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siriusmydeer · 3 years

Text

my pretty witch

james potter x fem!reader

summary: james shows you how beautiful your body is.

word count: 2.8k

warnings: soft dom!james, sub!reader, fingering, fem!receiving oral, body insecurities, self doubt, missionary, penetration, marking, daddy kink, kissing, praise, mentions of sickness, wolfstar mention <3

note; requested.

the birds were singing, the sun was glowing, it was the most memorable saturday of the spring season.

students were speaking amongst themselves as the birds were increasingly chirping and the glinting sun that was only visible hanging planet in the sky that was emitting shimmering rays upon the two girls sitting amongst themselves. the faint gust of wind peering as subtle background noise whilst the rest of the courtyard was trifling around on the weekend.

“'m not sure lils, i just feel— it’s hard to explain.” you began to explain with an expression of embarrassment starting to linger on your face, a simple yet prying conversation amongst the ginger whilst you both sat upon the fresh-cut grass upon the millions of acres that belonged to hogwarts.

students of hogwarts were fairly spaced out upon the yard, as well as corridors and the library with madame pince no doubt hurrying them away to keep the tranquility rather in unbroken, as it was one of the first warm days for weather since the scotland air was filled with ivory flecks that completely covered the viridescent grounds.

almost no gryffindor peers around only the two of you insight. james, remus, peter, and sirius had all made their way closer to the quidditch pitch the minute they left breakfast; mainly so james could practice alongside sirius, and they could prance around the pitch on their brooms like first years who had just learned how to fly, as remus and peter watched. mainly peter, remus had cracked open his most latest read as soon as he sat upon the stands whilst faintly blushing from time to time at sirius’ winks and irritatingly pleasant wolf whistles.

what you hadn’t known was james leaving his mates with each other slightly earlier than expected in a quest for his girlfriend.

he had a glistering grin formed on his lips after catching sight of you speaking amongst lily. he was ready to parade over to you and boast about his newest quidditch tricks he had learned whilst sitting upon your lap ruining the serene aura that swarmed around your conversation with the ginger.

the deviant sun flickered delicate rays over your figure, to james you were effortlessly gleaming in the golden hues that radiated upon your skin.

his girl.

how could someone be so utterly beautiful?

the only thing diminishing his smile from the apex of his lips was when he was close enough to catch wind of your conversation with the gryffindor.

“i don't want him to think ‘m disgusting or anything! i just— i have stretch marks and stuff. i don't wanna be unappealing or something.” you whined following a groan whilst tilting your head back, covering your eyes at the slowly sinking sun radiating into your irises.

lily gaped at you befuddled before speaking, “but i mean, you’ve had sex before—” she spoke rather boisterously, you rapidly took the palm of your hand, clutching it over her mouth before she removed it and continued speaking, “and he's never been ‘disgusted’ or anything prior.” she finished in a whisper at your widen eyes; your face contorting into fear, afraid someone had heard what she said.

“’m just nervous that just because he doesn't express anything, doesn't mean he doesn't think it.” you chewed heavily at the skin of your peeling lips before applying a fresh layer of chapstick to the chapped cushions.

the awareness of your pending stress began to become overwhelming in your veins as you expressed your concerns to lily.

the bespectacled boy less than ten feet away from you tremendously creased his features in bewilderment, his face almost permanently contorting into a grueling grimace. did he ever do anything to make you think you were undesirable to him? you were quite literally an angelic essence that roamed the acres of hogwart’s at every waking moment of the day, it was like he had won the lottery, (something muggle-like you had mentioned to him) when you had agreed to go on a date with him.

and now you suspected something he couldn't even imagine in a nightmare.

he stayed a moment longer, listening to you drone on upon the fact he might've found you horrid or repelling. his psyche opting to trudge back to the gryffindor towers where he had originally planned to meet with you after your meet-up with lily.

what decision could've reveled in your mind to decide that he might've thought grueling thoughts on the certain aspects of your psychical appearance that he particularly found beautiful. your personality was captivating, of course. but that didn't mean he wouldn't bore his eyes into your figure trying to memorize every micro-detail of you and your features. any juncture of time he had with you he would spend adorning every aspect of you, when you happen to be separated he would spend his mind fulfilling images of you.

there wasn't one moment where he wasn't thinking of you.

and there wasn't one singular nanosecond he didn't think you weren't a goddess walking the earth.

even before you had brushed your teeth on particularly rough mornings before classes when the mangled tuffs of your hair that clung to your roots before brushing it, even when you were blowing your nose and heaving the tissues onto the ground when you were adamantly sick and you couldn't even whiff the most pungent scents; you were angelic.

so how in merlins name would you think so negatively of yourself?

james proceeded to haul his legs in pacing motions across the floor whilst he awaited your presence in the vermillion stricken common room. his thoughts overwhelming him on the mere thought of you and your psyche negatively impacting every nook and cranny of your mind-- which he would opt to remove any moment he got the chance to.

at the tumble of his limbs moving around the common room he heard a similar pair of footsteps enter the common room, “you alright, love?” you inquired gently, your figure tremendously slouched and drowsy after being in overwhelming embarrassment, the quick spin of his figure catching your attention.

“should i not have—” you initiated to speak again, your words almost completely disorganized, speaking first rather than overthinking your words at his slight apprehensive behaviors since you had arrived mere seconds ago.

“i love you,” he began, now walking over to your tense figure, “and you're my person,” said james in a rapid pace, the words of his tongue rolling off haphazardly. you began to crease your eyebrows confusedly at his confession, his hands deciding to sit on both sides of your fragile jaw that began to clench in the encasement of his palms.

you were adamantly confused at where his arbitrary confession had sprouted from, and the intentions behind it.

“’m quite aware, yes?” you sighed in the duration of your sentence recalling the conversation over your appearance with lily just a few minutes ago, now defiantly looking at your shoes before speaking again. “why the sudden confession, james?” you inquired again, this time sorrowfully.

“’m not an eavesdropper or anything,” he began to defend himself, seeing your eyes hastily peer ascent to him along with the widening of your eyes, “but, i— i heard what you said to lily.” he finished his sentence wistfully. you respired heavily for a moment, your hands now clutching onto his that remained laid onto your complexion.

“just, i dunno. ignore my thoughts, they’re stupid.”

his eyes proceeded to widen at your request. his reaction to being adamantly confused was contorted in the features of his face like he had been peering over the defense against the dark arts section on an O.W.L.S exam after not studying for a week.

“i could never just ignore you. i care about what you think, m’love.” he dragged the pad of his thumb against the dermis of your cheek, feeling the broad flush of your skin begin to warm the velvet palms of hands. “i just— i can't explain it.”

there was a detrimental feeling pooling in your mind at the feeling of embarrassment beginning to tinge your cheeks. you felt as if you were in the middle of a school audition and suddenly forgot all of your lines, the insistent feeling of unworthiness popping up in your mind every couple of minutes like a menace throughout your life.

“c’mon, darling,” he whispered whilst beckoning you, removing his hands that were clutched onto the apple of your cheeks now sliding his digits through your own. the balmy feeling of his palm radiating into yours was the only steady grasp you had while he had led you into his empty dormitory.

his emotions continued to display as unknown whilst he sat upon the vermillion knit comforter that laid quite messily upon his bed. his legs began to open whilst he brought your body between them. his palms making a heavy grip upon the curvature of your waist, and his thumb now stroking the cotton material that adorned your figure. his thumb gliding down to the hem, suddenly feeling the warm flush of your skin melding into his own.

“let me make you feel good.” james began to plead, his face quirking into a mild pout. your mind reflecting on your insecurities for a moment, the ripples in your skin, the vergetures tissue that was rooted upon your flesh, but as of right now that was now to be the least of your concerns that ventured in your mind.

the pads of his calloused palm lingered to the planes of your lower back to the swell of your bottom, his hands palming at the denim material while he awaited your answer; you merely nodded your head, his grin increasingly growing whilst his grip managed to maneuver you hurriedly onto the middle of his bed. your legs slightly fumbling before your spine was adjacent to his mattress.

his lip was now faintly tucked under the cushion of his lip while his athletic form began to hover over your body. the ivory white top you were dressed in was now being pulled down to the point of the exposure of your brassiere, and the dewy kisses emitting from his lips were now faintly pressed against the mantle of your skin.

his fingers feebly started to grasp at the flimsy material of your top before raising it over the undulating form of your body, his hand flinging the pallid fabric onto the mahogany wood of his dormitory. james had now buried his head between your supple mounds that laid gracefully on your chest, his swirling tendrils of brunet tickled at the planes of your jugular.

he felt the slight respire hitching in your chest while lips suckled at the skin that guarded your sternum, the slight blossoming hue rested in the juncture of your chest whilst his lips proceeded to move around your midriff.

the silk tresses of his brunet tuffs faintly titillated at your abdomen as the sponges of his kisses landed directly on the lower regions of your abdomen. his lips continuing to suction recurrent markings till the fluorescent blooms of umber and vermillion spilled delicately onto the searing flesh of your midriff.

his cerulean eyes peeled off of the buckle from your jeans, his eyes now sauntering out your face, and your arms now balancing yourself so you can gape into his eyes. he tilted his head in question, emitting a second nod of confirmation from you. taking it upon himself to rid of your clothing from your legs, leaving his hand traveling into the flimsy sheet of scarlet lace you had been clad in.

his finger swirled upon the swollen button once, releasing an enclosed gasp from your lungs that had been held in your trachea. his hands grasping upon the tight material and removing it from your body before looking at the sopping folds of your cunt.

once, twice, three times, he glided his fingers through your arousal effortlessly before attaching his lips to the swelled nub, proceeding to suckle like a babe. his tongue exploring your cunt whilst your wavering moans were transferring through the air. he began to maneuver your legs to balance on the bend of his shoulders whilst your pending moans lay enticingly in the air; your feeble digits feeling the strain of his tuffs in the clutch of your fingers at his arousing stimulation.

his ring and middle finger began to prod at your entrance before sliding into the depths of your aching cunt nimbly. his tongue stretched upon the crevices of your cunt while it collected your sickly nectar on the tip of his tongue, his face now buried in your cunt.

the unyielding quiver in your legs around his head was only steely increasing as he etched you closer and closer upon release. the bubbling moans exuding from your throat only increasing his current pride at your pleasureful noises making him grin into your cunt until you were pleading out to him, rather desperately.

“daddy, please. can i cum?”

“since you asked so nicely.” he retorted to your question enticingly. removing his mouth as his fingers recurrently impelled in the silken encasement of your cunt until your legs were trembling over his shoulders, and your mind had finally bleared out from the explosive butterflies that now lingered in your belly.

he caught sight of a few unwavering mauve lines that retracted in the inside flesh of your thighs, pressing a few absentminded kisses to them before his body began to hover over your own.

the bespectacled boy had now removed the indigo shirt from his body, his abdomen and rippling muscles were now in desolate from your slightly fatigued eyes. his body now recurrently hovering over your heaving one. his thumb swiped against your cheek once before his eyes came in the direct view of your churning abdomen.

he lowered his face till his nose was slightly smeared against your rib cage and his lips came in direct contact with the mauve and pallid lines you had been so doggedly insecure about.

his hands now placed on the curvature of your waist, admiring the stripes that now defined your midsection. tracing the small lines on the left, on the right, then craning his neck under your thighs so he could press a few absentminded kisses to the swell of your bum.

when he had returned from your underside, now catching your lips in a kiss. the hues of orange and red now bleeding into the atmosphere of the room, the sun slowly setting in the underworld amongst the other planets whilst he removed the remaining articles of clothing that had lingered on your figures.

“you’re so beautiful,” he murmured, pressing a kiss into the junction of your neck, landing directly on your pulse point that had been unwaveringly erratic. “astonishingly beautiful, my angel.” he crooned into the curvature of your neck whilst his lips moved to the crease of your jaw.

his hands delicately were fixed on the apex of your thighs, the limbs hanging closely on the burly muscles of his waist. “please, daddy. need you so bad.” you began to mewl while his cock had nudged faintly at your thigh.

at your words, james leisurely filled you to the brim with his cock until the happy trail sprouted ascent his lower abdomen was now pressed against your hips in a minuscule grinding-like motion.

his forearms now embedding into the mattress beside your hair that was cascading around your face similar to a halo that an angel wore proudly, his hips continuously grinding against your hips whilst your ankles were brought into a tight lock on the lower curvature of his spine.

“my pretty girl.”

the motions of his thrusts were steady and protracted. the movements drawing out your orgasms substantially, rather than the feeling of intense euphoric elation, it’s rather prolonged and comforting in the small snap of a coil that trembled in your belly.

the searing flush of your skin colliding with one another whilst his mouth had now been placed upon your own once more. your arms now resting on the nape of his neck, the minuscule scratch, and tug of your fingers bringing him to center of the actions he was trying to exhibit towards you.

his love, his adoration, his appreciation.

the small kisses he left on your hairline whilst he was etched closer, and closer upon his release until the splintering clench in his belly had profusely slackened . “you’re so captivating.” he crooned amid your kiss after separating his lips from yours for a moment.

the meld of his skin against your own was enticing and inviting. his tongue swept into your mouth to envelop the feeling of you just a little more before the ropes of his release had seeped into the depths of your cunt; only deepening the liplock whilst his prick had remained inside of you.

it wasn't a long duration of time before james quickly scrambled away to dress you in his freshly cleaned vermillion and umber quidditch jumper and a pair of his boxer shorts, quickly cuddling close to your side whilst placing a few last kisses to your forehead before he had changed into a pair of sweatpants himself and beckoned you to lay on his chest.

“you m’dear, are, completely, and irrevocably bewitching. my pretty witch.”

taglist: @miss-starkov @ronbrokemyheart @aricela @inglourious-imagines @moonyinthelight @bikinibottomspeach @myalo-vasano-psixis @i-love-scott-mccall @kirascottage @five-cups-of-coffee @myloveforluna @abbott27 @hufflepuffsfordraco @slytherclawbitch @ggmniy @90steaology

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megatraven · 2 years

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MEGGG i am once again asking for your astoria wisdom !! do u have any hcs for each of the love interests?

HIIIII!!!!! I love talking about astoria so much so THANK U for asking me another question <3 I'll try listing 3 headcanons (at least) for each LI:

Alex:

- Prior to falling in love with MC, they spent some of their free time reading/interacting with romance-centric medias. But upon realizing their feelings, and falling more and more in love with her by the day, those things began to hurt too much, so they stopped interacting with them altogether.

- They have a bunch of little logic games on their phone. And also Candy Crush. They play them whenever it's slow in the office. In a similar vein, they play Words With Friends with their mom and they always have to remind her to play. They're huge on wordle.

- After MC becomes a demigod and manifests her aura into a peacock, Alex decides to get cute lil peacock pajama shorts to match her deer ones.

Medusa:

- As much as she loves to spoil MC by taking her out to dinner somewhere fancy, she also really loves going somewhere small and locally-owned, where it's quiet and peaceful and they can be a little silly and comfortable

- When she and MC are sitting next to one another, she often ends up pulling MC to sit on her lap. Sometimes it's on purpose, sometimes it happens without really thinking about it because she wants to be close to her

- She loves tea so much because she can be perfectly in control of it. She can grow the tea leaves herself, or otherwise has trusted sellers to buy from. She knows how to long to steep them for the get the perfect flavor that she wants, and she knows what to add- if anything- to enhance that flavor. It helps keep her grounded, and it's a constant she's been able to fall back on for most of her life.

Hydra:

- He can make a conscious effort to regulate the temperatures around him if he wants to, otherwise it just kind of happens that the room he's in drops by a few degrees, and more if he activates his aura. It's a pretty passive ability that he never paid much mind to until he and MC got together.

- He's partial to instant ramen exactly for the fact that it's quick and easy to make. He doesn't have to waste much time getting it done, and there are a lot of flavors for him to pick from. Instant ramen saves him a lot of time so he can get to work sooner. (And also, his aura likes them too)

- His aura is named (source) and the head of it that's called Yes Man is named that because once he started dating MC, that particular head of his aura is the one that gives away his Real Feelings(tm) and always agrees with whatever MC says.

Astraeus:

- Once the air on Earth is purified and he discovers libraries are a thing, it's all over for the people around him. He can sit in the library and read through the entire poetry section in one day. He memorizes his favorite poems so that he can recite them at the drop of a hat, or otherwise incorporate pieces of them into his own poetry.

- He had a sword made for MC at some point alongside her titan armor, but she wouldn't take it. He still keeps it stowed away in their house in Tartarus, just in case she ever changes her mind and would at least like to learn how to use it.

- He 1000% doesn't know what a meme is and sometimes MC is very, very delighted by that. On days where he wants to blend in more with the humans around them so they can keep lowkey, he wears shirts that say things like "MILF (Man I Love Frogs)" or "Deez Nuts" that Selene + Helios bought for him

Cerberus:

- He forgets that his aura is an extension of himself sometimes and treats them as actual pets. MC usually has to remind him of it so he doesn't accidentally exhaust himself with aura use- but she lets it go on for a little because she also really loves his dogs, and they love her- because he does, too!

- His love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation! He's always very physically affectionate with the people he likes- even if they aren't too keen on it. He isn't ashamed or embarrassed at all when doing it. He loves giving his friends/families a hug. He's also big on affirmations- he wants the people around him to know that he cares and that he believes in and supports them.

- Prior to MC, he dated a couple of other people- monsters, typically- and had a small crush on Persephone. None of those relationships or feelings ever lasted long- he was too busy with the gates, and he just didn't click with any of them. But it was practically love at first sight when he first saw MC, and he was a goner from that moment on. Being suspended from Guardian duty allowed him to spend a lot more time with her than he could normally spend with dates, and he loved every second of it, not that he would ever admit that to anyone other than MC

Hades:

- He isn't super tech-savvy and he doesn't know how to change his own passwords on his devices :) He often needs Persephone's or Aphrodite's help with certain computer issues, or otherwise he enlists Alex's help.

- After he started dating MC he started finding random "gifts" from Aphrodite left around his estate. Edible massage oils. Bath bombs. Aphrodisiacs.................. Condoms. On account of, they don't need any new little demigods roaming around Olympus just then. Hades hides all (most) of it away to use for another day.

- An old soul like Hades has experienced a lot in his time- endless sunsets and sunrises, he has seen the stars as they're meant to be seen every night, etc etc. It's become something normal for him, nothing particularly special about any each thing- until he gets together with MC. It's like watching the sunrise again for the very first time. Everything feels new again with her, he loves seeing it all through her eyes.

Chimera:

- He really really likes hotdogs because they're the first food he had after getting out from Typhon's grasp. They taste like freedom and normalcy to him, not to mention they're just delicious and incredibly different from the foods he was raised with.

- He loves to dance. It's a way for him to release some of his pent-up energy, and he loves music, too, so it's extra perfect for him. Before MC, he never had anyone to dance with, though, so he really loved being able to dance with her, to move with her and be perfectly in sync.

- Chimera fell for MC the moment he first interacted with her- when she helped him with the coffee machine in HERA's break room. She knew that he was Chimera, but she wasn't afraid of him and treated him completely normally, which at the time is what he wanted. Her kindness really stuck with him, and so he was even more excited when she took his case.

#lovestruck voltage #lovestruck #astoria: fate's kiss #astoria: lost kisses #astoria #alex cyprin #alex #hydra #medusa #astraeus #hades #chimera #cerberus #afk mc

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passable-talent · 4 years

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Hello! I am so sorry to request zuko, I know you've had a lot of him but could you do a fic where zuko and the reader meet in the tea shop when they get a job there and they grow really close and start to fall for eachother but the reader ends up joining team avatar just as zuko teams up with azula and the reader is angry and confused with him and doesn't know how to feel when zuko shows up to join the gaang after all they heard about him and Mai and him betraying them and iroh in ba sing se

ADGDVABAG DONT BE SORRY TO REQUEST HIM I LOVE HIM

also I really love the days of Lee just after Zuko’s illness, I wish we could’ve seen more of that side of him. When he was just happy and had so much of his heart to give, before Azula came back and ruined it :/

roe, about five hundred words down and not even halfway through the request: I guess I’m staying up late tonight

After hearing your friends raving of a new tea shop in the upper ring, you agreed to a trip there. You were so damn busy with your schooling, you were training to be in the Dai Li after all, but you could afford to take an afternoon off to sit with some old friends.

You were never much of one to take part in conversation, merely sitting back to listen. You had sat in the chair closest to the wall, leaning back with your feet propped up on someone else’s chair as you sipped tea and listened, eyes drifting all around the shop. The owner and waiter seemed very nice, and the tea was delicious, though the scar of the young waiter interested you. You knew very little about the fire nation, but you did know that an attack by a firebender on an earth kingdom citizen would not be tolerated. Even a fire nation citizen was not above the law of the Earth King!

After that evening, you decided to learn a bit more about the staff of the Jasmine Dragon. You became a regular customer, bringing your texts up to the shop, and sipping tea while you studied. You learned the name of the waiter, Lee, and that the owner was his uncle, called Mushi. They were kind, and soon enough Lee could recite your order before you could even ask it. Your friendship began slowly- from his small smile when you walked in the door, to inviting him to sit with you when he had a moment to rest.

One night, Mushi dropped a tea pot and made a noise of distress when it shattered. You left your textbooks on your table and went to help clean it up, feeling as though it was the right thing to do, especially since the shop was packed and Lee had other things he could be doing.

“I’ll fix it for you, if you like,” you told Mushi, “I’m an earth bender. But it won’t look the same, though.” Mushi gave you a bright smile, insisting that you didn’t need put the effort in, but you gathered your schoolbag and dumped the pieces into it anyway.

That night, you stayed up a bit too late with the candlelight and reassembled the pot. It was a slow process, and just as you expected, the cracks were still visible. The earthbending, you suspected, reshuffled the porcelain back into the clay it was original formed from, and so the pot didn’t look nearly as nice. But it did hold water, and stood up to heat, and Wushi thanked you profusely when you gave it back to him the next day.

A week or so passed, and Mushi invited you to stay past the hours of the shop to have tea with him and his nephew personally. You accepted, eager to talk with them, and learn more about them. Mushi spoke of Lee, and how proud he was of ‘the man Lee was becoming’, and was happy to listen to your discussion of your schoolwork. It seemed, though, that he had an ulterior motive, as before the night was up he offered you a job.

“I’ve got the money to pay you a small salary,” he said, “and Lee could use the help, since we’re getting so popular.” You accepted, gratefully, and started work after your morning lecture, helping with the lunch rush.

It happened so fast, that you could barely process it all.

You friendship with Lee grew until the two of you would flick water at each other while wiping down tables. You would take your breaks together, throw up your feet in a back room, and complain about one unruly customer or another. You’d tell him stories about your training, and he’d tell you stories about his travels with his uncle before coming to Ba Sing Se. Your favorite moments were when Mushi would shove Lee and you out the door, insisting that he could close up shop alone, and that the two of you should get some fresh air.

You shouldn’t say that you fell in love with him, but the spring months of 100 AG were lovely.

Everything changed one afternoon when you came into work and found it empty. You were worried, and dared to wander up and into Mushi’s apartment, finding it empty as well. Just as you were about to leave you ran into Mushi, who asked your help, explaining that he needed to hurry, and he’d give you information along the way. You agreed, and somehow, ended up at the house of the avatar.

The day went so fast, so ridiculously fast, as you bonded with Toph and Sokka, and grew more and more worried for the fate of Lee- or was it Zuko? This whole time, you’d been flicking water at the banished Fire Prince? You’d been taking dating advice from General Iroh, the Dragon of the West?

It was a lot to take in. Even more to take in was the treachery of the organization you were readying to join, and suddenly you couldn’t do it, you couldn’t stay in Ba Sing Se knowing everything that had been hidden from you. So you vowed, at first, to join Iroh and Zuko on their journies away from Ba Sing Se and the fire nation.

Then Zuko betrayed Iroh.

It was something you never could have predicted. This boy, who gently tended to a wound on your arm when you’d brushed against a scalding teapot, who’d held your hand on walks around the upper ring, who’d laughed with his uncle and smiled and had seemed so undeniably good-

This boy had betrayed Iroh and condemned him to prison.

You were angry and hurt, because not only had be betrayed Iroh, but he’d betrayed you. His masquerade, you could forgive, as he was a banished prince, after all. But he sided with the Dai Li, who’d lied to you, and attacked the avatar who’d come to rescue him, and nearly turned his bending on you upon the instruction of his sister.

You were so angry.

So you left with Katara. You helped her escape and reunite with the others, allowing you and Toph to navigate the five of you to safety.

You assisted them as best you could through the spring and summer. You learned stronger forms of earthbending from Toph alongside Aang, and offered your input on his training as well. You helped fight Combustion Man. You fought beside Hakoda on the Day of Black Sun- even facing down firebenders with heartfelt ferocity, remembering how it had felt the first time firebending was turned to you, back in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se. As months passed, more and more anger settled in the pit of your stomach, even as Aang told you to let it go, but he didn’t much help as he told you all the things that Zuko had done before you met him.

None of it made sense. Not to you. It felt like two different people- the boy who laughed with you, and the boy who turned against you.

It made even less sense when Zuko reappeared.

You’d like to say that when you saw him, all you felt was rage, but that wasn’t true. You were happy to see him again, because the lightness of his tone, forced as it may have been, reminded you of the Lee you’d known. But anger corrupted even those feelings as you stalked forward, interrupting his words, watching his expression as he recognized you.

“Y/N?” He asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” you said, and then you raised your hand. You wanted to smack him, but you realized you’d raised your right hand, and if you dealt the blow, you’d hit his scar.

And that felt cruel.

So you exhaled your anger and turned from him, letting your eyes slide to Katara, and then Aang.

“You guys decide this. I’ll have no part in it.”

And you left his sight.

have this meme because that was a really angsty ending

-🦌 Roe

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your-brilliant-lady-m · 3 years

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Part 2 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Kwami

Kwamis are a fun concept and one of the main draws of the series. They make sense story-wise because, firstly, our characters need some support system. And since a lot of conflicts are centred around secret identities, characters should be able to discuss their double life with someone. As magical beings they could also be used to expand the lore, introduce new concepts and drive forward both the plot and character development. It doesn't always happen but Kwamis are a good idea. Some people who write AU's think that Kwamis are redundant, but I have to disagree.

Origins and nature

Where do Kwamis come from? What are they? It's never explained. Oh wait, it was explained in a comic people can accidentally find. You decide to explain the origins and nature of magical beings who are one of the key elements in your magic system and worldbuilding IN A SIDE COMIC, which has zero effect on your main story. Sounds legit.

Here it is.

So, Kwamis are abstract creatures. They can become tangible and interact with the world because of the miraculous jewels. Essentially, each Miraculous acts as an anchor to the material world for Kwami. They existed since the beginning of time and were invisible observers of the universe. Until they settled on Earth and observed how humanity came to be. This is where things get interesting.

Kwamis are the embodiment of abstract concepts. But, some abstract concepts were created by people (like everything mentioned in the comic: beauty, math, love, etc).

Kwamis wanted to help humans. And then, a human, who couldn't see, hear or touch a Kwami creates miraculous jewels. And now these beings can interact with the world, use their powers and grant them to humans. Yet, they are completely under control of their holder. I'll discuss it later, but why did Kwamis accept this deal? They are practically enslaved. At the same time they care about people and generally love humanity.

According to the wiki Kwamis grant powers because of "the privilege of having the ability to be perceived by mortals". What? Did I read that right? Kwamis agreed to be enslaved and used as a power source, because they wanted to interact with material world. That's it, guys, end of the story.

We also know these things about nature and abilities of Kwamis from the show:

1) need food, but only to provide the power for the holder;

2) can't phase through precious metals (Chloe's bracelet in "Rogercop"), their own miraculous and humans;

3) they can control if they phase through things or not – meaning that if they want to, they can (this way Tikki can stay in Marinette’s purse without much trouble and Plagg sleeps on Adrien’s pillow);

4) they can perform magic without a holder but they don’t control it very well, there are certain types of things that they can’t do without a holder;

5) they are immortal but can get sick for some reason, a non-magical reason mind you;

6) technology can't detect them in any way, you can't film, photograph or record their voices (writers establish this many times, but promptly forget all about their own rules in "Optigami", where Marinette talks with Kwamis over the phone without any problems).

If I missed something important, then let me know.

Look, the questions related to origins and motivations of Kwamis might not be very prominent in your story right now, but you must answer them in case you might need to involve these facts in the plot down the line. It's important to avoid contradictions in the serialised story with liquid plot, that can't be set in stone. It's a made up world for the sake of everything sacred! You can make up explanations and rules, of course as long as they don't contradict common sense.

Plausible ideas for origins and nature of Kwamis:

1) Kwamis are immortal spirits, whom humans accidentally summoned and bound with spells to Miraculous stones. They remember their existence before this. This version doesn't really explain their desire to serve people and love for humanity, however. It would be more logical for Kwamis to resent people for enslaving them. It doesn't explain how humans could create those spells and Miraculous stones either.

2) Kwamis are physical manifestations of abstract concepts who existed simply as fragments of matter for a very long time without sentience, until they were accidentally summoned through the Miraculous stones and bound by humans to serve them. Kwamis do not remember their existence before Miraculous. In this version Kwamis serve humans and love them because they have never known a different kind of existence. Unfortunately, it doesn't provide any explanation on the creation of Miraculous and spells.

3) Kwamis are gods, who created the universe with all its elements and concepts including humanity (similar to Valar and Maiar in Tolkien's Legendarium). They wanted to help their creations but discovered that their power was too wild and unpredictable for that. So, Kwamis decided to give up their free will and magical independence to help humanity. Together they created Miraculous stones for humans to use and sealed themselves inside. Kwamis as gods were abstract concepts, who didn't have a body. The act of sealing their power in the Miraculous gave them an opportunity to interact with outside world (an anchor) and each Kwami chose an small animal form (because humans easily formed bonds with animals, had animal companions (pets), small animals look non-threatening and familiar). Kwamis intentionally choose certain animal forms to suit the human symbolism. Humans later used magic that Kwamis discovered for them to place spells upon small gods (spells related to identity protection and so on). This version answers most questions, but if Kwamis are gods then powers they grant to people seem to be rather small.

Feel free to add more. I would be interested to hear your ideas.

Identity Protection

In "Origins" we learn that Wayzz can sense the aura of Butterfly Miraculous, a negative aura of activated Butterfly Miraculous, to be more precise. And yet, Tikki and Plagg are genuinely surprised to discover the identities of their holders in "Dark Owl". There are several things wrong with that.

Can Kwamis sense each other's presence? They shouldn't be able to do this to protect the identities of their holders. On the other hand, they are ancient spirits. So, their inability to sense each other seems weird. Unless it's the same situation as with the spell that does not allow them to speak the name of their holder aloud.

But if they can sense each other like Wayzz did, then it means that Plagg and Nooroo were living in the same house for over a year and nothing happened. I mean, Plagg could have just come upstairs, take off the brooch from Gabriel, while he is asleep and return it back to Fu.

This question lies right here, on the surface. And that's only one massive and very obvious plothole. How to fix it? Establish that Kwami can't sense each other for identity protection. In "Origins" Fu meditates on his balcony and Wayzz sees a charged Akuma flying by. That's how they discover that Butterfly is in Paris and the Miraculous is in the wrong hands. Perhaps, Gabriel akumatizes someone for the first time to survey the surroundings and general public is not aware of this. This works better in the narrative, giving Fu time to select holders for Ladybug and Black Cat. It also establishes whether Hawkmoth can remove the Akuma from someone without Ladybug and discharge it. Maybe it depends on the circumstances (sometimes he can, but if this person was akumatized many times or their emotions are too strong and their mind doesn't want to let Akuma go then Hawkmoth can't pull the butterfly out with his magic). This scenario allows for Volpina to happen on "Heroes' Day". Silly recurring Akumas like Gigantitan and Mr. Pigeon could still happen. In this case Gabriel didn't want to akumatize the guy more than 70 times on purpose. It just keeps happening against his better judgement because evil butterflies are automatically attracted to Mr. Ramier. This way repeated attacks of Mr. Pigeon annoy Hawkmoth just as much as they do the heroic duo of Paris (I did not sign up for this Nathalie!).

Let's come back to the spell mentioned earlier for a moment. Kwamis can't say the name of their current holder out loud, but apparently, they can exploit a loophole in the spell by confirming the identity of their holder in another way. The spell doesn't work with other holders. Kwami can say the names of other holders if they know their identity. That being said, can the holder order the Kwami to tell them the identities of other heroes if they know them?

Kwamis know how each Miraculous looks with or without camouflage. Can the holder order the Kwami to tell them how each Miraculous looks in disguise (I liked that Grimoire doesn't have pictures of camouflage for identity protection)? Guardians can recognise Miraculous in any mode (Su Han). Did Fu teach Marinette this? Does she know how each Miraculous looks like unactivated?

Oh! Since we are discussing camouflage, let's take a moment to appreciate the Mother Of All Plotholes. Plagg didn't recognise Peacock because of the plot.

Relationship with Holder

I absolutely loved the idea that Kwamis must obey their holder introduced in "Sandboy". This concept opens tons of plot opportunities. It's such a great idea that makes sense, has potential, can create conflict. Why, oh, why didn't writers develop it more?

Like, it was so good. It can be a great push for character development. This concept resolves so many existing inconsistencies within the plot. It's mind-blowing.

Why can't Nooroo simply leave Gabriel, so that he wouldn't be able to transform? Because Gabriel bound him with Miraculous to always stay near.

In "Sandboy" Tikki asks Marinette's permission before going to the meeting. Plagg lies to Adrien instead. This implies that usually Plagg's holders weren't kind to him or feared his power (Su Han's remark in "Furious Fu"). Perhaps, his holders were taught to keep the Kwami of destruction under constant control. So, Plagg in turn has learned not to ask, because if he doesn't ask permission then his holder can't deny him freedom with magic.

Can Kwami lie to their holder? Maybe they can't lie to their holder about their nature, origins and powers and other Miraculous (but Kwamis can't reveal the location of Miracle Box, Guardian's identity and can't confirm identities of other holders known to them in any way). Kwami would be forced to speak even if they don't want to. That's why Nooroo told Gabriel everything about the abilities of the Butterfly Miraculous and the wish secret of Ladybug and Black Cat.

But Kwamis can lie to their holder according to Plagg in "Sandboy". If Kwamis can lie about everything (including powers) then Nooroo didn't have any reason to be honest with Gabriel way back in "Origins".

Speaking of Gabriel and Nooroo. Can Kwamis harm their holder? Maybe doing so would harm the Kwami as well. Can they do it only when the holder is not wearing the Miraculous? Can Kwami take their Miraculous from their holder? Will they disappear if they try to do so? It seems like Kwami disappears only when the holder takes off the Miraculous with the intention of renouncing power, the words "I renounce you" are not necessary.

Other Kwamis can take the Miraculous from people if it's not their own (Wayzz in "Feast"). But what if it wasn't possible. Imagine what could happen if it's not possible to take the Miraculous by force from the transformed or untransformed hero. Just like Lady WiFi couldn't remove Ladybug's mask. A person has to willingly give up the Miraculous. Only in this case, it's possible to take it. For example, somewhere around the middle of season 3 Hawkmoth could have trapped Ladybug and Chat Noir and cut off any escape routes. His Akuma tries to take both Miraculous, but they don't budge. Then afterwards, every Akuma tries to manipulate the heroes using hostages, illusions or mind control. It's hard to say whether this version will be better than canon, but it's a fascinating theory.

You can use the idea of obedience to create more situations contrasting the relationship of Plagg and Adrien, Gabriel and Nooroo. I liked how canon created a storyline about Plagg learning to control his powers without a holder and Adrien helping him. However, why would you stop here? Give us some flashbacks about Plagg's previous holders, tell us what kind of people they were. Expand the lore and add some character development for Plagg and Adrien. The same thing goes for Marinette. What kind of battles did they have in the past? What kind of people past holders were? Did Ladybug and Black Cat heroes always get along well? Were they allies or enemies? Were they always lovers?

Give us more information about Butterfly and Peacock holders. Perhaps Nooroo has dreams about his past holders who were good people. Show us what kind of things a Butterfly holder with good intentions can do. Tell us more about Duusu and her past holders, sprinkle in a few bits of info about Emilie and Duusu's relationship, just a few vague hints to preserve the mystery. You have a lot of screentime each season and instead of doing filler episodes dedicated to love drama, you can use them for developing minor characters, relationships between them and lore.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous analysis #miraculous meta #ml meta #ml analysis #miraculous transformations #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug critical #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #kwami #miraculous kwamis #miraculous holders

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ninjago-happens-here · 3 years

Text

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

Day 6: Anger

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

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

Word count: 13,944

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Does she like blue?”

“Back. Off.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Y-you mean a dragon?” Jay stammered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You’re-you’re wrong!”

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

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

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

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

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

“Lloyd? Lloyd buddy, you there?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kai suddenly stopped. His mother… was alive?!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“For what?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Master!” “Wu!’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suddenly energised, Kai stood up.

“Thank you, Jay.”

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

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

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

And then they can find Sensei Wu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Because, I’m useless, that’s why!”

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

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

What was he thinking?

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

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

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

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

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

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

And nothing will stop him from helping out his team.

52 notes · View notes

amane-by-together · 3 years

Text

Hanafuda || Amane Yugi

(Part 2 of 10)

genre: fluff, school, slice of life, modern au (where all wonders live)

warnings: cursing, grocery puns

summary: amane yugi spends his school days skipping classes until he meets [name] [surname], a student from the other class, who was also skipping classes and eventually the two of them formed a platonic friendship. cutting classes and playing hanafuda together strengthens their friendship but soon unexpected feelings blossom between the two.

[name], for the first time in weeks, finally decided to take just one class for the sake of her attendance. In Amane's case, he almost forgot where he was seated but thankfully he remembered that he sat behind Yashiro Nene.

“Why the hell do I have to go to class, cheese and fucking fries.” [name] grumbled under her breath. “Just one whole class for this day and the rest I'll skip,”

“[surname]-san!” [name] frowned at her guy classmate (or does she even remember him) who was standing in front of the entrance blocking her way. “It's a rare thing for you to come to class.”

“Mind your fucking business you person I don't bother to remember.” [name] wore a distasteful expression to the guy so that he will know that she ain't interested in playing with him. “First thing in the morning and I'm already pissed as hell.”

[name] lazily made her way to her designated desk and sits down. Everyone stared at [name], who was currently confused why they had their eyes on her. She suddenly became uncomfortable. “What?” she said in a cold tone. “The fuck are you all looking at?”

In fear, everyone turned their heads back and continued what they were doing. [name] rolled her eyes, she didn't have any time to deal with their shit.

‘I'm gonna go out after lunch, I hope Amane-kun was there, otherwise it'll be lonely...’ [name] rests her cheek on top of her palm, looking at the board with an unamused expression. ‘I've been hanging out too much with Amane-kun, if only we're both classmates—’

“[surname]-san.” [name]'s thoughts were interrupted by her teacher's voice. She tilted her head waiting for another word. “Someone wanted to see you.”

‘Who tf—?’ The annoyed female stood up from her chair, she let out a small sigh. Who would want to see [name] in the middle of the class? Well maybe that someone would return something to her, the thing is, she didn't lent anything amongst the hundreds of students in the school. Then, who could it be?

“Sir, may I ask who?”

“Yugi from Class A.”

[name] blinked. “P-pardon?”

“He wants to give you something.” [name] swore she saw the teacher smirk at her. The whole class looked at [name] again but this time they were mentally teasing her.

Tsukasa's eyes widened in pure shock, he glanced over to [name] and smiled brightly. “[name]-chi is Amane's girlfriend?”

And soon everyone started to fangirl loudly. [name] facepalmed really hard muttering “Shut the fuck up.” under her breath multiple times. Her ears started to burn because of embarrassment. “You all must be mistaken.” she chuckled nervously. “We're not dating.”

“Hmm, then explain why I always saw you two together during lunch?” Tsukasa asked with a teasing glint in his eyes. [name]'s eye twitched in annoyance now that the younger twin seems to be supporting the idea of she and Amane being together.

“Uh, can I go now?” [name] pointed at the door wincing to escape the situation. “I can't let him wait that long.” She walked out of the classroom and saw Amane waiting for her outside with his hands on his back. Was he hiding something?

“Amane-kun.” The said boy had his head perked up to her direction, [name] went over to him and shot her hand up. “Yo.”

“Why is everyone staring at us?” Amane pointed at his finger towards the group of classmates peeking over to the two teens.

“Don't mind them.” [name] swats her hand. “Anyways, why did you call me?”

Amane gave her a small paper bag. [name] blinked twice and gently grabbed the bag. “What's this?”

The choppy haired boy's cheeks turned red and started talking in pout while looking away. “It's a bracelet...” he murmured. “They're matching bracelets, I'm currently wearing mine.”

“You bought this for me?” [name] resisted the urge to hug Amane, if only her classmates weren't watching her. She smiled, pink dusted upon her cheeks. “Thanks Amane-kun.”

“I-It's no big deal, really, but I'm glad you like it.” Amane sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while grinning.

[name] placed her hand on his shoulder, stood on the tips of her toes slightly and whispered something on his ear. “By the way do you want to skip classes after lunch?”

“I kinda plan to do that so I guess it's a yes.” Amane whispered back at her.

“Yeah, we're definitely skipping again.”

The two of them broke down in a fit of giggles as they pulled away from each other. “Hey [name], do you have plans later?” he asked.

“Not really, why'd you ask?”

Amane's cheeks started to burn again, he gained a little confidence and looked at [name] in a flustered state. “Well, why don't we go somewhere else after school? Just the two of us?”

“Of course.” [name] answered. Amane let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at his female friend.

“I gotta go back to class.” Amane patted her shoulder before dashing off towards his classroom. “I'll see you later!”

“You too,” [name] had her hand slightly raised up. She let out a small chuckle and looked at the paper bag. “Amane-kun, you really are a wonder...”

She quickly switched back to her aloofness and glared at her classmates. “The fuck are you all looking at?” she asked as her classmates hurriedly went over to their desks. “Honestly, when will they learn not to meddle in a private conversation.” she murmured right before she entered the classroom

“I don't fucking get this projectile motion.” [name] was in a state of existential crisis remembering the physics lesson that they tackled during class. “Did I really skip that much?”

“In my case I only understood Earth and Life Sciences.” Amane changed his school shoes and placed them inside his shoe locker. [name] waited for him, placing her hand on her waist and whistled a little bit. After that the two of them started to walk next to each other. “[name]-san, did you notice that everyone was staring at you?”

“You didn't think it was you who they were staring at?” [name] scratched her head, her silver bracelet was twinkling against the sunset.

“Nope.” Amane answered. “It's definitely you, must be because you're pretty.”

[name] lets out a weird sound of disbelief and shock. Amane stopped on to his tracks as he realized what he had said. “I-I mean, yeah you are pretty, n-not gonna lie t-though.” he stuttered with a blush forming on his visuals.

“S-sorry.” It was [name]'s turn to blush, she looked down on her feet as her bangs were covering her eyes. “I-It's just no o-one h-has ever called me p-pretty before.”

“I-I always f-find you pretty so...” Amane can feel his whole face burning like embers. The two of them made eye contact and it felt like time had stopped between them. “If you like, I'll gladly call you pretty everyday...”

“Amane...” [name] covered her whole face to muffle her words. She felt so flustered and she didn't know what to do. Amane averted his gaze from her and blushed. “Screw you—”

“I'm sorry but I'm not lying.” Amane cleared his throat, an evident blush was still on his cheeks. “Let's go to the mall, do you want to eat some donuts?”

“Yeah dude!” [name] tries to lighten up the mood so that it wouldn't be awkward anymore. To be fair, Amane was on the attractive side in her opinion, she doesn't really find herself pretty but people have different perspectives anyways.

[name] wouldn't deny it though, Amane has nice visuals and...hands, they looked really soft and warm, she sometimes imagine what would it be like if they held hands. Other than that, he is an affectionate and sweet, then he turns into a sadist and a tease sometimes. “I never got to ask you this [name]-san but are you going out with someone?”

“I never had a boyfriend or a girlfriend.” [name] replied. “No one really confesses to me at some point so basically I'm single, must be nice having one though..” she mumbles the last part.

“I guess everyone must be blind...” Amane muttered to himself before walking ahead, leaving [name] clueless, and then she catched up next to the choppy haired boy.

“Amane-kun, I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna buy some groceries along the way.” [name] puts her hands behind her back. “After that, we can get some donuts and roam around.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Amane reluctantly agrees with her. [name] wrapped an arm around his shoulders and grinned as he uttered an 'oof' from his lips.

“I love your gift by the way.” [name] raised her wrist in front of Amane to show her that she's wearing the bracelet. Her eyes widened in joy and pointed out the matching bracelet around his wrist. “And we're matching~!”

But then [name] flicked his forehead. “Ow!” Amane held his forehead while slightly whimpering. “That hurts.” he pouted. [name] let out a plfft sound from her lips, she reached over to rub his throbbing forehead.

“That's for excusing me out of class and my classmates started to tease me that you're my boyfriend.” she chuckled, then she switches to an annoyed tone. “Then your brother called me Nee-san just to tease me.”

Amane stifled a laugh. [name] puffed her cheeks at him angrily. “Oi! It's not that funny!” she harrumphed. She looked like an angry pouting mochi rather than an angry person.

“Hmm~?” Amane cheekily smirks at the latter, he leaned next to her to continue teasing her. “Nee-san~?”

“Don't call me Nee-san you idiot!” An irk mark appears on the side of [name]'s forehead as she reached over to pinch his cheek. “Honestly, you're such a tease.”

“Only for you~” Amane ruffles her hair making it messier than it is. [name] sighed asking how the hell did she end up being friends with Amane who is one hell of a tease.

After a few minutes of teasing and cheek pinching, the two teens arrived at the mall. [name] and Amane went to get some groceries first. “All of these bananas but you can't even notice my peelings.” [name] faked a sniff while putting the bunch of bananas inside the basket that Amane was holding.

“I don't understand why you needed six cans of sprite, can't you buy 7up instead?” [name] silently wheezed as she smacked his shoulder, earning a laugh from Amane.

“Shut up, I don't have—thyme for that.” [name] puts some spices inside the basket. She grabbed some bread from the bread aisle. “I also knead bread too.”

“I also have a grocery joke but aisle tell it later.” Amane added while laughing. [name] bursted out giggling, clutching on to her stomach. “Okay we better stop, the old couple beside us were giving looks of suspicion.”

“O-kale then.” [name] and Amane entered one of the aisles. “Grate minds think alike.”

“Do you live alone [name]?” Amane asked all of a sudden. He doesn't know any much about [name]'s family or background, heck, he doesn't even know if she had siblings.

“I live with Yako-neesan and my little brother.” [name] places some products inside the basket. “Why?”

“Just asking.”

“You seem curious about my family background.” [name] laughs softly while putting two carton of milk in the basket. “My parents are both abroad, my little brother and I lived in Yako-neesan's apartment, which is our cousin.”

“You're an older sibling?”

“Well yeah,” [name] beckoned Amane to follow her to the next aisle. “Maybe you can come over and play with him, he doesn't mind talking to older guys.”

“Did I mention that he wanted to meet you though?” [name] tilted her head towards his direction with a pack of strawberries on her hand. “You two will definitely get along.”

“What was Tsukasa like in class if I may ask?” Amane asked again, sure, even though the younger twin has a life of his own, he can't help but to be concerned with him.

“How the fuck should I know?” [name] raised her eyebrows and tossed the pack of strawberries in the basket. “I skipped a lot of classes so I didn't really pay attention to Tsukasa-kun.”

“It's like you skipped a lot than I did.” Amane sheepishly chuckles but he deadpanned afterwards. “But I can't get a damn thing about Maths.”

“I think we crossed the whole list.” [name] tells Amane with a thumbs up. The two of them went to the lane with few people. [name] whipped out her wallet when it was her turn to check in. “Omigod. Do I really have to carry them all?”

“I could help you carry them.” Amane suggests. [name]'s heart suddenly skipped a beat, she nodded slowly meaning that she needed his help to carry them.

“There sure were a lot of people in the donut shop.” [name] sighed in a low spirited tone while holding the paper bag filled with donuts. Currently, Amane and [name] were eating donuts with their backs against the wall. “Here's yours Amane-kun.”

Amane took a bite of the plain donut and started munching on it. They were freshly cooked so that's why it tasted good. “So [name], are you going to class tomorrow?”

“I was gonna plan to attend one whole class in one week.” [name] answers while eating her cream-filled donut. Truth to be told, she didn't feel guilty about skipping classes, it was only her escape from pressure and stress in school. “How about you?”

“I guess I'll skip tomorrow.” Amane took out a piece of his donut and showed it to [name]. “Want some?”

“Sure. Thanks.” [name] opened her mouth waiting for Amane to plop the piece of donut inside her mouth. He blushed at the thought of his fingers might brush against her lips. Amane plopped the bite inside her mouth which [name] ate it gratefully. “Here have some of mine in exchange.” she says while handing him the donut.

Amane takes a bite of the cream-filled donut. He glanced over to [name] and saw that there's a bit of cream near her lips. “Hold on,” he pointed at her face. “Um, you got some cream on the side of your lips.”

“Huh? Here?” [name] pointed at her face. Amane shakes his head since she can't see where he was pointing. He sighed and reached over to wipe the cream off her lips using his thumb and quickly licked it.

Amane smirked slyly at her. “The cream does taste good.” he said in a playful way. [name]'s face grew red at the sudden action that he did, he decided to tease her a little bit so he moved his face closer to hers. “You seem a little flustered~ hmm~?”

[name] leaned back and averted her gaze from him. “Well, that looked like an indirect kiss.” she protested while pouting slightly. Amane let out a light chuckle and smiled.

“Sorry, I can't help but to tease because you're so cute.” He said with a slight smirk and he reached over to lightly pinch her cheek. “Your cheeks are red~”

“Ok, that's enough.” [name] pried his hand off her cheek and rubs it a little. Amane stares at her in a lovestruck awe, the way she blushes and pouts made him feel like he just wanna hold her protectively in his arms. “I finished my donut, let's get going now.”

The two of them got out of the mall. The skies were as pink overlayed with an orange color that the sun was setting. Amane stared at [name]'s hand, he blushed at the thought of hold it. “[name]-san...” he came to a halt.

“Yeah?” [name] said.

“Can...I...?” Amane looked down while mumbling incoherently. [name] tilted her head in confusion as he waits for him to speak. Amane must have looked like a strawberry right now. His eyes meet hers as he gains a bit of confidence. “C-Can I hold your hand?!” he asked with a hint of embarrassment.

[name]'s cheeks turned red at the sudden request. She stared at her own hand and then his hands, for some reason his hand looked warm. “T-that was a strange thing to ask, I'm sorry—” Amane swats his hand in denial.

“Sure...”

“I'm sorry, what?” Amane's eyes widened. [name] turned away from him and blushed intensely, he looks at her hand. “You don't mind right? Me holding your hand...?”

“Mhmm...” [name] brushes her hand against his so that Amane would know that it's okay to hold her hand. Amane laced their hands together, tenderly holding her hand. [name] can hear her heartbeat hammering inside her chest. “You really like being coddled, huh?”

‘Her hand feels soft.’ Amane looked at their hands linking with each other. ‘They fit so perfectly with mine...’

“Shall we continue?” Amane asked with a shy smile. [name] hummed in agreement as the choppy haired boy gripped on to her hand softly, grinning at the female. “Let's take you home then~”

The two teens started walking together hand in hand, feeling each others warmth till the tips of their very own fingers. Amane mumbled something under his breath.“I love you,”

“Eh?” [name] didn't quite hear what Amane just mumbled.

“I meant your hands!” Amane blushed that he accidentally slipped that out but thank god she didn't hear it. “I love your hands——They're really cute!”

“Well your hands are pretty much gorgeous than mine, you have long fingers...” [name] raised their intertwined hands together in front of Amane and smiled softly. “See, our hands pretty much fit together.”

“Yeah...” Amane smiled contently, hoping that this moment will never end. If [name] continues to act like this around him,

Then, he would most likely to fall for her even more.

-end of part 2-

thank you for reading, be sure to like and reblog if you love this part~!

taglist: @closetwaffle @closetweebsmh

#tbhk #jibaku shounen hanako kun #amane yugi #amane yugi x reader #hanako x reader #yugi amane #yugi amane x reader #amane #hanako kun #hanako #toilet bound hanako kun #amane x reader

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broadwaytheanimatedseries · 4 years

Text

So I Had An MLP AU Idea -

Art by the lovely and talented @really-sleep-deprived-nerd :

Introducing, The Sides Of Harmony!

Vivid Star, Element Of Magic

An angsty brooding loner with a mysterious troubled past.

At the beginning of the story, he's an anti social recluse who works at night, from home (he's never been more thankful for astronomy being his special talent)

On the days he is unfortunate enough to be awake when the sun's still out, he spends that time catching up on some light reading or, if he's feeling extra adventurous, practices a new spell or two.

His only true friend at this point, besides Violet His pet fruit bat, is his big brother Tender Star, who has recently been promoted to royal guard so they'll be spending even less time together.

He stumbles upon the tale of nightmare moon by complete accident *cough* destiny *cough* and after informing his brother to keep an eye, he decides he cant just sit around and hope for the best.

So he gets probably the worst idea he's ever had in his life.

He's gonna go to ponyville, where the summer sun celebrations are held this year, and try to warn Princess Celestia himself.

And pray she doesn't send him to the dungeon for his insolence.

Rose Comfort, Element of Generosity

Ponyville's resident social butterfly and drama queen.

After a childhood full of siblings rivalry, he and his twin decided to live as far apart as possible, without leaving their hometown that they love so much.

Rose found a nice spot in the middle of ponyville to grow his garden and sell flower arrangements, and he revels in the attention and admiration his role gives him.

Everypony loves flowers, and as a provider of flowers, everypony will love him!

Recently, the twins have been able to reconnect and have begun making amends. Its a slow process, but it's been going rather smoothly, all things considered.

Rose has a small flower shop and big bombastic dreams, like his dream of marrying Prince Blueblood and becoming a prince himself.

Rich Comfort, Element Of Kindness

Infamous town weirdo and ponyville's resident beast expert and critter caretaker.

He grows his own produce for himself and his animal friends, that way he rarely has to leave his house.

When Rich and Rose parted ways as young adults, Rich decided to live right at the edge of the Everfree forest.

At first ot was only so ponies would leave him alone, but one day when his Angel Bunny ran into the forest, he discovered just how much he liked the place.

It was a bit too hostile an environment to safely live there, but he liked going in there every so often to have some adventures, and in the process, he became the only pony in ponyville thats has any experience dealing with scary monsters from the spooky dark forest.

Recently, since they've started making amends, Rich has been inviting Rose along to his Everfree Adventures™, but the latter is understandably hesitant.

Rich is lowkey still jealous of Rose about one thing only, and thats the fact that his brother could have any stallion he wants but he's holding out for "the one", which wouldn't be so bad except he's got it in his head that the one is some handsome prince that he's never met and doesn't even know what he's actually like.

Peppermint, Element Of Loyalty

Ponyville's sweetheart, the great and loveable Peppermint!

Co runs the local sweet shop with Liquorice, now that their families have merged their candy businesses into one incredibly successful business.

When his aunt Minty told him the family wants, neigh, needs him to move from Manehatten to Ponyville to help run their new shop there, he was rather skeptical, but never one to turn his back on anypony, especially not his family, he agreed to go help.

However, when he got there, he found the place already operating rather smoothly without him, but the candy they were selling?

All sours and bitters, and not one baked good in sight! And it was alphabetized for Pete's sake, ALPHABETIZED!

no, this couldn't stand, he wouldn't allow it. He marched right over to the front desk and requested to meet with the manager, as he was supposed to be doing that anyway.

The Unicorn at the desk raised an eyebrow and simply replied "i am the manager, what seems to be the trouble?"

Liquorice, Element Of Honesty

Ponyville's most obnoxious know it all, at least according to most ponies who don't know him very well.

(also lowkey resident hot nerd and heartthrob but no one will admit it to his face. Listen this doesn't need explaining but Logan is hot in every au, even in ones where he is a sentient horse).

Before he took on the responsibility of running the ponyville location, Liquorice was settled quite nicely in Fillydelphia, and was looking into ways of making gem based candies for the dragon population of the city.

Truthfully, he was very eager to make a name for himself outside his own family business, to prove that he doesn't need to rely on anyone else because he's good at what he does.

But he also knew that his parents wouldn't have asked him to do this unless it was very important to them, and even though he didn't need their help, that doesn't mean he shouldn't give them his.

So he moved to Ponyville and quickly started working on the shop to make it successful enough so he could leave, knowing its in good hooves and being able to trust that its running exactly like it was when he left it.

Unfortunately, this plan went along well for maybe a week, before somepony came by and demanded to know everything about how the establishment, his establishment, is being run, and that's when both he and Peppermint first discovered they're supposed to be running this store together.

Oh horseapples.

Dapper Jester, Element Of Laughter

Ponyville's most wanted, in more ways than one.

Growing up in Las Pegasus, Dapper learned how to captivate an audience, amuse a crowd, and cheer up anypony in need of a good laugh.

He made a name for himself in his hometown and became a sensation there, but as much as he loved the attention and glamour, he decided it wasn't a lifestyle he wanted to pursue.

Don't misunderstand him, he loved preforming and would never give it up, but a life of revelry and indulgence from a young age can get pretty old pretty fast.

He soon grew tired of the fame and adoration, he wanted a simpler life where his career as an entertainer would still allow him room to be somepony beyond just a show pony.

His mind made up, Jester moved to Ponyville, and his new life has begun... As a ballon artist.

Not to knock down the profession, its just that balloon artistry is only so sought after and its not the highest paying job.

Luckily he managed to save some of his earnings made in Las Pegasus, and found a lovely cloud house to settle into, as he still feels quite connected to the (literal) high life.

Main Ships:

Prinxiety - Slow Burn

Thomile - Established Relationship

Logicality - what do you call it when they're pretty much a married couple all but officially since the beginning but it isn't canon until the very end of the story? Kinda like that.

Richceit - Even Slower Burn in a very complicated situation, featuring (eventually) divorced single father Filthy Rich trying to raise his daughter and navigate through his feelings, and (eventual) dadceit being amazing and sweet and supportive and awesome.

Dismus - Crazy Chaos Couple™, low key angsty, featuring Discord lord of chaos being out crazied and out topped by Rich, an earth pony who isn't afraid of him and is attracted to his brand of fun and sense of humour, and Rich finding someone who doesn't judge him for his eccentricities without being an animal.

Anyway, thats it. Hope you liked this au and wanna see more!

And As Always,

Stay Tuned...

#dee writes #sanders sides #dee's aus #sanders sides au #mlp fim #mlp au #elements of harmony #soe au #sides of harmony au

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primroseprime2019 · 3 years

Text

Masters and Students

"Such a shame." Starscream said as he watched the Space bridge explosion, "But I applaud you, Megatron. You certainly made a grand exit."

Echo clenched her fists tightly as she left the control bridge and Soundwave walked over to Starscream.

"Ah, Soundwave, cue the audio/visual. I wish to address the troops." Soundwave only nodded.

All over the screens and throughout the halls, the troops had heard Starscream give out his message.

"The loss of Megatron, leader of the great Decepticon uprising, is certainly a blow to our cause. Yet we mustn't despair of his tragic demise. But instead embrace his ultimate sacrifice and build upon the foundation he laid with an even mightier hand."

A Vehicon had spoken up, "With all due respect Commander-I mean Lord Starscream."

"Yes, yes, what is it?" Starscream said.

"If we failed to conquer Earth under Lord Megatron's command, what hope do we have now while the Autobots still defend it?" The Vehicon asked.

Starscream sighed and replied, "Allow me to be crystal clear... I studied for millennia under our former Master. Thus I am equipped to lead you. I, Megatron's true heir, Lord Starscream, Emperor of Destruction!" The crowd of Vehicons looked to each other and talked to one another. Starscream let out a scoff and had Soundwave cut the feed and audio.

"What use are troops who can't rise to the task of inflicting unspeakable destruction in my name?" The Seeker huffed.

"Maybe it's because they actually have loyalty towards someone who's led them for years," Echo spoke up as she stalked towards Starscream, her optics blazing with fury, "you're too cowardly and hardheaded to be a leader!"

"I suggest you watch your tone, Echo," Starscream growled. "Make me, you sorry excuse for a Decepticon!" Echo snapped, her digits turning into claws.

Soundwave stood between his sister and Starscream and Echo stared up at him, her wings shaking with bitterness towards Starscream. Soundwave shook his helm at his sister, silently telling her not to start a fight that she did not want to finish.

Echo clenched her fists tightly before she turned and walked out of the room. Starscream huffed and turned away from Soundwave, "now with that out of the way... Legend tells of one capable warrior, one who exists here upon this very planet, one who can be student to my master."

◊◊◊◊

Optimus sighed as he stood, overlooking the rock formations that surrounded him. It's been a week since they disabled the Decepticon Space Bridge, which resulted in Megatron's demise.

"Optimus, why so glum? This planet – all planets – are finally free from Megatron's tyranny!" Ratchet cheered.

"I do not disagree, Ratchet," Optimus admitted, a very large part of him content in knowing that his family would be safer than they were when Megatron lived, "It's just...a small part of me hoped to change Megatron's mind. Not extinguish his spark."

"Optimus, his vileness was not slain by your hand! But by his own twisted arrogance!" Ratchet protested, earning a hum of displeasure from the Prime, "I'm sorry. I know the two of you have quite a history."

"But the Megatron whom I once fought aside perished eons ago; the day he chose to become a Decepticon," Optimus rumbled before quickly changing the topic, "The Decepticons may be in disarray. But they aren't without leadership. And while Starscream is no Megatron, he is far from predictable." Suddenly an explosion shook the base.

"Decepticons! We're under attack!" Ratchet exclaimed and he and Optimus ran to the source of the explosion. Only it wasn't an attack. It was Rafael's volcano science project.

"It's not an attack Ratchet. It's my volcano," Raf said as he waved his hand against the smoke that started to fade away and his volcano deflated, "or was."

"Hold still, Bulkhead," Miko said as Bulkhead held a small model of the Solar System, "Jupiter needs its red spot. Whoopsie!"

"What... in the Allspark is going on around here?" Ratchet demanded. "Our projects are due tomorrow," Jack said.

Arcee picked up a part of the motorcycle she and Jack were working on. "Maybe it needs one of these doohickeys," she said.

"You're a motorcycle Arcee," Jack said with a smirk, "shouldn't you know how to build a motorcycle engine?" "You're a human, Jack," Arcee shot back, "can you build me a small intestine?"

"Burn!" Miko and Paige said and Firestorm snickered. Jack huffed.

"Well you can't make these projects in here," Ratchet said, "you're making a mess!" "But the science fair's a big part of our grade," Raf said.

"Yeah," Miko agreed, "if Bulkhead doesn't help me finish this model of our Solar System-" "Oh?" Ratchet interrupted, "and what does Bulkhead know of your solar system? Or Bumblebee of your volcanoes? Or...?"

"Arcee of our motorcycles?" Jack asked, earning a look from his guardian.

"Precisely," Ratchet said, "we're not Earthlings and they're not scientists." "But the Autobots are their guardians, Ratchet," Optimus said, "would it hurt to learn more of Earth by helping our young friends with their schoolwork?"

"Well maybe our young friends should learn more of Cybertron," Ratchet huffed. Raf looked over at Paige, "what are you and Primrose working on, Paigey?"

"I'm just holding the flashlight," Primrose said. "I'm painting the galaxies and the constellations," Paige said as she sat on the far side of the main hangar, painting a rather large canvas. Primrose held a Cybertronian-sized flashlight and shined it down on the painting.

"Plus I’m making another project, but you can’t see it yet. Also, Ratchet," Paige said, making the Autobot medic look at her, "if you want- and if it's not too much trouble, can you teach me about Cybertron?"

"Really? You actually want to learn?" Ratchet asked, surprised. Paige smiled and nodded, "what's wrong with teaching a Galatrian about Cybertronian history and culture? Nothing, I'm sure. Plus, I've been meaning to learn about your planet."

Ratchet stared at Paige, completely shocked. "Someone's actually made Ratchet speechless," Firestorm chuckled, "I'm impressed. Ow!" He held his helm when a wrench suddenly decked him in the helm and he glared at Ratchet.

"Alright. I'll teach you," Ratchet said with a soft smile. "Yay!" Paige said happily. Primrose squeaked in surprise when some paint was flung her way and it landed on her faceplate.

"Whoops! Sorry Prim," Paige said with an apologetic smile.

"It's alright. The messier, the better," Primrose chuckled.

◊◊◊◊

Starscream, Soundwave and Echo were currently in the canyon looking for the warrior that Starscream had spoke of earlier in the warship. Though it had struck Echo as odd that they would look in a place such as Earth. And as much as she would've loved to beat Starscream into a bloody mess, she was also glad that Soundwave was here to stop her- most likely electrocute her in a way.

"Starscream." Echo said calmly, getting his attention, "This warrior that you talked about earlier, why in the name of the Allspark would they be here on Earth?"

Starscream said, "During the Great War, so much energon was hidden on this forsaken rock, that our departed master sent some of Cybertron's greatest to guard it-True warriors now lying in stasis, waiting to be reawakened."

"When you put it like that, it actually makes the most sense," Echo said.

"Yes," Starscream replied, "Though it was such a folly that late in life Megatron searched for distant space for warriors, rather than here beneath his feet." Soundwave was still trying to figure out where the warrior was; despite him not saying anything Starscream had said, "What do you mean you can't pinpoint his signal? I know we're close! Boost the power to your sensors!"

Soundwave did this and they found what they were looking for.

"Is that it?" Echo asked. "Yes," he said, "there." With that, he, Soundwave and Echo transformed into their aerial forms and flew up into the air.

◊◊◊◊

Raf was rebuilding his volcano. But he wasn't really paying attention. He was paying more attention to Bumblebee's stories from the war, particularly when Bumblebee mentioned that he hasn't made warrior class.

"Really, Bumblebee? Then how do you make warrior class?" Raf wanted to know, causing Bumblebee to bleep some stuff about experience getting in the way, "But I've seen you in action! You're awesome!"

That was when Optimus decided to intervene, placing his servo on his adoptive son's shoulder whilst saying to Raf, "I second your opinion, Raf. But Autobot lifecycles are much longer than those of humans. And though it may be hard to believe, our young scout still has much to experience."

"Well experience is the best thing to have," Paige said as she walked over to Optimus, Bumblebee and Raf. She was wearing a white shirt, along with some overalls and she was wearing her sketchers shoes.

"You done with your painting already?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah. I took it outside on the roof to dry," Paige said, rubbing her hands on the pants of her overalls, 'I think Cliff would've loved it.' She jumped when the monitors started going off.

"Exposed Energon! And it's on the move!" Ratchet proclaimed.

"And since we're not moving it, guess who must be!" Bulkhad challenged.

"Decepticons," Arcee answered as she stood next to Optimus.

"Without Megatron?" Miko asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, Megatron's legacy will live on as others rise to take his place," Optimus sighed gravely. "Why am I suddenly being reminded of wolves?" Paige asked aloud, making Optimus look at her curiously.

Optimus turned to his team, "Autobots, you have projects to complete. Ratchet, I may acquire first aid."

Ratchet was a bit hesitant at this, and turned to the three kids currently working on their projects.

"Science fair is a big part of their grade." Ratchet said to his leader, "Perhaps I'm best suited to remain and advise."

Optimus agreed to this, "Very well." He said, before turning to his scouts, "Bumblebee, Primrose, let us see about this energon in transit."

"Can I come?" Paige asked. "No," Optimus, Bumblebee and Primrose said in unison, making the fourteen year old girl squeak.

"You know it is too dangerous," Optimus said firmly. Paige frowned, "well I'm Dauntless enough to face danger!"

"This isn't Divergent," Jack called out. "Watch it, Jackson!" Paige said, glaring at the sixteen year old boy who put his hands up in surrender.

"What would your mother say?" Primrose asked in a playful tone. Paige opened her mouth but closed it and she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

Bumblebee buzzed with laughter as the ground bridge opened. Paige let out a meow of protest and she kicked invisible dirt with her foot. Optimus gently rubbed her head before he, Bumblebee and Primrose went through the ground bridge.

◊◊◊◊

Echo watched as Starscream and Soundwave pulled out what was a stasis chamber as she stood back. After they pulled the the stasis chamber out from where it was, they took a step back. "Soundwave, the cube." Starscream said.

Soundwave took out a container containing a single energon cube. He handed it over to Starscream; he placed it in the slot that was provided. The capsule had started to activate.

"The energon infusion!" Starscream said, "It's working!" They were soon blinded by a blue light.

In the distance, Optimus, Bumblebee and Primrose walked out of the ground bridge. They heard sounds just nearby. "Do you guys hear that?" Primrose asked.

"This doesn't feel right," Bumblebee said. "No Bumblebee, it does not," Optimus said, "hold your position and await my command."

Primrose and Bumblebee both nodded.

The stasis chamber opened and reveal the warrior inside; Starscream had stepped forward.

"Awaken warrior!" He said, "Rise and serve your new master!" Echo could tell that he was as large and giant as Megatron was; his color scheme was of green, white and red, and his optics glowed red. And a part of her was glad that he was another Seeker.

He spoke with a booming voice, "Skyquake only serves one master." "Excellent." Starscream said, "Your loyalty and devotion will set a fine example for the troops," he sent Echo a glare, "among other things. No need to be timid, Skyquake. You may bow."

Echo felt her right optic twitch and she ground her denta together to hold herself back. Soundwave placed his servo on his sister's shoulder and gave a light squeeze.

"You fail to grasp my meaning." Skyquake said, "I am here on a mission assigned to me by my one true master- Megatron." "Yes. Him." Starscream said, "Sadly Megatron is no longer with us."

"Impossible." Skyquake said.

"Why is this so difficult for everyone to accept? Skyquake, I located you. I awakened you. Thus I, Lord Starscream, am your one true master!" Starscream snapped.

Skyquake growled, stepping towards Starscream who quickly stepped back. "It has been quite awhile Skyquake." Optimus spoke up, getting his attention.

Skyquake turned to him. "Optimus Prime." He said, "I haven't seen you since the Battle of Technar. Megatron ordered me to annihilate you."

"That was a long time ago." Optimus said.

"That may be, Prime, but my orders still stand," Skyquake said.

"Is this ancient war still worth fighting when so many comrades have been lost and worlds destroyed? If you want to be a true leader, Starscream, then stray from Megatron's path and lead the Decepticons towards peace," Optimus said firmly.

"I would be willing to consider a truce..." Starscream said, "If you are willing to bow before me... Optimus Prime."

"Again?" Skyquake said angrily, "Bow to this!"

Skyquake swung his arm and with one hit, Starscream was sent flying right into the wall. Echo widened her optics in surprise before she transformed into her aerial form and flew up into the air with Soundwave and Starscream following.

"Skyquake, this is a new era. On another world. Side with the Autobots and help me end this conflict forever," Optimus once again pleaded the newly-awakened Decepticon.

"I will NEVER side with a Prime!" Skyquake proclaimed as he ran towards Optimus.

Optimus never saw the next hit coming. So when Skyquake threw a punch at him, he didn't block it. Instead, he let it knock him into a nearby archway. Skyquake picked Optimus up by his shoulders and threw the other around.

Above the ensuing battle, Starscream, Soundwave and Echo watched everything unfold. "What need have we for peace when we have Skyquake?" Starscream asked rhetorically to Echo and Soundwave.

"With some disapline, he will learn to respect his new master," the Seeker continued, "And once it becomes known that Skyquake destroyed the great Optimus Prime under our command, all Decepticons will greatfully bow to us."

Bumblebee and Primrose watched the fight between Optimus and Skyquake become intense. A little too intense for Primrose's liking. Optimus unlocked his blaster and shot at Skyquake twice.

The large Decepticon Seeker pulled out his own blaster and fired at Optimus. Each rapid shot hit the Prime, knocking him back but he still stood on his pedes. Having seen enough, Primrose and Bumblebee ran forward.

"Bumblebee, Primrose, no!" Optimus shouted. Bumblebee fired at Skyquake's back, catching the large Seeker by surprise. He whirled around, his blaster reloaded and ready. With each fire he made, Bumblebee avoided being hit. He jumped from wall to wall within the canyon, avoiding fire. Eventually, one hit Bumblebee, sending him crashing to the ground.

Primrose jumped forward and she grabbed Skyquake's blaster. Skyquake grabbed Primrose and threw her aside.

"Do not miss a single moment, Soundwave!" Starscream instructed, "We shall need visual documentation of Optimus Prime's demise for the historical record!"

Optimus and Skyquake punched at each other, both bots often missing and hitting again and again. When Skyquake knocked Optimus back, Bumblebee and Primrose got up beside their leader.

"He can't transform yet?" Bumblebee asked, confused. "Skyquake has not yet acquired a vehicle mode," Optimus said.

Skyquake charged at the three bots. "Fall back!" Optimus exclaimed. Before Skyquake could swing at the three Autobots, they quickly transformed into their vehicle forms and drove away.

“So time has made you a coward, Prime?" Skyquake called after him as he fired a few more shots from his blaster.

◊◊◊◊

"Let's see. Where is it?" Ratchet muttered as he used his blowtorch to assemble Raf's volcano.

"Um...what is it?" Raf wanted to know.

"You'll find out," Ratchet answered.

"But Ratchet, shouldn't I be doing the work?" Raf protested.

"Zep-yip-yip-yip! Don't touch! Just watch and learn!" Ratchet said sternly as he shooed the twelve year old boy away.

"So we're just gonna help Jack and Miko finish theirs..." Bulkhead trailed off as he referred to himself and Arcee.

"Without my supervision?! You want them to be right, don't you?" Ratchet asked, causing Arcee and Bulkhead to look at each other and give small shrugs. "Then watch a master at work!" Ratchet said eagerly.

"Control freak," Miko murmured. "That's the understatement of the century," Jack huffed as he walked over to Paige who was messing with some wires. She had some scissors in her hand.

"Paige?" Jack called out. Paige jumped and she hit her head, making her yelp and she shouted in pain when the scissors cut her arm.

"Fudge nuggets it all! Jack, don't sneak up on me like that- especially when I'm lost in thought!" Paige snapped. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Jack exclaimed.

Ratchet, Bulkhead, Arcee, Raf and Miko hurried over to them. "What happened?" Ratchet asked.

"I accidentally scared Paige and she cut her arm," Jack said.

"Not to mention, I hit my head," Paige said. "What were you trying to do?" Bulkhead asked.

"Well I was trying to untangle some wires in the main wall because I figured that might give you some trouble," Paige said, "I had a toolbox stashed away."

"Let me see," Ratchet said as he activated his human form and he gently held Paige's arm, "it's a small cut, nothing major. I suggest you let me handle those wires from now on." He started to wrap her arm in some bandages.

"Sorry," Paige said, "thought I could help." "I appreciate that," Ratchet said with a soft smile and he looked at Paige.

She stared at him, her light brown eyes connecting with his light blue eyes. He stared at her, his face meters away from hers. He felt his human heart pounding against his chest and he felt his cheeks warm up.

Miko looked between the two and a sly smile appeared on her face. Paige's phone started buzzing and she picked it up out of her pocket.

She gave it to Ratchet who looked at the text message and his eyes slightly widened. The text was from Marcus and it said: 'make a move on my daughter and your spark is mine.' A shiver ran up the medic's spine and he sighed softly.

"Protective Dad?" Jack asked. "Yep," Paige giggled, "my parents have protective daddy and mommy senses- and they tingle."

"Remind me again as to why and how your parents know about us yet Ratchet and Optimus know them?" Bulkhead asked curiously. "They thought it'd be a good idea to tell me about my home planet," Paige said, "although it sounds weird, coming from me. Plus, Mom said that Ratchet and Dad met when Cybertron still had it's Golden Age. I don't know how to explain it myself."

◊◊◊◊

"We've lost sight of them! Soundwave, why aren't you tracking them?" Starscream screeched, "What? What is it?"

Soundwave was showing Starscream something else. A different map. It wasn't of the area they are currently watching Skyquake's battle with Optimus and Bumblebee. But a map of Earth and the space that surrounds it.

"A second Decepticon life signal? But Skyquake is the only sleeper buried in this area!" Starscream scoffed in disbelief as he studied Soundwave's map closer.

But Echo noticed something perculiar about the life signal. She knew that area well. After all, they were there just days ago.

"The sight of our destroyed Space Bridge! You're not telling us that life signal belongs to Megatron?" Starscream gasped as the realization dawned on them both, "but he was microns from the detination point! Nothing could have survived that blast! Your sensors must be faulty! Ignore the contact! Delete the coordinates!" Echo gave Starscream an icy glare which was quickly unnoticed.

"What am I saying? Of course it must be investigated! If Lord Megatron is up there, I shall bring him home. Soundwave, Echo, remain here and monitor the outcome. When Skyquake snuffs Prime's spark, I must bare witness," Starscream instructed.

With those words said, Starscream jumped into the canyon below. Once he was close to the ground, he transformed into his alternative jet mode and flew away from the canyon. Soundwave and Echo just stood by and watched him leave.

"Must bare witness," Soundwave repeated before he deployed Laserbeak and she flew up into the air.

◊◊◊◊

"Tango 6 Alpha to Station Command. We're picking up transmissions from unidentified technology. Possibly hostile. We are moving to investigate."

"Negative, Tango Six Alpha," Agent Fowler interrupted the communications between the two respective personnel, "This is Special Agent William Fowler intercepting. Strike your report from the record and abide origin coordinates. I'll take it from here."

◊◊◊◊

Down in the canyon below, the chase appeared to be working out in the favor of the Autobots. Primrose continued to drive around the canyon with Skyquake hot on her trail. However, Primrose eventually reached a dead end. Once she did, she transformed into her bipedal form.

"It will be a shame to crush you, young Prime. But it is my duty," Skyquake remarked.

Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of a truck horn behind him. He turned around and saw Optimus approaching him in his truck mode. Immediately, he started firing shots from his blaster. Whilst taking hits, Optimus transformed into his bipedal form and punched Skyquake in the face.

"Excellent strategy, Primrose," Optimus complimented his scout as Bumblebee drove up beside them.

Skyquake began to get up. "Skyquake, stay down," Optimus instructed as he retaliated with his own punch.

Bits of shrapnel broke off from Skyquake's face due to Optimus' punch. Skyquake fell to the ground weakened. Optimus, Primrose and Bumblebee stood above him. He appeared to be defeated.

"Fowler?" Optimus gasped as he looked up and saw a familiar fighter jet.

While Optimus, Primrose and Bumblebee were distracted, Skyquake looked up at the jet with a sinister grin. His eyes glowed green as he took in the appearance of the jet.

"Agent Fowler, fall back!" Optimus pleaded Fowler through their radio connection.

In his eyes were the designs of the fighter jet he had just scanned. Skyquake jumped above Optimus. Before either Optimus, Primrose, Bumblebee or Fowler could do anything about it, Skyquake was no longer in his bipedal form. But instead, he was in his recently-acquired alternative mode. His alternative mode was the jet Fowler was flying and Skyquake had scanned. He flew towards the skies at high speeds, intent on finishing his enemies once and for all.

"Well, I'll be a bald eagle!" Fowler remarked as he noticed Skyquake flying next to him.

"Air superiority achieved," Skyquake proclaimed as he fired shots at Optimus, Primrose and Bumblebee below him.

Immediately, Optimus, Primrose and Bumblebee started running for cover from Skyquake's shots. Needing more speed to do so, they transformed into their vehicle forms and sped away.

"Stealing plans for classified military aircraft will NOT be tolerated on my watch!" Fowler proclaimed as he fired shots at the phoney classified military aircraft.

To Skyquake, Fowler was now his new target of destruction. He fired a group of missles at the government agent. And they are no ordinary missles.

"HEAT SEAKERS!" Fowler gasped.

Fowler was now thankful of his intense compulsory pilot training. With his special maneovers, he managed to avoid the missles. When he reached a dead end, he pulled up immediately. Below him, the missles flew into the rocky cliff face and exploded upon impact.

"I still got it," Fowler boasted rather proudly.

◊◊◊◊

Bits of shrapnel from the Space Bridge explosion remained in space, floating around Earth's orbit.

"No one could have survived this." Starscream said as he looked through the rubble. "As I suspected faulty sensors, the last thing I need now is rumors that Megatron is still..." A painful moan interrupted him and Starscream hesitantly found the source. Megatron's burnt body was present and still in one piece. Every bit of him was charred and black and he had scratches everywhere from his body. There was a large whole in the center of his chest, right where his spark should be. "Megatron.." Starscream said amazed. At the slightest touch Megatron reacted.

"AAARRGGHH!" He roared as he grabbed at Starscream, who's optics went wide with fright. He wasn't sure if Megatron recognized him or not, but just as quickly as the attack started it ended with Megatron going limp again.

"But how?" The seeker said puzzled, until he saw a familiar purple glow. "Dark energon." Starscream leaned into Megatron's unconscious form. "Everyone believes you are deceased, who am I to disappoint them...master." He slowly pulled out the shard and Megatron groaned in pain before collapsing again. "And this time stay dead." Starscream snapped before pushing off his body. Suddenly he heard the chittering sound of Laserbeak nearby as the minicon flew over to Starscream and Megatron.

"Soundwave!" Starscream gasped as he hid the Dark Energon shard, "If you are listening, I have found Lord Megatron. And he is...unwell. We must transport him to sick bay...immediately!"

◊◊◊◊

Down in the canyon, the chase continued involving Optimus, Primrose and Bumblebee on the ground and Skyquake and Fowler in the air. Optimus, Primrose and Bumblebee narrowly avoided every shot Skyquake fired. One missle came too close for Optimus' liking. It sent him flying through the air. Optimus transformed into his bipedal mode to prevent potential self-harm.

But Skyquake ignored the Prime. He continued going after Bumblebee and Primrose. They continued to drive through the canyon with Skyquake flying close behind them firing shots from his blasters. Eventually, Primrose drove around a corner and Bumblebee drove up a hill at high speeds, causing him to fly over the top of the hill. Midair, Bumblebee transformed into his bipedal mode and ran across the hot, sandy ground underneath his feet. Skyquake flew above the gap of the canyon.

Bumblebee jumped from the edge of the canyon and landed on top of Skyquake. Immediately, the jet began flying out of control, randomly knocking Bumblebee into cliff faces in the process. From the ground, Optimus witnessed the events between the two. And he immediately knew that Bumblebee would need further support.

"Agent Fowler, we acquire immediate assistance!" The Prime said.

Bumblebee was punching Skyquake and ripping out bits of wiring vital to his bodily functions. Bumblebee's actions sent Skyquake into a crash dive, rapidly approaching the ground below. Immediately, Fowler was hot on their tail.

Bumblebee looked to Fowler and buzzed and beeped his thanks.

"Anytime, fella. Ground floor's coming up fast!" Fowler remarked.

Bumblebee jumped from Skyquake and landed on top of Fowler's jet. Immediately, Fowler pulled up to avoid crash-landing alongside Skyquake. The smoking Decepticon jet continued his crash dive towards the ground.

From the ground, Optimus watched as Skyquake landed nearby with an exploding bang. The burning jet skidded along the desert ground before coming to a stop a few feet away.

"Happy landings, 'Con," Fowler wished cockily.

Fowler flew his jet near the edge of the canyon so Bumblebee could jump off. Once Bumblebee was off of the jet, Fowler flew away. Bumblebee stood by the edge and observed the still-smoking remains of Skyquake. Eventually, he climbed down to meet up with Optimus and Primrose. Together, the three watched as the red optics of Skyquake went dark and his spark gave out.

"Had Skyquake chosen to stray from his master's path, we might not be burying him today," Optimus remarked.

Primrose stared at Skyquake's body and she clenched her fists tightly. Bumblebee glanced at her.

Soundwave and Echo watched the three Autobots from their spot on the canyons. Echo looked to Soundwave, a familiar look in her optics.

Soundwave only transformed into his aerial form and flew up into the air. Echo watched her brother for a moment and she looked back at the Autobots and Skyquake. She shut her optics tightly, holding back tears that threatened to form before she transformed into her aerial form and flew after Soundwave.

◊◊◊◊

"Bumblebee, putting yourself at risk was perhaps not the wisest of strategies. But you performed admirably," Optimus complimented Bumblebee after Ratchet finished checking him over for injuries.

Bumblebee bleeped to Optimus his thanks for the compliment as he stepped out of the chamber. Ratchet laughed gleefully as he heard the sounds of car horns from the hallway. Bulkhead and Arcee had returned with the kids. Jack and Paige hopped off of Arcee while Miko and Raf climbed out of Bulkhead and the two transformed into their bipedal forms.

"There you are! Well, how were my – I mean, our – projects received?" Ratchet asked eagerly.

"Well...," Raf trailed off.

◊◊◊◊

"Miss Nakadai, what planet would that be?" Mr Capizzi asked, referring to the model Miko displayed.

"Um...Cybertron?" Miko answered nervously.

Just as she answered the question, the metallic planet fell off the wire holding it up and rolled around the classroom, causing many kids to jump up in fear.

◊◊◊◊

"It's large, Mr Darby. But is it operational?" Mr Capizzi questioned nervously.

Jack hit the button and the machine went wild. It even left the classroom to terrorize the kids who were unfortunate enough to have free period at this time.

◊◊◊◊

"I hesitate to ask, Mr Esquivel. But is it active?" Mr Capizzi whimpered.

To answer his question, Raf pressed the button that activated the electrical volcano. It almost destroyed the entire school.

◊◊◊◊

"Well, on our planet, you would have been awarded the highest honor!" Ratchet snapped before walking away grumbling, "Absolutely no credit whatsoever."

"Speaking of highest honors," Arcee smirked as she glanced at Paige.

"Why are you guys looking at me?" Paige asked nervously.

"I don't believe it. My best friend has forgotten that she was awarded the highest grade in the entire school!" Jack exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Ratchet screeched before promptly fainting.

"I only introduced and showed my painting and constellations and galaxies to the teachers," Paige said, blushing and smiling shyly, "especially my favorite constellation: Orion and Cassiopeia."

"So what are you guys going to do next year?" Primrose asked them with a smirk.

"They should've strayed from Ratchet's path," Bumblebee bleeped.

"Indeed, Bumblebee. Our human friends would have been wise to stray from Ratchet's path like Paige did," Optimus agreed.

"Hey. You made Ratchet faint! I LIKE THIS GIRL!" Bulkhead proclaimed, causing everyone except Optimus and Ratchet to laugh.

"What happened to your arm, Paige?" Optimus suddenly asked, noticing the white material covering Paige's arm.

"She was surprised by something and cut her arm with a pair of scissors," Jack said, "Aunt Tasha had to put some alcohol on it and wrap it up even more."

"What?!" Optimus exclaimed. "I'm okay," Paige quickly reassured him, placing her hand on his digit, "you're starting to act like my Mom."

Optimus only vented, blowing gentle and warm air against the girl, making her laugh and she hugged his digit.

After the events, Optimus gave Paige a lecture about safety and she half listened and half smiled at the Prime. She was thinking of the last night memory of her parents talking to her about her second planet and how it had become desolated when Cybertron became dark.

"So you met Orion Pax and Megatronus when you were at least my age?" Paige asked her dad curiously. Marcus chuckled and gave a small nod.

"I was at least twenty-one when the War started," Marcus said, "Orion Pax became Optimus Prime. And Megatronus became Megatron."

"So... what are we?" Paige asked, looking to her mom. Tasha smiled softly, "we're Galatrians. And we're very special Magic users. We got along with Cybertronians very well. At least... up until the War began. Galatrians, along with many other Magic users, were either captured or killed by Decepticons and many went into hiding or just disappeared."

"There were many Magic Users we had met just like your parents," Ratchet said, "there was one named Kaitlin Elisabeth Prime."

Paige blinked in surprise and she looked to Optimus who gave a solemn smile. "What was... what was she like? Did you meet her?" Paige asked.

Tasha and Marcus nodded. "We did. She was an amazing and brave Irilian. Even Megatron loved her and she loved him," Tasha said, hugging her daughter close, "and I bet she would've loved to meet you."

Paige smiled softly and she looked at her markings. "What magic can I do?" She asked curiously. "You can do what many Galatrians can do," Marcus chuckled, "your eyes may be light brown but when you use your powers, they change to ruby red. Those are your Galatrian eyes."

"Show us some magic Paigey!" Miko said excitedly. Paige smiled nervously before she closed her eyes in concentration. The markings glowed sapphire blue and apparitions of Sky Children appeared around the base.

Tasha chuckled and shook her head with amusement. Paige smiled softly as a Sky Child walked up to her and gave a happy musical sound.

Paige giggled happily and clapped her hands together with delight. Optimus smiled softly.

After Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead took their charges home, Paige had fallen asleep on the couch and Tasha drove into the base, silently parking her truck on the side.

"Optimus?" Tasha called out, making the Prime and Ratchet look at her.

"Paige insisted on sleeping over tonight," Ratchet said. Tasha chuckled softly, "I see. I actually wanted to talk to you both."

"Of course," Optimus said as he knelt down in front of her.

"If Megatron was found by his... followers, is it possible that he knows about my family?" Tasha asked. "That will not happen," Ratchet said firmly.

Tasha looked over at the still sleeping Paige, "my daughter is no Kaitlin. She's no bright blue dragoness. She's no Valentine."

"Megatron may or may not know that," Optimus said, "he knows the history between you and him. He knows the history between him and your mother." Tasha gripped her arm tightly at the mention of her mother.

"I am not losing anyone else," Tasha said darkly, "I don't care what it takes. I will fight Megatron till my last breath."

"Let us not focus on that now," Optimus said firmly, "focus on your daughter. The only child you have ever brought into this Earth- she needs you."

"And she needs you," Tasha said firmly, placing her hand on Optimus' digit, "just as you will grow to need her." Marcus picked Paige up into his arms and walked over to the truck.

Tasha turned and walked after Marcus but she paused. "Optimus," she said, "no matter what happens... do not let Paige's darkness take a hold of her."

Optimus stared at her for a moment before he gave a small nod. With that, Tasha got into the truck and she drove out of the base.

◊◊◊◊

"The troops will be pleased to hear of our success in rushing Lord Megatron into stasis. Let us hope that our master pulls through," Starscream said. Echo stood in the medlab, staring at Megatron coldly.

Her leader was hooked up to life support cords. No matter what, she was going to guard her leader. Especially from Starscream.

◊◊◊◊

Starscream and Soundwave walked into the control bridge. Starscream paused when he saw a cloaked figure.

"Reveal yourself!" Starscream snapped, "Decepticons, attack!" The Vehicons didn't move an inch.

A dark chuckle came from the cloaked figure. "I'm surprised you think that they would follow your orders, Starscream," the voice said, "you truly have forgotten who I am."

The figure removed her cloak and Starscream widened his optics. A bright orange and white femme with yellow highlights turned to them, her fiery orange optics glowing.

"I have heard of Lord Megatron's... steady recovery," she said calmly, "and while he is in recovery, I shall lead the Decepticons... unless anyone has a problem with that."

Soundwave didn't say anything but the femme somehow knew his answer. The Vehicons in the control bridge stayed silent. Starscream's wings twitched and he lowered his helm.

The femme smirked and turned back to the large screens, clasping her servos behind her back.

#fanfiction #transformers prime #my ocs #self insert #the girl among the gods

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