#cole is the only ninja besides nya that knows what things cost so he’s on grocery duty

[thecatundertheladder]

So fsm really likes Kai, how does he feel about the other ninja, especially since Cole and Zane are a like Wu(especially Zane), also I’m curious does fsm have a favorite of the ninja(besides Lloyd of course)

The FSM: Of course I don't have a favourite, I love all Lloyds and non-Lloyds equally

Context: FSM only really starts to observe the Ninja when they show up to the Monastery, prior to that he just checks in every few years to make sure they're all still healthy. They meet properly in between seasons 5-6

He/they/she pronouns for FSM

Nyad has her memories

First of all it goes without saying that the FSM likes all the Ninja, he hand-picked them all for a reason. But I'll go into the specifics.

Jay: When Jay first showed up to the Monastery, he didn't have a lot of self confidence, and would try to hide it through jokes and just generally being loud. This wasn't a bad thing, FSM had had many times over the years where their self-confidence was pretty low, their main concern was that it would affect his training (and it did for a time) so they made sure to mention it to Wu so he could start working on it.

FSM really enjoys Jay's varying interests and liked that despite his lack of self esteem, he still tried everything he could. When Jay and FSM finally met in person they started having long (and I mean long) conversations about almost everything under the sun.

Overall all she finds Jay a very interesting person, and is proud to see how far he's come both as a ninja and a person in general.

Cole: He was the first person to arrive at the Monastery, and quite frankly, FSM was glad it was him. He was calm but lively and it was great to have him to be the one to introduce ninja training to the other's rather than just Morro (who was temporarily kicked out by FSM when Cole arrived).

It wasn't until Cole and Wu got closer that FSM started to see similarities. Both were generally disapproving impulsiveness but still impulsive themselves, caring and mostly calm people. Cole, at times, acts like a mini Wu, and she finds that very adorable.

Nya: The FSM wasn't entirely sure about Nya when she first arrived at the Monastery, mostly because he hadn't chosen her like he did the others. Don't get me wrong she still plays a vital role but it was less a part of the prophecy and more that Nyad saw that Kai was going to have a sister and took the opportunity to get a water elemental in the game as well. This meant that while FSM was mostly sure Nya was going to be a good match he didn't know a lot about her.

But he was pleasantly surprised by her. She was caring, confident, and determined, and reminded FSM of her namesake. When she became a ninja she fit well into the team. Of course he's aware that she has her flaws, they all do. But she learns to overcome them (eventually)

Lloyd: The favourite, the precious grandson. FSM absolutely adores Lloyd and would defend him at all costs. Lloyd, particularly when he was younger, reminded FSM a lot of herself, you know, causing problems and chaos while really just wanting a family.

FSM is very proud of how Lloyd stepped into his position as green ninja despite how difficult it was. Later when they actually met, FSM realises just how little Lloyd thinks of himself, and sets about to change that.

Kai: Unlike with Cole, it was immediately after seeing Kai and Garmadon next to each other that FSM realises how similar they are, and it amuses them to no end. Both are brash and argumentative, but when it comes down to it, they will always stick to their morals and do what is best for Ninjago. So yeah, FSM quite likes Kai, even if they think he needs some more character development when he first starts to train as a ninja.

Zane: Now this is very interesting, because when he was first writing the prophecy and foresaw Zane, he was very confused. Zane was the first of his kind after all, and while FSM had seen some stuff, he hadn't seen this. Nevertheless he still picked him as the EM of ice.

FSM actually relates to Zane a lot, not fitting in or understanding how other people work (autistic spinjitzu fam for the W) only to discover just how different you are (well, it's pretty obvious from the get go for FSM but same thing) and then learning to accept that.

And, as you mentioned he is also quite similar to Wu, both eccentric, calm and with a strong moral compass. So, if FSM had to pick one

Pixal: She was completely unexpected. FSM hadn't seen into the future past the Final Battle which meant they were completely blindsided when they first actually met by Zane having two souls in his body. After learning about Pixal they offer to create a new body for her but she declines, saying she would rather do it herself, which gained her the instant respect of FSM.

They only really start talking once she gains a new body but they hit it off immediately. FSM loves her attitude and ability to learn and accept new things.

Thank you so much for the ask! This one made me think a lot and was an opportunity to work out some more in-depth stuff for this au! If you have anymore questions don’t hesitate to ask!

[roguishshrimp]

grocery shopping and gossip

[lloydskywalkers]

afsdgfdhgj!! thank you sm, i’m so happy to hear that :’D that is...something i do very much need to work on actually, i’ve been trying to kick the talking-self-down habit for a while now, it’s just!! it’s tough, guys.

on a lighter note, i know exactly what trope you’re talking about and i’m an unapologetic sucker for it afdsgfdh. unfortunately this probably isn’t exactly what you’re looking for, but i got bit by the idea and it wouldn’t let me go, so here’s a somewhat-short (somewhat) fic about it!

Sometimes, the ninja forget they’re technically, kind-of-sort-of, famous. Like, not all the time, because some people are creepy and won’t leave them well enough alone, and some people are just…really enthusiastic…but for the most part, it is easy to forget sometimes, because out of gi they look pretty normal.

(Until Lloyd’s eyes start shuffling through colors like a sporadic traffic light, of course, but that doesn’t happen as much now.)

The point is, sometimes it’s easy to forget that they’re famous.

Sometimes, though — when movie posters the size of the Bounty are plastered all over the city because some wise guy thought making a film about them would be a great idea — it’s harder to forget.

“This feels like an invasion of privacy,” Cole mutters, crossing his arms as he sinks deeper into the theater seat.

“Oh, yeah,” Nya says. “Because trading cards and entire news documentaries with our full names and intimate dating life details were one thing, but a loosely-based movie is where we draw the line.”

“Intimate dating life my foot,” Lloyd scowls, clearly far from getting over that one article that managed to snag a picture of him and Harumi before…everything.

“Well — yeah, fair, but like—” Cole sputters. “They hired actors to play us. They’re gonna be recreating our lives and it’s — it’s weird, okay?”

“I dunno, I think it’s pretty cool,” Kai says, already on his third mouthful of popcorn, and the trailers have’t even started yet. “I mean, it can’t be worse than that play they put on, right?”

“Don’t jinx it,” Zane mutters darkly, his eyes flashing at the reminder.

“I’m with Kai,” Jay says, bouncing in his seat as he reaches for the popcorn. “I think it’s cool that people care enough about us to make a movie, you know? Like, did you see the budget for this thing?”

“Was it as high as the repair cost for the tower we blew up last week?” Lloyd says.

“Uh…maybe. I didn’t compare, exactly. But look, you can’t put a price on lives. A little collateral damage is worth it.”

“A little?” Zane says, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Eh, we helped clean it up,” Nya shrugs. “That counts.”

Jay points at her. “Thank you.”

“Still say it wasn’t my fault,” Kai grumbles, crossing his arms. Lloyd pokes him in the ribs, and Kai yelps, flinching away from him. “Not cool, not cool!”

“We’re definitely not going to make it through this movie without getting thrown out,” Cole groans into his hands. They’re already getting looks from the movie-goers around them, and their patience doesn’t look like it’s going to last very long.

“C’mon, have a little optimism,” Jay placates. “This is gonna be fun— hey, that’s my popcorn!”

“No way, lightning brain, I bought it, I hold it.”

“But you bought it with Nya’s money.”

“Which she stole from Lloyd’s sock drawer this morning, so that doesn’t count.”

“Wait, you stole my sock money?”

“Um…call it payback for stealing the last of the cookies last week.”

“How is that a fair trade, I only took one!”

“Yeah, one dozen—”

“Guys, please—”

“You’re one to talk, you stole all the—”

“Would you all shut up, it’s starting, and — I said shut up!”

******************

It takes a few threats of murder, and one or two threats of open power-use to the face, but they quiet down in time for the opening credits.

The movie begins peacefully enough, with an older man telling some ‘punk little kid’ as Kai describes him, a whole lot of ‘stereotypical sensei mumbo jumbo’ as Lloyd describes it, about himself. Which, to be fair, is pretty accurate to their lives, so they’re able to quietly munch on popcorn for the first few minutes, at least.

But then the plot starts.

“What do they mean, ‘uh oh’, to Lloyd Garmadon?” Kai frowns. “The city loves you.”

Lloyd shrugs, tossing a mouthful of popcorn back. “I dunno,” he says. “I mean, it is tough to be that kid.”

“Yeah, ‘cause he’s the worst shortie ever, like four feet tall,” Nya whispers to him. Lloyd elbows her in the side. Zane shushes them, just in time for the actual movie Lloyd to show up on the screen, in bed and receiving a call from—

Lloyd doubles over, choking on his popcorn.

“Luh-Lloyd?” Kai says, in delight. “Luh-Lloyd?!”

“Pajamas,” Lloyd wheezes, as Nya thumps his back. “Look at his pajamas, I gotta buy my dad those—”

The others are left to giggle their way through the interpretation of one of their greatest enemies snacking on cereal in printed pajamas, telling Lloyd he ‘must’ve butt-dialed him’. It’s hysterical until Garmadon forgets Lloyd’s birthday, and the Lloyd onscreen gets the signature Sad Puppy Eyes Lloyd Look on his face — which, props to the actor, he nailed it — and everyone looks to Lloyd in sympathy.

“That’s rough, buddy,” Jay pats his shoulder. Lloyd rolls his eyes.

“It’s not me,” he says, shrugging again. Really, his dad forgetting his birthday is like, incredibly tame, compared to hurling him through a prison wall or six.

Now, forgetting he existed, that stings. But also, like, this isn’t his dad, so. Eh. He doesn’t really care.

“Is that supposed to be Misako?”

Never mind. He cares now.

“Are you—” Kai plasters a hand over his mouth, muffling this next part. “—kidding me?!”

“Oh, she’s, uh…really present, huh,” Cole winces, as ‘Koko’ encourages her son about being himself, and other really nice stuff Lloyd would have super appreciated hearing when he was younger.

He opens his mouth again, and Nya takes the opportunity to stuff more popcorn in it. Lloyd chomps down angrily, glaring at the screen and grumbling under his breath.

“At least you’ve shown up at all,” Jay comforts him. Lloyd is very much not comforted. He just wants to get through the rest of the movie in peace, and shift the focus off of him as quick as possible.

Oh boy, is he disappointed.

Like, he gets a few minutes of relief as the others are introduced, but that’s all, really. Even if it is hilarious.

“Hello, fellow teen.”

Cole makes a sound like a dying balloon, and Jay almost coughs popcorn out of his nose. Zane just presses his lips into a flat line, his expression unreadable. “I do not…know how to feel about this.”

Jay and Kai are doubled-over on each other by now, choking on laughter. Cole, bless him, is doing his absolute best not to burst into giggles, while Nya and Lloyd have given up and are full-out cackling.

“Well,” Zane says, eyeing them with a gleam in his eye. “Perhaps I should start updating my database with ‘teen lingo’ then—”

“No!” they all chorus in unison, waving frantically at Zane, earning several dirty looks from the people around them as they do.

“You’re perfect the way you are, buddy,” Jay says hastily.

Kai, at least, seems pretty steadily in character—

“Aw, look, I almost snapped your spine.”

“That’s a Kai hug, for sure.”

—and Nya’s thrilled about having a motorcycle. Jay’s a tad indignant at his character’s stuttering, but Cole reminds him he has zero room to talk, so Jay shuts up in time for Cole to shrug at his own portrayal.

“I like that shirt,” he remarks. “And those headphones are cool.”

Then the reality of the scene they’re watching sinks in.

“Wait, why are we in school?” Zane blinks, confused.

“Why are they being so mean to you?” Cole exclaims at Lloyd, taken aback.

Lloyd makes a face at the cheerleaders on screen, jerking his shoulder up as if to say ‘like I know’. Which is kind of a lie, because he does know, the movie told them, but he’s not gonna get into that. Kai is already fuming in his seat beside him, growing steadily angrier by the second. “Who do they think they are,” he hisses. “I’ll show them a number one hit.”

Lloyd rips his eyes from the screen, watching Kai in mild alarm. “Kai, you know that’s not actually me, right?”

“—tear those kids a new one—”

Lloyd cringes at the looks they’re getting from the people around them, patting Kai’s arm. “Chill out, Kai, seriously. This is like, basic Darkley’s stuff, don’t worry. And I walked away from that fine.”

Wrong thing to say. Kai swivels on him, his eyes flashing. “Wait. This happened to you at Darkley’s? For real?”

“Um…” Lloyd sweats briefly, the sounds of Boo Lloyd! coming from the screen really not helping at all. “I mean, I was a brat. I brought a lot of it on myself.”

Kai looks like he’s going to combust. “I swear—”

“Kai,” Lloyd interrupts, trying to quell the storm. “It’s fine. Seriously. I mean, there was this one time that four guys way bigger than me ganged up and hung me from a roof by my hoodie all night, but it wasn’t that bad. I’m fine.”

Kai’s face turns thunderous, matching the roar of Garmadon finally coming into view onscreen. “Wasn’t that bad?” he says, incredulous, gaining them several shh’s, mainly from Nya. Kai ignores them. “Point me to those punks, Lloyd, I’ll strangle ‘em—”

“Kai.”

“Wha — oh. Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“That — that was different.”

“Uh-huh.”

“…you — you weren’t there all night.”

“I sure was.”

“Oh.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Um. Sor…rry?”

Fortunately, both are saved by Garmadon smashing his way on screen in a giant shark mech with a full-scale crustacean-themed army, to which the ninja kind of just…stare. That’s — that’s the best they can do with that one. That, and be thankful Garmadon himself isn’t here to see this.

“I mean, to be fair, I can see him appreciating a song entirely about himself,” Kai mutters, as the chorus continues to yell about Garmadon!. “And — wait, Lloyd, are you filming this?”

“Uh, yeah?” Lloyd says, re-adjusting the zoom feature on his phone. “Now hush, I wanna save this and make it my ringtone.”

******************

The mechs are, admittedly, cool. Their total lack of ability to do Spinjitzu, way less so.

“That’s so not how Spinjitzu works,” Nya scoffs, as Sensei Wu finally makes an appearance, just in time for Lloyd to request wind as an element, which brings on another bout of choking.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Lloyd sighs. He then blinks rapidly. “Wait, where are our powers?”

“Nonexistent, apparently,” Zane murmurs. “Along with our common sense.”

“To be fair, that’s never been a reliable thing in the first place,” Jay points out.

The lack of common sense continues to be a trend throughout the movie, and by the time the ‘Ultimate Weapon’ comes up, things start to go downhill rather fast.

“Which, to continue to be fair, is also pretty in-character. This whole fight kinda is.”

The other ninja grumble in agreement as Lloyd runs off to confront his father alone despite all warning, and Lloyd begins to sink lower into his seat. He has a bad feeling he knows exactly where this is going, and sadly, he isn’t disappointed.

Well, for the most part.

“A cat?” Lloyd yelps, his eyes bugging out. “A giant cat?! How is that fair? All I ever get to fight is creepy part-reptile people who want to suck the power out of me, where do I sign up for this?”

“This is surreal,” Zane remarks, as Meowthra tears her merry way across the screen. The whole scene is a disaster, slo-mo destruction and everything, but it’s pretty much the standard fare they’re used to, so they really don’t bat much of an eye as the cat totally wrecks them.

“Nice to know we can’t catch a break in any universe,” Jay sighs sadly, as his mech is torn apart on screen.

“This movie is really beating the ‘don’t-challenge-dad-solo’ message over the head, huh,” Lloyd mutters, chin in his hand, having recovered from his brief bout of extreme-cat-heart-eyes.

Kai gives him a stink-eye. “Yeah, I wonder why.”

Understandably, the Lloyd onscreen is considerably upset at the apparent destruction of all his friends. The ninja are all incredibly curious as to where the movie is going to go next, though, since this Garmadon celebrates his victory by throwing a pretty sick party instead of building a skyscraper-sized stone Colossi of destruction and wrecking half the city.

“Kind of unfair,” Jay scowls, as the henchman do the conga onscreen. Nya’s got a smart comment to make back, but then the Lloyd onscreen reveals himself —

“In typical dramatic-Lloyd fashion, they got that right.”

“Oh, shut up.”

— and then proceeds to snap at the Garmadon onscreen, “I wish you weren’t my father.”

The theater goes remarkably quiet, as do the ninja. Cautiously, they turn to look at Lloyd, who is staring at the screen with a look on his face similar to if you’d shaken up a soda bottle really hard and were about to take the top off. Then—

“Oh, heck yeah, how’s that for karma, you over-powered conceited jerk of a dad,” Lloyd hisses viciously at the screen, punching his fist in the air. “He’s got the right idea, it’s my turn to start disowning family members. Screw ‘you’re not my son’, I’m gonna pull this one out next time and disown him—!”

“Lloyd,” Nya says, a bit nervously. “You know he’s, uh, he’s crying on screen now, right?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd spits.

“You, uh. You know you are too, right?”

“N-no.”

“Therapy,” Cole whispers to Zane. “So much therapy.”

“I’ve already booked us,” Zane murmurs back, sliding his phone back in his pocket. “If the office can simply manage not get blown for one more week this time, we might actually make it."

******************

While they do, however, manage to stay quiet for most of that scene — and isn’t Cole wildly impressed with them for that — the next scene kind of shoots that victory right into tiny little pieces.

“Why are we being so mean to you now?” Cole exclaims, flabbergasted, as the poor Lloyd onscreen looks seconds from tears, the rest of the team staring down at him with firm glares.

“Shh, this is getting dramatic,” Lloyd hushes him.

Nya gets a look on her face that promises murder, and Kai refuses point-blank to be shushed.

“What a bunch of jerks. We’d never do something like that, I’m going to have words with some people—”

“Jamanakai,” Lloyd just says, wearily. “Rooftop. All night.”

Kai deflates, sinking into his seat. “S’not the same,” he mutters, fiercely. “We never said all those mean things to you.”

Lloyd gently pats his arm. “There, there,” he says. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

“I never said it! It’s — it’s that imposter on screen, that’s who!”

“Kai, I know—”

Lloyd is interrupted by an unfortunately-timed declaration from the onscreen Jay.

“Now, we hate you.”

Lloyd blinks, almost surprised at the slight flare of hurt that sparks in his chest at that. Which is stupid, because these directors don’t know them, and that’s not really Jay, but hey, why not play into his worst fears, movie—

Then “Jay!” is hissed in scandalized unison, and Lloyd stuffs said worst fears back into box and tries not to snicker at the look on his brother’s face.

“It’s not me!” Jay defends desperately, waving his hands wildly. “That’s not me!”

“Deleting all data related to treating Lloyd as a friend.”

Jay is saved as everyone turns on Zane, who just buries his face in his hands. “Let it end,” he moans.

******************

Apart from being shocked that Sensei Wu is actually going with his ninja on their quest for the Ultimately Ultimate Weapon—

“It’s ultimate ultimate, did you miss that trip-inducing scene they explained it with?”

—they aren’t as surprised by things anymore after that, having caught on to the movie’s flow. It’s a little more slapstick than they’re used to, all bright colors and quick action, but it’s enjoyable to watch Garmadon and Sensei Wu snipe at each other, at least.

“Ten bucks says he survives just fine,” Cole says blandly, as Sensei Wu goes plummeting toward the river.

Not one of them take him up on that wager.

“Geez, they’re really roasting us for being morons in this, huh,” Jay observes, as their onscreen counterparts take the clearly-a-trap route, as per Garmadon’s advice.

Lloyd, who is still stewing about having his voice made fun of, bites out, “I think it’s pretty valid, for some of us.”

“Oh, suck it up already, Lloyd. Your voice changed anyways, get over it.”

“Are you saying I sounded ridiculous before?”

“Uh, no-o…?”

“Oh, there we go, getting humiliated again,” Nya sighs, as the ninja are cornered by Garmadon’s ex-generals. “I wonder why they didn’t give us our powers. You’d think they’d have capitalized on that, it’d look pretty cool.”

“Who knows. I’m still trying to figure out if my character’s love for music is a clever reference to me and my dad’s singing background, or just a shallow attempt to give me character at all,” Cole muses. They turn back to the movie just in time to wince in unison as the ninja onscreen flee, leaving Lloyd and Garmadon to be captured.

Kai is less than pleased with this development.

“Oh, so we’re just leaving Lloyd behind now? Who wrote this movie, I wanna talk.”

******************

By the time Garmadon’s teaching Lloyd how to throw bricks from a roof to some sappy soundtrack, then relocating his dislocated shoulder in a wild tone change, they’re mostly lost for words.

Also kind of enjoying the movie, though no one will admit it. The expressions are funny, and there are some lines that hit home. Sure, Lloyd spends a good ten minutes alternating between sputtering and gaping when Garmadon describes their family history, and only proceeds to get worse when everyone else receives powers and he gets a cute little tree branch, but it is fun to watch their onscreen counterparts run around to “I’ve Got the Power” playing cheerfully in the background. Plus, no one tries to ostracize Lloyd again, and it’s oddly satisfying to watch Garmadon get eaten by a giant cat, so by the time Lloyd’s trying to hide suspicious sniffling into the empty popcorn tub while his onscreen counterpart is giving Garmadon his big sappy speech about forgiveness, they might actually give the movie a decent rating.

Cole’s just happy they haven’t been thrown out yet, because they’ve really been pushing it this whole time. But finally, it seems like everyone’s settled down and is keeping perfectly quiet—

“What do you mean, he gets to keep the cat?”

Cole’s hopes and dreams go up in sad, despairing smoke.

“Wait, that’s what’s bothering you?” Nya blinks. “Not the whole, ‘this Lloyd gets his entire family back happy’ part, but the cat part?”

“Well yeah, I’m upset about the cat part!” Lloyd exclaims indignantly. “He gets a giant cat! The size of a skyscraper! What kind of raw deal did my grandfather cut me here, I didn’t even get to keep my dragon! This is so dumb, and — and oh look, now my dad’s all happy and stuff—”

Nya and Zane glance around in alarm. The movie-goers around them seem to be losing the last, lingering shreds of their patience, and Cole wisely decides that this might be a nice time to make an exit. The movie looks like it’s about over, anyways, and—

“—and what, they just have happy family dinners together now?!”

Yeah, they’re leaving.

******************

“Well, that was…enlightening,” Zane says blankly, as they exit the theater. He still looks tragically annoyed at the way the producers decided to portray him, but he’s mostly recovered by now. Probably because he torched his little movie poster on the way out, but who are they to judge.

“I think you mean infuriating,” Kai mutters, glaring at the theater as they leave it behind.

“I don’t know, it wasn’t so bad,” Nya says. “Like, they obviously decided to go for Lloyd’s very sensitive personal life as a focus point, so at least the rest of us got off alright.”

“Giant cat,” Lloyd mourns, clearly still more hung-up on that than Ninjago’s apparent obsession with his family drama.

“I just wanna try that lightning thing later,” Jay says. “Know any doors I can practice busting open dramatically?”

“Yeah, the door to the producer’s office,” Kai grumbles.

“Enough, guys,” Cole sighs. “It was a lot better than it could’ve been. Let’s just be happy the city still likes us enough to make us the heroes.”

They all nod at that, placated for now, at least. They fall into silence, carefully navigating their way home, until Jay breaks the quiet.  

“Your heroes on the wa-a-ay,” Jay murmurs. He’s met with five looks of equal disappointment. “What?” he shrugs. “It’s catchy.”

Cole rolls his eyes, and Kai scoffs. They fall back into silence for a beat, their footsteps the only sound on the street, then—

“Something-something save the da-a-ay,” Lloyd hums.

Jay beams, and Kai moans. Nya just grins. “Gonna something-something pla-a-ace—”

“That takes us higher!”

They dissolve into snickers, their mix of off-key singing echoing across the Ninjago City streets. Cole spares a sigh of despair at their attempt, but he can’t help grinning too. It is a catchy song, and, to be fair, for trying to capture their general team spirit, it comes pretty close.

A lot closer than half that movie did, he frowns. Though he does still want that shirt his counterpart wore.

“Hey,” Jay speaks up. “Let’s learn that Garmadon song next. We can sing it to him in battle.”

“Oh, now you’re talking.”

[dershloop]

ok i know no one asked but in all fairness i havent talked about it but I HAVE NINJAGO AUS nd this is my ninjago blog so im gonna talk abt them. my main one im working on atm is the Hell On Earth AU where the preeminent doesnt get killed at the end of s5 and morro keeps lloyds body as an extra fuck u to the ninja and so he can do semi-human things while traversing the realms. it also includes my ninjago oc, Landon! if u follow me on instagram youve probably seen him but yeah! in my headcanon universe thing??? idk anyway yeah hes lloyds older brother nd kai's boyfriend bc i like him.

also!! they don't have their powers HOWEVER jay, with the help of Nya and Pix, is able to make cybernetic implants to replicate their powers. this however does come at a cost, especially to Zane and Cole.

content warning: gore, m*rder, just a lot of hurtin nd sadness. not brilliant.

Kai is the first to change. after lloyd is assumed dead (he falls off the cliff thing when morro grabs the realm crystal. kai panics and never jumps in but tries to pull him out instead. needless to say, it doesnt work. he does survive but barely, morro is basically keeping him alive at this point.) kai takes all the blame on himself. the others try to tell him it wasn't and they shouldnt have sent the ghost and guy whos terrified of water to help but he just keeps blaming himself and ends up spiralling until he just doesnt care anymore. not caring, however manifests itself in a... strange way. he begins killing (not immediately, its a slow process but after like a good month or so he gets to humans) to feel something and strangely, it helps. othere's something about the helplessness his victims as they realise who he is that just spurs him on.

Landon finds out whats happened to Kai from the others after not hearing from him in a week or so. he's convinced he can help him since they've known each other for years but that doesn't exactly pan out the way he thinks it will. which honestly is stupid on his behalf but he's a bit of a self insert so obviously he's not gonna be smart. anyway he finds kai nd actually finds him in the middle of murdering someone and naturally tries to intervene. Kai nearly kills him in the process but eventually is able to convince Landon to join him. landon also now has a huge burn mark all up the left side of his face that goes so deep his teeth and gums show around his mouth area.

in an attempt to try to kill the preeminent alone in the hopes they'll get kai, landon and lloyd back, 3 of the remaining 4 lose parts of themselves. Jay ends up getting swallowed by the preeminent. Cole gives his soul and Zane gives a quarter of his powersource to get jay back, but he's changed. they've changed too. any basic instinct of self or peer preservation Jay once had is now gone. he rambles, more than he used, and has peculiar delusions and hallucinations. he claims to have a new friend called Em who follows him around. Initially, everyone assumes its a coping strategy. purely an imaginary friend. however, jay can actually see Em and is convinced he's real. Since Jay can describe him in such specific detail and he doesn't seem to be harmful, the others aren't overly worried.

Zane's changed too. cold. calculating. apethetic towards everyone besides Cole. weaker. since he lost even more of his power source, he can't fight anymore. any attempt to over exert himself will just end in him powering down for a while to recharge. In his eyes, he was betrayed by the city they once protected. they all were. so, Zane ends up hiring Kai and landon on as bounty hunters of a sort. hired guns to do the dirty work he doesnt want to send Cole to do.

Cole is Zane's body guard. since he lost his soul, he lost any hint of personality he once had. now he only knows 3 things, protect zane. Lloyd is gone. It's kai's fault.

nya and pixal are in a strange situation. nya didnt lose anything really. shes bummed, sure, but she didnt give her soul or her heart to get jay back because she didnt have to. nya is the outlier of the group; she has developed psychosis or lost her sanity or whatever. shes survived this relatively unscathed. pixal, however, wasn't as lucky. after zane began to change, she tried to hard reboot his systems in an attempt to bring him back, but he wasn't too pleased about that. he took her processer out his system and attempted to get cole to destroy it, however Nya interveened nd saved her. now she lives in the main computer at the samurai x cave where, at night, nya tries to build her a new body out of scraps and parts of her various mechs.

so yeah!! if anyone wants to know more, just shoot me an ask or a dm or smth!! im also actually writing this as a fic so i might not answer question that'll be answered in that early on or if they'll spoil smth lol but yeah!! thanks for reading if u read this far ily mwuah <33

[razzle-zazzle]

Ninjago fluff!!

[A continuation of this drabble, because I can’t do pure fluff]

1146 Words

Cole curled up even tighter in the blankets, glad that the others were asleep in their own bunks. Glad that they had a home again, even if it was a rundown boat they found in the desert. Even if Kai’s breathing was still labored, the dust and sand in the air doing nothing to help. Even if Zane’s arm was lying uselessly on the floor by his bunk, nobody really sure how to reattach it.

Yeah, Cole was glad they had a home again.

He just wasn’t so sure he deserved to be there.

He’d smashed Kai’s ribs at the treehouse, broke his leg and threw him off the roof, then dropped the entire treehouse on him. Kai was lucky he hadn’t been impaled by the falling beams, lucky his broken ribs (Cole’s fault, that was Cole’s fault) hadn’t punctured a lung.

He’d kicked Jay in the face, nearly threw him off of the roof as well, and then dropped the treehouse with Jay still on it. Had Jay not been lucky enough to get caught between the two beams that had saved him, he’d have been crushed beneath the logs (the logs that Cole had dropped, nearly killing the others with one swing of his scythe, how could he have been so weak as to fall prey to the Hypnobrai’s spell—).

Worse than that, he’d snapped at Zane when they returned the remains of the monastery, desperate for someone else to blame besides himself. He’d yelled at Zane, when Zane had done nothing wrong. While Zane was missing an arm, and was just as distraught as everyone else. When it was Cole’s fault that the ninja had been delayed in returning, his fault that Wu and Nya had had to leave the monastery, his fault his fault his fault—

Cole let out a whine, his hands shaking. God, he’d nearly killed them. Cost them their home. Yelled at Zane when it had been his fault. The only good thing he’d done since returning to the remains of the monastery was helping Kai to walk (his broken leg was Cole’s fault, Cole had been the one to drop the treehouse on Kai, they were lucky it hadn’t been mangled further).

“Cole?” Zane’s voice was soft, so as not to wake the others. He stood over Cole’s bunk, looking down to his brother with obvious concern. His shoulder had stopped sparking, but the exposed metal still served as a stark reminder of what had gone down at the treehouse.

Nobody had really been able to explain why Zane’s arm was robotic, not even Zane himself. The question of whether the machinery extended to the rest of him had remained unspoken; nobody was sure how to ask. Zane seemed mostly fine after the revelation, saying that he would ponder it later. But the fact that Zane was missing his arm still ate at Cole, who couldn’t keep the image of Zane with his chest slashed open out of his mind.

“Brother,” Zane asked, reaching a tentative hand (the one he still had, no thanks to Cole), “Are you alright?”

Cole shifted, turning over in bed. Coward. Can’t even face your own brother. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Zane stood there, as if considering. “It still hurts, but it’s muted.” He must have caught onto Cole’s confusion, because he elaborated, “My arm.”

And oh, if that didn’t hit Cole like a punch in the gut.  “‘M sorry.” He muttered, knowing there wasn’t much else he could say.

Zane smiled, even though Cole couldn’t see it. “I do not blame you, brother. You were under the Hypnobrai’s spell.”

And that was just the problem, wasn’t it? Cole had been weak enough to fall into it, stupid enough to fall for their tricks. And because of that, Zane’s arm was lying on the floor, Kai was nursing cracked ribs and a broken leg, and Jay was… well, Jay was fine, besides some bruises, but still.

Cole curled in on himself even more, trying not to cry as his hands trembled. Zane must have noticed this too, because soon the bed shifted under his weight as he sat beside Cole, his still remaining hand moving to Cole’s back. “I think the real question, brother, is if you are okay.”

“‘M fine.” Cole insisted, burying his head to avoid looking at Zane.

“That is a bold-faced lie.”

Cole jumped at the sound of Jay’s voice, looking up from the pillow to see Jay standing beside the bed. When did he get there?

“Cole,” Jay began, “I have known you for more than a year now. I know what it looks like when you’re fine.”

“I’m fine!” Cole reiterated, maybe a little too loudly. Kai groaned from where he was laying on his bunk, making everyone freeze.

“What’s this about Cole being fine?” He asked, wincing as he sat up. He glared at the others, a little miffed at having been woken up.

Jay seized the opportunity. “This idiot,” he gestured emphatically at Cole, “Won’t admit that something is wrong.”

“Because nothing is wrong!” Cole whisper-shouted, throwing his arms up in exasperation.

Everyone stared at Cole, completely unconvinced.

Jay’s eyes narrowed. “You’re blaming yourself, aren’t you?”

Cole didn’t bother to reply, curling back in on himself. So what if he was? It wasn’t like he was wrong.

“Cole…” Jay began, his voice much softer than before. “It wasn’t your fault. It was the Hypnobra—”

“I was the idiot who fell for their tricks.” Cole said quietly.

There was a pregnant pause.

“Okay,” Kai said, “Zane, help me onto his bed.”

“What for?”

“Because I can’t get to him from here.” Kai said, his tone solemn.

So Zane stood up, and walked over to Kai, helping him off the bed. With Zane’s assistance, Kai made it over to Cole, and promptly sat on top of him.

“Kai, get off.”

Kai didn’t budge. “Not until you accept that what happened today was not your fault.”

“Kai, I said get off!” Cole couldn’t push Kai off, not when Kai was still injured as he was, forcing him to just lay there and take it.

“Kai, scoot over” Jay said, “I wanna dogpile him too.”

“Both of you, get off!”

“I shall join as well.” Zane said, smiling as he took up residence on Cole’s legs.

Cole sputtered, weakly pushing at Jay. “All of you—”

“Are not getting off until you feel appreciated.” Kai stated firmly. Cole just groaned, letting his arms flop back onto the bed. He’d just have to resign himself to his fate.

“Do you feel better now?” Zane asked, cutting through the silence.

Cole took a moment to think on that. “Yeah.” He admitted. The others were okay.

“That’s good.” Jay muttered, drifting off.

If Sensei had anything to say about the ninja sleeping on top of Cole the next morning, Cole didn’t catch it.