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universitypenguin · 1 year ago

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Chapter 18 - Part II

The Princess & The Lawyer Chapter XVIII - Part II

Summary: Lloyd is rattled by unexpected news from Elliot that sends him into an emotional spiral and delays his return. Aiden is arrested for a shocking crime and Landon gives a profile of the stalker.

Word Count: 6,670

Masterlist

Warnings: Physical violence, strangulation, attempted drowning. References to stalking, the U.S. military draft process, war and military service, drug addiction, family estrangement, international adoption, murder, and death.

Author’s Note: I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. I was planning to finish it sooner, but I had a virus of some kind for the past week.

Chapter XVIII - Part II

The engine of the Mercury purred like the big cat it was named after as Lloyd exited I-15 and rolled to a stop at the light. He admired the way the hood gleamed in the afternoon sun.

“You did a great job on the body work,” Lloyd said.

“Thanks,” Elliot replied.

Ahead of them, the light was stubbornly red. Lloyd drummed his fingers on the wheel.

“I was shocked how many people showed up to the funeral,” he said.

“They weren’t there for him, they came for us.”

“I know. Can you believe Mrs. Wilcox stepped foot in a Catholic church? Do you think she’ll have to repent before the Baptists take her back?”

Elliot laughed. “No, they have a new pastor. He’s not as hardline as the old one.”

“Oh, man. I bet she hates that.”

“She stopped going to church for a month when he took over.”

Lloyd tried to imagine Mrs. Wilcox without picturing her going to church three times a week and couldn’t quite fill in the picture. The light turned green and he rolled through the intersection.

“What ticked her off?”

“The new preacher didn’t condemn drinking alcohol.”

“Ah… that makes sense. The no alcohol thing is one of her favorite rules. Did you notice she only played Baptist hymns during the service? I was sure she’d pick a classic for the finale, like ‘Amazing Grace’ but she went with ‘The Gate Ajar.’”

“She’s probably hoping to draw some converts to the Baptist with better music.”

“Hey, if the Baptists can drink now, she’s got a fighting chance.”

Elliot snickered. Lloyd scanned ahead for the turn off to the rehab facility.

“Did you know Uncle Joe served in the Marines? I didn’t.”

“Yeah,” Lloyd said. “I knew he’d been in the corps, but only because I found his draft papers in the basement when I was a kid.”

“Draft papers? He was drafted?”

“His card got pulled in ‘69 and he did two tours. We never talked about it. I knew better than to ask. Eventually, it just sort of faded from my mind because he never brought it up.”

“Isn’t that weird?” Elliot asked.

Lloyd shrugged.

“Do you think that’s why he was… the way he was?”

The way he was. Lloyd contemplated the phrase. How was Joe? The first word that came to mind was quite simply: mean. The stern demeanor, thirst for vengeance, and his desperate need for control might have had roots in his time overseas. Who knew what effect the brutality of guerrilla warfare would’ve had on Joe as an eighteen year old. Lloyd wondered if his father had been in a similar state of mind as he’d found himself in at that age. Perhaps the simmering rage had been hardened into something more deadly by the explosive violence of those two years in the jungle.

“I don’t know. Maybe, but no one can know for sure. Even if it did, Joe wouldn’t have admitted it.”

Lloyd turned in at the rehab facility and parked near the front doors. Elliot checked in with the admissions clerk, who took his luggage and disappeared down the hall, giving them a moment to say goodbye.

“Were you serious about staying in touch?” Elliot asked.

“Yeah. I haven’t decided about the ranch yet, but we’ll need to coordinate on that when the time comes.”

Elliot stared at him. “Coordinate?”

“Joe left you half the ranch.”

“Come again?”

Lloyd clapped his cousin on the shoulder. “I’ll have the lawyer send you a copy of the will, okay? We’re business partners now. That is, unless you’d rather sell.”

Elliot looked dumbstruck. “Uh-huh. Yeah… I don’t know. Do you want to?”

“I haven’t decided. How about we wait six months to make a final determination? It’ll give you time to get back on your feet and I can think things over. But if you need cash now, I can arrange a sale.”

“We should talk about that… later.” Elliot glanced over his shoulder to the desk, where the nurse was working on her computer. “Hang on a second, will you?”

Lloyd watched as Elliot approached the nurse, then accepted a small green notepad and pen. He scribbled something down and ripped off the page before handing it back to her.

“Here. Since you were serious about staying in touch, don’t limit yourself to just me, okay?”

Lloyd looked at the paper. There were two unfamiliar addresses written down, one nearby in Park City and the other in Denver. He looked at Elliot. “What’s this?”

His cousin shoved his hands in his pockets, rolling his shoulders.

“I know you’ve never gotten in contact, which, you know… uh… speaks for itself… but I think you should have that. Just in case you change your mind.”

Lloyd studied the addresses and then Elliot’s anxious expression.

“If you’re still angry-” he broke off, sighing. “You can’t blame them for something that was out of their control.”

“Blame who? For what?” Lloyd asked, losing patience as Elliot skirted around the point without explanation.

“Ingrid and Josephine. They’re your family, too.”

Words died on Lloyd’s tongue, stolen by the impact of the revelation. He re-read the addresses and cemented them into his memory.

“Will you say something?” Elliot said, annoyed.

“I thought they were dead.”

“Dead? Why? You couldn’t find them?” Elliot asked.

Lloyd shook his head, “I never looked… because I thought… I figured…”

“Why would you think they were dead?”

“Joe always settled his debts. Always. If she ran away, that meant…”

He couldn’t finish the thought, but saw understanding flash in Elliot’s eyes.

“They’re alive, and they’d be thrilled to hear from you.”

“Thank you, Elliot.”

They didn’t hug goodbye, just nodded at each other. Then he watched his cousin walk through the double doors that led to a long hallway. Lloyd slid on his sunglasses and headed out to the parking lot. The note in his hand felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. He shoved the paper into his wallet and climbed behind the wheel in a daze. He didn’t remember the drive from Salt Lake into Wyoming, but the next thing he knew, he was filling up with gas in Rock Springs.

He’d planned to drop off the Mercury in Salt Lake and have it shipped to D.C. Lloyd checked his watch and realized that appointment, as well as his flight, had long passed. There were a dozen missed calls on his phone. He wondered why he’d driven east, when he could’ve headed to Park City and seen Josie just as easily. It wasn’t too late to swing down to Denver and look up Ingrid; the stop wouldn’t be too far out of his way.

What would he say? After all those years of assuming the worst, he'd been wrong. He had to reach out to them and that terrified him.

They’d want to know why he hadn’t contacted them, why he’d let them go so easily, and ignored their existence for the past twenty years. How could he explain that the risk had outweighed the reward? Denial and avoidance and selfishness had cost him the most important people in his life. He cursed himself for it now and saw the stark truth - he’d given up on his sisters without a shred of factual evidence, leaning on emotional reasoning designed and tailored to protect himself.

He couldn’t explain that, not in his current state of mind, so he turned back onto I-80 and headed home.

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

You heard footsteps and jerked around so fast you nearly fell off your chair. The unexpected sight of the man behind you stole the breath from your lungs.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“Easy, Princess. It’s just me.”

Jake raised his arms in mock surrender as you pressed a hand to your racing heart and inhaled through your nose.

“Zach let me in,” he explained.

“Sorry. I’m still on edge from last night. What are you doing here?”

He grimaced. Your pulse, which had just begun to slow, galloped in response to the expression.

“Did something happen with the case? To Lloyd? Is he okay?”

“Nothing happened with the case - as far as I know - and Lloyd… I have no idea. He called me at six-thirty this morning and threatened to rip me apart limb by limb. I’ve been ducking his calls ever since.”

You frowned. “I’m sorry. I tried to tell him about Aiden last night, but I chickened out at the last minute.”

Jake quirked an eyebrow. “Well, that explains the phone call. Come on, Diskant is waiting.”

He led you through the kitchen and dining room, into the living area.

Zach lounged in the ornate Fauteuil chair on the far side of the room, his right ankle hooked over his left knee. The perfect stillness of his posture belied his casual bearing. The frozen, statue-like demeanor made your heart sink, as your attention shifted to the tall man who rose from the couch to greet you.

“Good afternoon,” Diskant said, extending his hand.

You greeted him and settled on the loveseat with Jake, directly across from the sofa.

“I’m sorry to inform you of this, but early this morning, Aiden LeDoux was arrested for attempting to break into your apartment.”

The words hit you like a trap door opening under your feet. You didn’t know if you should celebrate or shudder.

“When? How was he caught?”

Diskant glanced at Jake, who shifted nervously beside you.

“I asked Jake to trail Aiden,” Zach said.

“Starting when?” you asked.

“Saturday morning,” Jake said. “I’ve been following him all weekend.”

Diskant spoke. “He found Aiden trying to pick the lock of your apartment door. Jake contacted building security and took video of the act, so we have clear evidence of the attempted break-in.”

Your arms squeezed around your midsection. “And? Where is he now?”

“Jail, but we expect him to make bail soon.”

“Right.”

Detective Diskant glanced at Jake before meeting your eyes.

“There’s something else… While investigating the break in attempt, Jake located something unusual. We found a hidden camera in the hallway. It was tucked behind the welcome wreath on your across-the-hall neighbor’s door. The camera was pointed at your apartment and was live-streaming to an unknown IP address.”

- - -

For the next two hours you reviewed every detail of your case with Diskant. You seized a throw pillow and hugged it to your torso, digging your fingers into its softness for comfort. The detective’s pen scratched on the page as he scribbled in his journal.

Landon had joined your meeting an hour ago, since his shift tailing Aiden became a moot point when his bail hearing was pushed to Tuesday morning. You felt Landon’s perceptive eyes on you, taking in every detail of your reactions.

“Remind me what initially caused you to suspect Aiden when you realized you were being stalked?” Diskant asked.

“No one else made sense. Aiden was the only person I’d upset recently, and he’d just gone through a stressful event, losing his job.”

Diskant frowned. Zach leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.

“I think we should consider other suspects,” he said.

“What leads you to that conclusion?” Diskant asked.

“Last night, when someone tried to turn us into road kill, Aiden was playing basketball with friends on the other side of town - Jake witnessed it himself. The initial contact from the stalker where he quoted: “Don’t ask who’s there…” that’s a line from Scream, which was released in ’96. In other messages I found more references to horror movies. He quotes Misery and Candyman verbatim in some of the threats. It’s hard to tell if the quotes were deliberate or if the phrases were naturally absorbed into his lexicon. The movies he’s referencing are from the 90s, well before Aiden started watching horror flicks.”

Diskant nodded. You noticed he didn’t take any notes.

Zach sighed and glanced at you, then continued. “The third factor is Aiden’s personality. I made it a point to talk to him a couple times while he was dating Princess. In my opinion, he’s extremely passive aggressive, which isn’t compatible with the increasing level of confrontation we’re seeing from the stalker.”

“What comments did he make that you considered passive aggressive?” Diskant asked.

“He was too good at the art of a backhanded compliment. When I first spoke to him he claimed to appreciate Princess’ independence in one breath and undermined it in the next with, ‘not everyone can handle things on their own, like she tries to.’ There were less specific things too, but overall, he just had a way of taking an innocent sounding statement and giving it a whiff of contempt that set my teeth on edge.”

Diskant clicked his pen and tucked it in his jacket. “I’ve been mulling over the possibility of other suspects myself. The main problem with that theory is the phone call Yvette received last night. Have you considered that Aiden might be working with a partner?”

Zach raised his chin. “Do you have a line on a potential partner?”

“Not yet, but putting together the timeline of last night’s events, Aiden called Yvette before going to the park for his basketball game, prior to the hit-and-run attempt. The phone call where he asked if you were home might have been geared towards finding out the exact opposite. I think it’s just as likely that he was trying to find out if you weren’t at home.”

“If he put up a camera in the hallway and saw that no one was coming and going from your apartment, that might explain him contacting Yvette,” Jake said.

“Once he knew the apartment was unoccupied, he could have sent his partner to distract you with the hit-and-run. We reviewed the security tapes, and it seems that the driver veered away at the last second. I don’t think they were trying to kill you, just frighten and maim.”

You squeezed the pillow tight.

“Landon, have you finished profiling the suspect?” Zach asked.

“Male, 45 to 55, highly intelligent, strategic, with organized behavioral patterns. Some texts seem pre-scripted and sent on a schedule. There are three main patterns of delivery: rapid fire, cluster attacks with intentional pauses, and a steady trickle.”

Diskant nodded. “I noticed the intervals, and the scheduled messages. He probably has a full-time job that keeps him occupied from 9 to 5.”

Landon inclined his head. “Agreed. His writing style shows the marks of higher education, which makes me think he works in a white-collar occupation. It would also explain the need for regular hours. The occasions where he’s made contact - the nephew’s birthday party, in the park on Friday night, and then the incident yesterday - they all occurred in the evening.”

“Consistent with the profile,” Zach said.

“His emotional tone shows that he suppresses enormous amounts of rage. I’m inclined to think he can’t contain it all the time, which would’ve led to court-ordered therapy, probably on a non-voluntary basis.”

“What about the fact that he hasn’t identified himself in the texts?” Zach asked.

“That’s why I’m not ruling Aiden out yet,” Landon said. “The coyness allows him to feign innocence. He’s being secretive and not taking ownership of his actions. That fits Aiden to a tee. Factoring the technological aspect of the hidden camera Jake found in the hallway, there’s a strong possibility Aiden is involved in the stalking even if he isn’t the driving force behind it.”

You swallowed hard, disturbed by the description.

“Does the profile ring any bells?” Jake asked.

You shook your head and plucked at the upholstery of the pillow.

“My questions about the stalker’s identity began from the texts as well,” Diskant said. “These messages don’t read like they’re from a romantically obsessed stalker who’s trying to win back their victim’s affection.”

“The primary motivation behind the messages is clear,” Landon said.

Zach snorted. “Yeah. He’s trying to terrorize her.”

“The person writing the texts is an emotional sadist. They’re motivated by the enjoyment of the hunt and provoking a response.”

Diskant was nodding before Landon finished speaking. “The movie obsession in the subtext of his messages isn’t based around enjoying the adrenaline rush of fear, like a normal person would. He’s identifying with the antagonists, like Ghostface and Patrick Bateman.”

“And our current theory is that Aiden is involved with this person?” you asked, fingers clenching in the pillow’s stuffing.

“It’s one possibility,” Diskant said. “I spoke with Aiden’s father this morning. He mentioned he searched Aiden’s phone for evidence of the messages after you spoke with him. However, after going through his son’s phone, he realized it wasn’t the only device he’d seen Aiden using.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Ledoux reports Aiden has a second phone. He thought it was for work, but he’s seen it several times since Aiden was let go from his employer. His father’s theory is that he wasn’t using his personal device to send the texts.”

Jake leaned in. “Do you have a search warrant for the house yet?”

“We didn’t need one. Mr. LeDoux owns the house, all we needed was his permission. We searched his room from top to bottom and couldn’t find a second phone. A team is searching the rest of the house as we speak.”

“Why is Mr. LeDoux being so cooperative?” Zach asked. “Is it possible he might be Aiden’s partner?”

Your jaw dropped. For a second you were shocked, then horrified. “Mr. LeDoux is too old for the profile and I only met him one time. He has no reason to stalk me!”

Landon spoke. “I went through Aiden’s publicly available writings when I was analyzing the text messages and compared them. Because of his proximity to the case, I also reviewed Mr. LeDoux’s writing and I doubt either of them authored the messages. But given the information Yvette provided us with, I’m still concerned that Aiden has something to do with the harassment.”

“When do you plan to interrogate Aiden?” Zach asked.

“I’m not allowing you to speak with the subject,” Diskant said.

“Why not?” Landon demanded.

“You’re emotionally invested in the case - that’s a recipe for disaster.”

After Diskant left, Zach and Jake headed to the office, while Landon stayed behind as your minder. You retreated to your work station in the conservatory where you stared blankly at your laptop for a few minutes before laying your head down on the desk.

“Are you okay?” Landon’s voice cut through your misery.

You glanced back and saw him standing at the threshold between the kitchen and the conservatory, sunlight glinting off his dark brown hair.

“No. Would you be?”

“Nope.” He crossed to the table and pulled up a chair, swinging it around to straddle as he folded his arms over the backrest. “Tell me where your head’s at.”

“Zach and Lloyd might go into overprotective mode. The minute I realized I was being stalked, I was worried about Lloyd’s reaction. After watching Zach’s response to Diskant’s theory…” you shook your head.

“Zach’s incredibly loyal,” Landon said.

“That’s why I’m worried!”

“Jake and I will handle them, okay? Bishop already suggested locking Lloyd away before we fill him in. We could always shove Zach in too.”

“Got a dungeon?”

Landon snorted. “Not one that will hold them. Listen. This is temporary. The stalking can’t go on forever. It won’t go on forever.”

“If Lloyd and Zach have their way it will be over quickly and violently. The latter part worries me. I want this resolved but I don’t want them going to jail on my behalf. Just thinking about it makes me sick.”

Landon’s lips pursed. “Can you think of any reason, other than stalking you, for Aiden to want access to your apartment while you were away?”

“No. I have no clue.”

“If he planted the camera in the hallway, I’m inclined to think it was placed to make sure you weren’t home. It’s straight out of the intelligence handbook to ensure you’re in and out of a target’s home while they’re gone. Given that Aiden’s father was an FBI agent, he’d know that much about tradecraft.”

You rubbed your temple. “I don’t understand why he’d do this.”

“There were no weapons on him when he was arrested. I don’t buy him as your stalker, but the evidence points to his involvement.”

“It doesn’t make sense. Nothing adds up.”

Landon ran his fingers through his hair, tousling it from its carefully gelled style. “You’re right. And until we get more evidence, it probably won’t. What are you doing in the meantime?”

“Searching for missing persons reports.”

“Okay then. Shall we divide and conquer?”

The next few hours flew by, filled with research and notes. Daylight slipped away but your eyes remained focused on the screen without pause. You pulled up another report and a moment later, elbowed Landon.

“Hey. Look at this. Li Wei Chapman, age 23, vanished in 1999 from Virginia.”

Landon looked over your shoulder. “Her last known location was at a bible camp her family owned in Fredericksburg.”

“Is that too far away from Harmony?”

“It’s only forty minutes by car. The serial killer was most active closer to D.C., but that alone doesn’t exclude this victim. She disappeared on June 14th - right in the middle of his active period.”

“Look at the notes,” you said, scrolling down. “Her daughter, Zoe Chapman, also went missing on the same day. She was two years old.”

“If she was his first victim, he might have chosen a location he knew well. Maybe he spent time at the bible camp and was familiar with the terrain,” Landon said. “Fredericksburg has a lot of wooded areas that could be used for cover.”

“How do you know so much about the geography of Fredericksburg?” you asked.

“It’s on the way to Latimer’s hometown. We use his uncle’s farm for our team reunion every year. This is good. It’s the first mother-daughter abduction we’ve found that matches the details of our victim.”

“Wait. Marco Latimer? He’s from Virginia?”

Landon arched a brow. “Yeah. Why?”

“His accent. I couldn’t quite place it. Where’s he from?”

“Kilmarnock. His accent is Virginia Tidewater, but it’s stronger than most because he grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere.”

He re-focused his attention on the missing persons report and was about to say something when the doorbell rang. Your head snapped up.

“I’ll get it,” Landon said.

You trailed after him, but stayed out of sight as he opened the door. A woman in her mid-sixties with ash blonde hair worn in a blunt bob waited on the other side.

“Hello, I’m Judy Lange. I’m looking for Lloyd’s house sitter. Is she here?”

“Yeah.”

Landon motioned you forward. Mrs. Lange’s eyes glinted in recognition when she saw you.

“Here are the pool keys, for Mr. Hansen. I apologize for interrupting your evening, but I promised I’d have them back before he returned,” she said, handing them over.

“Thank you, I’ll make sure he gets them.”

“Excellent. And if you need anything, we’re just two doors down.”

You thanked her for the keys and when she was gone, placed the keys in the bowl on the foyer table. Realizing how late it was you checked the time and frowned.

“When does Lloyd’s flight land? Shouldn’t we have picked him up already?”

“He’s driving back,” Landon said.

“What?! All the way across the country?”

“He’s bringing back a car, at least that’s what Zach said.”

Your heart sank. You’d confessed your love, and now Lloyd was taking his sweet time returning.

“What’s wrong?” Landon asked.

“I told Lloyd I loved him last night.”

His eyebrows rose sharply. “Damn. That took guts. Lloyd’s the most emotionally repressed person I’ve ever met.”

You groaned and sank down on the couch, head in your hands.

“What was I thinking?!”

“Maybe your confession wasn’t such a bad thing,” Landon said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Lloyd is skittish about sharing his emotions, but under the right conditions he’s made progress before.”

You rubbed your neck. “I’m worried that he might never say it back. If this relationship keeps going, I’m going to need the words, but I don’t know if Lloyd is capable of saying them… ever.”

“I think the real question here is, how long are you willing to wait to hear him say it?”

“I don’t know. I love him, but I hate the way it feels to be left hanging like this. Either I get over myself and accept his limitations or… we break up.”

“Perhaps there’s a third option,” Landon said.

“What’s the third option?”

“Give it time. Lloyd is capable of changing. Don’t forget that.”

“What am I going to say to him when he comes home?” you asked, running a hand over your hair.

“I’d wait and see if he brings it up on his own. But remember - talking about his feelings is his most underdeveloped skillset. If you don’t remember that, you’re going to be hurt when he fumbles the pass.”

“I can handle fumbling. What I’m worried about is the possibility that he might never try.”

Landon gave you a crooked smile. “Give him a minute to work things out on his own. Lloyd makes his best progress when he can move at his own pace. He’ll test the waters before he dives in. That’s why I think your confession might be a good thing.”

You groaned. “It wasn’t a good thing. I humiliated myself.”

“Or you made him feel secure. Lloyd’s always taking one step forward and two steps back with emotional processing. If he knows where he stands with you, that might serve as an anchor. He’ll never be one for eloquent declarations of love, but a blind man could see how he treats you. I doubt the words will come easy, but he’ll find his voice when he’s ready.”

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

It wouldn’t have been accurate to say that Lloyd spent the rest of the drive across the country chewing on the idea of reconnecting with his sisters. Rather, it was the idea that spent the rest of the drive chewing on him. Thoughts of Ingrid and Josie took center stage and refused to let him look away. By the time he was approaching the outskirts of Rockville, he was exhausted and sick of spinning through the same thoughts over and over.

By the time he parked the Mercury on the tree lined street outside of his townhouse complex, it was approaching midnight, and he felt like a zombie. His back ached and the bruise on his thigh from where Charlene kicked him throbbed. He felt every twinge of sore muscle from the explosion at Holbrook’s stash house as he unloaded his bags. When he stepped inside, the sight of Zach drinking whiskey on his living room sofa took him by surprise. It took a minute before his mind switched on and the details of the conversation on Sunday night came flooding back.

“Shit,” he hissed.

“How was the drive?”

“Miserable. I… stuff came up. I didn’t mean to take so long. How is she?”

Zach shrugged.

“I called Jake this morning, but he hung up on me, twice.” Lloyd crossed the living room and reached for the decanter of whiskey to pour himself a glass.

“Tell me what's going on,” he commanded.

Zach snorted. “Fuck, no. I’m not touching that subject with a ten-foot pole, that’s on Princess. But I’m glad you’re back. Shit’s gotten weird the last few days.”

“Explain.”

“You look like death warmed over, Lloyd. Go get some sleep. I’ll stay through tomorrow and then I’m clearing out so you and Princess can talk.”

He felt like death warmed over, too, which led him to climb the stairs without too much protest. Whatever you needed to share would probably go over better if he had a full night’s sleep before hearing it. Lloyd slipped silently into the bedroom and found you curled up on the far side of the bed. He stripped to his boxers and crawled in next to you.

When the mattress dipped, your lashes fluttered. For a moment, you opened your eyes, but they didn’t focus. He eased closer and you reached out to press a hand to his chest. Lloyd took that as a welcoming sign and closed the distance between you.

He pressed his lips to your forehead and whispered, “I’m home. I missed you.”

You blinked sleepily, trying to wake up, but failing to cast off the chains of slumber.

“Lloyd… home…” you slurred the words as you struggled to open your eyes.

“I’m here now,” he murmured, smoothing a hand down your back. You cuddled into his chest with a breathy sigh that made his heart skip a beat. He kissed your hair.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.”

“S’okay. Glad… you’re back…”

Lloyd smiled, squeezing you gently as the weight of his worries melted away. You were happy to see him and he was holding you again. Everything would work out. Whatever challenge was lurking around the corner could be dealt with in the morning. As long as he could bask in the feeling of holding the woman he loved for the night, he’d meet the trouble head-on tomorrow.

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

In the morning, you curled against Lloyd and watched him sleep, enjoying the peaceful expression on his face. You were happy he was home, but dread clawed at the pit of your stomach. The conversation you’d put off was hours away and his reaction loomed large. Sighing, you showered and dressed before making your way downstairs.

Zach was at the stove, stirring a pan of scrambled eggs.

“Morning Princess,” he said, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

You forced a smile in return and opened a cabinet to grab plates. As Zach finished cooking, you set two places at the breakfast bar. You ate in silence with the approaching conversation weighing heavily on your mind.

“So, have you decided what to say?”

“Kind of. I’m planning on starting with the reasons behind my decision before I tell him the details.”

“If he explodes, don’t take it too personally. He’s been known to say things in the heat of the moment that he doesn’t mean.”

“It’s the uncertainty about the stalker’s identity that I’m worried about explaining. This was bad enough when I thought I knew who was behind it. Not knowing makes it even harder.”

“I’m meeting with Mr. LeDoux this morning. He kept a log of Aiden’s comings and goings for the past week and he’s willing to share it with me.”

“That’s good.”

“We’ll sort this out, okay? As for Lloyd, just bite the bullet and get it over with. He’ll come around once he calms down,” Zach said, and patted your shoulder.

You tried to take comfort in his words when your phone rang, interrupting your thoughts. Annabeth’s name popped up on the caller ID. You answered on speaker phone.

“Hey Annabeth. I’m here with Zach Hightower. Did you find something?”

“I have good news: you were right. The unidentified victim isn’t Julia’s sister!”

“Really? What did you find out?”

“There was an error in the initial comparison, which probably came about because of insufficient reference material. Julia came from a semi-isolated community that’s lived on an island for generations, her DNA is harder to interpret. With a deeper analysis, it became clear that Julia and the unknown victim weren’t sisters - they’re actually third cousins.”

“So the error was on Julia’s sample?”

“It can be difficult to interpret the genetics of a person with Julia’s background,” Annabeth said. “While China recognizes the Miao as an official minority, there's limited representation of her ethnicity in genetic databases, which is why the crime lab made a mistake.”

“Do you have a match on the unknown victim?” you asked.

“Based on ancestry DNA, the unknown victim is Li Wei Chapman. She was adopted by Frida and Lyle Chapman from Taiwan in 1977 and lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia.”

“Thank you so much, Annabeth. This is a tremendous help.”

“Glad I could assist. I’ve emailed you the full genetic analysis, but it might take a minute to download. The file is huge.”

“I can drop it off this afternoon,” Zach said.

You downloaded and printed the reports for him, but once he was gone, the anxiety returned. To occupy yourself, you returned to the missing persons reports, pulling up everything on Li Wei Chapman. The breakthrough opened up a whole new realm of possibilities - you hardly knew where to begin. An hour ticked by and you were struggling to focus. Lloyd was still asleep. You felt trapped within the four walls of the house.

It was too quiet. You were bubbling with energy as your mind raced with thoughts of what to say when Lloyd woke up and the possibilities for the investigation now that the unknown victim was identified. You tried to busy yourself by cleaning the kitchen and re-organizing your paperwork, but anxiety was gnawing a hole in your stomach and the attempts to stay occupied only amplified the restlessness. As you paced around the house, your eyes landed on the keys to the pool. They were still on the foyer table where you’d put them last night.

Weighing the risk, you decided that the pool wasn’t too exposed. It was in a fenced enclosure behind the townhouses, which meant there’d be a row of three story tall brick buildings and a courtyard with an eight foot high wall between you and the nearest street. Locked gates prevented visitors from entering the recreational area behind the townhouses except by passing through a home. Plus, Lloyd’s back gate was only ten feet away from the pool enclosure.

You found your regular one-piece suit in the front pocket of your suitcase, which you’d stored in Lloyd’s laundry room. After changing, you took the keys and made your way through the backyard, closing the wrought iron gate behind you, and dove into the glistening blue water of the lap pool. The coolness enveloped you, washing away the smothering anxiety that had been simmering all morning. With each stroke down the length of the pool, you felt the stress falling away.

- - -

Hidden in the shadows, a figure watched you splash through the water.

He’d spent all weekend figuring out where you’d disappeared to. Finding you and Zach at the Emerald Harp on Sunday night had been an incredible stroke of luck. Since then, he’d been waiting for the ex-SEAL to leave so he could approach you alone. His heart pounded with anticipation as he watched, obscured by a neighbor’s arbor. The structure was overflowing with the thriving yellow blossoms of a Carolina Jessamine that offered sufficient cover from the security cameras.

He’d been planning this for months, even before he’d begun messaging you. He’d learned your routines and watched you, waiting for the opportunity to get close enough. Slipping the balaclava over his face he moved through the pool enclosure gate on silent feet, reveling in the rush of being so close to his ultimate goal.

You swam to the end of the pool, your back to him, unaware of the danger you were in. Wanting to prolong the thrill of being invisible, he stayed out of your line of vision as you swam toward the end of the pool. You reached the wall and surfaced with a gasp, treading water for a moment before reaching for the ladder. Unaware of him, you climbed out and collected your towel from a nearby chair. Adrenaline thrummed in his veins, pulsing through every capillary, and sharpening his senses. He bided his time and relied on the crepe soles of shoes to mask the sound of his footsteps as he drew closer.

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

Lloyd woke up, feeling well-rested and content. Beside him your spot was empty, and the sheets were cool to the touch. He listened but didn’t hear anyone else moving around in the house. A glance at the clock showed it was past ten-thirty. It surprised him to have slept for so long. Usually he didn’t sleep more than six or seven hours in a single stretch. He showered and brushed his teeth before descending the stairs, looking forward to seeing you.

As his foot landed on the bottom step, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air.

Adrenaline surged, and without hesitation, he sprinted to the backyard, where the scream had originated. Another scream guided him towards the pool enclosure. He crossed the yard in four strides and didn’t bother opening the garden gate, just leapt over it and pivoted toward the pool enclosure, nearly losing his footing as the loose gravel shifted under his bare feet.

You were locked in a struggle with a masked figure who had you by the throat. The masked man looked up and saw Lloyd barreling towards him. He threw you down on the concrete and seized a handful of your hair, then shoved your head under the water.

Lloyd charged. He slammed into the assailant and they tumbled across the hot cement, exchanging a barrage of punches and kicks. The masked man was stronger and more competent a fighter than he’d expected. An elbow to the jaw sent Lloyd’s head snapping back, and he cracked the crown of his head on cement. For a second his grip slackened, and the intruder broke free. Lloyd was on his feet in an instant, ready to chase after him, when he saw you unconscious on the ground.

The intruder was already disappearing around the corner into the courtyard. Lloyd knelt and pressed his fingers to your throat, feeling for a pulse. Your skin was ashen and your breathing shallow. Kneeling down, he cradled your head to his chest and stroked your cheek.

“Princess? Wake up… come on, honey…”

You didn’t stir. His hands trembled as he found his phone in the pocket of his chinos and dialed for an ambulance.

- - -

He paced in the waiting area, bubbling with tension as the doctors took their sweet time scanning you in radiology, where he hadn’t been allowed to follow. The door opened, and he spun around.

“What happened?” Zach asked.

“Someone tried to drown her in the swimming pool. I got there just in time.”

“You look like you need a bandaid yourself.”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd said.

“Princess?”

“A concussion for sure, they’re scanning for other injuries now.”

Worry lined Zach’s face. He crossed his arms and before Lloyd could question him further, the waiting room door opened again to admit Jake and Landon.

“What happened?” Jake demanded.

Lloyd gave him the run down and noted that Landon didn’t seem as surprised by the description of events.

“I stopped by your place and spoke to Mrs. Lange,” the dark haired man said. “She gave me a copy of the security tapes from the pool complex. I haven’t had the chance to look at it yet.”

Jake was already pulling out his laptop. They huddled around the screen and watched as the technical specialist reviewed the footage. The assailant had done a good job of avoiding being captured on his way in, but the frames taken after his fight with Lloyd showed clear images of him fleeing through the courtyard.

“Let me try this,” Jake muttered.

His fingers flew over the keys as he applied measurements to various objects in the footage, giving the software a frame of reference. The program calculated and analyzed for a minute as he isolated the figure of the assailant.

Jake read the result and took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Shit.”

“What?” Lloyd growled.

“The attacker is only 5 '9, which means Aiden is six inches taller than the man who attacked Princess. It’s possible to make yourself taller, but six inches shorter? There’s no way he’s the assailant. We’ve been looking at the wrong guy all along.”

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

Next - Part XIX

Behind the Scenes: Lloyd’s post-chapter reaction

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

Masterlist

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

@denisemarieangelina

@before-we-get-started

@buckysteveloki-me

@patzammit

@badassbaker

@meetmeatyourworst

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@thiskindahotkindamusic

@jesgisborne

@charmingprinces

@amiets2

@seitmai

@elle14-blog1

@chaoticsteverogers

@kaleidoscopepov

@fangirl-and-doctor-help

@terry2227

@jesevans

@openup-yourmind

@kandierteveilchen

@adoreyouusugar

@awkwardgiraffe726

@pono-pura-vida

@mysweetlittledesire

@liecastillo

@marantha

@literaturelove

@babyevansblog

@lizzzaaaaaaaaaaa

@thegirlnextdoorssister

@ladygrey03

@cynic-spirit

@rosedpetal

@jeremyrennermakesmesmile

@bambamwolf87

@yiiiikesmish

@calwitch

@peachiestevie

@texmexdarling

@here4thefanfics

@rogersbarber

@spikeluv84

@dear-fifi

@crayongirl-linz

@bigcreatorwombatdreamer

#lloyd hansen x reader #lloyd hansen x princess #lloyd x princess #the princess & the lawyer #the princess and the lawyer #series: the princess and the lawyer #lloyd hansen x you #lloyd hansen x y/n #lloyd hansen fanfic #lloyd hansen au #chris evans characters #chris evans character fanfic #the gray man fanfic #lloyd hansen x female reader

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braveclementine · 7 months ago

Text

Chapter 14

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own a few OCs like Elizabeth, Katherine, Stacy, and Jessie. I do not condone any copying of this.

You were waiting nervously as Wanda, Pietro, Vision, Katherine, and Jessie made their way up to the door.

Not everyone was there. Clint was along with T'Challa, Thor, and Fury. But the others were all somewhere in the house. The only kid that was with you was Lucy, who was jumping up and down, unable to wait and see her Aunts and Uncles.

Clint welcomed them into the home with ease. It felt awkward, but maybe that was just you. Lucy excitedly jumped into Pietro's arms and he greeted her with a huge smile.

Skylar had grown up a lot. He looked like he might be even taller than Minerva, despite being a few months younger.

The twin boys named Tommy and Billy seemed much older than they should have been. Eight already? That couldn't be possible at all. Minerva and Skylar were only six and a half, almost seven. Lucy was just turning seven and a half. How were they eight?

You figured it had something to do with Wanda and Vision themselves, so you didn't say anything about it.

Katherine and Pietro had a little girl as well, who was four now and her name was Brittany. It was clearly Katherine's choice in the name and definitely not Pietros'.

Soon, Steve, Stephen, and Tony came down with the other kids. Minerva was on Tony's shoulders, while the rest of the kids except for Lloyd and Vera scampered down the steps to meet their Aunts and Uncles.

Steve meanwhile was holding Vera in one arm. Stephen was holding Lloyd in his arms.

You watched as Wanda's eyes swept over the kids before landing on Minerva on Tony's shoulders.

Minerva, of course, knew that these people were her soulmate parents, but she was still clinging to Tony like he was her protector. And really, in a way, he was.

Though Tony had put her down on her feet, she was hiding behind him, her small arms wrapped around his leg so that he couldn't move. She peered out at the others in front of her, before ducking behind his leg.

"Minerva?" Wanda asked uncertainly, bending down so that she could be on her level.

Minerva peeked out from behind Tony's leg again.

"I'm Wanda." Wanda said softly.

Minerva looked up at you. You just smiled, not wanting to tell her to do something one way or another.

Minerva looked back at Wanda. The others were suddenly consciously aware of the encounter and Fury and Clint were quick to take the other kids back to the living room where they could wait until Minerva had met her soulmate parents.

T'Challa also slipped out of the room, leaving Minerva with Pietro, Vision, Wanda, Jessie, and Katherine in front of her. Tony, Stephen, Steve, Lloyd, Vera, and yourself were behind her.

Minerva seemed to hold on even tighter to Tony's leg. "I don't know you."

Wanda's smile was sad and Pietro's looked almost guilty.

"I know sweetie, I'm sorry." Wanda said softly. "But if you want, we would all love to get to know you. Would you like that?"

Minerva looked scared, now that she had been asked a question. She kept looking upwards at you and Tony for comfort. Tony bent down, wrapping his arms around the little girl. "What do you think Minnie? You don't have to decide right now. They're going to be here for thirty whole days. You can get to know them over that time, of course. Hmm?"

"Okay." Minerva said softly. "Can I go and find Uncle Loki now? He wanted to read to me."

"Of course sweetheart." Tony said, letting her go.

"Bye!" Minerva said cheerfully to her Aunts and Uncles, and then scampered up the stairs to go and find Loki.

Wanda got up from where she was crouching down.

"Does she always spend time with Loki?" Pietro asked, his distrust about Loki being around his soulmate daughter apparent in his voice.

"If you actually cared about whether or not Loki was around her, you would have taken care of her from the start." You snapped, heading up the stairs.

"Y/N!" Wanda called in protest behind you.

But you didn't turn around.

This was going to be a torturous thirty days.

***

No more was said on the topic of them abandoning Minerva. Dinner wasn't as tense of an affair, as you had sat down at the end with Tony and Stephen with James and Temperance. The others had sat up near the front. Minerva was somewhere in the middle so that she was with the familiars, which were Loki and Thor at the moment, and those she was supposed to get to know, who was Vision and Wanda.

After dinner, Steve and you did the dishes, before you headed upstairs by yourself. You tucked in the boys, giving them kisses and hugs. You sung to them when they asked, and then you went to head over to the girls room.

Peeking in, you saw that they were all fast asleep, except for Minerva who was laying down in bed while Loki sat next to her.

Loki didn't notice you, the same poetry book that he had read to you before was in his lap now.

"You see this poem?" Loki asked quietly. "Can you read it aloud for me?"

Minerva looked at the words and then said slowly, "A family is like a circle; the connection never ends. That is a short poem!"

Loki chuckled. "It is short, isn't it? But you know what that means, right? It means that no matter where you go, who you talk to, who you spend time with. No matter what other people tell you, the only people that really matter in your life are your family. Family always sticks by you, no matter what. Family is the most important thing in your life, you find that out after a while."

"Like my Mommy." She said.

"Just like your mother." Loki said softly.

Minerva rolled over, snuggling into Loki's knee. "Did my mommy like poetry too?"

"She loved poetry." Loki said with a smile. "In fact, did you know she actually wrote a poem?"

"She did?" Minerva asked, looking up at him with big eyes. "What did she write?"

Loki smiled softly, before he opened up the book to the back and pulled out a sheet of notebook paper. "Your mommy gave me this. She knew how much I loved poetry so she wrote it and asked me to critique it. I think you should have it."

"Will you read it to me?" She asked.

"It's sad." Loki said.

"That's okay." Minerva said. "I get sad all the time when I realize I can't know my mommy. But then you tell me about her and I get happy. So please?"

You thought Loki might actually start to cry.

He licked his bottom lip, unfolding the piece of paper and read:

"Life is to short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right and forget about the ones who don't. And believe that everything happens for a reason... if you get a chance- take it; if it changes your life- let it; Nobody said that it would be easy... They just promised it would be worth it."

"Do you think I should go with Wanda?" Minerva asked as Loki folded the piece of paper back up and put it on her bedside table. He had long closed the poetry book and looked back over at her.

"I think. . ." Loki said softly, tucking her in completely. "That you should follow your heart. Everything happens for a reason, you just have to find it. Maybe that sounds overwhelming, but you'll see. Now go to sleep sweetheart."

You watched Loki turn off the light and then he came out of the bedroom.

"Hello my Queen." He whispered, kissing you on the lips while closing the bedroom door.

"Did she really write that?" You asked softly when Loki pulled back. "I didn't know she wrote poetry."

Loki smiled a little. "I'm always shocked to learn all the things Elizabeth could do. And she always said she didn't know how to do anything. Why do people always say they have no talents? Everyone always has hundreds of little talents up their sleeves."

"I have found it is very hard for people to say good things about themselves." You said softly. "Either because they don't believe they do, or because they don't want to come across as a bragger. But Tony doesn't have a problem with that."

"Tony has no talents." Loki smirked.

You hit him playfully in the arm. "Take that back."

He chuckled. "I'm just kidding my love. Of course he has skills. He did create all of his superhero outfits. And Vision. I just like messing with the metal man."

You smiled. "Thank you for reading to her. For watching over her. I know it can't be easy, since she's not your soulmate daughter."

Loki shrugged. "I know what it's like, being put second because your parents aren't yours. Odin and Frigga did try with me, but they couldn't help putting Thor first either. I don't want her to feel that."

You nodded. "I thought it might have something to do with that. But it doesn't lessen my thanks."

"Well, you're welcome." Loki said with a smile, dipping you again to kiss you. "Where are you going tonight?"

"Clint's." You answered. "He already asked me to spend the night with him tonight this morning, so yeah."

"I'll see you tomorrow then, if my luck proclaims it." Loki murmured across your lips again. "Have a pleasant night tonight Y/N."

"Goodnight Loki." You murmured, kissing him one last time before moving down the hallways to Clint's room.

Once inside, you stripped off your clothes, crawling into bed next to a sleepy Clint. "Love you Birdie." He said sleepily, leaning over to kiss you before pulling you close to him.

"Love you too trouble." You smiled, falling asleep in his embrace.

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flaming-firecracker · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 2 for Say Goodbye to the Kid I Used to Be

Chapter 1 can be found here:

Waking up the next morning felt like dragging myself out of a deep pond. My head was fuzzy, and somehow, I felt more exhausted than I had last night. Slowly, I lifted my hand up to rub at my eyes, dislodging the blankets tucked around me in the process.

Wait, blankets?

Vague memories were beginning to come back to me. Kai picking me up, the trip back to my room, him tucking me into bed. My brother took care of me, moving me off the cold tile. He protected me again, this time against the demons in my own head.

I needed to thank him sometime.

Groaning, I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes again. Today wasn’t going to be a fun day. Training was gonna be hell. I’m sure my alarm will be going off any second to alert me to prepare for the oncoming day. What time was it anyway?

I reached across the desk to check the time. The time read 2 pm.

Whoops.

Wait, why hadn’t anyone come to get me? I rushed out of bed, tripping over the sheets that got stuck on my ankles. There was no time to worry about that. There was a knock on the door while I was rummaging through my closets for my gi. I shouted a distracted answer, desperately trying to pull on my outfit.

“Hey bud, how are you feeling today?” Sounded a voice from the other room. “What are you doing?” The next thing I knew there were a pair of arms around me pulling me out of the closet and back into the room.

“Hey!”

“Calm down, Lloyd. Take a deep breath,” Kai said, keeping his hands on my shoulders. I hadn’t noticed my breathing had picked up again. I followed my brother’s breathing again, trying to tap down the anxiety I had been hit with.

It took a couple minutes, but eventually my breathing returned to usual. When it did, I moved in to give Kai a hug, which he accepted gladly, before I headed back towards my closet. Or at least that was the plan. Instead, Kai didn’t let go. He just kept me in his tight embrace, with my head buried in his shoulder. It was comforting. It felt safe.

But I was still late.

“Kai, let go. Sensei’s already gonna kill me.”

“For what?”

“Skipping training?”

“Dude,” Kai started, finally pulling away to look at me. “There is no training today. I talked to him, he’s giving us a couple days off.”

He’s what?

Oh.

“What did you tell him?” I asked quietly, looking at my feet. I was embarrassed that even Kai had to find me like that yesterday. I didn’t want my Uncle to know.

“Lloyd, I simply told him you weren’t feeling well. I said we needed a couple days for some rest and relaxation, that’s it.”

That’s right, Kai would never tell him that. He knew I wouldn’t want him to.

“We need to talk though.”

Those words brought back the sinking feeling, like a rug was pulled out from under me. Like the room had suddenly gotten colder, despite the master of fire himself standing across from me. I guess this was the price of his silence.

“About?”

He didn’t respond as first. Instead, he walked over to my bed, picking up the blankets discarded across the floor. With practiced ease, he began tucking in the sheets and smoothing out the blankets, making the bed with practiced ease. I decided to take this time to change into a more comfortable pair of pajamas.

When I came back Kai was sitting cross legged on the bed, thumbing through something on his phone while he waited for me to return. I hovered in the doorway for a couple seconds before moving to sit beside him. There was no way around this conversation.

He put his phone away as I situated myself next to him, waiting patiently until I was ready to start talking.

“How are you feeling?”

The question caught me off guard. I was expecting a lecture, I needed to stop expecting the worst from my brother.

“I’m tired, but otherwise okay.” Kai nodded but didn’t say anything else.

“I feel like my life has slipped by without me,” I started. “Like I blinked and all of a sudden every last piece of my childhood was gone.”

“Does that happen a lot? The panic attacks?”

I took a deep breathe before answering. My eyes stung, but I didn’t want to cry again. “Kinda?”

Kai nodded again. He seemed to be waiting for me to speak again, but I didn’t have anything else. What else could I say? I just didn’t want to feel like my life was over. Eventually he seemed to realize I was done.

“Listen Lloyd. I need you to promise something.” I stopped avoiding his gaze, tearing my eyes away from the loose threads on my blankets.

“If you ever feel that way, to any degree, promise you’ll come find me? I don’t care if I’m asleep, or if I’m reading or anything. You come get me, or one of our siblings. Okay?”

He didn’t mean that.

“I mean that Lloyd.”

Can he read my mind?

“Lloyd, we’re here for you. I am here for you. Promise me.”

“I promise.”

Maybe he did mean that. Maybe I wasn’t alone.

#ninjago kai #ninjago #lloyd garmadon #fanfiction

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kindaasrikal · 7 months ago

Text

Lowkey read this and those reblog rants you had with someone else on this post and just wanted to throw my own two cents.

(Also wanna add, i blame it all on bad writing. Wu was more focused as a mentor and teacher rather than an uncle and brother (except from a few random moments) in the early seasons. Don’t get me started on the atrocious writing Misako was given. When it comes to the other parents, lowkey they aren’t given that much attention story wise.)

Lou lowkey wasn’t as neglectful or ignored Cole as a lot tend to assume. I think how Lou was portrayed was more emotionally constipated with his grief and unsureness on how to parent after Lilly died, as well as emotionally neglectful with how he ended up not realising the grief Cole was going through too. Cole was shown to be afraid of disappointing his dad by not meeting his expectations, when it’s later revealed that Lou never cared all that much about that with how quickly he accepted Cole being a ninja (probs because of Lilly) when deep down he rlly just wanted Cole to be happy and a good person. He went about it the wrong way, definitely, but i can’t see him as incredibly irredeemable or bad canonically.

I lowkey just feel bad for Ray and Maya, like ignoring how illogical their kidnapping was, they were trapped away from civilisation and society for years and obviously deeply loved and cared for their kids, but didn’t know how to handle hurt and independent teens after years of being away.

Dr Julien built Zane when he was younger, he stayed for quite a while in Zane’s life until his inevitable death. The whole memory wipe/amnesia thing was weird on its own, but Dr Julien seemed like he did that because he wanted Zane to find his own place in the world, with out grief or worry for fitting in. Weird execution, but Dr Julien did love Zane and was around for a very long time in his life.

Tbh? I think the reason people hate Misako more than they do Garmadon is because of how poorly she was written and portrayed. She regretted leaving and definitely loved Lloyd (she dedicated years just searching for a way to prevent the prophecy from happening) but the writers lowkey just mentioned her in a random episode and then introduced her very half heartedly in said episode. Than her main trait became the fact that she’s a love interest for Wu, making her character more that rather than the mother to Lloyd. I’ll be honest though I’ve ranted about her before and what her possible reasonings and situation was. Garmadon wasn’t there for Lloyd for a good while despite having his shadows as a tool to do so. But, he was shown as a decently good parent quickly by worrying about Lloyd, wanting to protect him, feeling immense grief at not being able to do so, so on so forth. The same things Misako was portrayed as yet more minimally.

Wu and his whole reasoning for not taking Lloyd out of Darklys is a whole mess on it own since there’s nothing much on that whole fiasco, as well as what Lloyd did after he was kicked out (other than wander around). Wu obviously thought Lloyd was still in the school (The ninja saying he escaped his school again, meaning they had met him before and left him at Darklys before too) so no one other than Lloyd knew he was kicked out. The only reason why i think Wu didn’t take him in was either because he couldn’t cause of Misako being the legal guardian and thinking he can’t because Lloyd still went to school and he couldn’t change that (Wu’s shock at suddenly meeting Misako shows he had no idea where she was, she likely cut all contact off with everyone she used to know) making the reason he took Lloyd in after the school was essentially taken out of the picture much more understandable, or because Darkly’s was seem as a trusted school. I mean lowkey no one saw its existence a problem and had a bunch of kids from who knows what village there. They still taught the basics, like maths, english, science, but ig added a few extra things onto that? The whole casual existence of Darklys is strange, especially since it’s the only school ever mentioned in the show. Sure it was placed in a forest, but it seemed like the boarding schools existence was common knowledge.

Plot holes, man. I hate them sm. like where did Brad and Gene go when they could’ve been great at helping Lloyd.

And like, lowkey Wu could not control the ninja+Lloyd getting involved in half that bull they were lowkey destined for it. He obviously wanted to but destiny is a strong driving factor in Ninjago, meaning Wu could not stop any of it happening.

Legit just went on my own rant here so honestly sorry about that 😭

OK we all agree that misako is a shit parent

BUT

Wu ain't that much better than her. This man lets his nephew stay in a school for future gang members and criminals, even though he has the full authority to take him back.

And after getting him back, he puts him in multiple dangerous situations with the other ninjas.

This is not a misako-defending post, I have thoughts on her too. She literally abandoned her kid at said school and decided to fuck off to who the hell knows where and study ancient scrolls. And not ONCE did she think about checking up on her goddamn SON.

Legit, the only semi-decent parental figure Lloyd has is the dude destined to bring doom and destruction wherever he goes.

Said dude risked his life to save his son, literally DIED, and perhaps the only person Lloyd genuinely could look up to.

Come to think of it, lord Garmadon is one of THE best parents in the show. The other being Ed and Edna.

Kai and Nya's parents were kidnapped by a fucking dude, Dr.Julien got down and dirty with death a little after Zane's creation and Cole's dad is a neglectful asshole. Jay is the only one with loving parents.

The bar is so low it's in the realm of the departed, yet they STILL manage to trip over it and dig even deeper.

No wonder these kids are the way they are, I would have ended up in an asylum after the first two traumatic events.

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ice-emperor-zane · 3 years ago

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Reminder that in season 1, Lloyd was homeless and that map he was stole was leading to the bounty, he got there like an hour after the ninja.

everyone ignore the tags im immensely angry at every ninjago character ever except Lloyd ❤️✨

#idk man im just thinking about Lloyd’s actions in season 1 #the only things he ever asked of the snakes was candy and a treehouse #now im just saying that not having anywhere to live and not knowing where ur next meal gonna come from can do that to a mf #funny how that was seen as a silly joke like lol this ten year old 😂 so childish he likes candy and treehouses 😂#idk #like you can just see him being like ‘wow... thats litterally my uncle in there. he and his students are celebrating my loss’#Wu. do better 🙄#they had a whole thing of the best way to defeat an enemy is to make them your friend #he was never your enemy omg! wu tryna teach the ninja to never put off till tomorrow what can be done today #bitch why didnt you take your nephew in then instead of leaving him at darkleys or homeless #im mad #like litterally so mad #because i didnt notice this until now and it just makes it so much worse #lloyd so wanted to have a home and he thought he’d found it but he was just a tiny bit too late #too slow in comparison to the ninja #its interesting that he chose to burn the monestary too. wanting to give them a taste of what he went through #this has me thinking about harumi’s introduction too. when she was giving food to poor kids #i imagine that was something she chose to do that because she was dealing with lloyd specifically #if she knew so much about garmadon she must’ve at least known how it happened from lloyd’s perspective #so she thought it was a good way to make him trust her and she was absolutely right #funny isnt it #lego #ninjago #lego ninjago #lloyd garmadon #lloyd ninjago

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prime-pulse · 3 years ago

Note

How would SLG Lloyd react to his canon child-self? I think his show-child self would be EXTREMELY jealous

(I wasn’t sure if this was a writing prompts or not, but I’ll respond to it as one! I also didn’t finish this, I’ve been having this sitting for a week but have had no idea how to continue it. I’ll give you guys the unfinished, unedited draft as a treat bc I have no plans to continue it </3)

The world slowly emerged from the dark void. The only sound that filled the blue sky above him was ringing, a ringing so intense it made everything appear doubled in his vision. He sat up, rubbing his head where the blow had been struck. He knew Jay hadn’t been ready to try using nunchucks in a real fight—

But... This wasn’t the monastery. Or the training room. It was an open field, with floating islands all around. It reminded him of legends his father once told him of, of a land between realms, one nobody but his grandfather could get to. ... So there was no way he was actually there. Right?

“Oh, cool, I’m lucid dreaming.” Lloyd said casually— as it was a normal phenomenon for him. He flexed his hands out in front of himself before he heard a sneeze in the distance. Whipping his head around, he saw a child— a child with a god-awful bowl cut he remembered his father giving to him when he was a kid.

“Who’re you?!” The little boy yelled accusingly from the safety of his cardboard-box tower— boxes Lloyd had no idea where this kid had obtained.

“Uh— Lloyd? I’m Lloyd. I— Hey, you should know that. This is one of my dreams I get whenever I get knocked down, I end up here ‘cause this is…” Before Lloyd could finish, he was interrupted.

“This is the place my dad told me about! It’s supposed to be full of— Of big, scary dragons! And weapons stronger than any force on Ninjago!” The kid threw his fists into the air, a wide smile across his face, “Perfect for my takeover! The ninja won’t know what hit them when I— when I swoop down and take them prisoner! And— And— When I… Take their powers, too! Mwuh-hahahahahahaa! Yessss! And I’ll have every element! I’ll become the new ultimate spinjitzu master! And…”

Lloyd blinked as the child continued to ramble on, pacing back and forth on his fort… Admittedly in a similar pattern his father would pace in whenever he got intently focused.

It was then, the child suddenly paused.

“Wait a second! Your name is Lloyd? Impossible! My name is Lloyd! Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, son of the nefariously evil Lord Garmadon, who would never give me a name that anyone else could ever possess!” The child pointed toward Lloyd accusingly, then squinting as he began to nervously fiddle with his hands, “Cause… ‘Cause that’s how much he loves me.”

… This was a weird dream. Jay must’ve hit him hard. That, or he had something else to bring up to his therapist.

“... Evil? Dad chokes up whenever he accidentally steps on a bug. Holds a whole mini-ceremony and everything. Very ‘life is sacred’ kind of guy.” Lloyd said after a moment, approaching the child to investigate his box fort. The kid couldn’t be much older than eleven.

“You’re saying that like you’ve met him,” The child sneered with his tongue out, “Like he’s your dad too! Which he can’t be, ‘cause if I had a brother, we’d have to fight for family heir rights. Which I’d win, ‘cause I’m strong, dad said so.” He grinned, dusting off his hoodie with familiar painted-on markings. Lloyd looked the kid up and down before grabbing him by the back of his hood, lifting him into the air.

“Is that a cape?” He almost laughed.

“Wuh— HEY! Put me down this instant! Or I’ll— I’ll use my dark powers on you!” The child began to kick, reaching toward Lloyd’s face in an attempt to slap him. Lloyd only leaned his head away.

“Oooh, dark powers. I’m scared. I think you hang around Uncle Clouse too much.” Lloyd laughed, putting what he assumed to be himself down.

“Who is that?! Father has no other brothers! And Uncle Wu never comes to see me,” The child growled almost like a dog, “So you are a liar! A fraud! I’ll have you hunted for desecrating the Garmadon name!”

“You don’t… Uncle Clouse, yeah? He helped raise me and Skylor? Along with Uncle

Chen?” Lloyd tilted his head in confusion. That wasn’t right.

“Who is Skylor?! You’re not me! You— You must be some sort of shape changer!” The child screamed, then paused… “You must be Oni! This is a test! I’ll take you down, Oni!”

It was at that point, the child landed a good kick in Lloyd’s face. Lloyd yelled, dropping the child onto the ground and holding onto his nose.

“What the h— That’s it!”

#lloyd montgomery garmadon #x2 #slg au #Ninjago #writing

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happys-crazy-queen22 · 4 years ago

Text

I'm The Right One For You

Gif credit @spooky-cory.

Requested by @stellarosedutton. I hope you like it Thanks for the request.

"Rip, Rip, babe"? Snapping your fingers in front of Rips face. You were trying to talk to him about the kids but he seemed like he had something more interesting on his mind and in his sight.

"What"? Rip, huffed turning his head to look at you.

"Where are you right now? I'm talking about the kids and you're off in lala land".

"I have lots of shit on my mind. I cant be talking about the kids, right now". Rip grumbled and grabbed his beer off the table and walked out the door.

You chewed on the inside of your cheek as you watched the kids play with their uncles. You knew this job was hard on Rip but you thought it would be easier if you and the kids were there to help out. But it just seemed to make things worse for Rip and you.

"You okay"? Lloyd came over and sat down in Rips spot.

"Yeah. I'm good".

"You know, ever since you and Rip got together. I could tell when you lie. It wasnt very often but when you did, you always said "I'm good". Not your normal bubbly self. So what's up"?

"I think, Beth Dutton has finally sunk her claws into Rip. She has been awfully flirty with him and he just shrugged it off at first but now I think they have something going on".

"Why do you think that"?

"He's distance. He never comes home at a descent hour nowadays. We havent had a conversation longer that "get to work". I'm starting to worry. We havent had sex in months. We use to do it every night".

Lloyd couldnt hold in his laughter. "I'm very aware of that. We could hear you miles away. But dont think to much into it. He's just stressed and hes working to hard". Lloyd tried to reassure you but it didn't help.

"I know. But something is wrong and he wont talk to me". You sigh running your hand through your hair.

"You need some sleep. Why don't you take the kids and head to bed. We'll be quiet".

"Yeah. Thanks for the talk, Lloyd".

"Anytime, sugar". Lloyd sent you a wink as you grabbed up Carson, your 2 year old son and Neveah, your 3 year old daughter with Rip.

Carson was already asleep when you hit home, just a walk down the trial. Neveah was a little chatter box. Opening the door on the house, you got a not so suprising shock. Your suspicions were right. Quickly covering Neveahs eyes with your hand.

"You cheating fucking bastard". Your voice made Beth giggle and Rip freak when he saw you.

"Its not what it looks like". Rip tried to explain.

"Did you slip in shit and went dick first into Beth's pussy"? You asked sarcastically.

"Dont cuss in front of the kids".

"Oh so you can cheat on their mother in front of them. Because this right here will scar them for life before me saying dick and pussy will. You fucking asshole". You grabbed up Neveah and headed back to the bunkhouse.

You kicked the door open as Rip was behind you. Everyone got quiet as you came in.

"Did you all know"? You asked everyone staring at you.

"No". Lloyd looked at you then to Rip with a disappointing look.

"Can you watch them so I can cool off and figure out what to do? Because I'm not staying here". You handed Ryan Neveah and laid Carson down on the beside him.

"Yeah, no problem".

You started outside and grabbed a sledgehammer on your way out that leaned against the house.

"Y/N, what are you doing"? Kayce heard the ruckus and came running out of the main house. Rip didnt follow you. He was probably getting a ear full from Lloyd and the others. They seemed to care about you more than Rip did.

"Stay out of this Kayce". You growled, going up to Beth's car and smashing her back windshield.

"Oh fuck". Kayce exclaimed, his hands going to his hair.

You smashed in her side windows and then her windshield with ease. You were beyond pissed.

"No no no". Kayce went to waving his arms.

Then you went on to Rips truck, you climbed on to his hood and smashed his windshield.

"That's my truck". Kayce yelled his neck vein popping out as the moonlight hit him.

You looked in the truck, there wasn't two carseats for the kids. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand". You screamed back.

"What does no no no mean to you"? Kayce dramatically through up his arms.

"Sorry". You got down from the hood of the truck and walked over to Kayce, who was having a nervous breakdown over his windshield.

"Where's Rips truck"?

"At your house, I'm guessing. Damn it, Y/N. Why did you do that for"?

"I caught Beth fucking Rip in our house".

"Shit, I'm sorry. You can continue on her car if you want"? Kayce chuckled, he tried covering his crying as he went up to his truck. "I love this truck".

"I'll pay for the windshield. Well, Rip will".

"Yeah, okay". Kayce sniffled and turned around to you. "You wanna talk about it"?

"Nah. I'm okay. I saw it coming. It was just a matter of time. I just wish that Naveah hadn't seen it". You handed Kayce the sledgehammer.

"Oh no. I'm sorry. That sucks".

"Yeah, so I'm going to go get the kids and go home. Rip can fuck off. Sorry again about your windshield".

"You need help? Um carrying the kids"?

"Sure. Thanks". You slightly smiled and went to the bunkhouse. When you got in the kids were asleep. Rip was gone and the guys were quietly playing poker.

"Thanks for watching them. I appreciate it". You told Lloyd and the others as you scooped up Carson.

"Any time. We're sorry about you and Rip. We gave him a lashing. He's sorry".

"Yeah, well. Fuck him. Thanks again".

Kayce and you started walking down to your house. The lights were out so you knew Rip wasnt home.

"You sure you want to stay here? You know, after what happened"? Kayce asked walking up the stairs, Naveahs arms wrapped around his neck.

"Shit. I didnt think of that. We'll just avoid the couch. Just put the kids in their beds". You chuckle as you opened the door. You averted your eyes and headed to Carsons room. Laying him down gently and kissing his head, before stepping out. Kayce met you in the hall way.

"Before you go can you help me"?

"Sure. Anything".

"You want me to touch that"? Kayce gagged as you laughed. You wanted the couch out of the house.

"Just grab it and let's go".

"They were naked. Doing the nasty".

"I thought you were a country boy. Not afraid of anything. Not some wimp".

"You've seen Rip naked and shit. I havent. I dont want the mental picture and his DNA all over my hands".

"Quit whining. I didnt want to see your sister balls deep on my boyfriend but I did. You can handle a little Rip jizz". You say with a laugh as Kayce dropped his side on the ground quickly wiping his hands off on his jacket with a disgusting face.

"You alright there"?

"Peachy".

"You alright"? Kayce asked.

"Surprisingly well. I thought I couldn't live without Rip, but after catching him. I dont want anything to do with him. Every time I see his face my skin crawls". You say putting your end of the couch down and dusting off your hands.

"Want some coffee"? You asked Kayce.

"You want company"? He replied.

"Yeah, I wont be able to sleep so might as well stay up with you". You snicker as Kayce playfully nudged your arm.

"Gee, thanks. I'm so glad I can keep you company".

"Um, when did you know Beth was after Rip"? Kayce questioned when you set his cup down in front of him.

"Months ago. When we all went to the rodeo. I took the kids to the bathroom and when I came back she had her head and arm laying on him. He just shrugged her off when he saw me. So I knew something would happen or had already happened". You gulped down the steaming hot coffee in your mouth.

"I'm sorry. I know it's not my place to say it but you're better without him".

"What you mean"?

"I mean no disrespect but what does he exactly do for you and the kids? He's hardly ever home. I've never seen him take the kids riding or even play with them. The horse hands do more than he has since you been here. I just dont know what you saw in him". Kayce felt he was treading on thin ice when he said that.

"When I met him, he was drunk. He's funny when he's drunk. We started dating, had Neveah then Carson and everything after changed when we moved in with him. Like we're stepping on his toes or something. Now he doesn't talk to me. So I guess what I saw in him.... I'm not sure anymore".

"You're a single mom basically. Now you're a single woman. What are your plans"?

"I dont know. I guess I can move back to my old house. It hasn't sold yet. Put the kids in daycare and still work here. But then Rip wouldnt want that and I dont want to see Beth all over him. So I'll have to get another job".

"You're really going to leave"? Kayce acted crushed.

"There's nothing here for me".

"I'm here. The guys are here". Kayce licked his lips as he looked at your lips.

"They dont want a mother with two kids here, weighing them down. Especially you, you dont need that".

"What if I want that"? Kayce looked into your eyes.

"Kayce, stop".

"What? I know you feel this connection between us. It's been there". Kayce stepped closer to you. His hand reached for yours on the counter top.

"I just broke up with Rip. You really decided that this was the perfect time to confess your love for me". You nervous chuckle.

"There isn't a better time then now. I want you. I may not be the man Rip is but I'll take care of you and the kids. I'll treat them as my own. You can move in with me and smother me with your toys and love". Kayce grinned.

"They do have lots of toys". You say looking around the house.

"What about Rip and Beth"?

"They have each other. Why cant we be happy together"?

"I dont know, Kayce".

"We'll take it slow. How about this Saturday, we go on a date. The guys can watch the kids and we'll get to know each other. I'm funny without being drunk, I have other great things about me. Plus I'm cute and you can't say no to this face". Kayce pointed to his face with a smirk.

"Okay. I'll go on a date with you. I don't want to hurt the kids if they get attached and we dont make it".

"I understand. But I have a feeling we're going to make it. I even see a little Dutton in our future". Kayce pulled you close, wrapping his arms around your waist.

"Is this you being funny or have you lost your mind"? You laugh, putting your hands on his chest.

"I'm just sure that we'll be together. We're going to have a great future together". Kayce leans in and captures your lips with his.

This all took you by surprise. You didnt know Kayce felt this way about you. But deep down you felt in your heart that this all happened for a reason and Kayce was meant for you. You just took a detour, a bumpy road and went off a cliff but was rescued by a cowboy named Kayce Dutton imagine that.

#kayce dutton fanfiction #kayce dutton x reader #kayce dutton #Kayce Dutton imagine #happys-crazy-queen22 #yellowstone fanfiction #yellowstone imagine #yellowstone #Yellowstone tv #Yellowstone tv series #Rip wheeler #rip wheeler x reader

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goldenavenger02 · 3 years ago

Text

I don't wanna miss you like this

Jay had always been a light sleeper. And maybe, just maybe, that was a good thing. Takes place after Day of the Departed

•••

Jay had always been a light sleeper.

His mom said that ever since he was a baby, a crash from something falling on the other side of the junkyard would wake him up out of a deep sleep almost instantly.

It was the one thing that never went away, and while it was good in case of emergencies, when he was just trying to sleep after fighting Samukai, finding out Cole was human again and the others were screaming on the other side of the Bounty was definitely not good.

Not to mention they were moving everything into the Airjitzu temple tomorrow, which he still had the feeling was haunted.

Jay rolled onto his left side, away from the door, and closed his eyes, trying to get comfortable on the bed and tune them out. 'Just think about Nya. Yeah, Nya…'

He smiled and started to settle in for the night, but that's when he heard it. Not Cole screaming particularly loud to respond to Kai, but something else; it was much softer. Someone was crying.

Jay sat up and kicked off his blanket before walking towards the bathroom where the sound was coming from, grabbing his nunchucks from beside his bed and tightening his grip around them slightly. 'Please don't be a ghost.'

He reached the door and knocked on it twice before questioning, "is there a ghost in there?"

When the sound continued, Jay swallowed, 'just get it together,' before wrapping his free hand around the knob, feeling that it was unlocked.

"This is against my best judgement," he lamented before opening the door and taking in the sight in front of him that definitely wasn't a ghost.

Lloyd was propping himself up on the sink counter with his elbows, something gripped in his right hand as his head hung low and he continued to make that sniffly crying noise.

Jay's heart hurt; he had to do...something.

"Lloyd?," Jay watched as Lloyd's head whipped towards him while he wiped the tears against his sleeve in an effort to cover them up, "are you hurt?"

"N-no, I'm not."

"Do you wanna talk about it?," Lloyd shook his head so hard Jay thought he was going to dislocate his neck, "okay, do you want me to stay with you?," Jay watched as Lloyd hesitated, so he added, "I'm not gonna tease you for crying."

Lloyd nodded and hung his head over the sink again; Jay closed the door before propping against the wall. 'What do I even say to him?'

He looked down at Lloyd's right hand and realized what he was holding, which made everything click in his head. 'The picture of him and his dad.'

"You shouldn't bring paper into the bathroom, it's likely to get wet." Jay spoke aloud, immediately regretting it. 'Think before you speak. Now he's probably gonna blast you through the wall or something.'

"Y-you're right," Lloyd stuttered, glancing at the photo for a brief moment before letting it return to the sink, "I just m-miss him, and-"

"You didn't want the others to see you cry?" Jay offered softly, watching as the kid nodded again.

"Especially my mom and my uncle. It's been really hard on them, you know? I only knew him… the real him, for about three years."

"That doesn't mean your feelings are less important, Lloyd," his attention turned towards Jay, so he continued, "he's your dad, and you two went through the final battle together, and the whole situation with Pythor, and the Tournament of Elements. In the little time you had him, you two went through so much together, and if fighting nindroids and fake snakes isn't enough to bond with someone, I don't know what is." Jay smiled when he elicited a small laugh from Lloyd, "Not to mention, he's your dad. That's gotta amount for something."

Lloyd sighed and looked down at the sink for a second before turning back to Jay, "I don't suppose you went through anything like this with your dad."

Jay took a second to think, and in that second, he decided that he needed to tell Lloyd about Cliff Gordon. 'You shouldn't keep secrets from your team.'

"It's a little more complicated than that, but since you don't seem like you're sleeping anytime soon, I'm gonna tell you a story, and you're just gonna sit there and listen. Save questions till the end."

"You sound like my uncle." Lloyd snorted, and while Jay would usually take some offense to that, he also wanted Lloyd to stop crying, so he just ignored it and moved on.

"So, when we were trying to get to Stiix to stop Clouse, Nya didn't actually take my hand…"

•••

"... And so I wished that Nya had taken my hand, and that no one ever found the teapot, and everyone but Nya and I forgot what happened. So while my adoptive parents have always been there, I never met my parents and I'll probably never get to."

Lloyd nodded before looking down at the picture. "So, you get it? The whole "missing someone you feel like you barely knew'' thing?"

"Yeah, I do. But I didn't tell you that for pity or attention. I told you that so you know you have someone to go to who understands."

"Still stuck on the fact that your dad is Fritz Donegan," Lloyd snorted before wiping the tears off of his face, "like, what are the odds of that?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. If I ever tell Zane, I'll ask him to calculate them for me," Jay reasoned, unable to stop smiling now that Lloyd was in much better spirits, "however, we should really get some sleep now. It's getting late for both of us."

"Yeah, you're right." Lloyd agreed, walking towards his bed, but stopping at his nightstand and opening the drawer, placing the picture inside.

"Go ahead and get in bed, I'll tell Cole and Kai to shut up." He explained, hearing Lloyd call out "goodnight" before Jay closed the bedroom door.

He walked towards the main room, still in a bit of shock due to the fact he had just barred his soul to Lloyd when the whole Nadakhan was kinda supposed to stay between him and Nya, but like he had told himself, he couldn't keep that secret from Lloyd.

He made his way to the main room where Kai and Cole were screaming at the tv, clearly invested in Fist to Face Too, but he couldn't help but focus on the scar under Cole's hairline.

"Everything okay, Jay?" Kai asked, shaking Jay out of his thoughts, before snickering "did you see that ghost you're so convinced is haunting the temple?"

"No, I just came in here to ask you two to be quiet. Lloyd's having a rough night." Jay explained, seeing Kai and Cole go from joking to seriousness in an instant.

It wasn't lost on any of them that Kai had only grown more protective of Lloyd after Morro. "Do I need to go check on him?"

"Nah, I got him settled, he's trying to sleep now."

"Got it," Cole perked up before turning the volume on the TV way down, "we'll be more quiet. Promise."

"Thank you." Jay smiled, before turning to Kai, "if he wakes back up, I'll get you."

Kai nodded, which was Jay's cue to head back to the room and try to sleep, now that it was much quieter; but when he opened the door, he couldn't help himself from going over to Lloyd and gently tucking the blanket around his shoulders.

"There you go, Lloyd." He smiled softly before laying down in his own bed and taking in the peace and quiet.

Jay had always been a light sleeper.

And maybe, just maybe, that was a good thing.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #my writing #lloyd garmadon #jay walker #cole ninjago #kai ninjago #post day of the departed #day of the departed #ninjago dotd #angst #grief #mourning #late night conversations #I need more jay and lloyd moments #like yesterday

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ninjaslegos · 4 years ago

Note

Hit me with the angst it could be anyone tho i am biased towards Zane morro and jay I will take anything as long as it gets my tears flowing

M...Morro angst...hnnnnng okay okay so like PERFECT and VERY SAD plotline for this one, although it will get gruesome...

Greedy for Green

Where Morro didn't expect this, he didn't want this; he didn't want this at all.

Of course Morro loved you. That's why he forced you to come on this journey with him. He loved you, and couldn't leave you, so you had no choice.

“Morro, please,” you begged with small tears, “you’re obsessed; you’ve been getting hurt more often, you haven’t been eating or sleeping as well, and you’re growing weak. You don’t have to be the Green Ninja to be powerful, it’s just not your destiny.”

“Shut up!” He snapped, pinning you to the wall by your shoulders, hurting you, “I’m not weak! If the golden weapons don’t think I’m worthy, then I’ll make them believe I’m worthy!”

“Morro!” Wu’s voice echoed through the room as he slammed his staff against the ground, “that is enough." He was angry for several reasons. "Go to your room until supper is ready, and don't come out." He scowled. He used to love him, and treat him like a son, but now there wasn't really anything left to love about the angry teen. He was surprised you saw anything at all.

"What do you know, old man?" Morro scoffs as he shoulders past his sensei. At least he wasn't fighting this time.

You exhaled with relief and slumped against the ground, crying softly. "Are you alright, (Y/N)?" Wu asks, kneeling down and putting a hand on your shoulder.

"I'm fine, Dad." You sniffle, "it's just that he's been so aggressive lately, and I don't know if it will stop...I've tried reasoning with him, but he doesn't want to listen to me."

He hugs you tightly, "it's okay, it's not your fault." His words comfort you, but you know from experience that it only works for a little while. "It's my fault; I got his hopes up, and it broke him." He smiles, smoothing down your hair, "come, I've made some cookies, and I think you are well-deserving of one."

"Before dinner?" You ask, and he nods, making you grin excitedly.

He was just glad you didn't follow in Morro's footsteps, or your mother's, for that matter. Wu loved her, and had a child with her. You. Unfortunately, she died when you were young, sacrificing herself to become The Sun so life could flourish in Ninjago. You'd together greet her every morning at dawn with happy smiles and waving, and tell her goodnight every dusk. He knew she was watching you grow.

During dinner, it's awkward and quiet. Wu watched with disproving eyes as he watched Morro fawn over his child, who in his mind, deserved better. Of course, he'd always liked you since the day Wu took him in, just as friends. However, ever since he was introduced to the idea of becoming the Green Ninja, it was like the only things that mattered to him in his life was training and you. He found it disturbing, to be honest. "So, (Y/N), did you hear the news from your Uncle?"

You shook your head, swallowing your food before speaking, "no, did something happen?"

He nods with a happy smile, "you're going to be a cousin very soon."

Your jaw drops, and your utensils fall onto your plate, "really?! No way, when? Do they know if it's a boy or a girl? What are they naming it? Garmadon Jr.?" You gleefully belt out questions that Wu didn't really have any answers to.

"Well, your name is (Y/N) Wu, so I expect his kid's last name will be Garmadon."

"If it's a girl, he should name her Olya, and if it's a boy, he should name him Lloyd." You grin.

"Those are...interesting names." He chuckles. "I'll let him know." He glances over to see Morro isn't paying attention, looking rather disinterested.

"I think I'm full." He says, plate barely even half empty, as he leaves to go to his room.

"Morro, you really should eat more...then you can have dessert with me!" You look up at him with sad eyes, as you try to get him to stay.

He stares back, blinking, then smiles. "No thank you, really, you deserve to have as many cookies as you can eat." It's a false smile, as the moment his back is turned to you, he glares at Wu as he leaves.

In his mind, you were perfect. You were sweet, simple, naive, and best of all, gullible. You believed in him more than anyone else when he was told he could be the Green Ninja, but it disappeared so quickly when the golden weapons didn't react to him. That was okay, he reasoned with himself, you just believed in destiny too much. You were younger than him, and he could understand that. All he had to do journey to the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, to prove to you that destiny was fake, that he could become the Green Ninja by force, and that you can carve your own path. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure whether or not he needed a descendant to find the tomb, or even enter it, so he had to take someone along. It certainly wasn't going to be your father, or your uncle, and he didn't want to wait for your cousin to be born.

"Wake up." He looks down at you while you are sleeping, and it startles you.

"Hey! Get out, you're not supposed to be in here!" You try to cover up with your blankets, as it was too hot to wear a shirt tonight. Morro didn't seem to care, though, and tugged them back off.

"Then get dressed, stupid." He hissed, going through your clothes and tossing you a loose shirt.

"I'm tired, can't we do this tomorrow?" You complain, rubbing your eyes and yawning.

His temper is short, he wants to get going before Wu wakes up. "Now."

You whimper in both sadness and fear, and dress yourself in front of him, since he doesn't seem to want to leave. Once you're done, he grabs your travelling bag, which is already packed with water, clothes, rations, and a sleeping bag. "Morro...where are we going?"

You look sad, but he needs to prove to you he is worthy. Your feelings about this right now don't matter. "We're going to the tomb."

"My Grandpa's tomb?" You gasp, "you can't," grabbing his arm, you tug, as if it would keep him here, "I wouldn't go, and even Dad doesn't dare go!" You sit down on your bed, "I'm not going, and I'm gonna tell Dad you're leaving! Then you'll have to stay."

He grabs a fistful of your hair, and puts a hand over your mouth to keep your cries silent. "I could've left without you, but I wanted to bring you with me." He's much stronger than you, and pulls you around to the exit of the monastery. "If I leave you here, Wu would just plant lies in your head about me, but I need to prove to you that I'm strong enough and determined enough to become the Green Ninja." You struggle in his grasp, but he does not let you go. "Just go back to sleep. I can carry you tonight. I've been training to sleep less for this reason."

Sure, Morro was your best friend, and you liked him, but this was too much; too far. You try to talk to him as you begin to sob and kick, but he can't hear your muffled begging. You were being kidnapped from your father, your home; everything you'd ever known. You panted heavily through your nose as your struggles weakened as you lost energy, but you couldn't give up just yet.

"Sleep, (Y/N), stop resisting. I'll take care of you, I'll protect you, I'll prove to you that I am strong and worthy." That was the last time you saw your father.

"Morro, I'm hungry." You complained. You'd been trudging through Ninjago for just over a week now, with no sign of your grandfather's tomb. "Dad's not going to like this, and neither will Grandpa." Your last rations were eaten yesterday, and you were just about ready to run out of water. You look up at The Sun, her heat beating down on you, "Mom's sad."

"Do you think I care about what they think?" He turns around to bark at you. "I'm so close to achieving everything." Sure you were tired, and sure you were limping from twisting your ankle, and sure you had a couple bruises from him manhandling you, but he convinced himself you were fine. You were weaker than him, of course this would happen. "Hurry up, stop being so slow."

You broke down into tears again. "I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm sore, I'm hot, and I want to go home." You sobbed.

He just grunted and picked you up by the back of the shirt, forcing you in front of him. "You'll thank me when I become the Green Ninja, I'll be strong, powerful, and we'll become a famous couple."

"I don't want to be famous!" You wailed. "I want to go home, I want to see Dad, I want it to be before you knew about the Green Ninja, and we would just spend all day cuddling and training! I wish you would just give up!"

He snapped, grabbing you by the collar and pulling you into his chest. "Why can't you see that I'm doing this for you?!" It was a partial lie, but one you needed to hear, because he believed you wouldn't stay by his side otherwise. "I'm doing this so I can give you everything!"

"I already had everything! I had my father, my home, you, and we were all happy together once."

You watched him clench his jaw. "We can still be happy, you just can't see it yet, but one day, you will." He leaned down and kissed you roughly. You weren't ready for it, and tried to pull away at first, but he just held you there. He lets you go then puts his hand on your cheek. "Soon you'll see, I'll make you happy once this is over."

You sniffed and rubbed your nose. "Promise?" He nods, and that's enough for you. "Then...can we be quick?"

"I'll carry you, but we won't get to eat until we either catch or find something." He offers, picking you up and holding you close to him.

"Why can't we go to a village? They have breads and cheeses and meats for sale."

"Depending on others is a sign of weakness. I've learned to let go, but I won't pressure you into something like that." He cooed, picking you up in his arms and carrying you to the distant rock formation. "I feel like that's it, up ahead."

For once during the trip, you seemed excited. "Finally, then I can say hi to my Grandpa!" By the time he reached the entrance of the tomb, you were frowning. "Are you really going to keep me safe? It's supposed to be the most dangerous place in Ninjago, to protect a treasure he left for my Dad and Uncle."

He scoffed. "I wouldn't bring you if I couldn't protect you." He rolled his eyes before climbing inside. It felt rather warm, so he put you down so your body heat wouldn't mix with his and cause the two of you to overheat.

"Are...you sure this is the right place? I don't feel anything; no connection." You looked around and touched the walls.

He gave you a skeptical look, "he's dead; why would you?" You opened your mouth to argue, but stopped and looked off to the side anxiously. You were tired of fighting him. "Keep up, I don't want to lose you."

Something was wrong, and you knew it. When you looked up at The Sun, she didn't hurt your eyes, and you could feel a special kind of warmth from her, the kind that comes from love instead of heat. When you were in this cave-like tomb, though, you didn't feel anything. Even your powers of creation weren't acting up, like they did when you were around sacred places like the monastery.

Paths split, the cave got deeper and hotter, and eerie lights came from certain hallways. "Morro, I know this isn't the right place. Let's turn back." You pleaded.

"No!" He turned back on you. "I know there's something here, and I need to get it!"

"You're wrong! If you did love me, you'd trust me and my instincts!" You insisted.

"I do love you!" He yelled. "But you've been annoying this whole trip; whining, complaining, getting hurt; I should've left you behind so you could sit at home making food and cleaning!"

"Is that all I'm worth to you? Cooking and cleaning? I'm strong too, Morro, and you've done nothing but ridicule me, and dismiss my needs! If you didn't want me here, why would you have taken me in the first place?!" You argued.

"You're the only one of his descendants dumb enough to follow me here, so I could get the realm crystal!!" He shouted, causing dirt to fall from the ceiling. Why was it quiet all of a sudden. You'd never had silent tears before. He messed up big time, and now he was trying to backpedal.

"You...you u-used me?" Your voice was barely louder than a whisper. You hiccuped and started to back away from him.

"No, no, (Y/N), that's not what I meant, you know that's not what I meant. You're my best friend, I love you, I wanted to marry you, remember?"

"For what?!" He'd never seen you stand up for yourself. He fucked up. "So-so you could use me there too? Why did you love me?! Fame? Money? House cleaning service?!" Your eyes began to glow gold, and cracks in the floor were starting to show, exposing hot lava beneath the ground. The cave was starting to shift, making things unstable.

"Please, calm down, I got mad, you know that. You're going to get hurt." You'd never done any of this before; and for once, he was actually scared. Were you stronger than he first thought? Stronger than him? You were probably going to open the floor entirely.

"ANSWER ME!!" You didn't listen to him, and the ceiling above you rumbled and specks fell to the ground. Too much yelling, and the whole thing could come now.

"I loved you because you were sweet! You were kind to me, and you were my best friend." His words seemed to calm you down, as you were no longer yelling or even talking. "Of course I'd love you, you're the greatest person to have ever lived, and I took that for granted. I tried to become the Green Ninja to impress you, but I was wrong." But he still wanted to become the very thing that drove you apart. "I'll take you home, right away, so you don't have to come on this journey with me. I'll look for another way."

Your eyes stopped glowing, and you sniffed. "I don't want you to take me home. I don't want to see you again. You're obsessed, I told you this before, and I thought I could help you, but you've made it very clear what's the most important to you. Don't come back to the monastery; it's not your home anymore." And with that, you turned and left.

"(Y/N), stop." Morro commanded, but for once, you didn't listen to him. "Stop, please." He begged. Finally, he snarled; you were ignoring him. "(Y/N) Wu, don't you DARE leave me here!!" More crumbling from the ceiling. "I love you! Don't do this, or you're going to regret it! DON'T LEAVE!!" He yelled too loud.

You gasped and turned around to look back at him. Why did he yell? The cave was starting to collapse ahead of you, and you rushed to get to him, where the ceiling was more stable, so you could find another exit out. You were not that fast; not with your twisted ankle. You stumbled over it, falling to the ground, where you were promptly buried under impenetrable rock and stone.

He couldn't move, he couldn't say a thing. Your hand was still sticking out, as if reaching for him, but it was much too far away from the rock that buried you, and the large splatter of blood told him that the owner of that hand was very much dead. He swallowed thickly, falling to his knees as he still tried to comprehend both what he had done, and what the consequences to his actions were. You were gone. You were just a stain on the floor and a severed hand. You were dead. You were dead, dead, dead, dead, de- "NO, (Y/N)!!" He screamed, as it all caught up to him. This was his fault, as he tried to dig into the heavy rock. He would've given anything to be an earth elemental right now instead of this useless wind one. Maybe then he could've prevented the collapse.

Guilt weighed heavily in his heart. Now that you were gone, he realized how much he truly did love and want you. He threw it all away for power, because he blindly believed he could gain everything he lost since he would have the power to get it all back; but nothing in the world would bring you back from death, especially one like this. Your body was flattened, and there was almost nothing left of you. He dug his hands into the ground around your blood and tried to collect it; maybe he could present it to your father so he could use his creation powers to recreate your body and bring you back to life.

No, he decided, it was a dumb idea. You were created through birth; only your grandfather had the ability to create life from nothing, but he was dead as well as you. He couldn't do it; what was the point of staying here anymore? You wouldn't get to see or celebrate his accomplishments with him, and who knows what your living family would do to him if he came back but you didn't. They would probably curse him or torture him. He probably deserved it, though.

Through the cracks in the earth, lava still flowed. He had to find some way to apologize, or at least show how regretful he was. It stung at first, like a burn from getting too close to fire, but that wasn't the worst of it. His flesh began to sear and cook, the aroma of something unfamiliar and alarming in the air, but he still did not try to put himself out. He cried, screamed in agony, yet he continued on with his mission. If he could stay this dedicated to becoming the Green Ninja, then he could be just as dedicated to apologizing to you.

Suddenly, there was a voice in his head. "It's always such a shame that one as strong as you dies so young." His body still ached, but it was fading. He was no longer on fire, and his entire body had turned a transparent green.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The being did not answer him. "They are not here. They are something new." Before him was an image; it was a roundish in the sky, one that glowed beautifully, despite all the holes and craters in it. "You made those." The voice spoke, referring to the craters. "I think it adds to The Moon's beauty."

"...Moon?" He was slightly confused now. He could've connected the dots if he really wanted to, but he was scared, worried, and lost.

"(Y/N). You have made them The Moon."

The voice was right; he looked closer and it looked like a bright version of you, curled up with a sad frown on your face, and a little tear by your closed eye. You looked like you were sleeping; although not peacefully.

"It is alright to grieve, but remember that you have also created beauty."

The Preeminent spent a long time convincing him that he was right; that he deserved to become the Green Ninja, that you were just being selfish, and that you looked a lot better in the sky. As the words were repeated, he began to truly believe them.

"The Moon looks beautiful." He smiles up at you.

Lloyd's body is filled with both rage and sorrow. He'd always wondered why The Moon smiled down so sweetly to him, and why his father told him his name came from it, but now he understood perfectly. "You...you killed my cousin!" He yelled through tears.

"Yes." He turns to face Lloyd with a sick grin. "They wanted to see you when you were born, but now from up there, they can see everything. They can see how much I love them, and then they'll stop crying."

This was news to Lloyd. Did other people see different things in you? You smiled down to him, but cried for Morro. He understood. "They're crying because you've become something unlovable to them."

#if it's any consolation; the eclipse is when reader is hugging their mother #also Lloyd's name means sacred or holy; so the girl name was chosen to also mean sacred or holy. Or at least it's supposed to #ninjago #ninjago morro #ninjago wu #wu and reader #morro x reader #angst #blood #injury #gore #swearing #death #oneshot

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xhellodollyx · 3 years ago

Text

Okay spoilers for the new episode ahead, so you've been warned....

... so I kinda was right with the backstory (kinda, lol). I knew his dad was gonna get killed by someone but his mom I wasnt so sure. And i mean, I dont know about you, but a kid watching his own father get stabbed to death is pretty traumatizing regardless, and that seemed to be what made Chucky give into those urges we already saw building up within him. He was already showing signs, but i also think if you look back to what Chucky has been saying to Jake: "It's kill or be killed", it adds a little bit more context to what happened.

I think part of the reason he killed his mom was also to prevent himself from being killed. I think they both would have been killed that night had he not done that. He shouldn't have, but he did. having seen someone get murdered in front of him for the first time, and his own father no less, was the very "push" he needed, something which he has been also saying to Jake this episode. That everyone just needs a little push to become a killer. He was already born that way and its obvious by the signs he was showing and that he was obviously going to go down that road in life, but what happened that night is what really made him a killer - at least so early on.

The way I see it is that it's pretty similar to what Jamie Lloyd did at the end of Halloween 4 when she stabbed her own foster mother. A switch flipped and a child does the unthinkable. In Jamie's case it was a mixture of the trauma from the night she went through and also partly genetics, given Michael was her uncle. Here, for Chucky, I honestly believe it was a combination of 3 things: seeing someone being murdered in front of him, seeing his own FATHER being murdered and his last words telling him to "run"(and whether anyone wants to admit it or not, Chucky did look pretty scared for a few moments there, he didn't seem happy seeing his dad killed, and perhaps the initial shock of it also wore off once he was hiding in the closet with his mother), partly a need to survive, and also because of the obvious "already being born with that urge to kill" and having it all come full circle that night, and a child's need to impress an adult with something he's already had the impulse to do. And i dont think he grabbed that knife with the intent to kill his mother, i think it was meant as a way to defend himself and then it turned into a split second decision of killing his mom. Killing her happened very suddenly from what I could tell, like it was a last minute decision, like something inside of him snapped and he didnt have remorse for it. By that point, the damage was already done and he was set on the path we see him on today.

I do wonder now whatever happened to that mass murderer from that night and if Chucky did come back to settle the score with him or to try to find him, at least partly? I guess we'll see but I am curious 🤔

#man that was a doozy but really interesting to see regardless!!#glad to see i was partially right 😂#but also just let me have a smidgen of angst #just a smidge #chucky #chucky tv series #chucky tv series spoilers #you can disagree just plz dont be mean about it plz 😅#chucky spoilers #also sorry this was a rambled mess im pretty tired lol

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keity-devil · 3 years ago

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Black Sheep - Chapter 16.

"Get me out of here!!!"

Morro's voice could be heard in the echo, one full of pain and despair to escape the evil in which he was put alone to see his younger brother again.

"No way, dear Morro." Garmadon stood with his back to him, smiling broadly. He turned quickly to the boy. He stared at him with strong purple eyes for power. "I need you, your Power!" Garmadon grabbed him by the two cheeks with both fingers. "My weapon.~"

Morro looked at him trembling, feeling his cheeks begin to ache, Garmadon's fingers mercilessly deep his pale, wound-covered skin. The Lord left him, making his way out. He took one last look at the glass bottle that would be filled with all the powers of the Wind in a few sacred minutes. Morro felt the pain intensify through his limp body. He wanted to scream with all his heart, but he knew the pain would evolve faster if he did. He was sorry he accepted, that he was now Garmadon's weapon... Destiny was still playing with him.. like a puppet.

------

"Lloyd, we need to talk. It's important." Kai said seriously. He would tell him everything, EVERYTHING. It no longer made sense to keep the secret or the power to do it again. If Morro is Lloyd's brother, he's in danger..

Lloyd looked innocent at his best friend. "Okay? I'm listening."

Kai looked at him before speaking. He was smiling for a long time.. It seemed to him that this friendship between Lloyd and Ghost was a golden one. Lloyd hadn't been so happy to have a new friend in years... He had been through so much. And now would he give him good or bad news?

"Lloyd, Mo- "

A slammed door open. It was Jay, and behind him... Wu.

"Sensei! I couldn't find the boy you were talking about anywhere! It's like- like he doesn't exist!! I need his name, you need to tell me if you really want us to find him!" Jay spoke as if he was desperate.

"I can't do this." The old man responded to the agitation in a calm tone.

"Yes, Wu." Kai had begun, in a serious tone and as if quarreling, putting his hands crossed on his chest. Wu looked at his student with a slightly curious look. "What's the name of this boy of yours? Hm?"

"Kai..." Lloyd said his name anxious. He didn't feel it was okay to talk to Sensei in such a tone, and this sudden change in behavior was mysterious.

"No, Lloyd. I want to hear this name of Master Wu's dear boy. You care about him, don't you?"

"Kai, end this topic." Wu said firmly. "I'll end it."

"No." Lloyd said suddenly. Something caught his eye. "I want to hear." His uncle had begun to look at him in astonishment and with little fear. "What's his name? Why did Kai say 'your boy, dear boy, care about him'? Why?"

"Lloyd.. No.. no, it doesn't matter." He hid his face from his nephew's eyes, wanting to leave.

"Why not?! Why don't you tell him the truth once, Wu?!" Kai started. The fire in him ignited. "Tell him once that Morro is here!! That you hid him from Lloyd all these years! From his family! Tell him once! He deserves to know!!"

Lloyd froze, Wu petrifies.

"...Morro..." The name came out in pain, a longing in him. The blonde's heart was shattered, glued, half torn. The longing for his brother was immense, the feeling that he was hidden by his uncle. The puzzle pieces matched each other. "You hid him from me! Why?!" His voice had begun to growl in a cry.

Wu did not answer, nor did he look his nephew in the eye. But someone had a voice.

"Lloyd, there's something else..." Nya spoke. "Ghost... it's actually Morro."

"No... you're kidding..." He took three steps back. "I've been talking all this time with... Where's Morro Now?!" His heart beat with longing and despair to see him, to talk to him. If Ghost was really his brother... he hadn't seen or talked to him in two days.

"We don't know.. Suddenly he told us he couldn't stay with us and he found another place. We haven't heard from him since that day."

"No.. no.. And you let him go?! Why!? You knew he was my brother and you let him leave!"

"It wasn't until last night that we realized this, Lloyd! Kai realized.. Ghost- Morro... he insists on leaving. He seemed compelled to do it."

"Where's my brother!?" Lloyd shouted at Wu with tears in his eyes. "Where is it!?"

"...I don't know where Morro is... Lloyd..."

------

Garmadon laughed out loud. He saw how the powers of the Wind Master would be soon his. In his possession. Still little, still little and it was full, still little and they were his! All his!

Morro could no longer keep his eyes open, feeling all over his body how all his energy and power were disappearing, how a part of him was leaving his soul. Fatigue spoke for itself, his body feeling as if it had been bitten on all sides by red ants. He give up. The powers of the Wind rode wildly through the glass. All. Without their master, they were lost and out of control.

"Look!" Garmadon lifted Morro's head hard to look at the boy's glass bottle full of dangerous Wind. "Your powers! Aren't they divine?~" He looked at him with a satisfying grin, which was half dead. "Without words?" He let his head fall. "Oo~ Stay calm, you're still my weapon. Rest. You'll need it." Step forward. "The family will reunite." He said in a deadly whisper.

Silence spread over the room as evil left it. A single soul exhausted by life, breathes hard bound, with head down and soul destroyed. Morro's mind was squeezed, empty, confused and depressed. He felt bad, bad, bad.. b-bad... He didn't have to accept.. but he did, and now he's suffering the consequences of a forced decision.

Everything was in order. The plan was ready. Everyone was in his place. Everyone knew what he had to do. All they needed was the attack signal. The signal came with a shot in the air. The alert appeared. The attack was born.

Garmadon had not been present from the beginning, he was late to pick up his weapon. When he reached the boy, he looked at him from head to toe, then he untied him.

"Get up. Now." He ordered, and Morro tried to follow them out of fear and depression, but failed. "Get up, I said!!" Trying again, successfully only for a short time. He was so tired and his body was constantly shaking, falling down. "Tch.. pathetic." He left, leaving the teen lying powerless on the cold tiles.

Morro could not move any of his muscles. A tear from the corner of his eye rolled down.

'A sleep wouldn't hurt...'

It was as if the attack alert had been a mouthful of air for Wu. Lloyd kept trying to get him to talk, but nothing, nothing new for the blonde. Nya had explained to the rest what Lloyd was talking about. They remained silent. Zane asked a few questions, some of which were answered with 'no' or 'I don't know'. The alarm did not bring them relief, but stress. Fast Lloyd said something was wrong, something was wrong.. the attack was too.. calculated.. not chaotic like his father used to be. They were divided into two groups by three.

Garmadon was eagerly awaiting them, a large and self-sufficient one. He had been disappointed to see only three of them and nowhere the Green One.

"Where's Your Good Green Leader?! He Left You!? Is He Afraid?! Let Him Be!!" He let out a laugh. But still, that was not the plan. It never was. Distraction is a struggle too, isn't it?

He turned to one of his generals. "Move the pathetic teen to a place where it can be found."

------

Lloyd, Kai and Nya tried to reach the Lord's hideout. But something caught their attention. A building. That sounded like it was falling apart.. Nya told them she would stay to watch, in case there was a trap. Stop and go colors goes to investigate the place. In all the rising smoke and dust, parts of the ceiling falling heavily on the floor, they saw a boy lying on the floor. They hurried to him, checking his pulse first. He had it, they calmed down. Lloyd and Kai had lightly taken him off the ground, he was conscious. For one of them, he was known. When the brunette felt taken up, he began to tremble, to struggle. He thought he was one of Garmadon's generals again. To be the Lord did not cross his mind, if it really was him, he was already with his feet away from the ground.

"Hey, hey. Stay calm. We're here to save you."

Morro didn't know which of them had spoken, but one did. His body relaxes a little, a little too much.. His body gives up, letting his hair fall down, his emotions too.

"I-I was wrong...! I'm mess up..." Morro said through tears and breaths.

Lloyd looked at him a little worried. "What did you do wrong...?" He had the guts to ask.

"I accepted his proposal.. I destroyed everything.. I did it just so I could see my brother again..."

Lloyd was shocked for a moment before asking: "You... you have a brother? ...wait..." The puzzle was ready. The flower had blossomed. "Morro?"

The breathless brunette with tears in his eyes could not raise his head to look at the person who said his name from the abyss. "How... Do you know my name...?"

Lloyd wanted to speak, but a bang stopped him, causing to close his mouth and step forward. Reaching out safely, Morro fell to the ground, panting. Tears falling on the asphalt, hands trembling constantly.

Lloyd looked at the boy from head to toe. He had received a small nudge from Kai and a confident look that he could take the first step. The blonde approaches the fallen teen, putting off his face mask, which falls between his powerless fingers on the asphalt.

"M-Morro..?"

Morro looked at the person who had said his first name in pain and the only name he had known for years. A boy with golden blond hair in the royal rays of the sun, vivid eyes of pure emerald, with tears in his eyes, innocent and childish face passed through the toxic life of society...

"L-loyd..?"

"Oh my mom... Morro!!"

Lloyd ran to him, taking him tightly in his arms, his fingers through soft but ruffled black hair. He had begun to cry a lot, to hold him in his arms. Lloyd heard a loud cry from his brother, who dipped his face into his Gi, fingers desperately picking up the green material of the person was crying out for release. He wanted this not to be a dream, that his brother is finally here, with him, after years... He wanted it to be like that, he wanted it a lot! And so it was..

"I won't let you go... I won't let you go anymore!" Lloyd said with non-colored tears in his pure emerald green eyes, taking his older brother.. lost for years by his side.

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salamoonder · 4 years ago

Quote

I had a lot of interesting experiences as a kid. Actually I want to bring this up real fast, because I feel like it's important. I want to...uh, I just want to apologize legitimately to anybody who felt uncomfortable in the-the story of the last Taryon episode and the reveal there. And I apologize if, you know, if that hit too close to home, if that was not the representation of your story that you wanted to see, and, uhm...I understand that it made a lot of people feel uncomfortable and I'm--I'm sorry, I'm legitimately sorry. Um, I put a post about it on Twitter, but, you know, text is easy to be misconstrued and you only have so much brainspace to put out there. Um, and I'm sure I've been torn apart on the internet, and that's fine. I-I-I--admit that. However, I do wanna say that I-I think that it's an important story to tell from what we understand of it. And when I say "what we understand of it", y'know, we all come from different backgrounds, and--this is gonna be a little real here for a second. Um. Y'know...we have our experiences to come from when it comes to story. Um, we as actors, we--we write and we only create from experience. And, um, Exandria is very much an open, uhhh, environment, for the most part. People are...you know, sexuality is--is just an open thing in society. There are couples of all different walks of life: asexual, uh, yknow, trans, nonbinary, gay, bi, everything, and it's all just kind of open in the world. Is the world free of ignorance? No. That--that's part of...life, and that's part of the story, because...you know. People are flawed, people are stupid. It's minimized in my world because I like to imagine a world where it is largely minimized, but that doesn't mean it's not gonna exist. Um...and what little bit of story, of Tary's story we've touched on, a lot of it improvised by Sam on the spot, and a lot we've talked about it since then and we developed a little beforehand to an extent, I think is an important story to tell. Um, and parts of it resonate. Uh, I've had people concerned that we were making fun of his kind of awakening, or, or, his coming to terms with his venture in the last episode, and I--I can honestly say if that--if it came across that way I'm sorry. That is not the case. We are--we're very very sensitive to these things and many of us have lived very close to or dealt with homophobia on our end as well. You know, I grew up a very androgynous, long haired, y'know, pretty boy who was quiet. Um. And God knows I spent a number of years of my youth being called f*ggot and being pushed around and you know I--you know I have a lot of very, very important people in my life, uh...who have dealt with far worse and have, you know, undergone a lot of terrible circumstances. And I--I. I feel for that a lot. And....you know like, my uncle Ted, for instance. Um, one of the most impactful people in my life, probably, at a young age. He was my--my dad's brother. He introduced me to musical theater, he introduced me to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. He--we used to play piano and sing songs on the piano and stuff, and he's--he's such a wonderful person. And as a kid I--I loved him, he was my favorite, uh. You know, relative on that side of the family. He also dealt with the difficulty of being married and having a child with his wife and then one day coming to terms with the fact that he was gay. And it--it. You know, it sundered a lot of--of that part of the family at the time, and, yknow, it was very hard to--to be in parts of the family that didn't understand that. And even as a kid I knew what was wrong, and what felt wrong, and what was being said. And. You know. And then get--and. I. Hm. I then had to watch him...you know, waste away over the years because...he caught HIV and then AIDS, and...at a time when it was very prominent, in the late 80s and early 90s. And then...you know, through the 90s, in-in a lot of ways was very hard for people of alternative sexualities because we didn't have communities. Uh, we didn't have the internet, we didn't have tumblr, we didn't have facebook. There weren't places you could go to feel safe, um, if your lifestyle was expected to be, uh, not the norm, or not accepted. And so I had a lot of friends and a lot of people that had to just suffer inside and had nowhere to talk, and occasionally meet somebody, uh, or find somebody who was comfortable enough to be out and proud. And then it was--permission was given, but even that was...met with a lot of difficulty. And so, like...it's...I'm glad we live in a world now, by comparison, where things are much more, uh...respected. And it's still a fight. God, it's still a fight. There's still so much to be done and it's still so much bullshit and so much disrespect and lack of empathy for people who just wanna be happy. And that bothers me on a deep level and I feel really hard. Um...but...I know that part of Tary's tale may not be the representation that some people hoped for in media. Um, but I've tried my best to represent other, happier lives and things where that was an open and a viable circumstance. Um. Tary's is important for people that grew up like maybe a lot of my friends did and didn't have that open, welcoming scenario. And, uh...I can't believe I'm doing this on the internet. Um. Um. Anyway. Uhh. I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can. And, uh...not all stories are going to be for everybody, we can't please everybody with all the choices we make and I mess up and I fail and I stumble. And even if a few people get offended, I can't help but feel bad because I hate hurting people and I promise I'm doing my best. That's all. Uh. You know. Uh. When I said Tary's experience, uh...his scenario at the end of the last episode with, uh. With Trish, reminded me of a lot of friends growing up, you know. You know, every--every person has a point in life where they struggle with their own identity, and I had that too. I identify as heterosexual but I've had my years of curiosity, I've had my years of trying to figure out what it was, who I was. And uh, you know. Yeah, I myself am primarily attracted to women, but, you know, I--there are men that I've also found attractive in life, mostly about the person, the individual. And, uh. You know. Sometimes it--it takes an experience like what Tary had to finally feel confident in that. And not in a judgmental way. His was a little more comical because it's Sam and we wanna up the uncomf--the discomfort of a sequence sometimes with humor to offset to offset it, but. We try and treat it with respect because a lot of it plays to elements of our own lives or people that are close to us. Um, and so Tary's journey is--is in some ways still a personal one. For myself and other people in some ways. So just--you know. We're trying.

Matthew Mercer, Fireside Q & A with Matt Mercer on Talks Machina

#matthew mercer #taryon darrington #vox machina #critical role #talks machina #i'm not a professional but it felt safer to just quote him verbatim #hence the stuttering #apologies if i should not have done that

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gwenbrightly · 4 years ago

Text

The Great Flower Chain Making Competition

Written for the @ninjago-calendar project. The Ninja take Lloyd on a picnic and Cole teaches everyone how to make flower chains.

“He needs normalcy,” Lloyd heard Nya tell his uncle in a hushed voice. He paused outside of his uncle’s room to hear what would come next.

“But his training-” Wu started in, but Kai interrupted him.

“But nothing, Master Wu. You can’t expect him to adjust to being the Green Ninja right away without problems. He’s just a kid, so let him be one.”

There was silence for a moment and Lloyd could easily imagine Nya giving Wu her signature you’d better do as I say or else look to prove her brother’s point. He waited to hear the response, not quite sure what they were talking about, but knowing it involved him.

“I… suppose you have a point,” Wu admitted eventually, “you can do what you asked on one condition: Everyone stays nearby and return to the Bounty immediately if I contact you.”

“That’s technically two conditions,” said Nya, pointedly. Wu sighed.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

“We won’t,” Kai assured him and then the door opened before Lloyd could disappear around the corner. Nya raised an eyebrow when she saw him.

“Lloyd, were you… eavesdropping?”

“N-no,” he insisted at first, but both siblings immediately saw through his lie.

“How much did you hear, Lloyd?” Kai asked quietly. Lloyd shrugged.

“I dunno. Not much. But you guys really didn’t have to get on Wu’s case for me over training. I’m fine.” Another lie.

“Considering we literally just got you back from a group of traitorous snakes, I’d say it’d be completely understandable if you weren’t fine. And besides, it’s our duty to protect you. Even from your uncle,” Kai stated fiercely, ruffling Lloyd’s hair. Nya nodded in agreement.

“Which is why we convinced him to give everyone the day off so we can take you to do something fun!” she announced. Lloyd blinked.

“Fun?” he repeated blankly. He had to admit that doing something to get his mind off of, well, everything, sounded appealing. But there was so much to be done now that he knew he was the Green Ninja. Could he even afford a day off? Lloyd wasn’t sure how all this destined savior business worked.

“That’s right! We’re going on a picnic!”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Lloyd questioned, not sharing Nya’s enthusiasm, “I mean, the Serpentine probably want revenge for what happened at the fire temple.”

“Sure it is. We’ll just have to be careful,” Nya assured him at the same time as Kai insisted, “We only have good ideas!”

They rolled their eyes at each other, but neither backed down.

“We’re not taking no for an answer, Lloyd. Fresh air is good for shrimps like you,” Kai continued, giving Lloyd a smile. Lloyd knew he was probably right, though he didn’t know much about fresh air. Darkley’s had always been kind of stuffy.

Nya looked at him expectantly. He bit his lip.

“Fine. But if anything goes wrong, I’m telling Pythor to eat you first,” Lloyd relented. A few hours away couldn’t do any harm.

_________________________

“I think we’re almost there,” Cole announced. Lloyd could just make out the clearing up ahead. After gathering the rest of the ninja and packing lunch, which had been a hectic affair, the group had set out to find the perfect picnic spot. Cole claimed to “know a place” and the others had eagerly followed his lead. Lloyd had never been on a picnic before, so he wasn’t really sure what they were looking for, but hopefully it would all make sense sooner or later.

“Awesome,” Nya said, running her hands together enthusiastically.

“Yeah,” Kai agreed, sounding less excited, “what did you put in this thing, Zane? My arms are starting to get tired.”

“Oh, just the picnic essentials.” Zane called over his shoulder. Kai held the picnic basket in front of him, giving it a distaste glare.

“You sure you didn’t pack the kitchen sink?”

The nindroid deigned not to reply and Kai continued to mutter complaints as they continued down the trail. Deciding to have mercy on Kai after a few minutes (he was a little tired of the complaining), Lloyd asked,

“Want me to take it for a sec?”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Cole cut in, “we’re here.”

“Thank goodness,” Kai declared, staggering forward to set the basket down on a tree stump. Lloyd rolled his eyes at his dramatics before wandering off to explore while Nya and Jay spread out the ginormous picnic blanket they had stolen from Wu.

He found a stream not far from where Kai had left the picnic basket. Sitting down amongst the reeds, Lloyd watched the water ripple and swirl. He could see tiny minnows swimming in and out of the shadows. What other creatures might be lurking nearby?

Maybe after they ate, Kai would be interested in helping him find out. There could be water snakes, turtles, or maybe even frogs! Frogs liked marshy areas – didn’t they?

Lloyd could just imagine the look on Jay’s face when he and Kai brought back the biggest, slimiest frog they could find. He giggled maniacally as he skipped a stone across the stream. It bounced a few times before sinking with a soft plunk. The minnows scattered. Lloyd sighed happily, watching them.

There was something so peaceful about this place. About the way the gentle breeze tickled the flowers that covered the meadow. Maybe he should pick some for Nya. Girls liked flowers, didn’t they? There hadn’t been many girls at Darkleys.

Of course, there was always the possibility that she was allergic to flowers. After all, Nya had once told him that she had a perfume allergy. He should probably ask Kai about that before he went and picked too many flowers for her…

“Lloyd! It’s time for lunch.”

Someone called, interrupting his thoughts. Plans for pestering his honorary siblings would have to wait. Lloyd sidled over to the picnic blanket and plopped down next to Kai, who handed him a plate.

“So, Cole. How did you know about this place?” Jay inquired as he set out the sandwich supplies. Cole smiled wistfully and explained,

“My parents brought me here a few times when I was a kid. We would play in the stream for hours and then Mom would teach me how to make flower chains and force Pop and I to wear them. It was really fun.”

“Aww. That sounds nice,” Nya commented. She held out a jar of peanut butter to Lloyd, who happily accepted it. He slathered some onto his bread, listening to Cole share more stories about his childhood. Lloyd wished his own parents had been around to take him on picnics and have water fights with him. But that wasn’t the way the world worked.

With a sigh, Lloyd took a bite of his sandwich. Just the right ratio of jelly to peanut butter. Perfect.

“You mentioned flower chains, right?” Jay asked through a mouthful of food. It sounded more like he was saying, “Ooh entond oor Jane’s ight?”

“Yeah?” Cole replied, raising an eyebrow. Jay swallowed before continuing.

“This might sound kinda silly, but… I’ve always wondered how people make those.”

“Oh, it’s easy!” Cole announced with a grin, “want me to teach you after we finish eating?”

“I, for one, would love to learn,” Nya stated. She took a bite of jello salad and glanced around at the others, who nodded.

“As would I,” Zane agreed serenely. Kai smirked and said,

“Sure. Why not. But I say we make it a competition.”

“A competition?” Lloyd asked curiously, his eyes widening. That sounded promising.

“Yeah! I’m thinking we each make a flower chain, and whoever has the best one wins. We can, like, have Master Wu judge them when we get back to the Bounty, or something,” Kai explained.

“That sounds kinda fun,” Nya decided, before turning to Lloyd, “whaddya think? You in?”

Lloyd shrugged noncommittally, but ultimately agreed to join in. He had nothing better to do and was awfully curious about these… flower chains, anyway. What was the point of making chains from flowers? It wasn’t like you could use such a chain to trap enemies or anything exciting. Oh, well. He knew this entire trip was just to distract him from Green Ninja stuff. So it was probably okay if there were no practical applications for flower chains that he could use to cause chaos later on.

The small boy shoved what was left of his sandwich into his mouth and chewed messily as he gazed around the meadow. There sure were a lot of flowers to choose from. He wondered how they would know which were best to use. And how long it was going to take the others to finish their food. Lloyd was starting to get bored of sitting there with nothing to do.

“All right, listen up, people. What you’re looking for is flowers with nice long stems, like this,” Cole finally announced. He held up a daffodil. “That makes it easier to weave them together. Once everyone has their supplies, meet back here, and I’ll explain the rest. Everybody ready?”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Jay said. He gave a teasing salute and trotted off across the meadow. Cole rolled his eyes as he watched him go.

“Apparently, we have started,” Zane observed with a wry smile. The others laughed.

“Yeah, I think it’s safe to say the competition has begun.” Cole agreed.

“Well? What are we waiting for?” Nya asked before nudging Lloyd, “We can’t let Jay beat us!”

She grabbed his arm and drug him off toward the opposite end of the meadow from where Jay had gone.

“Are teams even legal?” Lloyd heard Kai ask in the distance.

“I never said they weren’t.” came the response. Nya giggled and came to a stop.

“This looks like a good place to start picking flowers,” she said, bending over to examine a patch of irises. Lloyd nodded and plucked one, careful to make sure the stem was long enough to meet Cole’s standards.

“Perfect.” Nya smiled approvingly. She began gathering an armful of flowers of her own. Red, then pink, then white, then purple. The two soon had sizable clumps of irises and various other flowers they had found growing nearby. Ready for the next phase of the competition, they returned to the picnic blanket just as the others began heading back.

“Congratulations, competitors. You have completed the first challenge,” Cole stated in his best announcer voice. The rest of the group cheered with much more vigor than was truly necessary. They were all quite invested in the competition by this point.

“Now you must learn how to make flower chains from the pro himself. Watch as I demonstrate,” Cole continued. He showed them how to weave the flowers together by taking clumps of 3 and braiding them in an intricate pattern. Next, he showed them how to connect new flowers to the braid by counting several stems as a single strand while braiding.

The project had mixed results. Cole kept having to jump in to assist Kai before he could tear his flowers apart in frustration (they wouldn’t stay in place), while Jay’s weaving was so complex that even Zane couldn’t make sense of his strategy.

Nya and Lloyd were hard at work designing a pattern of colors that was extra appealing to the eye when they realized that they had neglected to collect any blue flowers. Nya nodded her head meaningfully towards Jay’s pile of flowers, which contained a variety of blue wildflowers. Lloyd grinned and swapped spots with her, giving her easy access to Jay’s stash.

“Hey, Jay- I seem to be having trouble with this part… mind helping me out?” she asked ever so innocently. Jay flashed her a smile and scooted closer to her before launching into a tirade about the art of braiding.

“Mhm. Oh, that makes sense,” Nya commented, pretending to be interested as she slipped a few of the flowers from Jay’s pile into Lloyd’s waiting hands. She continued to do this for several minutes before Jay finally caught on.

“Hey. Hey wait! You can’t do that!” he protested in frustration. Nya simply smiled.

“All is fair in love and war, Jay.”

“Yeah!” Lloyd agreed, nodding vigorously. Jay glared at him.

“Do you even know what that means?” he asked.

“Nope!” Lloyd said, happily adding a blue flower to his chain. All in all, the picnic had been way more exciting than he’d expected.

#ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #Ninjago Calendar #March #Lloyd #Cole #Flower chains #my fics #validate meeee

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