#when pythor says it it’s a compliment

[cybergalaxydragon525]

*sniff* fuck you Harumi! You fucking narcissistic bitch! *sniff*

My friend recently watched DotD, which led me to discovering this totally not heartbreaking parallel

[likeapro42]

The Forgivenshipping/GreenFlower Language of Flowers AU

(Where I become incredibly self-indulgent and mash like 65% of my headcanons into a single story)

In which Brad was a tad more open about his love of plants to Lloyd. Lloyd isn’t all that interested until Brad reveals the language of flowers. When Lloyd learns about how plants can be used as a secret code, he starts getting into plants, too. Then, Brad and Lloyd start exchanging origami bouquets to talk to each other (because paper is easy to get your hands on; flowers will get you in trouble). Also, they develop mutual crushes, but both don’t know it yet (they’re like ten or eleven).

And then Lloyd gets kicked out. Brad secretly misses his old roommate (can’t get emotional at Darkley’s, or you’ll get eaten alive) and his friendship with Gene gets strained because of how indifferent Gene seems (he isn’t indifferent but, again, Darkley’s. Gene just doesn’t know how to express the warnings of getting too emotional without belittling Brad for being so emotionally open)

Durring Lloyd and Pythor’s joint-attack on Darkley’s, Lloyd places a bouquet of flowers on Brad’s bunk, complimenting the other boy platonically. However, the meanings of the flowers can also be read as romantic. After the attack, Brad reads it as romantic and immediately starts blushing.

Brad definitely presses/preserves those flowers and hides them in a floor board under their shared his bunk

Meanwhile, when Lloyd is adopted by the Ninja, Lloyd immediately wants to create a garden. So, while no one is watching him (due to the Ninja vs Samurai thing), he starts sneaking soil, fertilizer, and seeds on board, in the back corner of a storage room that gets lots of sunlight.

Wu figures this out almost immediately, and he only confronts Lloyd after a few weeks into his stay onboard the Bounty. However, Lloyd is embarrassed (he was taught that liking flowers was shameful all his life, after all), so Lloyd tries to lie about it until Wu start complimenting it. Lloyd finally admits to the garden being his and asks if he can continue taking care of it. Wu agrees, even giving Lloyd money specifically for his garden.

Nya finds out about a week later and asks him about it. Lloyd feels extra defensive and uses his knowledge on Nya being The Steel Samurai to blackmail her into not saying a word. Nya isn’t really intimidated (he’s too small and floofy and addicted to candy to be), but realizes he’s terrified of other people finding out. So she agrees, but only he promises not to say anything about The Steel Samurai in return. They strike a deal and Nya will occasionally help Lloyd out when the boys are gone.

A few more weeks pass and Kai starts to get suspicious. The runt keeps unexpectedly leaving from the boys room in the middle of the night. He must be up to something nefarious!

So Kai using his super ninja stealth to follow Lloyd one night, but instead of an evil plot or a horrible prank, it’s a tiny garden filled with all sorts of flowers and veggies and herbs and-

That’s around the time Lloyd realizes Kai is there and belatedly tries to hide the garden. Lloyd eventually realizes it is futile and Kai asks why Lloyd is hiding such a thing. Lloyd explains (in a manor that is very horrifying, and even worse Lloyd thinks this behavior is normal).

Kai tells Lloyd that the others won’t think less of him for having a garden. Lloyd doesn’t believe him and makes Kai promise not to tell the others. Kai agrees.

When they’re alone a few days later, Kai asks what got Lloyd into gardening in the first place. Lloyd explains with a blush on his face. Kai figures out Lloyd’s crush, but doesn’t let Lloyd know, assuming Lloyd already does (and Lloyd already shared something he viewed as embarrassing to Kai. No need to make it worse by teasing the brat about his super obvious crush).

Maybe throw in a a few instances where the ninja and/or Nya feel crummy (before they know [besides Kai and Nya, of course]) and the mysterious bouquet that appeared on their bed or pillow. Wu translates the first bouquet which leads to everyone rushing the flowers to him in a translation. They start to try and figure out who is leaving the bouquets, but never suspect Lloyd because he’s, well, Lloyd.

A few weeks later, Lloyd gets kidnapped by the serpentine. Kai, after a lot of research, (and enlisting Wu for help,) starts taking care of Lloyd’s garden until Lloyd is found again.

In the process, he bumps into Nya, who is doing the same, and they do the Spider-Man-pointing meme before working together on the garden.

Over time, the other ninja, one by one, stumble upon the garden and Kai swears them all to secrecy (after explaining everything and trying to convey Lloyd’s fucked up thought process. And Kai’s efforts to gain Lloyd’s trust so he can hopefully settle in and be more comfortable/open with everyone else).

That person then also starts helping out with Lloyd’s garden.

Once the last person discovers it, Kai gives up and it’s no longer a secret, so they work together to maintain he garden. Well, until Wu returns with Garmadon.

Kai is already pretty protective of Lloyd due to the unexpected bonding pre!kidnapping, so he makes sure that Garmadon doesn’t even come anywhere near Lloyd’s secret garden. (Kai knows Lloyd looks up to Garmadon [it’s all over his clothes for Pete’s sake!], and Lloyd would be crushed if his father insulted the kid for it. Kai wasn’t about to take that chance.)

Lloyd comes back (like in canon) and, while coming to terms of being the prophesied Green Ninja, he sprints to his safe space: his secret garden. He is immediately in awe of how much all of plants have grown, the expansion of the garden’s size, and all of the new additions.

The ninja and Nya all go to find him and comfort him (after talk of the Fangblades and what to do next), immediately heading to the garden. They reveal who did what and why they helped to take care of the garden. (“Because it’s important to you Lloyd, and your family. Which makes it important to us”). They also thank Lloyd for the amazing bouquets from before and how much it meant to them.

Lloyd cries and they have a huge group hug.

When the group hug breaks, Jay ruins the mood by demanding to learn about the language. Lloyd agrees to start teaching them (he doesn’t really get around to it until Season 2)

When the Ninja head off to steal back the Fangblades, Garmadon finally stumbles upon the garden (thanks to Kai, he thinks that is where some of the ninja’s secrets/weaknesses are hiding) with Lloyd taking care of it.

The two have a heart to heart about how Lloyd isn’t pathetic and how Garmadon will always love him, Green Ninja or not, etc., etc.

(Which makes the stealing of secrets thing that more heart wrenching)

When Garmadon goes to leave, Lloyd begs for him to stay a minute and rushes to the garden to pluck to few flowers to apologize for his outburst earlier as well as saying farewell. Garmadon actually stays (they need a tad bit more closure, TOMMY) and promises to treasure it.

(Lloyd doesn’t know it, but Garmadon presses the bouquet and stores it in a picture frame, now hanging in the old house Garmadon, Lloyd, and Misako used to live in.)

Maybe have a short introspective moment either during “The Day of the Great Devourer” or afterwards, Lloyd’s grief over not only the only home he’s ever known, but the amazing garden he had.

The ninja find out why he’s so upset and promise to help him set up an even better garden that is 10x better in a more permanent location.

(They don’t make good on the promise until after S2)

When they finally move into the crummy apartment: Lloyd buys a few pots and has a small assortment of tiny plants that sit on the windowsill.

As the ninja train Lloyd, Lloyd teaches the ninja the language of flowers.

(He also sneaks a few more pots into the Mojo Dojo)

A few months pass and the Lloyd gets invited to Darkley’s. Lloyd freaks out (but for more than one reason this time), and starts going through his entire collection of plants to debate on which one to give to Brad.

Gene became Brad’s new roommate sometime during S1, btw, because he’s still a bit of a troublemaker and Brad would keep rein him in (the staff doesn’t know that Brad is also a harbinger of chaos and sometimes helps Gene cause trouble). After Brad hears Gene crying at night over missing Lloyd, Brad confronts Gene. They argue, they fight, they emotionally break down, they help each other pick up the pieces, they hug, they forgive each other, they have a better understanding of one another, and the two become besties

When Brad greets the ninja, there is a lot more blushing and stuttering between the two (Brad is a year older and has shot up in height and his voice is deeper and smoother; Lloyd hasn’t grown much, but he has definitely gained some muscle mass)

(Unbeknownst to the two, the ninja are storing the knowledge for later and definitely going to tease Lloyd about this)

(And, unbeknownst to the everyone, part of Gene’s ploy to turn Lloyd back to the “evil” side is to tempt Lloyd with Brad. Gene even makes Brad look his best and forces the kid to greet the Ninja when they first arrive [not that it was that hard to convince Brad]. After all, Gene put together that his two best friends are down bad for each other AGES ago)

When the ninja are packing up to leave, Brad catches Lloyd. Brad gathers some courage and (while blushing profusely) shoves his confession bouquet in Lloyd’s arms. Brad compliments Lloyd for being so brave and pecks Lloyd in the cheek. Brad then quickly thanks Lloyd for believing in him before scurrying away.

Lloyd freezes, putting a hand to his cheek, and that’s when it clicks where he’s in love with Brad. He’s the reddest he’s ever been and walks in a daze back to the others who start teasing and congratulating Lloyd.

Lloyd sends Brad a letter with a couple of pressed flowers and the two awkwardly flirt while talking about hilarious pranks and hijinks the two have in their day to day lives

Unfortunately, Lloyd never has a chance to really act on his feelings because he suddenly finds himself half a decade older and far more responsibilities on his shoulders.

Add a scene where the baby!ninja prove who they say they are by shouting out flowers names which roughly translate to (trust us, we’re your friends, just younger)

Lloyd tells Brad this through a letter, so the two remain friends (while secretly mourning what could’ve been)

From here on out, it’s training, training, training for Lloyd with a smattering of interruptions in between of:

Letters between Lloyd and Brad that are much more stilted and platonic

Lloyd dealing with speedrunning puberty

Lloyd dealing with the stress of the situation via frantically planting

Brad definitely sneaks out of Darkley’s (with a reluctant Gene) to give Lloyd a send off to the Dark Island

The rest of the story I have “plotted out” is just an assortment of moments here and there that aren’t super cohesive and coherent yet. Just know this is a MEGA slow burn. Like the slow burn of the century, folks. (Legit, from my obsessive planning, I figured out they won’t get together waaay until after March of the Oni because Harumi trauma). And when the story isn’t focusing on Brad and Lloyd, it’s found family fluff from both angles of the city (Brad and the family he’s building at Darkley’s and Lloyd and the Ninja).

(Also, I’m sorry Sally fans. I wrote a majority of this AU before Crystalized came out. I’ll figure out how to work her in eventually. But she’ll definitely be one of the boys at Darkley’s and will have a mini coming of age arc in the background of her realization of being transfemme and bisexual [because that’s the only explanation my brain will accept about how a girl ended up in an all-boys school. Because she didn’t know she was a girl to begin with, which: mood])

[only-siren]

Of Wind and Earth: Part 1

Taken In

Cole x Reader -------------------------------------------------

"What a beautiful day!" Nya remarked.

"Indeed," Zane replied, "I enjoy days such as this when we can simply enjoy the weather."

"Yeah, too bad we can't just relax instead of going to Shintaro." Kai said as he laid out a blanket.

"What are you doing?" Nya asked, giving her brother a questioning look.

After lying down putting his sunglasses on, akqi responded,"Hey, might as well sunbathe while I can."

"On the deck of the Bounty?" Zane questioned.

"Well, duh," said Kai in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Uh, why wouldn't you want to visit Shintaro, Kai? It's literally the most beautiful place ever! Not as pretty as Nya is of course, but-" Jay rambled. 

Nya only rolled her eyes and giggled at his sudden compliment.

"My only question is: why are we going to Shintaro?" Cole asked. "I'm always happy to see Princess Vania again, but Master Wu hasn't said anything about why we're going."

The ninja stood in silence for a moment pondering what Cole had said. Master Wu had kept details from them in the past, but it never kept them from wondering what was really happening. Jay was about to open his mouth just as Master Wu appeared.

"The reason, I do not know," he said looking around at the ninja that he now had the attention of. "Princess Vania simply asked us to come because she needed help, so help her we must."

"I hope she isn't in any danger," Jay said.

"I hope not either," Cole responded in a worried tone.

"Well, that's only because you like her," Jay remarked. 

Kai laughed while Zane and Nya simply smiled and gave each other knowing looks.

"Yeah- Yeah, well, you like Nya! You'd be worried to if she asked for help without give any details!" Cole argued back.

"All right, all right, that's enough you two," Nya said stifling a giggle.

Jay smirked as Cole crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath.

"We are nearing Shintaro; prepare for landing," everyone heard P.I.X.A.L. say.

After they had landed, the ninja made their way to the castle still wondering why they had been summoned. 

"Do you think it's the skull sorcerer again?" Jay asked. "Or maybe Pythor? Oo! Oo! Or Garmadon? We haven't seen him in awhile. Or maybe it's-"

"Okay, Jay, we get it. It could be anyone or anything, so be on guard everyone," Lloyd said as they entered the palace.

As they entered they were greeted with the same awe they had felt the first time they entered the palace of Shintaro. The pristine walls gleamed. The decor looked flawless. The guards looked majestic as ever, and a sweet aroma filled the air.

"Is- Is that cake?" Cole asked in an excited manner.

"Yes, it is!" Vania responded happily from her throne as they walked into the throne room. "I asked the chefs to make it as a thank you gift for coming on such short notice."

"Cake is always appreciated in my book," Cole said staring at the beautiful chocolate cake displayed on a table near Vania's throne.

"Yes, we all appreciate it, Princess," Zane remarked. "But why is it that you have called us here?"

"Yeah, what's going on?" Jay asked.

"Well, you see…" Vania started. "Outside of the walls of Shintaro there are woods, and there has been a large number of hunter activity recently."

"Too many hunters? Doesn't seem like such a big deal. Sure, it could cause a food shortage, but not exactly sure why you called us here for that," Kai said.

Nya glared and elbowed Kai.

"Ow! Hey! I'm just saying! It's not exactly a ninja's job to take care of a few too many hunters." Kai whined.

Zane thought for a moment then wondered, "would it not have been wiser to just make laws against them hunting?"

"It's not what they're hunting that I'm worried about," Vania continued. "It's who."

The ninja all look at each other with a mix of both worried and questioning expressions.

"What exactly do you mean, Princess?" Lloyed asked. "Who are they hunting?"

"Rumors have been going around that an elemental master has been seen in those woods, and there is a large bounty for whoever catches them," Vania explained.

"But what could they possibly want with an elemental master?" Cole questioned.

"It's because of their power," Vania stated

"Curious..." Wu pondered. "What power does this elemental master hold that would make people want to hunt them down?"

"It's said that this person that they are hunting is the new master of wind," Vania responded.

"WHAT?!" The ninja exclaimed all at once.

"But how can that be?" Lloyd asked.

Wu turned to the side and stroked his beard, now thinking about the information they were just given.

"You have all inherited elemental powers from previous masters, and now it seems someone new has been chosen to be the master of wind," Wu said in a half-worried tone.

"What troubles you master?" Zane asked quickly.

"They are hunting this person because they believe her to be like Morro, correct?" Wu wondered turning back to face Vania.

She simply nodded, and with a determined look, Wu said, "Then we have not a moment to lose. Let us find this new master of wind. I fear what will happen if these hunters find them first."

"Woah, woah, woah, this person could be dangerous like Morro was!" Jay exclaimed. "Maybe we should think this through a little more before just running off into the woods and looking for this person!"

"Do we even know what this person looks like?" Kai asked.

"No one knows what they look like, but anyone who has caught sight of them say that they wore a black cloak to cover their features," said Vania as she descended the stairs that elevated her throne. "I'm not sure who this person is, but as far as I know it could be a young child fleeing for their life, alone and scared. I don't believe having the power of wind makes them exactly like the master of wind you faced in the past, but they could still be dangerous. Please, be careful ninja."

"Don't worry. We will be," Lloyd assured her.

"Rescuing those in need is our job after all," Zane stated.

"Yeah! And when we come back we can eat some of that cake," Cole said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

All the ninja rolled their eyes and Vania giggled, "Good luck ninja."

-------------------------------------------------

Y/n sat up from her resting place. It had been just her for a while now. She had left her home to protect her friends and family. After y/n had stumbled upon the woods outside of Shintaro, she had lived peacefully until one fateful day when a man had caught her using her elemental powers to free an animal caught up in a tree. The rumors spread quickly of her whereabouts, and she had no choice but to hide herself. Once, after being chased, she had stumbled upon a part of the forest shielded by brambles. It wasn't easy to get through. The brambles had given her quite a few scratches and pulled a few strands of her beautiful h/l, h/c hair. Within her new found hiding place, she discovered fresh water and wild berries. It was surrounded by small cliffs on all sides and hidden in a canopy of trees and brambles. So now this was the place she called home. It was the perfect hiding spot. She didn't quite know how to build a shack, but there was a small cave in one of the cliffs that provided enough shelter to keep her protected, dry, and warm. She sometimes still had to go out to get more food which quite often ended in being chased, but she had accepted that this was her life now. Alone in the woods.

Y/n sat for a moment and thought about her life. Why were people after her and not all the other elemental masters? Was she dangerous? Had she done something wrong? 

Suddenly voices were heard atop the cliff. Y/n stayed in the cave, ready to fight anyone who came close.

Had they found her?

-------------------------------------------------

"But we've been walking around aimlessly for two hours!" Jay complained. "I'm hungry and tired."

"Suck it up, Jay," Kai said. "You've suffered worse. Finding this person could be one of the most important things we do. If we train them right then they won't end up like Morro did."

Everyone went silent and shuttered. Sure, Morro had helped them once in the past on the Day of the Departed, but they never wanted to have to fight him or anyone like him ever again. 

"Zane," Nya broke the silence. "Have you found any intel on who this person might be."

"I have searched for multiple articles in my systems, but I have not found much of anything that will be of use to us," Zane said.

"I have had the same struggles with my search for information as well," P.I.X.A.L. added.

"Well, what do you know?" Cole asked.

Zane and P.I.X.A.L looked at each other a moment and then nodded.

Zane started, "Three years ago, a girl from Jamanakai village found her true potential as the master of wind. No one really knew her, but they feared what would happen if she grew stronger. No one wanted the same outcome as what had happened in Styx."

"So people decided to take matters into their own hands," P.I.X.A.L. continued. "They went to her house and demanded that her family hand her over, but they refused. The girl escaped, and her family and friends refuse to give any information on her."

"So is there anything about what she looks like?" Lloyd asked.

"Well she has s/c skin; h/l, h/c hair; and e/c eyes," Zane replied.

"But that's all we know," P.I.X.A.L. added.

Suddenly Jay burst into laughter. Everyone looked back and stared at him questioningly.

"Uh, Jay, what's so funny?" Nya asked.

Jay was about to respond but only started laughing harder.

"Is something about this girl's story amusing to you?" Wu questioned.

"No, no it's not that it's just-" Jay laughed a little more. "Cole could end up being king one day." 

Once again Jay burst into a fit of laughter. 

"A king? Why?" Lloyd asked.

"Because if he and Vania get married then he'll be the royal black ninja king," Jay said, giggling in between each word.

"I guess I've never thought about that before…" Cole said, now going into deep thought.

"I don't see how this is amusing," Zane stated bluntly.

"Because!" Jay shouted. "Can you imagine Cole as a king with a fancy crown, fancy suits, and fancy parties?"

All of the ninja except for Cole started to giggle a little.

"I guess it's hard to imagine," Nya responded. "I've never thought Cole to be the fancy type."

"Yeah, especially since he ran away from the fancy dancing life his dad wanted for him," Kai added.

Cole remained quiet. Would being royal mean he would stop having to be a ninja? Would his life become nothing more than fancy parties and clothes? Would he be good at leading a kingdom or would he completely wreck everything?

"Cole, watch out!" P.I.X.A.L. shouted, but it was too late.

Cole hadn't seen the edge of the cliff that he was now falling off of. He had fallen from high places in Shintaro before, but this time there was no way to escape. Nothing he could hold on too. Would his friend be able to save him this time? Was this the last time he'd ever fall off of anything?

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind came out of nowhere. 

-------------------------------------------------

Y/n saw a boy falling from the cliff.

Had he and his friends come to hunt her? At that moment it did not matter. She had to save him.

With all of her strength she created a gust of wind that slowed his fall. She couldn't stop him from falling completely, but she managed to use the wind to create a leaf pile for him to fall into. She figured that would be softer than the hard ground.

---------------------------------------------------------

Cole grunted as he fell into the leaf pile. He stayed there for a moment reveling in the fact that he was still alive, but then it hit him who had saved him.

He quickly sat up and looked at the girl now standing in front of him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

---------------------------------------------------------

Word count: 2,134

A/n: Hey, guys! This is my first fanfic. Ninjago is my favorite show, and Cole is my favorite character. Hopefully I'll stick to it because I really like where this is headed. I'm always open to suggestions and ideas! Thanks for reading! <3

[brrambleroses]

By the way, did anybody else notice how Kai's been acting towards Jay?

Like the two of them are still clearly friendly with each other even after the whole standoff they had near the start of the season, but there's been cases throughout the season so far where Kai will just suddenly compliment Jay when he does something?

The two cases I can think of in particular are during Pythor's prison break when Jay zaps away one of the crystal spiders, where Kai goes, "Hey, you got one! Nice shooting, Jay!"

And then the other one was when they were fighting the Mechanic, with Jay making a lame joke:

Jay: Hey look, he's trapped! By Prime Empire! Get it? Trapped by the game? *laughs*

Kai: Ha! Good one, Jay!

Like, normally I wouldn't pay it any mind, since the ninja compliment each other and laugh at each others' jokes all the time, but these just really stood out to me? Like there's this weird emphasis on Kai saying those things when normally they wouldn't really be said. Like they were focused on Pythor's prison break when Jay killed the spider, and Jay tells jokes like those all the time.

And this starts to happen after that fight they both had before Nya even showed up, where they were full-on ready to attack each other with their elements after Kai accidentally spilled over the water Jay was attached to due to his grief and depression. Kai even tried to genuinely apologize to him before Jay turned around and attacked him, so I can't help but wonder if Kai's trying to just give Jay a lot of positive reinforcement because of what happened between them. Especially since Jay's been through a mass depressive episode.

[anti-cosmofangirl]

Guys have you read Pythor's Revenge?

The whole thing is out of control hysterical including gems such as:

Pythor never does anything really evil (except try to kill Zane, but everyone does that) his motivation is just to be an attention whore the entire time.

"everything you do is bad. I had to tell you this" -Dr. Saunders (to the ninja, but mostly in response to Jay breaking things)

The Ninja sign legally binding agreementts to keep the A̶p̶p̶l̶e̶w̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ Borgwatch piece confidential and their whole motivation to get it back is to not go to jail/get fined.

Borg's lawyers call Cole 7 times to remind them of this.

When they beg Borg to see the watch he goes 'no.' and then in the most passive aggressively way possible they proceed to remind him of everytime they've saved Ninjago's ass. And Zane reminds him that he died.

Pythor decides that Skales needs to see the Borgwatch piece before the humans. Skales does not care.

Skales Jr. plays a popular video game where you fight Serpentine.

The people of Ninjago are so numb to wierd stuff happening that Pythor enters a crowd and they're just like 'meh, a guy dressed as a snake, what a freak.'

Some superb foreshadowing for Hands of Time.

Pythor interacting casually with Gayle Gossip.

The author really got thier personalities and little quirks down. (Plus her apparent affinity for Jay) I'm imagining a professional children's book author having to watch Ninjago for research.

Pythor says the word 'folks' and 'selfie' in the same sentence.

The Ninja use thier powers only like once and it's meaningless.

The fact that the citizens of ninjago city don't give a crap when horrific villains show up but are willing to go bonkers over a watch.

And more . . .

Here's the PDF, compliments of LegoGeek33 on Twitter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ycygWKHm9lhhmdvIzMT0v06xmKBymxgi/view?usp=drivesdk

[tsarbomba567]

@serpentfever Yeah that.

Pythor doesn't truly believe that the Devourer is free of corruption, and now she's spreading that corruption throughout Ouroboros to make those under her fiercely loyal to her, as well as foster intense mistrust against those Serpentine not loyal to the Devourer, and a burning disgust against humanity. He ultimately believes that her end goal is to amass a Serpentine army to go forth and crush humanity once and for all, making them bow before the Devourer; her endsieg.

As Pythor sees relations between Serpentine brethren and humanity deteriorate, so does his mental state; this is not helped by Pythor's history with the Devourer. Finally, one evening it reaches it's zenith: As Arcturus attempts to bring his son back to reality and reason, Pythor has a boutade and claws his father in his face, declaring that he and his family are nothing more than puppets of the Devourer; he adds that he won't be deceived again (a nod that Pythor realized that the Overlord was using him). Shocked and horrified, Arcturus immediately sets off to find the Devourer while Pythor's family keeps their distance from the increasingly paranoid Anacondrai. After telling her about the incident, she says that she'll go back with him to help "alleviate" the volatile situation, something Arcturus says she will only make worse. On their return, however, they find that Pythor is gone, leaving behind his journal that details is paranoid views.

A few days later, spies inform both Arcturus and the Devourer that Pythor has surrendered himself to Ninjago City Police, who have put him in a psychiatric hospital. From within his unit, the Anacondrai rambles how the deteriorating relations between humanity and the Serpentine is what the Devourer wants. More so, he says that, if nothing is done, then the pro- and anti- Serpentine human activists will come to blows, and that the political violence between the two will spill over towards those anti-Devourer Serpentine under Skales, whom might have to consider the nuclear option of reaching out to the Devourer for protection; in his eyes, Pythor says that the Devourer will then use this as a pretext for war, and will use the political instability ravaging the humans to order her loyal army to march on Ninjago, fulfilling her true goal of Serpentine domination over the island.

After a few weeks, the concerns over his son's safety finally overwhelms Arcturus, who clandestinely leaves for Ninjago City. Along the way, he contacts the Ninja to inform them of his intentions and wants safe travel. The Ninja begrudgingly agree, and upon meeting in person, Arcturus gives Lloyd the only weapon on him - a dagger - to help bolster the fact that the Anacondrai doesn't want to cause any harm. Arcturus is taken to the psychiatric hospital in complete secrecy, which is complimented by the increased security due to the arrival of a certain Serpentine a few weeks ago.

Reaching his unit, Arcturus notes of the guards posted outside the observation room, where Pythor is being monitored 24/7. Though risky, he goes inside to check on his son, who's curled up in a corner opposite of the door. When he enters and calls out Pythor's name, the paranoid Anacondrai - recognizing the voice - immediately looks in his direction and hisses. He then gets up, and tells the terrified "demon" to leave lest he feel his wrath. Arcturus, not wanting a repeat of last time, complies and hurries out and back into the observation room; Pythor then returns to his corner.

The Ninja ask what happened, specifically why Pythor reacted so negatively to his own father. Arcturus then elaborates about how Pythor slowly became more delusional and separated from reality, which culminated in the scar on his face. He then goes into detail about how he never wanted any of this. Almost all of the cursed and dead Anacondrai made peace with their fate when the Devourer revived them. Some of them - him included - became horrified by the means in which they were brought back, and knew that humanity was going to be livid. As human-Serpentine relations deteriorated, Arcturus - with a shaky voice - describes how he saw the the beginning of the conditions that preluded the beginning of the First Serpentine War, and fears that a Third Serpentine War was possibly on the horizon, which terrifies him. On the verge of tears, he describes Pythor before the war: How he was so innocent, his mother obsessed over his health, and -

...And -

Arcturus can't even finish before he breaks down in tears. He cries on Lloyd's shoulders, saying that he's seen this crisis tear Serpentine families apart. He just wants humanity and the Serpentine to get along, and is willing to go through the slow and painful process of reconciliation to heal any present wounds. But most of all, he just wants his son back - his baby boy.

Watching from their computer, a human security guard watches the events unfold. They then save a recording of the incident to a flashdrive, and proceeds to leave the hospital due to their shift being over. From here, they go home, and they burn the recording onto multiple CD disks (aka putting footage into CDs). Afterwards, they ship the CDs to pro-Serpentine activists, high-ranking politicians, the Royal Family, the Ninjago City News, the Ninjago News Center and NGTV, and even some to be smuggled into Ouroboros.

I'll let you, @serpentfever , dictate what happens next.

As far as the "serpentine Great Devourer killing one human to bring back one serpentine", I get that it's supposed to be bad, but tbh, my first reaction to that was "sure, but you can only do it to people who were directly involved in the serpentine genocide, here's a list of names and current addressed of all the politicians who openly brag about it"

I would let the Devourer get away with anything tbh, that’s how strong my love for her is. But that doesn’t make for a very compelling story haha.

I actually have a story (that I’m not sure if I’ve talked about here before or not) where the Devourer comes back as a ghost during the events of s5. Since darkness is the source of curses, and the Devourer was corrupted by pure darkness, her soul was sent to the cursed realm after her death.

There she managed to gain back some of her sensibilities, as the corruption didn’t fully follow her into death, but she was chained up and imprisoned by the Preeminent. She gradually managed to convince her that she was on the Preeminent’s side in order to hatch her own plans: Escape from the cursed realm and retribution against humanity for their crimes towards her and all of serpentine kind.

She even managed to ally herself with Morro, who she took pity on. Morro was actually ‘put in charge’ of her, and never really appreciated the doting expressions she knew she wore behind his back. He only really started to respect her when he saw her prowess in battle.

Anyway, point is, eventually, the Devourer managed to escape the chains of the Preeminent when she was drowned. From there she set to work setting up a ritual to not only revive the ghosts that had joined her in the betrayal of the Preeminent, as well as herself, but also all of the Anacondrai.

And in my story, she actually succeeds.