#no never

[mrkestis]

I’m also not over this I’m thinking about it every day just so you know

[tea-bejjai]

bottom… Jefferson..? 🥺

LE GASP!! I would never

but i guess since YOU insisted

[mossy-of-the-valley]

Bartylily au where barty is the doorman and Lily lives in the building

[ell-if-i-know]

GOD I HOPE THEY QUOTE CONFRONTATION

[yxmnuski]

forgot how TEAAAAA Martha was. outfits, face card, athletic/feminine build #needtht

But more importantly wow, fandom and, actually, ten in general undervalued her soooo much idk if fans were going through post-rose grief or micro-aggression, but honestly Martha was brilliantt for ten and so loyal. One of the best companions if she had gotten more time

[nostalgiaclown]

rotating him like a rotisserie chicken in my brain

[kyodrawsstuff]

Sometimes I worry I made Kai and Val get attached too fast, but then I remember I basically did the equivalent of pressure cooking them into being friends. Like.

On Val's side, she's fresh off of a traumatic situation and she just needs someone to Be There, constantly, she needs a task to keep herself busy and Not Think About What Happened, and if she could also get human connection and get acclimatized to her new reality that would be Really Cool as well thanks. And in comes Kai, who is loud enough to always be present, never for Val to forget that he's there and nearby and alive, always keeping Val focused on the moment. He is Active and Doing Things and if Val keeps by his side then she is Doing Things by approximation, which is Great. The more she thinks about Kai the less she thinks about Jade and The Horror and her home. Then Kai starts getting hurt enough to warrant needing treatment and Val goes GREAT FANTASTIC AWESOME because now she gets to stitch him up every day (Which is a thing!! She learned!! From her grandma!! She is Doing A Thing she Knows How To Do!! Something she Enjoys!! And keeps the demons At Bay!!!). And just like that, Kai ends up being the person who gets her to teemptatively accept her new reality by 1) Not letting her get stuck on her memories 2) Being her rat subject to her self soothing methods (Medicine) and 3) Acting like a Normal Domestic Person when he's not training and thus making Val see Hey this is just like back home actually, he is Just like a Real Alive Person. And she imprints on him because of it. And also bonds (Unilateraly) over both of them being older siblings with a little sister who is (Was) in danger, and tries to support Kai through everything to make sure he gets to save Nya faster, doesn't have to feel like she did when she saw Jade's corpse, even knowing Nya isn't actually at risk of dying. (She's always needed someone to look after.)

On Kai's side, his life just went sideways Again. His sister's been kidnapped by Actual Undead Warrior People, Garmadon is Apparently Real and still alive and is behind his sister's kidnapping, and instead of blazing after them to get his sister back he's forced to follow this random man who is Apparently Wu, the First Spinjitsu Master's son, and he Has to train under him or else he won't be allowed to go after Nya, and even if he managed to convince Wu to send him in early he would die trying to save her because as proven by the man he is shit at fighting. So he has to run a stupid course and do an impossible challenge and every day that goes by is a day he has to sit with the fact that Nya could be dead now, he could be alone forever now. And while he struggles with that and tries to rile up Wu, there is Also a random girl that doesn't speak ninjargon (???) around, who never talks to you and seems lost half of the time, and yet is the only person who seems to be in the Monastery because Wu dissapears Every Day. Sure. What-fucking-ever. He already had it out for destiny, it's good to know destiny has it out for him as well. But then Val suddenly becomes Lucid and starts Being There. Constantly. She watches him train, gives him pause and think things through, makes sure he eats and showers and generally takes care of himself, and he thinks it's a one time thing, that she'll drop it after he keeps snapping at her, keeps having rough edges. But she doesn't. She keeps at it, keeps making sure he's taken care of even when he bites back, starts healing his wounds when he gets hurt more than he can handle. And. It means a lot, that she stays through his temper. It's nice, having someone taking care of him for once. It feels good to be treated gently, softly, even though he can't treat her with the same kind of gentleness. And Val is fourteen years old, same age Nya is, and she's taking care of him - and the itch to take care of her in return kicks in. He's a protector at heart, has been used to providing and taking care of himself and his sister for years now, and though it felt good to have someone look out for him, it comes naturally to him to look out for people, too. So he starts taking care of Val, trying to learn how to communicate, how to serve her the way she's been serving him, each in their own way, and if he's doing for Val the same things he does for Nya - well, she doesn't need to know how much it soothes over his ache. (He's missed having something soft on easy reach.)

Anyways. Just lock them in a house together for one month with no one else to interact with apart from an old man who pops in every couple hours to make sure they didn't die while he was gone and are also eating regularly, and just. Wait until That Whole Process happens, and see the insane codependency that walks out.

Then there's just the fact they parallel each other in Insane Ways, which is a ramble that deserves it's own separate post that I sadly can't write yet due to spoilers. But yeah, sometimes I worry I made them drop into intimacy way too fast, but then I just remember they were never going to be normal about each other anyways, and relax back into my seat. They were always going to have a potent dynamic, so who cares if they start it up a week after they meet?

That being said I will probably rewrite the prologue and "Iron Sharpens Iron" at some point in the future, the first to flesh out Val's life before Ninjago so people understand a bit more of her character plus what she's losing, and the latter so I can write more of Kai and Val's month together in the Monastery and more poperly show how they befriended each other. Also just. Fix grammar and general editing and shifting things about Jade and The Horror to better fit lore. But yeah fleshing out the Kai-Val dynamic will be a big part as well.