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greenygreenland · 3 years

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Home: Lloyd Garmadon x Reader

-I LOVE ASKS. plz keep them coming, they make my day -i’m sorry i write slowly, I’m a perfectionist. -it’s also better to have quality over quantity, am I right? -takes place after Tournament of Elements but before Possessed

[REQUESTED BY ANON] Summary/ask: Maybe a reader with a "dark" power (like, not evil, but considered dark), and they were outcasted by it, everyone thinks they are bad and shit but they are just shy and insecure?

WARNING: MENTIONS OF VERBAL ABUSE (VERY BRIEF), BLOOD (BRIEF), INJURIES (ALSO BREIF), ETC.

Isolation. That was all you had ever known for the better half of your life. Most details were things you preferred to keep hidden away, locked up for good in that deep mind of yours.

You never had a whole family, but that was fine by you. Why should that matter when you had a father who loved and cared for you? Growing up, he always told you this: ‘Ninjago is so much more than our tiny home, my dear. Why should we worry about what we don’t have when there’s so much to discover?’

Even now, you held onto his words with your life. Even now when you forgot what his face looked like. Even now when you couldn’t remember his voice, or how warm his hugs were. Everything eventually faded, but not the emotions he made you feel.

Love, warmth, generosity.

Those were the only pieces of baggage you carried. Although heavy, they kept you from the evil strings of bitterness. You kept your chin up, high in the air so you could look to the sky. It was the limit after all, the portion of which you had to reach and reach until you couldn’t anymore. The only problem was getting there.

The alley was rather quiet today, a far cry from the usual bustling citizens looking for a shortcut or a food stand. You loved days like this, where no one would care to stare at you and whisper your name like it were a ball in a game. With your hood up, no one could see your face, and no one could cast you aside like the loner you were.

“What are you doing here?”

You wish you hadn’t heard his voice. As subtle as he tried to be, his snarky tone caused passing stragglers to glance at you. A sigh escapes your lips. What was he doing here? Didn’t he have anything better to do than follow you around and nag? You were cast aside as it was by your mother, forgotten by your so-called friends, and left behind by your ascended father.

He told you to stay away from that speedy idiot, the one your mother took away from you. The one who took after her with the same eyes, nose, and mouth. They had the same grin, too, the one where it looked like they thought they were better than you.

“If it isn’t Griffin Turner,” you grumble out. “What a pleasure.”

His stare isn’t friendly. You know under those red sunglasses that he’s glaring at you. He’s probably thinking about how much of a monster you are too, just like every other Elemental Master you ever faced in your life.

Griffin runs a hand over his oh-so-perfectly cut hairdo. “Oh don’t be a prick.” he spits out. “Have some respect for your older brother.” That grin doesn’t slide off his face no matter how dark your expression gets. He’s always been oblivious. First to your powers, then to your father’s death, and finally, to how terribly he’s been treating you.

It doesn’t matter that he’s your older brother. Bullying does not discriminate, and neither do you, blood ties or not. “Just leave me alone, I’m not in the mood Griffin.” He raises a brow. “Not in the mood? Since when did someone like you have feelings? You’re cold-hearted, just like your dad.”

You frown. “’Your dad’?” you echo. “What, so we’re only related when you choose?” Griffin shrugs absentmindedly. You know he’s trying to provoke you, get a reaction, but you just can’t help it. He was patronising you and your father.

“I’m just glad I lived with mum instead of dad.” he adds. “At least I don’t have to run after the garbage truck with a shopping list.” He snickers to himself and you go rigid. “Take that back.”

“What? Your last braincell?”

“Well--you--you’re a...” You pause. “At least I had someone who loved me and actually payed attention to me! Sure, I inherited dad’s elemental powers, but he taught me something you’ll never get: kindness. You think I don’t know? Look again you pathetic waste of space!” That wasn’t supposed to hit hard and you both knew it. Griffin could have said a million other insults that burned like the sun itself, yet somehow, with your puny words, you hit a nerve. A nerve that wasn’t supposed to be punched in the first place.

Griffin’s grin finally slides off his face. He stuffs a hand in his pocket and uses the other to adjust his bright sunglasses. He doesn’t say anything, but you can practically feel the air thicken between the empty distance. Griffin didn’t have lo self-esteem, but sometimes, his mum called him a waste of space. When you walked by the luxurious apartment, on days the kitchen window was left wide open, you heard what she’d say to Griffin--what she did to him.

Suddenly, you’re taken back to the age of six, when your parents were together and Griffin was more than your only brother. You were best friends. You did everything together. But then your father passed down his elemental powers to you, and it was then that everything changed.

Your father taught you that your powers were a gift passed down all the way from the days the First Spinjitzu Master lived among the people of Ninjago. It was a gift used to protect him when he was in need, a gift that possessed great power and majesty. Your elemental abilities had a double edge to it. Although beautiful, it possessed a great danger.

One slip-up was all it took. One mistake you never meant.

That day, you were practicing control and discipline over your powers. You never meant for it to happen, and if you could go back, you would a million times over. That day, all the control, all the mastery you had over your abilities disappeared in an instant. You swore it was only for a second, but it could have lasted a millennia.

Your element was more than a power. It was a living part of you with its own consciousness you couldn’t quite understand. When you slept, you saw him, the intangible person you never cared to learn the name of. He always sat in a plain of pure darkness, where you couldn’t touch or see him clearly.

You knew he never meant to frighten you, but that day, you only saw a monster. Perhaps it was you, perhaps it was him. You never knew because the moment you lost control, your world went black. From then on, your parents split. Your mother took Griffin away from you, and as time grew, so did the distance between you.

You wish you could change things starting from that day till now. Those forsaken words shouldn’t have left either of your mouths, but the damage had already been done. It cut too deep that not even magic could mend the wounds.

“Griffin I--”

“So that’s how it is.” A bitter laugh escapes his lips and you flinch like you’ve been struck. Griffin walks toward you at a painfully slow pace. The alleyway isn’t part of the city anymore. It’s a battlefield of honour, of pride, of two siblings who have been torn apart. He doesn’t meet your eyes as he pulls something out of his pocket. “Here.”

The wad of cash presented to you between his fingers looks more like an insult than a gift. Was he trying to rub in your face how rich his mum was compared to your dead dad? Surely this wasn’t an olive branch to apologise for being a jerk for the past eleven years.

He stares at your incredulous expression and yanks your wrist forward, slapping the bills into your hand and forcing it into your sweater pocket. “Look, I’m not patronising you, okay? Just...go to your friend or whatever and don’t spend that on drugs. Your financial situation sucks, I get it.”

His tone is rather aggressive, but you know that speech pattern. The one where it’s soft and bashful because he’s embarrassed to be talking out loud like that--like an older brother. You run your fingers over the cash in your pocket and stare at Griffin. He looks the other way and begins marching past you, making sure to bump shoulders.

“Griffin, wait.” You make a grab for his arm but he’s already gone at the speed of light. “Thanks,” you whisper to yourself. “I guess.” You aren’t sure how long you stay in the dead alleyway, frozen in your own thoughts. But as soon as you’re ready to make your way to the park, the alleyway fades, the honking of the cars disappear, and you’re completely alone in a surge of darkness.

“That has got to be a least three hundred.”

You heave out a long sigh as the darkness parts. Robes drag across the floor like liquid gold, sparkling and shimmering like the sun. “Such a coward, your brother. He shouldn’t have run away like that.” The man is a living contradiction, much like you. Although he lived in a world of darkness, that never stopped light from blooming in his cold heart. He cared for you as much as he cared for your father and those before him.

The man adjusted the collar of his red robes, yanking the thick fabric into all the right shapes and places. His pale face was like a sheet of paper, but the calm smile made up for that and tinted his cheeks rose. “Here,” he said, waving his arm. The wad of cash drifted out of your pocket, mixing with the mist until it was all but a speck of light. It drifted into one of the man’s pockets, which he patted.

“Honestly,” he says, “could you be more inconspicuous? Someone down the street looked like he wanted to mug you.” You frown and the man huffs. “When you need the money, come back. I’ll keep it here.”

“Thank you.”

“Raijin.” he says. “Call me Raijin.”

The mist began swirling like a whirlpool, twisting and turning until your hood whacked you in the face. The alleyway materialised as soon as your feet hit the pavement. The honking of cars sliced through the air, bombarding your ears in the cityscape sounds. “First Spinjitzu Master...” you grumble, rubbing your ears.

“LOOK OUT!”

You whip around in bewilderment and flatten yourself against the brick wall. A group of four or five fruit-coloured boys fly from the fire escape above. If you hadn’t reacted quickly enough, then you’d be as much of a pancake as the blue one (he was under all of them).

“I’m--gonna--die! Get off me Cole!”

“I...I can’t when Zane’s heavier than a rock!”

“Kai, move your stupid leg!”

“Everyone stop arguing! Lloyd is unconscious!”

The last bit sent the group in a rush of shouting, scrambling, and shoving. You wanted to do something to help, but these boys were the ninja, students of Sensei Wu and partly, Garmadon. In the world of elemental masters, they were known as the OG, the ones who defeated the Great Devourer, Garmadon, and so many more.

The last time you saw them (together, that was) had to be half a year ago on Chen’s forsaken island. You almost died, but Lloyd saved you. He and his friends risked their lives to help everyone off that island. If thy hadn’t been there...

You glance at Lloyd. He lay on the pavement, faintly breathing and coughing as Zane wrapped gauze around his wrist. The blood smeared on his face sent your heart tumbling. Just what had they done this time?

“Hey!” you exclaim. The boys remove their hoods and turn to you. Kai knits his brows together. “Aren’t you--?”

“Do you want help or no?” you gruffly retort. Zane’s bright eyes don’t leave your cold expression as you look between all the ninja. Cole and Jay look uneasy about the offer, but to even the blind, it was clear they had no choice.

“Yes.” Zane says. “We would be grateful for your assistance, (Y/n).” You nod and motion for them to follow you out of the alleyway. Kai carefully lifts Lloyd off the ground and onto his back. “Thank you for your generous offer.”

“Don’t thank me until he’s well.” you quietly reply. As scary as it was inviting people to your tiny apartment, this was the ninja. You owed them this much for being Ninjago’s protectors for so long. “We’re taking the back route because I don’t want to attract unwanted attention. It’s clear you had a run-in, let’s not repeat that.”

Halfway down one of the quieter streets, you heard Jay whisper this, “I heard she’s evil. Are you sure we should trust her?”

You want to be offended, but getting upset would only make everything worse. You re-called your conversation with Griffin, and that look on his face when you called him a waste of space.

He deserved the insult, you told yourself. Why should you feel guilty?

You spot a beat-up door worn with age. The blue paint peeled off the wood, scattering along the doorstep in little piles. As much as you wanted to renovate, you couldn’t afford it. You had to save up for college and rent.

You dig your hand inside your trousers’ pocket and produce a key. The scratches rub against your calloused hands as you stick it in the keyhole and yank open the door. “Bring him in.” No one says a word as you watch the ninja file into your home one by one. Like good guests, they remove their shoes and leave them in a little corner of the hall.

You close the door behind you and lock it, tossing the key in its respective place. “Set him down on the couch. I’ll get a med kit.” When you come back with the med kit and freshly washed hands, you weave past Cole and sit on the floor by Kai’s side. “He’ll be alright.” you calmly state.

Kai sharply meets your gaze. “His wrist is broken.”

“Yes, but bones can be mended. He will be alright.” You ignore the stares, they were background noise, and place your hands around the wound. “Raijin,” you whisper, “I need assistance.”

The last time you had to fix a broken wrist had to be about three months ago. It was a rather draining action, but for Lloyd, you would do anything. He needed you.

Suddenly, your body goes completely rigid. Your hands are cold and you shut your eyes, allowing the icy sensations to wash over your being. A breeze passes over your face and settles around your hands. You imagine Lloyd’s bones mending back into place, connecting painlessly like a puzzle piece would.

“What’s she doing?” you hear Jay whisper.

“I think she’s concentrating.” Cole answers. “Kind of...creepy if I do say so myself.”

You feel the bones clicking together, and once you are sure Lloyd is alright, you open your eyes and heave out a long sigh. “He...he will be...” You can’t finish that sentence. The world spins with dots and mingles in a flurry of colours and blurs. Someone was saying something, but you can’t make out what’s wrong with you.

The world fades to black.

“Here again?”

You frown uncomfortably as Raijin struts out from behind a curtain of shadow. It’s hard to disregard him, so you avert your gaze to the side. “I don’t choose when I come here, you know that.” He chuckles and it’s a low rumble. “You like him.”

“Who?”

“Lloyd. It’s not everyday you let people into your home. When you saw Griffin walk by with a broken leg, you didn’t heal him.” You sigh loudly. “Well, that’s different Raijin.”

“Is it?” There’s a suggestive tone to his voice you don’t like, as if he’s looking inside your head and hearing all your thoughts bouncing around. Raijin probably did hear some of it. He was, after all, a part of you, both soul and body. Silence falls over your shoulders and it sits there like an old pillow: uncomfortable, flat, and irritating.

The silence stretched and you felt small in the presence of Raijin. He had a way with his height and energy that somehow made him appear all the more regal. You can’t meet his eyes as you blurt out the dumbest question you could muster. “Will Lloyd be okay?”

The answer is obvious, but Raijin doesn’t comment on it. He folds his hands together and softly nods, as if he’s afraid of making you shrink further into yourself. “Thanks to your efforts his wrist is healed. Why don’t you see for yourself?” You perk up. “What--?”

The darkness curls under your shoes, stretching like gum and absorbing you in nothing. It’s cold, it’s dark, and it’s filling you with adrenaline.

You jolt upright.

“I see you and Raijin had quite the conversation.” a crinkly voice states. You rub your pounding head, accepting the steaming cup of tea from Sensei Wu’s hands. It’s been a while since you’ve seen the monastery, much less your old room. Wait, Wu? Your old room from when you were eleven? “Sensei?” He smiles kindly, giving your shoulder a good pat. “If you were wondering, Lloyd has been healed. Actually, he wishes to see you.”

“Me?” you inquire. “Really?” Wu chuckles to himself good-naturedly. He turns his back to you and slides open the door, revealing a red-faced Lloyd. He goes stiff like a board. “Uh--I--sorry--just passing--”

Wu gently guides Lloyd into the room, paying no mind to the stuttering mess his nephew had become. It’s an odd sight to see Lloyd, the Green Ninja, tripping over his own feet, adjusting his sleeves, and picking at loose threads instead of meeting your eyes like he did that day.

Lloyd had been like a gust of wind. He came to your rescue strong and fast, scooping your bloodied body in his arms with a gentle hold. When the time came and you all had to leave the island, you were still too weak to use your elemental powers, so Lloyd let you ride with him. Those crazy few weeks on Chen’s island had been traumatising.

The fact that you weren’t trusted by anyone due to your powers made it worse, until you met Lloyd and his father.

Wu quietly exists the room, gently closing the door behind. You silently thank him for his consideration. “It’s been a while.” you quietly say. Lloyd shuffles toward you with a bright smile, cheeks still tinted red. “I used to see you around Ninjago City a lot, but after a while, it was...I don’t know, like you disappeared.”

It’s your turn to avert your gaze. The truth was, you weren’t sure Lloyd still wanted to be your friend after the Tournament. You saw him less and less with each passing day, only ever giving a small wave here and there whenever he went to Borg Tower. After half a month, Griffin caught you talking with Lloyd. He bullied you about it and told you Lloyd was only acting like your friend.

Stupidly enough, you believed him. Your insecurities about being judged wore down your courage like a bath bomb in water. You couldn’t speak with Lloyd any longer, or give a simple wave that made him smile like the sun. One day, you decided to avoid him completely by taking a different route home. You never saw him again. Not until today.

“I-I’m sorry Lloyd.” you murmur. He blinks, knitting his brows together in confusion. “What do you mean you’re sorry? You didn’t do anything--”

“Yes I d-did.” You curse your wobbly voice. “I started a-avoiding you because I was scared we weren’t...you know...anymore. And a lot happened...and then...” Your eyes are burning with tears you know are filled with ages of stress and worry and anger.

You wanted to blame Griffin for making fun of you that day. You wanted to blame yourself for being so stupid. You wanted to blame Raijin for not talking to you when you needed him most. But you couldn’t. How would any of them know this would happen? That you’d eventually cut Lloyd off altogether until you were in isolation in that tiny apartment by yourself? How could you have known?

The side of your bed dips and gentle arms bring you in tight. It’s warm and reminds you of meadows with flowers, butterflies, and better days. When was the last time you actually hugged someone? Much less allowed them this close in your proximity? You didn’t have friends at school, so you always settled for books as your comfort. Books could not hug like people.

“I should be thanking you.” Lloyd said. “You healed me even though it made you pass out.” You sniffle, hesitantly wrapping your arms around Lloyd’s middle. As soon as you allow your shoulders to relax, warmth spreads through your chest. You recognised the sensation as a mix of comfort and relief.

To know someone else was here with you who cared and would sit with you as you cried your eyes out was new--but it felt good. When your dad died, you promised to never shed another tear. You couldn’t say you were good a keeping promises.

“If you want to tell me more, it’s okay.” Lloyd softly said. You rested your head on his shoulder, savouring the way he smelled like life itself. If you were to describe it, you’d call it grassy, flowery, and fruity all rolled into one.

“Well... You remember my brother Griffin?” you slowly begin. “He isn’t who you think he is. He always tells me things like I’m a monster because of my elemental powers, or that...”

You aren’t sure how long you talk for, but Lloyd’s there, listening to every word and drinking it in like gold. Sometimes he pitched in, other times he sat still in a silent horror you couldn’t fully comprehend. It never occurred to you just how broken your family relationships had been when it was your norm.

When your tears finally dried and you could breathe again, Lloyd took your hands and motioned for you to follow him out of the room. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” You smiled at him, enjoying the company his hand provided.

Wu rounded around the corner and said, “Would you like to stay forever?”

There was no question in that. You still had your old room and memories of when you used to call the monastery home. Why wouldn’t you want to make new ones? “Yes.” you reply. “I’d love that--if it’s fine with you.” Lloyd glanced at Wu, who simply nodded in confirmation.

Lloyd turns to you with a bright grin that you can only shyly match in response.

TIP JAR

Please don’t forget to reblog!

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago lloyd #lloyd garmadon #lloyd x reader #ninjago x reader #x reader #reader insert #xreader #lego #ninjago wu #Sensei Wu

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tourettic-brookstone · 3 years

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Sickeningly Sweet

"Happy birthday, dear Llo-oyd. Happy birthday to you."

Claps and cheers from the ninja made Lloyd's face blush a light red. Cole, Jay, and Kai whooped loudly while Zane clapped politely besided them. His face, usually neutral, showed pure joy. Sensei Wu and Pixal stood to the side stoicly, hiding their smiles. Badly.

A large, chocolate cake with heavy chocolate frosting was placed before Lloyd, who looked very uncomfortable with all the attention on him. He grinned awkwardly as Nya lit the candles one by one. She beamed at him and stepped back.

"Now blow out those candles and make a wish," Cole said with a huge smile.

Lloyd looked around, nervous and excited. He never celebrated his birthday before. Not like this at least. It was always interupted by another villain attack, or went unnoticed by all the stress and work of being one of Ninjago's heroes.

His mother never celebrated it with him, either. Before he was dumped at Darkly's, she paid little attention to him. She seemed obssessed with trying to reverse the effects of the Devourer's bite it out on Lloyd's father. And don't even get him started on what the boys' at Darkly's did on your birthday.

He stared down at the flames of the candles, and closed his eyes. He made his wish, and blindly blew out the candles. His friends cheered once again as he reopened them. He watched as a previously blown out candle sparked back to life.

"Wha?" He looked up at the ninja in confusion. Cole, Jay, and Kai snickered. Kai licked his finger and pinched the flame out.

"Trick candle," Kai grinned.

"So, what'd you wish for?" Jay asked, putting his hands together in anticipation. Lloyd opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Zane.

"According to my database, one's birthday wish isn't supposed to be shared, or it will not come true."

"Oh, come on, Zane. I've shared tons of birthday wishes with my dad, and they've all come true," Cole argued.

"Might I ask what those wishes were?" Zane asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wished for a labradoodle that had pink ears and tail."

"And did that come true?" Kai butted in with his arms crossed and a look of smugness.

"Uh–well I–No," Cole sighed. He tilted his head down in shame and embarrassment.

Wu and Pixal giggled and Nya smiled. Kai patted Cole's back while Nya turned towards Lloyd, who still sat awkwardly.

"You look uncomfortable. You doing okay?" she asked him. She began removing the candles from the cake while giving him a concerned look.

"Oh, yeah. It's just, I don't know what you're supposed to do while everyone's staring at you,' he chuckled anxiously.

"Trust me, I don't think anyone knows. You just gotta sit through it and wait for it to end," she said. She took out the last candle and licked off the bits of cake stuck to it. That was the eighteenth candle.

Eighteen. That's how old Lloyd was. That's how long he's survived. That's how long he's been made to suffer.

"Whoo! Cake time, baby!" Cole shouted. He seemed the most excited out of everyone. Which was no surprise. He really loved cake. Especially when Zane and Pixal made it.

The ninja took a seat at the table, chatting excitedly. It's not everyday the Green Ninja turned eighteen.

Nya had left to throw the old candles away and returned with a sharp knife. Zane offered to cut the cake in order to evenly divide the slices between everyone, but Nya said she could do it.

Nya did her best to cut the cake into eight even pieces. While Zane and Pixal were both Nindroids, they still wanted to participate in all the typical birthday activities.

The slices weren't perfect, but hey, that's alright. Today wasn't about the cake. It was about Lloyd.

Who was currently wiping a huge smear of frosting off his nose put there by Kai. He and the ninja laughed and nearly choked on their cake. Mainly Jay and Cole.

Cole was already on his third piece, and everyone else was digging into their own. All except Lloyd.

He wiped off the frosting and stuck it on the side of his plate. What he couldn't get off, he hesitantly licked.

When Lloyd was a child, he loved candy and sweets. Heck, he terrorised a whole village for them. And that's what made them lose their sweetness.

Sweets always reminded him of Pythor, and how the two of them would go around and steal the village's candy for kicks and their own selfishness. Pythor reminded him of how he was such a stuck up brat that he released the Serpentine because he wasn't given what he wanted. And that reminded him that because he released the Serpentine, he put Ninjago in danger of the Great Devourer.

Reminded him because of that, they needed his father's help to defeat the Devourer with the Golden Weapons, who ultimately stole them right after. He then released the Stone Warriors and set the power of the Overlord on Ninjago, who after that, took over all technology and indirectly killed Zane.

They then had to travel to Chen's island to find Zane and helped turn Chen and his followers into Anacondrai, where they had to sacrifice his father to stop him.

Then Morro crawled his way back into Ninjago, and set the Departed Realm on Stiix and Stones. Between that, Cole was turned into a ghost, and Lloyd was possessed for the majority of that adventure.

Then, a throwback to the Devourer, it had killed and injured far more than Lloyd and the ninja first thought. That was mainly about Harumi and how she raised his father back from the dead, only to eventually die herself.

Lloyd nearly shead a tear thinking about Harumi. He stared down at his slice of cake.as all the horrid memories flooded back. He tried to forget, cause forgetting eased the pain. Eased the anger. But sweets always brought them back.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" he heard Pixal ask him.

Lloyd jerked his head up and looked at her surprised. Sensei Wu had turned to look at him, too. He saw the other ninja were paying no attention, focusing on talking with each other and eating.

Lloyd looked between Wu and Pixal and debated on telling them his true feelings or not. About how he hated the taste of sugar because it reminded him of his first "friend's" deceit. How candy made him think of all his mistakes leading back to the moment he couldn't handle a little public shame.

How he was constantly thinking about how he was depicted at Ninjago's greatest hero, but he was the one who put it in danger in the first place. How every night he thought about if his mother didn't abandon him and he never wanted to be evil, none of Ninjago's disparities would exist.

How that when he blew out his candles, he wished for the pain to end. For things to go back to being what they once were. For everyone to be happy.

But he didn't.

He awkwardly looked back down at his plate, where the chocolate delicacy taunted him. Teased him of the joy he could have had.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "It's just that. . .

I forgot I don't really care for sweets anymore. . ."

#ninjago fanfiction #ninjago fic #sensei wu #lloyd garmadon #kai smith #nya smith #jay walker #cole brookstone #zane julien #pixal borg #garmadon #princess harumi #This is my first fanfiction so its probably bad. It's also late at night so that probably doesn't help. lmao Oh well #pythor #morro

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earthspirit10 · 4 years

Text

Ninjago Angst Week: Day 5 - Separated

@ninjago-angst-week Also late

It’s Jay’s turn now. Skybound was one of my favorite seasons, but also one of the darkest ones as well. (Other than Seasons 8 and 9, of course.)

Trigger Warnings: Blood, implied torture, imprisonment

---

When Kai disappeared, Jay knew that all hope was lost.

They were trying to reach Misfortune’s Keep, which Captain Soto had said held the lantern map to the Tiger Widow’s Island. His head was still spinning from his last encounter with Nadakhan, the information that his wishes (or, more accurately, his first wish) gave him, and stupid, stupid Jay let himself get carried away, causing him to trip over a passing barrel, which left him behind as Kai shot ahead of him.

“Kai, no, wait!” Jay yelled, scrambling to catch up to his hotheaded brother, who was climbing up a building in that scary fast way. Panic bubbled up from his chest. No no no, not Kai, not his brother, not when Nadakhan is out loose. “We’re supposed to stay together!”

But it was too late. As Jay finally scurried up the building that Kai was on, he saw the red ninja being carried away by Nadakhan, before they both disappeared in a flurry of orange dust.

“No!” he screamed, his voice already hoarse from shouting. “Kai!”

How could you let this happen? His mind screamed at him. How could you let Kai separate from you? How could you let your brother be alone with Nadakhan?

Jay stood there for a while, hoping that Kai—brave, reckless Kai, his hotheaded, insane brother—would reappear, having refused to give into the temptation of wishing. Wishing for something more. Wishing to make everything better. Like Jay had. But, Kai was much stronger than him, much more rebellious, much more resistant to these kinds of things, so Jay shouldn’t need to worry, he shouldn’t need to think that everything had gone so downhill in so little time.

. . . right?

But as his other teammates called for him to come down, reporting that Cole had the lantern, Jay had a sinking feeling that the fire ninja hadn’t escaped after all. And that, in itself, was almost enough for him to just give up and let everything fall all around him.

Almost.

(Because if there was one thing he had learned from Sensei Wu, the lesson strengthened by Kai and his courage, it was that ninja never quit.)

When the others asked where Kai was, Jay couldn’t answer. Like the coward he was, he didn’t tell them that he had let Kai go and get himself lost. Gone.

Their most driven and passionate fighter, taken by a djinn.

⸺

When Zane was lost as well, Jay knew that the chances of defeating Nadakhan were close to none.

This time, it happened during a thunderstorm. And just his luck, Jay was the team’s lightning rod. Not that he was complaining—the electricity striking him, traveling through his body, it felt riveting. Energizing. Powerful. As if the lightning itself was giving him strength, as if it was a part of him. Which, in a way, it was.

As soon as Lloyd told Zane to go below deck, panic once again bursted from him, and Jay blurted almost hysterically, “No! Zane— he shouldn’t be alone! We all need to stay together!”

But nobody had listened. And Jay was left stuck on the top of the mast, watching fearfully as Zane followed Lloyd’s orders. He swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut, not even paying attention to the exhilarating energy as a lightning bolt struck him again.

Again, Jay tried to reassure himself. Zane was smart—he wouldn’t make a single wish, not to mention three, so he shouldn’t worry about him disappearing as well. The nindroid would know that more wishes would only mean more pain and suffering, that more wishes would mean another brother lost, that more wishes wouldn’t benefit anyone.

But when the ship crashed into an island, and everyone had noticed Zane missing, Jay knew that Zane had given in. The others knew, too, and immediately, predictably, everyone had blamed him. It’s all Jay’s fault. They’d blamed him for not telling them about Nadakhan before, about his first two wishes, and Jay didn’t blame them.

He blamed himself, too, for being so weak, so breakable. If it had been anyone else, they wouldn’t make the same mistakes he did. If it had been anyone else, Kai and Zane would still be here with the team. Whole. United.

But it hadn’t been anyone else. It had to be Jay, the most expendable and weakest person on the team, the liability, the heartbroken. And now Zane was also lost. Gone.

Their most intelligent and compassionate fighter, taken by a djinn.

⸺

When Jay stupidly got himself captured, he knew that he shouldn’t make his last wish.

He tightened his grip on the mop that he was using to scrub the deck of Misfortune’s Keep as Nadakhan kept blathering on about creating Djinnjago and all that stuff, and then the djinn thrusted his sword in front of Jay. His heart clenched as he could clearly hear the frightened screams of his friends, his Sensei, his brothers, all wanting to escape from their prison.

“Wish it,” Nadakhan whispered, almost as if taunting him, urging him to say the word. “Wish it all away and join them.”

And oh, how Jay wanted to wish it all away, wish himself into the sword, so he could be reunited with his brothers and never be alone with Nadakhan ever again, because if there was one thing he hated more than being weak, it was being separated from his family.

But he didn’t, and he clenched his jaw, tearing his eyes away from the jaded blade.

Even if it killed him inside, he wasn’t going to let the team down. Not again. Not anymore.

Instead, he straightened up, glared at Nadakhan, and did what he did best. He threatened him. He taunted him. He teased about his situation, however dark it was. But he didn’t break, didn’t fail, didn’t quit. Because ninja never quit, and ninja never quit on others.

Jay almost regretted doing all those things when he was thrown into Scrap N’ Tap, some kind of messed-up fighting ring for the pirates’ entertainment.

Almost.

Jay couldn’t help the cry of pain that escaped him as he was knocked to the side. He swore he heard a rib break somewhere, and he pressed a hand to his side, biting his lip so hard that it bled. He wasn’t sure how long he could go, he thought hazily as he sluggishly rolled to the side, too slow to dodge the punch. His head snapped to the side as pain blossomed on his left eye.

Somewhere in his fevered brain, Jay heard the pirates laughing as someone else entered the ring. Gritting his teeth, with one eye closed tightly shut, he slowly pushed himself up, almost falling over again as he tried to right himself.

“You can wish it all away,”Nadakhan taunted, circling around him. Jay exhaled slowly out through his nose. “Wish all the pain away, and you’ll never have to suffer again.”

“Yeah, right,” Jay shot back, though his voice was a little muffled. He spat out the blood, messily wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

That earned him a kick right in the gut, which would’ve only made him double over slightly, but he was tired and angry and sick of everything, and as his legs buckled under him, Jay didn’t even try to catch himself, letting his head hit the ground.

Oh, he did wish he was somewhere else right now, that everything didn’t hurt so much, but he just clenched his jaw and took every beating the sadistic pirates gave him.

⸺

Jay curled up in his prison—because that was what it was, a prison. A cage. It smelled of blood and other gross stuff from previous prisoners that he didn’t want to think about, and again, he almost regretted not saying his final wish, to wish it all away and never feel this pain again. Not just the physical pain, but the emotional pain of knowing that the rest of his team was out there, that they could probably be in trouble and Jay wouldn’t even know it, but most of all, he was afraid that they had abandoned him. That they had left him alone, forever separated from his family.

No. Jay shook his head furiously, trying to banish the thought away. They— they would come and rescue him, right? It was the main reason that he’d held out so long, that he’d refused to give in and break. This wasn’t for nothing, right?

But as the days passed, each one dwindling his chances to escape, Jay could feel his hope fading. Why would his family save him? It was his fault that they were in this mess in the first place, his fault that they’d gone through so much trouble and suffering. He was a liability, a weakness in the team, and if they— if they just, just abandoned him, left him alone in this place, it’d be so much easier for them, right? No mistakes, no blaming, no trouble.

Jay choked back a sob, tears leaking out of his eyes. He really was almost regretting making his last wish.

Almost.

Oh, how he hated being separated from his team, trapped and alone. He might as well be lost to them. Gone.

Their most expendable and useless fighter, taken by a djinn.

#ninjago #ninjago-angst-week #ninjago jay #love how dark skybound is #really gives me room for a lot of jay angst #tw blood #tw implied torture #tw imprisonment #phoenix writes

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gwenbrightly · 5 years

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Ninjago Jaya ~ Blanket Forts

Cross-posted from FF.net, because why not? Just a quick little Jaya oneshot taking place right after Skybound.

She can’t breath – can’t… Something is wrong… she feels like she’s dying. Like someone has thrown acid directly onto her. Her chest burns. In the distance, she can hear someone screaming her name. Sobbing. What’s going on? She’s gone numb… Why can’t she – It’s then that Nya wakes, sitting up, breathing so sporadically that she’s on the verge of hyperventilation. Just a dream. Just a dream… But, oh. Why does this have to be so hard? She's safe. Alive. The poison can’t hurt her anymore, and neither can that djinn. She knows that. But it doesn’t stop her from reliving every last sucky detail of what she faced less than a day ago (in fact, it’s not even midnight yet, so…). She almost… No, it’s best not to think about that… Maybe if she just. Doesn’t sleep? She supposes. But that’s not really a great option, cause then, she’ll be stuck up all night with nothing but her own thoughts to distract her. And she’s not sure she can handle being alone right now. She needs Jay. It’s funny, she thinks slipping from her bed, how she’s gone from actively avoiding the master of lightning, to being desperate to have him near her as much as possible. Love is weird like that. The hallway is dark, quiet. A stark contrast to the locations she’s spent the past few weeks. First, on the run, then stuck in jail, or on an island, then on the run again… Being home is nice. Sort of. Except for the lingering trauma from the past few days. Yeah, the sooner they can recover from that, the better. And for now, the others don’t need to know about how close everything came to being… The master of water quietly slides the door to Jay’s quarters. But… He’s not there. In fact, if his bed still being tidily made means anything, he hasn’t been in the room at all since they finally returned from Styx earlier. So, then… Where is he? Not the kitchen or living room, apparently, Nya discovers upon further searching. Sighing, she makes her way out into the deck – the only other place left to check. And it’s a good thing she does, as it turns out, cause there he is, looking out over the railings, posture tense. A light summer breeze plays with his ridiculously curly hair, making it an even bigger mess that it usually is. Honestly, it’s actually a pretty beautiful night. There are no clouds in sight; she can see millions of stars scattered across the sky.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asks softly when she reaches him. Jay flinched slightly at the sound, before realizing that it’s her.

“Y-yeah… I couldn’t stop thinking about how…” He says so quietly she almost misses it.

“Me neither. I-even after I scrubbed every last inch of my body, it feels like the venom is still there. Like, I keep forgetting how to breath.. And remembering how much it hurt… And…”

“Oh, Nya…” He breathes, wrapping his arms around her. She bites back a sob as she snuggles into his embrace, reveling in the comfort it brings her. They rock back and forth for a few minutes, trying not to completely break down.

“I'm so sorry we had to go through all of… that. I-you died. It was horrible. And it was all my fault!”

“No. Don’t you dare try to take all of the blame for this. I mean, yes, you definitely made some really stupid choices, but if anyone’s gonna take the responsibility for what happened, it should be me. I started all of this a long, long time ago when I - ” Nya angles herself so that she can see his face.

“Nya, you don’t have to-” He begins to cut her off, but doesn’t get very far. She smiles softly, saying,

“Look. I chose you. I want us to work out, for us to be happy, but in order for that to happen, there are some things that need to be said. First of all, I come with baggage. A lot of it.”

“So do I.” He agrees, still not sure where the conversation is going. She bites back a chuckle.

“I’ve noticed. But… The thing is, before… During the whole fiasco with the perfect match machine? It was never about you. It was about me. For the record, I never stopped having feelings for you… I-I just…” Dragging Jay down beside her, she sinks onto the deck, leaning her back against the railing. It’s going to take awhile to really explain. To lay herself bare like she knows she needs to. Because Jay deserves the truth. They may as well get comfortable.

“I’m not the best at… Being open about my feelings. I’ve always hated feeling vulnerable, and back then? I didn’t really get why… Not until a lot later. When I was forced to become the water ninja, in fact. I was so awful at it, and it made me so uncomfortable – but it also helped me identify some of my self image issues.” She takes a deep breath, reaching for his hand as she continues, “So much of my life, I’ve felt like I had to prove something to someone. In Ignacia, Kai and I both had to prove that we could take care of ourselves. There wasn’t another option, unless we wanted to be saddled with some sketchy babysitter or sent to an orphanage. Then came Kai becoming a ninja, and, suddenly, I got it into my head that you guys wouldn’t take me seriously if you realized that I was samurai x.” She ignores the disgruntled look on the master of lightning’s face – she already knows now that it was a stupid sentiment, “So I didn’t tell you. Even though it probably just made things more dangerous. When Sensei started training me, I felt like I had to prove something there, too. That I was worthy of my mother’s element – even if I hated it and just wanted to go back to being a samurai, something that I was already good at. I got so frustrated that I tried to quite. And that’s when it first started to click. Because maybe some part of me thought that by doing all this impressive stuff, I could prove that it was a mistake for my parents to-to…”

“To leave you behind?” However Jay managed to guess her thoughts, she’s a little grateful she doesn’t have to say it herself.

“Yeah… So, anyway, back when we were still together, you were always so open and sweet about your feelings for me. And somewhere in the back of my head was that part of me that felt like I could never measure up to the person you thought I was and-”

“I'm so sorry! I didn’t realize… I-I only wanted to show you how much I cared. Because I thought that if you realized how special and loved you were… You wouldn't…" Leave me? The words aren’t spoken aloud, but the implication is there.

“I know. I just… I was feeling so overwhelmed, because I did want to be able to tell you how I felt about you – about the whole situation, but I kept talking myself out of it and thinking that if I just added a few boundaries until I reached the point where things felt safe again that… But then that stupid machine came into the picture, and I dunno? It scared me, because what if I was wrong? What if you didn’t really love me and left…”

“I would never.” He assures her, squeezing the hand clasping own. She brings her spare hand up to touch his cheek.

“You wouldn’t. And I was awful to let myself think that. Everything got so out of hand, and I had so many opportunities to fix things, but I didn’t. Even after the fighting calmed down. I didn’t wanna risk hurting you by ruining another relationship attempt. So, I stayed quiet. I came so close to confessing everything on Chen’s Island – but I didn’t have a chance to before we had to run off and save the world.”

“Will it ever not be that way?” Jay ponders. She shrugs.

“The world saving was very distracting. For a long time. Once I finally felt like I was starting to come to terms with what had been going on mentally, having the media get involved dealt me another blow. It was like the world no longer valued me as anything more than a token – an object to be won… But I didn’t want to completely give up on at least being friends with you, so I started trying to talk. But in the end, I just ended up pushing you away even more because I was so concerned about fighting my public image and not letting anyone else decide what I could be or do with my life. And to be honest? It freaked me out how sure you were that we were meant to be. I needed to regain control, and you ended up paying the price. And I can never tell you how sorry I am for being such a jerk! I died! You almost got killed several times because I refused to stop being stubborn and let someone else take the wheel, even for a moment! I-I…” A soft kiss prevents her from saying anything more. How is it that such a simple gesture has always had the power to relieve her pain?

“I forgave you a long time ago… And I never stopped caring about you, either. Even when I was fighting with Cole-which was a pretty dumb move in hindsight. We were both being idiots. And I’m sorry too...”

“I-Okay. Yeah, we kinda were… We’re a hot mess, aren’t we?” Nya exclaims, snuggling against her boyfriend. He smirks slightly.

“Well, we’re definitely hot!” She shoots him a look, which he pretends not to see, instead kissing her forehead.

“And we are a bit of a mess. But we’ve both grown so much. I really think we’ll make it this time…”

“Mm… I love you, Jay Walker.”

“And I love you, Nya Smith. Just don't ever die on me again. I don’t think I could handle that…” They both shudder, moving even closer together, as if afraid that they’ll be torn apart.

“I’m not handling it now…” Nya admits, “I’m sure sleep would help, but… That’s not happening any time soon…”

“Same here. So, what do we do, then?” Jay wonders. She doesn’t answer right away, but then, inspiration strikes her.

“When I was little, Kai used to build these super elaborate blanket forts whenever one of us was upset. Like ones that spanned entire rooms, and had lots of junk food hidden inside. And then, we’d stay up and watch as many movies as it took to calm back down. Do you think, maybe…?”

“Sure. If it’ll help. I’ll grab the cushions and blankets, you get the movies and snacks.” The master of lightning quickly agrees. It doesn’t take long for them to construct their fortress against one side of the deck, using every last spare sheet and pillow they own (and maybe snagging a few from Kai’s stash-that’s what siblings are for) . One and a half movies later, they finally give in to their exhaustion, falling asleep with their hands intertwined. Their joint presence keeps the nightmares at bay until Nya’s brother finds them the next morning. Though concerned about what exactly they’ve been doing all night, he’s honestly just relieved that they’ve finally figured things out. One less source of headaches for him, as long as they don’t go making a habit of public displays of affection like yesterday’s kiss… Which they probably will, but he can yell at them later. They do look awfully cute like that…

#myfics #ninjago #jaya #ninjago fanfiction #skybound

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eyeofthewolfe · 6 years

Text

Ninjago Season 9: Throne Room

Sometimes following your heart means losing your mind.

The doors swung open with a bang, and suddenly she was there.

The metal bars rattled as if the impact of the large doors colliding with the scorched walls had caused the whole room to quake. The prisoner jolted back into consciousness as if he had always been awake, not even acknowledging the dried blood on his suit and face. There was no friendly glitter in his dark eyes- the eyes that once held so much light- as he fixed them on the princess of Ninjago as she moved down the carpet towards the large throne that was once her father’s...before she had him killed of course.

Her white-blonde hair was like a halo around her head as it fluttered around her face and shoulders. The short carefully cut bangs danced above her menacing eyes. Unlike her guest, those dark pools glittered dangerously as she kept her gaze locked on the throne. The makeup on her forehead down to her cheeks can be only described as red warpaint even though it looked more like dried blood that instead of turning brown kept the horrible crimson shade. And her mouth that once was carefully painted rose red was left colorless, maybe even chapped, was curling upwards just a little to remind the two guards and her caged foe that she was the one in power and was very happy that she was.

The ninja watched as she slowly took her seat, her thin legs crossing elegantly even though they bore no robes. Instead, her dark warrior suit contrasted the bright red and gold altar like a spill of ink on the brightly colored royal silks the princess once was forced to wear. Now she sat proudly on the seat, her smile twisting into one of a true villain before speaking two words into the silent space.

“Leave us.”

The two guards, both Sons of Garmadon worshippers, hesitated before leaving their post. They briefly walked down the long stained carpet before shutting the doors. The prisoner’s heart pounded in beat with the bang.

The ninja master’s eyes tore themselves back to the throne. Like a magnet, his eyes seemed to lock right into hers, for she was already baring her eyes right at him.

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon.”

Lloyd dared not to say a word back but his chest tightened. As much as he had tried to burn the memories from his head, his heart ached for the time she had said his name with love. Now she spoke his name carefully and slowly, making sure every consonant was pronounced and vowel was emphasized just to hurt the ninja master more. How badly he wanted to shout back, how badly he wanted to correct her: saying that he was no longer a Garmadon when the monster that wore his father’s face reigned as emperor. He bit down on his tongue, and tried to look away.

“I have no idea where they died,” the Quiet One continued. “The building was so large, it could’ve been anywhere.” Her eyes sent daggers into Lloyd’s chest. “They never did find the bodies.”

Lloyd wished the Quiet One would live more up to her name.

“I’m referring to my parents of course,” she continued. “My real ones. The old emperor and empress are nothing to me.” She began to twirl her hair in her long fingers. “I did like the palace, really I did. So many rooms, so many secret passageways, enough space and time to plot my revenge.”

With a quick sweep of her leg, Harumi stood from her throne. Lloyd kept her gaze on her not because he wanted to but because his body didn't have the strength it needed to look away. She slid a smile on her face as she started to stalk down the steps of the altar like a panther approaching its prey.

“That’s what makes me different, you see, it’s what makes me your greatest villain. I had the time. I had the resources. I had the trickery. You didn’t know I existed until I got away.” Her words burned into Lloyd’s skin. He didn’t want to admit that she was right.

“The Serpentine, sure they had reasons for revenge, and Morro had them too yet even they became soft. The Nindroids were built to destroy you all but yet failed in the end. The Overlord had thousands of years to prepare and yet fell because he prepared without knowing Lloyd.” As she spoke his name with such venom she grasped the bars of the cage, her face only a few inches from his. “They didn’t know you. I knew you, I know you. I could predict your every move, every step you would take. It was as easy as playing a board game against myself. I broke you, I shattered your heart and crushed your soul- I did that! Admit it Lloyd- I am your arch nemesis - I am your worst nightmare- I am your greatest villain!”

Lloyd stayed silent, his dark lightless eyes staring back as if he had woken from a trance.

“ADMIT IT!!” Harumi screamed as she tried to shake the bars. Lloyd still sat silent.

Harumi’s lip curled up. “Say SOMETHING!”

The throne room faded into silence. Harumi had her breath held, waiting to spit back in Lloyd’s face when he finally admitted it- but he never did. Instead, the ninja sat up just enough so his head was at the same height as hers so he could look her dead in the eye.

“I don’t believe it.”

Harumi choked. Lloyd could see her mind racing inside her head as she searched for a response, but Lloyd kept speaking.

“You said that the greatest villain was the one who got away. So what am I?”

Her mind raced on. Her lips were slightly parted so that the edges of her teeth were barely seen before the blackness of her mouth. Her hand loosened some as it dawned on her what he was referring to.

“I got away. I escaped. I lived. Was that part of the plan?” Lloyd’s words were harsh, spoken carefully but yet with so much power.

Harumi recoiled her hand. Even though he couldn’t reveal it, a surge of joy shot through Lloyd. His suspicions- though terrifying- were correct.

“It shouldn’t be much to assume that Emperor Garmadon wants you to bring me to him. And it’s not much to assume in your part that he is going to kill me where I stand if you do.”

The glitter in her eyes went cold. Her lips tightened and the flush in her cheeks drained. The ninja knew the truth now, and he began to feel sick to his stomach.

“Why am I here?” Lloyd asked her. “Why am I hiding in a cage here while Emperor Garmadon waits? He probably doesn’t even know you are here-doesn’t he?”

He saw her flinch. Lloyd had just called her out for treason, but his accusations were not faulty.

“Tell me why, Harumi!” Now Lloyd crept closer to the bars. He grasped the cool metal as he bore into her eyes and repeated, “Tell me why-“

“Because I need you!”

Lloyd’s throat turned to lead. Two and a half weeks ago his heart would’ve fluttered uncontrollably and he would have not controlled the massive smile that would overcome his face. Now, he felt as if Zane had risen from the dead just to freeze all the fluids in Lloyd’s body.

Harumi looked crushed. Her eyes were still glittering but now it was glittering with tears. None had escaped her eyes yet as she cast them down to her hands, laying dejectedly on her knees. With a clang, Lloyd fell back down so that he slammed into the bars on the other side of the cage. When the princess spoke again, it was barely a whisper as if she was afraid of the words leaving her mouth.

“I didn’t want to believe it either,” she breathed, not even trying to make eye contact. “My plan was so thought out- it was infallible. I knew what I had to do and I was prepared for every choice-every move-every sacrifice. My ultimate goal had to be achieved and the ninja- especially you- had to pay.”

She shuddered a heavy breath that sounded more like a sob. The lead in Lloyd’s throat started to burn, a sensation he immediately feared.

She continued. “When I saw first saw you I had so much bottled hatred towards you that had manifested over many years. I wanted to hurt you so badly, but I had to act as an ally until we had escaped the Oni Temple. I had you all fooled. I had you fooled. And I.... I fooled myself.

“Too late I realized I was more of an ally to you. I was even more than a friend. You had feelings for me. My first thought should have been celebratory. I had fooled the Green Ninja into falling for me. It would have been something I would laugh over when I ruled with Emperor Garmadon. But... I was terrified. At first I didn’t know why I was so scared of my fear. Then it hit me.”

She stumbled on her words, making them inaudible. Simultaneously a tear shot down her cheek. The burning in Lloyd’s throat was throbbing now, and it had spread to his eyes.

She wiped her cheek. “I didn’t realize it then, but my ultimate goal had shifted. Raising Garmadon was still the end game in my mind but now there was something else. Something my... heart needed.

“It shouldn’t have been true. How could I have made such a mistake? You were Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja that has barely saved Ninjago time after time and leaving pain and death in your wake.” Lloyd flinched at the harsh words, but now he knew it was true. That made the words hurt like knives in his stomach. “But when I faked my friendship with you, I recognized things about you the textbooks didn’t. Like your relationship with your father. Your unfaltering faith in your friends. Your curiosity about me. How much you truly cared. The way you smile when you are cocky-“

Her cheeks reddened a tad from embarrassment. Lloyd tried to swallow but it felt like he was drinking molten lava.

“It was stupid of me. You are the bad guy. I am the good guy. I shouldn’t....I can’t feel that way. But I...”

Her voiced was drained out by the silence. Suddenly Lloyd realized she was staring at him. He blinked hard and dropped his gaze. “If-“ Lloyd tried speaking but his voice screeched like metal being scraped. “If you did feel...that way...then...why? Why let them...die?!”

“You wouldn’t understand....” Harumi whispered back. “You had to be broken like I have to truly love me.”

Every burning question he had about Harumi was answered in that one response. It all made sense. Ever since he met the young princess just a few weeks ago he’d been slowly stripping away layer after layer, mask after mask. He thought the Quiet One was her true face but even that assumption was wrong. That was the first mask she had to wear to hide-

The scared little girl that had just lost her parents.

Lloyd sucked in a shaky breath. For almost two weeks now he had despised her, not only for resurrecting a monster of a father but for crushing his heart. But now, underneath all that hate was a tiny bit of guilt. This girl didn’t deserve the revengeful life she had put upon herself. She didn’t deserve the blood on her hands or the fear that comes with her name. She deserved to be happy, to be loved.

Lloyd wanted someone to love her. He wanted-

The words were out of his mouth before he realized he was thinking them. He felt his body stiffen just as Harumi did the same. She stifled a gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. For a second they stared wide eyed at each other. Then in a blink of an eye the keys to the cage were ripped from somewhere on Harumi’s body and the cage door was torn open with the force that could rip someone’s arm clean out of their socket.

Lloyd’s first thought was that this was finally the cage he would die in, but was immediately mistaken. Harumi threw herself on the ninja, not even caring about his injuries, and locked her mouth on his.

Every single muscle in Lloyd’s body went on high alert, ready to strike her down and escape. His ninja-mind instinctively plotted over a dozen ways he could trap her in the cage but yet he didn’t move an inch.

His heart was too strong.

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

The two guards jumped when the doors to the Throne Room shot open with a bang. They clutched their weapons at the ready, but relaxed when they saw a flurry of long white hair flutter past them. The Quiet One dashed down the hallway and vanished around the corner.

Exchanging a weird glance, they peered back into the large room where the trapped Green Ninja remained in his cage with his hands planted on the metal flooring and his dark eyes wide in panic. They could hear his gasping breath even from the doorway.

One of the guards prodded the other with his hand. “The Quiet One really got him, didn’t she?” he mumbled with a smirk. “The ninja looks terrified.”

“What do you think she did to him?” the other guard hissed with a smirk of his own, hiding his own terrified mind.

“By the look of his face, I bet she lied and said they finally found the four ninja’s bodies. And then tossed them in the ocean for the sharks to finish off.”

They nodded together with devious smiles. Glancing one last time down the hallway to where The Quiet One had vanished, they walked back in the Throne Room and regained their posts.

They never noticed how red Harumi’s face had been when she fled the room.

They had been right about Lloyd being terrified, but it wasn’t about a lie. It wasn’t even about Harumi.

He was more terrified of himself than he had ever been in his life.

#llorumi #ninjago #ninjago hunted #ninjago season 9 #ns9

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iapplewriting-blog · 7 years

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The Emoji Movie: A Cautionary Review

As soon as I saw the trailer, I knew something was up.

It wasn’t the concept, really - after all, The LEGO Movie (as well as both of its spinoffs, The LEGO Batman Movie and the upcoming The LEGO Ninjago Movie) was based off of something else you wouldn’t think would translate well to the screen: a children’s toy. Same goes for pretty much all Pixar movies. Cars is about, well, sentient cars; Inside Out personifies actual human emotions. At first glance, these concepts probably didn’t seem like they could become blockbuster movies. And yet they did. All of these made me believe that just about anything could be turned into a movie - a rock, a burger, even your kitchen sink - if only you tried hard enough. Apparently the folks at Sony Animation also got this memo, but they missed the part about “trying hard”.

The trailer felt... off, somehow. The animation looked like every other generic kid’s movie out there, which might not have been so bad if the rest of it hadn’t also been awful. You get the plot laid right out in front of you: Gene, who is supposed to be a “meh” emoji, is somehow capable of expressing more than one emotion (more on that later) and decides to try to find a hacker who can help him get rid of this abnormality. This is a mistake; in most good trailers I’ve seen, there’s still a bit of mystery there to draw you in. Go watch the trailer for this one, though, and you’ve basically watched the entire movie. The trailer, as is the norm for this kind of movie, flashes messages about being yourself, making it obvious that Gene will inevitably abandon the desire to fit in in favor of just being his own person. Or emoji. (Geez, now I sound like the movie.)

Shortly after the movie came out, the internet flooded with bad reviews. Currently, The Emoji Movie is pulling an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, just a hair above the 0% it used to have. How the rating went up, I can’t tell; all of the reviews seem to be negative. Even the positive ones are more sarcastic and don’t show any signs of being honest. Seriously, take a look. Keep in mind that that’s only the reviews from one site. Google “emoji movie reviews” and see what else comes up, if you dare. If you don’t want to, some spoilers: they’re pretty much all negative.

I read many of these reviews, and through it all, I was assaulted with a single message: this movie is really really bad, never see it. Unfortunately, when it comes to kid’s movies, I am hopelessly optimistic; something inside me said timidly, hey, maybe it won’t be that awful. And even if it was, sometimes bad movies were fun to watch, right? I made up my mind: someday, I was going to see the movie and see for myself.

The opportunity came on a trip to visit my brother this summer. It was $5 Tuesday at the nearest movie theater, plus they had recliner seats and didn’t charge you extra for butter on your popcorn. My brother and I had an open afternoon and decided to go see it.

The ride over was okay, if awkwardly quiet. Alex was tired from work; I hadn’t been able to unlock the parcel locker at the post office to pick up a box and still felt embarrassed about it. About halfway there my determination haze wore off and started to feel like I’d finally lost it. We got inside, bought our tickets and a large bag of popcorn, and settled into our recliner seats, choosing the back row to try and minimize the impact of the movie. (It didn’t work.)

You know how Chinese food works? How when, an hour after you’ve eaten, it’s like you never actually ate? That’s kind of how The Emoji Movie felt, aside from the fact that it’s not as awesome as even the worst Chinese food (like the time Mom had an actual cream cheese wrapper in her wonton.) After we left the theater, I didn’t remember much about the movie except for loads of emojis, too much app placement (how much did Dropbox pay for all that name-dropping?) and conflicting messages of “words aren’t cool” and “puns will save this movie”.

Another thing I remember, though, is that the movie is weirdly dark, and not in a good way. In the trailer for The LEGO Ninjago Movie, the lead character literally loses his arm, but because he’s a LEGO, you know he’ll be fine. In this movie’s universe, apparently being able to show different emotions than the one you’re assigned is grounds for deletion, otherwise known as straight-up execution to us humans. Yeah.

A few more things I remember, not in any particular order:

- Me wanting to bash my head against the wall I was sitting by while Alex muttered something about gouging out his spleen with a rusty spork.

- Nobody laughing at all, not even the youngest children there, which is probably because none of them understood any of the jokes and were too traumatized by the character designs to be amused.

- Needing to leave three times for water to wash the foul taste of the movie from my tongue.

- Wondering how many brain cells I’d lost.

- Wondering if I could get a refund.

- Staring in disgust at my own phone.

- Feeling the need to make sure my muscles hadn’t disintegrated in what felt like the three million years I spent watching the movie.

- Silently cheering at the part where Gene is repeatedly shot into the sky by fire and returns to the (digital) Earth charred and smoking, because really, that’s what I wanted to happen to this movie at that point.

- Awkward, badly timed attempts at character development. (Notice the “attempts”.)

- Leaving before the credits ended, which is usually a no-no for my family; we believe in watching the credits, because people worked on that movie and deserved respect. I felt no respect for the creators of this atrocity and walked out at the first opportunity.

- Poop jokes, and really gross ones at that.

-The two of us finishing the large popcorn even though we can’t usually do that. I guess we just stress-ate through the whole ordeal (and there is no other word for it; it was an ordeal of the worst kind)

- Feeling gross as I left, not only from the butter on my fingers but the images still flashing before my eyes.

- Puns. (One of my favorite screenwriters called it “a pun-nado of sh*t”.)

- Wanting to eat my own eardrums just so I didn’t have to hear any more of the movie.

- Alex calling it a “vicious, pretentiously sarcastic assault on all of my senses”.

TL;DR: Can’t recommend. Rating: -163892798764879279846/10 .(insert about fifty thousand thumbs-down emojis)

#movie review #the emoji movie

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