#lloyd my beloved child

[phoebepheebsphibs]

UPDATED AND REDESIGNED CHARACTER SHEETS FOR THE FUTURE AND A ROBOT CHARACTERS!!

The Future and a Robot is my original series that I plan to animate soon/eventually.

The series follows two kids — er, one kid and one robot — who by accident activate a strange device which portals them into a distant land of archaic culture, odd lore, and major historical events — the 90’s! The two meet a young boy and his family, and lodge with them until they can figure out how to return home… but that’s a story for another time. And now, to (re)introduce the main cast!

First up, Lloyd the Android!

Lloyd is… well, a robot. An android, to be specific (he gets very particular about that distinction)! Lloyd is sweet, goofy, incredibly innocent and unfortunately as naive as a newborn baby. Lloyd’s name is actually an acronym: Life-Like- Optimized Youth Droid. Designated as Julia’s companion and protector, Lloyd finds himself suddenly in a new (or rather, old) century with people that he comes to love just as much as his creator. However, what with being a highly advanced piece of technology, Lloyd is now made to keep his mechanical origins a secret. Only Julia, Harris and the Smith family know that he’s not actually a human. But can he keep up the charade?

Coming in hot — Julia Gonzales!

Meet Julia Gonzales, a preteen genius with some minor anger issues and misguided goals. But don’t let her salty demeanor fool you, she’s just a kid burdened with a heavy backstory… plus a silly android that she has to wrangle out of danger far more often than she’d like to. Julia prefers to maintain the edgy punk motif, but in reality she’s a chaotic and nerdy gamer with way too much time on her hands. She loves all things technology — programming, engineering, coding, building, inventing, etc. However, the 90’s prove to challenge her patience as she struggles to rediscover herself while also finding a way back home… After all, she still has a mission to finish.

Put your hands together for Harris Smith!

Harris Smith is a young lad who lives in the quiet and unassuming town of Westfield. However, his quiet life is upturned in the most fantastic of ways when he finds Julia and Lloyd! Instantly enamored and amazed, Harris convinces everyone to let the two quirky kids stay at the Smith home until they can find a way to send Julia and Lloyd back to the year 2485. Harris, a hickish boy with a mullet, very few friends, and an interest in computers, immediately befriends the time travelers and begins the start of his new life of adventure and amazement! Harris loves having Julia show him her cool futuristic tech, and he will often take the time to help teach Lloyd what being a human is like.

Up next, we present Imogen Love Davies!

Imogen Love is a sweet young girl who befriends Lloyd and the rest, though she and Lloyd are the closest of the group. She has no idea that Lloyd is an android, nor that he is absolutely 100% head-over-heels in love with her. Imogen is very artistic, she loves to draw and tries to inspire Lloyd just as much as he inspires her. She carries around a small fanny-pack-purse-thing that somehow always has whatever she needs inside. Drawing supplies? Check. Water? Check. A bungee cord? Why not. It’s Batman’s utility belt, Milo Murphy’s backpack, Wander’s hat, you get the idea. Imogen Love truly lives up to her name, showing kindness to everyone. And maybe a lil’ extra for a certain someone she’s quite fond of…

And now, the villainous duo of Ms. Delilah Emelyn and Dr. Alger "J"!

Ms. Emelyn is an entrepreneur with a dream to create the next big product line! But what could it be? After witnessing a strange metal boy, she decides that she has to find the robot again and mass produce him at any cost! By her side is her faithful engineer and technician, the reserved Dr. J. The antagonistic duo will stop at nothing to find the mystery robot that resides in this quaint little town.

And last, but not least… Aiva the Android!

A.I.V.A. (Artificially Intelligent Virtual Assistant) is the bootleg creation of Ms. Emelyn and Dr. J, though this happens a bit later in the series. She’s new to having a humanoid form, and spends most of her time discovering what humanity is like. She serves her creators in their escapades to capture Lloyd once and for all, while trying to figure out who she is and what she wants from existence.

There are plenty more characters within the story — Mr. and Mrs. Smith, several kids from school, bad guys from the future, etc. Maybe I’ll share the rest some other day (like when I finish their turnarounds, lol), but for now I think a small taste is best and I cannot wait for the day when I get to introduce the rest of the story!!

[morroodle]

So recently I started a new, ninjago themed playthrough of my beloved Cult of the Lamb and it has led to some very funny things

Kai got that quest line thing where you make another follower eat poop 2 times then imprison them then kill them and it was targeted at Garmadon. Cannon.

They are friends :D

My wife <333 (she fits as Leshy so well!)

Yea that fits

Green cousins got drunk then Wu died of old age and they immediately started fighting. I broke them up and they fought again. Repeat 2 more times. This has got to be the most cannon thing that has happened

On one of my runs I ended up with the ax and a x2 attack speed buff and it was so overpowered cause I could hit hard as fast as I could click. The next run I ended up with 7 demons. This game is great!

Don't have pictures of it but I have begun breeding followers. Zane and Pixal made Minipix and then I bred Cole and Jay (I was NOT intending to keep the egg I just needed some yolks and they were compatible) but then they gave me my first golden egg so i made Joel the usher robot from the nightmare love triangle in season 3. Once I get a Geo I will be making the finder childeren :D also I had to wait a while to get Lloyd because I specifically wanted him to be the child of Garmadon and Misako and it took me forever to unlock the mating tent.

And finally: the event my followers (the ones who survived) my followers will forever remember as the great abaabandonment. I'm not actually sure what happened but i think the game might have somehow remained unpaused while I was eating dinner and looking at bedframes. I didn't notice when I got back until I got a notification that The Overlord (what I renamed The One Who Waits aka a follower who is supposed to be IMMORTAL) died. At that point I fucking booked it back and returned to find an absolute disaster

A total of 15 followers died. The only ones who survived were Wu and Garm, the ninja and Morro (aka the important ones). Wu, despite being a disciple, was dissenting. 2 followers had already dissented enough that they ran away and I got a notification that if I didn't fix things FAST then half of my remaining followers would also leave. There were so many corpses. I still haven't recovered. I am so sorry my babies.

I have a spreadsheet of all my followers and all the ninjago characters I plan to make into followers. Top half is good guys, bottom half is bad guys, green is alive and red is dead.

I'm waiting to do the serpentine until after I unlock the snake follower form but in order to do that I have to find all the lore and I have found none of it despite thoroughly beating the game ;-;

Anyway I'm having fun. I'll update with any future shenanigans.

[lloydfrontera]

One of the most annoying missed opportunitis in TGED in my opinion is the complete lack of a relationship between Javier and Marbella. Like yes Arcos was the one who saved him, but he has way more in common with Marbella. They were both commoners, they were both saved at a young age from absolutely abhorrent fates by Arcos, and most importantly, neither of them have no connection with their parents or any outside support system. (Javier's parents are dead, but we don't know what happened to Marbella's family/friends after the mercenaries sacked their village).

I just think it's really out of character for Marbella to see this kid her beloved husband brings home one day, whom she can see has witnessed the same horrors and born the same heartache as she at a far younger age, and not do everything in her power to help him? To track down recipes from his home region, to soothe him when he had nightmares, encourage him to make friends with Julian, and just overall hold his hand through everything as he adjusts to a world that is so alien compared to everything he's ever known.

And just imagine the angst. For the first time since her marriage, if not her rescue, Marbella has someone in her life that shares so much of her childhood experiences and background. (At least who isn't being paid to hang out with/serve her). But she never feels like she can keep him. At first they were merely waiting for next of kin to come claim him. But by the time they realized no one was coming, it was clear to them that Javier was going to be the greatest swordsman the world had ever known. He would have to leave one day, if not for his own glory then for the sake of the helpless across the continent. He was never meant to be her child. (Or so she thought).

Plus Javier's entire character arc revolves around him slowly realizing that love and duty are not mutually exclusive. This could have been reenforced by his relationships with Arcos and Marbella. He's devoted to Arcos because he admires and respects him as his savior and lord, but also as a genuinely good person who helped him grow into the man he became. But he loves and respects Marbella because she was the one who made him feel safe and not alone when he was at his most vulnerable. (Not to say that Arcos didn't try, he just never lived through what they did so it was harder for him to connect to him.)

Maybe the reason he has a seemingly closer relationship with Arcos is because he thinks it's a simpler relationship. Just a lord and knight, nothing else. (I think it would be really funny if Javier was only aware of his filial pining towards only half of the Frontera couple.)

I think I lost my train of thought halfway through this post but tldr; Javier should have been a secret mommas boy.

personally i think javier is just lacking in relationships in general. like. this man barely talks to anyone who isn't lloyd. the only two other people i think he's close to is arcos and julian which does make his lack of relationship with marbella more conspicuos!

i've talked before about just how out of character it feels for the fronteras to not really have a more personal relationship with javier considering the literally everything about them, but you make a great point that javier is pretty close to arcos while he barely has any interaction to marbella. which personally i think it's because bk moon is allergic to writing women sometimes and arcos is just more integral to the plot than marbella unfortunately :/

but if we're talking in-universe explanations it could totally be what you said! javier probably just found it easier to connect with arcos, because he already had that lord&knight connection with him.

he was in a very tenuous situation when it came to his place with the fronteras, because there was really nothing tying them together when he was a child beyond their goodwill. becoming a knight to the frontera family is cementing his place with them in a way no one could really deny. it made it real even if it's not really what he (or them) wanted it to be.

(i've also talked about this before. i've talked a lot about tged OTL)

but this also comes with the drawback that now they're stuck in their roles in a way they weren't when javier was just the child they'd raised. now he is a knight, they are his masters and there's a degree of separation between them that wasn't there before.

and with arcos javier at least has the excuse of being his knight to justify his closeness. but with marbella?? he doesn't have a 'reason' to be close to her. so he isn't.

but i really do adore the idea of them having their own relationship with each other <333. i'm holding your entire ask close to my heart and never letting go <3333

[sepublic]

Confession: When I watched Ninjago S2, I didn’t know what hemorrhoids were (obviously, I was a child) so when Mother Doomsday called our beloved Green Ninja “Lloyd Hemorrhoid Garmadon” I was confused to what “Hemmroid” meant. So I assumed it was a nickname and it technically was, but then went further when writing my Lloyd Garmadon prequel set during his time at Darkley’s.

My assumption was that Hemmroid was a geek name, based on a fictional language from Star Farer. And while Lloyd was christened Hemmroid in fan solidarity, his friends were given their own strange names. I played this straight for a while in Lloyd and Doomsday’s interactions, never knowing.

I posted this whole bit on the Lego Messageboards without knowing and without anyone correcting me because they didn’t know, or they were moderators who either didn’t make the connection because they hadn’t watched the show, or couldn’t just explain it to me. Nor could they disapprove my post because I technically didn’t mention Hemorrhoids. And anyhow if it was deemed alright for the show, why not the Lego Messageboards???

[therealvinelle]

You mentioned Love never dies in one of your recent podcast episodes. I would love to hear if you have any more thoughts about that you would like to share here?

Oh little do you know.

@theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin and I first watched Love Never Dies when Andrew Lloyd Webber released musicals for COVID, it was instantly the most incredible thing either of us had ever seen and we watched it again as soon as Muffin came online the next day.

We have since rented it, rewatched it before the 48 hour rent period expired, and I think watched it a fifth time somehow though I don't recall the details for it. It's... very possible we watched it thrice that rent period. One of them was broadcast to the Rank Heresy discord server, so it did have a purpose, we just... also rewatched it...

Love Never Dies is the single funniest, most delightful, most entertaining and glorious musical we have ever seen. Everything about it, from the uncomfortable incest anthem, to TEN YEARS OOOOOOOOLD, to the nonsensical "Devil takes the hindmost!" leitmotif (thought I was having an English fail, but no, Muffin had no idea what that meant either), to the Phantom's great artistic vision being a Coney Island circus extravaganza where girls sing about swimsuits, to said extravaganza hemorrhaging money so Meg has to prostitute herself to keep the lights on, to Christine dying at the end and Ralph says to the child he raised, "Aight son, hope you like phantoms because you'll be living with one from now on. Kk bye", to ALW being so mad the ugly guy he projected on lost the girl that he wrote the whole thing in the first place (um actually Christine loved the Phantom so after the ending scene where she chose Raoul she actually ran back into the opera basement, made love to the Phantom, then ran back again to Ralph. It was a night of passion and the song about it will take ten minutes. Beneath a Moonless Sky, my beloved. Also Raoul is a stupid idiot who spent all his money and Christine regrets everything).

And yes, the above list was only going to be a few lines long but I couln't stop naming beautiful things I loved.

Oh my goodness, another thing I almost forgot (which is sayign something!): the Phantom finds out Christine and Raoul have a child, his immediate response is "Ah, yes, it would be a shame if something... happened... to that child..."

Proceeds to get the child on his own while his parents are distracted, only the child starts playing the piano... my god... the child is ten years old... MY GOD...

This is where we get the incest anthem, the Phantom drops the infanticide plans and starts serenading his son about the beauty underneath, a terrible intense impulse you must follow, and desires we deny ourselves, how his son will accept and embrace it, and... the lyrics are just so bad, alright, and the acting somehow made it worse. Watch at your own peril.

Wild fucking ride.

[axicallian]

Starstruck [Ninjago x Male Reader]-Child's Play

The ninja were extremely ecstatic to have their beloved Bounty back. The group worked tirelessly to return the ship to its original state, repainting, restyling, ect. Kai, Zane, Cole, and Jay got their room back, which no longer seemed cramped compared to the tiny apartment.

Having their home back gave Zane a sense of ease and normalcy.. until night. He was laying on his back in his bunk bed, just staring up. Something was missing. After some time, he didn't know how long but it felt like forever, he sat up and got out of bed. His light footsteps pattered against the polished wood halls. He came up to M/n's door and just stared. His heart ached to cuddle with the dragon but his mind raced with 'what-ifs'. His hand moved involuntarily and gently turned the handle, pushing it open. He could see the shadow of the hybrid sitting up, not startled but not groggy, almost as if expecting the Nindroid or maybe experiencing the same thing they felt.

"Zane," his angelic voice snapped them back to reality. They were now face to face, soft eyes barely visible in the darkness.

M/n's gentle hands grazed his as he slowly led them back to his bed. The Nindroid climbed in bed after him and they cuddled up together.

"I missed this," the dragon purred contently.

"Me too. You make me feel so.." Zane breathed gently, "alive. I want to stay like this forever.."

M/n rubbed his head against the robot's jaw like a cat. When he brought his head up their faces were close, breaths mixing together.

"Can I.. kiss you?" the hybrid whispered. Zane only nodded in reply.

Their lips met with gentle resolve, warmth blossoming in both their chests. M/n's hand raised to cradle the back of Zane's head while gently playing with the baby hairs on their neck.

The two pull apart with a pant, eyes slowly opening to meet each others' gazes.

"Do that mean my feelings are reciprocated?.." Zane asked in a hushed tone.

M/n's face broke out in a giddy smile, reflecting the warmth he felt inside, "yes." The dragon placed a affectionate kiss on the Nindroid's nose, "now go to bed, Zane," suggested gently, cuddling closer under the blanket.

~

Lloyd looked out longingly off the side of the Bounty at the children of a village below playing ball. The boys kicked the ball, laughing and tackling each other before finally scoring. The Green Ninja sighed as he grasped the yellow railing.

"Lloyd? Lloyd!" Kai's voice broke through his thoughts, demanding, "Concentrate!"

The blonde boy looked back at the ninja with a frown.

"Now that the Bounty is in our possession again, we can train you more effectively," Zane encouraged, "But you'll have to focus. One more time."

"But we've been training all day," Lloyd complained, throwing his hands in the air.

"It's all to get you ready to face your father. Now, in position," Cole commanded.

The boy deflated with a sigh and an unenthusiastic 'whatever.' He uninterestedly sauntered into the middle of the deck, letting out a dramatic yawn before getting into a lazy fighting position.

The four ninja posed in front of the green one. Kai leapt forward first, going for an obvious kick. The move left him completely open and vulnerable, so Lloyd simply punched him away. The hothead landed roughly on his back, giving a look to his comrades. The Blue and White ninja lunged forward simultaneously; Lloyd spun into a flash a green. He met the two midair and pushed them onto the wood deck. Cole, from behind, knocked the child's feet out from under him and sent him into the air with a surprised yelp.

Instead of crashing back onto deck Lloyd was surprised to find himself floating above the ship. The sound of wings flapping directed everyone's attention upward. M/n flew above deck holding the blonde boy by his underarms giving a concerned look. He gently lowered them back to the floor, setting Lloyd down on his feet.

"Are you alright?" the dragon asked with his hands on the boy's round cheeks. He smiled and nodded, "yeah!"

M/n spun around the face the other ninja, "you're supposed to train him, not kill him!"

Kai stepped forward, "Well you're treating him like a kid."

"He is a kid," M/n sighed.

Lloyd broke the serious air, "M/n! The latest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix! It might sell out though because it's on limited run. I need to know what happens to Fritz Donnegan!"

"The fate of Ninjago rests on your shoulders. As the Green Ninja, you have a giant responsibility to hold," Kai chastised, causing Lloyd to deflate into a pout and hold to M/n for reassurance, "I'm sorry, but you don't have time for such childish things."

"Other kids get to play and have fun. All I ever do is train," the boy complained, still clinging to the dragon.

The ninja glanced at each other before their attention was turned toward Nya who hurried on deck in a panic. M/n scooped the boy up and sat him on his hip now that his comrades were distracted.

"Guys, there's been a break-in at the Ninjago CityMuseum of History and the security cameras picked up you-know-who!" she exclaimed.

"Garmadon!" Cole growled.

"We have to stop him before he uses the Mega Weapon to start another one of the diabolical plots," Jay declared dramatically.

Lloyd turned to M/n with big emerald eyes. The dragon ran his nails through the boy's hair, "We'll go get that comic after we finish dealing with this, okay?" he reassured gently. The Green Ninja only nodded his head and let himself be placed back on his feet to allow M/n join his comrades.

The ninja parked their Bounty in order to dismount the ship and pilot the Sonic Raider. M/n didn't really feel like flying or transforming just to fly into Ninjago City so he and Zane sat in the same compartment, the Nindroid grinned giddily as they chatted between themselves. As Kai entered his seat he turned to his sister looking at him from the deck, "We'll meet up at the Bounty as soon as we're done."

"We'll be waiting for your safe return," Nya waves as the vehicle speeds off.

Lloyd sighed from behind her, "Too old for comic books and too young to fight. When are the ninja gonna make up their minds?"

"Come on, pint size. Show me what you got," Nya encouraged with a competitive smile

~

That night the ninja and M/n stood on the roof of the museum, the dragon was now clad in a new outfit similar to the ninja gi but it was (colors) and gold embroidery on the sleeves. The outfit was meant to allow him more stealth than his normal outfit.

Jay let a rope hang down from the roof and gripped it, slowing letting himself slide down, Kai next, then Zane, Cole, and finally M/n. The group landed on a ledge outside of a window, waited for the Lightning Master to slide the glass open before gently climbing through. They quietly made their way to the railing that overlooked the main area and crouched down. The group watched as the Serpentine generals slithered through the doors holding their staffs and flashlights.

"Boy, did they get that wrong!" Scales commented loudly as he observed an old art piece depicting anatomically incorrect Serpentine.

"Why would we come to a museum if we weren't going to steal anything from it?" the Venomari complained as the approached a golden sarcophagus.

"Because Master Garmadon," one of Fangtom's heads started and the other finished, "has another plan to destroy the ninja."

"'Master Garmadon?' Ha! He's no master of mine," Scales mocked, "Since his so-called Mega Weapon has failed every time, I don't see why we don't call our own shots."

"Because this time I will not fail," Garmadon's voice echoed causing the Serpentine and ninja to turn their heads toward the noise. Skales flinched and dropped and staff and flashlight which landed perfectly to shine on the oni.

"Yes, Lord Garmadon," The leaders save for Skales chanted before bowing. The Hypnobrai looked around and sighed, reluctantly bowing as well, "Yes, Lord Garmadon.." The four rose and slithered closer to Garmadon with their subordinate snakes following in the background.

"Behold, Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus," Lord Garmadon announced, motioning to the fossil behind him, "otherwise known as the Grundle." M/n had heard of the Grundle, a vicious apex predator, he worried at what the oni might do with the bones. The Lord of Darkness continued, "Although now extinct, in its time, it was the most feared and dangerous creature in all of Ninjago, with claws that could slice through steel, heightened senses that could detect its prey from miles away. It could track the stealthiest of ninja, and once it had picked up your scent, there was no hiding from it."

Jay chuckled quietly, "Boy, am I glad we live in an age where we don't have to deal with those things."

"Thanks for the history lesson," Scales spat sarcastically, "but what are we gonna do with a pile of bones?"

"I am going to make it so the beast shall walk again," He declared.

The ninja and M/n glanced at each other with concern when Garmadon confidently turned toward the display and rose his Mega Weapon. "I'm not sure if he can really pull off such a stunt but we need to interfere before he proves if he can," M/n suggested to his comrades.

"Rise, Grundle, and feel the strength of the Mega Weapon! I wish to create the power to make you young. Turn back the clock so that you are no longer extinct," He commanded as lightning formed around his golden staff and dark purple smoke began engulfing the fossil, "but hungry, hungry for the ninja!"

"Damn it," M/n cursed, "I guess he wasn't lying.."

"Oh, no! He's bringing it back!?" Jay cried in a hushed voice.

"Not if we have any say in the matter," Zane reassured as he stood defiantly.

The rest of the ninja followed suit, standing on the rail to reveal themselves and weapons raised. M/n watches in confusion, wondering why they didn't sneak toward the skeleton instead.

"The ninja! Stop them!" Garmadon commanded, continuing to try to turn back time.

The ninja made their was toward the dead Grundle while spears were thrown their way and M/n, annoyed, followed behind.

"Rise, Grundle! Rise!" the oni demanded hastily.

"We can't let him finish. Go!" Cole yelled, not hesitating to leap onto the fossilized spine. Jay and Zane look at each other with a shrug before joining the Earth Master.

"Stop them!" Garmadon bellowed to his useless underlings.

"This is not a solid plan, Cole," Zane points out as the display of bones wobbles and struggles to keep form. The Serpentine poked their javelins at the teetering ninja, causing them to fall into a pile on the museum floor.

Kai and M/n locked eyes before the dragon took off into the air, swiftly grabbing the hothead. The duo avoided thrown weapons and shaking bones in order to get close, close enough to Garmadon for Kai to throw his sword and knock the weapon from the oni's grasp. The weapon discharged the built-up energy and disrupted the spell's process.

"Not again. Not again!" Garmadon shouted childishly.

Skales taunted, "And you said it wouldn't fail."

"Retreat!" he growled in response, picking up the Mega Weapon and facing the ninja, "Curse you, ninjas!" he whined before running off.

"We stopped them," Jay laughed, "Well, I thought we handled that well."

M/n's ears perked at a small scraping noise and whipped around to see the four Serpentine generals lifting the golden sarcophagus, "Hey! Stop!" he demanded, giving chase.

The snakes quickly slithered through the back doors and into the street with M/n hot on their tails. As soon as the dragon felt the cool air on his skin he took to the chill sky. "After them!" he heard Kai exclaim as he exited the building after him. The hybrid continued to fly after the generals but his body felt increasingly heavy and he felt dreary as if he needed a nap. The Serpentine escaped down a manhole before his eyes could process. He landed back on the ground with a small stumble near his friends. He rubbed his eye with a yawn.

"I can't believe we couldn't catch up to them," Jay's unusually squeaky voice cried, "I'm usually faster than that. It's as if my legs were half the size.."

"I don't remember that thing being so big. Did it grow?" Kai wondered, staring at the sarcophagus propped against the building.

"Or did we shrink?" Zane suggested

"Uh, guys?" Kai pointed toward at their reflection in the glass across from them.

"Ahh! We shrunk!!" Jay squealed in terror.

"We're.. we're kids!" Kai exclaimed in surprise, whipping of his mask, the other doing so as well.

The four looked at each other and jumped back with a prolonged scream.

"Oh, oh, oh, this is bad! This is so bad on so many levels!" Jay yelled.

"Oh, it's impossible! We must be dreaming, Zane!" Cole declared, "Tell me we're dreaming!!"

"It is impossible to dream together. Perhaps Garmadon succeeded in turning back the clock, but instead of reviving the Grundal, it only affected us," The Nindroid suggested calmly.

"Yeah, but Nindroids don't turn into kids. Explain that, genius," Jay snidely replied.

"I've extended my logic parameters, but nothing is coming up. This does not compute!" Zane worried, his eye twitching emitting a spark.

"Guys, where's M/n?" Cole asked, turning circles to find his dragon companion. Kai took a step back and fell back on his ass. Underneath his legs, a lump of sleeping mass, M/n was curled up in a ball. The dragonette slowly raised his head with a yawn.

"M/n, are you alright?" Zane wondered after he helped Kai up.

In response he unfolded into a sitting position and looked up at the Nindroid with sleepy eyelids, giving a small nod. The baby dragon features were exaggerated, small wings and horns paired with a big tail and large, pointed, drooped ears.

"Oh, but I can't be a kid again! I hated being a kid!" Cole cried, memories that he tried so hard to suppress surfacing, turning the corner and walking toward the sarcophagus, "You can't drive, nobody listens to you! Oh, no.. bedtimes!!"

Zane helps the dragonette up to his feet before following his comrades toward the golden sarcophagus with M/n attached to his arm lazily.

"I told Nya we'd meet back at the Bounty. I'm sure Sensei will know what to do," Jay suggested.

Siren wailing echoed from a distance, quickly approaching. The police car came into sight and pulled up directly in front of the mini ninja, coming dangerously close. The headlights glared right into the group's eyes. The ninja shielded their eyes with their hands while M/n just squinted his eyes and wrinkled his nose in discomfort.

Two officers exit the vehicle with condescending laughter. "Well, well, what do we got here? Looks like we've caught our culprits to the museum heist," the officer wearing a hat chortled, "Who would have thought it was just a bunch of brats? What have you got on, Apple Dumpling Gang? Pajamas?" He and his partner cackled unprofessionally.

"These aren't pajamas! We're ninja!" Jay exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, and I'm Santa Clause," the other officer jeered.

"Ninja, go!" Kai shouted as he began spinning. Although he produced a few sparks he began to spin out of control and sent his friends, save for M/n who stood tiredly apart from the group, flying against the cop car. "Our Spinjitzu doesn't work! We're too small!"

"Easy, kiddo," the driver seemed relatively calm about watching a child produce sparks. He grabbed Cole, "You're coming with us to the precinct," and coaxed Kai toward the car with his other hand.

"Look officers, this has been a grave misunderstanding. My friends here and I are simply trying to help out," the hothead tried to reason.

"Hey, you can tell all the stories you want when we return to the museum tomorrow to explain why you stole this," the officer replied.

"But we didn't steal it," Kai argued.

"Zip it," the officer ordered.

The hat clad officer also escorted Jay and Zane to the backseat of the vehicle. The two cops look at each other before eyeing a the dragonette curiously. "Strange little guy, isn't he?" one of the officers cocked his head at the droopy-eyed kid. The other officer put his hand on M/n's back to try to direct his to the police car but out of nowhere he whipped around and latched to the cop's hand with his sharp teeth.

"Ow! Fuck!" he yelled, trying to reel his hand back but M/n was latched on. In a panic the other officer rushed to the dragonette and wrapped his arm around his neck and yanked, forcing M/n, coughing and hacking, to come unstuck from the other cop's hand. The injured cop ran to the vehicle trunk to retrieve containment devices while the other held tight against the dragon's trachea. The officers worked in tandem to clad M/n in a muzzle and cuffs and throw him aggressively into the backseat.

"You have your tetanus shot right?" one asked while bandaging the other.

"What?" the bleeding cop asked.

"Your tetanus shot, so that you don't get rabies," he clarified

The other sat in shock before yelling, "Tetanus is what you get from rusted metal you idiot!"

~

Kai, Jay, and Cole were bowed in front of the museum curator with the officers standing behind and Zane to the side. "We're sorry for stealing!" they chanted as one.

"But we didn't. I don't understand," the Nindroid said, confused.

Kai hissed, "Shh! The quicker we get out of here, the faster we can figure out how to return our bodies back to normal"

Zane realized the plan and dropped to his knees as well, "I'm sorry for stealing, too."

One of the cops spoke up to the curator, "I don't think you'll be getting an apology from him," motioning to the restrained dragon sat on a nearby bench.

"Thank you, little boys, for returning the sarcophagus," the old man smiled, "You did the right thing. But, what about the bones?"

Jay rose and sat on his knees, "What bones? We didn't steal any bones."

"The Grundal bones," the curator replied, pointing toward the empty display.

"The Grundal bones?" Jay parroted and turned toward the barren display, the ninja getting up to observe too, "They're gone! You don't think...?"

Kai finished, "It just walked out of here?.."

"Theoretically, it is possible that if Garmadon successfully reversed the years on us, he reversed the years on the Grundle and brought it back to life," Zane stated nervously

The mini Lightning Ninja whipped around toward the adults, "You guys have to believe us! The Grundle's been brought back to life and it's on the loose! It's sole existence is to hunt ninja, and as long as we're here, everyone's at risk!" he yelled and waved his arms erratically.

Laughing, the cops sat the four kids on the bench next to M/n, "Well, we'll keep a good look out for anything that goes bump in the night, okay?" they jeered. "Now, you five sit still until we call your parents to come pick you up." The officers left, chuckling among each other.

"We've gotta get out of here, right now," Cole commanded.

The group's eyes followed a horde of school children on a field trip. "Follow my lead, boys," Kai suggested under his breath, keeping an eye on the adults. The ninja and dragon hopped off the bench and follow the kids down the hall. The mini ninja looked through the students' bags for a change of clothes, they put the shirts and pants over their ninja gis in order to blend in.

"Oh, this is so humiliating," Jay whined, looking down at the butterfly shirt he acquired.

"I'm afraid if we can't use our Spinjitzu, we'll be no match for the Grundle," Zane worried.

"We have to get back to the Bounty," Kai demanded.

M/n let out a small squeak, nudging the Nindroid with the muzzle strapped to his face. Zane gave an empathetic look before unclicking the strap and removed the device. The dragonette purred happily and gave a spit of fire to melt the cuffs on his wrists.

~

Jay grunted as he reached for the telephone, he wobbled as he clicked numbers into the contraptions, begging, "Collect call, please." He put his ear to the phone and hissed to Kai and Cole who were holding him up to the telephone, "Hold me steady." Zane stood on lookout for passing adults or possibly the Grundle. M/n, on the other hand, was standing and staring at the others through the glass with his tail in his arms.

The phone continued to emit a ringing sound until—click "Destiny's Bounty," Lloyd's voice played through the phone.

"Lloyd, it's Jay! Let me talk to Sensei!" Jay exclaimed urgently.

"Jay? Where are you? Why haven't you returned?" the boy inquired, "Sensei's out looking for you."

"Apparently, you need parental permission to take the bus and we can't seem to get out of the city!" the Lightning Ninja squeaked.

"What about M/n?" Lloyd suggested.

"Ugh it's complicated," Jay groaned, "Just meet us at Buddy's Pizza in ten minutes. And bring our weapons."

"Weapons?" the boy parroted before a faint crash rung through the phone and Jay hung up.

~

The ninja sat at a booth, atmosphere filled with video game noises, kids giggling, and people chattering. Everytime the door opened they turned to see if it was Lloyd. The group talked amongst themselves as they waited for the blonde boy, "Really? Of all places we could meet, you pick this place?" Cole exasperated.

"What? I like their pizza," Jay shrugged.

Lloyd unknowingly walked past them and Kai whipped around to hiss at him, "Psst, Lloyd."

The blonde boy turns to the group of children with a confused look, not a spark of recognition in his eyes, "Beat it, brat, I'm on a mission," he retorted.

"It's me, Kai," the mini hothead growled back.

Lloyd took a second look at the younger kids claiming to be his comrades. When he recognized the hair and faces to truly be his friends he gasped and dropped the weapons in surprise with a loud crash. "What happened? You're small!" he yelled, causing everyone to stop and stare.

"Keep it down. We're trying to lay low," Kai whispered in return, "Your father's Mega Weapon not only to turn us into kids, but unleashed a creature whose sole purpose is to hunt down ninja."

"Typical Garmadon," Cole scoffed.

"And now, every time we try to tell someone they won't believe us, 'cause we're kids," Jay whined as Lloyd retrieved the weapons from the ground. The blonde boy chuckled, escalating into loud laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kai demanded, leaning toward Lloyd.

"Well, I guess you now know what it feels like to be treated differently because of your age," he commented and placed the weapons on the table in front of the boys, "speaking of you guys, where's M/n?"

"Under the table," Zane stated, causing Lloyd to raise a brow and look under the table to find a sleeping M/n curled up underneath.

Cole redirected the conversation, "Look, this is serious. If we don't turn big so that we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the Grundle."

"Well, what about me? I know Spinjitzu," the Green Ninja suggested.

"Yeah, but you don't know the Grundle. We all need to be at full strength. What we need to do first is to find someone who might know more about how to defeat one of those things," Kai stressed but Lloyd was noticing something else, a kid reading a Starfarer comic.

"Lloyd, focus," Cole chastised.

"I am. I think I know just the guy," Lloyd replied, leading the group out of the pizza diner.

~

Sleepy M/n had a hold of Zane's equally small hand to guide his groggy steps as they followed Lloyd through the streets of Ninjago City. The group followed the boy down stairs into a book store, Doomsday Comix. The boys look around confused, "You brought us to a comic book store?" Cole wondered.

"Trust me. If there's anyone who knows how to defeat a monster that shouldn't exist, I know just the person to talk to," Lloyd announced.

Kai grabbed the blonde's shoulder quite aggressively, "We're not coming to pick out your stupid comic, Lloyd! This is serious business."

M/n detached himself from the Nindroid and got between the hothead and Lloyd, giving the latter a hug and looked back at the former with distain. Even as a dragonette smaller than Lloyd, he still tried to defend him. Kai gave a small scoff and continued to follow the oldest boy.

They walked up to the front counter where a man with a brown slick back ponytail stood behind the counter, "Fellas, meet Rufus McCallister, AKA Mother Doomsday," Lloyd introduced.

"Well, if it isn't Lloyd 'Hemorrhoid' Garmadon," Rufus greeted with a smirk, "Sorry if you came looking for the lates 'Starfarer,' I'm all sold out."

"Wh—Sold out?!" he exclaimed, causing other customers to stop and stare before he recomposed himself, "Oh, actually, Mother Doomsday, we need help."

"Well, color me intrigued." (his voice is so hot btw)

"We have a problem. There's a Grundle on the loose and we need to know how to deal with it," Lloyd explained.

"Oh, a theoretical question," the storeowner presumed.

"Yeah, theoretical. Can you help?" the blonde agreed quickly, not wanting to draw suspicion.

Mother Doomsday lowered the high sitting chair he was on and hopped off to converse more with the group of boys, "Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus. Phew! Although extinct, there has been a plethora of film, television and comics exploring the mythology around the primordial predator." He walked over to a nearby bookshelf and picked up aa comic with the cover depicting the Grundle, "Supposedly, they always get their prey."

"Sounds like he knows his stuff," Kai commented.

"Can it be stopped?" Lloyd inquired.

"First thing you need to know is its thick shell-like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks, bows, and throwing stars. So your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow him down." Rufus noted, motioning to their in-fact real weapons.

"Swell," Cole groaned

"Second of all, it's nocturnal and will only hunt at night," Mother Doomsday stated.

"Oh, good. It's still daylight, so we can relax for a bit," Jay sighed. The comic store owner gave him a strange look before he added, "Uh, I meant theoretically."

"The only way to defeat it is with light," he put the Grundle comic down, "Like a vampire, with enough of it, it could potentially destroy him." He walked up to a display of strange weapons, "If I had my weapons of choice, may I recommend the Illuma-Sword?" Rufus opened the case to reveal swords that has light as the sharp metal of the sword. "These are authentic replicas that would come in handy were you to live long enough to actually face a Grundal. And if swords are your thing," he pointed to another display case which housed a red, white, blue, and black gi and M/n's outfit from the final battle with the Great Devourer, "maybe I can interest you in an authentic ninja gi signed by the very ninja that saved the city."

"Uh, we'll just take the light swords," Kai approached the open display before Rufus stopped him, saying, "Not so fast. This 'Starfarer' combo pack can only be won in the Fritz Donnegan Trivia Battle Royale." He challenged Lloyd, "You have what it takes to be the best?"

"You can do this, Lloyd," Jay encouraged.

The blonde boy gave a smile and demanded, "Sign me up."

The competition commenced with many of the kids who entered being quickly eliminated. The only two left were Lloyd and another fan dressed in 'Starfarer' merchandise. "It's down to the final two. This question is for Lloyd," Mother Doomsday announced. The crowd, especially the boys, cheered Lloyd's name loudly.

"What is Fritz Donnegan's famous catchphrase," Rufus inquired dramatically.

"'Fear? Fear is not a word from where I come from.'" Lloyd answered, striking a pose.

"Correct! We're all tied up!" the storeowner cheered, the crowd's yells growing louder. Zane glanced out the door nervously, "It's getting dark. The Grundal will be on the prowl soon." M/n attached himself to the Nindroid to comfort him.

"We should've just taken the Illumi-Swords," Kai grumbled before turning to Jay to eye him for loudly eat his cotton candy, "Is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?"

Jay retorted, "It makes me feel young. Deal with it."

"Final question. The first person to answer this will win," McCallister announced, "In the latest issue of 'Starfarer,' how did Fritz Donnegan escape the Imperial Sludge?"

Lloyd panicked, "But I haven't read the latest issue!"

"By reversing the polarity of the ship's gravity transducer," the other competitor answered.

"We have a winner!" Mother Doomsday shouted.

The boys looked around disappointed but felt a pit open in their stomachs when the lights flickered off with a distant rumble. The boys huddled together, feeling hopeless. M/n's tail wrapped around his friends, his protective nature always showing through.

"Who turned out the lights?" Rufus wondered, searching for the light switch on the wall.

The sign above the front of the store crackled with electricity before going dark and falling off the building. "It's here," Kai's shaking, quiet voice called through the dark room.

"What's here?" the storeowner inquired cautiously.

Jay chuckled nervously, "You know that theoretical discussion we had earlier?"

Thuds rang out from the glass roof, everyone's head snapped up to see the deep red claws of the Grundle walking across, leave sharp shatters in the glass and dripping toxic green saliva.

"Not the... Grundle!" Rufus exclaimed.

Zane exclaimed, "We've got to get out of here!" The kids began screaming and yelling, the mini ninja ran towards the door only to find it blocked by the debris. Zane tried to open the door but to no avail, "The door is jammed, we can't get out."

"Look! It's coming!" Jay pointed at the giant lizard walking past the other citizens toward them.

The glass panels shattered under its weight and the supporting metal gave way, letting the Grundle drop into the store behind the boys. M/n, who was in the back of the pack, turned around and put his effort into turning into a dragon. The dragonette was only able to manage to turn into the size of a large horse. The dinosaur-esque creature squared up with M/n, slicking its tail and breaking the display of the ninja outfits. 

"Quick! This way!" Jay shouted, running from behind M/n towards the outfits and Illumi-Swords. They changed into their proper outfits and clad themselves with the glowing weapons. "Hey, McNasty, I thought ninja were on your menu!" Cole jeered.

The Grundle turned to the mini ninja who wave the light swords in its face, causing it to back away and squeal uncomfortably. "It's working!" Jay cheered. They back it towards the door, waving the glowsticks. Jay leapt towards the monster and tried to strike it on the face but it swatted him away. Kai swiped next successfully hitting hitting it on the side of the snout. Cole slashed the hind leg and Zane struck the top of the head. When the boys regrouped all but Cole's sword had broken.

"Stupid toy!" Kai growled.

"We got a problem, guys," Jay worried.

The reptile slashed the boys into the register counter brutally before M/n leapt onto its back from behind. The dragonette did very little to damage it but gave the boys a distraction to regain themselves. Lloyd dramatically rose on the tall chair behind the counter, "Not to worry, I'll take care of this." He manifested his energy, producing bright light that irritated the Grundle who threw M/n from his back, smashing the desk to wooden splinters and knocked Lloyd onto the dragon. It approached the ninja as if approaching prey before M/n stood between them emitting a pathetic growl.

"This is the end, isn't it?" Cole whined, covering his eyes.

The door opened with a slam to reveal Nya with Master Wu following suit. "Everyone out!" she demanded, the citizens rushing out the door.

"Use this!" Wu commanded, throwing a bottle of purple substance into Jay's grasp.

"What is it?" Jay asked.

"It'll turn forward the hands of time, turning you old and reducing the Grundal back to dust and bones," Wu described and warned, "But be careful, there's no turning back."

The reptile grew impatient with the human babbling and aggressively roared at M/n who only returned a growl and swipe of his claws. "Grundal, prepare to be extinct!" Jay exclaimed, ready to use the tea.

Cole stopped him, "What will happen to Lloyd? He'll grow old, too."

"Just do it," Lloyd assured.

"You'll miss out on the rest of your childhood, dude," Jay countered.

"We can't do that to you. It's not fair!" Kai affirmed.

The Grundle struck M/n, making yelp and back up against the cornered ninja protectively. The dragon's hide bumped Jay's hand which dropped the mixture into Lloyd's lap. "'Fair? Fair isn't a word from where I come from.'" he quoted before hurling it toward the creature.

"He used it!" Wu gasped.

Purple mist began swirling the destroyed store and the Grundle could be seen returning to bones, blood and flesh evaporating, while it shrieked and the dragon growing to take up the entire store.

"And it's working!" Nya exclaimed.

The ninja arise, confused, each regaining their balance. "What happened? We're not kids anymore," Cole observed from their well-fitting suits. M/n lifted his head to notice he was sticking out of the broken glass roof.

"There's a dragon in my store," Rufus marveled before noticing, "They are the real ninja."

"What about Lloyd?" Wu worried.

M/n nudged the Green Ninja who stood up to reveal that he was now a similar age and height to the ninja. "I'm... older," he observed with his voice noticeably deeper.

"The time for the Green Ninja to face his destiny has grown nearer," Wu warned.

"I'm ready," Lloyd smiled.

M/n reverted into his human form with a sigh. He looked at the older blonde with watery eyes before embracing him and whispering, "I'm sorry." He would still protect him no matter what.

"It's okay, M/n," Lloyd insisted and joked, "I still wish I got the latest 'Starfarer' though"

The dragon approached the storeowner, "You have one on hold under 'M/n', right?"

Rufus laughed, "sure do!" and quickly retrieved it from the back. He handed it off to M/n who gifted it to Lloyd. "Don't worry, I'm looking out for you," the dragon grinned.

@sir-aadiboii new chapt aadi :3

[sfotiegiuls]

[Yellowstone Oneshot - Ryan]

Author’s Space

Hi there! I'm Giulia, and I'm Italian. This is my first time writing something in english, and the first time I write an Oneshot. This oneshot will be, obviously, entirely in English, but I want to let you know that my English isn't perfect. So…Please forgive me if there are any mistakes! Hope you enjoy it!

Grace Dutton was the youngest of all the Duttons, but unlike her siblings, she was the only one who had chosen to dedicate her life completely to the family ranch. It wasn't just a job - it was a true calling for her. You could say she was the pride of her father, John, who had always been incredibly attached to his land and his ranch, seeing in her the same deep, visceral love for that land that he himself felt. John was particularly proud of his daughter Grace, precisely because he recognized in her eyes that same spark of passion he had always had, saw how she fought tooth and nail to preserve and make the ranch prosper, just as he had done all his life. For years now, Grace had been begging her father to let her sleep with the other wranglers, since she was one of them in every way, but he, protective as always, didn't want to leave his little beloved daughter among those roughnecks, as he called them. "Dad, I can't go on like this," she told him one day, "working hard from dawn to dusk and then coming to sleep in my comfortable room while everyone else sleeps in their spartan quarters. It's not fair to all the other wranglers  who work just as hard as I do." She complained with a gentle smile, and her father, looking at her with eyes full of affection but also concern, sighed deeply. "Let's do this, honey. You can go sleep with them," he finally conceded, and Grace, happy as a child, stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek "but," he added in a serious tone, "you must tell me immediately if anyone tries to bother you. If you don't, I'll have to ask Rip to keep an eye on you, and you know how... protective he can be." She laughed heartily, knowing all too well the intimidating nature of her father's loyal right-hand man, and nodded vigorously. "Thank you, Daddy!" she exclaimed with genuine joy. After saying goodbye with another affectionate hug, she set off toward the field with determined steps, her heart light and her spirit ready to face another intense and tiring day of work at the ranch.

"Don't even think about it, Walker!" Rip said threateningly when he saw the new stable hand approach Grace and try to flirt with her. Let's say that Rip's threat wouldn't have made any difference anyway, since the girl had been infatuated with Ryan since the moment she met him, but Rip didn't care about this because first and foremost, he would always protect her, despite everything and everyone; and secondly, he didn't know about Grace's feelings for Ryan, so he would never have thought she might reject Walker. Grace approached Rip, who was about to mount his horse. "You know I can protect myself, right?" she asked him, smiling.

Grace's strong point was her smile, that sweet smile, warm and comforting. It had an extraordinary power over everyone. When Grace smiled, her soft cheeks reached up to the moon and her tender eyes lit up, making the whole room shine. Grace could put anyone in a good mood with that smile.

"I know, you're your father's daughter, but above all, you're Beth's sister, obviously you know how to protect yourself... But I'll keep doing it constantly, because I don't care if I'm rude to protect you, while you worry too much about using the right words, honey." Rip replied laughing, giving the girl a kiss on the cheek before mounting his horse. "When you get back, can we talk?" She asked, receiving a worried look from him, but he nodded. "Should I be worried though?" And she shook her head, so the cowboy could get to work.

"Alright, today Ryan, Grace, Lloyd, and Colby will go to pasture nine!" Rip ordered meanwhile. "While I, Walker, Ethan, Jake, and Jimmy will go to pasture eleven to fix the fence! To work!" Everyone nodded and got to work.

---

Ryan was galloping alongside Colby, while Lloyd was talking with Grace. He was like a second father to her. He was already working here when she was born and had watched her grow up. Many cowboy things had been taught to her by Lloyd himself! "Lloyd, I'm about to do something stupid..." Grace confessed. "Something stupid? Nothing you do can be stupid... you're the smartest person I know, it's impossible for you to do something stupid, my dear!" But Grace shook her head and smiled at the man. "You're too kind to me, Lloyd! And anyway, yes, I'm going to do something really stupid." At that, Lloyd shrugged and sighed. "Well, let's hear this stupid thing."

"I'm going to declare my feelings to the man I've always loved." Said the girl, still in a whisper so Ryan wouldn't hear her, but that didn't happen because Lloyd shouted: "If Rip finds out, there'll be trouble!"

The two guys who were a little ahead of them stopped and joined them. "Is Grace in trouble for the first time?" Said Colby, but both she and Lloyd shook their heads. "No, she's in love! Rip will surely kill the poor fellow!" He said laughing.

Men... so dramatic.

It's true, Rip is very protective of Grace, but only because he sees her as his little sister and will never allow anyone to hurt her, but that doesn't mean he would kill someone to protect her... maybe.

"You're in love? And who is it!?" Asked Colby curiously, while Ryan anxiously awaited the answer. "I'm not in love with anyone. Lloyd is making things up just to keep me out of trouble. Now we need to work or we'll really end up in trouble."

---

Once back at the ranch, Rip was waiting for his lovely Grace so they could talk. "I'm all ears," he said as soon as the girl reached him on horseback. All the other wranglers had returned to the bunkhouse, so they could talk freely. "I'm in love, Rip," she said abruptly. It was something she couldn't hold back anymore.

Let's say she's always been like this, never telling anyone what was happening to her, what she was feeling. It was her only flaw, keeping everything inside without talking to anyone about it.

"You are... please Grace tell me it's not Walker." She laughed at his comment. She loved him for this, for his irony and spontaneity. She adored her Rip. "No, it's not Walker. It's Ryan..." The girl instinctively lowered her gaze. "Hey, look at me." She did, and he smiled at her. "I like Ryan, but I won't go easy on him if he dares to make you suffer." She stopped him immediately. "He doesn't know anything, maybe it's better this way." "Why do you say that?" "Because I don't want to cause problems between us. Because then there will be consequences for the whole ranch too, and that's not what I want... for me, for you, for my father." He looked at her and nodded. "I think it's a big mistake, but it's your life and you have to decide, honey."

---

*1 week later*

A week had passed since the conversation that Colby, Ryan, Lloyd, and Grace had almost had in that field, and it was tormenting Ryan's mind. It had been months since he and Grace had grown closer, and the fact that she wouldn't confide in him made him feel bad. Actually, worse than bad, since he wanted to be the reason she always smiled. He wanted to be the one to comfort her when she was down, he wanted to be the one to protect her.

"Hey Ryan!" Said Grace when she saw him coming out of the stable with his horse ready to be saddled. "Good morning, beauty, how are you?" He loved calling her beauty because every time she would wrinkle her nose and smile, Ryan loved her smile, actually no. Ryan loved Grace! "I'm great!" "I can see that," he said, moving closer. "Are you very busy today or can you come with me?" Asked the girl with sweet puppy eyes. "I'm always available for you, Grace." She smiled. He made her feel good, made her happy, but the two didn't know the feeling was mutual. "Then prepare your horse, I'll take you somewhere." "At your command, Miss Dutton." He said and winked at her. Grace didn't respond and blushed, he noticed but pretended not to. He loved seeing her blush, but hated seeing her hide from embarrassment.

---

"We're here!" She exclaimed, dismounting from her horse, and Ryan did the same. Grace had organized a picnic on the summit of a hill near their ranch and not too far away. "Did you do all this?" He asked while sitting down, and she nodded. "Why?" She shrugged and didn't answer. "Let's eat now because we left too late, it'll be dark in a few hours." "And we'll have time to get back-" "Who said we're going back? I brought a tent, to sleep here... if that's not a problem for you." She interrupted him, and he shook his head. "No no, that's perfectly fine with me," he said laughing.

The hours flew by and it was now late night, with myriad stars covering the velvet sky like a sparkling blanket that seemed to want to protect and warm the earth beneath them. The two were lying on the fresh grass, and while Grace contemplated the magnificent celestial spectacle above them, Ryan couldn't help but admire the ethereal beauty of her profile illuminated by the silvery moonlight. She suddenly turned, catching his intense gaze, but he, instead of looking away as one might expect, firmly maintained eye contact. Caught off guard by that intensity, Grace returned to looking at the sky, but this time with a sweet smile lighting up her face. "Why can't you maintain eye contact with me, Grace?" He whispered to her in a velvety voice, sending cascades of shivers down her spine. "That's not true," she murmured weakly, her eyes still fixed on the dancing stars above them. "Liar," he replied, his voice deeper and more confident this time, as he moved even closer to her, so close that his warm breath gently caressed her cheek like an invisible caress.

Grace turned slowly toward him, as if drawn by an invisible magnetic force, and their eyes met in the darkness of the night, illuminated only by the silvery glow of the stars. "Ryan," she whispered, her heart pounding so hard in her chest that she feared he might hear it. "Yes, beauty?" he murmured in response, as his hand moved with infinite delicacy toward her face, his fingers barely grazing her soft skin as if he were touching the most precious of treasures. "It will be complicated, you know that, right?" Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke those words. He nodded slowly, moving even closer until their noses almost touched. "I don't like easy things," he whispered with a tender smile on his lips. Their faces were now so close that their breaths mingled in the night air, his lips a breath away from hers. Grace closed her eyes, her heart racing wildly, as he eliminated that minimal distance between them with infinite gentleness, brushing her lips in a kiss so delicate and reverent that he seemed to fear he might shatter her like the most fragile crystal.

[ninjamelissajulien]

Notes on Wyldfyre's Voice Messages

out of EVERYONE in Dragons Rising, it's an interesting choice to have Wydfyre be the one to vent out her grief. And that's what this is.

Grief.

1: Why am I doing this?

The idea that Lloyd offered this idea, of sending voice messages [writing letters] to Kai [to the "deceased"] is a great coping method for younger children when dealing with loss. It's a hard idea to conceptualize when dealing with grief at a young age [since this is on LEGO Kids, its presumed for younger children]. "...why would I talk to someone who can't hear me?" parallels the idea of a child not understanding the idea of "the person you love is still around us, even if we can't see them." Its a way to talk without pressure, of getting everything off your chest without aiming it at a real person.

"I refuse to accept that you're trapped away from us and never coming back. I know you'll be back. You're probably on your way back right now." Again, another fascinating parallel to the loss/death of a loved one. In a personal connection - Last year (2023), I lost my grandmother to pneumonia after an 18 year battle with cancer. I was unable to see her before she died (long story), so, the last time I got to physically see her was between a half to a full year before she had died. While I was up at her house with my family, it felt like she was going to walk into the house at any time. I felt like I had no closure, even after the funeral/cremation. So, Wyldfyre waiting for Kai to come back is her way of saying she doesn't have closure. She's in denial. [Even though we all know our beloved Fire Ninja is coming back at some point].

"With you gone, no one understands me here." Kai was, honestly, the first one to really reach out and understand Wyldfyre from HER point of view. She grew up, literally, in the wild [Wyld]- so she is harsh, brash, crude, hot headed. Kai, at first, tried to teach her like how he was taught, but learned to adjust to her needs. He learned how to talk to her, how to connect with her, in a way that wasn't dehumanizing or insulting to how she was raised.

In relation to "Sora and Arin don't know what its like to lose a mentor like you"- Sora rejected her former mentor, seeing how La Rowe treated dragons, but Arin. Arin is stagnant. He's trapped in the rut of trying to find his family. He's dealing with loss, but he doesn't know how to grow from it.

2: So what now?

Wyldfyre is on Heatwave being taken to an unknown place and she is feeling excited and free again- only to be hit with the conflicting feelings of guilt, heartache, frustration, and sadness.

She's wondering about why she gets to enjoy the feeling of flight, the beautiful sky, the wind, etc while Kai is trapped. She doesn't know what's happened to him (like if he's okay other than being trapped), what he sees.

This is an interesting perspective into grief. Why should I get to enjoy this while the person I love (platonically) is suffering? Why do I get to see the sky while Kai is stuck?

Its interesting to note that Wyldfyre describes where she is as "peaceful". Right now, she's in a tumultuous state of mind, hence why Heatwave is taking her to a safer place.

"I feel bad looking at this beautiful sky and knowing that you might never get to see one again." This is such an excellent viewpoint of grief/survivor's guilt from a child's perspective. The pain in her voice of "It's not fair that you're gone, Kai."

"What did you do to deserve this? You were just trying to protect us." God, this is not only heartbreaking but, surprisingly realistic in terms of dealing with this kind of loss.

3: I am Rage

"where Fire Dragons come from all over... for a huge family celebration." Boy Lego really is making us and Wyldfyre suffer, huh. Its like each voice message resonates with a varying stage of grief.

1: Denial. 2: Depression/Despair. 3: Anger.

"Why did you leave us, Kai?" Lego, when I catch you Lego, when I catch you-

4: Desperate Measures

someone please send these to Vincent so he can respond to them as Kai :(

overall, I think this is one of the more interesting perspectives we've gotten in a long time. I do feel like they didn't fully capture Wyldfyre's nature, as she doesn't speak very eloquently. She's much more brash and blunt, but otherwise I think this is excellent!

[phoebepheebsphibs]

My son Lloyd

I love him so much

I wanted to draw facial expressions (and kids took all my pencils so I had to draw with my pen and lemme tell you the knowledge that all your mistakes are irreversible and stained in ink is devastating and terrifying as an artist)

[dreammfires]

2024 GP Event Story. Harold's POV Translation.

Oujisama had a popularity poll in 2024 and paired some of the princes that scored highly with another character acting as their wing man for an event in early March 2025.

Here Hayden/Henry is the main prince and Harold is the one helping him.

One of the ends has King Harold's pov.

HENRY / HAYDEN POV

Henry has returned from official business and is walking swiftly down the corridors of Philip Castle. He opens a door and sees MC whose face bursts into a smile when she sees him.

After many twists and turns, MC has gone from a temporary pet to his beloved.

(A/N: Don't ask me what the fuck this is about cause I haven't read his main story but apparently he forces her to go to the castle after she loses a pen Wilfred gave him and I've seen him make dog noises at her and say shit like a tiara looks better on her than a collar. 💀)

MC welcomes him home and he asks if she has been a good girl. She says yes then frowns before asking "But have you been a good boy?"

(A/N: No wonder the Philip men are popular they all have yandere tendencies. Henry has mc like a pet, Harold locks her up, idk what bs Wilfred does but I remember his infamous I want you wet from my bed not the ocean with a a sad look on his face. 💀)

MC tells him that she isn't a pet anymore. She looks away and pouts. Henry finds it attractive and cute.

He apologises to her before putting his hands on her cheek and tilting it upward.

Henry: You wouldn't do this to a pet would you?

(A/N: I HOPE THE FUCCK NOT!)

Then he gives her a slow, savouring kiss to let her know he is home now. It doesn't matter if she is with him right now, he cannot get enough of her and wants more.

He is about to deepen their kiss but MC pushes against his chest and stops him. She glares at him and he finds her angry face to be cute as well.

He kisses her lightly again to savour her warmth.

Next day

Henry goes to the library and sees MC engrossed in reading. He tells her that studying is good but she must not overdo it. MC apologises to him but says she can't help it when she's interested in a topic.

Henry: What's so interesting that you lose track of time?

MC: I'm researching where I'll be accompanying you next week on official business.

MC is training to be a princess and she makes Henry's meals so Henry is worried that she is going to crash out.

They're going to a local opening ceremony and MC will be introduced to the public. Given the low scale Henry thinks it will be perfect to get her acquainted but he is anxious.

He recalls what Lloyd told him.

Lloyd: MC is in the archives. She is working hard at her research because she does not want to bring shame onto you, Prince Henry. After dinner she came to borrow the key.

Henry is troubled because he feels as if HE'S the one who caused her trouble with everything in the past. He's happy if MC is here by his side but does MC feels happy?

Henry: Can she really be happy with me?

As her position changes in the future, the burden she must carry will become heavier and heavier.

MC mentions a beautiful blue lake near where they're going to conduct business and how she wants to see it, but the documents are old so she can't find any information on it.

Henry asks if she checked maps or social media but there is nothing about said lake. He wants to gather information about the lake including asking locals but MC stops him and says it is a burden and they can't go given his schedule.

Henry: She's putting away the documents like a good child.

His heart aches cause he wants to do something for her. He is determined to take her there.

Henry: ?!

From the corner of the room is a pillar of white light.

Henry: This light is so dazzling! What is it?!!!

When his eyesight eventually returns, he notices something - someone - standing there.

??: Where am I?

(A/N: MY BOY!)

Henry: ! *There's no way this can be!*

MC: My Prince could this person be....

Henry: Yeah

Both of them are thinking the same way. There is no mistaking it because the library they're in is decorated with portraits of all of the Kings of Philip.

Among them, the man was the spitting image of the first king, King Harold.

??: Who are you all? What are you doing here? More importantly, what on earth is this place...?

Prince Henry: With all due respect... Are you King Harold?

King Harold: ! *shocked sprite*

They try their best to speak calmly to the man, who is likely even more confused than they are.

King Harold: Indeed...I am Harold.

Prince Henry: Nice to meet you. I'm Henry A. Spencer. I'm of legitimate royal blood... and I'm your descendant.

King Harold: *shocked sprite*

King Harold: Spencer... descendant? What are you talking about? I haven't even taken a wife yet.

They explain to him that he had a time slip and travelled hundreds of years into the future. MC hands Henry a book about the History of the Royal Family of Philip.

Henry knows he can't show Harold everything so he confirms his identity by asking inoffensive things such as the founding of Philip Kingdom and Harold's origins.

King Harold: Have I really come to the future...?

Reality sets in for Harold and as Henry is about to close the book...

Harold: Wait...

With unexpected force, King Harold took control.

King Harold: "There's one thing I'd like to know..."

Prince Henry: What would you like to know?

King Harold: You know what? Nevermind...

However, after much deliberation, King Harold retracts his plan.

King Harold: I think I'll stop now. I probably shouldn't listen to this.

Prince Henry: ......*I wonder what Lord Harold wanted to know.*

The way he lowered his eyes as if to convince himself was somehow melancholic――. Upon meeting him for the first time, I felt like I had caught a glimpse of a sensitive side of the great first king.

_____________

A few days have passed since King Harold arrived in the present day...

Arisende: Oh no, it's already this late!

MC, who had brought tea, glanced at the clock in the office and spoke up.

Henry asks if she has plans and she says yes.

King Harold: Now that you mention it. You said you had lessons this afternoon.

Prince Henry:.......

MC excuses herself and leaves.

Now the King and the Prince are alone.

Henry moves from his desk and sits down opposite King Harold, who was relaxing on the sofa.

Prince Henry: ...it seems you're getting used to life in the castle.

King Harold: Yeah. I limit my range so that people around me don't find out too much. When you're away MC takes care of everything.

Prince Henry: I see. So you knew her schedule, too.

King Harold:.......

King Harold stops tilting his cup, quietly raises his eyes and smiles.

King Harold: What, are you jealous?

Prince Henry is caught off guard and he is blushing hard.

Over the past few days, Henry has learnt some things about Harold. For one, the first King is very straightforward with his words and actions. Secondly despite that he loves to tease people.

Prince Henry: Well, of course I'm curious about that. MC is my girlfriend, and we'll be making our debut soon.

(A/N: HERE TUMBLR REFRESHED AND I LOST EVERYTHING I WROTE AFTER HERE.)

Henry is all like well yeah I'm concerned cause we are debuting soon.

Harold: Debuting? Like you're going to introduce her and start doing official business in the provinces?

Harold asks about MC being a baker and states that Henry was able to overcome the differences in status to be with her.

Harold tells him that not only is he jealous of him but he respects that.

Henry thinks about how the first commoner who was welcomed into the Philip Royal Family was his grandmother the former Queen.

Harold looks melancholic and has a lonely smile.

Henry wonders if the question Harold wanted to ask that night was about his own wife, the first Queen of Philip.

Harold mentions that he knows the lake they want to go to and offers to help them find it.

The next day they set off on horseback. MC is riding with Henry cause she can't ride for shit. Harold is soothing his horse and telling it that even though the horse has a stranger on it, the horse is behaving well just like his Sugar.

Henry: Sugar?

Harold: My beloved horse. (A/N: the white one from his main story.)

They find an old day running a cabin and they ask her about the lake. The lake does exist but it can only be accessed by foot or horseback. Henry realizes that he has to go with MC.

Henry handles his horse expertly to a point it makes Harold go "As expected of my descendant."

The next day they go again with Harold as their guide. When they near the lake, Harold suddenly gets off and tells them to go alone. Henry watches as he picks some wildflowers and makes it into a bouquet. Henry wonders who the recipient is.

Harold says he wants to go back to his time and he wants to see Sugar.

Harold thanks them both and as the white light blinds MC and Henry they hear Harold say:

"I wish you both happiness."

_____________

HAROLD END/POV

Just like back then, he is enveloped in a dazzling white light.

Here is...

The next time he opens his eyes, Harold is greeted by a familiar sight.

It was the usual castle stables.

King Harold: *Have I returned... or was everything just a dream?*

But in his hand, He is holding a bunch of wildflowers.

King Harold: *It wasn't a dream... I was definitely in the future.*

Harold: *Henry...I met my descendant and his girlfriend in the future.*

Step by step, he puts his feet onto the dirt and heads to the stall at the very back of the stable. The horse, with its shiny, sugar-white fur, stretches its neck eagerly and rubs its nose against him.

King Harold: I'm back, Sugar.

When he strokes the horse's neck with the palm of his hand, Harold's horse narrowed his eyes in pleasure.

King Harold: At that time, I used Sugar as an excuse to break up with Henry and the others.

King Harold: Henry, MC.I want you two to go on your own from here on out.

Prince Henry: What are you planning to do, King Harold?

King Harold: I want to go back to my time and see Sugar.

In reality, what he had in his mind was the smile of the person he loved - the doctor's assistant, MC.

King Henry: *Seeing Henry and his friends getting along so well, my desire to meet her grew stronger each day.*

King Harold: I wonder how MC is doing...

Sugar shook his head in annoyance at my muttering.

King Harold: I get it. I get it, so don't get so upset.

King Harold: Of course I wanted to meet you too. I'm not lying, it's true.

Smiling wryly at his jealous horse, he pats him on the cheek, gently soothing him.

Seeing Sugar's ears perk up in delight, I opened the stable door.

King Harold: I wonder why I want to see MC's face so much now.

He rides Sugar from the castle to the clinic where MC works. He ties Sugar up a little distance away and quietly watches the situation from behind a tree.

King Harold:.......!

The door opened and she comes out accompanied by an old woman who appeared to be a patient.

MC: Take care of yourself. Don't forget to take your medicine after meals.

King Harold:...MC

At first glance, her smile remains unchanged, but it actually touches his heart deeply. Until recently, as his personal physician assistant, her smile was within his reach.

King Harold: *But now, all I can do is stare at it from a distance...if it were only about our feelings, I felt like we could have connected, just one step away.*

King Harold: *However, once rumors spread, what awaited us was criticism from the nobles and the people. "As a result, even governance and the daily lives of the people MC cares about became threatened.*

Now that he had made the heart-breaking decision to step aside, all Harold could do was secretly harbor feelings for her.

King Harold: There's no way I can give this to her.

He clutched the bouquet in her hands tightly.

King Harold: * If someone finds out, we'll cause trouble for MC and the clinic again

After seeing the patient off, MC heads back inside, and he turns his back on her as well.

Without being able to say anything to her――

Leaving the clinic, with an indescribable pain in his heart, Harold gallops on Sugar to the lake of old. It's the lake close to the fields and mountains where I first met MC.

Harold: It feels like just yesterday that I was here talking to MC.

He sits in the same place as he did back then, looking out at the lake, while he gives Sugar some water and some rest.

King Harold: The two of them, reflected in the water's mirror like surface and bathed in sunlight, will be able to overcome any difficulty..."

Suddenly, he remembers the legend of the blue lake that Henry's girlfriend had so happily told me. Since it seemed like he was hiding something from him that he didn't tell Henry about it until the very end.

Harold has heard of the lake.

King Harold: I was born and raised in that region, and I've never heard of such a thing.

He imagines that this is probably a legend that came to be at a later time.

King Harold: If only I knew that legend in this day and age...I would have gone to that lake with Arisende before this happened. I've never really believed in anything superstitious.

King Harold: So this is what it means to cling to straws.

It goes beyond a wry smile and he starts laughing at himself.

King Harold: Yes, the reason I wanted to help Henry and his friends in the future was because I found myself identifying with them, we're in similar situations.

King Harold: Fortunately, it seems their dreams have come to fruition... I'm sure that hardships will continue to befall them in the future.

Perhaps it was because of this understanding that Henry's girlfriend wanted to visit a lake with such legends.

King Harold: But there is a strong desire to overcome any difficulties with Henry.

(Her strength... is somewhat similar to MC's.)

He looks down and lets out a sigh,and there, beyond that, the flower was swaying again today.

The pale blue flowers were in bloom the day he first encountered MC.

King Harold: No good. Everything I see is connected to MC. That's how much I can't give up on this idea.

King Harold: I wonder if someday I too can break free from all my ties and conflicts and confess like Henry did.

No one answered me, and only the wind blowing across the lake caressed my cheeks.

(No... that's not it. It's not a question of whether you can or can't. You just have to do it.)

With strong will and determination, just like Henry and the others.

Harold picks a flower blooming at his feet and adds it to a bouquet that has transcended time.

(To achieve this, let's do everything we can now)

King Harold: Please wait for me, MC.

Putting unchanging feelings and determination into a bouquet...he places it on a small rock nearby as if it were a token of his vow, then stood up straight.

_________

When Harold left the lake--

A new figure appeared on the lakeside, passing by from a different direction.

MC: Is that... Sugar?

The source of the murmur was MC, who had come to pick medicinal herbs in the nearby fields.

MC: This bouquet is...

Her feet, too, naturally leads her to the place where she had once spoken with Harold.

MC finds a bouquet of flowers placed on a small rock, almost like an altar, and quietly picks it up.

MC: The flower that bloomed at Lord Harold's feet that time...

Clutching the bouquet to her chest, MC gazed out at the lake dyed in the setting sun.

As if thinking of a loved one...

______

Returning to the castle from his long ride with Sugar, he headed straight to his office. Feeling renewed, Harold stands by the window and looks out the window, imagining the streetscape of Philip.

King Harold: First of all, I need to be recognized by the people as a king worthy of ruling this country.

If you can get results and increase the number of people who understand, the way will surely open up.

Then, his eyes meet with his reflection in the window and Harold suddenly remembers Henry.

King Harold: I thought the faces looked quite similar. But...Maybe it was just my imagination, but I could faintly see MC there. Even our descendants are doing their best to stand up to the challenge.

King Harold: There's no reason for me not to show my resolve.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and the butler, Cyril, came in.

Cyril: You called for me, King Harold?

King Harold: Yes. It's about that procurement of materials for the shipbuilding project... I want to move forward with the next order as soon as possible.

Cyril: Eh... already?

King Harold: We'll increase the number of workers and complete the ship faster than planned. And then--

King Harold: *First, we must ensure the stability of the country and remove anxiety from the people. For the sake of a peaceful future for Henry and his friends. And I will definitely overcome adversity and achieve it. *

A future where we can live together with our loved ones.

[drratiosstudent]

List of my favourite books / plays categorised by genres/authors

*In no particular order. It's hard to pick a favourite*

*Do search up the reviews, summary and trigger warnings for these books if you do intend to read it, many of them are not easy reads*

*For poetry, web novel, manga/hua/hwa/webtoon/anime/other recs, check my #WinterLEFavList tags~

*As of 3rd February 2025*

------------------------------------------------------------

Deep/Classic/Heavy Books

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Ones who walk away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

1984 by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngoni Adichie

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngoni Adichie

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Aristotle and Dante Discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Maus (Graphic Novel) by Art Spiegelman

The boy in the striped pajamas by John Boyne

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

Book of Evidence by John Banville

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Siddhartha Novel by Hermann Hesse

The weight of our sky by Hanna Alkaf

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

------------------------------------------------------------

Morally gray/dark-ish/angst books

The Cruel Prince Series by Holly Black

Red Queen Series by Victoria Aveyard

Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

Boot Camp by Todd Strasser

Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

Room by Emma Donoghue

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Gone Series by Michael Grant

The hate u give by Angie Thomas

------------------------------------------------------------

Autobiography/memoir/non-fiction/based on true stories/self-help

Dear Life by Rachel Clarke

When Breath becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

The body keeps the score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

Anne Frank's Diary by Anne Frank

January First: A Child's descent into madness and Her Father's Struggle to Save Her by Michael Schofield

The Man Who Mistook HIs Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

The Last Lecture by Jeffrey Maslow and Randy Pausch

Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem

Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius and Megan Lloyd Davies

Binge Crazy: A Psychotherapist's Memoir of Food Addiction, Mental Illness, Obesity and Recovery by Natalie Gold

Elena Vanishing: A Memoir by Clare B. Dunkle and Elena Dunkle

The happiness cure why you’re not build for constant happiness and how to find a way through by Dr Anders Hansen

Atomic Habits by James Clear

Beyond the Story by BTS and Myeongseok Kang

------------------------------------------------------------

Other nice books I liked when I was younger (YA category I think?)

Rick Riordan books (PJO universe, Kane's Chronicles, Magnus Chase, Trials of Apollo, Crossovers etc.)

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Hunger games by Suzanne Collins

Lorien Legacies by Pitaccus Lore (James Frey, Job Hughes and formerly Greg Boose)

Mortality Doctrine Series by James Dashner

Time Riders Series by Alex Scarrow

Mistborn (First book of the series by Brandon Sanderson) I've got too many books so I haven't started reading the series yet, but I did like the first book.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

------------------------------------------------------------

Mystery/crime

Death in the Nile by Agatha Christie

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

One of us is lying by Karen M. McManus

------------------------------------------------------------

Plays

W;t Margaret Edson

A Doll’s House

A Streetcar Named Desire

You can’t tie a mustang down by Christos Chomenidis inspired by Euripides’ Ion

------------------------------------------------------------

*I'll add web novels and poetry list in another section!*

[northpen]

Hello :) I'm a reader of Perfect Gardens after I saw my friends agonizing over how it rewired their brain chemistry and the inherent tragedy of being convinced to read a fic so good that was incomplete, you know how it is lol, so you know it's very much beloved! (It was honesty so funny, there was so much agony over it "what if it never updates again" "I will never forgive you for making me read an unfinished fic now I have to live with this" "you have to read unfinished fic its good for digestion") even if you leave it here, it will remain many people's favorite fic and rest assured, has permanently altered how they view and characterize these legos. And really!! Your interactions between the cast and child Lloyd's thought process is simply stellar. It's so beautifully complicated, and I love all the little details and descriptions, like the one you wrote for FSM, and the absolute plot twist shock when chapter 1 ended with what sounded like a game time loop. There are SO many good lines and OH- moments in here for the heavy thoughts and realizations the characters go through, I could spend the next 10 hours rereading to list them all. And the way I was slapping my forehead like oh duh when Garmadon revealed what he was doing. Your characterizations of everyone is really so so good and I especially love my cryptic legos, and I was hoping to check in with you to see how you feel about your own fic, if you need some positive engagement with the fic for motivation :D I don't know if you're stuck in editing purgatory where you're hovering over the post button but unsatisfied, in which case dw!! I'm sure its incredible, or if you're uninterested in the wip atm, which is also alright, and thank you for sharing what you had written!! but if you have any plans to revisit the fic in the future, well ;) recently, a lot of old names in the fandom have returned, so when I imagine you updating making it 3 out of 3, that would be the funniest thing ever from how much everyone would be yelling in the chat. just letting you know in case you want to throw your hat in the ring too for fun timing :) best wishes, and have a splendid day!

ahhh thanks so much for this super nice ask!!! my attention is been grabbed yet again by a sonic fanfic series i'm working on, but maybe i can revisit perfect gardens even if it's just to finish it quickly. i feel bad about leaving it 3/4 complete when i have the completed outline done. i will do my best!!

[xylomilo]

Ninja Headcannons

Cole

Any pronouns

Demiromantic Bisexual with male lean

Afro-Latino with a little bit of French from great-grandfather

NU Goth

Collects records

Short butterfly locs

Booba 🤲🤲🤲

Will eat anything and everything if it doesn’t leave his mouth

PTSD from the fall in March of the Oni 🥰

After DotD, the others (and him) kept forgetting Cole isn’t a ghost anymore so they kept hitting him and he kept bumping into walls for a while

His mother would make cake from him when younger, thus why he loves it so much

Releases stress by training, baking cakes, or listening to music

Likes to study the meaning behind song lyrics

Jay

Demi-Boy

He/They

Bisexual

3/4 Korean 1/4 White (Libber was half white half Korean)

Portable charger that never runs out

“BRO HIS HEART STOPPED BEATING” Jay: “Let me try” ELECTROCUTES HIM

Southern accent that faded away over time

Scene kid in high school

Mythology nerd

Everyone bullies him for being part white

Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons fan

Refuses to download Twitter bc his fans scare the shit out of him

Audhd(?) (Autistic ADHD)

Kai

Trans

He/Him

Pansexual

Half Filipino Half Argentinian

Used to sacrifice a lot of things just to see Nya happy (cough cough Kenny McCormick cough cough)

Switched names with Nya one day and got hit by the transgender-fication ray

Constantly refers to Nya as “sis” because she used to be the only thing he had

Only good at forging magical weapons (the opposite of Karlof lmao)

Allergic to seafood but didn’t know until he was talking to the others like “yk it’s weird how fish makes my lips tingle” and they went 😟😟

Used to have nightmares the day his parents disappeared

Has accidentally made so many fires out the most random things

Every sea creature hates him

Dragons adore him and Oni loathe him

Lloyd

Trans, non-binary

He/They

Achillean AroAce spectrum

Vitiligo

Japanese with a bit of Chinese from grandma

AUTISTIC ADHD HAVER 🫵🫵🫵🫵

Has never seen any pictures of his grandmother, only heard vague stories

Lots of animals like him. Like a lot. Bro is followed by anything and everything when he goes to the park.

Seasonal allergies (FUCKING LOSER (im projecting))

Collector of books he will never read, physical and digital

Old dreamsmp fan- the others still make fun of him for it to this day

Sleeps in the most uncomfortable positions and places but is somehow fine

Lloyd wishes he had stayed in contact with Brad.

Had matching bracelets with Brad, but Lloyd doesn’t remember where he put it

Lloyd sometimes stalks Brad’s social media pages to see what he’s been up to, but is too scared to actually follow him back. When they do though, they find out Brad blocked them on everything the day after.

Post season 16, Lloyd became a pet sitter for a while. Imagine their surprise when the door opened and he was face-to-face with Brad. Lloyd quit the next day.

Nya

Trans

She/Her

Bisexual

Half Filipino Half Argentinian

Really observant

Knows what Kai did for her when they were younger and she feels awful about it

Can manipulate water in people but it’s hard to do

Couldn’t remember what her parents looked or sounded like until Season 7

Used to steal a lot when she was younger to help her brother

Every sea creature likes her

Dragons are terrified of her

Wakes up in a cold sweat when her older middle-child senses start tingling (Red Green Blue Ghost by beloved 🙏🙏)

Her and Morro got intense beef like fist fighting type (middle child stuff)

“Babe why is your mom hot” “Nya istfsm”

Zane

He/They/It

Pansexual

Vitiligo

African-American

AUTISTIC 🫵🫵

Used to overheat a lot pre season 4 but his ice powers cancelled it out

“Oh this media is nice” proceeds to research it for the next twelve hours (me)

JAZZ LIKER, GET HIS ASS

Gets treated like a brand new iPhone by Acronix 😭😭

Doesn’t need to charge, being near Jay Is enough 😭😭

Kenny McCormick by how many times he has died

“Don’t worry guys, I can fix this problem” pulls out gun

Wakes up in cold sweat “MY STUPID BITCH SENSES ARE TINGLING”

Their heart is made of ice, literally (their power core is made of blue crystal and chronosteel, which is how the old EM gave Zane their powers)

PIXAL

She/They/It

Unlabeled

African

Collects everything and anything

“Aw, this is too expensive!” … “Wait I’m rich.”

Only wears turtlenecks and plaid pants/skirts

Small rivalry with Nya because everything PIXAL creates, Nya has created before

A little bit insane

Zane: Would you still love me if I was a worm?

PIXAL: You already are

“Woah, they’re laser focused!” and PIXAL is listening to celebrity drama videos

Likes watching people argue on Samurai X’s gender/pronouns (thinks its funny)

Acts like schlatt sometimes

Has a habit of speaking in a monotone voice and is genuinely surprised when people think it’s being rude

Brutally honest 😭😭 Kai will say “does this make my ass look fat?” and PIXAL will respond with “the opposite, actually.”

[21st-century-ninja]

Fic rec week: Multichaps/Nya

Multichaps babey!!! multichaps my beloved the backbone of fanfiction and today's multichap moodboard is for Let Sleeping Dragons Lie by @the-painted-siren

"This will not do. I can't have a student of mine afraid of a creature that peacefully lives in the monastery." Cole's never been a fan of reptiles, majestic beasts notwithstanding. Though his bond with Rocky is something of a legend on the Bounty now, it doesn't mean their love for each other grew overnight. Or maybe it did.

Why you should read: One of my fav Cole characterizations ever, this one really captures that early-season feeling of Ninjago and is the classic boy-and-his-dragon story :D

Perfect Gardens by @northpen

Four days after the Oni invasion, Lloyd wakes up as a child with no memories past Child's Play. Dying has some strange side effects, doesn't it?

Why you should read: This fic seamlessly combines humor and angst so you'll be crying from laughter and then crying from crying one second later. Even Darkley's had fruity-pops.

you belong to me, my snow white queen, there's nowhere to run by @knowledgequeenabc

Nya remembers it all.

Why you should read: went off about this fic a couple weeks ago but sadklfhgdsk the Nya characterization go brr so hard especially as it's set post-s6

At Low Tide by @frozensoapbubble

A water dragon, living incarnation of the Endless Sea, saves the life of a young whale. The moment brings back memories – or rather, echoes of familiar words, fleeting images, shadows of sensations that the dragon had long thought forgotten. If only she could remember what they meant.

Why you should read: A really neat Nya post-s15 fic that has a very realistic (imo and as realistic as one can get with ninjago lol) take on Nya during her merge with the sea!!! The ending on this I especially enjoyed.

[littlelegoman]

Spoliers for dragon's rising

Spelling mistakes as well. Also I didn't write down Episode four's thing but I watched it.

Episode One:

A Netflix series; I see where we went wrong /hj

I love the way it rifts open like an eye.

What's that one song uh "thank you, I'll say goodbye soon.. though it's the end if the world; don't blame yourself now..."

Because that's the emotion I have

LLOYD MY BELOVED

He's so... he feels so different? Matured?

All the realms colliding is such an interesting thing to me.

LLOYD'S MASK

Now now Arin they may be Skeletons, Snails, and Frogs but they're still people like you and I there's no need for their species labeled first /j /lh

SORA IS SO /POS

PINK HAIR AND GAMED GIRL HEAD PHONES <3

She's so funny

Arin and Sora are so sister and brother vibe

I forget this is a kid's show and then the robots start fucking dancing

ALSO sora gives off Jay x Nya child vibes even though she looks nothing like them

Oo serpentine :D

"My fam" I'm- I'm cringing so hard

You're poor and yet you have a pent house?

Do they just give these things away???

It seems the merge hasn't been around for long; Arin is still the same height so

AZURE LION IS THAT YOU? /j /j

"Weakness, noun, quality of-" YOU LEAVE THAT LITTLE GUY ALONE

SNAKES THE SERPENTINE.

"Thst thing "

What happened to Lobbo's mom? I'm curious

The frog man Iis /pos

KREEL

I love that she calls them friends even though they're not

But by golly who dressed her up

GREEN? I.mean really, GREEN? And pURPLE?? GIRLY, get a hold of yourself.

Kreel is interesting. Is this a new kin I'm smelling? /hj

LOBBO MH BELOVED

That's so autism (/pos)

I want lobbo to win screw these guys, haha

Sora has ptsd.

yes YES LOBBO

Fuck lobbo's mom! Let's go! LETS GOOO

"Who are these kids?!" I wonder this all the time

The Dragon giving them powers is so interestin-- because ninjago realm wise it isn't possible but now the whole world turned upside down and nothing is the same

And I love it

IS THST AN ONI

Oh fuck that's the rip off Azure Lion /j

He looks like an Oni with the markings

Oh hey he has heterochromia

"I've known you for a while now" SCARED ME SO BAD I WANT THEM TO BE FRIENDS AND ONLY FRIENDS PLEASE

Please let me have this

LlOYD HEY WHATS UP BUDDY

Episode two:

He looks great for a man in green

I Haye the color green with a passion

NINJA FANDOM I love sora

this is unrelated but apparently we're winning (/ij)

It's not completely spinjitsu, there are different things about it

YEAH IT WAS A WEIRD VERSION but it was kinda similar

Lloyd knows nothing anymkre

THAT MAN WAS A TIGER? Oh God im--

Sora isn't from ninjago I don't think so her logic is different

"Not all of us.."

GOD ITS MASTER WU

Family is key

Haha

KH MT GOD DOES HE EVER TELL ANYONE ANYTHING

Yes.. chaos.

All 16 realms ahaha

Okay So Lloyd is alive; so is Kai,

Ah, cracks in reality.

Nothing makes sense and I

Wu is gone LETS GOO

I don't know if fhat means he's dead or missing but it's the same thing really

It's kinda strange. I miss how things were but the chaos is so inviting....

Riyu my beloved

DONT JUSF STAND THERE

Rapton my hated.

HOLY SHIT as if he wasn't a god before

It's only temporary though. At least it should be.

"There is a connection between us" please don't say it like that

The Dragon leader is wise indeed. I like her.

OOH woman

Oh I love her laugh

Episode 3:

I'm thinking of how Ras is merely a pawn in this woman's game.

ANYWAYS wu's picture is odd. Not like suspicious but it feels so strange.

Lloyd my beloved

haha he takes after wu

Lloyd having no facial hair is amazing "that's why I grew this beard" "What beard"

I'm getting flash backs hehe .

It's interesting because before Sora seemed more competent, but now Arin seems more competent.

THEY MASAACERED MY BOY RIYU

That's so nice to see the species who used to hate each other so much getting along and living together.

Mikloshe my beloved

LOBBO MY LOVE

He's such a little gjg

He's so autism

LABBO NO LABBO NO

You ET MY BOY GO

I did not expect Mikloshe to be feminine but I am making no complientes because the last girl snake was fuckkng pink

LLOYD BEJNG SELF AWARE

Labbo!

Oh who does my heart belong to; Labbo or Kreel?

Such a hard decision

Oh my God fuck off I just realized a good portion of my kins are autistic coded but they're robots

This is like finding the 16 realms became one ugh

Anyways

I like kreel, I think she's very interesting

LABBO

He's so /pos

Oh see I told you Kreel likes them (the henchmen)

Actually this is justifiable- well almost

Lloyd is like a concerned father right Now

OG THE MEMORIAL

Does Lloyd not have a picture? Interesting. But Kai is alive so thet means there's a chance everyone else is.

It's changed a lot yeah but it's been like a year; "my new best friend" and "we stuck together after she escaped" J IMAGINE THERE ISNT LIKE TEN YEARS BEYWEEN THAT

Arin's voice is still the same I think so he didn't change

Lloyd being told he looks like his uncle

(Call back to is Garmadon really Lloyd's father... /hj)

Dorama! Get it cause... drama.

Also, these all look like Kreel's minions which she says are her "friends-ish who work for her". None of them look like they'd be special.

Whack Rats seem to be at least as sentient as a human just non verbal...

Okay Dorama is growing on me he keeps getting trickier and trickier..

Kreel giving Labbo advice also he's closed of he's si autistic he IS SO ME

Lloyd owning up to his mistakes

NO YKU DID NOT JUST SAY "Dorama x Ras" I CANT BELIVE YKJ WOULD SAY THAT

THATS SO FUCKING FUNNY IM

Lloyd makes a good point about Sora and he'd powers.

THIS ISNT VERH /POS OF YOU KAI

It's not his fault I just want to know where he is.

"Should we be taking notes?"

"Let us never speak of this." DUDE HE'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN WU

I learned so much from my History Teacher because he was so chill (but not too chill) and fun. He was also gay but you get the point

Dorama hehe

Evil science woman! That's interesting. She doesn't seem really scared of Ras. Perhaps because she's not disposable.

She flinched when he growls but her tone isn't afraid and she seems to sass him

OH MY GOD WE'BE SEEN THOSE BEFORE

The craglings

I love Lloyd he's so much better than Wu

OOH water

nYA

oh God

LLOYD HEHE

HIS LITTLE POSE

Ninja nya our beloved hero (the title she deserves)

The cragling leader is so understanding AND THEN BECOMES RACIST

KAI'S GONE??

He's just missing right?

KAI KAI HEY

KAI'S GIRLY SCREAM AND NK ONE PAYS ATTENTJON TO JT

"ITS ALMOST AS IF I CSN HEAR KAI'S CRIES FOR HELP IN MY HEAD"

(I can still hear his voice; gay gay homosexual gay)

I like to think of Sora and Arin as Lloyd's kids/younger siblings

They're like a big happy family and I'm the dad and Logans the mom/ ref

"A dragon saved us?!"

LLOYD IS EVEN BETTER TNAN WU YEAHH

Also haha sora is so me sometimes

Episode 5?:

"THE KAI" I'm looking at MK right now /hj

CLOUD KINGDOMMMM

Oh my God what the hell is thst

It looks like the uh... season five thing

Also I like how the dragons look like the ninjas

AIR MAGIC AIR MAGIC

Getting flash backs to Morro

oHOLY SHIT

It makes sense because he's dead and the powers pass on. I like that.

Oh yes. I like that indeed.

Cloud Monk Woman my beloved.

EUPHRASIA I love you

YES GIRLLY

Slay quern

"I think... she is saving us."

"None of us were writing anything"

Destiny stopped existing the minute the merge happened.

"I knew the last one. I like you more." PLEASE MORRO HE WASNT BAD

Euphrasia... very nice.

The empress?... my my...

We keep losing people

Episode six:

Oh my God did Raptop or whatever his name is just die? He was crushed

How is be alive.

IMPERIUM

Sora is so good so /pos so smart.

Ana...?

Don't you dead name my girl

EMPEESS BEATRIX

OH MY GOD JTS A CULT

oh Dr. LaRow the woman who doesn't seem to fear the ras man.

Lloyd the ever caring father

Imperium... imperialism

Ohh. Sora.

Oh that's where she takes her name from.

Why does she have pink hair if those are her parents

Sorry sorry I just have nothing to say on this on.

The new prisoner is dangerous! And he isn't kai!

Oh okay so jt does seem its been a long time. Ten years? Five?

Episode 7:

This is a cult

PERCIVAL TARTIGRADE

Haha why does he look sound and act like my type /hj

Lucky for me I'll also what he is age wise

He's such a little guy

WyldFyre... hmm... she's not smart is she.

Here's the thing is that she isn't from their world so it's okay thst she has fire powers because this isn't her world.

Dorama how intelligent.

Everyone is so intelligent when they're not from the ninjago /lh

How old is everyone I can't tell

ITPF SOUNDS LIKE A PERSONALITY THLE

Percival is so autistic with his also autistic friends

I'm not mad at them, they've been indoctrinated.

WyldFyre

oh my God she's a dragon

Heatwave raised her haha

Rapton reminds me of someone...

YES SHE DOES REALLY HAVE KT

Hehe WyldFyre is just a little guy

Episode 8;

Lava dragons hehe.

OOH how she's raised. Can only the leader speak?

Interesting.

I wonder how she got her powers then

Yeah she's like like a young adult. Ughhh time works differently in realms but nwo they're all kne holy shit this tkmeline is so confusing

"An outlander?!"

Dude, he acts like he just did drugs in front of the police

Right right, she's impulsive but not stupid. I apologize for my previous statement. She seems survived this long, she'll be fine. She may not be book smart but she's not a fool.

"Oh good. A ghost."

IS THST MASTER WU?

I love kai

Well once the world's merged laws broke.

Percival, haha. I love him. It's more of a he's so me guys.

Thespian haha

they're so funny they're like funny (claws of imperium)

"Percival is like Red Son but powerless and in a cult" I- you're-

That's not even the point my dear.

Is it raining outside?

Oh. It is.

Episode 9:

Wu and Lloyd training??? Nice I like to see it.

I think this is a crime though...

MELVIN

Percival winning andbshdjdjd

He's so me j want hjm to be happy

If he dies I'm crying

"And yet a child brought this beast to me on his toy hoverboard" YEAH THATS RIGHT HES GREAT

I fucking knew it was wu this man never shuts up/ hj /lh

Dude how do they not see them

Bombs are bad for hearing.

DRAGON PSYCHOLOGIST

Zane ZANE MY BOY

Okay so the merge was years ago.

But how many because it's not clear

HAHA

Episode ten:

Don't you dead name my girl.

Now we're missing Jay and Cole... okay.

Got it

I don't know her name but I know it was said earlier.

Lloyd falling down the stairs is amazing.

Sora and Arin are smart.

What the hell is that ball. It's funny I don't swear this much I'll

Oh oh jts telepath

Lloyd becomes God from the power /hj

DUDE IS ON AN ACID TRIP.

HE REALLY BECAME GOD

Lloyd's has became God so many times before but it never stayed.

I want Percival back

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Classic, Fiction, 

Rating: 4 out of 5

Trigger Warning: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Death, Suicide, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

Summary: (Via Wikipedia)

Jane Eyre is divided into 38 chapters. It was originally published in three volumes in the 19th century, comprising chapters 1 to 15, 16 to 27, and 28 to 38.

The second edition was dedicated to William Makepeace Thackeray.

The novel is a first-person narrative from the perspective of the title character. Its setting is somewhere in the north of England, late in the reign of George III (1760–1820). It has five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she gains friends and role models but suffers privations and oppression; her time as governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her mysterious employer, Edward Fairfax Rochester; her time in the Moor House, during which her earnest but cold clergyman cousin, St John Rivers, proposes to her; and ultimately her reunion with, and marriage to, her beloved Rochester. Throughout these sections, it provides perspectives on a number of important social issues and ideas, many of which are critical of the status quo.

*Opinions*

Writing a review for Jane Eyre seems a little ridiculous as I feel as if even if you haven’t read the novel, you have a good idea about what it is due to either public education or just how often it is talked about in popular culture. No review is objective, but this one is going to be even more subjective as I don’t feel like I need to talk about the plot and characters of the stories as if the person reading the review wouldn’t have any information about those elements. What I will say is that the first time I read Jane Eyre in the 9th grade, I thought it was the more boring thing I had ever read. That would soon be replaced by my all-consuming rage which was having to read The Grapes of Wrath. Now, I am sure I would have a better opinion of The Grapes of Wrath if I went back to read it as an adult, but I kind of reduce to subject myself to that again so we may never know. However, I was forced to read Jane Eyre again in college and found that instead of a slow-paced and boring slog with an annoying main character, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of a penniless orphan who navigated a world that held very little light and kindness without ever losing her sense of self. I understood why we needed to see the cruelty and hardship of Lowood School to inform how Jane was able to manage the trails at both Thornfield Hall and Moor House before the happy conclusion of the novel. As an adult, I like Jane as a character a good deal and while some of her actions are infuriating to a modern reader, for her time she was a rather rebellious female character to be put into the public eye.

The part of the story that struck me the most during this readthrough of the novel is the way that all the men are portrayed by Bronte. John Reed is a villain of the highest degree, if not a psychopath, and ends up dead young by his own hand. Mr. Brocklehurst is a hypocrite on the borderline of being a sadist who, while not losing his position or money, is removed from the running of Lowood when the extreme conditions he had kept the girls until it was discovered. Mr. Rochester is brash, manipulative, and possessive to the point that is not as romantic as when I read the novel as a younger woman. It isn’t until Mr. Rochester is humbled that he is shown to be a good match and equal to Jane. Mr. Mason is seen as weak and sniveling, though attempting to do the right thing. St. John Rivers is self-righteous and brutal, though Bronte multiple times states that he was a Good Christian if not a good man. The only men who are spared this pointed criticism of the sex are the kindly doctor Mr. Lloyd who suggests that Jane be sent to school, and Mr. Reed, her dead uncle, though a young Jane believes his spirit tormented her when locked in the red room, and the various servants who are not given much time or attention aside to move the plot along. Now, it is not uncommon in literature now for men to be shown to be less than upstanding individuals, but for Bronte to show these men as very flawed individuals, especially clergymen, was not as common at the time. It was part of the reason that the novel got a couple scathing reviews after it was published. Now, Mr. Rochester is not a great person, which he readily admits, but I do enjoy the verbal sparring that he and Jane do. I personally like couples that can meet each other on an intellectual level and don’t mind teasing one another. While it is mostly Mr. Rochester teasing Jane due to the power dynamic, because we are in her point of view we know that Jane is his mental equal. While the narrative has to humble Mr. Rochester and help him find his way back to the righteous path for him and Jane to be together, she even states in the epilogue that their minds are like one and talk all day without ever getting bored of one another. That is a much more interesting couple for me to read about than one whose relationship is based on looks or chemistry, but this also isn’t that type of story. Jane Eyre is a classic and has all the benefits and issues that the label entails. It is not a quick read and if you are looking for a fasted paced story, you should really look elsewhere. However, I find a charm in this story about a woman seeming to get everything that she could want, twice, and forging a path that she can be both happy and morally comfortable following. This is a character study about Jane Eyre and I find her a character more than interesting enough to read about again and again at different parts of my life because I am always finding something new.