#You know for all the Ghost Cole stuff in the fandom

[cookii-moon]

I just realized Sensei Yang's backstory could have passed as a legitimate horror story in any other circumstance if it was executed right.

..am I the only one who thinks so?

Let's not beat around the bush t's really not scary in the show. Like at all. Literally the most he does is turn Cole into a ghost and handcuff him once then proceed to spill his sad sob story which.. the way it's delivered really falls flat. And the Lego aesthetic, while not usually an issue, doesn't do much to help his case. I mean I'm not complaining because my horror tolerance isn't very good, but like... the story itself genuinely feels like it could legitimately have been pretty spooky if it was done differently?

Like a real world, abandoned Japanese temple/dojo, said to be haunted by it's former master who killed all of his students and himself in a fit of madness and threw the surrounding area into an unexplained diseased decay, cursed to haunt it until his last breaths and passing that curse onto any who enter after dark? That sounds like a horror story that could legitimately exist. And maybe be featured as one of the most allegedly haunted locations because apparently there's entire agencies dedicated to measuring how "paranormal" a place is and giving out titles for it.

But uh, yeah. The whole point of this is just... that Yang was underutilized. Oh, and he has connections to dark magic, and is still in the temple. We have NO clue what happened to him outside of Way of the departed, which isn't even finished so we still don't have an answer and even then it's not fully canon yet. And magic in Ninjago in general is underutilized. Like the writers really just went and said "hey so yeah magic exists in Ninjago and has existed in it for like thousands of years and (According to WotD) has connections to the earth element and we're going to keep dropping minor magic using villains but we're not going to elaborate on it at all" like they just dropped the equivalent of a hollow bombshell on us and NOBODY talks about it like W H A T.

...I may have plans to explore that in an AU but that's far from ready yet.

Anyway bye. I just... noticed this. Randomly. I would say it was a 3 am thought but it wasn't 3 am so.

[majaloveschris]

Yeah people can be mad all they want to due to this bs, but sorry Chris Evans cameo was most definitely one of the favs.

I know many feel his career should be greater but the man has a pretty solid standing regardless of his choices post Marvel. He’s successful like it or not. People love to talk about him no longer being A-List or whatever like that matters that much, he’s still a successful working actor, has his looks and is rich as fuck…..that’s not a flop or an actor about o go to pasture. 😂

If these next three movies score well it’s going to lead to more stuff for him, so if people are truly that mad and want to act like he’s broke and a bum due to this situation, they might as well walk away permanently now.

I mean if they legitimately hate him that bad, why are they even still here. I’m disappointed in his life partner choice due to me expecting better from him and the simple fact……I don’t believe what they tried to sell. I expect her gone soon enough, but not my life…….but I still enjoy his work and think he’s talented so I’m still here.

Anyone calling him a flop because their feelings are hurt, aren’t fans and probably shouldn’t be so invested in a man they clearly loathe. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yeah, I think he is doing very well for himself. I'm not saying he didn't have flop projects that didn't do that well, like Ghosted, RSDR, and Lightyear. But even those are loved by fans and didn't perform that badly. Ghosted was played almost 330,000 times in the very first two days. Lightyear on Disney was watched 13 million times in the very first 5 days, and the fandom loves Ari and even Cole. So even though some of his projects flopped, it's not that bad as some people try to portray it, and he does well for himself.

I'm also disappointed in this decision, and I also don't believe they are real. I get that them being real or fake doesn't matter for some people, and I understand why. But as you said, if someone hates him this much, they should just leave. Why waste so much time on someone you think it's a shitty human being? I get if people call him about because of Alba, but bodyshaming him and calling him a flop when he clearly isn't shouldn't be part of it. Those are being said only to hate on him. I get if you don't want to support him, but then leave. Call him out if you want him, but do it for the right reasons. 

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

Songs the Ninjago Fandom is Sleeping on.

Okay so while I do art there's only so much my chronic pain ridden hands can produce and so animatics/animations aren't really in my wheelhouse BUT I have a bunch of ideas and songs that the Ninjago fandom should use + some ideas that yall can totally use (@ me or send them to me though if you do cause I want to see them)

The Songs in question (it's be song-artist btw):

Always Gold-Radical Face: Is literally a perfect song for Wu and Garmadon, like it's literally about two opposite brothers treading wildly different paths like what more could you want

Brutus- The Buttress: Yall please I am begging that someone does something with this song relating to Morro's hatred/jealousy towards Lloyd because this song is absolutely perfect for it! Lines such as "-and if you want I'll call you king but why do I lie awake each night thinking "instead of you it should be me"" and "Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy, I to have a destiny" there are so many more but I'll let yall do the rest of the work (Also you could kinda do it with Wu and Garmadon but ehhhh)

Human Enough- ONR: This could work for multiple of the characters if you ask me but if you ship anyone with Zane or Pixal the song could totally work those two them specifically cause it talks about the singers partner/love interest being "made perfect" and idk we need more Pixal content soooo. Honestly any of the characters that get de-human-ed (for longer than one episode) would do great with this song, like Cole in his ghost arc, Nya after Seabound or Garmadon at like any point in the story. Line examples: "Cause you are made of perfect stars and I was built from broken parts" and "I'm not human enough to love yo right now/ I'm not human enough to cry or cry for" are my personal favorites.

Laplace's Angel (Hurt People? Hurt People!)-Will Wood: Lloyd, Sora or Wu (Specifically the young version of him from the Spinjitzu Brothers books) song about the weight of the world being on your shoulders and not knowing what to do and like the consequences of actions and fun stuff like that

Easier- Crane Wives: Misako, like seriously so many Crane Wives songs work well for this woman because A) her whole attempt to change destiny or B) Her failure as a mother and you know the whole kinda cheating on her husband thing, but this one specifically cause it's a song about leaving someone behind and feeling bad while also not being able to stay. Lyrics such as "If you woke and I was gone from the house that we made our home would it bend yo, break you, overtake your heart?" and "I won't move but I can't stay here. So what the hell am I supposed to do?" and "If I were someone else, would this be easier?"

Stranglers Fig- This could definitely be a Cole (specifically relating to his father and dance backstory) or Kai song, many of the lyrics involve someone being pushed to do more and more and finally snapping because they've done everything they can and there's nothing left but their desire to be better. Lyrics "You bult your kingdom around me, now I'm trapped within your walls and all I want is to be free" and "Climb me to the canopy, higher, higher 'till there's nothing left of me." and "You're the culprit so don't blame me."

And that's all for tonight cause I'm tired BUT I will be posting a couple more of these cause I have a bunch of these floating in my brain and I'd love it if some of these idea's inspire people. I really wish I could do it myself but chronic pain is a bitch so instead I'll throw it out for yall to try out! Anyways I hope you have a great day/night! Peace out!

[all-pacas]

i know everyone loves the og ducklings (and so do i), but i find the second gen so compelling, especially some of the ones that didn’t make the final cut, and i’d just love to hear your thoughts on some of the more major players in the fellowship reality show

In all honesty, I don't have super strong opinions, but I'll do what I can!

13: I talk about her a lot. I love her. :( I love that fandom now loves her, I dimly remember folks hated her (and in my archive trawling, I see a lot of it). Probably for being a woman, you know, but also for getting a lot of character focus — way more than Taub and Kutner — at a time people were still salty about losing Chase and Cameron. But 13's so fun. I like her much more… without the meme? I mean, she makes herself into a Mystery Meme, but really she's not that serious. I think she's great in S6/7, when there's no mystery and 13 is just her cute work nickname and she's joking around and having fun. I love that she quits medicine and lives in Greece. I'm not being ironic, I think her decisiveness and willingness to just make huge life changes is … sometimes not great, but also super cool. I love that she was able to just let go and do something new. I like to imagine she and Chase go on friend vacations sometimes.

Taub: I think he's great. He's so fucking funny, first of all. Like he does some of the funniest things on the show. I'll never get over him staying in the room after House tells everyone who hasn't slept with 13 to leave. He's literally just here to have a good time, he's actually a Good Friend and I like how he invites Chase over to dinner after the Divorce and how he and Foreman are besties and how he and Kutner were best friends. I love that Taub is able to befriend all these young doctors with no ego or issue; like, Wilson's a Friendly Guy but absolutely has never considered hanging out with the kids (who aren't Amber), you know what I mean? Taub is a social equal of the department heads, not the baby doctors. I like to imagine he and his wife somehow and implausibly reconcile. He's trash but he's just a little guy!!

Kutner: I admit, I find him a little… tiring? Like, I don't dislike him; I don't dislike anyone. And Kal Penn is great, and I adore the moments Kutner shows just incredible empathy. He has a moment in The Itch where Cameron is trying to get into the dude's house and Kutner stops her in her tracks and explains exactly what she's doing wrong that's just so good. Or him bonding with the girl in Birthmarks. How he just connects with people on the fringes without trying. But, and I do mean this, I do think he's a bit overhyped as like "the next and true House." He's sharp and definitely the most creative of the bunch, but he's awful at procedures and definitely has strong "new kid" vibes. After a few years he would have been a FORCE. When I say I find him tiring, I think I mean that the show at first lent a little too hard into the "haha he sets people on fire" thing. I like him as a weirdo with incredible empathy, but not a meme about incompetence.

Amber: I loved her when she was Cutthroat Bitch, I loved her going up to House like "I'm calling you Greg now as we are social equals," I loved her telling Wilson to buy a waterbed because she could advocate for herself and didn't need him to be gallant on her behalf. I wonder a lot what S4 would have been like if it hadn't been cut short. I think she would have died either way, because Head/Heart are just too good? But I think she was really good for Wilson and even for House, I would have loved to see more of that period. And I love ghost Amber, even if she's very clearly House's idealized version of her. But damn is she good.

Cole: Honestly, he sort of feels like a wasted character. He got a lot of focus, he got development, and then he was just gone. I wonder if there was behind the scenes stuff — he certainly had more focus than Taub for example. Not that I'm suggesting drama, but it is interesting how abruptly they dumped him, you know? I liked him, but I did find him sort of bland. He's another character I would have loved to see interact more with the OG cast. Cameron seemed to like him. I bet Chase would have been wildly hypocritical about his religious stuff, lol.

Brennan: I adore that he just went insane and started poisoning people. He was so normal before that, I wish we could have seen him be nuts sooner. I bet Cameron was like "omg he's in the peace core 😍" about him.

Really I love the original kids so much but I do love the new ones too, I wish we'd seen them all hang out. (I do find it kind of funny that the last ones standing are Taub and Chase. Like Park and Adams too, and 13 soooorta, but it's so weird/funny that the last two fellows over time are those two.)

[plutonify]

My Ninjago Seasons Tier Lists

EXTREMELY GOOD

Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu Pt 2

Prime Empire, PRIME EMPIRE, PRIME EMPIRE. Just everything about this story is so so good. The way they showed the characters dynamics, my sweet baby boy Jay getting to live the celebrity lifestyle like his parents. The humor, the designs, the colors! I LOVE THIS SEASON.

Sons of Garmadon

There isn’t much to say about this season that hasn’t already been said. There’s a reason why this season is so loved by fandom. This season is filled with drama, and it’s so good! Harumi is an amazing character, and while I dislike how Ninjago keeps introducing new characters, she’s an exception(along with Pixal). THIS IS SUCH A GOOD SEASON!

Tournament of Elements

I know I just mentioned how I don’t like how they keep introducing characters, but this season does a good job at introducing characters without actually introducing characters. It’s such an interesting concept, this idea of all of the elements going up against each other and in a tournament none the less. Mmm tasty. I keep rewatching this season, it’s so captivating, there’s so much drama!

GOOD

Hands of Time

I really like Hands of Time. This season introduces a lot of interesting concepts, most of which are very hard to do and risky. Like time traveling, betrayal, and twists. This season does it all and I’d argue that they do it well(well somewhat). WE GOT MORE WU AND GARMADON AND PREVIOUS ELEMENTAL MASTERS, just a lot of stuff that was wished for but not expected.

Possession

HERE IT IS, THE ONE WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE, MORRO! I personally am not a fan of paranormal concepts but Ninjago does it so well and make it so interesting! I love flawed characters like Morro. Also, ghost Cole is so good, people might not agree with me on this but ghost Cole is one of the best things they’ve done in the entire show.

ISLANDS/SEABOUND

Tears, sobbing, crying. This season is an emotional roller coastal, first it makes you laugh, then terrified, and then sobbing on the floor. But I love it for that, it makes me feel, exactly what I want a show to do. I find the writing this season to be some of Ninjago’s best, especially the way they built up Jaya and Nya’s fate.

OK

HUNTED

This season is pretty meh for me, most of it is forgettable, the only reason why it’s not in the bottom row is because it’s really funny. Tons of comedic moments this season, thus I have some joy I can attribute to it.

RISE OF THE SERPENTINE

This was a typical first season. It did everything that a first attempt did but it was still somewhat enjoyable. Most of my gripes with this season came from the beginning. I’m REALLY not a fan of the first half of this season. The second half is okay. This season is tolerable.

BAD

SKYBOUND

I actually like Skybound. I find it more watchable then the first season, but while I find it watchable, there are some some really bad writing choices. Biggest flaw being the pacing. I also have a bias towards Jay and most of what I enjoy about this season was the potential it had, not what actually happened. So if I take away my “bias and potential goggles”, we have a not great season, thus it’s low ranking.

EXTREMELY BAD

CRYSTALLIZED

Awful, just awful. This season does not install joy in me. While I love that they brought Nya back, I can’t ignore the fact that she should’ve stayed dead and they didn’t do a good job at reviving her. This entire two part season did all of the characters bad, absolutely ruined them. I hate you Crystallized.

SECRETS OF FORBIDDEN SPIJITZU PT 1

Just as bad as Crystallized. Tons of wasted potential(haha). While Skybound was too fast, this season is too slow, this season is awful, I hate it. It’s funny how bad part one is compared to its second part.

[parachutingkitten]

hello random ninjago person who appeared on my dash bc i still follow the tag after idk how long so the last season i actually properly watched was s6 (skybound) when it first came out and i watched hands of time in various foreign dubs so i dont really /know/ or care what happened after the whole rebranding (also wish cole stayed as a ghost oof) but are the later seasons actually good? i just couldnt bring myself to care about harumi when i tried to watch s10(?) :s

Hey random person who stumbled on my blog!

Good is such a relative term, but as far as ninjago standards go, yeah. Absolutely. Like 110%, no questions asked, pretty much anyone who watches the newer stuff will tell you this.

A lot of the fandom considers seasons 8-10 (the oni trilogy) to be the most mature content, and some of the best. This sounds like right where you dropped out (this is when the design changes came in). If you only got like 1-2 episodes into the Harumi plot, I see where you're coming from. I know she seems really basic and annoying. Trust me. It gets better.

After season 10 ninjago technically became a new show with a new animation studio, but with the same continuity and everything else.

If you're looking to get stupid (like, in a good way) Season 11 is insane but also a ton of fun if you can put up with the weird pacing and abrupt tone shift.

Master of the Mountain and Seabound are Cole and Nya focus seasons respectively, both really well done with cool themes and character introspection.

I'd say at least half the (active) fandom's favorite season is one of the newer ones.

The beginnings of seasons 8 and 11 can feel the most out of place just because of the changes, but it doesn't take long for the show to find its footing, and it's all good classic Ninjago vibes from then on.

[that-was-anticlimactic]

it’s three am and I should I be asleep but today is the ten year anniversary of Ninjago and I’m just... so so so happy and full of genuine joy. Ninjago is the reason I joined tumblr (even if I’m more atla now, I will always be Ninjago at my core), Ninjago is the reason I began to write as much as I do now, Ninjago helped me realize third person was my writing strong suite. Ninjago is... so much to me. I was there in 2011 when it started and I remember all of the raw emotions I felt watching the show.

Finding out Lloyd was the green ninja. The ninja getting younger and Lloyd growing older. Crying at the season two finale when Lloyd broke his leg and the rest of his team got hit and turned evil. I remember being devestated when Zane died. And being so happy when he came back. I vividly remember being in the car to Dairy Queen when I was in eighth grade when I first found out Cole became a ghost and I remember watching season five in other languages on YouTube just to see what happened.

I remember sitting on my bed crying over The Last Resort. I remember the fandom screaming when Maya and Ray entered the picture and when Lloyd said “Twins look alike”. I remember everyone guessing who Samurai X would be and who the baby was. I remember episode 92 of Ninjago when Harumi died and I remember saying “the resistance never quits” and feeling such power and confidence in myself. I remember crying when Cole fell— not just because he’s my favorite character, but also because Ninjago handled that scene so well. I remember learning the scene when Lloyd finds out Cole fell in asl and rewatching that scene at least twenty times a day. I remember telling my math teacher that episode 98 of Ninjago would be live-streamed during her class (senior year of high school) and that I had to watch it because I have been so mentally distraught about the fall all week and her kids loved the show too so she let me and I actually cried in class when Lloyd “died”.

I remember learning about Ninjago anime through tumblr. I remember screeching when Cole had the nightmares about falling and when Zane was the Ice Emperor. I remember getting so excited when I found out Scott and FugiDove were voiced by Adrian Petriw and that Cole fell once more. I remember season thirteen coming out and crying again because Cole finally has a season and it was so freaking good. I remember learning that Kirby Morrow died on November 19th, 2020.

I remember a family. I remember a passion. I remember the home I never felt like I had. I remember the true potential episodes. “I know who I am”, “you are the best you”, “I’m proud of who I am and I want you to be proud too”, “I knew when I had to make a choice”. I remember “we are so hooped”.

I remember love and heartbreak, tears and joy. I remember that the best way to defeat your enemy is to make them your friend. I remember bequeath. I remember “this isn’t about numbers, it’s about family!”. I remember Jay essentially telling Cole that his feelings for him are stronger than his feelings for his girlfriend. I remember “Chen can try his best to split up our team, but he’s about to find out what happens when we put ourselves back together”. I remember that as iron sharpens iron, brother sharpens brother. I will always remember the iconic “that was anticlimactic” from Kai.

I remember “save me, Jay Walker. There’s gonna be a wedding and I want you to do something about it”. I remember that if you want soenhnjng bad enough, you find a way to make it happen. I remember Day of the Departed and how kind Cole was to Yang, how he regained his mortality and was left with his scar. I remember Cole’s relationship with Wu, how close of a bond they had. I remember getting literal chills from Britt McKillip singing “spider’s in the house, sleep, sleep. Spider bit the mouse, sleep deep. Don’t wake up or else you’ll find a spider in your mouth”. I remember laughing so hard when Cole was singing as Rock Dangerbuff. I remember Jay going mad in the realm of Oni and Dragon. I remember seeing the bones of the Ultra Dragon. I remember being so excited to see the elemental masters (and Darreth) again. I remember “there’s more to life than surviving!”.

I remember being so happy to learn that s11-13 were going to happen. I remember Vex and Akita, Unagami and Scott, The Skull Sorcerer and Vania (the Geckles and Munce). I remember Lilly. I remember.

I remember Ninjago, a show that means more to me than I can fit into words. I remember a silly television show that changed my entire life. I remember characters who brought me joy when no one else could.

So I thank Cole, Kai, Jay, Zane, Lloyd, Nya, Pixal, Skylor, Garmadon, Wu (sometimes— if he’s not hiding stuff😂), Misako, Darreth, Ronin, Pythor, the other Elemental Masters, Cyrus Borg, Dr. Julien, Lou, Ray and Maya, Ed and Edna (I love them), Morro, Harumi, The Overlord, Mystake, Faith, and so many other characters.

Thank you, Kirby Morrow, Vincent Tong, Brent Miller, Michael Adamthwaite, Kelly Metzger, Jillian Michaels, Sam Vincent, Paul / Michael / Brian Dobson, Mark Oliver, Kathleen Barr, Jennifer Hayward, Heather Doerksen, Alan Marriott, Andrew Francis, Ian James Corlett, Britt McKillip, Scott McNeil, Tabitha St Germain, Lee Tockar, and so so so many others.

To Dan and Kevin Hageman, Tommy Andreasen, The Fold: thank you so much.

[kayoiwritingarchivies]

TITLE: Post mortem viventem

CHAPTER TITLE:  TWO: If it happened twice, it'll happen three times.

WARNINGS AND RATINGS: Rated T for swearing, major character death and suicide

FANDOMS:  Detroit: Become Human

SUMMARY:  So, if androids don't have souls, why does Connor see the ghosts of shut down Deviants? Why does he see ghosts in general? (In which Connor sees more than he is meant to, and it changes less than you think.)

Sitting on Connor’s borrowed desk, Daniel began to nickname every person in the police station while Henry politely listened, and Cole gave his own interjections, and Connor half tuned in, scanning the deviancy cases on the terminal.

“See, that man,” Daniel says, pointing to who Connor identified as Todd Williams, “Is Stink-man. He’s Stink-man because he looks like he takes drugs and doesn’t shower. Gavin Reed over there? He’s I-repress-my-issues-by-being-a-horrible-human-being. He’s called that because he is a horrible person, so logic dictates that he has a sad anime backstory.”

Cole then points at Captain Fowler and says “That’s I’m-always-angry-because-Hank’s-disciplinary-file-is-a-book-but-I-can’t-legally-sell-it-as-one.”

“Why is that, Cole?” Henry asks.

“Because Dad’s disciplinary file really is a book.”

Connor then gets up, walks over to Hank’s table, and asks him about the case, and Hank get’s angry enough to shove him against the wall, prompting a whimper from Henry, a “Whoa what?” from Daniel and a “Dad no!” from Cole.

Then a police officer comes, tells them about a deviant and a small girl being sighted in the Ravendale district. The same ones from the report that was submitted by Todd “Stink-man” Williams that morning.

Daniel sighs, hooks an arm around Henry and says “Well, Henry my boy, you’re gonna learn how to investigate by talking to ghosts, are you ready?”

“Don’t corrupt him Daniel.” Connor mutters, walking past them to Hank’s car.

“I do what I want Connor!” Daniel yells at him, dragging Henry by the arm.

-LINE BREAK-

Turns out the Ravendale District Lead was a huge waste of time because the deviant and the small child are long gone, which irritates Daniel because now he can’t corrupt teach Henry anything and frustrates Cole because nothing cool happened. Henry, for all intents and purposes, seems pretty chill about it, and that just makes Daniel even more irritated.

So here they are. Under a small umbrella in front of a food truck named “Chicken Feed”. Hank eating a burger that is about 5 sticks of butter in terms of calories, Connor asking and answering questions, Daniel pouting, Henry standing awkwardly to the side and Cole chasing after cats, who damn well knows something is there and hiss whenever he comes too close.

“Is there anything you would like to know about me?” Connor asks, cocking his head to the side.

“Nah, not really.” Hank replies, chewing on his burger. “Actually, on second thought, yeah. Why they make you so goofy looking and give you that weird voice?”

Connor blinks, and answers with “CyberLife androids are designed to work harmoniously with humans. Both my appearance and voice, are specifically designed to integrate into any social situation.”

Hank considers for a moment, and then says in a flat sort of voice, “Well, they fucked up.”

Daniel starts laughing, leaning onto Henry for support. “Oh boy! That’s a good one, and it’s true!”

Henry mutters “That’s not very nice Daniel…” which Daniel dismisses with a wave of his translucent hand.

“It’s okay if it’s funny, you need to remember that.”

“It’s really not…”

Connor LED blinks yellow for a couple of minutes, and then he says “We got a lead…perhaps we can go check it out. I’ll leave you to your meal Lieutenant.”

And then Connor goes back to the car, not sparing a glance at the ghosts, Daniel following after him, yelling “Wait are you mad at me? Don’t be please it was a joke I swear!” and Henry silently trailing behind them.

It’s raining that day, but the sky will clear up soon.

-LINE BREAK-

The apartment is filled with pigeons. Hank Anderson and Cole Anderson are scared of pigeons. Someone has been here, evident by the very encrypted journal found in a hole in the wall, and by balancing Daniel on Henry’s shoulders, they find the deviant in the ceiling, and Daniel yells “Connor! C’mere for a minute and look up, I just want to make sure what I’m seeing is right”

Connor comes, stands on the seat and looks up. The Deviant jumps down a moment later, knocking Connor to the ground. The group stands still for a minute while the deviant runs off, followed by Hank yelling at him to go after it, and Connor skids out the door in pursuit.

Daniel groans, and runs after him, Henry on his heels. Cole stays with his dad, and the three of them run after the deviant, even if it only thinks Connor and Hank are chasing it.

-LINE BREAK-

Connor bursts out of a corn field, to see the deviant having a brief scuffle with Hank on the roof top, before pushing him off the roof top. Connor can feel time slow as he gauges his options.

Then a sense of irrationality, a push, a shove makes him grab Hank’s hand and pull him up, while Daniel yells “I’ll get it!”, which roughly translates to “I’ll get it, but I’m going to fuck up somewhere and it’s not going to end well for anyone.”  and runs after the deviant with Henry in tow, who look like he rather be anywhere than here. Cole breathes a sigh of relief when his father is saved from falling.

Connor and Hank are silent for a moment, before a loud “OH FUCK!” was heard, followed by a “That’s not supposed to happen.” from Daniel and a “Oh no, I’m sorry!” from Henry.

Then the sound of plastic and metal hitting concrete at a high velocity and there’s a couple of minutes of silence, followed by a very loud “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?”

Connor turns to the next roof top, goes down past the garden beds and walks to see Daniel and Henry peering over the edge of the roof, looking mildly disgusted and disappointed in Daniel’s case, or slightly guilty in Henry’s case.

“So, uh, we caught up with him. Henry slipped and ended up pushing him forward. I guess our Deviant also slipped because he managed to regain footing but this is glass so he skidded a bit and toppled over the edge and now he’s…uh…” Daniel trails off, looking back over the edge of the roof, a translucent hand pointing to the carnage below.

Connor peers over the edge, to see the ghost of their Deviant sitting on the floor next to its body, swearing up a storm. Hank comes jogging by next, peers down and goes “Fucking Androids.”

Hank does not see the ghost screaming out “WHAT THE FUCK. HOW THE FUCK. THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!”

Daniel mutters “Oh I see, he can swear but I can’t? That’s broken.”

-LINE BREAK-

The deviant’s name is Rupert, and he’s still very salty about how he died.

“I can’t fucking believe that get killed because I slipped. That’s broken.” He complains, throwing his arms up into the air. “That’s just fucking stupid.”

Daniel nods every once in a while, saying “I understand what you mean.” And “Mm, I agree.”, not actually listening to Rupert. Rupert has also made the choice to haunt Connor, until Henry goes “Connor can see us, you know…”

Rupert swears, and sticks around anyway. Might as well stay around. This irritates Daniel because now there are three ghosts following Connor even though he was first.

Connor hasn’t said anything, still trying to figure out why he saved Hank from falling instead of accomplishing the mission, despite Hank’s rate of survival being 89%.

Why did he do it?

-LINE BREAK-

It is a generally accepted fact that androids do not have souls. They don’t have them, because they are machines designed to accomplish a task. They aren’t alive, they don’t feel emotions or pain.

But Connor see’s the ghosts of deviated androids, he sees the spirts of them alongside the human ones.

Does that mean they are alive? That they have souls?

Can an android have the ability to become alive? After all, there is living-dead proof before his eyes.

Connor doesn’t know and feels the instability in his software begin to rise.

-LINE BREAK-

Hank won’t answer the damn door.

It’s beginning to piss both Rupert and Daniel off. Cole can’t open the door, which means Connor, who is corporeal and therefore cannot go through walls, has to walk in the rain to find a way in.

“Dad’s asleep on the floor again…” Cole says, avoiding eye contact. “He was drinking the weird stuff and playing the game with his revolver again.”

That sends alarm bells ringing in Connor’s head, and he breaks a window and tries (Emphasis on “tries”) to jump in through the window and lands ungracefully onto the floor, and immediately a large Saint Bernard begins growling at him.

“E-easy…uh…” Connor begins, putting a hand up as he racks his memory for the dog’s name. “S-Sumo! I’m a friend, see? No need to worry, I’m just here to save you owner, that all…”

Sumo huffs, before walking to his dog bowl, and that’s when Daniel, Rupert and Henry decide to appear, phasing through the door.

Connor glares at the three of them, saying “You bastards. You could have helped.”

Henry and Daniel exchange glances for a moment then say “But you like dogs.”

Connor blinks at them and shrugs off the comment (As machines do) and walked over to Hank, who was blissfully unaware of the whole interaction by being unconscious on the floor, a result from downing half a bottle of whiskey that has now spilt all over the floor.

“What a waste of good alcohol.” Daniel mutters, staring at the brown puddle on the floor.

“You can’t even drink.” Says Rupert, glancing at Daniel.

“Guys, not now, please.” Henry pleads, hoping nothing expensive was going to break now.

“Is dad okay?” Cole asks Connor, peering at him with translucent blue eyes. He’s kneeling next to his father, and Connor realises why Hank tries and kill himself little by little.

“Cole, how…how did you die?” Connor asks, staring at Cole’s ghostly form. Cole looks at Connor for a moment, and replies “You don’t know?”

Daniel and Rupert stop their sniping to watch, and Henry is already kneeling down next to Cole, who’s beginning to tremble ever so slightly.

“There was-was a truck. It couldn’t stop and it slammed into dad’s car and I remember being in surgery and there was an android and they couldn’t do anything and I-I-I just woke up again out side of my body and dad was crying and I…I…” Cole manages out, before grabbing Henry by the shirt and crying into his shoulder. “Ever since then, dad keeps drinking the stuff he keeps in the cupboard and playing with his gun and I try to stop him but I can’t.”

Connor sits back, and he says “I’m sorry.”

Cole wipes away the tears with the back of his hand and says “I’m okay. Let’s wake dad up, okay?”

Connor nods, and pats Hank’s cheek. “Lieutenant?”

Hank groans and moves his head just a bit.

Connor raises his hand up, and slaps Hank hard in the face. “Wake up Lieutenant! It’s me, Connor!” Connor yells, and picks up Hank, supporting him. “I’m going to sober you up for your own safety.”

Hank lets out a loud “Hey, leave me alone you fucking android!” which Connor ignores, and says “I have to warn you, this may feel unpleasant.”

Hank squints at Connor for a moment and says “Get the fuck out of my house!”

Connor ignores that too, dragging Hank to the bathroom, apologising every so often.

Henry decides to go and help , seeing as he has had experience with sobering up his own owner sometimes, and Cole only hiccups a bit and follows.

There’s the sound of a shower head being turned on, a loud scream, then Connor is leaving the bathroom, going into Hank’s room and emerging with a bundle of clothes under his arm, re-enters the bathroom, before leaving again.

He straightens his tie, and walks over to the gun on the floor, picking it up as if it could go off at any moment. He notes that the gun has no visible safety function and Rupert peers over his shoulder, voice suddenly full of dread.

“Check the-the cylinder…” He says, pointing to the named area.

Connor pushes the revolver’s cylinder to the side, revealing a single bullet in one of the chambers.

“I had my suspicions when Cole said his dad played with his gun, I just didn’t want to be right…” Rupert says, worrying the edge of his cap.

Connor looks at him, as if he’s asking why?

“Russian Roulette. One of the people in the apartment you found me in used to play it.” Rupert elaborates. “G, does Hank have no one to turn to?”

Connor looks back at the gun, the note “Suicidal Intentions?” flash across his vision as he spins the barrel once again, the bullet landing right where the barrel was.

“The next shot would have killed him…” Connor mutters, placing the gun back on the floor.

Connor sits and pets Sumo, who barks and settles down.

That’s when Hank comes out, dressed in clean clothes, not noticing his house is fuller than before.

“Alright, I’m ready. Let’s go Connor.” He says, picking up his revolver and going to the door. “You coming?”

Connor stares before saying “Of course Lieutenant. I’ll drive.”

[purple-spring]

Apparitions - a SH fanfic

Author’s note: And so here it is, my labour of love and early Christmas present for the SH fandom - the sequel to ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘Coming Home’. I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people. To @jandjsalmon​, my beta/meta/co-pilot, thank you, as always, for reading and reworking and questioning and pushing this to become what it is now. Erin is my tribute to you. To @theatreofexpression​, who also read and beta’d and cheered me on, you are a gift, and I treasure our conversations. To @oleekingcole​, @gingerheel​ and @a92vm​ for all your support - I am grateful for our friendships.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. While it is based on a number of real-life events (Riverdale auditions, shooting of Riverdale 1.06, the SH San Francisco trip), it is purely speculative, and was not intended to upset or offend.

Summary: Lili is haunted by Cole, and by her fears. When the time comes to banish her ghosts, will she fold? Or will she follow her heart?

Read below, after the cut, or on Ao3. 

“Do you believe in ghosts, Lili?”

The voice that Cole put on was ridiculous, and Lili rolled her eyes at him to indicate that she thought as much. He laughed as he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her in against him, kissing the top of her head affectionately. He’d been in a good mood ever since they landed - gleeful, even. As though by simply moving away from the confines of Vancouver, the context of work, he was immediately freed to be this - happy, carefree, relaxed Cole.

Luggage in hand, they looked up at the gaudy pink facade of the Queen Anne Hotel - apparently one of San Francisco’s most haunted spots, which looked anything but spooky in the garish light of day.

Cole turned to her. “You ready?” She nodded excitedly.

When he’d first suggested it for their weekend away, she was reluctant. Having been accustomed to their getaways in the wild woods of British Columbia, San Francisco felt like a strange, random choice. Throw in a haunted hotel, and it seemed downright bizarre. But Cole’s stubbornness, and his powers of persuasion, were the stuff of legend; he’d once spent three days locked in a bitter stalemate with Roberto over what breed Hot Dog should be, and lost, but just barely, and not for lack of trying.

While Lili was proud of the fact that she was less susceptible to Cole’s nagging (one of the advantages of being his actual girlfriend and being on the receiving end of his pleas all too often), she was certainly not immune to being swayed by a pair of piercing, pleading blue eyes and countless sleepy conversations in the morning while she was still enveloped in his arms. This, he knew, was totally unfair on his part: she was completely undone in his embrace.

“But it would be so good, Lils,” he said, nuzzling her bare belly with his nose, right where he knew it tickled. She giggled and kicked at him half-heartedly. He looked at her with a glint of mischief in his eye before biting down - gently, but firm enough to leave a mark - causing her to sit upright, cussing up a storm, before whacking him soundly with a pillow.

“Not cool,” she mumbled, rubbing gingerly at the spot where he’d bitten her, before lying back down. He smiled before bending down to kiss it apologetically, getting a sarcastic little pat on the cheek in return.

“Seriously, though,” he said, resting his cheek back on her stomach and looking up at her. “It would be intriguing, right?”

“I don’t know, Cole. I mean, why would I want to stay overnight at a haunted hotel? That’s just asking for it.”

“Asking for what, exactly?”

“Like, asking to be haunted, I guess?”

Cole’s head popped up as he gave her a skeptical look. “You don’t believe in that shit, do you?”

“Hey, might I remind you that your own brother believes in that shit? Remember when he freaked out at the Chateau Marmont?”

“Yeah, but that’s Dylan. Which reminds me, I need to send him my monthly text message asking him if he’s felt any more of that weird energy he was harping on about.” Lili smirked at that. Round infinity of the Sprouse Roast Battle. “As for you, though, I thought you’d be more of a skeptic about that sort of stuff.”

“Me?” Lili paused, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. “I don’t know. I’d say that I have a healthy dose of fear and superstition. Like, say, if someone read my tea leaves or something and said that they saw misfortune in my future? Eh. Whatever.”

Cole grinned at her, the dimples over his top lip deepening in the laugh that threatened to spill out of him. “Alright, ‘fess up, Lils. Who read your tea leaves? Was it Mads? It was totally Mads, right?”

“No!” Lili laughed. “She’s a vegan, Cole, not some earth goddess.”

“Oh, come on, like she wouldn’t be reading your tea leaves.”

“Okay. First of all, no-one read my tea leaves, I was making a point. Secondly, you know I don’t drink tea. It’s basically —“

“Flavoured hot water, yes, you’ve said so a million times.”

“Exactly. And thirdly, leave my beautiful precious vegan bean alone.” Cole laughed and settled his head back on her tummy. “Anyway, that sort of stuff, I wouldn’t sweat. But staying overnight at a hotel that’s actually known to be haunted? Come on. That’s some serious, next-level insanity.”

“I’m just saying,” he mumbled, face down on her bare skin. “It would be interesting.”

Lili narrowed her eyes. “Okay. Out with it, Sprouse. What’s your angle? Why are you pushing so hard for this?”

“No angle.” Cole slung his arm over her waist and looked up at her. “Just, you know, a fun weekend with my girl. And the pictures would be cool, don’t you think?”

She pushed a lock of hair away from his eyes. “There are cool pictures to be taken anywhere, and you of all people should know that.”

“Okay, fine then. It would be an adventure. And you love adventures, don’t you?”

Lili smiled, still bashful over his reference to her birthday greeting. “Yeah, but to somewhere that potentially houses a ghostly presence?”

He sat up and stared at her levelly. “Wow. You honestly don’t remember?”

She racked her brain desperately. Nothing stood out. “Sorry. I’m out.”

“Come on. The abandoned mental hospital? Season 1 shooting in Coquitlam?” He looked mildly hurt. “I thought you would’ve made the connection, Lils. It’s coming up to a year.”

Shit. Of course. Lili wanted to smack herself in the face. Did she really forget? Wait. That didn’t sound right. She made the calculations in her head.

“Cole, that was in November. We’re planning for this weekend in October.”

“It’s close.”

Lili laughed. “It’s barely close!”

“It’s close enough.”

“Well, you made me feel like shit for forgetting. And I didn’t.” Her eyes softened at the memory. “Come on. How could I forget that?”

Indeed, how could she? Riverview Hospital. Filming Episode 6. Cole, surrounded by the debris of a decrepit asylum, his hands cupping her face, the two of them emotional but also laughing at the absurdity of having a moment in the midst of an abandoned mental hospital, of all places.

As they now stood in front of the Queen Anne, his arm around her shoulder, hers wrapped around his waist, she recognised that perhaps it had slipped her mind momentarily because all of that felt like a whole lifetime ago. In that moment, as they lay in bed, caught up in travel plans and each other, those days of secrecy and second-guessing and sneaking kisses around the set seemed like ancient history.

It was his question, unintentionally, that brought it all back. It reminded her of the days when she was unsure about what she meant to him, or even what he meant to her. When he was nothing but an apparition that lurked in the corners of her mind and made her heart clench in its tender, invisible grip.

Do you believe in ghosts, Lili?

She sure did.

He was once one of hers.

…

It was at auditions for Riverdale that they’d first crossed paths. She’d been engrossed in her script, running over lines in her head with her earphones plugged in, barely conscious of the fact that some guy she had never met before had been nudging her foot repeatedly to get her attention. One last, hard nudge did it: she finally looked up, startled, as he motioned for her to remove her earphones.

“Hey, are you Lili?” She nodded and replied in the affirmative. “I think they’re calling your name.”

Her first thought was, oh, shit. She scrambled to get all her things together, willing herself to stay calm.

Her second thought, as she conversed briefly with Foot Nudge Guy, was, oh, hey. Kinda cute?

But she had no time to extend that thought as she hurriedly said goodbye to her friend Israel (who was trying out for both Archie and Jughead) and rushed off into her audition. It wasn’t until later when Israel came over to catch up and debrief over dinner that she realised who it was.

“You are bullshitting me.” She froze while rummaging in the kitchen drawer. “Cole Sprouse? Like, Cody Martin Cole Sprouse? You’re telling me that he was the guy who was nudging my foot?”

“Yeah, it was definitely him. They called his name out and everything,” replied Israel. He laughed suddenly. “Everyone in the room was falling all over themselves to get a glimpse of him, and you were literally the only person he spoke to, and you barely noticed him.”

Lili shrugged sheepishly. “Well, I was prepping for my audition.”

“Fair. Also, I think he might’ve been auditioning for Archie as well. Just my luck.”

“Aw, come on. You totally should’ve just psyched him out, Izzy. Stared him down, or pushed him as you walked past or something.”

Israel laughed. “Fuck, dude. Like I’m really gonna psych out Cole Sprouse. The guy’s been acting since he was in diapers.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lili paused thoughtfully. She thought of the guy that she saw at the audition - completely unassuming, determinedly normal - and felt a pang of sympathy for him, an actor who was just trying to book a job, but with all the added pressure of everyone staring and speculating and wanting a piece of him. “I wonder what drew him back to acting.”

“Who knows? Didn’t he and his brother go to college for a while?”

“That’s what I heard.”

Just then, Israel’s phone buzzed on the table. He gave Lili a nervous glance before picking it up. He read it quickly, then his face fell. “Shit. My agent. I didn’t get the part.”

“Aw, Iz.” She walked over and consoled him by patting his shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Israel visibly relaxed. “Actually, you know what? This is good. I don’t think I told you - I auditioned for this other film, which went really well, and I was kinda nervous that I’d have to pick between that and Riverdale if I got this one, too.”

“That’s awesome. So I guess the universe made that decision for you, huh?”

“Totally.”

“And, you know, worse comes to worse, you’ve always got my famous curly fries to give you solace.”

“More like your frozen bag specialty curly fries.”

Lili beamed as the oven timer sounded. “Hey, don’t hate. Haters don’t get curly fries.”

She was pulling the fries out of the oven when her phone rang. Israel glanced at her. As working actors, they knew what a phone call meant, as opposed to a text message.

“Lils?”

“Yep. I know.” Lili took a deep breath and held her phone in her hand as it kept ringing. She faced away from the room, keeping her face close to one of the kitchen walls. Inhale, exhale. Repeat. She finally answered the call. “Hi, Lili here.”

The next few moments were a blur, out of which she could only remember the most mundane details. The heat emanating from the open oven. The tired, pale pink paint of the wall she was facing. The distinct smell of fries. And the way she looked down at her shirt to check if it was puffing out from how hard and fast her heart was beating.

She hung up and turned to Israel, tears in her eyes. He knew. And she would remember what he was about to say to her in that moment for a long time. She would mark it as the veil that divided her life into Before and After, foreshadowing not only Riverdale, but everything else - Vancouver, the long days and nights of shooting, the thrill and loneliness of her sudden skyrocket to fame, the comfort of unexpected friendships.

And, of course, Cole.

“Lils,” Israel said in a half-whisper. “I literally just watched your life change.”

…

That was the beginning. Back then, Cole had been a half-formed spectre that dipped its toe into her head every now and then, making the occasional ripple.

And then she took his jacket home by accident, and things started to change.

Roberto had called her not long after her agent did, warmly congratulating her on getting the part and looking to arrange a meeting with her and the guy who booked Jughead’s role.

“We haven’t confirmed it with him just yet,” Roberto said, laughing. “So we’ll hold off letting you know who it is for now. It’ll be a good surprise on the day.”

Despite the uncertainty, Lili was excited. She knew that the show had only been green-lit for a pilot episode at that point, but the prospect of working on a potentially big project - one that could mean a new life as a full-fledged working actress - thrilled her. And she was also excited to meet one of her future castmates.

Walking into the production office that day, Lili regretted not bringing a cardigan. It was an unusually hot spring day in LA, and as a result, the building was blasting its air conditioner at full strength. She’d dressed carefully for the meeting, mimicking an outfit she saw on Betty in one of the special edition Betty comics - a red, strappy sundress with yellow flowers printed on it. She found it at a thrift store, and couldn’t believe her luck. She knew that Roberto, being the creative director of the comics, would recognise it immediately and appreciate the reference.

What she wasn’t expecting was the fact that the guy playing Jughead would recognise it, too.

Or that said guy was Cole Sprouse.

What. The actual. Fuck. She recognised him and silently cursed Israel for getting the guy’s audition details wrong. He said Cole was auditioning for Archie! How am I supposed to deal with this now?

Cole was already seated and reading (she caught a glimpse of Hemingway on the book spine), and suddenly she feared doing something stupid or awkward as she walked into the reception area. Somehow, she managed not to trip over herself, or make a strange noise, or stare longer than necessary, and for that she quietly congratulated herself.

She couldn’t help it, though - she stole a quick glance. Lili realised that she had only been partially right about him seeming normal. Because while he did look the part - dressed as he was in dark khakis, a plain white shirt, worn tan jacket, with a large backpack sitting at his feet - her keen eyes recognised that he carried with him the aura and glow of difference, of being just a little more special than everyone else. It was in his eyes - they were bright, active, perpetually amused. They carried the playful air of a prince pretending to be a pauper.

Lili sat down two seats away from him, unsure whether she should initiate a conversation. As it turned out, she didn’t need to worry - he spoke to her first.

“Betty comics, number 12, 1994,” Cole said, startling her out of her apprehension. She looked up, and he was looking at her with a subtle, half-formed smile. “Right?”

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Your outfit. It’s Betty’s. From the special edition Betty spin-off.” He looked away and chewed on his lower lip thoughtfully. “Or maybe it was number 11?”

“Number 13, actually. ‘Paper Caper.’” Lili smiled at him. “But good try.”

“Ah, damn it. Knew I should’ve crammed for the impromptu Archie universe quiz.” Cole leaned over and offered his hand. “I’m Cole, by the way.”

She took his hand and shook it. It was warm to the touch, and his handshake was firm while the skin was smooth, though slightly calloused at the knuckles. A craftsman’s hands. She remembered that he was a photographer now. “Hey, Cole. I’m — “

“Lili, yeah. From auditions. I remember.”

What the hell? He remembers me? She masked her surprise by laughing at the memory. “That’s right, I think I have you and your foot to thank for getting me to my audition in time.”

“Damn straight. My foot will now take a small cut of all future earnings as a token of your gratitude.”

She laughed. “Sweet. Does it take AMEX?”

“This is a cash-only operation, kid. Sorry.”

“Cash-only, huh? And here I was thinking this was completely legit.”

“Whoa, hey. Cole Sprouse, Foot and Co is a totally legitimate outfit.”

There it was. His name, his famous, well-known name - though couched within a joke - was now released into the ether. She felt it hanging in the air between them - an unwanted phantom reminding them that they weren’t just two random strangers who managed to hit it off immediately, that his fame made it a little more complicated than that. She could tell that he knew it, too, and that, like her, he was regretting the awkward halt to their spitfire banter. She decided to change the subject. “So... you know comics, huh?”

Cole beamed. Lili was touched to see his relief at the distraction. “Oh, yeah. I worked at this huge comic book store on Sunset Boulevard for a while.”

“You mean Meltdown?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” His eyes lit up. “You know it?”

“I do,” Lili said. “I, um, actually have this thing for special effects make-up, and I’ve been there a few times to pick up some inspiration.”

“No kidding. You got any pictures of your work?”

She felt shy all of a sudden. “Yeah. Did you wanna see them?”

Cole got up and settled into the seat right next to her. “I do, actually. I’d love to.”

She unlocked her phone, opening to the album containing all of her work before leaning over to show him. This close, she caught his scent; a mix of pine, laundry soap, and the faint undertone of cigarettes. She wasn’t sure why, but she consciously committed it to memory.

“So, um, these are a few that I did on some friends…”

She swiped through, showing him pictures of cosplay makeup she had done during Comic Con season, some prosthetic work (which fascinated Cole the most), and some Halloween looks she had experimented with. She was in the middle of showing him her 2D Wonder Woman look when he paused, seemingly intent on something, before gently placing his hand on her forearm.

It was a jolt to her senses. It was so sudden, yet so innocent and unassuming. She looked up at him, and their eyes met. They were close enough that she could take a closer look at him, count the freckles and moles that formed a constellation on his face.

“Goosebumps,” he announced matter-of-factly. “You’re cold.”

“Um, yeah,” she conceded. This close to him, she could barely think straight. “It’s freezing in here.”

Cole stood up and shrugged his jacket off. “Here, put this on.”

“What? Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly --”

“Lili. Honestly, it’s fine.” She felt a small, unexpected thrill at the sound of her name coming out of his lips. It sounded both foreign and familiar, as though he’d known how to say it his entire life, and she was hearing him say it for the first time today. “Besides, I’ve been numbed and hardened to the cold by many a bitter New York winter.” As he said this, he put on an old man voice, which cracked her up. “This jacket is purely for aesthetic purposes.”

She took the jacket from him and put it on. Aside from the extra bulk, it felt like a second skin - warm, well-worn, comfortable, protective. She looked down at her outfit. “Not much of a Betty now, though, am I?”

Cole shrugged and smiled. “Still looks good.”

Lili froze while her mind went overdrive. Was that a compliment? Wait, is he flirting with me? Are we FLIRTING? But before she had time to think this through, a door had opened and a PA was inviting them to step in. Cole picked his bag up and gave her a bemused look before gesturing ceremoniously towards the door.

“Well,” he said. “Shall we?”

The meeting was fairly casual, with Roberto wanting his first two co-stars to meet each other properly and to get a glimpse into the planned narrative arcs for their respective characters (if the pilot was successful). The entire process was fascinating to both of them - Cole had obviously been out of acting for a while, and Lili had never worked on anything as large-scale as Roberto was planning for Riverdale to be. A whirlwind of storyboards and script teases and sketches made time pass quickly, and soon Lili found herself being ushered back out to the waiting area with Cole. Both of them were buzzing with anticipation.

“Well…” Lili started. The sentence trailed off and finished in a grin. There was no other response, no words for how excited she felt about working on Riverdale.

“Yeah.” Cole nodded. He seemed to be in a daze as well. He caught her eye and she couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. He did, too. Out of pure mirth. As if they couldn’t believe their luck.

“This is crazy, right?” she said.

“Absolutely fucking crazy.” A short pause settled into their conversation as Cole seemed to mull something over. “Hey, you doing anything right now?”

Lili’s joyful mood dissolved as it gave way to nerves. Is he…? No. Don’t be ridiculous, Lili. Anyway, you’ve got something on. Gah. “Um… I am, actually,” she said. “I’m catching up with a friend over dinner. I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“Ah.” Cole nodded. “You live around here though, right? LA?”

“Yep. I’m an Ohio girl, though.”

“Awesome. We should hang out sometime.”

It was a statement, not a question, and from anyone else, at any other given time, it would’ve sounded arrogant. But not from Cole. Because Lili knew, as well as he did, that he was just following through to the natural conclusion of the afternoon they just had - the banter, the ease, the strong, natural pull between them. It was beyond chemistry. It felt… spiritual. Supernatural.

Still, given who he was and how closely they’d be working together in the next few months, she was naturally hesitant. And so she was surprised to hear herself replying:

“Yeah, we should.”

Lili knew, from the moment they exchanged numbers, from the way she watched the deft movement of his fingers as they entered her contact details into his phone. She knew when he pulled her in for a hug before saying goodbye and felt her body melting into his. She knew when she jumped into her Uber and realised, with a surprise, that she was still wearing his jacket. And that he didn’t ask for it back, either.

She knew. It was a foregone conclusion.

She was haunted by Cole.

...

The next few months passed by in a golden blur. Slowly, Lili’s days filled up with preparing for Riverdale. And with Cole. He texted her often, and called most nights. She met Dylan, as well as Cole’s entire social set from the West Coast, and soon became friends with them as well. He took her around to where he was staying in LA - at Debby’s - where they’d watch sunsets and pet her cats while talking about everything and nothing at all. He gave her unnecessarily detailed lectures on how to use her camera. She sent him memes.

At first, it was fine. She figured that whatever she felt for him at the production meeting was a fluke and would eventually dissolve with time. Except... they didn’t. Instead, she could feel something taking root in her heart. Whether it was infatuation or love, she couldn’t quite tell just yet. But it was there. And it made her panic.

When he told her how he felt for her, his confession whispered in the early hours of morning as they lay together on the couch at Debby’s place, that panic was replaced by euphoria, which was only heightened with each frenzied kiss, each extended ‘good night’ over the phone. They kept things between them for the time being, wanting to preserve and protect this still-undefined thing that they had, away from all the noise. They carefully avoided any talk of the future, living day to day just as Cole had promised: tomorrow, he had said. Tomorrow, you’ll still have me. And, faithfully, Lili held onto that.

But with each day that passed on the Riverdale set, the harsh black and white of reality slowly seeped into the technicolor dream that was her world with Cole. The hours were long, the schedule was gruelling, and she found herself mentally and physically exhausted by the demands of playing Betty Cooper. She started feeling more moody and brooding, despite Cole’s best efforts to make her laugh, as well as his constant insistence on pulling her into some unknown corner on set to sneak in a secret kiss. At first, she put it down to simple fatigue, and took naps whenever she could. But as the weeks wore on, she felt essentially the same, and it worried her.

One morning, after a night of tossing and turning, Lili turned up early to the Riverdale stages, where they were filming for the day. She’d woken up at 5 after finally drifting off to sleep only four hours prior to that. Frustrated at having gotten so little sleep, she threw off her covers and picked up her phone to check the time, and saw that she missed a text from Cole.

“KJ still shredding his guitar at 2 am. He claims that the apartment is sound-proof but clearly it’s not inconsideration-proof. Tempted to call cops on ourselves. Live with me? Please? KENETI SUX (don’t tell him I said that).”

It should have made Lili smile. Except that she noted the same strain of worry tugging at her, making her feel anxious. She tried to shrug it off, but as she got up to get ready for the day, she felt it sticking to her ribs and crowding her lungs.

“Lili?” Madelaine walked into out into living room, bleary-eyed and still in her pajamas. The two girls were sharing an apartment in Vancouver, which Lili was grateful for. They were both homebodies, happy to bunker down and watch old episodes of Friends while everyone else was out partying. “What the hell? Are we due on set this early?”

“No, babe. Go back to sleep. We’re due in at 9.” Lili got a mug out and starting spooning coffee granules into it. “I just woke up early, that’s all.”

Madelaine gave her a look as she eyed the coffee container in Lili’s hand. “Uh, Lils? You don’t drink coffee.”

“I know.”

“And that’s my organic, shade-grown, vegan-certified coffee.” She considered Lili carefully. “Are you okay?”

Lili picked up the container and looked at the label. “Huh. Didn’t realise. Should do me fine, though.”

Madelaine walked over to her. “Hey, look at me.” Lili turned, and Madelaine gasped in fake horror. “Okay, whoa, we are gonna need some face masks tonight because those eye bags are killing me, girl. Those are Cole level eye bags.” Lili gave a short, humourless laugh at that. “Honestly though, are you alright? You haven’t been yourself these past few days.”

“I know, Mads. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry. That’s you, and that’s how you feel. Doesn’t matter what it’s about. Don’t apologise for that.” Madelaine rubbed her back, and Lili felt tears welling up in her eyes. She was tired and worried for no apparent reason, and Mads was being so kind and maternal, and it took all of her energy and willpower not to burst into frustrated tears. She turned to her and gave her a quick hug.

“Thanks. I’ll be okay. And, um…” Lili looked pointedly and regretfully at the mug of unmade vegan coffee.

Madelaine rolled her eyes and laugh. “Yep, I’ll get rid of this.”

Lili smiled and headed out the door. “Love you, Mads.”

“Love you too, Lils.”

Lili drove in to the studio lot. There was hardly anyone at the stages when she walked in. Britta, one of the series writers, waved at her happily and came over. “Hey, Lilibeth,” she said, using the crew’s favourite nickname for Lili. “Shit, what time is it? I didn’t know you guys were due to come in already.”

“Nah, you’re fine. I got up early, actually.” On cue, Lili stifled a yawn. “Thought I might as well come to set, get some prep work in.”

“Yeah, well, don’t work yourself too hard just yet. It’ll probably be a while before we start shooting. Have a walk around for now. Hair and makeup should be getting set up soon.”

“Thanks, Brit.”

“No problem. Oh, and hey, is Cole around?”

Lili went still. Why was she being asked about Cole ? Did they know? For some reason, this bothered her more than it should have. “Um, no...? Why?”

“Oh, I’ve just got something on script he needs to check. No biggie. I’ll catch you later, okay?”

Lili picked up a hot chocolate from craft services and walked around the stages, stopping to chat and say hi to people here and there. As sleep-deprived as she was, she was enjoying this - seeing the cameras rolled out across the floor, the set designers hard at work adding little details to each interior, the script supervisors flipping through the scripts and marking things off their lists.

This was the life she had chosen, since age 14. There was no Plan B for her - she decided that for herself a long time ago. It was going to be acting or nothing. And now here she was, in the midst of a dream come true, and yet something was niggling at her, and she couldn’t figure it out.

As Lili walked past the Cooper house stage, she slowed down.

She and Cole would be filming there the next day - their first onscreen kiss. She remembered, with a smile, how they had received the script and read over it together in her apartment, kiss included and all. He played the role of director too, joking that each kiss wasn’t good enough (“Come on, I’m just not FEELING it, Lili.” “Shut up, Cole.” “Make me.” And she did).

Standing here now, though, she felt none of that pure elation and only felt… apprehension. They had joked about it all week since reading the script, but now that they were coming up to it, Lili felt more and more nervous, almost as if…

Hang on.

She stopped in her tracks. The truth finally crashed over her.

It was simple. So simple she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t seen it coming. Her reaction to Cole’s text that morning, Britta’s innocent query regarding his whereabouts...

She was running scared.

It was staring her straight in the face, literally, as she faced the exterior of the Cooper house stage. Here, her work, her dreams, and all the sweat and toil she had invested into them, were about to intersect with a relationship that was still taking its first, tentative steps.

And she had no idea what was going to happen.

Because this wasn’t how the story was supposed to go. Not in her mind. Not when she started out on this path. She had landed the biggest role of her career and the trajectory of her life was meant to be straightforward and predictable from then on.

Cole, however, was an unexpected twist in the tale. She didn’t see him coming, and now that they had collided head-on, she was reeling from the impact.

The questions came to her mind, fast and unbidden.

What if we hold each other back?

What if this doesn’t work?

What happens when people find out?

What happens when we fight?

What if he loses his focus?

What if I lose mine?

And, most painful of all. What if I lose HIM?

Lili walked up the steps to the Cooper house in a half-daze, and she sat herself down on the doorstep to collect her thoughts. The euphoria and afterglow of being with Cole had kept all these questions at bay, but now, as reality was setting in, they were being unleashed, and she was powerless to stop them.

Suddenly, everything she took for granted in the past few months was overshadowed by the cold sting of fear.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted this kiss to happen.

…

Lili felt out of sorts for the rest of that day. Thankfully, it was a light day, shooting-wise - just a few filler scenes before they got around to the heavier sequences over the next few days.

Cole arrived on set later in the afternoon, just as Lili was finishing. He was on his way out of the makeup trailer when she stepped in for her clean-up. She was so lost in her thoughts that she bumped into him on the steps leading up.

“Whoa!” he said, laughing as he steadied her by the shoulders. “Has someone been drinking the acetone?”

“Cole,” she breathed out. She felt spooked seeing him, as if her thoughts had materialised this apparition standing in front of her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” Lili racked her brains for something, anything, to say. “So, ah, you’re shooting today?”

Cole gave her a funny look. ”Yeah. I work here, Lils. Not just a pretty face, you know.” He smirked at her, eyebrows raised, lips slightly puckered - a deliberate ‘pretty’ pose. Despite the fact that it was so ridiculous and put on, it still melted her.

“Of course, yeah. Stupid question.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Totally.” She forced herself to smile. “Oh. Hey. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your text earlier.”

“Which one?”

“KJ shredding guitar at 2 am. Hang on, you sent me another one?” She slipped her hand into her pocket, looking for her phone.

“Yeah, just a few hours ago. I figured you’d be filming.” He chuckled at a sudden memory. “Oh, and as for KJ, I ended up throwing a carrot at his head. Not my most impressive enactment of a visual metaphor - because ‘carrot top’, of course - but it got the message across.”

“You guys actually have carrots at your place?”

Cole rolled his eyes. “KJ juices.”

“Oh. Right.” Despite herself, she giggled at the mental image she had conjured of KJ chopping up vegetables and throwing them into a blender (“Carrots. Pineapple. Ginger. Legends.”).

He smiled at the sight of her laughing. “Hey, so, the text I sent you. Apparently, this place we’re  shooting at in two days? Is haunted as fuck.”

“Really?” She slid the lock button on her screen to open his message, and there it was - a screenshot of an article he’d been reading on Atlas Obscura. She looked at the description and read it out loud. “’Riverview Hospital, historic insane asylum… what untold stories could be uncovered from the relics of an institution that has witnessed the torment of so many personal demons?’ Holy shit.”

“Right?” Cole looked as though all his dreams had come true. “So you in?”

“Am I in? For what?”

Cole gave an enigmatic little grin. “A little urban exploring adventure.”

On any given day, Lili would have jumped at the opportunity. But not today, not after her earlier revelation on the steps of the Cooper house. She wasn’t sure she could take some extended alone time with Cole right now. “Look. It sounds great. But honestly, I am way too much of a wuss for that.”

Cole scoffed. “You? Seriously? Come on. And anyway, I’ll be there. I’ll bring my camera and everything. It’ll be fun.”

“Cole.” Lili was starting to fret inside. She had to dissuade him somehow. This would be in two days. It was going to be the day after their kiss scene. She wasn’t sure how that was going to work, what the aftermath would be.

“What?” His face fell slightly. “You don’t wanna come?”

“Can I just… can I let you know closer to the day?”

Cole shrugged, obviously a little disappointed. “Alright then. Just let me know soon. I want you there, Lils.” He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. “It won’t be much of an adventure without you.” He looked around quickly before swooping in to kiss her playfully on the cheek, and walked off in the direction of the stages.

Lili felt the outline of his lips on her skin as she watched him leave, and knew that it would stay there for a while.

Don’t do that, she thought. Don’t make me fall harder for you than I’m falling right now.

…

The morning drive felt like a meditation. Lili had woken up extra early to prepare herself for the scene, reading over her script again, reciting it out loud to herself, then repeating it without the paper in front of her.

But that was just a distraction. After all, she was always pretty good with memorising dialogue. On her drive to the set, she was focusing on an entirely different set of words.

It’s just another scene.

It’s just another scene.

It’s just another scene.

She repeated it to herself like a mantra as she drove, and if she had a little bit longer - an extra day, perhaps - she would have eventually believed it. But as she pulled into the parking lot, she felt her palms sweating on the steering wheel, her stomach filling with butterflies. She wondered whether Cole was feeling the same.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t messaged her that morning, hadn’t brought the kiss up in conversation in the past few days. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Maybe it would be fine.

But as she slipped on her costume for the day - Betty’s usual jeans paired with a light, cream-coloured V-neck sweater - she became aware of the same questions plaguing her mind from the day before. What if we hold each other back? What if this doesn’t work? What if I lose him?

It was going to be a long day.

Cole was already at the Cooper house stage when she arrived, drinking coffee and laughing with some of the film crew. He caught her eye as she walked in, and he gave her a soft smile and raised his cup at her by way of greeting. Looking to avoid him, she gave him a quick nod and a wave before finding a spot on a couch on the other side of the room, lying down and closing her eyes.

She wasn’t even aware that she’d dozed off until one of the crew tapped her on the shoulder. She got up, had her ponytail fixed quickly, and nervously ascended the stairs to Betty’s bedroom.

She didn’t even get a chance to speak to him properly before shooting started. Steven, their director, was at the bottom of the ladder outside Betty’s window, talking Cole through the scene. He did the same with her earlier, and as she waited, she stared at the bits of duct tape on the floor that marked her blocking cues. They had blocked the scene fairly quickly, and in that time, she and Cole were both bristling with a nervous energy that prevented them from saying too much to one another. They both sensed the significance of the scene. Roberto, who had written the episode, was taking a rare break from working through scripts and was standing next to one of the cameras, eager to see how the scene would pan out. It was a big day for the series: the birth of Bughead.

The scene as it was scripted would be fairly simple: Jughead would knock on the window, wait for Betty to open it, and say his line. He’d climb through, they’d have their exchange and turn to face each other. After that, it was onto the kiss - bold, swift and immediate, just as Roberto and Tessa had written it in the script. She’d be startled, she’d remember Jason’s car, and they’d end it with their sleuthing dialogue. Easy.

Well, easier said than done, Lili thought.

Soon enough, Steven was standing behind the camera, and the scene was ready to be filmed. “Quiet on the set!” someone yelled. Lili sat at Betty’s vanity, fiddling with her necklace. A chorus of voices signalled the start of shooting.

“Roll it— ”

“We’re rolling.”

“Thirty-three, take one, and—”

“Action!”

A tap on the window. Lili turned around, performing her first beat perfectly. Cole stepped through into Betty’s room, and they moved seamlessly through their blocking - Betty walking ahead of Jughead, turning to him every now and then as they went through their dialogue.

Betty was meant to be distracted in this scene, and Lili played that up, making sure to avoid looking at Cole. But as he said the line “they’re parents, they’re all crazy,” she couldn’t help it - she looked up briefly, and noticed that his own eyes were downcast. That they seemed to be avoiding her.

Well, that’s different. In rehearsals, Cole usually delivered the line straight, with a confident, knowing smirk. Here, Lili could feel a different energy emanating from him, but she couldn’t name it, couldn’t be distracted, not now when was being swept up in the mood of the scene.

“Also…”

Well. Here we are. Jughead’s big line. The prelude to the kiss. She braced herself.

“What?” she replied.

She looked expectantly at Cole. He should have been kissing her by now. Instead, his gaze flitted anxiously over her, his eyebrows drawn together as though in confusion.

Oh my god. Did he forget this part? The air thickened with tension. Lili grew nervous as she felt the room weighing in on them, and she racked her brain desperately, trying to think of what to do as the cameras kept rolling. She decided to cue him in again. It was technically off-script, but never mind - he’d thank her later for stepping in.

She repeated her line, a little more forcefully. “What?”

And then, there. In that flash of a second, she saw it.

Doubt. Hesitation. Fear.

All in his eyes. All mirroring her own.

In that moment, it shocked her. Cole - confident, self-assured Cole - was standing here in front of her in such vulnerability.

And she saw the truth that had eluded her in these past few days, the one she would’ve guessed at, had she been paying attention.

That she wasn’t the only who was afraid.

That he was haunted, too.

But before she could process any of this properly, she was startled back into the present as he visibly switched gears, stepping in swiftly to close the distance between their lips, right when she least expected it.

It was unlike anything they had ever rehearsed or even done in real life. It wasn’t what the script called for. It started out like a cymbal crash, but turned tenuous and tender - a quiet question mark rather than the decisive full stops or passionate exclamation marks that characterised her kisses with Cole.

And she was hopelessly lost, enveloped in this secret part of him that he was unknowingly letting her into. It felt intimate, to be staring into this fissure that he had exposed. It didn’t scare her; it felt right. It threw her into blissful relief, to feel the tentativeness in that kiss, to feel her own uncertainty mirrored and marked onto her lips by his own.

As they parted, she smiled, purely out of reflex. Cole’s hand was still cupping her face, and he released a deep sigh that seemed to take up his whole body.

“Cut.”

Steven’s voice was like a temple bell cutting through the transcendence of the moment, calling them all back to reality. Lili was confused. The scene wasn’t over yet. She turned to the crew and saw that they were all transfixed. Roberto’s eyes were misting over behind his glasses.

“Guys, that was….” He was momentarily lost for words. “That was it. That was the take.”

Britta, who was the script supervisor for the scene, cleared her throat. “Roberto, that wasn’t how you and Tessa planned it on the script here. You okay with that?”

“Am I okay with it?” Roberto shook his head in incredulity and turned to their director, who looked just as moved as the rest of the crew. “What do you think, Steve?”

Steven looked over to Cole and Lili, taking them in thoughtfully, as though he was seeing them in a new light. “I know we still had a few lines to go, but I had to stop it there because I wasn’t sure how you’d play the next beat, and quite frankly, I wanted to make sure that we preserved that on film.”

“Preserved what?” Lili asked.

Steven smiled at her. “Magic.”

…

Before Lili knew it, the scene had wrapped. She was desperate to speak to Cole, but Roberto had already cornered him in what appeared to be a fairly intense conversation. She loitered around for a few minutes, but gave up after they sat down on the couch, apparently settling in for a long discussion.

It was her only scene for the day. Lili made her way back to the makeup trailer in a pensive daze, watching her feet as they measured out her steps. She had no idea how she ended up seated in front of the mirror, with Erin, the head makeup artist on the show, handing her a cotton ball soaked in cleanser.

“Alright, you beauty,” she said, smiling. “Let’s get you cleaned up and on your way home.”

Lili complied, methodically wiping the makeup off her face. She loved this. For her, it was an important part of her day, this literal stripping away of character. And she especially loved doing it with Erin, who had become a close friend to her in the months that they’d been doing Riverdale together, and who was one of the few people who actually knew about her and Cole. Often, she’d sit in the chair long after her makeup had been taken off, having long talks with her and sharing skin care tips and chocolate.

Erin busied herself with cleaning her brushes while Lili wiped off her eye makeup. “So. Everything go alright with the big scene today?”

Lili paused, the cotton ball poised over her eyelid. “Yeah. It went really well, actually.”

“Great.” Erin smiled warmly at her before turning back to her brushes. This was another reason why Lili loved her. She knew when to leave her be.

They were both quiet for a few moments, with nothing but the sound of running water echoing in the empty trailer. Erin tapped the brushes dry over the sink, then turned around and smiled at Lili through the mirror. “All done, then?”

Lili nodded. Erin took the cotton ball from her and threw it in the bin, before handing her a warm towel.

Lili dangled it loosely in her hand, thinking to herself. “Erin?”

“Yes, lovely?”

“What do you do when…” Lili’s voice trailed off, and she pursed her lips, unsure of how to complete that sentence. Erin stood by, waiting patiently.

“What do you do,” she started again, “when you’re absolutely sure that you’re right where you want to be, and you want to move things forward, but for some reason… you’re just scared shitless?”

Erin pulled up a chair right next to her and sat down. “Are we talking about a certain young Jeep-driving photographer here?”

“Well… yes. Partially. But it’s to do with everything else as well.” Lili exhaled a long breath. “Riverdale. Our careers. Everything.”

“Okay.” Erin nodded. “What do you think is making you scared?”

“I don’t know. I keep running through all these questions in my head - questions that maybe I should have been asking myself months ago, but didn’t. Or couldn’t.” Because I was crazy about Cole and still am and everything feels irrelevant whenever he says my name or his hands are on my skin. “Either way, I think they’re all essentially asking the same thing.”

“And what’s that?”

Lili turned her gaze on Erin, her eyes full of worry. “What if this breaks us?” she asked, her voice small. “What if it breaks me? ”

Erin sighed, and took Lili’s hands in hers.

“Lili, how did you get started on all this?”

“What, on Cole?”

Erin chuckled. “No, not Cole, honey. We all know how that started. The boy is very charming. And he was always nuts about you.” Lili smiled at that. “I mean acting. Your career.”

“Well… a lot of auditioning. A lot of getting knocked back.”

“I mean before that. Why did you audition? Why did you keep getting up, even when you got knocked back?”

Lili gave a short laugh. “Because it was the only thing I was good at?”

Erin swatted her arm lightly. “That isn’t even remotely true and you know it. Come on. Tell me.”

Lili paused thoughtfully. “It was the only thing I ever really wanted to do. It’s where my heart was. Or is.” She sighed. “It’s where my heart is.”

“Well.” Erin patted her hand. “Isn’t that your answer, then?”

“My answer? How?”

“Lili. Think about it. Your heart led you to acting. In that process, did it ever betray you?”

“No.”

“Did it ever fail to warn you of danger? Or lead you to the wrong door?

“No.”

“Did it ever leave you high and dry? In all those times when you were auditioning and failing and starting over, did it ever leave you short of passion, or tell you to give up?”

“No.”

Erin leaned forward, making sure that she listened. “Then follow it, Lili. Trust it. It hasn’t led you astray yet, and it won’t start now.”

Suddenly, Lili knew what she had to do.

“Erin…” She had no words. She’ll just have to express her gratitude later. “I’ll be back.”

She stood up and hugged Erin fiercely, before running out of the trailer.

Lili ran to the parking lot, to check if Cole was still around. By sheer luck, she caught him just as he was opening the door to the driver’s seat.

“Cole!”

He turned around, startled. She sprinted to his car, which was on the far end of the parking lot. She hadn’t run for a long time, and soon her legs and lungs were on fire. But she couldn’t stop. Somehow, her body was pushing her forward, propelling her to the only person that mattered right now.

But what was she supposed to say? Now, as she stood in front of him, out of breath, all coherent thought abandoned her.

“I, um…” She put her hand to her chest to control her breathing.

“Lils.” His eyes were wide as he took her in. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just… give me a sec… one moment…”

Cole was caught between looking amused and worried. Wordlessly, he took out a water bottle from his car and offered it to her. She shook her head.

Lili straightened up after a while. “Sorry. Were you leaving?”

He shook his head. “I was just grabbing something out of the car.”

“Oh. Right.” She looked him in the eye, and she was suddenly nervous. “Um. Are you still exploring the abandoned asylum tomorrow?

He looked surprised. “Yeah, I am.”

“Is anyone else going with you?”

Cole smirked. “Nah, I think it’s just me and the ghouls tomorrow. Why’d you ask?”

“Just… I would love to come.” She said it tentatively, worried that things had changed since their scene earlier. “Does my invitation still stand?”

Cole looked surprised at that. “Yeah, of course.” She breathed a sigh of relief. They were fine. Thank god. “But… Lils, I thought you were scared?”

“No,” she replied, smiling. “I’m not scared. Not anymore.”

…

Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam was a sprawling expanse of old, decrepit buildings that extended over a wide acreage of land. It had served many purposes since its inception as The Hospital of the Mind, but had been largely abandoned since the mid-1990s, and was mostly used as a filming location.

Many of the Riverdale crew had already worked there at one point or another, and all of them agreed: while it looked beautiful on film, it was definitely haunted, and none of them liked going anywhere near it.

“Place gives me the creeps,” said one of the lighting guys to Cole as he assembled his camera. “I have no idea why you two are so crazy about going in there. It’s dripping with ghosts.”

But nothing could dissuade Cole, and Lili had her heart set on following him. So as the crew set up the shoot, they went poking about the place, looking for an entrance. Cole was accustomed to urban exploring, while Lili was not, so he ran on ahead of her, rattling various doors and looking for windows they could climb through. Finally, he found one, and Lili felt a rush of affection for him as he poked his head from behind a loose door, his face spread widely into a grin, his hair dishevelled with bits of debris in it.

The entrance he found had a slightly precarious drop, as most of the staircases had crumbled away over time. As Cole took Lili’s hand to help her step in, he said quietly, “You know, there’s like a billion spiders in here.”

Lili yanked her hand away and smacked him on the arm. “Fuck off. I’m out. Seriously, Sprouse. I’m done.”

“Jesus. I was kidding.” Cole’s laugh echoed throughout the empty room. “Anyway, I thought you weren’t scared.”

“Cole, you know I hate spiders.”

“Alright, I’m sorry.” He smiled at her, and she cursed him silently for that smile - that perfect, heartbreaker’s smile that made everything immaterial in its wake. “Shall we?”

Together, they stepped into the room and were hit by the decades-old funk of pent-up dust and refuse and god knows what else. She knew she should have been scared, but somehow she only felt a heavy sort of sadness for what had transpired in the place - this was a mental hospital, after all. Cole seemed to feel it, too, as he suddenly turned quiet and pensive. He lifted his camera and started shooting as they delved further into the building.

They walked through the hospital, exploring long hallways and empty rooms. Cole shot some beautiful images, which he showed her.

“These are brilliant, Cole.”

“You think?” He examined one that he had taken of her standing in a doorway. “Ah. I can do better than that.”

“You’re too hard on yourself.” She gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “Honestly, these are beautiful. As always.”

Cole shrugged to himself, and she followed at a short distance behind him as he kept shooting away.

Now or never. She took a deep breath. “Cole?”

“Mmm?”  

“We, um… we never got to talk about our scene yesterday. The kiss.”

He lowered the camera, turning to look around at her. “What about it?”

“Well, for starters, that wasn’t how we rehearsed it.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, half-smiling. “Well, at one point we were rehearsing it on your couch, with you straddling my lap. So, yeah,” he laughed, “definitely not how we rehearsed it.”

She reddened and smiled at the memory. “You know what I mean. It was off-script. I had to cue you in twice, remember? I mean, it was definitely beautiful, and Roberto obviously loved it...” She crossed her arms. “But why? Why’d you play it differently?”

“I don’t know, I just...” He sighed and looked down. “It felt right, you know? It came out of what I was feeling at that exact, precise moment.”

“Which was…?”

“A whole fucking lot.” He laughed nervously while running his hands through his hair. “I mean, Jughead’s never kissed Betty, right? But you and me, we’ve kissed. We’ve done more than kiss. So, going into the scene, Steven and I were talking, and I realised that I had to access some part of myself that was in the same nervous, anxious place that Jug was at during that point.”

“And what place was that?”

“Can I be honest?” Lili nodded, encouraging him to go on. “It’s this.”

“What, me and you?”

“It is, but it’s more than that.” He scratched his cheek, frowning. “Look, the way I see it, shooting that scene was like a metaphor.”

That wasn’t what she was expecting. “A metaphor?”

“Yeah. For us. And for Riverdale.” He sighed. “There’s me and you, and that’s obviously surreal and incredible. But there’s also everything else - all the pressures of a schedule, the artifice of the set, the scrutiny of everyone around us. You know what I mean? All the noise.”

Lili nodded. Of course she knew what he meant. It was the same thing she’d brooded over on the steps of the Cooper house stage.

Cole went on. “I guess I was just hyper-aware of all of that heading in. The noise became a distraction, and suddenly what was supposed to be a fun scene where I got to kiss this gorgeous girl that I really liked turned into this overwhelming commotion.”

Despite the gravity of their conversation, Lili had to look down to suppress a smile. He called me gorgeous. It never got old.

“That’s why I hesitated, why you had to cue me in twice. I was just caught up in my own head.” He looked at her, his eyes filled with a soft tenderness. “But your voice called me out of that, Lili. When you cued me in the second time, it was... like air. Like breath. And suddenly there was this clarity amidst all the doubt and fear that was clouding my mind.”

Fear. There it was again, that word, lurking over them like a watchful spirit, waiting to see who’d slip up first. The truth, which she had guessed correctly in those tentative seconds after their lips parted, was that they were both scared. They were both calculating the risk, aware that with each day that they found themselves in each other’s arms again, the stakes were being raised, and the questions were stacking up. Is this worth it? Will this stick? Will it stay?

And she was done with it.

Today, she had the answer to silence all her questions. Here, of all places, where fear lived, she was banishing hers.

She took a step towards him, closing the gap between them. “Cole, I need you to listen to everything I have to say without stopping me. Okay? Because if you stop me, I don't know if I can say it all.”

He nodded, and they were both silent. Lili brought her hand up to touch his chest, to feel his heart beating in the palm of her hand. It was strange to see him so still. Cole was always in motion, always talking, always on the move. His heartbeat - steady, constant and faithful - was a reminder of that. But right now, she needed him to stay put.

“When you first told me how you felt about me, back in LA, I was afraid. I was scared of my own feelings, afraid of how much I felt for you, and terrified of where that would take me.”

Cole nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

“But I shouldn’t have been, because every day with you since then has been an adventure. You’ve made me laugh. You’ve given me the craziest stories to tell. You’ve taken me to some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.” She looked around them. “Except this. Honestly, this place is a mess, Cole.”

He laughed at that, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

“A few days ago, I was afraid again, for all the same reasons that you were afraid. Because suddenly everything became real, right?” Cole nodded. “Yesterday’s kiss wasn’t just an onscreen kiss with some random guy. It was a kiss with you. And yes, we were professionals about it, and the scene turned out amazing, but still - the fear was there because I didn’t want any of that noise to get to us.”

She exhaled and looked up at him. “But the noise is always going to be there, right? If it’s not Riverdale, it’ll be something else. And so it’s pointless to be afraid, to run scared. Otherwise, we’d be running this whole time.

“I don’t have all the answers to my questions. And I can’t say that I’ve resolved everything in my mind and that everything will be fine. But... I’m okay with that now. Because being with you has only made me bolder, Cole. It’s given me more courage to be myself, to pursue my passions, to dream bigger dreams. And if I follow where that leads - where my heart leads - I know that it won’t lead me astray. Because it will only lead me to you.”

Lili was tempted to tuck her face into his chest, to look anywhere but into his eyes. But she forced herself to keep her gaze on him - two pools of black, ringed by ocean blue.

“I love you, Cole.” She spoke it in one, swift sentence, and paused as she felt his breath hitch against his ribs. “I think I have for a while now.”

Silence. She could feel the weight of it filling the room to the brim, light driving out darkness.

“This isn’t a bribe, or an ultimatum, or a bargain. You don’t need to say it back. I just…” She shrugged helplessly. “It can’t be helped, and it can’t be kept in. I wanted you to know. You deserve to know.

“So there. I love you. Out of this uncertain but hopeful heart... I love you.”

“Lili? Cole?”

Voices in the distance. They were due back for the scene. The moment was gone, the bubble had burst. Lili was a little disheartened, but grateful that she was able to express herself to him. Maybe it was best this way - to leave their little secret whispered into the walls of the asylum, never to be uncovered.

Except Cole had other plans.

He seized her hand, and before she could ask him what he was doing, they were sprinting down the hallway and further into the building, past rooms she had never seen, past crumbling walls of plaster, eerie chambers that echoed their racing footsteps, broken windows and splintered doors and emptied ceilings.

Finally, they came to a stop in the middle of a large, light-filled room. He turned to her, panting from the run, his ocean blue eyes raging with a passionate storm.

“Lili.” There was something about the way he whispered her name, between ragged breaths, that stirred something deep and urgent in her.

Who started what, they couldn’t tell. But it was Lili who pulled him in by his shirt and Cole who pushed her up against the wall, one hand leaning for support, another flush against the skin on the small of her back. When their lips crashed in the middle, it was anything but tentative or tenuous. It was bold and bruising, frenzied and desperate. It was driven by a need that was both body and soul.

He brought his hands up to hold her face, and she felt him shaking. It startled her. She pulled back and he looked down at her in protest at the lack of contact. She took his hands in her own and brought his palms to her lips, soothing and calming him, wanting to say that it was okay, that this was where fear ended, that she loved him, she loved him, she loved him.

She tilted her head up, closing her eyes, wanting to kiss him again, but she was met with nothing. She glanced up at him.

“What?”

“However long you’ve know,” he said, his voice barely a whisper, “double it. Triple it.”

She stared at him. “Cole, what are you --”

“One day, I promise, I will make it up to you, for not saying it when I knew. For not being as fearless as you are.” He paused to take her in. “Because I love you, Lili Reinhart. I love you with every fucking thing I’ve got.”

His words crashed into her like a wave, pulling her under the current. This time, she was shaking. And crying.

Their small, tear-soaked kisses would gradually deepen into a longer, more searing one, and they stayed that way for a while - oblivious to time, unheeding of the space they were in. Until it felt like there was nothing left to give. Until they had filled themselves with each other. Until the same voices from earlier echoed in the distance, calling their names, calling them back to reality.

They looked at each other. “Well,” he said, “what now?”

She smiled at him. “I suppose we have to go and film.” She kissed the tip of his nose, and he wrinkled it at her. “After that? I don’t know. We’ll see.”

He smiled back at her, and he took her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers.

As they walked back out, passing through the hallways of the abandoned asylum, she felt giddy like a teenager, wanting to etch their names into the walls. Maybe not their initials - too juvenile. But she understood the need: she wanted to mark this place as it marked them.

But what would she write?

Here lies fear, she thought. Here it lies, conquered by love.

…

“So, remind me again why we’re still awake at 3 am.”

Their room at the Queen Anne Hotel was darkened save for a small, antique lamp beside their bed, which illuminated Cole’s bare form next to her. He turned to face her, and as he moved, most of him became obscured by the shadows. But it didn’t matter. Lili had already memorised his face. In some ways, she knew it better than her own.

“Well,” Cole started, “besides the fact that someone wanted toast and eggs at 1 in the morning—”

“Which someone else also enjoyed, leaving me with only HALF of said toast and eggs.”

“True. But yes, besides that fact...” She could sense him smirking in the darkness. “Do I really need to provide a blow-by-blow account of what happened here?”

Lili rolled her eyes. “No, because you’re only going to be gross about it and I don’t want you to ruin my night.”

“Fine then, be boring,” he said. “But to actually answer your question - don’t you remember what I said yesterday? About the witching hour?”

Lili slid under his arm and closed her eyes as she settled her head against his hard, muscled shoulder. “No. Remind me.”

“You never listen to my stories,” he whined.

“Yes, I do. But the witching hour doesn’t sound like something I want to remember while trying to sleep in a notoriously haunted room.”

“Ha. Fair point.” He cleared his throat dramatically. “Okay, Lili, picture it. Prague, 2014. The days were glorious, and the dig was on—”

“And as much as I love a Golden Girls reference, I’m about to fall asleep and you’re about to lose me here.”

“Alright, geez.” He sat up, and forced her to sit up with him. She groaned, but complied. “So a guy I was working with on this archaeological dig in Prague, he’s from Ireland, right? Comes from an extremely superstitious family, whereas he was a little more enlightened. Anyway, on our last night in the lab, we’re both up until 3 in the morning bagging rocks--”

“Sounds like a real rock star lifestyle you had there.”

Cole paused. “Did you just… with that rock pun…? You know what, I’m gonna store that in the back of my mind and comment on its magnificence later. So we’re up at 3, in this dark, dank little lab, and he freaks out a little looking at the time. I asked him if he was okay, and he says to me--”

“Oh my god. Are you about to attempt an Irish accent? Please say yes.”

“Lili, no.” She giggled. “He says to me, ‘Sorry, man. I just get a little creeped out around this time - the witching hour, you see. My ma always went on about it. Kinda hard to get rid of the habit.’”

Lili yawned, but she was intrigued. “So what was it?”

“Apparently, the witching hour - between 3 and 4 am - was usually the most active time for witches, spirits and demons. Something to do with the absence of canonical prayers at that time. But I looked it up afterwards, and it’s a real thing - people swear by it. They say that most ghost sightings happen around that time.”

Lili could have slugged him. “So... you’re telling me... that you’re keeping me up at this ungodly hour... to see if we could sight a ghost?”

Cole smiled sheepishly. “You were up anyway…?”

“Cole!” She was freaking out now. “This isn’t funny!”

“It’s not meant to be!”

They were half arguing, half giggling themselves silly. Lili dove underneath the covers, and Cole followed her in, tickling her mercilessly as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

A loud thump from the other side of the wall terrified them, and they both froze. A series of mumbled swear words from another disgruntled guest put them at ease. Not a ghost. Lili sighed in relief.

“Surrender?” Cole asked.

“Surrender,” she conceded.

They lay back down on the bed, still breathless from laughing. He turned to her, and took her hand in his, holding it against his chest.

“Hey. I love you,” he breathed out. “You know that, right?”

Lili turned to look back at him, and smiled. A year of this, and still it gave her a small thrill. What is it about us and saying ‘I love you’ in haunted places? To anyone else, it would have seemed bizarre. But to her, it made perfect sense. Because when they first met, Cole had been nothing more than an apparition that haunted her dreams - a vague half-entity that she knew so little of, that held no form other than the jacket he left her with.

But as time went on, the apparition put on flesh, and he became more real with each memory they created, each adventure they embarked on, each kiss that they shared. And then it wasn’t him that haunted her, but the fear of the uncertain, which they banished with finality at the abandoned asylum.

And now, here they were, in another haunted spot, celebrating a milestone while waiting for actual ghosts. We are the weirdest, she thought. And I love us.

“Lili?”

She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him. She brought her hand up to caress his face, marvelling that this was real - that it felt real to her beyond what her fingers could touch. That she could feel it in her lungs and in her heart and in her bones.

“Yeah, I know, Cole,” she finally replied. “I love you, too.”

He turned over so that he was looking down at her, then kissed her bare shoulder. “So you staying up with me for witching hour? Could be interesting, right?”

Lili chuckled. “I thought you said you didn’t believe in that shit.”

“I don’t,” he said. “But I’m a skeptic willing to be proven wrong. Just don’t tell Dylan.”

She laughed and nodded and pulled him down for a firm kiss. Why the hell not. “Sure,” she replied.

They snuggled underneath the covers, Cole rattling off anecdotes at random, Lili listening, willing herself to stay awake. Not to witness the supernatural, but to experience the tangible. To experience Cole.

Let the ghosts come, she thought, as he put his arms around her.

She had nothing left to fear.

[cookii-moon]

So fam, you seem to like to talk about ghost Cole. So tell me, how would you rewrite dotd? :)

I love talking about ghost Cole you are correct

The obvious first step is make it a season like it was supposed to be. DotD was just too short to set up much and the filler fight scenes didn’t help it. You could also have a longer special or a movie. Either or works.

The second is we should’ve gotten to see more of Cole BEING a ghost before we got to see him not being a ghost. I think the Chinese version did some parts of DotD better in that regard because we did at least get to see an exclusive intro where the ninja are training together. Cole gets knocked into a rack and suddenly they leave without him. We also get to know it’s happened before because if iirc he says smthn along the lines of “not again..” which did a better job of setting things up than the English version.

Have him use his ghosty powers for stuff to showcase the positives before having the ninja forget about him more and more as the episodes go on until the viewer is firmly aware something is VERY wrong and this isn’t just a cute holiday season. It starts with minor things you wouldn’t notice and gets more and more intense as the show goes on until Cole is forced to recognize he’s being forgotten.

It then becomes a race against time for Cole to find a way out of it before it’s too late, perhaps along with some of Yang’s trickery along the way? He also slowly grows to have a spite for Yang. Maybe you could also explore some of the duality between the side of him that’s used to being a ghost and the side of him that wants to be human again. Maybe the lines of life and death have blurred for him now that he’s fading, and Morro is trying to guide him (he probably has no clue it’s Morro until the end lol) to make up for his mistakes. Mostly because I think Spirit/Sandstorm duo would be fun to explore plus Morro shouldn’t be gone from DotD completely.

Obviously eventually he’d break and go to Yangs temple again. Morbid curiosity? He finally found a way? He’s just salty? Who knows!

I don’t think releasing the villains would serve any real purpose tbh. The ninja have already forgotten him and having former enemies pop up would only cause suspicion, plus it leads to the filler fight scenes, their only real purpose in the story anyways was fan service.

Anyways I want the fight scenes with yangs students to be more exciting. I want full on ghost brawls where they’re flying all over the place and fighting mid air and zipping through obstacles and walls and possessing weapons n stuff like cmon. We were robbed!!

As much as I love Ghost Cole I don’t think he’d stay a ghost. They had a point it DOES make him too overpowered in the long run and kinda means you have to write around it all the time when introducing stakes. It’s kind of already showcased a lot in the fandom where people will write fics in which he’s in a situation that shouldn’t really affect him as a ghost at all, but he’s still affected since you can’t put water everywhere and it’s hard to account for everything.

I do think he deserves the right to be permanently AFFECTED by his time as a ghost and it should be addressed more often. I want Cole to have a full blown panic attack when he and Jay go in the swamp to rescue the workers in S7. I want his lava arms and their connection to his time as a ghost and how he feels about them to be explored. I want various side effects to rear their head like him collapsing from exhaustion in the middle of a mission because he’s not used to sleeping or him struggling in a fight because he has to completely relearn his old fighting style. I want Vangelis to use his past to toy with him via necromancy and he’s absolutely terrified of going back to that life again or being stuck under his control because of the stupid leftover ghost traits.

Obviously this is just a concept, though who knows, maybe there’ll be a Spectral Flight sequel some day when I finish writing it. It probably wouldn’t be canon, but it’s a fun idea 👀

[laughingpinecone]

Chocobox 2021 letter

I am laughingpineapple on AO3  

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

All requests are art or fic - for art, the stuff I like is the kind that depicts the characters doing something. I’ll always be happier with a very simple drawing of two characters walking together or sharing a cup of coffee than with an ambitious composition that looks like an Avengers poster. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s). Or dressing them up for some outlandish AU!

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships), emphasis on inhuman traits of characters who were human once and have sort of shed it all behind

Cool with: any tense, any pov, any rating, plotty, not plotty, IF, nerdy canon references, unrequested characters popping up.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings

Bone

Every once in a while I’m filled with love for this comic and its cast. I’m a sucker for all the dream stuff, dragon stuff, looking at early chapters knowing about latter developments... and cows. I’m good with all readings of the Rose/Lucius situation (who’s still carrying a torch for whom, lowkey couple or still pining, etc).

Cows & Grandma Ben & Lucius: Lucius weighing in on a past Great Cow Race? Something happens to a cow? Cows and messengers between them?

Cows & Thorn: Thorn please make your grandma proud, wrt racing or otherwise. Dreams of cows...

Grandma Ben & Thorn: future fic or any missing moment after the royal reveal?

Lucius & Thorn: I wish we got more about them! Pre-canon moment in Barrelhaven? Any sort of weird thing can happen in the Valley after all, maybe foreshadowing her latter abilities?

Grandma Ben & Great Red Dragon: any other encounter along the lines of what we saw? I love them both but I also understand why they are like that...

Crossovers

What it says on the tin, basically. Peaks and KRZ can so easily blend into each other, Peaks and Piranesi much less so but a friend once said that Piranesi is very much a Coop and when someone’s right they’re right.

Albert Rosenfield & Joseph Wheattree: either during some Blue Rose trip or if Albert ends up stranded after the hot mess that is s3. Being the reasonable one, the one who chooses to remain on the surface while others disappear in the depths...

Carrie Page & Dale Cooper & Joseph Wheattree: I am very fond of |Laura| and |Coop| traveling forever on dark highways after the end and they’re gonna need a gas station at some point!

Donald & Gordon Cole: something something burning hopeless dreams, but also federal interest in Xanadu, and how would that go?

Dale Cooper & Piranesi: oh you know, split selves and the reconciling thereof. Successfully, in Matthew’s case... ...less so in Coop’s, at least last we saw him. I’m interested in seeing them meet at any point in their timelines (and as any part or rejoined part of their selves, Dougie&Piranesi as much as Richard&Matthew or any mix thereof) under either canon’s metaphysical rules! (DNW: Richard being “the real Cooper” - I think he’s the part of Coop who is not quite Mr C but still sent all his warmth and empathy away)

Final Fantasy VI

What I love in this fandom is intra-party interaction. They’re all wonderful and don’t get to speak to each other that much, if at all. I’d love to see scenes and/or little adventures during or after the game! I don’t really have ships here so any unrequested character is welcome to feature too but I would prefer gen.

Celes & chocobo, Sabin & chocobo, Celes & Sabin & chocobo: you get the idea. It’s CHOCOBOx ffs, I’ve been meaning to request chocobos for years and then I always forgot! Full kweh ahead! Hit me with all the chocobo feels, what it’s like to travel with these big fluffy birds for better and for worse, what it’s like for Celes, what it’s like for Sabin (I just picked two faves who also traveled together), all your chocobo headcanons, during the WoR serpent trench leg of the journey or anywhere else!

Edgar & Gogo: in my ongoing quest to throw Gogo at the rest of the cast and see what happens, I thought it’d be neat to have them hang around Edgar since one’s an accomplished mime and the other is perhaps not so accomplished as he’d like to be in putting up a persona. Canon-typical Edgar flirting is a-ok unless it hinges on Gogo being a woman. I use they pronouns for Gogo but I’m good with all options. I’d like for them to continue presenting as inscrutably gendered, however.

Ghost Trick

I am very interested in various characters finding about  the erased timeline, but not getting their memories back, and having to  live with being told about what they did but never remembering it. Exploring the ghost lore is great. All  what-ifs welcome (what if they managed an acceptable happy ending but  didn’t reset the timeline, what if a different party went back to the  past and kept their memories, what if Alma’s ghost stuck around…) Also  open to AUs here, especially for generic fantasy or sci-fi settings or  the Final Fantasy ones I prompted last Yuletide.

For the non-canon sides of Jowd/Alma/Cabanela, please no  infidelity? I’d be good with either setting the fic during the game  timeline or some what-if thereof when the other spouse is dead or  unavailable, or simply keeping them offscreen and not mentioning them  (eg Alma/Cabanela beach day, Jowd/Cabanela precinct shenanigans)

For  Jowd in general, I do love my big boy and enjoy milking that size  difference for all it’s worth. In gen contexts too, it’s neat. him big.

For Cabanela in general, I am prompting scarf shenanigans, gen or shippy! It’s almost 4m of fabric... scarf used in clever ways, scarf getting in the way, scarf wrapped around one’s throat, scarf sticking out on a stakeout...

Alma/Cabanela/Jowd: maybe once Alma and Jowd have figured out he’s smitten and that they do in fact reciprocate... they tease him to death, slowly and deliberately? Is it even a Jowd romance if there’s not an exhausting amount of teasing involved, I ask? (sorry for repeating a prompt I got the perfect fill for last time - ...more teasing but this time with scarf, if that helps? Something with clothes? Clothes swap?)

Alma/Jowd & Cabanela: Cabs’ life is wild; his best friends’ home is a safe haven...

Bailey & Cabanela: Dance dance dance! Cabanela is not much one for _panic_ dances, but maybe other dances passed on in Bailey’s family could interest him?

Cabanela & Jowd & Pigeon Man: either as colleagues or Jowd trying to bring together these two weirdos who ended up meaning a lot to each other in the other timeline and thankfully didn’t get the same reason to bond now

Cabanela & Missile: off they go with their determination. And, critically, dog hair. The cat doesn’t shed for whatever reason but the dog sure does and that may just be the one tragic obstacle preventing an unstoppable partnership

Emma & Memry: oh so you know who ELSE has a penchant for romance cliches?

Jowd & Justice Minister: Did the Justice Minister ever go visit Jowd in the game timeline? How did he come to appreciate him as “the nation’s best detective”? Or in the new timeline, could Jowd’s insight help somewhat?

Jowd & Sissel & Yomiel: Sissel has two dads and they both love that cat very much. I’m all for the usual new timeline Jowd&Yomiel bonding tropes... with cat!

Kentucky Route Zero

I love the ending and I’d love to see its themes and setting explored. I’m all for exploration of any of  the game’s themes and for including any staples from adjacent genres -  wanna go full-on American Gothic? Dip into surrealism? Take a leaf from  Twin Peaks with tulpa / split narratives to explore the characters’  issues? I love AUs so that’s an option too.  Or of course there’s Xanadu at the height of its glory, an infinite  what-ifs generator. Were the requested characters part of it, what were  their digital counterparts up to? A Xanadu narrative would be great! I’d  also love to hear about any new spot along the Zero or the Echo river,  or an expansion of some place that’s only mentioned by Will in HATATE or  only gets a few paragraphs of text. Mostly, I just love all these characters so much and I’m going through the tagset’s options like a hyperactive cat. Any fragment of their lives will make me happy.

For Lula and all the artists in particular (and Cate, depending on your stance on mushroom hunting, I suppose): please do lean into their art if it’s something you enjoy! Exhibitions, concerts, reviews... accidental reenactments of Robert Frost poems... all the discourse on the arts is my jam, if that’s your thing.

Carrington & Clara: will Clara manage to get in one (1) word in between Carrington’s merry infodumping?

Cate & Shannon Márquez & Will: Anything about these three, but I was thinking, postgame Shannon getting somewhere on the Mammoth and reconnecting with Cate and Will...

Cate & Val & Will: Mammoth slice of life pretty please?

Donald/Joseph Wheattree/Lula Chamberlain: so Lula went back to Mexico. Joseph is pensive. Did the events of the night shake up Donald, or what will it take?

Lula Chamberlain & Maya: I Just Think They’re Neat, no real prompts I’d just like to see them interact. Where do their interests intersect? Land art...?

Shannon Márquez & Weaver Márquez: Reunited cousins please. No hard stance on Weaver’s ghostliness from me (what even IS a ghost, feels like we spent half canon debating that), again I Just Think It’s Neat that she’s there sitting on the steps...

Pyre

I feel deeply for all of Pyre’s main themes - literacy, degrees of freedom, the fragile time that is the end of a historical cycle, nobodies rising up to the occasion, the revolutionary spirit that goes toward building a better society, and of course found family, “distance cannot separate our spirits” and all that jazz. Thoughts about finding oneself at  the end of an age, as everything crumbles down to form something new. I love all the themes, the solemnity, the heart  of this game. I adore everyone in that Blackwagon+Dalbert+Celeste, so  if  you want to add a Nightwing or two to any prompt, please do! I also love  all the Scribes and find Erisa a compelling tragic figure. Out of  the other triumvirates, I’m “love to hate them” for Manley, Brighton,  Udmildhe and Deluge and would not like to see them featured in  sympathetic roles. My main interest usually lies in post-canon  exploration when applicable, but I’m also into various adventures during  canon. Pick a location or a place outside the map and see what happens?  As for the ending variables, I’d ask for a peaceful revolution and  Oralech alive, but no preferences for who’s up and who’s down, pick whatever  works best for any given plot bunny.

For any non-humans, if you like, do lean into their non-human traits! Curs gonna cur, saps gonna sap etc, different biology, different cultures...

Conversely, I regrettably do not enjoy an overwhelming majority of canon pairings so for Pyre, DNW unrequested ships period. The only exceptions are Soliam/Gol and Hedwyn/Fikani which I’d be happy to see featured wherever.

Barker & Brighton: it’s the sportsball bromance, you understand. I want to see these wildly incompatible individuals (Archjustice & Literally Exiled Due To Pissing On An Archjustice’s Statue) bond and maybe travel together due to their shared passion for the Rites and for Barker’s eventual invention of straight-up basketball

Big Bertrude & Celeste: who blinks first. They are... certainly two personalities, with primadonna tendencies perhaps (confirmed for Bertrude, but if I try to picture Celeste away from her job...). What if they clashed, is what I’m saying.

Big Bertrude/Pamitha Theyn: Pam returning from her travels, again and again, and finding a home in Bertrude’s lab, finding an understanding there...  Bertrude’s attitude being thorny in a way that’s just what Pam needs to allow herself to open up... also: snake kisses.  

Celeste/Jodariel: if the Heralds make it to the Union to get a shot at living a life of their own, and Tariq already has his friends and his interests in the material world, what’s left for Celeste? Maybe she could find herself unexpectedly close to Jodi, who’s good with distance and silence and also feels like the world doesn’t need her anymore...

Dalbert & Tariq: Any excuse for Tariq to hang out with the Fates for a little while, and treasure and be treasured by dear Dalbert...

Erisa & Volfred: what were they like!! What did Erisa think of this Reader and his Plan with Oralech, how did he approach her... how did they spent their time together...

Ignarius & Oralech: no no no listen, here’s the thing. If Iggy’s clearly got a thing for impressive horns and in general is quite stunned by other demons... ...I need him to see Oralech. Take this as seriously or as crack-treated-seriously as you wish.

Oralech/Tariq: I think there may be something about two individuals who got ultimately screwed by the final steps of the Scribes’ design (Oralech self-evidently; Tariq decides to rebel (!) to the planned end of his and Celeste’s mortal existences and stick around for a while). Learning to carve a niche for themselves...

Oralech/Volfred: waking up and remembering that the mourning that’s set deep in your roots is for someone who never died, waking up and remembering that the bitterness that consumed you had made up a betrayal that never was, finding each other through these crumbling walls... ...and/or Oralech being the government’s checks and balances aka the guy who knows Volfred and knows when to say Volfred _no_

Tariq/Volfred: Volfred’s zodiac sign is Cancer and Cancer is ruled by the Moon, so   there’s that.    I love how they both hold the other in the highest   esteem, especially on Tariq’s part since he’s the immortal Herald of   the Scribes and Volfred is, all in all, a history teacher, but listen to  him and you’d think the roles were inverted. I love my nonviolent canon  but could anything happen to either of them that may require a rescue,  and/or some good old-fashioned h/c? What’s something that could make  Tariq of all people lose it? How’s life 100 years on?  

Oralech/Tariq/Volfred: Volfred has two hands, and sometimes miracles happen twice? How do they balance each other, what’s the Oralech/Tariq side like and what’s Volfred’s perspective on it? Is Tariq a constant part of their lives or does he fade in and out? 

The Silver Case

I‘m all for the surrealism, big things being introduced and never picked up again, Rashomon’ing it up with six explanations for the same thing where no single one can be true, people dying and then popping up again like nbd...  maybe the thing I like the most is characters transcending their humanity and looming over the dystopian world like ominous avatars. Correctness’ first ending had me swooning, that kind of mood is unparalleled. I have played TSC, FSR and 25W so far and have vague memories of K7. I’m aware of the “everything’s connected” readings and they sure seem to check out but that’s not my main interest in these games. For FSR-focused requests, I see Lospass as a real island but also a metaphysical  place of transformation first and foremost, where strange things happen that don’t make sense elsewhere.

Toriko Kusabi & Remy Fawzil: What’s Toriko up to when she’s not chasing Chris? I think it could be fun to throw her at Remy and see the island from their point of view!

Tetsugorou Kusabi/Sumio Kodai: Tetsu picked one hell of a crush, huh! What’s it like in the aftermath of the games, when Sumio is Like That? How does Tetsu grapple with Parade? Is Tetsu an anchor of sorts for Correctness Sumio, who seems (at best) to be existing on a slightly different plane of existence at any given time and could disappear if you blink too hard?

Tetsugorou Kusabi & Shinko Kuroyanagi: I’m joining the “let these two be foulmouthed friends” masses - who’d be more fed up with the other’s nonsense, and in which ways would they be an unstoppable team?

Shinkai Tsuki & Tetsugorou Kusabi: Both of them end their stories in the shadows one way or another, and defending their protégé may have had a hand in their misfortune one way or another. What kind of understanding could they reach? What IS Tsuki up to anyway?

Christina & Catherine: anthro Catherine, as per the Placebo bonus chapter Yami, was unexpectedly charming. What was Chris before reaching Lospass, and did he also have a chat with her on the plane or on the island?

Shinkai Tsuki & Tokio Morishima: not unlike Tsuki&Tetsu, I’m intrigued by their 25W endings and I wonder if they could have a little lowkey, off-the-grid teamup maybe?

Tetsugorou Kusabi & Toriko Kusabi: a sweet father-daughter bonding moment on Lospass perhaps, both orbiting around Sumio’s nonsense in increasingly bizarre ways? What’s their take on the island?

Twin Peaks

Case fic but they  don’t find out jack shit, someone disappears, David Bowie was there,  it’s complicated. Fragmented, shifted, mirrored identities. New Lodge  spaces. The risks of staring into the void for too long. Gentle illusions. Transcendence. The moon. Static buzzing. Any title from the s3 ethereal whooshing compilation used as a prompt, actually. Twin  Peaks is all about the mystery to me, the awe of mystery and  unknowability and the human drive to look beyond and the risks of  getting a peek, and about shared consciousness and trauma taking  physical form in an uncaring  world. Go wild with the ethereal whooshing!  But I also love the human warmth at the heart of it all, and sometimes it’s enough to anchor these characters and let them have a nice day. A fic entirely focused on some instance of coziness against the cold chaotic background of canon would be great too.

Canon-specific DNWs:  any singular Dreamer being the ‘source’ of canon, BOB (let alone Judy)  being forever defeated in the finale, Judy being an active malevolent  presence in the characters’ lives, clear explanations for canonical ambiguities, ‘Odessaverse’ being the reality layer, the Fireman’s house by the sea being the White Lodge, anything that 4 hours Twin Perfect video says is the explanation of Twin Peaks 

Albert & Hawk: I love Hawk’s constant snarkiness in TSHOTP and I think it would work very well with Albert’s, so I’d love to see them either snipe at each other or work together to demolish... idk, Ben or whomever. They also share the peculiar brand of skepticism of someone who has been stewing in supernatural nonsense half their lives and that’s cool too I think

Albert & Windom: speaking of people who should snipe at each other...! Were they forced to work together at some point or did they bark at each other during an office party or? (and when did Gordon start pretending that Windom never even existed, incidentally?)

Albert/Coop: fiery early days? Dream meetings that Albert will inevitably write off as a product of his aching subconscious? Post-finale where Albert has made his peace with Coop not being part of this world and not even deigning to greet him, except one day Coop is back - with apologies? Post-post-finale where they’re peacefully living out their days as best as they can?    

Albert/Harry: did they tragically fall into each other’s arms in the wake of Coop’s disappearance? Did they realize they’re so good for each other, but neither of them was willing to give up their life? And/or was the wound of Coop’s disappearance too fresh for them to try to heal? Do they keep in touch throughout the years? Does Albert resign on the spot with a resounding fuck it after the s3 finale and rush to see Harry? Does he stay this time?    

Coop/Harry: Harry seeing his Coop again… somewhere, somehow. Maybe he perceives him in the woods, maybe Coop isn’t all human now. Monster cuddles very welcome. Could be canon divergence but could very well be post-s3. Harry getting closure for waiting all that time in front of Glastonbury and never giving up on Coop… they can live in the woods together…  

Albert/Coop/Harry: basically the sum of the three sides of this triad… give them peace, given them nice things, give them so much love… Coop finding his place in the world and making up for lost time… give time to these old wounds…    

Bobby/Shelly & James: I am very fond of all three of them and I’d like for James to have friends maybe? Shelly thinks he’s cool! If he and Bobby can get over the decades-old rift due to Laura’s affections...

Cynthia/Tammy: the FBI and USAF supernatural branches meet again after Douglas Milford’s times... what’s their attitude toward it (who’s the Mulder and who’s the Scully......), in what ways does their respective task force’s past inform their views, is there more hope for a new generation who saw the trauma of the past without living it firsthand? LET TAMMY KISS ALL THE GIRLS BUT THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR

Frank & Margaret: extremely bold of Frank to pretend nothing weird whatsoever has ever gone down in his life when he grew up in town and presumably was still around when Margaret became the Log Lady. I’m interested in this clash between his “not my division” attitude and an actual oracle. On the other hand, they may have things in common...

Laura & Monica Bellucci: go wild. I’m good with the wildest theories on what Monica Bellucci actually is/represents. Out of all the people she could interact with, I’m glad Laura was nominated. Lodgey nonsense ahoy!

Margaret’s log & Hawk: reportedly, the log stayed with Hawk and hasn’t said a thing YET. That’s what fanfic’s for, right?

[tam-nya]

I saw everyone doing this Ninjago tag questionnaire thingie; I don’t think anyone’s tagged me yet but I’ll answer it anyway :P

{1.} Favorite Character(s): Zane because he’s a robot and relatable for me; he’s pretty innocent and struggles at understanding how to fit in but he’s also pretty spontaneous and is called ‘weird’ by the other characters. I think he is one of the most well-developed, deep and interesting characters and a lot of the series’ most emotional scenes involve him. He’s also funny when he takes things literally, states statistics nobody wants to hear (e.g. ‘We have a 4.2% chance of success’), and tries to fit in but can’t (but that’s also kinda sad).

I also love Nya because she’s the kind of girl I would love to be, never letting anyone put her down and doing her best to help those around her. She grew a LOT over the seasons, starting is a damsel in distress in the pilots, then as the girl who helps the ninja with her knowledge, then as a powerful Samurai who secretly saves people and does a better job at it than the boys, then finding out she has to give up her Samurai identity to train to become the water ninja, and then finally EMBRACING HER INNER POWER AND SAVING NINJAGO AT THE END OF SEASON 5! She’s also super beautiful and has a cute voice.

{2.} Favorite Episode: The Titanium Ninja because it pulverizes my emotions. But I also love the Temple on Haunted Hill because while most of the seasons best enjoyed watching all the eps in order, ToHH works as a great episode to just watch on its own and it’s really fun to watch the ninjas try to make it through the temple! Cole turning into a ghost is also really sad.

Other than that I love The Surge (awesome re-introduction to Ninjago, a LOT of stuff happens, fun humor and I love to see the ninja as teachers), Home (a nice episode where we get to understand Zane’s character more), Tick Tock (hella amazing episode where we learn Zane’s backstory), Versus (heart-rending episode where former friends Jay and Cole are forced to fight each other, at first they’re vicious but then they start to talk about their feelings and finally reconcile and Cole ends up sacrificing his place in the tournament for Jay), On a Wish and a Prayer (because I think the scene with Zane almost beating Nadakhan with his intelligence but ends up wishing everything away anyway because Nadakhan deletes Pixal is really intense. And I like the ninja going into the jungle and Jay’s attempts to get the Tiger Widow Venom), The Royal Blacksmiths (super fun and adorable episode with THE NINJAS DANCING), and lots of others but I think I should stop here haha.

{3.} Favorite Season: Rebooted because it’s about Zane and he’s my fav, the techy aesthetic is super cool and it has some of the best soundtrack, so much happens in the season even though it’s only 8 episodes, and it has A HEART-WRENCHING ENDING AAAARGH.

Possession is my second fav because of the spectacular animation, awesome villain, has some of my favorite funny moments and it also focuses on Nya a lot.

{4.} Favorite Whip: The Rebooted whip is like aesthetic for my ears, it sounds ultra cool and digital with so many interesting sounds aaaa.

{5.} Favorite Enemy(s): Morro is a great character and you kinda feel sad he turned out the way he did. Second fav is Acronix, he’s super cool and loves his bro even though he’s a villain, and his fascination with technology is cute and funny. I also like Nadakhan because he has reasonable motives for what he does, and he knows just how to mess with people’s minds.

{6.} If you could spend a day with any character, who would it be?: I think I’d be most happy meeting Nya because I look up to her so much.

{7.} Train with Wu or train with Garmadon?: Garmadon; he can be pretty sarcastic but he’s fun and teaches some really cool skills like ‘fighting without fighting’.

{8.} Lloyd or Morro? Why?: Both are great but I kinda like Morro more I guess? He’s a really interesting character and menacing villain.

{9.} Fangpyre Venom, Great Devourer Venom, or Tiger Widow Venom?: Tiger Widow Venom kills you... Great Devourer Venom is gross and can turn you evil... Fangpyre Venom causes temporary hallucinations... I’ll go with Fangpyre Venom. :P

{10.} Which Part(s) made you cry?: Zane’s death, Zane’s funeral, Zane getting his memory back and remembering his creator dying, some of Jay’s suffering in Season 6 like when his friends basically start hating him, Jay and Cole’s fight and reconciliation in episode ‘Versus’, Garmadon’s sacrifice at the end of S4, Lloyd seeing Garmadon again at the end of S5 but has to leave him again right after, Nya dying and Jay using his last wish to save her at the end of S6 (I cry of misery and then happiness), Cole becoming a ghost, a lot of the end of Day of the Departed where Yang talks about wanting to live forever and is afraid of being forgotten, etc...

{11.} How long have you been a fan?: I was vaguely interested for years but too ashamed to let myself like it, then I discovered the fandom and let myself become obsessed in 2016.

{12.} What are your thoughts on movie Zane?: He looks funny but Zane’s complex show personality seems to be gone.

{13.} Would you rather die like Morro originally did (no Cursed Realm) or die like Zane did: Now that’s a morbid question... Morro's death was pretty much suicide. Zane’s death was hella slow and painful, he was squirming in agony for several minutes and then EXPLODED. I think I’ll say Morro, your soul evaporating into nothingness would be better than your robotic heart gradually reaching critical mass slowly and painfully until you blow up. :P

[parachutingkitten]

Season 5 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challenged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Additional Disclaimer: This includes criticism of Nya’s arc, so if you’re the type of person to get catty about this subject, turn back now.

Mood for this season: It’s spoopy time.

You don’t need to, but if you are interested, and haven’t seen my analysis of past seasons, you can find those here:

Pilot - Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4

You can also find all of these, and future installments, on my blog using the tag #analysis 

Hey everyone! I’m still doing these things! Let’s see, when was my last one? Over two years ago...? Yikes, I owe y’all an apology. I really didn’t mean to put these off that long. Anyway, get ready to hate me, cuz although (for the most part) this seems to be the fandom favorite season… I think it’s overhyped. I know, don’t kill me. I’ll explain myself. I don’t think it’s bad or anything, it’s very well structured, but I definitely wouldn’t rank it among my favorites. First, for a little context, I am making a one second of every ninjago episode video right now, so I’ve been binging the series and all it’s shorts back to back, so I think I’ll have a bit more to say about connective tissue between seasons, and hopefully you guys can look forward to more of these analyses between now and the new year when I’m releasing that video. I’m also officially a film major now so… sorry if I come of as extra pretentious or get too deep. Anyway, let’s jump into the thick of it, shall we? 

Plot

This is probably the area I have the fewest number of complaints about. This season has a breakneck pace and it keeps everyone busy. I think that’s why people like it. Everyone’s favorite has something to do. Which brings me to the question… which ninja’s season is this? Lloyd is on a lot of the promotional stuff, but he’s possessed and out of the picture for over half the season, so that can’t be right. Cole turns into a ghost, and the season is a ghost season, but that can’t be right cuz I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone claim it was his. Nya reaches her true potential, maybe it’s hers? Well, she does have a large b-plot, but she is consistently not a part of the a-plot. Kai has a whole thing with being protective of Lloyd, he has his fear of water, maybe it’s just another Kai season? Thing is, it’s no one’s. It is an ensemble season, and I think that’s a healthy thing for ninjago to keep doing. The more we label certain seasons for certain ninja, the more complaining we’ll get about who’s turn it is for screen time that we’ll miss out on telling a good story. Also, If the season is focused on a ninja you don’t like, you are less likely to like the season (see my next analysis for that can of worms). Again, this season tells it’s story really well. Morro directly ties into the ending of last season, and Nya’s getting water powers was foreshadowed the season before. That’s some cool connective tissue to start. The opening episode establishes the three different things the ninja will be looking for, and for once they’re actual tools instead of a series of weapons, blades, masks, whatever. I like that. Jay has some really good humor, Zane has his speech changes, Kai has his irrational fears and protective instincts, Cole has his ghost angst, Lloyd has to deal with his father’s passing, Nya is a new water ninja, Wu has a shop to run and a student to reconnect with, even Ronin has an arc about developing morals and gaining friends. There’s the mystery about how to deal with the ghosts, what the rules are, there’s the leader subplot, the ninja’s money situation, and lore of the different realms, they even worked in Skylor and Borg, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on. This is a tightly woven script that manages to include a lot of new concepts that you get pretty quick. I don’t feel like there’s even that much fat to cut. The opening is a little slow and strange, and the cloud kingdom episode feels a little unnecessary, but I do like the idea of visiting a different realm early in the season so the audience isn’t caught off guard in the climax. Again, the plot all works for me, it’s the other stuff I find myself pretty meh on.

Characters

Ronin

I’m pretty sure Ronin is the only new (non villain) character introduced. I like him a lot. Ninjago needed a true wildcard to shake things up and be unpredictable. I also think he’s pretty nicely woven into the action of the plot. I think his introduction is a bit strange. Like, the ninja already know him, but we’ve never seen him before? Just the way they talk about him sounds like they’re quickly recapping who this guy is for those who missed previous episodes. It’s fine if the ninja already know him but either 1) Introduce or foreshadow him a season earlier or 2) Introduce their dynamic to the audience before it becomes plot relevant. Maybe the ninja are grumbling about him being a nuisance while tea shenanigans are going on or something. Or maybe you have a scene of him stealing the scroll and making snarky remarks about the ninja while he does it. Idk. just something so his sudden plot relevance isn’t out of nowhere. Also, I don’t hate his and Nya’s dynamic, but I know a lot of people love it, and I’m just not totally here for it. Is he supposed to be a father figure for her? Mentor? Frienemy? Just plain friend? (love interest???) it’s not super clear and I could have used some clarification. I also like his use and tie to the next season, so overall, well integrated character.

Nya

I’m adding in Nya here cuz she goes through a major character change, and how she’s handled is one of the things that rubs me the wrong way about the season. A lot of people will probably disagree and/or hate me for this section of the analysis so… here we go! The thing she has to get past to reach her true potential is fear of failure (supposedly) and the solution to that is to just… not care as much? First of all, I know this isn’t supper important, but the fun thing about the ninjago elements is that every elemental master matched up personality wise with their element. Jay is the energetic master of lightning, Kai is the hothead master of fire, Zane is the calm and calculating master of ice, Cole is the strong and dependable master of earth, Lloyd is the literal child master of energy. This especially goes for all the new season 4 masters. So what qualities are often associated with water personalities? Well, serenity, control, flexibility, elegance, patience… calm. You know, like a Zane type character (the element directly adjacent to hers). These are things that Nya isn’t - or at the very least don’t define her. (there’s also something to be said about water and its ties to more feminine qualities, which Nya has been actively shown to reject, but I won’t go into that rant here.) She was designed as the fire master’s sister, and when you try to fit a fire personality into a water shaped character mold… it doesn’t exactly mesh well. It doesn’t make sense. But, like I said, whatever. Maybe that’s the point? Like she has to change her personality to be more in tune with water? Sure. But let’s talk about this fear of failure thing. Because that’s the stated thing that dialogue tells us she needs to overcome. But when has Nya ever been afraid of failure? Fear of failure means avoiding doing something because of fear. Nya is ridiculously persistent, always has been (you know, fire personality). She tries training when no one tells her to, she makes her own alter ego to try and be a hero and save the people who would constantly tell her she wasn’t ready. Wu says she only wants things that come easy, but that’s never been her character before now, she has carried the team with her tech, research, and covert ops that no one forced her to do, all things which are not easy. Fear of failure is usually characterized by what if questions. If Nya is so afraid of failure, why don’t we hear her saying stuff like “but what if I’m not strong enough, what if I can’t save them in time, or worse, what if I lose control of my power and end up hurting people?” Cole shows much more of a fear of failure this season surrounding his insecurity about being a ghost. He wants to sit out from missions because he’s not sure he’ll be able to do it - he’s afraid of failure. But whatever, the writing isn’t clear at expressing her true setbacks, but she does display a real problem that a lot of people have and I think could have been well done if set up correctly. She shows an undying persistence that gets her too close, and makes her increasingly incapable. She lets her frustration hinder her progress (again, fire personality trait), and I think that’s interesting because I don’t think ninjago has done this character arc yet. The supposed solution to this problem is that she just needs to… care less? And yes, I kind of see where they were going with this, we sometimes cloud our natural potential by thinking about it too much, but saying “you need to stop caring” is the absolute wrong way to word it. Caring is not her problem, the problem is her control over the emotions that come from her caring. Caring is a good thing, and teaching kids that if you’re ambivalent about your problems, they’ll go away is not a good message. What she needs to do is take a step back. She needs to take a break, stop to think, and look at the big picture instead of hyper focusing on the roadblock directly in front of her. The usual and much better wording of the moral I think they were going for is “stop overthinking things”. Teaching kids to look at a problem from a different angle and give themselves time to cool down is a great thing. And just think of it, in the climax she could have this ah-ha moment where she steps back and looks at the bigger picture - the whole town, surrounded by the ocean - and gets the idea to sink the preeminent into the water, you could even easily tie that back into the bucket exercise, and that’s what triggers her true potential rather than the current… I’m honestly not sure what. Random flashbacks and the end of the season approaching quickly. Alternatively, you could tie it more directly into samurai x, and make her struggle with letting go of the past and allowing yourself to give up something good in your life to progress to something better. Anyway, I don’t think this was a bad decision long term, she needed to be solidified on the team as a full fledged ninja, I just think this season doesn’t handle the transition that well. Anyway, whatever, I’ll be waiting for your hate comments in the notes.

Romance

Um… there’s none this season? Like there’s a few Wusako moments that are still as weird as they were in season 2, but they’re really not prevalent. There’s also the Jay seeing the future thing which has some weird implications next season (again, some interesting connective tissue between seasons), but that’s about it. Maybe that’s part of why I don’t love this season? Like where’s the pixane? Lol, I’m kidding. But maybe that’s why a lot of people do like it. If you don’t like the canon ships… this is a nice little safe haven for you. Rare for a majority of the series.

Villains

So Morro is a good idea… in theory. I know he’s the fandom’s favorite edgy boy, but idk I think the brand of angsty teen they ended up with was more of an angsty 13 year old than 17 year old. His voice is really grating and I always want to yell at him to just… go get some cough drops. Stop throat screaming, use your diaphragm man! Also, everyone goes on about his last minute redemption, but as far as season 5 goes, he has like half a second of a change of heart. Literally, when Wu comes over and he’s drowning, he’s still being a persistent little idiot like “you never cared about me nooooo!” and it’s only at the last possible second that gives him the crystal, and even that he does it kind of saltily. The preeminent is pretty cool, I like her concept, her design, all that. All the other ghosts are fine I guess. Nothing super memorable out of them, although their aesthetic, especially when there’s a bunch of them swarming around is pretty cool. One last thing was I never understood how Morro “becoming the green ninja” worked and what exactly it was that… did for him? Like he didn’t actually get the power of energy, right? I don’t remember him using it. Did just him defeating Lloyd make him the green ninja? How does that transfer work? And why did he need it to take over the world or realms or whatever? Like I get that it’s supposed to give him more power and what not but idk, it wasn’t super clear. That’s a minor thing though.

Climax

Pretty cool. I like the ATMOSPHERE. Green light is a hard thing to use and justify correctly, but it works really well here, especially with the dark kinda gray blue sky complimenting it. When the preeminent starts walking into the ocean, it’s genuinely terrifying, but you understand exactly how it works and why she’s strong enough to do it. Nya’s true potential is again a little out of left field and could have had some better motivation put behind it. Like what is it Nya learned in that instant? To not be afraid to protect people? She’s… been doing that. Idk. I’ve hit on that enough for now. Overall, there was good variety. I like the green ninja fake out, I like the realm hopping, I even like the little Garmadon visit and Lloyd getting the robe. I feel like we didn’t need a part one and two, you could have had different titles. I mean come on. But hey, now we know, if Pix had only been there, the whole climax would have been wrapped up in like 10 minutes apparently. Pix for the win.

Humor

Really good. Like I’m surprised how much I laughed. Jay wasn’t annoying humor, it was good stuff, there were some good running gags, there’s a solid fourth wall joke about who the lead ninja is at the beginning of the season. Overall, I am pretty impressed. My favorite joke was perhaps the bit where Jay is sarcastically positive, the voice acting is just really solid. Then again, there’s also the whole Borg scene where he roasts half the ninja, that’s solid stuff right there. There’s just some really solid character interaction this season and the humor feels a lot more natural and less forced.

Drama

Okay, we’ve got a lot this season. Y’all know how I feel about Nya’s arc by now. It does not work for me. Ronin’s relationship with her is alright, but kind of comes out of nowhere. Ronin’s solo plot about kinda working for the ghosts works. Cole’s ghost angst works for the most part, although I wish he would have actually skipped a mission and then gone in to help save his friends once they can’t do it without him. That was probably the most solid drama of the season. The other main thing we have this season is Kai’s whole… fear/protective streak. This also doesn’t really work for me. Like, I get that Lloyd and Kai are friends and stuff, like his whole true potential was centered around Lloyd. But like, why does it have to be framed so weirdly? Sometimes in trying to make it seem like Kai is protective of him, it seems like the other ninja just like… don’t care about him? Not all the time, but there are some weird vibes. Also, it doesn’t really go anywhere. No one learns anything about themselves from this subplot, nothing comes of it, there isn’t really a payoff. Also, Kai has yet another irrational fear, this time of water, which really comes right the hell out of nowhere. They try to explain it away like “Oh, Kai feels powerless and so water can get to him” but like… what? That’s the exact situation he was in at the end of season 2 and he seemed perfectly content to literally swim across the ocean (which um… what do you mean the sworn protector of ninjago can’t swim?). Where is this coming from?! Again, it doesn’t really go anywhere, there’s not a point where he has to learn to confront it or he grows because of it. It’s just pointless stuff added cuz the writers like giving Kai vague trails to try and develop him. The cloud kingdom is kinda cool. That last minute twist about them working with Morro is… stupid and unnecessary though. 

Spotlight Episode

I really like the Spinjitzu master tomb episode. Some cool riddles, I like the first two rooms a lot. I do think the third room is a bit strange. Like, the clue was “don’t look ahead” and the solution was to look beneath them, which is the exact same solution as the previous room. Like, you already have magic ice that shows the future, why not play into that? Don’t look ahead could maybe mean don’t look to the future, the opposite of that being the past. Maybe they have to draw on their past adventures to solve it somehow? Learning from the past is a good lesson, right? But overall, I really like it. Some real solid humor this episode. This episode has the sarcastic Jay optimism, Kai totally stalling for time, Zane dealing a pretty sick burn on Cole, just a lot of fun stuff. I like it. It just has great energy and nothing feels like it’s drawn out for too long.

Misc

The aesthetic this season… can be inconsistent, but the main ghost vibe displayed in the opening theme is really solid and I really like it

Speaking of the opening, Ghost wip is great and the opening in on par with last season’s (which is my fav) for sure

Ice age references… okay.

Chima references…. OKAY...

Okay, but like Deepstone can… kill ghosts? Or not? Is it just something ghosts can touch? It’s supposed to be like water in weapon form, right? Like that’s how I understood it when they first introduced it. Wouldn’t the deepstone bars kill Ghoultar then? And then like, Cole’s bike is made of deepstone. He uses it as a weapon. Wouldn’t it kill him? It kills other ghosts when they touch it. How… how does it work?! I need answers!!!

The captain of the steam boat says they’re going as fast as possible, but later Ronin comes in and cranks it up like twice as fast… that always bothered me like, why would he lie about that? Who is this captain and why is he so chill about everyone’s lives?! And then later Wu cranks it up yet again, like the ship had slowed down to it’s previous speed. What the hell is happening with the controls of this ship???

So pissed that the nasty CGI nightmare cloud monster that chases the ninja is named Nimbus. Totally forgot about that. I have an OC with a cat named Nimbus… I promise, there is not going to be a stupid twist bout the cat being the monster thing in Mists of Fate. That would be very stupid.

I was all excited that season 13 gave us minecart chases, but I totally forgot season 5 gave us one first. I really like the return to the caves of despair btw, good reuse of a known location.

How many times this season did we do the: 

Kai: Oh, I don’t like water, I can’t do it uwu  Cole: ...You serious?

Thanks for reading! And if you got this far… I don’t know. I would love to hear your thoughts if you have any! These are just my opinions, so don’t think too much of it if you disagree.

-Kitten

[that-was-anticlimactic]

Have you any headcanons about Cole the fandom should know of?

OH MY ROWLING I HAVE SO MANY I LOVE THIS BOY

okay so

Cole is the least tech savvy ninja, like this boy is horrible at phones. He never uses his and it annoys the team so much because he almost never answers his phone when they call or text because it’s either dead or not on him (he uses an old ipod for music).

This boy has beautiful grey eyes

Cole is the most oblivious person ever.

You could pull almost anything by him.

One time the team tested how oblivious he was

they convinced him that he broke Zane and he bought it and flipped out is what I’m saying

He sings to himself / under his breath when he’s stressed

He does this during battles sometimes

or training

Okay so this boy is gay gay gay

Cole is a closet crier. Like, if he needs to cry, he’ll go lock himself in his closet and just curl up in a ball and cry

Zane is kind of an insomniac because he doesn’t have to sleep but he can if he wants to. When Cole was a ghost he physically couldn’t sleep. Now that he’s human he’s basically an insomniac but is always really tired and lies awake every night because he never could sleep when he was a ghost so now that he can, like the first few weeks after becoming human again, he was scared to and he just can’t figure out how to do it. Zane finds out so he takes Cole on walks through the temple or anywhere he wants honestly until Cole can fall asleep again.

Zane saw Cole struggling to sleep so he confronts him about it and Cole is like I’m fine and Zane is like no you’re not but okay

And then one night Zane is just so done pretending so he’s like “Cole follow me” and he reluctantly follows him and Zane takes him on a walk that ends on the deck of the Bounty and they talk and look at stars until Cole stops responding and Zane sees he fell asleep and he does this every night until he can sleep on his own

Speaking of ghost Cole, no one was too worried about him being a ghost (after s5) and all until they were walking around the city, just having fun when suddenly it started drizzling and he just stood there in shock and couldn’t move because oh God the few drops that hit him hurt and he would have died in the downpour that started soon after if it wasn’t for Zane getting him inside.

Basically there were a few close calls and it frightened him and the team to no end and they became really protective for a little while:/

He also definitely has at least a slight fear of water. He was terrified of it after DotD but it got better with time

Much like with the sleeping thing, he tried hiding it but his teammates were able to find out after a while and they did their best to help him when he needed it

I’ve seen people say that they think Cole knows multiple languages and I see that and raise y’all to Cole knowing ASL, or Ninjago Sign Language. I like thinking he’s practically fluent in it. He’s also knows Tagalog. I just love Cole knowing multiple languages and I’ll take him speaking any

I honestly believe this boy has social anxiety (I have a lot to say on that but I won’t do it here haha) and if no one agrees with me on that he at least has anxiety

All Cole wants in life is to be respected. By his dad, his teammates… he just wants people to respect him.

Unpopular opinion, I don’t think he’s super tall? Like I’m not saying he’s super short either, but I’ve always seen him as like 5’7-5’9 or maybe 5’10 range?

He loves Percy Jackson. He is the biggest Percy Jackson nerd ever

He also loves reading so much, but he’s kind of a slow reader

Cole needs reading glasses

He loves wearing things that are too big on him. All of his sweatshirts are like at least a size too big and he kind of just shrinks into them or he’ll let the sleeves dangle and will hide his hands in them

Okay this is obvious but Cole and Jay are beST FRIENDS

Cole just genuinely loves his friends so much like his love for his friends is so great and he would literally drop anything for them in a heartbeat

His time at Marty Oppenheimer’s was really bad and he didn’t really have any friends there and the people in his dance classes before the school weren’t really friends with them either so they’re like his first friends

and he’s just so grateful and he does random things to show how much he appreciate them all the time

Like that one episode of New Girl when Schmidt bought Nick a cookie because he was thinking about him and cares about him… that’s Cole. He’ll buy his teammates a cookie or a jacket or a flower at random times because he was thinking about them

He would be a Hufflepuff, just saying

As seen in SoG, Cole can’t go undercover for crap

He really likes doing it though and whenever they need to he volunteers

And everyone just goes Cole no

And he frowns and just :(

And they feel bad but… he’s really bad at it

Even though he can’t go undercover, he’s actually really good at acting. Like really good. He could read a monologue with so much emotion everyone would just cry

It’s really just the improv that he’s bad at + he tries too hard:/

Cole loves trees so much. Like trees are his favorite thing and he climbs them and just sits at the top like all of the time

Especially if he’s stressed or had a bad day or got in a mini fight with someone on the team. He’ll just go outside or jump off of the ship and just. Climb a tree.

He’s fallen asleep on them too. Like, he’ll go at night and just fall asleep up there

He doesn’t always say when he leaves to go climb trees. He kind of just leaves.

Cole: *walks in the Bounty* hey guys:)

Everyone: …

Kai: where the frick were you?

Jay: you’ve been gone for 24 hours.

Nya: we’ve been looking for you all day

Zane: we’ve been calling you but you haven’t answered

Lloyd: we thought something horrible happened to you

Cole: … I was in a tree

HE JUST LOVES TREES SO MUCH

Cole and Sensei Wu have such a solid relationship. Like. Cole looks up to him so much and sometimes they just sit and talk and they could do that for hours

Cole once bought a fish without telling anyone at some point and he just loved this fish so much and took care of it to the best of his ability

He named it and would talk to it when he was alone or if he was lonely

but one day it died because they were gone on a mission too long and no one could feed it

Cole: *on their mission in the middle of the night* OMIGOSH NO

Everyone: *shoots out of their makeshift camp bed because Cole just shrieked* what what happened are you okay ect…

Cole: nO ONE IS ON THE SHIP TO FEED NEMO

Jay: … who’s Nemo?

Cole: my pet fish !! OMIGOSH HE’S GOING TO DIE

Kai: you have a pet fish?

He definitely cried when they got back and made everyone come to it’s “funeral”

Cole genuinely likes being single

Like, he’s happy for all of his friends who’ve been in relationships and like sometimes he gets lonely but he doesn’t want a relationship right now

So when the others go on dates he chills with Lloyd and they bond over being single and have the best times together

If they’re ever with the couples and they go out together and they take pictures, you best bet Cole and Lloyd demand pictures of just the two of them where they do super cheesy stuff like Titanic or holding hands with a leg up

He once got really angry and kicked a hole in the wall of The Bounty

Since he’s really strong and doesn’t always have control over his strength when he’s angry it was a really big hole

And he panicked so he tried covering it up or fixing it but it did not work well

It’s canon that he used to stay up late to plan missions and stuff but like I feel like he still does that and he still stresses so much over the safety of all of his friends

He also forgets to brush his teeth or his hair or shower or change before he goes to bed a lot. Sometimes because he’s stressing about missions but sometimes he just forgets. He also forgets to change in the morning. He’ll wear the same clothes for a week straight on accident. He gets in his own head a lot

Cole: *walks into room and is about to get in bed*

Jay: Cole, did you brush your teeth?

Cole: frick thank you

Zane: and put your pajamas on !! Don’t sleep in your clothes again !!

Cole: *walking into breakfast the next morning*

Kai: *without looking up from his plate* Cole go change

Cole: *turns around and goes back*

what I’m saying is the others have just gotten used to reminding him but they also do it because they care about him a lot !!

His relationship with his dad still isn’t super good but they try really hard to create a solid relationship between the two of them and they’ve gotten so much better but they still fight over trivial things sometimes (they always end up making up though) and they still love each other so much

this boy has the longest hair on the team and he definitely puts it up in man buns and stuff all the time and he freaking loves it if anyone plays with it- especially Jay

His teammates will run their fingers through it if Cole is stressed or they’ll brush it for him if it’s knotted, it really calms him down

They learned hair stuff just for him so sometimes they’ll just like… do his hair. Sometimes they’ll be watching a movie and Zane will just start braiding it or he’ll be doing some work and Kai will just start straightening it and he just adores it

It’s also a mess so Jay usually always has a comb on him so he can fix it because he loves his best friend:)

oof that was long sorry I just love this boy !!

I hope they didn’t suck because ahh thank you so much for asking !!

[that-was-anticlimactic]

Ninjago Be More Chill AU

This is really long whoops guys I have so many Ninjago BMC headcanons y’all have no idea. This won’t leave my head especially since I’ve been seeing some great BMC / Ninjago stuff recently mmm

Who would be who?

Jay as Jeremy:

Okay so like that not original but, Jay gives off such Jeremy vibes! Jay is really self-conscious, as we see in s1 ep8, aka his true potential episode, as we see in season three with the love triangle, and as we can see in season six with the fact that he knowingly makes wishes to “better himself” from Nadakhan. Jeremy also does some things he regrets, some things that come off kind of creepy and not okay, like what he did to get with Christine, luckily, he realizes that, and it’s one reason why most people don’t think they end up staying together. Jay had a few not necessarily okay and kind of creepy actions towards Nya, again specifically in season six, also a little in season three. But, Jeremy is an all around good person, he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and neither did Jay. Jeremy took the SQUIP, which gave some pretty bad advice much like how and why Jay made wishes from Nadakhan. Jeremy is also awkward and fidgety, again, Jay traits. He ditches his best friend for a girl (kind of season three?) but ends up apologizing and trying to make up for it (kind of season four). Not to mention, Loser Geek Whatever is such a Jay song.

Cole as Michael:

Okay so, this is kind of a popular one but? So Michael Mell is the free spirited, I’ll do what I want and if you don’t like it well leave me alone kind of guy. He’s more closed off towards others, but he’s one of the best best friends a guy could have. Cole isn’t as free spirited as Michael, per say, especially with his father, but in the end he can be. Cole doesn’t necessarily care what others think of him all the time (though he does in season 5 after turning into a ghost and kind of in season 3 because of the love triangle and my take on it). Most people in the fandom associate Cole and Jay as best friends, yet another reason why Cole is a good Michael. In the Jay / Jeremy description, I put some blame on Jay / Jeremy for hurting Cole / Michael, but they messed up too. Michael, while being the best friend, knew that Jeremy was unhappy and knew he wanted more, he chose to ignore that. When Michael approached Jeremy at the Halloween party, yeah he had good intentions but he didn’t do it the best way, and heck yeah, not helping Jeremy who was clearly under the control of the SQUIP at the play until he got an apology was a trashy move. Cole’s messed up too. He shouldn’t have tried anything with Nya, and in the way I view the love triangle, it makes more sense as to why, but he knew how much Jay cared about Nya and he knew that “pursuing” her was bad, but he did it anyway. He ignored what he knew about Jay for his own good (Michael ignoring Jeremy wanting more to keep him as his best friend). Cole also did some crappy things in response to what Jay did in Skybound. Sure Skybound is a little ooc and not always the best, but, hey, I’m proving a point haha. Cole and Jay shared unfair words with each other as well, but they made up for it. Michael went to the play and brought the Mountain Dew Red, Cole gave up the jade blade in Tournament and went back for him in Skybound even though he felt hurt. Not to mention, I mean, their love for music (because even though not necessarily show canon, most people believe Cole has a deep love for music). Not to mention, I headcanon both of them as gay also. I also almost made Cole Christine just for Bruise but like... Michael Mell... also most people think it’s canon that Michael has feelings for Jeremy and I think that Michael like tries to kiss Jeremy in the revival during Two-Player Game sooo...

Kai as Rich:

Okay so, another obviousish one. Kai is one of the most self conscious people in the show, but one with more of a self destructive mode that can effect others. Rich, much like Jeremy, was unhappy and ambitious. He wanted more from himself and he genuinely cared about the way people viewed him (much like Jay and Jeremy). Even in the first season with Kai wanting to be the green ninja, we saw Kai trying to prove himself and prove himself but failing sometimes (aka his intense want to be the green ninja). Kai was also the first ninja to wish himself away in Skybound (again, not always the most credible but, still). Rich and Kai share a lot of similarities on that part. They also have a fierce protectiveness for what they care about. Kai is loyal. He is so insanely loyal and one of the best friends anyone could ask for, he is incredibly dependable. Rich is a good friend too. While he didn’t always have control over his actions, he truly cared for Jake and for his other friends. Heck, Rich set a fire to prevent the SQUIPs from spreading because he didn’t want his friends to go through this. Kai would also definitely set a fire to protect Lloyd and his friends. Kai and Rich are / were both insecure, but the both grow and I love them both. So much. Also sometimes they’re both angry boys and I headcanon Kai as bi and Rich is bi in canon just those lovely little things!

Lloyd as Jake:

This is where it began getting harder, but I will FIGHT FOR THIS ONE!! Let’s start with Jake. He’s the most popular boy in school, he does pretty much every activity and runs or plays an integral part in those activities. The school has standards for him that they in a sense expect him, popular boy Jake, to live up to. He mentions to Christine that he feels the need to be perfect to please everyone all the time and it’s so much pressure and it’s clear that he dislikes that. Not only that, but he says in Upgrade that: “my parents wont be home so it’s alright, they laundered money now their on the run. Which means the house is empty so that’s fun”. Jake has absent parents, he lives alone. He most likely absorbs himself in what he does to distract himself from his home life. Okay now, let’s talk about Lloyd. Lloyd is the green ninja. He did not choose this, he did not choose to have all of this happen to him. The world looks up to Lloyd. They depend on Lloyd. Lloyd’s teammates depend on him. The pressure this boy faces is incredible. He’s popular, yeah a lot of people like him, but the pressure and the expectations everyone has for him... well we’ve seen him snap a few times. Not to mention, LLOYD GREW UP WITH NO PARENTS! His dad was evil and his mom left him to try and make his dad not evil, he was alone. So, Lloyd distracted himself by trying to be evil and trying to get revenge on the tribes and people that wronged him and stealing and just he distracted himself with so many things so he wouldn’t have to focus on “my parents left me”. Jake and Lloyd both face absentee parents, both of which aren’t necessarily good (I mean... Jake’s parents are criminals and Lloyd’s dad is Lord Garmadon...), they both have so much pressure to be the best and be amazing and be popular and happy. They both have to be happy because you can’t be popular in school if you’re sad and you can’t save the world if you focus on your problems. You can’t lead after school activities or lead a team of ninja if you get too much in your head. These boys face a lot, a lot is expected of them, and sometimes, the things their parents do do effect them in ways they don’t see. Jake isn’t always the nicest. He knows Rich is a bully, he lets it happen. He called Jeremy a freak at the mall, he’s probably (I headcanon) a sweet guy, but his upbringing causes some problems, much like Lloyd’s (I mean... the first half of season one). Plus, they both have a best friend who would burn their house down to protect them (because let’s be real here, Rich burned it down to protect others by killing himself and Kai would burn the world for Lloyd) pLUS Jake broke his legs saving Rich and they got worse after the SQUIP made him walk on them and Lloyd broke his foot fighting his father and faced the Overlord with a broken foot. *mic drop* I rest my case.

Nya as Brooke:

okay so I feel like this is kind of a weird one, but like, hear me out. So, Nya as Brooke. My first thought when trying to figure out who Nya would be was, obviously, Christine. But when I think about it, I do see some Nya in Christine, I do, but I kind of see her a little more in Brooke. Let’s start with Brooke. Brooke is popular Chloe Valentine’s best friend, she’s, in a sense, a tool, but more than anything she just wants to belong. She wants to be popular, she wants to not only have her status, but to earn her status. She doesn’t just want it because she’s Chloe Valentine’s best friend, she doesn’t just want it because she’s dated a few popular guys, she wants that status because of who she is, which is one thing that makes her different than Jenna (I can say a lot more about that but I won’t get into it because I LOVE JENNA ROLAN). Brooke is sweet, she’s kind, but bruh she is fierce and she could probably destroy you if she wanted, maybe not in the same aggressive way as Chloe, which she grows into in the show. We see Brooke as the second best all of the time, always in Chloe’s shadow and she’s pretty insecure about it, and herself in general. She wishes to be more, she wishes for someone to love her as her and to have the right to speak her mind and to just be herself, which she gets near the end of the show as she begins sticking up for herself, and most people in the fandom believe that she becomes the right amount of assertive after the show. Now onto Nya. Nya is always second best, she’s always in the ninja’s shadow. She literally gave herself a false identity so she could be enough and more than “the girl”, “Kai’s sister”, “Jay’s girlfriend”, and “the smart girl”. Much like Brooke, she wants more. So she does it herself, which isn’t something Brooke has the courage to do until later, but then again Nya hid for awhile too. Nya can be sweet, she can be gentle, and yo this girl is fierce too. She often feels second best as well, second best to Kai, to the team… not to mention how she feels in season five, trying to get an understanding of her identity and her place in the team (as opposed to her place in school). Brooke gets mad too. She gets mad at Chloe when she wrongs her. She gets mad at Jeremy. Nya gets mad as well. She gets mad at Jay, she gets mad at Cole and Kai and honestly Nya’s probably gotten mad at all of the ninja at some point. But she can still defend herself, and it may have taken Nya some time for people to realize that and to be assertive enough to tell everyone that and freaking mean it, but she does it. Brooke gets the nerves to do that too in act two. Plus Brooke dates Jeremy at one point but then they break up and if I had made this Bruise wouldn’t it have fit perfectly?? I know this one is weird and maybe isn’t the best, but Nya and Brooke are both sweet, kind, and freaking fierce girls and I love. Also it just makes complete sense in my head. (Also I know Christine has this thing about discovering herself but... just read the last part...)

Some other ones I’m thinking for right now but won’t type because this is long enough as it is are: Pixal as Jenna Rolan, Skylor (or Harumi but mostly Skylor) as Chloe Valentine, and Nadakhan as SQUIP (though the Overlord was my original idea and does work… I’m liking this Nadakhan as SQUIP thing a whole heck of a lot as I started writing all of these descriptions…) and for the life of me, guys, I just can’t figure out Zane! Like maybe Zane as Christine, especially since Christine has this whole discovering who she is bit and it takes her and Zane awhile to figure out who they are and be comfortable with it, but I didn’t really want to go the Techno route here (nothing against Techno, it just doesn’t seem like a very BMC ship I don’t know… don’t get me wrong though, I LOVE TECHNO!) I mean I suppose Zane would be a rad Christine if we went the Boyf Riends shipping route with this… Anyways that’s all! Do you agree with any of these? If you have different opinions please tell me because I love headcanons so much and I would genuinely love to read them! If anyone wants to hear anymore BMC / Ninjago AU headcanons please lemme know because I honestly might post some more anyways for the heck of it because I want to because I love this okay love y’all bye!

[kayoiwritingarchivies]

TITLE: Post mortem viventem

CHAPTER TITLE:  ONE: The Death of Two

WARNINGS AND RATINGS: Rated T for swearing, major character death and suicide

FANDOMS:  Detroit: Become Human 

SUMMARY:  So, if androids don't have souls, why does Connor see the ghosts of shut down Deviants? Why does he see ghosts in general? (In which Connor sees more than he is meant to, and it changes less than you think.)

Daniel is the first ghost to stay with Connor.

His body falls to the floor, but something is still standing there. It’s Daniel, but he’s translucent and there’s a strange blue outline around him. He keeps saying “You lied to me Connor. I trusted you, and you lied!”.

Connor blinks, trying to understand.

Connor sees ghosts, something he’s accepted when he walked into the apartment. He saw the spirit of John Phillips, kneeling in his own blood, whispering “Shouldn’t have done anything, should have listened to Emma…”, oblivious to Connor staring at his transparent figure.

He’s seen the ghost of the DPD officer that was first on the scene, who does notice Connor and tells him what he does and doesn’t know.

The second police officer that died that night, his spirit dripping wet yet the floor remaining dry tells him that he shouldn’t take the gun.

Both officers know they’re dead.

Daniel doesn’t, until he tries to punch Connor in the face and fails to do so, his arm going through. That’s when he says “I’m dead, aren’t I?”

Connor nods.

Daniel sticks around after that. It’s kind of strange, seeing an Android having a ghost, which meant that deviants had souls, and it leaves a strange sort of feeling in Connor’s chest.

-LINE BREAK-

“The sign clearly says ‘No Androids’.” Daniel mutters, one foot through the wall of the bar. “What if they break you?”

Connor looks at him and says “I have a mission to complete. And this is the 5th bar we’ve checked.”

“I have a mission to complete” Daniel mocks as he follows Connor into the bar. “God, you’re horrib-is that a kid?”

Connor looks at where Daniel is pointing, to show a six-year-old kid standing next to an old man.

“My name is Cole Anderson! What’s yours?” He says to Daniel, who’s still trying to process the shock.

“Uhm, my name is Daniel, the android over there is Connor…kid, what are you doing here?” Daniel replies, pointing at Connor, who is now trying to convince the old man to come with him.

“My dad’s here to drink the weird stuff. Are you guys gonna take him home?” Cole asks, looking up at, what Daniel is now assuming, is Hank Anderson.

“Uh, no, actually he has to go do his job…yeah…” Daniel says, looking back at Connor with a “Help me.” Expression on his face.

Connor looks back with a “You’re programmed to take care of children idiot, how am I meant to help?” Hank tells him to stick his instructions somewhere, prompting Connor to say “No, where?”

Daniel snorts at that.

They finally convince Hank Anderson to leave the bar, through bribery of all things, and they head to the crime scene.

-LINE BREAK-

Upon arrival, Hank turns in the car seat and tells Connor to stay in the car.

“You’re not going to listen, are you?” Daniel says, deadpan as he and Cole phase through the car door.

“Yep.” Connor replies, stepping into the rain.

“You can see us?” Cole whispers, stars in his eyes. “That’s so cool.”

Connor blinks and says “Um, sure.” And Daniel bursts out laughing because Connor might be the latest in CyberLife tech but he doesn’t know how to deal with children which is hilarious.

They follow Hank, who groans and tells Connor not to touch anything, and they enter the house.

Daniel is very thankful that he is dead and that he cannot smell. There’s also the ghost of Carlos Ortiz, yelling at the police officers to find justice for him, and Daniel, sighing, walks over to Mr Ortiz and introduces himself. “Hello, my name is Daniel, can you tell us what happened so we can find the android that did this to you.”

Carlos spits at him, says “Not going to have an android solve my case. Fuck off!”

Daniel blinks, and jabs a thumb at Connor, who is licking the blood off the knife and says “Well, you’re out of luck there buddy. And I’m dead, so tough luck trying to break me.”

Carlos splutters, and walks off, cursing the entire time. “That could have gone better.” Daniel mutters before going over to Connor. “Find anything useful?”

“Someone’s defaced the bathroom.” Connor says, kneeling down and picking up a small statuette. “Where’s Cole?”

“Cole is…uh…whoops.” Daniel says, turning around. “Ah heck I lost the squirt.”

Connor blinks at him, goes “Good job. Go find him.” Before analysing the scene before him and relaying the information he knew. Daniel sighs, mutters “You’re not the boss of me.”, before going off to try find Cole. He finds him next to a table, reading a pamphlet with the words “Eden Club” typed across the top.

“Daniel? What’s the Eden Club?” Cole asks, eyes wide as he looks at Daniel.

Daniel immediately grabs his arm and drags him away, saying “You’ll know when you’re older kiddo”

“I’m technically eight!”

“Still too young.”

In the time it takes Daniel to find Cole, Connor finds the deviant upstairs, and hearing “It’s here lieutenant!” jars him, and he looks down the corridor, frowning.

Then Cole punches him in the stomach and runs off, leaving Daniel somehow wheezing on the floor, and there’s a mutter of “Damn brat.”

-LINE BREAK-

“I’m bored.” Cole complains, sitting on Daniel’s shoulders.

“Kid, not exactly alive, can’t really do anything.” Daniel shoots back, frowning.

Hank was in the interrogation room with the HK400 Connor had captured. Connor kept sneaking glances at Cole and Daniel, who are watching the interrogation getting nowhere.

Hank storms back in, saying “We’re wastin’ our time interrogating a damn machine, we’re getting nothing out of it!” collapsing into a chair. Cole climbs down Daniel to be near his father, and Connor can’t really blame Cole for being near his parent.

A voice from the corner, Which Connor identifies as Gavin Reed, speaks up with a “We could always try roughing it up a little, maybe it’ll get it to talk. After all, it’s not human.”

Daniel sneers at Reed, and mutters “You’re a real piece of work aren’t you, you waste of ai-”

“Androids don’t feel pain.” Connor replies to Reed, turning to face him. Daniel says “You butt, deviants somehow do, getting shot actually hurt.”

Connor ignores Daniel and continues with “You’ll only damage it and that wouldn’t make it talk. Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they’re in stressful situations”

“Okay smartass.” Reed pipes up, pushing off the wall to approach Connor. “What should we do then?”

“I could try questioning it.”

The whole room is silent, save for the living people’s breathing and Daniel’s muttering of “Why would you say that, why the heck would you say that?”

Then Reed starts laughing, finding the whole concept of Connor interrogating the android hilarious.

Hank only sighs and asks “What do we have to lose?”, before gesturing to the window showing the HK400. “Go ahead, suspects all yours.”

Connor hesitates, before leaving the room, Daniel following behind with a look at Cole saying “Don’t you dare.”

Once in the hallway, Connor says “Can’t you go through the wall into the interrogation room?”

Daniel shrugs, and they both go into the interrogation room, and Connor sits in front of the HK400 and begins to talk.

-LINE BREAK-

Connor ends up being forced to probe its memory for the event.

“Uh Connor? The HK400 is sort of…twitching?” Daniel says, hand passing through the deviant’s head. “Connor, I think it’s going to…self-destruct.”

And that’s when, our dear readers, the HK400 self-destructs.

Daniel and Connor just stare as the deviant begins slamming its head onto the table, blue blood beginning to pool onto the cold metal surface.

The other officers make their way in, one trying to stop the android. Connor isn’t doing anything, and Daniel is covering Cole’s eyes from scene.

The deviant smashes it’s head into the table one last time and ends up dying.

Connor frowns, and Daniel does as well, while Cole manages to remove Daniel’s hands from his face and gives out a soft whine at the body.

The spirit of HK400, registered under Carlos Ortiz, is still there, tears running down it’s face as it whispers “Why couldn’t you have let me go?”

Hank mutters a “Holy shit…” and Connor, the only one to see the three ghosts in the room, says nothing.

-LINE BREAK-

The HK400, much to Daniel’s irritation, stays with Connor as well.

Henry, which is what he named himself (When had it gone from ‘it’ to ‘he’?), is a lot quieter than Daniel. He’s timider, and stays rather close to Connor, which irritates Daniel because damnit, he was here first.

Connor, who at this point is sadly still a machine, doesn’t really care, which irritates Daniel further, because the damn 4-month-old, socially inept android can see ghosts and his only reaction is literally “How did you die?”

So, at the Detroit Police Department Central Station, at 9:56AM, Connor is sitting in a chair near Hank’s desk, waiting for Hank to appear, while Daniel sits on the arm rest and complains loudly about everything and Henry just sits there on the floor and quietly wrings his hands.

Connor then gets up, startling Daniel off the chair, before going to Hank’s desk and scanning what was on it. Daniel, bored out of his mind, looks around at the desk, pushes a hat off a board, frowns at the anti-android slogans on said board, Connor finds some dog hairs on Hank’s chair, then Connor goes “I’m going to go to the break room” under his breath, leading Daniel to say “Yeah, but Reed’s in there, and also no.”

Connor glances over to the breakroom, to see Detective Reed in there with another police officer, and a ghost with a perfectly clean bullet wound going from one side of their head to the other, standing silently beside Detective Reed, and before Connor can tell him not too, Henry stands up and slowly approaches the ghost.

Daniel is now muttering child-safe curses under his breath, and Connor is trying very hard not to watch the two ghosts in the Break room talk in low tones. Henry comes back, looking more upset than he originally was.

Daniel asks Henry about him, but Henry doesn’t say anything except “It’s not my story to tell.”

Connor frowns, and that’s when Hank Anderson walks in, followed by Cole, who runs up to the two ghosts and they talk about nothing much, while Hank goes and talks to Captain Fowler.

Connor doesn’t follow, and instead listens into the conversation he can only hear.