(A/N) Hey everybody. INFJwriter here. I'm here to tell you some things that are happening in real life right now. No, I'm not leaving. I wouldn't do that to you. I promised to do that rewrite, and I'm still planning on finishing We Are Ninjago.
I'm here to tell you that lately I've been experiencing some bouts of depression again. I've been crying the past few days, feeling pretty useless in choir at church, but mostly just feeling really lonely.
As an introvert, yes, I need some time alone, but I'm feeling really unappreciated. I literally have no in-person friends that like Ninjago, and I'm afraid to go looking because I'm not sure I'll find any that I'll be able to meet up with in person very often. I made a deal with my friend in college that I'd play Undertale if she'd watch essential episodes of Ninjago with me, but she hated the show whereas I was okay with Undertale, so we changed the deal to me playing Undertale while she watched a Let's Play of Super Paper Mario with me, my favorite Wii game. I showed her the intro and she really liked it, and I hate seeing people unhappy, so I was all for changing the deal. But it still left me with an empty feeling.
So, without someone at school to talk about Ninjago with, I decided to turn to my cousin who likes Ninjago. She lives two hours away, but we text a ton, mostly about Ninjago. So when Thanksgiving rolled around, I thought, man, I'm really excited to be able to talk with somebody in person about my favorite show!
Problem is, she was perfectly fine with talking about Ninjago, but what she really wanted to do was watch weird YouTube videos with me. I don't mind doing that, some of them are funny, but what I really wanted to do was show her some of my fanfiction stories. I've been trying to get her to read at least one of them, but she never seems to do it, even when she tells me she will. We both didn't like DotD, and we ranted to each other about it for a while, but she eventually got tired of it.
So then I asked her if she had read any of my fanfictions, and she still hasn't, which made me feel even worse. I sincerely think that if she read one chapter of my fanfictions for every TWO videos she had ever shown me, in person and on Facebook, she would be through ALL of my fanfics by now. So all her visit made me feel was disappointed.
I feel like lately all I've been doing is giving people so much and not getting any favors in return. For my cousin it's watching every video and looking at every meme she shows me. For my college friend it's playing Undertale. Sometimes my little brothers will look at my fanfictions, but most times they want to do their own thing, like Minecraft or YouTube.
And then I get sad, because all of you wonderful people on FFN have read my books and reviewed, giving me all this wonderful feedback that I never get from anyone else offline. It makes me wish that I could meet some of you in person, but some of you are all the way across the globe. And then I get frustrated because of my isolation.
So I'm feeling really lonely. And I think I may need a medication change for my recent bouts of depression, but I don't think I'll be seeing my psychiatrist for at least a month. So unless I have a full-blown depression episode, we won't be scheduling an emergency appointment.
So I'm turning to all of you. You guys have given me happy thoughts when I've been down. Whenever I feel sad, I go back and look at some of the reviews you've given me. So now I'm asking you to send some encouragement in the reviews. And tell me something I'll find interesting. Tell me who your favorite Ninjago character is and why. Share a theory you have or heard. If you think Day of the Departed was lacking, tell me what you thought should be done differently. No guarantees, but maybe you might see your request somewhere in the rewrite! If you pray, keep me in your prayers. Thank you so much.
So that this doesn't violate the rules, here's a small excerpt from my rewrite. It's only the second draft, so it's not perfect yet.
"So we all agree?" Chen asked the others. "We'll use the Departed Blades to kill the Ninja and take their place among the living! Finally, we will have revenge!" All the villains cheered, except for Morro. He frowned and furrowed his brow, but quickly regained composure.
"Did someone say revenge?" Pythor asked, slithering in. "I want in." Suddenly he saw the nindroid in the room. "Ah, Cryptor, my loyal friend! Haha!" Then he turned to Chen. The atmosphere between them turned cold. "Chen," Pythor acknowledged.
"Pythor," Chen returned the greeting.
"Oooh, frosty," Kozu remarked.
"So, if we're going to kill the Ninja, we'd better split them amongst ourselves," Pythor suggested. "We don't want to take them all on at once."
"I call Zane!" Samukai blurted, throwing up two arms.
"No! He's my clone!" Cryptor insisted.
"Technically, you're his clone," Pythor pointed out. Kozu, Samukai, Chen, and Cryptor began to fight. Morro just frowned again.
"Enough!" Pythor shouted above the fray. "Personally, I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible. I pick Lloyd! I got rid of the father, well, more or less. It's finally time to get rid of the son!"
"I have a score to settle with Kai and Nya!" Chen claimed. "So they're mine!"
"I'll take Zane," Cryptor decided.
The wheels in Morro's head turned. He'd have to be careful about this. Strategic, purposeful. "Sensei Wu," he finally said. "We left things… unfinished. I will settle our debt once and for all."
"Ugh, that only leaves Jay," Samukai groaned, looking at Kozu. "One ninja, but two of us. Okay, rock paper clip. ONE, TWO, THREE! ONE TWO…" Kozu just walked away. "That doesn't seem to work."
Kozu looked out the window and spotted Dareth. "I want HIM!" he shouted.
"Yes!" Samukai agreed.
"Then it's settled!" Pythor announced. "Although, the Ninja won't go easily. Perhaps we could use… some help?"
Cryptor looked at Pythor's museum brochure. "The Hall of Sidekicks!" he offered.
"Haha! Convenient! Is it not?" Pythor chuckled. With that, Pythor, Cryptor, Chen, Kozu, and Samukai left the room, off to prepare for their confrontations. Morro, however, stayed where he was. He bit his lower lip, thinking hard. He considered his options. There was a lot to lose if he went through with his plan. Independence, control, self-determination, to name a few.
But this also might be his only chance for redemption.
Finally, he made up his mind.
Pythor turned around to find Morro hesitating. "Coming, my new friend?" he asked.
"You all go on ahead," Morro told him. "I prefer to do things alone."
Pythor considered Morro's words. "Perhaps you have a point. I've seen the Hall of Sidekicks on my way here, and there were no serpentine. And I doubt any of the real serpentine will join me. Very well. We shall both go solo. Good luck."
"Thanks." With that, they parted ways.
(A/N) How was that? It would really make me smile if you all showed me some encouragement. Thank you.
