Hello! I Really Like Your Teenage Garmadon Fanfic On Ao3 And Was Wondering If You Were Planning On Continuing

I headcannon he's physically 19 in SOG, and maybe 21-23 in Crystalized. In DR he just looks like a late twenties dork to me. His mental age is probably just 4-5 years younger though.

I'm sorry Dragons Rising Lloyd is NOT 18-19, maybe Crystalized Lloyd, but in Dragons Rising that is a young adult man he is like 23/24 years old he is NOT still a late teenager !!!

So You Came Back To Me Part 1

Just a 3am idea that already ended up being 4.4k words long and got turned into a fanfic. What have I got myself into?

I edited this to add the italics because apparently copy pasting from FFNet yeeted them out. Oh well. Lesson learned at least.

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"If only I had a dollar for every time they asked for you."

"...too bad. Maybe then you'd at least dress better."

"Hey!" Kai sputtered, unconsciously reaching for his hair. It was still as spiky as ever, even though the sweat was still continuing it's determined mission to ruin it. "This is good quality hair gel, I assure you."

Lloyd crossed his arms, thoroughly unconvinced. "But I was talking about your clothes," he pointed out cheekily, the urge in Kai to strangle him growing by the minute. "Not what you did to transform into a human ice cream."

Kai's scowl quickly morphed into a glare. "Well you definitely purchased a years' supply of bleach!"

"For the last time, I'm a natural blonde," Lloyd groaned in reply, beyond exasperated. He ran a hand through his own strands, sulking. "Blame it on the recessive genes."

Kai let out a snort. "Still, it's kinda weird to think we could've looked alike—if you'd gotten Garmadon's hair, I mean," he mused. His eyes lingered on the pale blonde part of Lloyd's head, pursing his lips. "A tiny bit of my skills and— "

"Stop."

"—and you could've looked like an adorable little Kai Junior, what a shame you missed your— "

"I guess I got lucky then," Lloyd shuddered, hand tightening around the lock of hair in his hand. "Saved me from hair gel assault."

"Well," Kai said, eyeing him mischievously. "You never quite know…"

"Watch it," Lloyd warned, backing away from him as Kai seemed visibly nearer. His skin looked pale, like all the blood had rushed to Kai's gi instead. "We're on a mission."

"Yeah, and it's a call to handle one Venomari, which apparently still hasn't popped in ye— "

"I see him!" Lloyd yelled, and Kai only got a second's worth of warning before a familiar green squirt suddenly whizzed past him, miraculously missing his eyes unlike stupid last time.

And FSM, was he never going down that road again.

Kai gritted his teeth at the memory.

"Visiting the surface?" he taunted, narrowing his gaze.

They were in a room full of sarcophagi, the golden relics lining the circular space perfectly. The squirt of venom had come from their left, so that meant that was where the scaly guy could be hiding.

Kai saw Lloyd's eyes begin to squint, before soon widening to the size of saucers. "There!"

In an instant, an orb of energy was hurled at one of the sarcophagi, mercilessly sending it to the ground to reveal a startled Venomari warrior. An ancient case was clutched in his grasp, the deep emerald crest on it glinting under the museum light. It looked every bit the stolen artifact it was.

"Had fun playing hide and seek?" Kai mocked.

As expected, the Venomari tried to make a break for it, but Lloyd aimed another blast at his legs, tripping him automatically.

The Venomari grunted in pain, and Kai briefly wondered if Lloyd's blast had actually been painful enough to prevent him from getting back up. "Two of you to face one Serpentine?" he rasped.

"Surprised?" Lloyd said, stepping closer. The Venomari made no move to rise. "We just thought you might appreciate the extra company."

"And you might wanna return that souvenir too, by the way," Kai added, eyeing the case pointedly. "Hand it over willingly, and you make things much easier for both you and us."

"Doessss it really?" the Venomari huffed, visibly unconvinced. "I find spending several yearssss in a cage for retrieving what issss rightfully mine not a very dessirable outcome."

So another the-surface-dwellers-stole-the-heck-from-us issue, Kai thought, feeling a little weary just at the realization. These had been happening a lot more often lately, even if the snakes had already been left to roam on their own for years. Zane deduced that it was because of Aspheera, that something about her quest for revenge appeared to have lit a flame in a small number of Serpentine. Though at least, the chances of another Serpentine War happening wasn't as high as Kai thought they were, according to Zane.

And Kai definitely wasn't looking forward to Lloyd having to banish someone else.

"Huh," Lloyd said, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Well, who said I can't just take it from you anyways?"

The Venomari slowly raised his head, and yellow eyes soon stared eerily at Lloyd. "Sssso confident to a fault, son of Garmadon."

Something darkened in Lloyd's gaze, just like it always did whenever Garmadon's name decided to jump into the picture. "You're already down anyways," he said tightly, and Kai didn't miss the way his hands clenched at his sides. "I've used this on many Serpentine before, and never once have they gotten up," he told him, regarding the Venomari coolly. "So I guess it's straight into a cell for you.

Lloyd then took another step forward, and that was when Kai felt an icy chill run down his spine. He didn't understand why until he saw the familiar signs of relief settle in the Serpentine's eyes. Now that...that couldn't be good could it?

Panic seized his chest. "Lloyd—don't you dare— "

Then, the next thing Kai knew, the Venomari had opened its mouth, and…sent a spit of well-aimed venom straight into Lloyd's face.

........................................................................................................................

"So…was it a Hypnobrai or a Fangpyre?" Nya asked, just as she entered the gaming room. Jay and a highly frazzled Zane were casually taking up most of the space on the sofa, the consoles each of them were holding just accepting the ambush coming from their thumbs. "Just asking to make sure my brother doesn't do anything stupid."

"Neither," Zane replied, not tearing his gaze from the screen. But Nya could easily tell he wasn't here on his free will. "It was a call for a Venomari Warrior."

"Now doesn't that bring back sweet memories?" Jay cackled gleefully, before sending his avatar lunging at an alien. He might still deny it, but Nya was 100% certain that this was already his third hour into the game. "Ah, nothing like Venomari venom to reveal your fear of elves, I tell ya."

Cole looked surprised from where he was spectating, a bag of cake flavored chips held on his lap. "Kai went along too?"

Nya shrugged. "He couldn't exactly let Lloyd go to the museum alone, especially after how that turned out last time," she shuddered, remembering Morro. "Better safe than sorry, I guess."

"No kidding," Jay muttered, licking his lips. "Does anyone know just how much worse Lloyd's luck's been getting over the years?"

"Zane's too though, since he's the one that keeps getting presumed dead and all," Cole pointed out, only to earn a frosty look from the nindroid. "What? Just stating the facts."

Zane huffed. "Thank you for that."

Nya rubbed her temples, foreseeing bickering. "Anyone seen Sensei Wu lately?"

"Went down to Jamanakai the last time I checked," Jay answered. "Something about restocking his tea collection or...whatever."

Cole's brows knitted into a frown. "But didn't he restock like three days ago?"

Jay just shrugged. "That old beard goes through more tea than all of us combined," he said, shaking his head. "It's an addiction, I swear."

"Either that, or he's just trying to keep up with the image of cryptic old Sensei," Nya said dryly, before fighting back a smile that suddenly grew sad. "That's what Sensei G kept saying."

"Yeah," Cole agreed, a similar look crossing his face. "Feels so long ago doesn't it?"

"Approximately three years, four months, one week and six days ago," Zane clarified easily. "Precisely two weeks after the Final Battle."

"Which, to this day, I still can't get why they call it that," Jay scowled, leaning his back further against the couch. "To be fair, it wasn't even the final one."

"At the time it was though," Cole told him. "I mean, we'd all thought we were practically done with all this after it ended didn't we?"

"And Wu even made us teachers," Nya snorted, remembering the incredulous stares they'd given their Sensei at the announcement. She grimaced. "That school wouldn't have stayed open if it weren't for Zane, really."

Zane heaved out a weary sigh. "The fact that none of you know how to do basic algebra never ceases to amaze me."

Nya sputtered at that. "In my defense, Kai and I couldn't exactly afford school when we were— "

"—and Jay even assumed that the Earth was flat," Zane continued, sounding highly strained. The Master of Lightning let out an yelp beside him and Zane sent him a glare. "Which is why I will do everything in my power to never let you near a student ever again."

Cole scoffed. "You still haven't even checked Lloyd," he defended indignantly. "For FSM's sake, are we all forgetting that the kid literally came from Darkley's— "

Cole cut himself off, that being the moment when the sound of a loud creak filled the air. The monastery's courtyard gates were open, and it didn't take long for the four of them to make it outside in anticipation of their two friends' return. And to also see which of them had gotten a good burst of halogen, Nya added silently, bracing herself for the inevitable. Knowing her two brothers, it was bound to happen one way or the other, and the best and most generous thing she could do was to not let the unfortunate victim live it down.

But... what they didn't expect to see was the return of a very pale Sensei Wu, allowing a bewildered teenage boy enter with him. And that was exactly what they were seeing. He was tall, with a head of brown hair that was held up with a purple bandana. Nya was absolutely certain she hadn't seen him before.

But that didn't mean she didn't notice that his face was familiar.

"Master?" Cole began hesitantly, alternating his gaze between their Sensei and the boy with unbridled confusion. "Uh, who is this?"

Wu's complexion seemed whiter than his robes. He looked around the courtyard, drawing in a sharp breath.

"Where is Lloyd?"

"At the museum with Kai. There's a Venomari causing trouble," Nya answered automatically, studying Wu with barely-held-back curiosity. "Why?"

Wu momentarily stilled. "There is a lot to explain."

"We have time,"Jay pointed out, before gesturing to the boy. He looked close to Kai's age. "You a new recruit?"

The newcomer paled significantly at the question. "Who—" he then broke off, before looking helplessly at Wu.

Wu appeared to understand. "These are my students," he said, trying to make the teen comfortable but failing miserably. "You helped train them once."

Now Nya was confused, and for a moment wondered if she'd somehow gotten her own element into her ears without her noticing. But it soon turned out that it wasn't just her. The others were appearing just as perplexed as she was, with her boyfriend as if their Sensei had just told him that his gi was supposed to be black.

"But I've never even seen this dude in my entire life!" Jay protested, aghast. He gestured to the boy in utter disbelief, before training his gaze on Wu. "And what the heck is with the bandana anyway? You never even told us there were people that actually wanted to recreate your teen look."

Nya's eyes widened. Wait—

Sensei's voice was firm. "I will explain everything once Lloyd is here."

"What's Lloyd even got to do with any of this?" Cole demanded, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the teen. Nya saw the teen flinch, abruptly shrinking back under his gaze. She could've sworn she'd seen that happen the same way with someone else, someone of the same height, someone during the first few days of their stay on the Destiny's Bounty every time the ninja showed their brief hostility, but still it couldn't be—

The next thing Nya knew, she was already taking several steps closer to the gates, where the teen was standing. She could feel every pair of eyes on her, including his own which she was now close enough to see were—

Red. Far more vibrant than the dull shade of their second Sensei, but not that different from the ones her friend had. And that could only mean…

Jay's tone was laced with worry behind her. "Nya, are…are you okay?"

FSM, how the heck—

She didn't even realize that she was shaking, her tongue heavy in her mouth as the confused red eyes in front of her looked at her in sheer puzzlement. Well, wasn't that a surprise, Nya thought weakly, considering the fact that the Master of Water was currently staring at him like she'd just seen a ghost. Oh, this was bad—and good, she added. Bad to give Lloyd another emotional crisis and maybe good enough cheer him up a little bit—

"Nya, you're scaring me," Jay's then begged, sounding more desperate than ever for a response. "What are you— "

"Zane," Nya breathed before she could stop herself. She barely acknowledged her own arm rising shakily to point at the teen, who she had a feeling didn't even remember her. "Get over here and run a facial analysis."

"I beg your pardon?" The nindroid asked, surprised. Nya sucked in a breath, and forced her voice to remain steady.

"I need you to come over here and do a facial analysis," she repeated, swallowing hard. " 'Cause I kinda think we might be looking at Lord Garmadon."

The reactions that followed were chaos.

..............................................................................................................................

"I can't believe you just did that!" Kai scolded, keeping an arm around him the entire time he dragged him out.

Lloyd was trying his best to avoid seeing what was in front of him, but that was mostly easier said than done. "Are you talking about getting my eyes sprayed or nearly destroying the entire museum?"

"Both duh," Kai retorted, and Lloyd casually lifted up an obscene finger at his face. Kai just sighed. "Okay, shooting your powers at everything just because you thought they were headless kittens is something I can forgive, but getting the squirt like that? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Well, I didn't see you trying to warn me in time," Lloyd shot back, feeling his cheeks warm. Gods, he was an idiot, but at the very least, they'd sort of managed to stop the robbery. Sort of. "Also, it wasn't me that set off the sprinklers."

"One more reason why we're both disasters, then," Kai grumbled, continuing to pull him along. "Geez, and I'm still trying to figure out what we're gonna tell Wu."

"Oh crap," Lloyd breathed, eyes widening with horror. Big mistake though, because now the result of his hallucinating vision was becoming harder to ignore, and Kai's head was looking more like an electrocuted pufferfish than a head. "Or... maybe we could just skip that part?" he suggested nervously.

"He's gonna find out anyway," Kai said, sounding strained. "Your mom's pals with the second curator."

Lloyd sighed miserably. "Now they're never gonna ask for me again huh?"

"Nah, the head of security likes you," Kai said, patting his back sympathetically. "But the janitors? Now that's a different, tragic story."

Like my life? Lloyd wondered but decided to not voice it aloud.

"But you told them we're gonna come back right?" he then asked, suspecting they were outside now as the late afternoon sunlight bathed his skin. The cars filling the road looked like mini cockroaches at this point. He gulped." 'Cause there's no way we're gonna survive our future visits if we let them clean up."

"Relax, I did," Kai assured him, leading him to the right. "How's tomorrow at 9 am sound?"

"Perfect," Lloyd nodded, exhaling a sigh of relief. "I swear, just how the heck are we not banned yet?"

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Kai said, and he then finally stopped walking. He turned to look at Lloyd, his voice stern. "And over my dead body will you be flying home tonight."

Lloyd cringed at the thought. "Wasn't planning on it anyway," he muttered.

"Good," Kai said, before summoning his Elemental Dragon, which somehow appeared as a snarling red chilli with wings in Lloyd's eyes. "Oh, and would you mind if I generously shared this to the others?" he asked cheekily, sounding as though Christmas had come early.

Lloyd shot him a dirty look. "Go kiss an Oni, Kai."

"Geez, you're so mean."

.......................................................................................................................

"What the freaking fu—"

"The scans are fairly accurate," Zane said tiredly, for what felt like the fifth time. However, it was only the third, and Zane could easily see him repeating that sentence several more times any moment soon. "I am afraid that this is in fact an adolescent Lord Garmadon."

"Lord?" the teen repeated, before turning to look at Wu questioningly. The old master merely sighed, promising that he would explain later.

To his credit, Jay had taken this exactly how Zane's databases said he would.

"Just pick a body!" he ranted, gesturing at Garmadon semi-hysterically. The teen just blinked in surprise. "That's all I ask. But did you stay in yours? Oh FSM, of course you— "

"Jay," Nya hissed, setting a hand on his shoulder to reprimand him. Zane watched in amusement as the Master of Lightning suddenly complied, the gaming room mercifully silent for once. "He doesn't remember anything."

"That is correct," Pixal said as she peered at the young Garmadon. Her green eyes flashed. "His body language strongly suggests he does not have any recollection of any of us."

Jay's eyes blew wide at the realization. "Holy FSM."

Zane coughed. "Then I believe reintroductions are in order."

"But that can wait. You still haven't told us anything yet," Cole said, looking pointedly at Wu. "Now where's that explanation?"

Wu seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else. "As I have said before, it will be given once all of you are here."

"Which might actually take a lot longer than you think," Cole said, crossing his arms. "This is Kai and Lloyd we're talking about. They're probably stopping by Skylor's noodle place as we speak."

Zane pondered it for a moment. Now…that was very likely.

Sensei huffed. "Then contact one of them!"

"Thing is, Kai never answers his phone whenever he's with Skylor," Nya told him, fighting the urge to smirk. However, she was still unsuccessful in holding back the smugness from her tone. "And Lloyd still hasn't bought a new one after his fell off his dragon."

Now that…that was also very true.

Though, why had Zane even allowed them to leave in the first place?

Sensei's shoulders sagged in defeat, slumping. For a moment, Zane thought he had managed to age a decade in the span of a second.

"Very well," he then sighed, relenting. As if a switch had been flipped, the room exploded into cheers, and the old master ran a hand on his face wearily. "Now where do I start?" he murmured.

"The beginning would be most appropriate," Garmadon said anxiously. Zane couldn't help but wonder how he hadn't recognized him at first glance, for the resemblance to Lloyd was eerily uncanny. "I could start with mine if you prefer."

"By all means," Wu said, before soon eyeing the rest of them carefully. "But perhaps some introductions should be done first."

"I agree," Garmadon swallowed, seeming nervous. In this state, standing in a room with the other ninja made it easy to see him as just another of Wu's pupils, and Zane was silently correcting himself more than once. "How many students are you training?" he asked curiously.

"They have already been trained," Wu answered, the words said with a hint of what Zane detected as pride. "But to answer your question, I have six."

"Six?" Garmadon repeated, appearing visibly impressed. "I do not think I ever recalled you saying you wanted to take on a path of teaching."

"It was a much later decision, I'm afraid," Wu replied, his lips quirking upwards in a smile. Soon, his attention was once again focused on his students. "Now, who wishes to begin?"

Zane cleared his throat. "I am Zane Julien, the current Master of Ice and a nindroid."

As expected, Garmadon's brows drew together in a frown. "Nindroid?" he asked, curiously.

Fortunately, Zane was saved from answering thanks to Jay.

"He's a droid and a ninja," Jay told him excitedly. "You put them together and voila! A nindroid."

However, the confusion in Garmadon's eyes were increasing by the minute. Zane suppressed a sigh.

"He means I am not human," he explained, hoping it would suffice. "I am a machine."

Garmadon blinked. "A machine with elemental powers?"

Zane couldn't stop himself from grimacing. "It is… quite a lengthy tale," he admitted begrudgingly.

Garmadon's eyes then flickered to Pixal, but not before Zane managed to catch the awed flame of wonder alight in them. "Your features are similar. Are you a machine as well?"

Thankfully, Pixal showed no signs of offense at the question, and Zane was relieved to see her lips pull into a smile.

"Yes," she said, nodding encouragingly. "However, unlike the others, I am neither an Elemental Master nor a ninja. Instead, I choose to protect this realm as a samurai."

"Interesting," Garmadon murmured, before glancing at Wu in fascination. "I never imagined to see a machine help defend our Father's world."

"Neither did I," Sensei agreed, voice somewhat thick. He swallowed. "Now who would like to continue?"

Nya and Jay exchanged a look, and Zane found himself wondering whether telepathy was possible. Eventually, a wide grin broke open on Jay's face, and he threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Why hello! My name's Jay Walker, resident Elemental Master of Lightning and this," his eyes grew dreamy, and Nya was pulled closer. "is the beautiful Nya Smith, Master of Water and the love of my life.

"Beautiful huh?" Nya teased, shoving him playfully. Jay's grin widened.

"One can never say it too many times, my love."

Meanwhile, Garmadon was staring at Nya, something quite similar to understanding dawning his gaze.

"Were you named after Nyad?" he asked.

Nya blinked at that, confused. "Sorry, who?"

"The First Elemental Master of Water," Sensei explained, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "Perhaps you should bring this question up with your mother the next time you see her. It does seem very likely."

Nya nodded in agreement. "I will. Thanks for telling me."

Sensei then glanced at Cole. "I believe you are the only one left?"

"Yup," Cole said, before clearing his throat. "Well, I'm Cole Brookstone, Master of Earth."

"Pleased to meet you," Garmadon replied, nodding politely. For a moment, Zane tried to picture his Oni self doing such a thing.

It wasn't long before Cole swung his gaze to Sensei, his arms folding instinctively. "You promised, Master," he reminded him stubbornly.

Wu released a weary breath. "Indeed," he said, before gesturing at Garmadon. "It would be wise not to keep them waiting, brother. Unfortunately, my students can be rather impatient— "

"Hey!"

Wu simply looked amused. "You deny the undeniable," he said.

Jay huffed. "Oh speak for yourself, you—"

The rest of his sentence was drowned out by the unmistakeable roar of an Elemental Dragon, the sound of it along with the eventual one of flapping wings coming from outside the monastery. The rest of the ninja traded knowing glances, momentarily going still before soon running out to the courtyard without a second thought.

However, only one dragon was waiting outside when the gates were eagerly pushed open. It was that of the fire element, with Kai's hands tightly holding the reigns. Zane's stomach briefly sank. Now that wasn't good, because it could either mean the Energy dragon was absent as a result of Lloyd being too injured or not having had returned from the museum at all.

Thankfully, the last thought was dismissed once Zane caught sight of a flash of blonde hair leaning against Kai's back. Yet that still didn't mean all was well, since there was a 94.27% possibility of Lloyd sustaining an injury. Though, he at least supposed he didn't mind being forced into the role of medic once again. It was getting Lloyd to not sneak out of bed and accidentally tear through his stitches that Zane was worried about.

Before long, Kai was climbing down from the dragon, gently pulling Lloyd with him. The dragon disappeared the second their feet touched the ground, and Zane couldn't help but be surprised, since Kai was not in fact anxious to the point of accidentally setting something on fire like he usually was whenever Lloyd ended up injured. Instead, he appeared to be merely rolling his eyes at something the still-conscious blonde was saying, while Lloyd's own were—

Oh, Zane realized immediately.

He knew that Lloyd's eyes were green. However, this time, they were without doubt, several shades lighter than the one recorded in his memory banks. Venomari venom, his diagnostic supplied. Lloyd had received some amount of it. Immediately, Zane's relief was replaced by the intense urge to facepalm. He'd thought better of his friend.

Nya on the other hand, hadn't.

"You owe me ten bucks, Pix," she grinned, and Lloyd's face instantly contorted into a scowl.

"I thought you had faith in me," he complained, looking every bit both miserable and annoyed. Pixal merely sighed.

"Yet I did and look how that turned out," she said, shaking her head. "To think that my algorithms suggested this as a state Kai would most likely return as."

Jay's voice was dripping with glee. "What does he see?" he asked Kai, and Zane actually thought he looked even happier than he was when they'd won the Final Battle.

Kai had just opened his mouth to reply when Lloyd hissed. "Shut up."

The Master of Fire raised his eyebrows. "I…I didn't say anything?"

"You were about to and you know it," Lloyd fired back, grumbling. "Plus, I just saw that weird hole on the pufferfish move."

"Pufferwhat?" Cole looked like he didn't believe his ears. Frankly, Zane didn't think he could either.

"I'll explain later," Kai whispered, only to earn a sharp poke on the ribs. He yelped. "Lloyd!"

"I heard that, you know," the blonde huffed, crossing his arms as he glared at him. "You're cruel."

"Get better insults."

"Fine. You're the walmart version of a human broom."

Kai threw up his arms. "I hereby refuse to believe I helped raise this kid," he declared.

"We all can't. But too late, damage done," Cole sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Though, I'm definitely sure you were the worst influence—"

"Kai, Lloyd," greeted a voice.

Zane took a glanced behind him. Sensei was making their way to them, along with—

Oh dear.

Kai's forehead creased in confusion. "I'm sorry, but who is this?"

Zane pursed his lips. Now...now this was going to be interesting.

Ok, so according to the Tommy, the main reason why Jay isn’t an inventor anymore is because (and this is the exact quote), “Between Jay, Nya and Pixal there were too many characters with that profile.” Aka, there were now too many techies on the main cast to warrant a need for them all, so that part of Jay’s character ultimately got the ax.

Now while I can understand why three techies could be frustrating to work with from a writing perspective, I would like to offer a compromise to this conundrum, as I still firmly believe it was a bad decision to get rid of what’s arguably Jay’s most redeeming and defining qualities.

So, here is my proposal…

Why not have Jay be the “wacky” inventor of the team, while Nya and Pixal remain more refined and practical?

Jay wasn’t just an tinkerer. The guy grew up in a junkyard, meaning he’s used to making almost anything out of what’s basically scrap metal. In the earlier seasons, Jay would build about anything that simply popped into his head, just because he could. He and his entire family even had weird inventions and made up terms for pretty much everything there, no matter how absurd. This is unlike Nya and Pixal, who both have much sleeker styles. Jay is creative and an out-of-the-box thinker, which was one of his greatest strengths.

Have Nya and Pixal tag team and build the main vehicles for the team back at the monastery while Jay is able to spruce something up with limited supplies when they’re out on a mission. His methods aren’t always conventional or practical, or even the prettiest, but they almost always do their job and get the team out of a sticky situation. That way they can all still have that “mechanical” side, but just now suited for different roles, balancing everything out.

Here’s the entire contributor lineup for the 2024 Ninjago Calendar! 

Thanks to everyone who participated! You all did some excellent work.

Check out below for all the participants’ tumblr blogs! Be sure to give them all a follow!

Keep reading

Lloyd: I got banned from a FSM church.

Lloyd: Apparently, even if I'm the grandson of God-

Lloyd: I can't waltz in there and call my own grampa a "conniving bitch" without everyone telling me not to disrespect him.

Lloyd: And then the old ladies tossed me out when I told them he wasn't going to come back to life and screw them.

Lloyd: I plan to do this stunt until I am banned in every major and minor FSM church in Ninjago.

Wu: Let me get this straight-

Lloyd: I'm not straight, but continue.

Wu: You went to one of my father's temples of worship, disrespected him, threw verbal nonsense at the elderly, got kicked out, and banned-

Lloyd: I know, Uncle-

Wu: Without me?

Lloyd:

Lloyd: a-

Don't forget Season 1 Lloyd — he'd spit in it to prove himself as a villain and actually tell you to show his evilness like a demon.

Which ninjago villain would you trust to hold your drink at a party?

Pretty much any of them besides Nadakhan. Kalmaar and Iron Baron are probably also not good drink-sitters. The overlord would not drug my drink, but he also wouldn’t bother actually watching my drink.

My biggest problem with Ninjago’s writing is how meaningless death and sacrifice are.

The first major character death is Zane’s sacrifice, which is still cited as one of the saddest Ninjago moments, because it was expected that he had died at that moment and the audience doesn’t go into the sacrifice the idea of him coming back. Even afterwards, there’s no strong indication that he’s going to be completely remade and rejoin the ninja team— he lives on, but differently.

Next season, Zane is remade and rejoins the team. The idea of nindroids coming back from the dead is introduced to the audience and the stakes of life-threatening situations are removed for Zane— as long as technology exists, he can be remade.

At the end of Possession, Morro sacrifices himself. This “death” (really his second death) is portrayed as final and irreversible. The quote about Wu only being able to save those who want to be saved seals it: Morro is going and he doesn’t want to come back.

Morro is brought back from the dead for Day of the Departed.

Also, Cole is made into a ghost, which is initially portrayed as something permanent, but Day of the Departed makes what reads like a few quick excuses and undoes it. Between Morro and Cole, it is demonstrated that death is not permanent for ghosts.

At the end of Possession, Garmadon sinks with the Preeminent. He passes on his leadership, lessons, and robes to Lloyd and they sail away. Lloyd goes on to honour his father’s memory and become the leader Ninjago needs.

Garmadon is brought back by Harumi, just as Lloyd has moved on. He demonstrates that death is not permanent for Oni.

In Skybound, Nya is killed, but Jay’s wish undoes the events of the season brings her back to life.

When Cole falls from the Bounty in March of the Oni, he somehow defies the properties of the Oni cloud and returns to the ninja. The show doesn’t even elaborate on that.

Lloyd is crushed in the battle at the end of March of the Oni and meets the FSM, who brings him back.

Prime Empire deaths are reversed at the end of the season.

Harumi, Vangelis, and Aspheera are clearly defeated and Harumi’s “death” was read as heavily implied.

They return, as well as Garmadon, for Crystallised.

Nya sacrifices herself and turns, irreversibly, into the ocean in Seabound. She also returns in her normal form for Crystallised.

Overall, the way the series repeatedly refuses to make character death and character sacrifice meaningful and give these things real, appropriately far-reaching consequences creates a mindset of “oh, this character is dying. They’ll be back.” and makes it difficult to convey the full emotional impact of a beloved major character giving their life in the pursuit of their goals because there’s a heavy precedent of characters almost immediately having their death reversed. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that keeping something like this up will get boring after a few seasons (I acknowledge that Ninjago is ultimately just 22-minute advertisements for Lego toys, but I think I can still care about the plot).

It’s also not just that the characters are immediately brought back, it’s that their death has absolutely no effect on the plot moving forward other than “Ninjago wasn’t destroyed last season”. Sure, Zane is silver sometimes and Cole briefly had a scar, but the characters don’t mention that they literally died (or equivalent), it has no psychological effects*, it doesn’t lead into the next season’s plot points, and it doesn’t affect the narrative at all. Each season that was resolved with a character sacrifice or each arc that ended in a character death could very easily have been resolved any other way without significantly altering the plot in the long run.

*I acknowledge that Ninjago is for kids, but if Ninjago can have fantasy violence, it can have fantasy consequences of violence. I fully believe that there is a way to discuss mental health in an age-appropriate way if a writer wants to put in the effort.

There’s another post to be made about how Ninjago handles side characters’ achievements in this exact same way.

Anyone else looking for a way to order lots of Obscuritea so they can experience watching Ninjago for the first time again?

asphera shitpost kinda wanna do an au where she actually fell in love with wu and felt betrayed by him for not considering her as a real friend.

bonus

“UNAGAMI WILL CHOOSE YOUR OPPONENT.”

Lloyd watched the screen in front of him flip through various characters for him to potentially face off. He was shocked to find that many of them were people he knew from his life, and more importantly, people he was reluctant to fight–either friends like Clutch, or especially bad enemies like Aspheera. He thought he even saw an image of Harumi flicker onscreen for a second, and his heart did a little leap as he feared what he would do if he had to fight her.

The screen froze and disappeared before he could have a good look at what opponent had been chosen for him. Rows of glowing blocks materialized in front of him and formed a person.

Lloyd took in a sharp breath. He felt so numb, he almost dropped his sword.

It was worse than Harumi. Much, much worse.

In a quivering voice, he softly called, “Dad?”

It wasn’t just Lord Garmadon. It was Sensei Garmadon–uncorrupted, with two arms, gray hair, and a friendly smile. His eyes were soft, unlike the harsh red glow in his oni form, and he wore the same robes he had passed on to Lloyd the night he sacrificed himself. The wrinkles around his eyes crinkled as he smiled at the green ninja.

“Lloyd,” his father greeted warmly.

Lloyd’s limbs shook. Many emotions flashed through him at once–pain, nostalgia, yearning–but he chose to focus on his confusion. “You’re supposed to be corrupted,” he said.

Garmadon walked toward him. Lloyd knew he should have been tense, but there was too much comfort in that warm smile, and in the slight limp in his gait that Lloyd had grown so familiar to in his years spent training in his dojo.

“That monster is not me,” Garmadon promised, then spread an arm out for a hug. “I’m sorry. We have a lot of missed time to catch up on.”

Lloyd felt a sob push its way to his throat. He knew it wasn’t very leaderlike, but tears welled up unwillingly in his eyes. He dropped his sword and embraced his dad, and suddenly he felt twelve years old again, hugging his dad after a long day of training to use his golden powers and fight without fighting.

There was a dull pounding on the forcefield around the arena. Jay was yelling something inaudible past the barrier, but none of that mattered to Lloyd. All that mattered was soaking up the soft silk of Garmadon’s robes, the warmth from his form, and–

A sharp pain flared across Lloyd’s back. He cried out and pushed himself away from his dad. Garmadon stood back, and in his hand was a dagger dripping with pixelated blood.

Lloyd gripped his injury and stared at Garmadon. “Dad…what…why?”

Garmadon’s expression didn’t change. He still wore that warm smile and those soft eyes, but paired with the dagger, they had become unnerving.

“I’m sorry, son,” Garmadon said, not sounding sorry at all. “I have to do this. Surely you understand.”

Lloyd looked up and finally noticed the red health bars that had appeared above both their heads. A pain squeezed at his heart, more painful than the injury in his back.

An opponent. He was an opponent.

Garmadon stabbed him again, too swiftly for him to see, just as skilled as the real Sensei Garmadon had been. Lloyd hissed. The health bar above his head shortened.

The green ninja hurriedly picked up his sword from the floor and held it aloft. The two fighters circled each other slowly.

“You don’t have to fight,” Garmadon said, his voice as smooth as running water, same as Lloyd remembered. “Just surrender and turn back.”

Lloyd glimpsed at where Jay and Nya stood, trying fruitlessly to pound their way into the arena and yelling something Lloyd couldn’t hear. He knew what they were trying to say now. This wasn’t the real Garmadon, and Lloyd knew it.

But it looked like him. It sounded like him. It even moved like him. The way the sun shone against his skin and made his hair look like glowing silver made him seem realer than any photo he had of him.

Garmadon lunged again, and Lloyd narrowly blocked his blade. He knew he should attack back, but the weapon felt heavy in his hands. The tears in his eyes were threatening to spill over.

It was cruel, as simple as that. Lloyd would have gladly fought harumi, or even his dad in his corrupted form, but this…

“I can’t,” he croaked, his eyes stinging and his chest sobbing. “I can’t fight you. I don’t want to.”

But the lines of code wearing his father’s face left him no choice.