back soon :D

[echonvoid]

Ninja go art dump of shit I didn’t post back in 2022

Most of these are just character sketches from when I was first trying clip studio out.

Pics in order from top left over:

1) glowy lava arms cole with newly found baby wu. Because I adore children and dad cole and lava cole are both great. So of course I did both

2) slightly pissed lightning Jay, that or he’s happy, I don’t really remember. And fun fact, in this headcanon/au/rewrite, Jay is bigender and/or genderqueer. They’re still figuring this shit out.

3) full body emo genderless lloyd. Has both oni and dragon traits, but they’re apart of their natural physical form. So all the traits you see here are non-optional. Pronouns: they/them

4) lloyd heads! Sweet baby boi! They desperately need therapy. And they unlocked their oni form back in March of the Oni. The purple eye is just something they were born with too. Purple eyes are relatively common among the oni

5) the Lilly Griefstriker family tree. God I love how they handled coles mom and her sickness and badassery. Lilly was goddamn fantastic. Anyway here she was a mixed race kid from between the Geckles and Munce from a small tribe from further down the mines near where the Upply lived. The tribe was killed by a cave in so she fled towards the surface and was met with hostility. So she ran off and was eventually adopted by the dude who’s canonically her dad. She trains and becomes the earth master and goes and frees her people from the dragon. She also helped the only woman there who was kind to her in the beginning while she was giving birth to Gleck (his vibe gave off much younger sibling or cousin vibes). After she killed the dragon she left again because she couldn’t take the hatred between the clans. She would come visit ever couple of months and eventually gave Gleck that locket. And then she has a kid and dies of a horrible chronic sickness that she suffered from for about 10yrs. Oh yeah cole and CJ are there too! Cole definitely takes after his dad but still has a lot of Lilly in him. And CJ is baby Wu. Except he is a full reincarnation/rebirth and so he ages like a normal kid. And totally is, he’s lil Cole Jr. Cole and Jay are his main parents, but everyone else is still around to help out and help guard and protect him. He’s like 7-9ish here.

6) fun sketch dump of all the gender

7) and last but not least, Cole Golems. Cole sustained severe injuries after the fall, to the point the earth completely cocooned him to help the healing process along (which was definitely Lilly’s doing). During which, his consciousness transferred to these handsome rock bois. He had to mime to wear his body was at which nobody got till after MOTO was finished and done. And during clean up someone found his slowly healing/slowly fading body. Fun fact: he has to use mobility aides for the rest of his life! He got real good beating the shit out of people with his crutches. CJ loves wheelchair rides

Well, that was more of an infodump than I thought it was gonna be, but holy fuck my poor thumbs. Carpal tunnel be damned I must share the hyperfixation

[mermaidsirennikita]

I just finished A Wicked Bargain for the Duke by Megan Frampton and I was wondering if you had any recs for others book where the couple start off having middling sex but end up having great sex (I was unsure about the sex scenes in the book given how they started out but they ended up being really hot)

Oh, sure!

For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale has a pretty mid first encounter for Melanthe and Ruck, largely because a) the focus is really less pleasure and more consummation and b) he hasn't had sex in 13 years so it lasts for like... half a second. A lot of their relationship is about her becoming vulnerable and LETTING him take care of her needs, which includes sex. In the second book, Shadowheart, Allegreto and Elayne's first encounter is.... straight up noncon, though I don't think either of them would necessarily see it that way, because 1300s.

Her Husband's Harlot by Grace Callaway has a variation of this--I don't even know if he finishes, but their first encounter is really awkward. Then she ends up pretending to be a sex worker and seducing him that way, sorta kinda accidentally? I haven't read Regarding the Duke yet, but I know the couple in that has been married like... eight years, and has good sex, but sex that's very structured and withholding. He gets amnesia and it turns around.

Run Posy Run by Cate C. Wells is a mafia romance I enjoy a lot wherein the hero and heroine have been in a relationship for around a year, and have very mid, him-focused sex because she doesn't feel comfortable with asking for more. He thinks she's cheated after a video is doctored and she has to go on the run--but he quickly realizes she's wrong and chases her. He's like... a sociopath, and the book is him realizing his feelings for her and learning what pleases her. It's gooood.

Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas has a variation of this. I think the wedding night is good? But the hero and heroine separate for ten years the day after, and when they first reunite the focus is all on having a baby, and she wants to divorce him. So it's a bit awkward.

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt has another "it's awkward because it's all for the baby" thing. The hero and heroine got married because she was pregnant by another (dead) man and her brother blackmailed the hero into marrying her. She miscarried right after, and they've been living separately, but she arrives in town wanting a baby. He agrees, but the sex is intentionally very stiff and weird at first, though it gets more passionate as the story goes on.

Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole, obviously paranormal. Rydstrom and Sabine are fated mates, but she's evil and just wants his baby for scheme purposes, and he withholds until he can't anymore and it's... intense, but not fun for her, lol. She's all "NEVER AGAIN" and they have to work up to good sex.

The Chief by Monica McCarty. Tor and Christina's first sex scene is awkward because he literally doesn't know it's her, and she didn't realize he was going to put it in, and then also her dad barges in and Tor has to like, leap naked out of the bed. They get better.

The Truth About Cads and Dukes by Elisa Braden is a marriage of convenience book where the hero tries to be cool and withholding, which leads to awkward sex until he basically admits he's obsessed with her.

Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath. They obviously aren't married, but the sex is clinical and awkward (and over quickly) until she allows herself to feel something for him.

Tempt Me at Twilight by Lisa Kleypas. They have a hORRIBLE wedding night full of miscommunication, but after some angst over that, they work towards a good sex life.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang. Contemporary, hero is on the spectrum and the heroine doesn't realize it and doesn't get how little he knows about female pleasure, so it kind of sucks at first and they have to lear to communicate.

I know A Wicked Kind of Husband by Mia Vincy has this with the hero and heroine marrying, having an awkward wedding night, and separating right after. It didn't super work for me the first go around, but I think it was partly a mood thing, so I want to try it again.

[lesbianwyllravengard]

For that Simarkus Medieval AU (no I'm not obsessed even though it's not written yet, wtf that would be weird, anyway) could we get some minor Gavin annoying Connor and just generally being Gavin in the background?

Like I'm a Knight too but I'm more experienced, you're just a newbie, so I should have this n°1 priority case of finding the rebels, go make me a coffee, also your just-a-bit-taller-than-me brother with the soft looking hair and the beautiful blue eyes that's in the King's special protection unit is really ugly and I hate you both

This needs to be a multi chapter novel size fic please I beg you 🙏

HELPDJFLDNF THIS IS PERFECT

I'd totally write this into a series if I could just get other things written

"your brother with the soft looking hair and the beautiful eyes is really ugly and I hate you both" is so fucking funny and so Gavin, thank you for that

But yes I could definitely see it like, instead of androids taking over jobs, the new tyrannical rulers brought their own kingdom with them when they took over the throne, so there's all these new villagers that are from this other Bad Kingdom and are basically being allowed whatever jobs they like because the rulers ofc prefer their own people. So Connor and Nines were from the "bad" kingdom, both given high ranking roles within the Palace guard, Nines being one of the new ruler's personal guard, and so Gavin is pissed because he was part of the old kingdom and had to work his way up to becomming a Knight, but damn if the head of the personal guard ain't pretty.

Hank taking Connor and Nines under his wing because, while he's pissed with the new ruler taking over, he sees how lost the boys are and how they remind him of his son (ima make Cole alive in this bc I CAN) so he can't help the paternal instinct of looking out for them.

Also, neither Gavin nor Elijah know they're related, and since Kamski was overthrown they never saw each other. Until later....

With the androids = people from the new kingdom analogy we could also say that the Jericrew gang were once loyal subjects who soon saw the tyranny of their rulers and vowed to end their reign, and wanted Markus - a member of the old kingdom - to not just join them but also rule someday, as he could bridge the gap and also they see how capable he is as a leader, and how compassionate he is for the people. When Connor is sent to arrest Markus, Markus manages to convince him that the rulers are corrupt and evil and need to be overthrown. Nines is a bit tougher to convince, but once Connor goes he follows. Gavin is... Gavin. I don't think he'd believe anything they said unless he experienced himself, or maybe even then he'd be in denial. But once Hierico manages to overthrow the dictators, he's quickly motivated to change sides lol.

I want some Leo redemption too, so I'll throw in that since Leo knew Markus best he was hired to tell them everything he knows about Markus, where he would go, what he could do, etc. And at some point along the way, plus after seeing how they treated Markus and how upset it made their dad, Leo decides he's not gonna help them, so he tells them complete lies, insists that Markus is too flighty and scared to stage a coup against the royal family, that kind of thing. And he conveniently leaves out that Markus was an amazing blacksmith, instead saying that his sabotage was actually just his failure at crafting the weapons. When Leo and Markus meet up again at the end of it all, Leo apologises and expects Markus to hate him, but Markus forgives him, accepting Leo as his family, and Leo says "I'm... I'm proud, to be your brother."

[thesinglesock]

Finally watching dragons rising part 2 and ngl the first two episodes scared me. I was Not having a good time. Bored out of my mind. I was afraid the series had lost its grip. But then it really picked up!!!!! The Djinn episode?? Nya just Talking about that like she isn't one of the only two people in existence who knows exactly what happened, just glossing over all the details like it's just common knowledge and they had nothing to do with any of that, the last Djinn himself with his GREAT voice acting and the honestly surprisingly real portrayal of what depression can look like (they cleaned his house up for him while he was recovering😭)

Kai????? Getting to be smart and level headed??? And dealing with a kid who's kind of a lot like how he was when he met Wu, and now he gets to pass Wu's teachings down to this new kid. It's not even directly pointed out, if you haven't followed the show from the beginning you wouldn't see the parallels at all, but long term fans really feel how far Kai has come since the beginning and it's SO rewarding. He even gets to have realistic flaws again. He's not a great teacher but he's the teacher this girl needs.

And Cole?????? My man my guy the absolute LEGEND. I don't even know where to start I love him so much and this makes SO much sense for his character and I can't remember his new partner's name but I'm losing my mind over the whole thing they have going on. Cole, whose own dad neglected him because he couldn't handle his own grief, really went out of his way to become everything his dad failed to be, and so he just radiates such a strong Father Figure Energy that he found himself in a place where neglected children literally just materialize around him. And Sora relating to these lost kids' situation and seeing an older person who's taken the feelings she's struggling with and turned them into something constructive???? The broken pencil scene was so good who on the writers team did that I want names so I can send them flowers in the mail. This season is SUCH a good time I'm so happy it went like this

Oh and also Zane needs help I think. Please someone talk to him he's taking it slow but he is having another identity crisis and I think he really needs to spend some time with his friends so they can remind him who he is. I miss Pixal too but someone please tell him he is a whole person without her and he is himself even if people's perception of him doesn't match how he feels :(

[oblivious-aro]

Some thoughts on each season of my Lego Ninjago watch through so far up to and including season seven and the movie:

Golden Weapon Pilots: They're fine, but not very interesting. There's a few fun moments, but I while watching I genuinely wondered if I was going to continue with the rest of the show.

The role of the only girl in the cast was to be kidnapped and rescued, and to be liked by a character who hasn't even met her yet. That's greeeeeeat. Loooove that.

It's very funny in later seasons when they try to pretend that anyone cared about Samukai. Or knew his name.

Season 1: This season's a good time. The writing's pretty messy, but charming enough to keep me watching.

The Zane-is-a-robot plot twist was everything ten year old me hoped it would be, and Cole's relationship with his dad was an interesting episode.

Lloyd's at his best in this season. I'll talk about it more in the season two part, but Lloyd's character was only really interesting when he was a child.

Some of the best jokes are in this season. "I have butterflies in my stomach" is probably still my favourite joke in the series. Either that or Nya getting bodied by a road sign. Sorry Nya, I love you, but I think I rewound that bit seven times.

Speaking of, Nya you really deserve better writing.

Season 2: The first half's pretty fun. I liked it when the plot was just Garmadon and his pirates figuring out random ways to mess with the ninja. It gives us a fun plot and I enjoy watching how the ninja solve problems, and the villains being their charming selves. The stuff on the dark island get's a bit boring. I don't care about The Overlord.

Dino Garmadon is a true beauty, though.

I like Misako. Can't wait to see what they do with her in later seasons.

Very sad that Nya gets sidelined hard. I think the writers actually forgot about her. Except for the occasional time they couldn't think of a way for the ninja to wrap things up and needed Samurai X to take care of things. Oh, and at the end when they needed someone to be mind controlled and have demeaning remarks slung at them.

You really deserve better Nya.

Aging up Lloyd was a mistake. Everything notable about him stems from the fact that he's a child. Watching him grow as the Ninja teach him was a good time, and having him be so young balanced out his overpoweredness nicely. Now all he's got left is being the super powerful chosen one, which isn't really a personality.

Season 3: Boring. Nothing interesting happens, and the stupid terrible 'love triangle' makes me want to stab my eyeballs out. Once again Nya, you deserve better.

The best part of this season is that it's the shortest.

Season 4: Hooray! Quality!

This one's much funner. Especially in the first half.

Skylor seems cool, but unfortunately they spend the first half of the season keeping her shrouded in 'mystery' so we don't really get to know her. We can't develop her and Kai's relationship, because that would mean revealing information about Skylor before the big plot twist. We also can't go into how she feels about helping her dad because we don't know Chen's her dad until halfway through the season. The conversation with Kai in the roller rink implies that this is the only life she's ever known and she hasn't really questioned it before, but because the reveal of her relation to Chen happens so late and there's so many other things going on, Skylor's arc about breaking away from Chen ends up being very rushed.

That being said I did still cheer internally when she told her dad off. Go Skylar! Tell him where to stick it!

Speaking of Chen, very enjoyable villain. Probably my favourite so far. The oscillation between 'ugh, screw this whiny child' and 'oh yeah, he's powerful enough to kill anyone on a whim and no one can stop him' makes him a perfect blend of intimidation, hatable, and fun. Clouse is a pretty decent second-in-command too. I like how petty he is.

Very good season for Cole. He started the tournament by eating enough cake to make him sluggish and still did better than Kai, then he made friends with Karloff and brought hope back to the factory workers, that was great. Zane's reunion with him made me very happy. Cole just has such a great energy as a character, and that really comes through in this season.

Good Garmadon's not bad. I like watching him cringe about all the bad decisions he made when he was evil-drunk, and he has good insights for the team on Chen and the other contestants. Much better than the weird boring lessons he was giving Lloyd last season.

The letter story line was...not handled great. It's built up to be this big bombshell, but it's really more awkward than anything. Also kind of pointless since Garmadon dies at the end of the season. The whole Misako love triangle is just very awkward, and the Ninjago writers really don't know how to write romance or women, huh?

Also speed's and element, I guess. And poison. 10/10

Why'd they leave the blind guy on the island though? Seems mean.

Season 5: Oh hey, Nya finally gets to be a ninja. Took long enough.

History of terrible writing choices aside, her arc this season was great. You really feel for Nya, watching her figure out her elemental power and how to deal with her perfectionism. I'm glad we got to really dig into one of the Ninja's journey facing their greatest weakness more deeply (I like the true potential episodes, but devoting more time to them probably wouldn't have gone amiss). Watching Nya's take out a giant monster with her freshly unlocked tsunami powers after an entire season of struggling with her powers was just so freaking awesome. Go Nya! Woo! True potential!

The picking a new leader subplot's pretty fun. I like exploring the characters by putting them all in the leader position and seeing how they all react. That's the good stuff, even if Lloyd's position as the leader is debatable (more on that later).

I like how Misako and Wu work together and bounce off each other and have differing ideas on what direction the team should go in. It's more interesting than Wu just being the one with all the answers. Wish they'd give Lloyd and Misako's relationship a bit more development, though.

Cole's ghost transformation is sending me. I like ghosts. They're cool. Ghost Cole makes brain happy.

The episode right after where we watch Cole struggle to adjust to his new form while his friends support him (showcasing how building up your teammates is way more effective than trying to bring them down) is actually the best. The moral is set up really well, and I think that's actually a great lesson for kids. Also d'awwwwww :) fwiends.

And the conversation between Cole and Nya is so sweet. I friendship them so hard. See writers? This is why you should let Nya react with the team more, it's great. Also let the Ninja be nicer to each other. Favourite episode.

Unfortunately for Lloyd, kicking him out of most of this season really worked in it's favour. That's probably not a great thing to say about the main character, but I honestly haven't found Lloyd all that interesting since he aged up. He doesn't really feel like he has a place on the team outside of 'chosen one'. They say they're missing a leader without him, but he's never really led. Usually it's one of the adults (are the ninja teenagers? I can't really tell) giving commands and on the field they all kind of work together and it's never felt like there was an official leader.

Ooh, Jay's vision of the future...oh that does not bode well. I hate that. Ninjago, you were doing so good this season, why are you like this?

I love this season so much. It's got my favourite episode and it's my favourite so far. By a lot. Good luck topping that season six. Bet your theme song won't slap as hard.

Season 6: And coming right off of the high of season five, we have-

"I just want to be given a fair shot."

"Why? To make things easier?"

Misako, wtf?

"Nya made it clear there was no way we'd ever end up together. But I know for a fact from seeing my future that we do. Maybe a wish is what it takes. Maybe this is how she falls for me!"

JAY, WTF?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Nya you really deserve better.

The worst part is, unlike season three, this season actually has a lot of intriguing elements. The sky pirate crew is crew charming, Nadakhan's wish manipulation thing is fun to watch, and Jay's storyline is...well...a lot of it is actually really interesting, and this is the first time the show has dug into an individual character so deeply, but the endgame being Jay 'earning' a relationship with Nya for completing his arch leaves a very sour taste on the whole thing.

Speaking of Nya...oh boy. Okay, so I do appreciate the writer's trying to acknowledge their writing mistakes with her in previous seasons, and the lighthouse monologue was pretty cathartic, but maybe try talking to some women before you slap the feminist badge on yourself so proudly, yeah? Also you gotta put your money where your mouth is. You've shown you're aware that Nya never getting a choice is problem, then you destiny-bind her to another character and kill her for his development.

I could complain about this season and Nya's treatment throughout the show for ages. One day I may lose my sanity and try to rewrite a nicer season seven that doesn't completely screw Nya over.

The Ninjago really do not know how to write romance or women.

At least Cole's still a ghost. That's fun.

Day of the Departed: I love the atmosphere. Being in the dark forest and house, surrounded by the monochrome transparent ghosts really emphasizes Cole's feeling of isolation. It just gives off the perfect vibes for a children's Halloween special. It just looks so cold. I can practically feel the wind as Cole punches ghosts on the roof.

I've heard some people say the pacing was rushed and it's bad writing that the ninja defeated villains in one night that took them whole seasons to beat, but I disagree. They're a lot more experienced now, and those villains had whole armies and time to plan.

The only gripes I had were that ending to the Zane and Cryptor fight was weird because Zane...pretends to surrender... and then Cryptor...trips and dies? Also the Lloyd and Pythor fight was pretty underwhelming. It was just very floaty and awkward. I think they forgot that Misako is a skilled fighter too, so she just stands there being frustratingly useless. Other than that the fights were good. Especially Jay's with commentary from his delightful parents, and Nya reversing a rocket back at Chen.

Of course, the special's not really about the fights is it? Cole's fear as his friends start to forget him is incredibly gripping and you're really sold on how desperate he is as he fights through the haunted house.

And when his friends show up and give him the hope when he's about to give up? YESSS! it's such a triumphant moment when he gets his body back that I'm not even sad that my beloved ghost Cole is gone. That ghost story line had a great run, and this was a banger of a conclusion.

Season 7: Not bad, but drags a lot in the first half. I wish I had a nickel for every time a character was cut off before they can say something important. I also wish I had a nickel for every time a character acted like a plot twist was more shocking than it actually was. Or was clearly on stupid pills (Kai forgot his father's blacksmithing symbol? Really?) I was on episode seven when I originally wrote this, but it honestly felt like episode three. None of the other seasons had such a pronounced pacing issue.

While I'm glad they're finally trying to do something with PIXAL, I'm sad that she comes off as a huge jerk because of this season's obsessive mystery mongering. Hey writers, we all know she's Samurai X. You're not building intrigue, you're just dragging things out and making PIXAL be really mean to Nya for no reason.

Crux and Acronix are pretty fun, but there's something off about them. It might be the voice acting, I'm honestly not sure. I do like how they squabble about technology and how intimidating they get when they it's time for business and they put their childish bickering on the shelf.

I like how they've started to do some digging into Wu's psyche and are exploring how years of working alone after losing so many friends has affected him negatively. It's a shame they won't really be able to go further with that next season, since he'll be lost in the time stream.

Also at one point Wu and Lloyd tell everyone to stop having fun and it's terrible. Yeah, why would a kid's show be fun? I hope this isn't an indication of where the future tone of the series is going.

2017 Movie: Oh my gosh, it's hilarious please watch it. Even if you're not a Ninjago fan, it's just so goofy and the characters are so loveable, and they had to stack two body pieces on Garmadon to properly give him four arms.

There's some scenes where the natural character chemistry flows so well, that the jokes just keep coming so naturally one after the other. I found myself rewinding quite often.

I've seen some complaints that the other ninjas didn't get as much focus as Lloyd, but for a standalone movie I think it's fine to mainly focus on one person. Their characters may have been reduced, but everyone feels like they have a place in the team and they all get some great lines. Honestly nobody really feels left out of favouritized.

I love that Wu's kind of a weird jerk. I love how energetic but inexperienced the ninja feel. I love that Nya's on a motorcycle the whole time they're at school, including in the secret locker elevator. I love that Zane's an adrenaline junkie and is trying his very best to fit in as a human. I love that Jay somehow became the best ninja despite being the worst ninja in the show (he's just such an incompetent loser, and he's aware of this fact and has decided that he's just going to try his best anyway, I love him, Kumail Nanjiani is so charming and killing it).

This film does have one major flaw, sadly. I do like Lloyd, but the conflict he has with Garmadon is bad. This guy has caused him nothing but trouble, and he has a lovely mother and a supportive friend group, so why is he so desperate for a relationship with Garmadon? In the show the two of them actually having a decent relationship and the conflict is driven by the tragic fact that Garmadon doesn't want to be doing the evil things he's doing, and Lloyd is hesitant to be fighting against someone who genuinely cares for him and vice versa. Movie Garmadon is just generically evil of his own accord and shows no interest in Lloyd.

Dave Franco is giving quite the performance during the serious bits, but there just isn't a relationship to sell. You know who Lloyd does have an interesting parental relationship to explore with? His mother. And the writers know this too, since Lloyd thanks his mom for being the one who was actually there for him all those years. Why wasn't this the relationship we were focusing on? It's just better in every way (I know the answer).

My problem with this movie is pretty similar with MCU Peter and Aunt May.

Despite the weakness of the main conflict, it's a really charming goofy movie, and I already want to watch it again.

[electricprincess96]

Ep 2 of Season 2 of HOTD was.... disjointed. It felt like just as I was getting into a scene it changed.

Once again we are robbed of girl dad Daemon Targaryen because the show seems to believe he is not allowed to have even one redeeming quality. Baela Targaryen of all people having daddy issues is just wild to me I'm sorry but who are these characters cause they aren't the Daemon and Baela I know. And yes I know Fire and Blood is not a reliable narrator but when all the sources in that book seem to agree that Daemon for all his many faults was at least a decent father to Baela (if not both his daughters) then I don't see why that can't be adapted in the show. Daemon can be all the other horrible things that he is but removing this one trait from him making him so much less interesting.

I don't like how.... weak Rhaenyra seems to be. Also she can't seem to decide if she's sad, vengeful, level headed. Like I do not have a grasp of who this Rhaenyra is the way I did in Season 1.

I see everyone in Team Black minus Jace have already forgotten Luke. 10/11 days of mourning is all you get my sweet boy.

Otto Hightower was the star of this episode (and honestly i liked him in the last one too). Like yes is this whole entire situation almost entirely his fault? Yes. But it was fun watching him realise his family are all idiots and he's unable to control their stupidity. Like Otto was one second away from sailing to Dragonstone and begging Rhaenyra to be Queen that's how much Aegon and Alicent annoyed the crap out of him in this episode. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised of we don't see much or any of him for the rest of the season and dare I say that's kinds sad. The collective IQ in the Red Keep has plummeted.

Aegon's pain and mourning was believable and very well portrayed. The issue is they really want me to feel bad for Aegon but these are the same writers that made him a rapist, child molester and fan of watching children fighting in pits (some of them his own bastard children) so like..... I would feel sympathy for him except you've made him a colossal piece of shit and no I won't forget.

Helaena has been able to portray a lot of emotions despite the script giving her very little to do. I thought the funeral scene would be more than it was honestly. Aegon not even speaking to her on the staircase was cold but I think fit the characters well.

Crispy Cole.... if hypocrisy had a face. Him gaslighting Sir Arryk into going to try and kill Rhaenyra to cover up COLE'S mistake of not doing his job cause he was too busy doing Alicent was oh so scummy. Also do we really need to keep ending episodes on Cole and Alicent fucking?

.... I won't talk too much about the Daemon and Rhaenyra scene cause I just don't think it was very good. Like these two can absolutely fight after what Daemon did with Blood and Cheese but it felt like the writer of this episode wanted to retcon their entire relationship into being "oh she never really believed in him or trusted him" which makes the whole scheme last season to get Laenor out the way and allow her to marry Daemon seem really fucking stupid right now and makes Rhaenyra seem incapable of making good decisions regarding her allies if she claims she never even trusted her own King Consort. Like Rhaenyra KNEW who Daemon was before all this, her acting like she didn't somewhat sign up for this when she chose to marry him is dumb. I don't want perfect angel Rhaenyra who does no wrong, Rhaenyra is a Targaryen but she's lacking the fire recently. Like yeah she shouldn't be happy about this but to act like she doesn't hold some responsibility is nonsense. Making both Lucerys' death and now Jaehaeyr's deaths down to "accidents" or miscommunications is merely robbing so many characters of agency in a desire to make them sympathetic and marketable.

But yeah I didn't really like this episode, maybe upon rewatches I'll appreciate it more but overall it wasn't great. Neither ep1 or ep2 have really reached the heights of Season 1 for me so far.

[deangirlnotagirl]

Season 1 Episode 2: W*ndigo

Let’s do this.

- I love this recap remember when if you missed the first episode you just didn’t watch it until the reruns or dvs anyways those dramatic screen titles “what they witnessed sent two brothers on a quest for answers 22 years later”

- Oh there it is there’s the SUPERNATURAL noise with the title page ok it was just the pilot that didn’t have it

- Ok we’ve traveled from California to Colorado

- Love the flip phone and game boy in this cold open what a throwback

- Once again genuinely pretty creepy good job supernatural

- Oh that transition out of Sam’s dream made me jump I think my volume is a little too loud

- Aw Dean offers to let Sam drive that’s cute I love watching their relationship emerge

- I love their maps makes me miss maps

- Love watching Dean improvise and figure out who he needs to be to get the information he wants (and figure out what information he wants)

- Her brother looks like a high schooler so like once again I’m asking how old is Haley

- On this rewatch I’m really enjoying watching Sam’s arc of going from almost getting a full ride to the top school in the county to returning to hunting. The way he actually kind of loves it sometimes in a way Dean maybe doesn’t. It’s so tragic because it’s not what he would have chosen and he worked so hard to get away and all of that was taken away because he couldn’t escape his family forever. But at the same time we see from the pilot that he really has fun once he gets into it and hates that he has fun but starts to lean into it and find his niche as the show goes on.

- Ok so Dean introduced them as Sam and Dean and his fake ID says “Samuel Cole” which I looked up and don’t see an obvious origin (like a musician or something) so does that mean this is just a random name Dean picked and that he’s using Sam’s name sometimes when he hunts? Because that hurts.

- Every 23 years nice I love a recurring monster who hibernates

- Noticing that they pretty much never have to work very hard to get information bc they so clearly actually believe the person when nobody else ever has and even if maybe Sam and Dean are full of shit maybe they’re not and this is proof the person they’re interviewing is not crazy. Anyway if that’s not a metaphor idk what is

- “Corporeal”

- I forgot how angry Sam is this season (and a lot of seasons) and honestly he deserves to be angry right now

- Dean’s fragile masculinity lol but also Roy’s fragile masculinity the fragile masculinity of it all

- Ok I’m pretty sure they save the lost brother right like I hope so?

- This is a lot like the x files episode detour where they go into the woods and are hunted my an invisible humanoid but that doesn’t make it less good I loved that episode

- Once again I’m genuinely getting creeped out

- I really don’t like Roy

- Sam and Dean realizing John isn’t here and he wasn’t leaving a clue for them to find him. Realizing he put them on this case to keep them off his trail and set them up to doing his job while he goes on hunting his obsession.

- The fact that Dean sees Sam getting obsessed too and it scares him.

- “Saving people, hunting things, the family business” 😭😭😭

- Dean saying all that anger is going to kill you to Sam and he knows because he’s seen it happening to their dad ugh.

- Friendly reminder as they explain the lore that use of w*ndigos is major cultural appropriation and racist please read link on the title of this post to learn more

- How many do not enter signs can one entrance have

- They really do a good job of making this scary by not showing the scary thing good use of budget there sometimes you don’t need a giant cgi monster for good horror (no hate to giant cgi monsters I just love practical effects).

- The way that neither Sam or Dean are particularly freaked out by almost dying many times in this episode (or last episode if I recall). Sam even after taking a break from hunting presumably for most of the past four years - like that kid left home at 18 why has he had enough near death experiences at this point to be so cool headed in a crisis. Wtf John (I say over and over again throughout this show)

- Ok phew they do save the brother

- The way Dean uses the swagger to cover up everything else

- Again I just feel like this girl is too young but I guess if she’s old enough to be taking care of her younger brothers maybe she isn’t? Whatever what do we expect from supernatural

- Sam’s driving the impala!!!

- This last shot reminds me of my cousin Vinny

I’m doing this watch through as an escapism/nostalgia fueled way to remember a specific time in my life and let myself enjoy a very flawed show. So like as a monster episode this was scary and fun to watch and there was good character development and a good intro to the monster of the week episode format. And at the same time it’s a reminder of rampant casual racism to the point that it was basically thoughtless - I’m sure it just never occurred to the writers that there was anything wrong with using a being from another culture as a monster for Sam and Dean to fight and I’m sure this won’t be the last time they do this.

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 224

The Things They Carried/The Caretaker

“The Things They Carried”

Plot Description: while investigations case involving two soldiers just back from Iraq, Sam and Dean run into Coke and reluctantly agree to let him help

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: I would simply never voluntarily join the military. RIP this girl but I’m different

There are so many scenes my boss could have walked through the break room and it HAD to be while Sam was silently researching the Mark of Cain and Dean loudly accuses him of looking at porn???

Dean is being so season 3 right now. He thinks his time is running out (though this time he doesn’t know how long he has), and he just wants to go about things like normal and wants Sam to just be alongside him

I still don’t LIKE Cole (you know, the marine I’ve spent too long complaining about even BEING in the show), but I can be compassionate that he’s lost his dad and will likely lose his best friend to things involving the Winchesters’ business

“Medium build and brown hair” can describe SO MANY DUDES…

I know you wanna protect your friend, but like…he smashed a wine bottle, cut a guy’s throat, and drank the blood off the convenience store floor, so…

What if Kit kills Coke and then I never have to deal with him again?

Wtf, that thing looked a lot like the memory worms from Doctor Who, but instead of erasing your memory, it makes you wanna drink blood. And now one’s in Cole, and he’s TOTALLY okay with Dean electrocuting him to get it out

Dean being so conflicted about almost killing Cole. It’s wonderful. Dean who searched for the Father of Murder for a bunch of last season and this season, who’s been killing all his life, but now that it’s someone who needs help but who’s also TRIED TO KILL HIM AND SAM, he’s conflicted? Gorgeous

This rapid dehydration is taking a really long time

Dean’s so fascinating. He’ll tell everyone and their mom that they’re not allowed to give up, that they have to fight…but himself? He’s not worth, it in his mind

I hope this is the last we have to see if Cole. Dean was able to save him, but Sam couldn’t save Kit.

Can he stop calling them Sammy and Deano??

“The Caretaker”

Plot Description: The terrifying Skovox Blitzer is ready to destroy all humanity

I could never be an Eleven or Twelve companion. I’d literally rather disappear from my normal life for as long as I’d be with the Doctor than do this part time gig thing they all have. It looks EXHAUSTING

That said, I’m still enjoying the very platonic sunshine & grumpy dynamic between Twelve and Clara. Probably because the sunshine one is still a little cynical and the grumpy one has a taste for the wondrous, and they truly like being together

I forgot the premise of this one is that the Doctor gets a job at Clara’s school while she’s trying to juggle being a companion with her job and budding relationship with Danny

It’s funny that she’ll call out the Doctor for trying to be mysterious when she’s not stupid enough to not see he’s trying to be mysterious, and then Danny does the same to her the very next scene and there’s no reflection of that

The opening credits are still REALLY bad

Well, he’s no Ten when it comes to going under deep cover. Where’s your pocket watch that holds all your actual memories?? Though…now that I think about it, at least you’re not just saying “Physics physics physics physics physics physics”

I’m fascinated by Twelve’s perception of humans. “It’s assembly now, go worship something” WHAT, sir??!!

If you saw two kids just playing on a phone outside a gate, why would you assume that there was DEFINITELY a third in the abandoned building behind that gate? And that’s what you get, blasted to bits by a robot looking alien…

Ok but the Doctor becoming besties with Jane Austen and going on holidays together but then getting abducted by other aliens before forming a band with Buddy Holly IS an episode I’d like to see

Omg the Doctor thinks Clara is dating the other English teacher and not Danny…

“Why are you talking like an idiot?” would be a WILD thing to say to a temporary school caretaker you barely know…if it wasn’t Clara to the Doctor I’d be aghast

Oooo Danny’s getting suspicious of the caretaker, me thinks

Sorry. Back on the comparing Ten and Twelve again. You’re not going to get “I think you’re giants” lines from Twelve about humanity, even if he does care for humans just as much (DEEP deep down). But you also wouldn’t get “You’re weird” “Yes, I am. What about you?” “I’m a disruptive influence” “Good to meet you” “And you” “Now get lost” from Ten with any student he was trying to save

OH MY GODDDD HE THINKS SHE IS DATING THE OTHER ENGLISH TEACHER BECAUSE HE SEES ELEVEN IN HIM. STOP. And she’s so excited he approves of Danny 😭

Doctor…you put one of your time bombs or whatever ON A FIRE ALARM?!?!

Oh no. Oh no no no no no. This…this has got to look and sound SO CRAZY to Danny, and Clara’s just scrambling to do some kind of damage control, to hold on to both parts of her life as they crash into each other at lightning speed

Not Danny calling the Doctor Clara’s space dad 💀

Ugh this hurts. This is probably the first time Clara’s said she loves Danny and it’s just after he’s figured out (some of) her big secret and as the Doctor is insulting him

(Omg he saw Clara hanging with a guy with a bow tie and went, ah yes, THAT is her boyfriend)

Why does she need to explain Danny to the Doctor?!

They really didn’t build Danny up enough for this betrayal of sorts to feel earned

They’re both putting Clara in this impossible position. It’s so unfair. Look. I GET why these two would hate each other but don’t take it out on Claraaaaaa

One day, I hope Courtney “Disruptive Influence” Woods gets her chance to go to space

It truly took me til now to see how much the other English teacher looks like Matt Smith. It’s not just the bow tie, it’s also the floppy hair (though the teachers’s has a bit of curl to it)

Courtney has nothing to worry about…it’s not the end of the world (unless the Doctor can’t defeat the Skovox Blitzer). Her parents are literally arguing that there’s been improvement since last year when she was a VERY disruptive influence

I DIDNT THINK TODAY WOULD BE THE DAY COURTNEY GOT TO GO TO SPACE 💖 I’m sorry she didn’t enjoy it as much as she wanted

We’re getting so close to ACTUALLY getting Missy.

[atozphantomsquadron]

XVII - Sacred Heart

Before making our trip back to the States, we took a detour in order to return King Fahai to his throne.  Grateful to us for rescuing him, the king offered to allow us to rest and restore our strength for a few days, in addition to enough fuel for our plane to return to Langley. 

His offer was quite welcome, as all of us had particular wounds we needed to heal.  Kitty in particular needed the recovery time.  She told me later, once we had returned to Langley, that she had been put through the same treatment Jerzaan’s women had been forced to endure, which consisted of being paraded naked around the palace before the sovereign, who sat on his throne and watched as she was gang-raped by his royal guard.  She was denied clothes up until her escape from the palace’s holding dungeon with the king, when she stole clothes off of a knocked-out guard.  Although the physical traumas had healed, she was still in a bit of a mental state, not unlike PTSD, and was in need of a few days away from espionage and intelligence matters in order to clear her head.

Cyrus was also a bit shaken by the adventure, but for different reasons.  He was very uncomfortable with sharing an emotional moment with Kitty as he did in order to help defeat Azi-Dahaka, and as a result he wanted to have some privacy. With Kitty.  Cole and myself were willing to oblige him this, so we took our own path to recovery, finding places over the next couple of days to sightsee.  One of these places was Petra, which was breathtaking to behold: the workmanship that went into carving it into the side of the canyon boggles the mind.  We found quiet fields, bustling marketplaces, and in general had a good time together.

On our last night in the country, Cole took me to a moonlight picnic he had set up on a secluded bank of the Jordan River.  I was amazed that he had even found a section of the river without a shrine, or a city, or even a guard tower set up along it: the river acts as part of the border between Jordan and the West Bank, and I wasn’t quite sure where on the river we were, but Cole exuded confidence in our safety, laying out a beautiful spread of light food.  We ate in near silence, admiring the full moon and the gentle flow of this particular stretch of the river.

Finally, Cole was the one to break the silence.  “How are you feeling?  I know I haven’t had much of a chance to check on you after … well …”

I gently rubbed a wrist.  There were new scars forming on both of them, corresponding with the most recent cuts.  Combined with the past ones, they formed twin T shapes on each wrist.  “I’m doing okay.  Cyrus does very good work with his healing spells, they usually last a long time.  I think this is going to be all right.”

He smiled toward me.  “I’m glad.  You scared me when I found you in the tub, I didn’t really want you to go.”

I sighed gently.  “I suppose I was just feeling like everyone hated me at that point … with Kitty gone, I was feeling utterly useless and in the way.”

He reached across and stroked my cheek.  “Ariel, you are by no means ever in the way, nor are you useless.  You were the one who figured out King Fahai’s words, you were the one who held the beast at bay … you’ve been of great use to all of us.  I can see you are a vital asset to this team my dad assembled.”  His thumb lightly touched the side of my nose.  “If anything I’ve said or done has made you feel otherwise, then I am truly and sincerely sorry.”

His eyes reflected how much he meant his words.  I brought my hand up to his and held it against my face.  “Thank you, Cole.  I hope we have been up to your expectation, as far as teammates go.”

He reached his face across this time and kissed me gently.  “I had nothing to expect, but … I think I won’t really mind too much being a part of this team.  I think I might actually come to like it.”

I returned his kiss.  Again, the pounding of my heart demanded that I do more, pleaded with me to give more expression to these feelings that yet remained nameless.  The cacophony within my heart became too much to ignore.

I slowly stood up, looking back and forth between Cole and the river.  Listening entirely to my heart and nothing else, I turned my face back to him, smiled, motioned my head back toward the river, and slowly started unbuttoning my shirt.  He had an adorable expression on his face as he watched me, almost like he was paralyzed, his eyes continuing to follow my hands.  The buttons on my shirt seemed to loosen of themselves, finally opening the blouse entirely and allowing me to slide out of it and drop it to the ground.  The rest of my clothes followed behind in a similar fashion, and once I was fully undressed I made my way at a slow jog to the river, entering the water slowly.

I was very nervous when I did this.  It was my first time undressing before anyone willingly, which made my heart continue to pound.  Many thoughts shot through my mind as I walked further out into the water, up to my waist.  Why am I doing this?  What am I thinking?  What if he doesn’t like what he sees?  This was the first time, I think, that my face and body did not betray the thoughts that raced through me, continuing the seduction play and reaching out to this man … this amazing man …

When I looked next, he was on his feet minus his shirt and working on taking off his pants.  The night was only illuminated by the full moon, but the keen vision merging with 37A gave me allowed me to see, clear as day, every contour and line of Cole’s body.

I know it’s the wrong term to use for men, but on this first sight of Cole and only him, without anything to get in the way, he struck me as very beautiful.  More than just on a physical level, though, although his body was in excellent shape due to years of Navy and pilot training.  My heart’s pounding became simply a fact of my existence as he approached and entered the water along with me, his pace confident and measured as he approached.  It was all I could do to keep my eyes from following the water line as he came toward me, until he was at my side.

He took my hands in his.  “I hope I’m not being too forward, Ariel.  I couldn’t resist …”

I quieted him by kissing him, pressing my naked body to his.  The electricity returned, coupled with a passionate warmth, as the smooth human skin on Cole’s body touched my own dragon skin, so different and yet feeling so right.  I clutched tightly to him, standing waist-deep in the waters of the Jordan, convinced that my life, my torment, my pain, all of it had been leading to this moment of utter bliss.

The kiss lasted forever, and felt absolutely perfect.  When we finally, regretfully, let it go, my eyes caught Cole’s, seeing the same feelings of love and desire I had at that moment reflected back at me.

The words finally came, in a soft whisper against his chest.  “I love you, Cole.”

I felt his face in my hair as he clutched me tightly to him.  “I love you, Ariel.”

The moment was broken up, unfortunately, by Cole’s phone going off in his pants: the CIA Director was on the other end calling us back to Langley.  That moment, however, always remains in my heart and will always be there so long as I take to the skies of this world.  In my mind and in my heart, it was a rebaptism, a return to the world.  The language of my heart, urging me forward in such a historical, sacred place, led me to love at long last, a love that has sustained me, a love that has given me a daughter, and a love that would go on to stop the world’s end.

(Transcriber’s note: By the time Ariel had finished this part of the interview, I had tears in my eyes, and surprisingly it was me who needed a break.  While Ariel took some time to make us coffee, I placed a phone call to my wife just to let her know I loved her.  The intensity of Ariel’s feelings of love and devotion for Cole were socially contagious, so much so that I felt jealous of her for having found such an intense love.—DAM)