#but also it looks like zane is most peoples favorite

[writer-room]

I had an idea, and so I made some low effort memes. Happy Dragons Rising everybody

That is all

[fratttymatty]

Streamed

(All characters are 18+)

Zane Matthews was a typical 18-year-old high school senior—lazy, a self-proclaimed liberal, and unapologetically gay. He had no particular ambitions, other than to survive senior year and maybe stream his favorite games for a small audience. Life was simple for him. He spent most of his time in his room, slouched in front of a screen, eating takeout and diving deep into the world of online gaming.

Zane's favorite pastime was watching his favorite streamer, Austin Steele, a 21-year-old jock-turned-streamer who had the kind of charisma that could light up an entire stadium. Austin was everything Zane wasn’t: athletic, outgoing, effortlessly charming, and very straight. Austin didn’t just play video games—he was a fitness buff who also lifted weights, ran marathons, and shared motivational advice with his massive following. It didn’t hurt that he had the kind of body that looked like it belonged on the cover of a fitness magazine.

On this particular night, Zane had just finished his homework (barely), grabbed a bag of chips, and decided to tune into Austin’s latest livestream. Austin was playing a game, his muscular arms flexing as he maneuvered his controller with the ease of someone who had mastered not only the game but also the art of streaming. His viewers adored him, especially when he would occasionally take off his shirt to reveal his chiseled abs, sometimes tossing in a wink or a flex to keep the chat buzzing.

"Yo, what's up, guys?" Austin’s voice crackled through Zane’s headphones. "Alright, let’s get this game rolling. We’ve got a long way to go tonight."

Zane smiled to himself, watching the screen with an almost hypnotic fascination. He'd never been one of Austin’s die-hard fans, but there was something magnetic about the guy. His life seemed so effortless, so full of energy and confidence. Zane sometimes found himself envious of Austin's persona, though he'd never admit it. He liked being alone, preferred his quiet, less demanding life.

But tonight, something strange happened.

As Zane watched Austin’s stream, he noticed that the chat was gradually starting to empty out. It was late, after all, and most people had already logged off. First, a few usernames disappeared, then a dozen, until finally, the stream was down to a single viewer: Zane. He glanced at the viewer count—1. Just him.

Austin, seemingly unaware that the stream had almost cleared out, kept chatting away, playing his game.

"Haha, well, looks like it’s just you and me now, buddy," Austin said with a grin, addressing Zane directly. "You still with me, man?"

Zane blinked, momentarily thrown off. He had been watching Austin's streams for months, but this was the first time he'd ever been the only viewer. A weird sense of connection washed over him. The loneliness of it all felt oddly intimate.

"Yeah, I’m here," Zane typed into the chat, his fingers moving quickly over the keys.

Austin’s eyes flicked to the chat, his smile widening as he read Zane’s message. "Nice, man. Glad you stuck around. You know, I don’t usually do this, but you seem like a cool dude. How about I show you something real cool?"

Zane raised an eyebrow. "Show me what?"

Austin leaned closer to the camera, his face half-lit by the glow of his computer screen. His muscles were more defined up close, his jaw sharp, and his confident grin never faltered.

"Let me show you what a real transformation looks like."

Before Zane could ask what he meant, Austin’s fingers moved in a practiced, deliberate pattern, tapping his screen in a way that seemed almost ritualistic. A soft hum filled the audio, vibrating with a strange energy. Zane’s heart skipped. Something was off, but at the same time, his curiosity was piqued. He leaned forward.

The screen flickered, the room around him becoming dimmer. Zane tried to pull his focus away from the screen, but there was something hypnotic in Austin’s voice.

"Just relax, man. You’ve been watching me for a while now, right? You know I’m all about hard work, fitness, success. And I think… I think it’s time for you to see what you’re really capable of. Just let go of who you think you are, and let me show you the real you."

Zane’s eyelids grew heavy, and a strange warmth spread through his chest. His fingers hovered above the keyboard, not really knowing what to do with them. His head swam, and the words Austin spoke seemed to fill him, until they were the only thing that mattered.

"Let’s take you from here… and make you into something greater. Something stronger. Something… better."

With a final, sharp breath, Zane closed his eyes. The warmth that had been building inside him suddenly surged, crashing through his body like a tidal wave. His skin tingled, then burned, as though his very cells were being rewritten.

When Zane opened his eyes again, everything was different. The first thing he noticed was the way the air around him felt—thicker, more charged, as though his body had become a conduit for some unseen force. He raised a hand to his face, only to find that his features were sharper, more defined. His cheekbones were higher, jaw stronger. His entire body felt different—taller, leaner, more powerful. He instinctively flexed his arms, feeling the muscle beneath his skin.

He stood up, looking in the mirror across his room. Staring back at him was not the skinny, slightly awkward kid he used to be, but a completely different person—a tall, chiseled young man with a muscular frame, broad shoulders, and abs that could rival any fitness model’s. His hair was tousled perfectly, dirty blonde, falling in effortless waves that added a kind of raw, athletic charm to his appearance. It was the kind of hair that begged to be touched, full of that "I woke up like this" vibe, and it suited him perfectly.

But the most jarring change wasn’t physical. It was the way he felt—there was a new energy, a hunger to be the best, to prove something, to conquer. The Zane who had been shy, introverted, and uncertain had disappeared. In his place was a straight, athletic, and undeniably confident jock—someone who thrived on the attention and admiration of others.

He looked at himself in the mirror, his body rippling with strength as he flexed his arm again. The reflection staring back at him was now someone else—someone who could easily dominate the social scene, someone whose looks and charm were magnetic. This new version of Zane—who now silently thought of himself as Carter Steele—felt so at home in this body that he didn’t even think twice about the change.

Carter Steele stood tall, his new body brimming with confidence. He turned back to his computer, pulling off his shirt without thinking. He loved the way the cool air felt against his bare skin. With ease, he set up a new stream under his new identity. His fingers moved quickly, his body naturally relaxed as if he’d done this a thousand times before.

He was confident, charismatic, and ready. Within minutes, the viewers began flooding in, drawn by the raw magnetism of Carter’s athletic physique and the new, confident aura he now projected. The chat exploded with compliments, cheers, and flirtatious messages—mostly from jocks and cheerleaders from school, who had never paid him much attention before. They were drawn to him now, as if they’d always been waiting for him to become this version of himself.

"Looking good, bro!" one of his old friends messaged in the chat. Carter typed back without hesitation, a cocky smile on his face. "Thanks, bro. Been hitting the gym hard."

His old self—Zane, the lazy, slightly awkward gamer—was gone, replaced by Carter Steele, a popular, straight, athletic, and incredibly confident jock. As he leaned back, enjoying the instant attention he was receiving, he couldn't help but flex his abs for the camera. His chest swelled with pride, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Carter Steele had arrived, and he couldn’t care less about who Zane had been.

This was the life he was meant to live.

Carter Steele's streaming career was booming. His channel was flooded with fans, mostly from school, who couldn’t get enough of his chiseled physique, cocky attitude, and the way he effortlessly dominated not just the gym, but every social circle around him. He was the classic "high school king" with a fanbase that adored him for his confidence and presence.

Of course, his popularity wasn’t just because of his athleticism—he’d also gained a reputation for his no-nonsense, unapologetically conservative views, which were often a topic of discussion on his streams. He didn’t hesitate to voice his thoughts on anything and everything, including the culture he found "too soft" and people he felt needed to "toughen up."

And tonight, like most nights, he was streaming from his room, shirtless, his muscles gleaming under the lights as he played his favorite game. Mia, his new girlfriend, was perched on his lap. She was everything he needed to look good—pretty, bubbly, and a little ditzy. Her blonde hair bounced as she giggled, her hands playfully running through Carter’s abs as the chat lit up with comments about how perfect they looked together.

"Heyyy, guys!" Mia chirped, her voice overly sweet and high-pitched. "I’m Mia! I'm, like, so excited to be on the stream tonight with my hottie." She giggled again and leaned back against Carter’s chest, her body naturally curling into his as she flashed a peace sign to the camera. "Like, totes happy to be here."

The chat exploded with comments like “#couplegoals” and “perfect match,” but Carter wasn’t one to get carried away by compliments. He grinned, flexing his bicep a little just to show off.

Mia continued, completely unaware of how she came off. "I, like, have to say, though," she giggled, "there’s, like, soooo many people out there who just can’t take a joke anymore. Like, everything’s offensive now. Ugh, it’s, like, so lame."

Carter chuckled darkly, his fingers hovering over the controller as he shot a quick glance at Mia. "Yeah, for real. It’s like, everyone’s so sensitive these days. People need to learn how to, like, take a joke, you know? I mean, who cares if someone has an opinion? It's like, just don’t be a whiny little snowflake about it. You don’t have to agree with everyone. That's what’s wrong with the world today—too much of this 'everyone’s equal' crap."

Mia nodded, her lips pouting cutely as she leaned closer to Carter’s chest. "Yeah! Like, totally, right? And, like, I’m not trying to be mean or anything, but I just think it’s, like, weird when people try to, like, push their agenda on everyone. I mean, I’m, like, super chill, but some things just, like, shouldn't be a thing, you know? Like, it’s just so awkward when people act all like, ‘Oh, you have to accept me’ and blah blah blah. Like, no, honey. You do you, but don’t expect me to agree with it, okay?"

Carter’s smirk deepened. He ran a hand through his perfectly tousled hair, the way it fell naturally into place making him look even more "effortlessly cool." "Exactly. Like, do whatever, but don’t expect me to give a damn. Some things just aren’t natural, and people need to accept that. Like, if a guy wants to, I don’t know, wear makeup or whatever, sure, but that doesn’t mean I gotta like it. Like, I'm not here for that nonsense."

"Totally, babe!" Mia giggled, playing with a lock of her hair. "It’s, like, yikes, right? It’s just so—ugh, I don’t even know how to explain it. Like, I’m fine with people doing their thing, but, like, don't, like, force it on other people. Like, some people just need to chill and stop trying to get everyone to agree with them. It's, like, so not a vibe."

Carter laughed, clearly enjoying the attention from both the camera and Mia. He flexed his abs again for the viewers, trying to show off, but he also enjoyed making bold, dismissive statements. "I hear you, babe. People are just way too caught up in trying to make everyone think the same. There’s a line, and if you cross it, you just look like a joke. It’s simple: you do you, but don’t make me do you. It’s like, if someone’s gay or whatever, I don’t care. But don’t come at me with all that nonsense like I’m supposed to act like it’s all normal. You know?"

The chat was a mix of comments: some applauding him, others questioning the boldness of his statements. But Carter didn’t care—he knew the people who followed him loved his no-holds-barred approach. The jocks, the cheerleaders, the ones who shared his views—they were all still watching. That was all that mattered.

Mia giggled again, leaning in and whispering into Carter's ear. "Yeah, like, totes. And I don’t, like, mean to be rude, but it’s just so annoying when people get all, like, ‘Oh, you have to be okay with it.’ Like, no, I don’t. Sorry, not sorry, right?"

"Exactly," Carter said with a confident chuckle, giving Mia a playful squeeze. "It's like, you’re not my boss. You don’t get to tell me how to live or what to think. I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m all in with your ‘new world’ crap, you know? People need to suck it up, grow a spine, and stop being so damn sensitive. Life’s too short for that."

Mia nodded, smiling up at him with that ditzy, innocent expression, oblivious to the controversy. "Totes agree, babe. Life’s, like, so much easier when you just don’t give a crap about what other people think."

The chat continued to pour in—some laughing, some not so happy about what was being said, but Carter and Mia didn’t care. They were in their own bubble, high on their own self-confidence and their views. Carter loved the attention, the validation that came with his "alpha" status, and Mia loved being by his side, playing the role of the cute, supportive girlfriend.

Carter adjusted himself in the chair, his gaze cool and unfazed. He didn’t need anyone else’s approval to feel good about himself. He had everything he wanted—strength, popularity, and a girlfriend who never challenged him.

"Alright, guys," Carter said, giving the camera one last wink, "We’ll catch you later. And remember, stop being soft. The world’s tough—learn to deal with it."

The stream ended with the usual flood of comments and emojis, but for Carter, this was just another night at the top. He had everything figured out, and nobody was going to change his mind about anything.

[thatonefishfriend]

Putting a batch of asks into one post!

Mostly just to keep things tidy ✨

Yes and no. 👀 I watched the entirety of the BFDI series, watched inanimate insanity, REALLY loved hfjONE (a favorite in the whole bunch), But somehow I've never drawn fanart of it?? The resemblances were completely unintentional. :] I like the Black Hole from BFDI.

ROBOTS. I love robots. It's been my main thing even before I got into AvA. I was majorly into Portal 2. <3 I've also been watching Transformers Prime with some friends.

Soundwave beloved. :] I might..? introduce two of my robot ocs in this blog? One of them really looks like Prime Soundwave. (I didn't even know about him when I made him)

I'M-

THANK YOU KIND PERSON,,, VERY COol......

I'll trip on YOUR stairs /silly

(Wild to see there are people who as insane about him as much as I am... Thanks for the nice messages. <3)

I agree :] I have some dynamics in my head that would be cool to put together. Flaming Red - (Kai) Fire Ninja Freezing Blue - (Zane) Ice Ninja Mad Scientist Yellow - (Jay) Lightning Ninja Greenzilla - (Cole) Earth Ninja And last and most obvious The Second Coming - (La-loyd) Green Ninja

Put these green powered boys in a room and the world explodes. /j I also thought about having Green Screen as Morro.. Mostly because Cole was a ghost too. Green.

THAT WOULD BE VERY COOL. BUT ALAS.. I can't draw fight scenes.

Thank you! <3 Watch me frolick and mess around in my so-called-blog.

yeah

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Characters in the Hunger Games

As requested by @sweetteaanddragons :)

I haven't read or watched Hunger Games, but I've picked up enough through cultural osmosis...I hope. They're kids in an arena fighting to the death, right? And it's a media circus? And there are 12 districts? And they're poor? I think I got it! Anyway, let's stick Cosmere characters in that arena and see how they do!

By the way, for the most part I'm imagining these characters in their own separate hunger games, not all together, just because I didn't want to imagine all of my blorbos killing each other.

1. Kaladin

After a kid who looks just like Tien literally dies in Kaladin's arms (note: all of the kids look exactly like Tien so far as Kaladin is concerned), Kaladin realizes that the Hunger Games are about kids dying, not about kids surviving. He decides that he has to save everyone, and quickly builds a coalition with the other tributes. They all die anyway and Kaladin wins.

He's not happy about it.

2. Shallan

Sadly, Shallan dies while trying unsuccessfully to convince a stick to become fire. Technically, I think this means the stick wins, but they give the award to some kid instead, for some reason.

3. Adolin

Adolin was doing really well until FOUR other tributes all decided to gang up on him. Even then, he fought like an uncaged tiger and very nearly survived. Nearly. (Hey, uh, most characters die in Hunger Games, right?)

4. Vin

Vin slices through the competition like a vengeful god. Emphasis on vengeful. And god. She barely even lets herself get distracted by the weird love triangle between that guy who wants to make the world better and the one who wants to burn it all down. She's too busy, like, killing everyone.

5. Zane

Zane thinks it's pretty swell to be in this killing arena killing people. What isn't swell is that Vin isn't into him, even AFTER their romantic killing spree. What gives? Anyway. Vin kills him.

6. Elend

Elend has a lot of thoughts about the sociological implications of the games. He does not have a lot of thoughts about how to sharpen a stick into a crude spear and ram it through someone's chest. (Is that what happens in the Hunger Games?) Regardless, I don't think he makes it long... Sorry, Elend.

7. Spook

Spook is a wraith. No one ever sees him coming. Or sees him at all. He keeps receiving supplies and weapons from a mysterious benefactor. At one point he starts wearing a handkerchief over his eyes and killing people by sound alone. I don't really see him winning, tbh (sorry Spook), but he is definitely a crowd favorite who makes it super far.

8. Szeth

"To kill innocent children for the amusement of distant viewers blackens my soul with a stain that shall never be removed. Oh, how I hate this. Oh, how I hate this senseless, senseless killing," Szeth thinks to himself as he constructs an unnecessarily elaborate death trap that kills his opponents horribly. "No one suffers like me," Szeth thinks, over all of the screaming.

9. Renarin

Hey remember when Renarin killed a Thunderclast mostly off-screen? Plus he has future sight. If they've got their powers in this game, then Radiant Renarin is probably taking it all. If not, well...let's not go there.

10. Vivenna

After her sister is sent as a tribute in Vivenna's place, Vivenna enters the Hunger Games anyway, determined to somehow put a stop to them. For example, she takes all the food she can find and hides it in one place so that it will be safe for everyone. She figures out how to predict supply drops to ensure that she always gets to them first. While convinced that she is the Hunger Games Breaker, she is actually the season's most notorious villain and eventually everyone bands together to kill her. Sorry, Vivenna.

11. Kelsier

Kelsier wins the hearts of viewers everywhere, mostly due to his determination to keep smiling no matter what horrors he must survive. He's, like, really good at killing people also. The Survivor, people call him. But when he is shockingly cut down and killed, his death galvanizes a rebellion against, uh, President Snow? Is that the big bad? Anyway. There's a religion about him now.

12. Ann

Oh, Ann. So excited to shoot guns. (Do they have guns?) So excited to shoot bows and arrows maybe. But she can't shoot worth a damn. She has a splendid time and hits no one. And, well, she does not win.

13. Cord

Frankly, Cord wants to win and bring glory and money (?) back home to her people, who desperately need it. I'm assuming the districts get stuff if their person wins. Cord is in it to win it. And she's awfully good with that bow and arrow...

14. Lift

Man, I don't want Lift to be in the Hunger Games! Lift thinks killing is lazy and boring! Sure, she'd be great at hiding in trees and getting food, but I definitely do not see Lift actually being able to kill anyone. Is that allowed? Will she be disqualified?

15. Tress

Tress looks at the Death Arena Whose Purpose Is Death and says, "But is anyone gonna Make Friends about it" and doesn't wait for an answer. Somehow, by the end, basically everyone IS friends. Except for that one person who really did want to kill. But she and Tress went off together and only Tress returned. So.

Basically, Tress's influence ruins the Hunger Games that year. Nobody wants the Friendship Games.

[lloydskywalkers]

I recently reread Skywalker syndrome (still as amazing as it was on day one like... holy shit your writing is so goddamn good-)and during the part where Lloyd argues with Wu I realized something and now I wanna ask

Do you think that some point during his recovery from Morro, Lloyd had this moment of snapping where he screamed at his uncle about keeping secrets like that and literally mentioning that this one nearly killed him?

asdsgfd thank you so much!! :D the Lloyd and Wu argument was possibly my favorite part to write, which is going to be incredibly ironic considering my answer to this.

Short answer: while I think Lloyd would feel very much hurt, I don’t think he would snap at Wu? At this particular point. Give him three more seasons of developing traumatic anger issues then he’d go off. 

Long (long, long, long) answer!

I think Wu is one of the people Lloyd would have the hardest time losing his temper with, especially considering the timing. Post-Sons of Garmadon Lloyd and Post-Possession Lloyd are in considerably different positions in life, but also weirdly similar ones, if you take into account that Possession Lloyd is coming off of Tournament of Elements (season 4), because from Lloyd’s view of things-

1) He's already been on his own prior to this, having lost Zane,

2) Kai, one of the most important people in his life and someone he looks up to, told him he never deserved to be the Green Ninja and is apparently angry enough to hurt him for that, and

3) He just lost his father, who he’s barely had at all, and it’s entirely on his own hands.

On top of that, you've got the whole letter fiasco, so Lloyd’s now left with the possibility that he himself might be a mistake. Obviously I think there’s a lot more that goes into Garm and Misako’s relationship than one letter, but Lloyd’s not exactly the most perceptive person in the world around season 4 :( 

All this to say that Lloyd is probably in a very terrible no self-confidence place of mind, which I have a billion zillion thoughts on because Lloyd’s literally never had a win he gets to keep — he defeats the Overlord but not really, and Zane has to pay the price to make up for that. He saves his father but not really because now he has to banish him. He keeps messing up and doing something wrong, but all he's done is follow what he's been told so he doesn't know what that is. The only thing he has is that the Green Ninja was supposed to win. Lloyd lost. 

Then you have Wu and Lloyd's relationship, which I think Lloyd values highly because for the most part, Wu is the most present family member in Lloyd's life. And for all that Garmadon and Misako love and care for him, Wu was the first person to give Lloyd a home. The first person to give him a place to belong, the first person to give him a chance, and the first person to truly believe in him. 

And as far as Lloyd can see, all he's done is failed to live up to that belief. So I think he’d be likely to see it less as Wu failing him, and more him failing Wu — maybe there was a reason Wu kept Morro from him, and maybe he won’t like the answer. 

I do think he’d be a lot more likely to snap about his dad’s monastery being turned into a tea shop, but I don’t think he’d reach boiling point quite yet. The other ninja might, though. Cole over here stuck as a ghost...

(Crystalized Lloyd, on the other hand! oh boy) 

Anyways there's cia’s tuesday night rant about Lloyd stay tuned for more nonsensical rambling :’D  

[spinjitsuburst]

ninjago fic recommendations because i have so many Thoughts about them

gonna share some of my favorite ninjago fics bc they're so so so good and i want people to talk about them with me

Land of the Living by @captainbrookeworm - An evil scientist bent on using Lloyd's powers to resurrect his enemies chooses a poor one to start with - with Morro back alive he has to help Lloyd escape the facility, find a way to stop the bad guy, and keep the rest of the ninja from throttling him as everyone learns to adjust (pretty sure this has a sequel that i still need to read)

when you think you're all alone by @mondothebombo - A fic about a deeper look into what things were like for Jay aboard Misfortune's Keep. Lots of hurt, lots of comfort, lots of Jay needing therapy (TW: this fic contains depictions of torture and discussion of sexual assault so please be careful!) (also i've drawn fanart for this fic huehue)

The Ice Emperor and the Earth Dragon by @mcfanely - In the events of Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu, things are changed when Cole gets zapped to the Neverrealm alongside Zane. With two ninja trapped instead of one, we get a different look at how the Ice Emperor comes to be, and just how far Cole is willing to go to protect his brother (this fic broke my brain ngl)

Current Hunger by @thoriffix - After a mission gone wrong, Jay's behavior begins getting more and more unstable. Dangerous. He's hearing whispers in his head, things that aren't there, and the ninja are noticing. Little do they know the danger is much bigger than anything anyone could've imagined (TW: a lot of psychological and body horror)

Play to Win by @sadisthetic - A Skybound one-shot. After getting captured on Misfortune's Keep, Cole didn't expect to be thrown into combat, much less against Jay. A one-shot about Jay and Cole and the worst round of Scrap N' Tap imaginable (tw: violence duh)

Visionary by @k1ngtok1 - A fic about Lloyd, getting an innermost look at the history of the people he cares about most

Would You Like to Enter Prime Empire? by @finn-m-corvex - A fic where Prime Empire carries out somewhat differently, with the ninja separated from Jay and having to work with him from the outside of Prime Empire

There's a Smell of Stale Fear by @spinchip - A one-shot about Jay tending to Zane in the aftermath of a traumatic event. A lot of reflection on Zane and what he's been through. (TW dark themes)

To rise after the fall by @k1ngtok1 - A series of fics centering around Cole and his realization that he has oni heritage. It's so cute and good and yes please read this series i am Begging you

Would You Like to Enter Stardust? by @aureallegories - Something goes wrong when Jay enters Prime Empire. Becoming a corrupted code in the game, Jay forgets the ninja entirely and becomes one of the hardest bosses in all of Prime Empire (i've drawn fanart for this fic too huehue)

Masking and Unmasking by HelloThere3306 - A one-shot set in the movieverse, all the ninjas identities are a secret until Lloyd's gets revealed to the group by accident. The ninja have to set aside their biases to get their green leader back.

[jurygarroth]

what your MCD/MYS fave says about YOU

from my jurygarroth experience

aphmau

endangered species. mostly on aphtwt?

tend to be younger

and also a little more defensive of your favs, not like picking fights but sensitive to negativity and avoid it at all costs

diaries fan? zoeymau. mystreet fan? aarmau

garroth

professional mcd overthinkers, physically unable to stop talking about analysis and interpretations. especially betrayal arc.

very emotional fans

garroth boobies

poly garlaurmau believers

have beef with laurance fans but like laurance

laurance

almost always more of a diaries fan

talkative. most vocal in a shooting the shit way

ginger laurance enjoyer. you’ll draw laurance with orange hair and at least 1 green eye until the end

long tumultuous history with laurmau as a diaries fan or garrance as a mystreet fan

have beef with garroth fans but neutral on garroth

dante

dante angst lockdown good heavens what are you guys doing to him!!

you project onto him a lot don't you.

mostly mystreet fans but you’ll also defend his diaries version with your life

danvis and/or daaron

lucinda

you’re gay

made you realize you like women

pretty quiet all things considered? not usually someone's #1 fav but everyone likes her so she's always high up on their lists

adore her voice actress. her voice is one of the reasons she caught your eye

katelyn

yeah you’re gay

also made you realize you like women

usually the most well-adjusted people, have nuanced takes

you project onto her don't you

travlyn is a comfort ship but you pick the parts of their dynamic you like

travis

you are just joyful peppy people

have a very obvious type in favorite characters, more often than not your favs are filled with other "silly guys with hidden depth" types

ninjago fans??? wonder why that is

trans travis enjoyers

aaron

mostly mystreeters

nobody gets him but you. you look into him and see the characterization he was robbed of and you want to save him

you guys have a lot of thoughts.

aaron boobies

derek lycan HATER derek lycan DEATH PENALTY

zane

literally all of you act a certain way and I don’t know how to explain it. not in a bad way but YOU ALL HAVE THE SAME BRAIN

whether it's zanana zanki zanus zanvis zanemau you have a zane otp that you will put your life on the line for

you want to see him slay. drawing him in indulgent outfits forever

you've put some kinda gender into him

kc

big fan of pink

put a lot of effort into making your online profiles look nice. terminally online and a little silly

involved in or appreciator of some type of subculture fashion like scene, emo, gyaru, lolita etc

usually also a zane liker

vylad

incredibly specific about vylad characterization and vylad headcanons you’ve imagined his whole life’s story in your mind already

obsessed with ro'meave family backstory

your nonbinary.

vylance believers

gene

you have a massive crush on him don’t you

[mafuluzx]

Hello! Idk if it still doing requests but I just needed to get this idea out there: any of the ninja x magician reader where the reader just has the most riskiest performances ever and has people on the edge of their seats (idk it's just been in my head all day for some reason

Of course! I'm not very fast at writing and have a lot of oneshots at work, but I'll try to write this as best as I can. I really liked the magician idea, but mixing it with some 'dangerous' acts would have made this a bit boring. So I toned it down a bit, and took a more comedic approach to the act.

Also, I just couldn't get myself into the idea of having romance in this, because I liked it as just a platonic thingy, but I tried my best! I also chose Kai for the main focus of this thing, so I guess it kinda counts as a Kai x reader??? But mainly it's just a platonic thingy.

Kai x male! reader.

Set in very early season 1, You'll see why.

Better than magic

So here they were, all five of them. Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, and of course Little Lloyd Garmadon himself. He was the one who thought of this idea to begin with.

Right next to Mega Monster amusement park was now a huge circus tent and countless of stands were set all around it. There was something for everyone. It went from unfair and way too expensive carnival games to booths with shadow plays and even meet-and-greets with puppeteers and their puppets.

The little boy dressed in his favorite skeleton hoodie jumped up and down and led Zane, the one who decided to actually try to watch over the boy, by the hand all around the carnival.

Meanwhile the three others wondered why their Sensei even allowed them to come here in the first place. Oh well, if they're already at a carnival, might as well take it easy.

Jay and Cole for one were having fun.

"Oh my gosh!!! It's a Fritz Donnegan meet and greet!!" "And check out all these games! Hey, Jay, wanna go throw darts?" "Later, maybe. Wait for me, I have to go shake his hand!!" "Jay, look! A cotton candy stall!!There are so many flavors! Cherry, Blueberry, Popcorn-"

"Popcorn? Is that really a good flavor?" Kai wasn't really that excited. He had wanted to take the time to train, make sure he was in good shape. In the end he was still, against his will, dragged here.

"What? If you don't like popcorn, how about the chili flavor?" Cole asked, as Kai scrunched up his face in disgust.

"No thanks."

"Cole, Kai, look at this!!" An excited yell rang out as Jay ran back to the the two ninja. He lifted his hands up and shoved a picture of Cliff Gordon's face with the words 'For Jay Walker', written in fancy cursive letters.

"I got this from him! And guess what? I actually got to shake his hand!" The blue ninja acted like a kid with a sugar high.

"Nice..." Kai didn't even try to sound excited for Jay. Jay's happy smile turned into a pout, but before he could start whining, Cole spoke up.

"Hey, look at that." Cole said as he pointed to a crowd, a small crowd, but a crowd no less, surrounding a small show stage. It wasn't really much.

Jay immediately hopped over to the stage, as Cole walked after him. Kai let out a sigh before following after them, although reluctantly.

The three actually got to the very front, because there weren't many people around the stage. Some only stayed to watch for a second, before moving onto something else.

"Hey, you three!" A sudden voice called out to them from above, and the three ninja all looked up. Even Kai's eyes widened as he saw a boy, wearing a short cape and a top hat hanging upside down on a tightrope.

"Welcome, welcome! Enjoy the show!" The boy took his hat, which surprisingly didn't fall of his head on it's own, and lifted it off his head as a greeting.

The boy didn't stop to chat, as he noticed someone else joined the crowd, and called out to them, giving another greeting to them as well.

Right after that the boy lifted his hands onto the tightrope and pulled himself up and onto his feet on top of it. Standing up, he lifted his hat, before giving a bow to the few people watching.

"It's an honor performing here today! I've always wanted to perform with a tightrope, although my main strengths are, ah... are- Ah, Achoo!" The boy started off with a speech, before sneezing mid way, 'accidentally' making a dove appear on his hand. Some adults laughed while kids stared in awe.

"Sneezing doves, apparently." The comment just added onto the laughter, before the boy covered his hand with his top hat, and upon removing it, there was no dove in sight!

The boy did many generic magic tricks while walking left and right on the tight rope, nothing special. Well, that's what Kai thought, and his displeased face showed it.

Of course ordinary person could walk a thin tightrope just like that, especially while sneezing out doves and occasionally pulling bunnies out their shoes... I really wish I was kidding.

But it seemed like the boy had noticed Kai's boredom, and he smirked. Suddenly the boy stepped past the tightrope, falling off. A few kids gasped, but the boy caught onto the tightrope with one of his hands at the last second.

Although he was still much higher than the crowd, he was a bit closer to them, and his target, Mr. frowning-at-a-magic-show.

"You, wearing red." The boy pointed to Kai with his free hand, as Kai flinched in surprise.

"Me?" He asked as the boy nodded.

"Yeah, you. Wanna play a little game?" The boy asked, this time using his free hand to dig out a single coin from his pocket.

"No thanks, I'm not really into all this magic things-" Kai wanted to refuse, but his two friends quickly caught him off.

"Whoa, really? Kai, this kinda chance doesn't some often!" "Let's play! Let's play, Kai!" Cole and Jay pressured Kai until he ultimately had to agree.

"Fine."

"Great! It's easy, just guess which hand the coin is in." The boy showed Kai the coin, twisting it around to show there was nothing attached to it.

The boy's hold on the tightrope didn't loosen for a second as he threw the coin up, and caught it with the same hand as he had thrown it. Lastly, he blew gently onto his own clenched fist, before speaking up.

"So, which hand?" The crowd was confused, he had thrown the coin up, the caught it. His other hand hadn't moved an inch. It was impossible to get this one wrong.

"Your free hand, obviously?" Kai held in a scoff, as the boy smiled, and opened his hand.

"Correct!" The crowd was even more silent. But not because the magic trick sucked, but because there was no coin in his hand.

"Uh, where's the coin?" Jay spoke up, as the boy blinked, before turning his hand towards himself, before reacting like he didn't know what was going on.

"Ah! Where did it go? Did I drop it? Did you see where it went?" The questions he showed to the little kids in the audience, who shook their heads, not having seen the boy drop anything.

"Hold, on, I'll find it." The boy quickly spoke, before changing his position to instead hang upside down again, but only by his ankles. He even removed one foot and hung with only one foot as he checked his socks and shoes.

It brought a smile on people's faces, and adults and kids both chuckled before the boy's eyes suddenly fixated on Kai.

"Oh, hey, check behind your left ear, would you?" The boy said, changing back to holding on with both feet.

"My ear?" Kai let out, confused, but still raised his left hand to his ear, when he suddenly felt something cold behind it.

Kai stopped for a second, before pulling out a coin from behind his ear. He hadn't even noticed it was there. When had it gotten there?!

"Ah, thanks!" The boy took the coin from the shocked Kai as kids laughed at the red ninja, while an applause rang out for the boy.

"That was awesome!" "Totally! Too bad Lloyd missed that!" Jay and Cole laughed together as Kai finally broke free of his state of shock, and scoffed.

"It's just a magic trick, nothing special." But the boy had heard Kai's complaint loud and clear.

"Oh? Wanna see something better?" The boy spoke, having once again stood up on the rope. But Kai just scoffed again.

"Unless you can do a handstand up there, I don't think you can do any-" Kai was cut off as the boy jumped, grabbed the tightrope, and pulled himself up into a handstand using the slight momentum it gave.

"-better." Kai finished once the boy was in a completely still handstand on the tightrope. The crowd all clapped before (y/n) suddenly swung, and did an actual flip before landing on the stage, before bowing.

"I'll be here all day, so no need to worry! But I'll have to take a ten minute break now! I hope you enjoyed!" He spoke to the large crowd, who all gave an applause once more before they scattered, leaving to do something else.

"Oh, Kai, was it?" The boy asked when the three ninja were about to leave.

"Yeah. I really underestimated you, didn't I?" Kai finally admitted, as the boy gave a small laugh and a nod.

"It's fine, Magician don't usually walk on tightropes to begin with." The boy commented on his own performance as Kai noticed Jay and Cole take off to somewhere else. Probably the weird cotton candy stall.

"But thank you for co-operation, how about I do one more, just for you?" The boy offered, and took his hat off, before offering it to Kai, the bottom facing up.

"Put your hand in." Kai was skeptical, but the boy had been nice to him all this time, although he himself had been rolling his eyes and scoffing at his tricks.

Kai put his hand in, when he felt something, and grabbed it. Pulling his hand out, he saw the thing he had grabbed was rose.

"What's thi-?" Kai couldn't get to ask anything about it though, for he heard Jay and Cole calling his name from further away. The boy smiled, pulling the hat away from Kai and stepping off of the stage.

"My name's (y/n), by the way." The boy also put his hand into the top hat, digging out a business card, and shoving it in Kai's hands.

"Also, your friends are a good audience." (y/n) said, giving Kai's shoulder a pat before the boy left to go on his break.

Kai smirked, before running to his friends with a rose and a business card in his hands.

[fetching-sketching]

long-ass post ahead so i'll put it under a cut but basically this is a ninjago superhero au with drawings explaining stuff because i couldn't get it out of my head ok lets go

it's kind of a fusion between regular ninjago, movie ninjago and superhero elements. the ninja work as a protective force of ninjago city and are in some sort of superhero training program where the dr kids are the underclassmen and some of the other realms are basically rival training programs. the main six ninja are essentially on a work study (the costume designs are very first pass here, i just wanted to get ideas onto a page and i'll work on them from there).

we'll start with zane since he was the first one i drew. when he activates his power it slows time down for him and speeds up his cognition, so he's essentially moving at 2x speed and thinking at 4x speed compared to everyone else. he can't activate it for long, however, because it very rapidly drains his body heat. his costume is designed to keep him warm and there's heating pads in the coat he can turn on and off. he's the best guy for time-critical crisis situations, but he can hold his own in a fight, too.

next is nya! she can turn her body into water, fully or partially. when she's in full water mode, she can travel through regular water as well. one of her signature moves is turning a single arm into a water whip. she also uses her water form to evade attacks as well. her suit is pretty similar to that of a scuba suit for ease of transporting and getting back into her suit when she goes in and out of her water form. she can't control water that isn't 'her', but she can move it around if that makes sense? like how we can move water with are hands but if our hands were also water. anyways she mainly works around the shoreline but can help in a lot of other situations as well. her favorite trick is instead of taking the stairs, she'll jump from a roof and turn into water before she hits the ground so she doesn't get hurt. (i'm not the most pleased with her suit since it is basically just a scuba suit, so i'll revise it to something more interesting).

onto lloyd! he can draw energy from any living thing and turn it into an energy blast. it's really simple, almost a bit too simple so i'm more open to changing it in the future. idk, if it works it works i guess. he can draw energy from things other than himself but he's paranoid of hurting others so he strictly draws energy from himself. he can blast the energy like he does in the show or he pop it when he's still holding it to maneuver himself when he's in the air. with enough concentration he can even double jump. he's kind of a generalist, working wherever he's needed, acting as a sort of comfort figure for people whenever they see him. i felt that if any of the ninja could have a costume reminiscent of their show gi, it would be lloyd.

jay's turn! whenever he generates static electricity, he stores it in his body until he releases it as a single bolt. the amount of electricity he can store is theoretically infinite, but he can only release the electricity all at once, so if he stores up too much its no bueno. periodically throughout the day he has to release whatever he's built up, which is rather annoying. once he learns how to control his output it's over for everyone, he'll be unstoppable. he used to have his regular combover hair but when his powers came in it got all curly and wild. no amount of water, gel, or brushing can tame it. his powers come with a rather neat immunity to electricity. he's a generalist like lloyd, although he skews a little towards more fights than anything else. one time the local hospital lost power and he spent three hours powering the backup generators before they got the power up and running again. he hates it, but one of the fastest ways for him to build up a charge is to rub his hair with his gloves on. he thinks it makes him look stupid. he can have a stereotypical hero costume. as a treat.

kai's turn! his is pretty basic too, but i feel like it fits him. he can light himself on fire. that's pretty much it. once the fire catches on something that isn't him he can't control it anymore, so he has to be careful about it. he has a flamethrower he uses mainly for combat, so he doesn't always go out with it on. the most useful part of his power is his immunity to fire and heat, so he responds to a lot of fire calls. however, he's not immune to smoke, so he keeps a face mask in his pack with him to combat that. since breathing fire is more of a european dragon thing rather than an eastern dragon thing, he has some knight elements in his costuming as well. tbh i'm not sure if i'm gonna keep it, ninjago is obviously very eastern-inspired and there's probably other motifs i could explore rather than medieval knight, but it was the first idea that came to mind and my main goal, again, was just to put pen to paper and get stuff down.

last and most certainly not least is cole! he can cover himself in a rocky outer skin, where the strength and durability of whatever areas that are covered are boosted. currently, he can't cover much of his body, his maximum is just about enough to completely cover both of his arms, but he's working on upping the amount. he works a lot of disaster situations, such earhtquakes, building collapsses, and other similar situations. his costume is based a lot on early 20th century mining uniforms, and same as nya it doesn't offer a lot more, so i'll do more with it in further revisions. cole is the one i've thought the most about with the story. his mother was a very well-known hero who protected ninjago city as well, but she sustained and eventually succumbed to an injury she sustained on the field. cole wants to follow her footsteps, but lou is pretty opposed to him going into the same field that killed his mother. he's being allowed to do the work study, but just barely, and it's an unspoken rule that lou will pull him from the work study if he gets injured whatsoever.

obviously i'm still working out a lot of the kinks but the powers, which are the most interesting part to me, are pretty much done and dusted! i have so many characters thought out you wouldn't believe. pixal and morro should be next, but after that i'm not sure. lmk if there's any specific character you wanna see done next because chances are i've thought them through!

[p0pcorn-hearts]

It's Kawaii~Chan time

I am gonna ramble about my rewrite so yknow, enter the theater with caution

I just wanna start off by saying I renamed her to Hanami, which is the Japanese word for flowers viewing, more specifically viewing cherry blossoms. I figured this fit her more "cutesy" design as well as her usually pink and white color pallette. Also excuse me if they look bad, these were made a bit ago and I, for some reason, decided it'd be best to use the mirror tool the entire time

So, for her Phoenix Drop High uniform I just redesigned the uniform and gave her the same every girl will have. I changed it to have a blazer and a longer skirt like actual school uniforms in America although I kept the socks, loafers, and bow because those all fit, I'm just also giving everyone the same pair of socks.

Her season 1 outfit has been drastically changed. I decided I wanted her to have a more lolita-esque style instead of just vaguely cute, and let's all be real here, her season 1 outfit sucked. So, I gave her a longer, puffier skirt, a shit ton of ruffles, and some cute gloves. I think now is also the time to have a little fun fact section about meif'was. Their nails and hair grow faster than humans, with their nails growing than both humans and werewolves. That's why Hanami has long nails and freakishly long hair

Next up is her adorable Love~Love Paradise outfit. I'm actually super happy with how it turned out and I'm in love with her little buns. Her bathing suit with all its ruffles was made up by me :D

Her Lover's Lane outfit is the one that went the most unchanged because it's honestly my favorite outfit of her's. It just looks the most visually appealing with the addition of dark pink being a primary color. I just changed the dress up a bit with the neckline and added ruffles

Starlight is honestly my favorite. There's just something about color block clothes that itches a scratch in my brain. The giant bow and see-through ruffles also added a lot. You cannot thank me though, I took this design from someone else's swimsuit. Her nails changing for the first time since season 1 and now having blue with the pink is also a nice nod to how she opens up to Zane about not really being herself

When Angels Fall. Oh God, When Angels Fall. I fucking *hate* their "disguises" in When Angels Fall. Buy I'll get into that later, right now, it's just Hanami. I didn't like her outfit much because she had literally never worn pants in the series before and to just suddenly toss her in a pair of jeans and t-shirt? Like it's supposed to show how drap everything is but why would she just have a t-shirt and jeans packed?? Starlight is an island resort and theme park, so most people will be wearing bathing suits, much more breathable fabrics than *jeans* and Starlight merch. That's why I gave her a different bathing suit bottom and a Starlight shirt. It's the least you can do when you're the most visually distinct character. She also is covered in bandages because cats, when stressed, will over groom and can injure themselves. So Hanami picks and scratches at her skin often due to stress so she has very chipped nail polish and is covered in bandages. Also she cut her hair (sad violin noises)

Her final outfit is for my "season 7". Jess hasn't made it but I want to eventually tie up my rewrite, so I'm making one. Me and my girlfriend refer to it as the "epilogue" although it's not really an epilogue, she just called it that once and I can't think of a better name. I gave her essentially a mix of her season 1 and Lover's Lane outfits because why not

Now that her designs are done I get to infodump about her personality (hehe)

She's basically the same as Kawaii~Chan, but I make her a better person. She doesn't manipulate Aphmau into joined her bakesale! She also tones down a lot, so while she still struggles with boundaries, especially when it comes to shipping, she doesn't have a fucking shipping shrine in her basement. She's also autistic in my rewrite, so her not getting boundaries, baking being her special interest, and her masking her behavior to fit what she thinks people want/expect of her all comes from that. Will I maybe end up projecting on her? With the shipping stuff yeah, but only because Aphmau and Kawaii~Chan made me think shipping people together until they stopped being friends with you was normal

So thats it, the exit to the theater is on the right, make sure to throw your trash away on the way out. Have a good day

[alienpersonnn]

I have a few ninjago hc so imma just share 'em here

When kai was little he would steal from other people for food and/or money and he'd get into a lot of trouble most of the time

On one of jays birthdays, his parents gave him a pair of goggles, they were hand made but they were actually really good and durable. Jay still keeps them and whenever he wants to make something he'd always use those goggles until it got really rusty (he still keeps them tho)

Nelson is the postmans grandson. Idk why i came up with that but oh well

The postman is fully aware that he's in a show and that the ninjas are the main characters, hence why he broke the 4th wall by saying "see you in the next season" (he was just doing it for fun since he doesn't really get to show up screen often)

The ninjas always asks zane to make ice of their drinks and at some point zane was tired of it and froze the entire glass

You can cook stuff on kais skin

Lloyd, master wu and garmadon have naturally pointy ears cuz of the oni blood. The ninjas think they looked like elves especially when lloyd grew out his hair

Kai's really good at styling hair cuz he had to raise nya; He really enjoyed styling his sisters hair until she wanted to cut it. When nya grew out her hair again kai would scold her for not taking care of it cuz it would always be a tangled mess. He would also take care of lloyds hair sometimes

Cole likes gardening and would sometimes talk about plants with zane and how to take care of them

Jay plays rhythm games! Like phigros, arcea, lanota, over rapid, etc etc. He got lloyd to play them too so sometimes they'd compete with each other by playing the same song and seeing who's score is higher

Zane is a willwood fan, his favorite album is the normal album and his favorite song is willard

Kai wears merch of himself

That's all i have rn, i might come up with more so yee

[ac3-76]

Ninjago Headcannons (pt.2)

warnings: none🦐

Nyas the big spoon and Jay's the little spoon

Zane has Nya taste test all of the food he makes because he values her opinion the most(aside from Pixal, who cannot eat)

Dareth is a hard core stoner and always smells like weed

Kai has a really extensive skin/body/hair care routine

He'll be in the bathroom for 2 hours on Wednesday and Sunday(his everything shower days) doing skincare, haircare, and body care

He also has one of those skin care headbands to stop his hair from getting in his face while he does his skincare

he also has the scrunchi bracelets to stop water from rolling down his arms when he washes his face

Zane likes those test ur intuition videos on tiktok

Coles a firm believer that you have to try something before you say you don't like it

Jay can't handle spicy food

Jay thinks Takis are spicy

Despite being good with technology, Zane's usually the last one the ninjas go to if they need help with something techy

Kai doesn't like chips, any of them- Takis, lays, cheetos, dorittos, onion rings, not even chicharrones de harina

(Chicharrones are a type of Mexican chips shaped like wheels, usually served with lime juice and some sort of spice mix or sauce)

Nya puts tajín on everything

(for those who don't know what tajín is, it's a seasoning that originates in Mexico. I think it's more salty than spicy but it's really good on fruit)

Cole saw Kai putting chamoy sauce on a slice of chocolate cake once, and since Cole believes in trying things he tried it

He actually really liked it and now puts chamoy sauce on his chocolate cake most of the time

Nya journals and scrapbooks as a hobby

Jays favorite shape of ice is sphere ice

according to him it tastes better when he chews/sucks on it

Nya likes to do those little hair wraps with embroidery string

Nya really wanted to be a girl scout when she was a kid, but never could because money was tight

Jay's allergic to shellfish

They all watch The Real Housewives of Ninjago together

Zane and Lloyd come up with the best code names for people the ninjas talk about a lot

Nya is a pilates girly

She dragged Jay and Kai to a class with her once

Jay struggled and decided he didn't like it but Kai still goes with her sometimes

Cole has bacne

Since Kai's the skincare guru Cole went to him for help

Kai spent an hour searching the internet for a well reviewed bacne wash

He didn't like any of them and just bought Cole the type of face wash he uses and told Cole to wash his back with it

Kai also spent a good amount of time looking for good creams and ointments for Cole to use

But Cole couldn't reach his back to wash it and apply the ointments and creams, so now Kai spends 10 or 15 minutes a day helping Cole with his bacne routine

Lloyd is freakishly flexible

Zane is not flexible at all

[amour393]

ok. dragons rising part 2 thoughts

these will be in no particular order but I'll try to stay somewhat organized XD

spoilers ahead!

(this ah. got long)

Characters

Lloyd: As sad as I get when I think about Lloyd growing up, I love what they're doing with him. Seeing the parallels between him and Wu is so poetic and I LOVE the dynamic with Lloyd and Arin. Lloyd is kind and strong and wise and he has been treated so well in dragons rising

Arin: Speaking of, Arin is absolutely amazing. He is precious and adorable and I love him. Sweet polite boy I love you so much you have never done anything wrong ever and I love you

Sora: Sora is fine, I like her but I'm not like obsessed with her character like I am with Arin. I love Sora but I'm never super jazzed about her. Her arc in part 2 was alright but I wish it had more buildup. I think with a few more moments here and there of her trying to use her powers without Riyu would have made the payoff much better. And I know they were trying to go for a "resistance never quits" moment with her speech at the end but. Idk it just didn't hit the same

Zane: Zane I love you. I feel you I also am BROKEN over Pixal being gone. Literally everything about Zane in part 2 was perfect. I love him so much and he loves pixal so much it makes me unwell. Also. Zane Day is now an international holiday

Nya: I love Nya's dynamic with Sora and how she gets to be like. The first positive female influence in Sora's life. Especially because Nya didn't have that as a kid or uh ever so I love that. HOWEVER!!! Oh my goodness gracious give Nya feelings. She has emotions. She has trauma. What are we doing guys. I'll go episode by episode later but I am incredibly salty at how Nya was treated in episode 14. and also. OH MY WORD. WHAT ABOUT JAY. You have said his name TWICE and Cole looked more distraught than you!!! You care about this boy more than almost anyone else in the world!!!!!!!! Why aren't you acting like it???????????? I see you with a lightning dragon but that's like the most we get.

Kai: oh Kai I absolutely love how they are treating you and i also hate it. It's like with Jay gone they were like haha let's make Kai stupid so he'll be the new comic relief! However I love teacher Kai. He is my favorite, the growth, the development, the parallels! Yes! Kai is an accomplished ninja!! He's been a ninja for over 10 years at this point!! He has learned so much and grown so so much since then and I love him so much.

Wyldfyre: I'm about to make a lot of people really mad but I absolutely despise Wyldfyre. I love the concept of Kai having a kid to train (and all of them each having a next-gen kid to train) but Wyldfyre was not the right fit and I just disliked her more every time she was on screen, which was really upsetting because every time it switched back to her and Kai I was already annoyed and I don't want to be upset when Kai's onscreen but she is just so intolerable it made it hard to enjoy Kai, which is so so sad because I absolutely love Kai! Wyldfyre is selfish, arrogant, irritatingly reckless, petty, and INCREDIBLY rude and disrespectful to Kai. I don't care if she was raised in the wilderness. Kai spent all of part 2 trying to help her be better and the most of a character arc we got from her was her. Not acting like a jerk. Which we should not have to be proud of!! Not being a jerk is expected!! That's not a character arc that's just being a decent human being!! I think Wyldfyre's character could have worked in theory if she had literally any likable characteristics but she just doesn't. I don't think I have ever disliked a ninjago character this much which is such a bummer. It fills me with rage every time they compare her to Kai. Sure, in the early seasons Kai was kind of reckless and a bit self-absorbed. But not nearly to this extent, and Kai was still likable. The things about Wyldfyre they try to play off as humor aren't funny, they're just annoying or gross. I'm not opposed to the concept of Kai adopting a feral child, but if the feral child is like this then I don't want it. Replacing Wyldfyre with Skylor or a new character that is actually likable would have made Dragons Rising SO much better.

Cole: on a MUCH more positive note, I literally don't think they could have done Cole any more perfect. I am SO GLAD HE'S BACK I MISSED HIM SO MUCH. Cole being thrown into the Land of Lost Things is absolutely heartbreaking and says so much about his character. Cole, who had an entire character arc over fear of being forgotten ending up in the Land of Lost Things? I AM BROKEN. Dad Cole is back and better than ever. He found a bunch of children and immediately adopted them? Perfection. Could not be better. He actively chooses to remain in the Land of Lost Things to protect them?????? Amazing so in character it hurts and I love him so much. A lot of this season made me remember how much I love Cole. I spent this entire season freaking out over Jay that I forget how much I love Cole and this season did not fail to remind me. His first line being "NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN!!!!!" is amazing and perfect and so in character. I cannot applaud what they did with Cole enough. Well done. I am very curious to see where Wu is leading him, can't wait to see him in season 2. I will die mad he didn't get to see Zane or Kai or Lloyd but ITS FINE IM FINE

Geo: I would throw him in with the other characters but oh my gosh. Geo's existence is absolutely perfect. The symbolism?? The metaphors?? Absolutely perfect. Him being a hybrid of two peoples who have a reputation for hating each other being the Master of Fusion, of bringing two things that don't belong together? I am destroyed. It occurs to me that when they first met Geo was probably like "yeah, I'm half geckle half munce and I was exiled from my people since they hate each other and they will never reconcile their differences" and Cole was like "Well that sucks but I have some good news for you" but then Geo couldn't even leave to try to find Shintaro. I am depressed. I love love love Geo based on his symbolism alone, not to mention the fact that his powers are genuinely super cool.

Other Characters: when i tell you I lost my BLOODY MIND when gulch showed up it is a vast understatement. I freaked out I screamed it was amazing. It was so fun seeing Gulch again. This is the dragons rising I love, new characters doing important things and running into old characters we know and love. Frohicky is fun I love him. Lobbo has never done anything wrong and I'm so proud of him for winning the Zane lookalike contest. Slay king. Jordana is uh there I guess, she's boring so far. I will give thoughts on Arrokore when I talk about episode 14

Villains: Beatrix is incredibly boring and I am SO glad she's not gonna be the actual villain. Lord Ras is much more interesting and compelling (is Chima the Wyldness????? Because he is definitely from Chima and the writers are COWARDS for saying anything different). This is the first time we've had a Ninjago plot genuinely stretch across more than one season and I am sooooo relieved that Beatrix isn't actually the big bad. I'm really excited to meet Ras' master. I'm not going to lie I literally forgot about Rapton and had to come back and talk about him. I cannot emphasize how neutral I am about him. He is a Guy and that is the extent of my feelings. Same with LaRow I keep forgetting about her

Speaking of villains! That brings us to the Administration. I absolutely love it. The concept of the Administration is so interesting and I cannot WAIT to learn more about them and see more of them. There's something so interesting and also poetic about an organization of micromanagers being part of the same realm as the Realm of Madness that just. hnng. The Administration is totally sick and i can't wait to see more of them. Which leads us to...

Jay: Hm. Ah. Where do I begin. When I tell you I screamed, I lost my freaking mind it is not an understatement. I think I've watched those same 20 seconds like 30 times at least and I need those five lines tattooed on my brain. I have so many emotions. It breaks my heart. I'm elated. This is everything I've wanted. I'm so mad that's all there was. It makes perfect sense. Why would they do this. There's something that destroys me so much about Jay- sweet, kind, fun, creative, quirky, genuine Jay- in an organization of micromanagers. He is passive-aggressive and sassy and degrading and mean and I LOVE HIM. It is so inherently not who Jay is (except for being sassy I'm so glad he's a little brat) and I think that's great. It makes me SO excited to see what they do with him in season 2. If they don't do him justice I will RIOT. This has the potential to be one of my favorite plot points in all of ninjago history if they do it right, but if they do it wrong I will be broken. He looks so good in this animation, I absolutely LOVE IT. He is beautiful and sassy and it BREAKS ME that they don't know he's there. They were so close and they missed him. No one knows Jay is there. I am destroyed. He's a manager!! He's working his way up in the world!! I am so proud of him. He would buy himself a worlds best boss mug. Everyone loves him and they hate him. I might make a whole other post just on how I need that reunion to go but. I miss him so much. So much. I don't know how long I can wait without them knowing he's there. Go find your brother. You know where everyone else is now GO FIND YOUR BROTHER!!!!

Episodes

11. Temple of the Dragon Cores - Solid episode? It makes me curious about the lore. Surely either the Wyldness or the Garden are Chima there's no way Chima is separate. There are literally snail people and giant trees. If that's not Chima core idk what is. Rapton is there I guess. The guardian thing was cool. Lloyd dropping random earth-shattering facts is such a Wu thing to do I am LIVING for it.

12. Gangs of the Sea - When I say I spent this whole episode wishing for Bentho I'm not joking. I freaking miss him why didn't they mention him it would have been so easy!! Arin you are so cute and I love you.

13. Wyldly Inappropriate - This episode filled me with so much rage solely because of Wyldfyre. I'm sorry Wyldfyre truthers I am happy for you but oh my word it's just painful. She is so arrogant and just straight up unkind I hate her so much. This episode would have been so much better with Skylor instead. Or literally anyone but Wyldfyre.

14. The Last Djinn - Ok as a skybound truther I have So Many Emotions about this episode. How did Nya know this was a place of the djinn and she was just? Fine? Ok. Arrokore is fine as a character but i absolutely hate what it did to the Djinn. Having a character who has lost their whole society is fascinating! I would have preferred if they made him more of a Ronin-type recluse, where he's extremely paranoid and distrusting instead of just straight-up depressed. All of the experience we have with Djinn is that they are extremely powerful and evil and crazy and dangerous. Switching from Nadakhan to Arrokore was such a hard shift that as a fan it was so hard to be able to enjoy Arrokore as a character. That's not the main thing I'm upset about, overall he's likable and he's fine, I just think he could have been a lot cooler. My main issue with this episode is Nya. Is she just perfectly fine? GIVE HER EMOTIONS OH MY GOSH. SHE HAS TRAUMA YOU COWARDS SHOW IT!!!!!! Literally one of THE most traumatizing times in her life was directly tied to a Djinn and she runs into one and she's just. Fine? There was pretty much NOTHING that alluded to Nya having any sort of history with the Djinn except maybe a little bit of salt when she's talking about their showmanship. A Djinn kidnapped and tortured the love of her life. A Djinn almost destroyed her entire home. A Djinn captured her and caused her own possession. A Djinn killed her (more or less). You want to look me in the eyes and tell me she's going to run into a Djinn and just be perfectly fine? Absolutely not. They could have done this SO much better. Show the trauma. Show the distrust. Show me Nya jumping in front of Sora, show me the fear running through her. Give me Sora asking how Nya knows so much about the Djinn and Nya just can't bring herself to answer. Or she does! And we get a moment of "the only other person who remembers is Jay, and he..." [ACTUALLY SAD MOMENT THAT GENUINELY SHOWS THAT NYA HAS EMOTIONS AND ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HER LITERAL FIANCÉ WHO SHE LITERALLY GAVE UP HER LIFE FOR] and maybe Sora comforts her! A "we'll find him, Nya" moment. Just a moment. Nya left and Jay fell apart and I hate how Nya is shown to be perfectly fine when Jay has been gone for years. We could have had a little arc of Nya overcoming trauma and distrust and learning that not all Djinn are the same! Okay, fine, we didn't get that. But how dare they let Nya start wishing. Wishes got her killed. Wishes caused the most traumatic weeks of her life. Wishes almost killed the love of her life. You want to tell me that she's just totally fine firing off a few wishes? SHE DIED. GIRLY DIED AND SHE'S JUST MAKING WISHES LIKE IT'S NOTHING? We could have had a moment of Arrokore saying they have to wish for it and Nya being like "NO Sora you can't trust him, they're all the same" and then Arrokore proves himself! Even so, Nya should not have let Sora make a wish without protesting, and she CERTAINLY would not have made one herself. As a skybound stan this episode made me so sad. It was genuinely a good episode but I am so so broken up over what could and should have been. Zane did put a picture of Pixal on a broom though so this episode gets points for that

15. They Call It Doom - YOU'RE TELLING ME THE ADMINISTRATION JUST CASUALLY ALSO SHOOTS BLUE LIGHTNING. FINE OKAY THAT'S GREAT. I already shared my Nya and Arrokore and whatnot thoughts but still. I'm still salty. Anyway this episode's ending was glorious. Teacher Kai you will always be famous I'm so sorry this is the trainee you got stuck with. NO ONE TOUCHES THESE CHILDREN lives in my head rent free and his powerup is so so cool. Baby Serpentine. yes.

16. Land of Lost Things - so you're telling me that Cole has adopted stray children who have run away from home because they felt unwanted and unloved. no I'm totally fine I'm SO normal about cole and his character and the respect he got and the sacrifice of him staying there to protect these kids. I am so broken but its fine I'm fine everything is fine

17. The Administration - See aforementioned thoughts on Jay. The Administration is so cool I love them and I am stoked to see more of them. It's giving men in black tbh. They are so cool. When they follow the directions and find Zane and they're like oh hi Zane! we didn't even know you were here! A) peak comedy and B) when he said "who did you think was going to be here?" THAT WAS DIRECTLY TO US THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT JAY AND IM SO MAD AT THEM FOR IT NOT ACTUALLY THOUGH. Also I don't remember which episode Zane Day and Gulch was in but every moment of that was both perfection and also the peak of comedy. The music when Jay walks on screen destroyed me it was so so good. He is a tired office worker the headcanons were RIGHT. Cannot get over that. I love the look of the Administration, the style, it all looks so good. The concept of a whole organization with an entire division assigned to realm reassignment is fascinating. I want to see Kai's teaching in this episode is great and the parallels between him and Wu were amazing. At the end of the day Jay was here and that gave me enough serotonin to last me a good long while.

18. Absolute Power - I'm not gonna lie this was hard to enjoy because I just wanted to see more of Jay but it was a solid episode. I wanna know what Beatrix' sister's elemental power was. Ras is very cool I am so glad he's going to have a bigger role. Nya and Cole's relationship in this episode is everything to me. They are So Siblings and also Best Friends I love them so so much.

19. We Are All Dragons - good for the Imperium kids starting the revolution, but Rapton being the traitor made no sense. It's like they tried to pull a Kallus in Rebels but there was not nearly enough buildup for this to make sense. I really couldn't care less about Rapton so I'm not mad about this it just didn't make that much thematic sense lolll. I did really like Sora's moment with her parents and rejecting them in favor of the found family, but her speech didn't make sense. It would have hit so much more if she actually explained what ~being a dragon~ means but she really just went WE ARE ALL DRAGONS!! and everyone went YEAH!!!!!!!!!! like girlie uh what does that mean. I liked the parallels but Lloyd's moment was better.

20. The Power Within - I still don't understand why Beatrix wanted to uh. destroy the universe but pop off. I'm not gonna lie I literally cheered when Wyldfyre got sucked into a mergequake. Kai's reaction was in theory great but i am still salty it was over Wyldfyre, this child has been absolutely horrible to you Kai what are you doing. I don't understand how everyone is perfectly fine when everyone comes back from the merge quakes when Beatrix literally went through one of them. I loved Sora's showdown with her parents and I can't wait to see what's up with Ras. I will DIE MAD THERE'S NO MURAL ON THE WALL but WHATEVER.

Returning Characters

I want Pixal back so bad. I'm very optimistic she'll be here in season 2 and I cannot wait for her to be back. I'm hoping that she'll come save Zane from, idk, sensing his signal or something.

SKYLOR. OH MY GOODNESS BRING BACK SKYLOR. I need her back so bad it's unreal

I want Vania back. I want fugidove back. WHERE IS GARMADON. WHERE IS HE. WE HAVENT EVEN MENTIONED HIM WHERE IS HE.

I miss Ed and Edna and Lou and Cyrus Borg and Scott and the elemental masters (WHERES KARLOFF I MISS HIM SO MUCH) and BENTHO and yeah. i miss them

SO, I have a lot of thoughts as you can see and this probably isn't all of them. I want all of everyone's thoughts please send me asks send me messages I just want to scream

AND BRING BACK JAY

[autumn0689]

A Rant About Thomas Zane

I’ve decided to make my own opinions on what each Thomas Zane is. (This can also serve as a recap of every Zane you should know about and their roles)

(Feel free to correct me on anything if I got anything wrong!)

There are three Thomas Zane’s that I will be talking about, Tom The Poet, Tom The Diver, and Tom The Filmmaker.

We’ll begin with, I guess who’ll you’ll call the original if you want to get technical, Thomas Zane the Poet

The Poet

Thomas Zane the Poet.

What we know about him: From the information that Barry got from around Bright Falls, Tom lived in the Bird Leg Cabin and due to him often diving in the caldera it came to be dubbed as Divers Isle. He fell in love with Barbara Jagger as they lived together on the isle. Zane was clearly a famous writer, having many books (which can now only be located via a shoe box) One day, Jagger ended up drowning and Zane, in his grief and given advice from his assistant, Emil Hartman, wrote that Jagger came back. She returned, but it was the Dark Presence wearing her skin, so Zane cut her heart out, put on his divers suit, and dived into the lake, causing for the volcano underneath the lake to erupt

Now, if we are to go off the events of This House Of Dreams, Zane and Jagger now reside in a pocket dimension as they live in peace.

Now, onto the subject of who wrote who in regards to Zane and Alan. You can make a case for either, but, in my personal opinion, Zane wrote Alan so that Alan could defeat the Dark Presence.

We can assume that no one has been in contact with Zane since 1970, when he dived into the Lake, and that whoever is in contact with Zane is either the Diver or the Filmmaker.

People who remember the Poet:

Alan Wake: often calls Zane ‘The Poet, The Diver’ so he clearly remembers Zane being the poet

Cynthia Weaver: In a note in Alan Wake 2, she remarks that Zane was a poet, not a filmmaker (maybe there is a connection to those who were in contact with Zane before he went into the Lake and them having their memories of Zane)

Emil Hartman: He clearly remembers Zane, even when Zane wrote himself out (again, he also knew Sane before he went into the Lake, so it makes the theory possible, though he was Taken before Zane was written to be a filmmaker so it’s possible that he could’ve forgotten)

Tor and Odin Anderson (possibly): They knew that Zane was a poet (their song about him is called ‘Poet And The Muse’) so they clearly remember him (though they often refer to Alan as Zane, even before he was referred to as a Filmmaker so it’s very likely that Zane as always looked like Alan) though they don’t ever mention Zane in AW2, besides calling Alan ‘Tom’, so it’s unknown if they remember the poet or the filmmaker

Barry Wheeler (until AW2): He got information from the town, so he knows that Zane is a poet, but in AW2, when you read the plaque he wrote about Valhalla Nursing Home, he wrote that Zane was a filmmaker and that the home belonged to Zane the filmmaker, meaning that Barry most likely now thinks of Zane as a filmmaker rather than as the poet

Jesse Faden (until AWE DLC): Jesse is an interesting case, as she clearly remembers Zane being a poet, even when others referred to him as a filmmaker (in her therapy session she stated that her favorite line is ‘Beyond The Shadow You Settle For, There Is A Miracle Illuminated’, which is also Hartmans favorite) but when she saw Alan’s conversation with Zane The Filmmaker, she then remarks that ‘he was a filmmaker’ and that she always got that confused

It seems that Tom being the poet is remembered by few, with only two outright remembering him as the poet, since everyone refers to him as the Filmmaker.

Now we will be going onto the Bright Presence, also know as Thomas Zane The Diver

The Diver

Thomas Zane (also known as the Bright Presence) The Diver

What we know of the Diver: All we know is that the Bright Presence decided to take the form of Zane as the Bright Presence fought the Dark Presence (who took the form of Barbara Jagger)

We first meet the Diver in Alan’s dream, in which he appears as a light. He instructs Alan on how to defeat the Taken before leaving his dream. He then helps Alan escape the Cabin (via Alan writing the Diver into his story) as Zane helped him throughout the way, leaving pages for him. We fully see Zane in his divers suit (besides when he helps Alan get out of the Cabin during the missing week) is when Alan first meets Scratch, saying that ‘You’re friends will meet him when you’re gone.’ And telling him to use the Clicker.

We hear him throughout the Signal, guiding Alan via phone as he finally is confronted with Alan, in which he tries to explain to him that he is fighting himself, only to vanish.

We see Zane again in the Writer, in which he continues to guide Alan, until he reaches a point in which he can’t ’go any further’ and gives Alan a page to help him go further into the Dark Place.

(They also have an interesting conversation in the game in which Zane claims that Mr Scratch is not Alan and that he is not the author of Alan’s story, and when Alan tries to bring up the page that Zane wrote about the Clicker, he began stammering before leaving. I find this conversation to be so interesting!)

That is the last time we see of this version of Zane. He doesn’t make an appearance in AWAN, and by AWE DLC, Zane has now become the filmmaker.

We don’t know about the time between the Writer DLC and AWE DLC, so it’s unknown when exactly Zane the Diver became Zane the Filmmaker (if you believe that they are the same entity) and if Zane the Diver still even exists.

People who know/remember the Diver:

Alan Wake: He refers to Zane as ‘The Poet’ and ‘The Diver’ and has met the Diver multiple times. So he clearly remembers the Diver

Cynthia Weaver (indirectly): She believes that she is in contact with Tom the Poet, but it’s most likely that she was in contact with Tom the Diver.

Mr Scratch (American Nightmare version): He was introduced to Alan by Zane, so he definitely knows the Diver.

It’s clear that we don’t know much about the Diver, and that the Diver has interacted with less people than the Poet or the Filmmaker. It’s unclear if the Filmmaker and the Diver are separate beings or if the Diver became the Filmmaker.

Speaking of the filmmaker…

The Filmmaker

Thomas Zane the Filmmaker

What we know of The Filmmaker: I can positively say that we know more of the filmmakers past than all the other versions of Zane.

Thomas Zane (born Thomas Seine) was a famous Finnish filmmaker (his known films being Tom The Poet and Yöton Yö) who moved to America in the sixties with his partner, Barbara Jagger (born Baba Jakala) and constructed the old Manor and wanted to construct a hotel called ‘The Oceanview Hotel’ (since the Oceanview Motel is considered a Place of Power I wonder if Zane had any influence on that) and to produce films within the hotel. He would also often take ‘magic mushrooms’ and, just like the Poet, lived on Divers Isle.

Same basically experienced the same thing that The Poet experienced, diving into the lake as it erupted.

We first meet Tom the Filmmaker in the AWE DLC, in which he talks to a confused Alan about writing a way out, and when Alan brought up Scratch, Zane said that he was dealing with him, which caused Alan to throw a fit, throwing his glass cup against the floor. (Alan also notes that someone is coming and that he has got to get out of there, whether this is Zane or Scratch or someone else, it’s unknown, though I personally believe it’s Scratch he’s talking about)

The next time we see Zane is in Alan Wake 2, in which Zane first assists Alan via phone calls before telling him to meet him at the Oceanview Hotel

Alan and Zane have a similar conversation to the one they had in the AWE DLC, Zane giving Alan a drink and talking about escaping. Zane shows some slight reality bending abilities in the scene, the scenes glitching as he teleports him and Alan to a chair and manifests a jacket onto himself.

Then he and Alan have a montage of them getting drunk, in one scene he is shown playing with a Diver toy that looks exactly like the Divers outfit.

(We also see Jesse show up as Zane rushes away in a panic. The scene is incredibly similar to the one in AWE, which means that either Jesse is viewing the scene in AWE DLC, or that Jesse is peeking in again and that Zane and Alan often have that type of conversation)

We see Zane next when Alan goes to see him again, in which Zane admits to be working with Scratch. Zane begins using his reality bending abilities, having Alan tied to the chair before Alan pulls the trigger, killing him as he takes Zane’s ticket.

After you exit the cutscene and are still in the room, Zane wakes up, recites a poem, and wipes his forehead before claiming that ‘that is drama’ to the camera.

We get in indirect mention to Zane via Tim Breaker by Tim mentioning that Zane ran into him, asked where Alan was, asked if Tim was going to a costume party, only to learn that Tim was an actual cop and ran away.

With Saga’s side of the story, there isn’t much to know about Zane, mostly getting information about him in the Valhalla Nursing Home section. Saga profiles Cynthia Weaver and believes that Zane was an ‘Old Flame’ and was possibly Taken.

The Filmmaker looks exactly like Alan as he seems more rambunctious compared to the Diver’s calm demeanor. May people speculate that Zane is Scratch, specifically AWAN Scratch (The Happy Song does play for him and he does have some similar aspects to AWAN Zane, most notably his boisterous exterior that hides a darker side when he gave an evil grin) Whether Zane is Scratch or a facet of the Dark Place or the Diver who has been altered, all we can know is that The Filmmaker has given more questions than answers.

People who know/remember the Filmmaker:

Alan Wake: He has met The Filmmaker, though he does refer to him as The Poet and The Diver, in which Zane remarks that those were roles he played in a film

Ahti: This is interesting, since you would assume that Ahti would remember the Diver, or the Poet, but he remembers making a film with the filmmaker, often calling Alan ‘Tom’, like the Anderson Brothers

Barry Wheeler (most likely): He wrote on the plaque that Zane was a filmmaker, so unless the plaque changed reality, then Barry believes that Zane is a filmmaker

Jesse Faden (after AWE DLC): She used to remember the Poet, but after witnessing Alan’s conversation with the Filmmaker, she then claims that he was a filmmaker and that he always mistook him for his role as the Poet.

Most People in Bright Falls and Watery: There is a poster about Zane the filmmaker in Watery and the Valhalla Nursing Home used to be Zane’s old Manor, though one of the residents doesn’t remember the Manor being there before being corrected by another resident.

Saga Anderson: She has only known the Filmmaker.

All these Zane’s are varying in personality (with us knowing little to nothing about The Poet) but it’s clear that Zane is one of the most intriguing part of the games due to how mysterious and changing his character is. I do hope we get more information on Zane, especially if they address the theory that Zane is Alan’s father/creator.

To whoever read all this, thanks for reading my ramblings.

[linkspooky]

requesting shou and ryou!

Why I like them / Why I don't

I'll do these two at the same time, because the two of them are a set.

What I like the most about Shou is that he's deeply unlikable. His arc is very non-standard for a sidekick character who's defined by his lack of confidence. He doesn't slowly gain confidence and learn independence so much as he just latches onto Judai at first sight and uses him as a crutch, and like the show acknowledges right away how unhealthy this is. Then when Judai stops being the perfect big brother that Sho projected onto him as, he almost completely abandons him.

Sho is the only little brother I like though, because he's a character with flaws and agency of his own. Mokuba, Haruto, both only exist as plot objects to give Kaiba and Kite sympathetic motivations. Truly, the best sibling relationship in the entirety of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Which neatly dovetails into Ryo because Shou and Ryo's relationship only makes Ryo look worse. Ryo is such a shit brother, and I'm not saying this because he makes his brother wear shock collars and electrocutes him until he passes out. Ryo's just like, this big brother with a superiority complex that sabotages his brothers self esteem at every corner. Ryo's so naturally gifted he doesn't get that people learn at different rates. I think half of his treatment of Sho is that logic, "Well, Sho needs someone to be harsh on him so he'll grow. Honestly, Ryo probably projects himself a lot onto Sho. It's not from lack of care for Sho, but actually how close the two brothers are. Ryo's logic is likely WELL I CAN HANDLE IT SO SHO CAN TOO. it's ironic because part of Ryo's early characterization is the respectful duel where you understand understand your opponents, but he doesn't understand Sho at all for like ninety percent of the show. He seems like Sho as a little brother and extension of himself and not his own person.

What I like about their appearance

I like how Sho resembles Yugi a lot, from his height to his silhouette. it adds to the deconstruction element of his character. By relying on the pharaoh Yugi slowly gains confidence in himself. Relying on Judai to do literally EVERYTHING stunts Sho's grwoth and poisons their friendship.

Ryo's design is absolutely perfect. No notes. He dresses like a thirteen year old's idea of what cool is.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Hell Kaiser Ryo is the coolest fucking name ever, as well as Kaiser Sho, Zane and Cyrus couldn't possibly surpass that.

OTP

Kaiser / Fubuki is a favorite for me. Literally every time they interact it's golden. If they got to interact more than just, one duel, then they'd probably be my second favorite ship... but like characters are underdeveloped in GX compared to Judai, water is wet.

NOTP

I don't have one. I guess Judai and Shou because their relationship is super unhealthy. I don't see them as brothers at all either.-

OT3

Don't have one either.

Favourite card they use

The risk of powerbond is their attack points will be dealt to you at the end of the turn.

Favourite moment they were in

Hell Kaiser Ryo being dragged to an underground dueling match in a cage where he gets shocked until he reaches his breaking point, and also develops a fetish for shock collars. Truly one of the most Yu-Gi-Oh moments in all of YuGiOh.

Least favourite moment

I appreciate the spirit of Shou remembering Judai's words that even if a friend went to the dark side and there was nothing you could do to help them the least you could do is watch over them until the end because they're your friend. On the other hand, Shou took "Watch over them" to literally mean just sit there and do fucking nothing while observing from afar.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

zane, ofc

ONE OF MY MOST ETERNAL FAVS

Why I like them/why I don’t: ZANEEEE oh i could write a thousand essays about how much i love him and why (and i have) but i will keep it brief for now. GX may have dropped the ball with the writing on half its series's cast but they knew what they were doing with zane. His character arc is so agonizing and he's such an interesting and complicated character. He threw so much away chasing after sky high standards and victory just to feel something and then killed himself when he knew he was at death's door and THEN had to face consequences of not actually dying and now having to start the long road to recovery. god. he's just fantastic. not a villain or even really a bad guy at his core but more of a performative bad guy. heel_turn_2.mp3. i love him so much

What I like about their appearance: the hell kaiser look is still just absolutely top notch yugioh outfit design. the black and silver...the ref stripes down the legs, it's such a kickass color palette that really compliments zane's dark teal hair (i also love how he and syrus really do have the same shape of bangs it's really cute)

Do I prefer their dub names or original names? going to be a Zane Truesdale preference-haver until the end of time i fear....it's just such a badass name it suits him so well imo. i do also like calling him ryozane after seeing a twitter oomf do it. the beautiful bridge gap between a dub and sub liker in conversation: just shoving both names together into one word <3

OTP: it has been a hot minute since ive gone insane about them but know zatticus/idolshipping is still an all time fav ygo ship for me. there is so much love there and also they are a fucking mess. ideal zatticus dynamic is a bit this to me i must say. they need a little sprinkling of divorce in there. they came like that

NOTP: idk man i think if you ship him with his little brother you should get a really big rock smashed over your head tbqh

OT3: do also enjoy the zane/atticus/fujiwara Elite Trio.... three guys who are mentally ill and nonbinary in three different directions. i need them to play dnd together so bad

Favourite card they use: tossup between Chimeratech Overdragon (such a cool as hell monster,) good old Cyber End Dragon (probably my favorite ace monster in all of GX and top three for all of yugioh period,) and, of course, Power Bond (*thinks about the truesdale bros and starts crying sobbing wailing etc*)

Favourite moment they were in: gotta be the zane vs possessed!jesse season 3 duel/zane's last stand of course. everything about it. when gx had a lighting and color budget and it shredded like hell. when zane goes out having summoned Cyber End, his ace and oldest friend, instead of using the Cyberdarks anymore, and all the thematic weight to that. the dub exclusive of zane telling syrus he's proud of him immediately before dying. absolute S tier yugioh.

Least favourite moment: HM. LIKE. i dont even hate it i think it's an engaging and fucked up duel but i will say the zane vs syrus s2 duel because it makes people absolutely fuck up comprehending both of these characters like. atrociously badly. see me after class.

im gonna replace the FKM last question with 'something you associate with the character' (song, animal, flowers, etc etc)' instead: hisuian samurott :^) the hell kaiser pokemon ever to me