#the sharmy dsfghgfds

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

how did olivia and the rest of the sharmy find garm anyway like i get the skeletons were helping or something but how exactly did that work? most people would just run away from the skeletons. also, how long ago was it before nya and the story

Garmadon was banished 13 years prior to the start of Book 2, so not right away but not long after that was when Garmadon commanded the Skulkin to seek recruits for the superior army he wished to amass, and to also have them prepare him a base of operations for when he returned to Ninjago in the future.

And yes, you're correct that most people would run from Skeletons, but the Shark Army is primarily made up of people who were down on their luck, with nowhere else to go, and most importantly let down by a system they disagreed with (especially a certain few who found themselves screwed over by Wu's attempted removal of the Elemental Compass, as that just helped align their outrage with Garmadon's, making them more partial to following Garmadon to begin with). Therefore, when you already have nothing left to lose and there's someone out there that sympathizes with your plight specifically (even if they're a skeleton), you're probably a little more inclined to hear them out.

And once the Skulkin sweet talked a few people and gave them a taste of power (such as magic power source to eventually be used in the Realm Rippers), those people then went around doing the recruiting instead of the Skeletons, which made amassing the army a much smoother process (and relates to why Olivia is obsessed with recruiting Elemental Masters specifically; to help even the odds against the Elemental Alliance/Order of the Ouroboros and gain Garmadon's favor).

Olivia herself was 3 or 4 (I said it before but I can't remember what I said lmao) when her father was recruited, and she came along with him, putting her in the unique situation of growing up in the Shark Army, hence why she's more passionate about it than most of the other members. Sure she likes the perks of indulging in a "normal" life when she can, and regrets what she can't fully have, but at her core she's always going to fall back on her beliefs and how she can further the agenda of "fixing the world and freeing the truth", because above all else she truly believes that is the right thing to do (warped though the perception may be).

This is one of the things I had wanted to dig deeper with in Book 2, as it will tie in with the other prominent Generals down the line too, but it's now saved for Book 3 (Season 2) where it should hopefully mesh with the narrative better! We're almost done with S1, so the wait for more answers won't be too much longer ;w;