#Lloyd ‘i had to basically kill my dad for the good of the world’ Garmadon

[cheddertm]

New season of Ninjago but Lloyd doesn’t help with the current crisis at hand bc he’s busy getting THERAPY and doing SELF CARE!!! Yeah someone is trying to destroy Ninjago, but they’re always doing that

LET THE MAN TAKE A BREAK 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[vortexbeyondthestars]

decided to post some of my ideas for a ninjago/atla au besties. tell me whatcha think

under read more cus its kinda long lmao

some background first…

here, the first spinjitzu master is smth that doesn’t actually exist in avatar bc i couldn’t for the life of me figure out what to make him so now he’s like… he’s basically the child of all the original benders: the badgermoles, the sky bison, the dragons, and the moon spirit combined. he was born of their powers, and he was the first avatar, kinda like this au’s version of raava i guess?? so this au’s version of vaatu is the overlord, and like in ninjago, they have this never-ending rivalry. and the overlord is an avatar, too, but more of a dark one. it only cares about corruption and evil.

the first bending master, as he’s called in this au, manages to banish the overlord into the spirit realm, but he knew that one day, it would return. so he creates a land called ninjago and fills it with people of all kinds, each corner of the world having one type of bending. he gave the humans bending, but only one type for each person.

he didn’t want a repeat of the overlord.

so then he has two sons: wu and garmadon. he hemmed and hawed over what elements to give to them, but eventually he chose. wu gets airbending, the element of life and serene and calm. garmadon gets firebending, rough and harsh and the element of destruction. his fire is violet and incredibly hot.

everything goes fine, and the first bending master manages to keep balance of the world as its avatar. except the overlord does indeed return.

garmadon gets corrupted by its spirit and is bitten by the great devourer. he becomes obsessed with power and wanted to be the avatar more than anything in life. he believes that his father was holding his powers back because he didn’t trust him. and he believes that his father was going to hand over his power to wu after he died. and he couldn’t have that.

wu notices his downward spiral and suggests that he take a trip to visit the mortals. maybe that would help him realize that there is reason for their father being the only avatar in the world.

so garmadon goes down into the mortal plane. and meets fire lord chen and his second in command clouse.

fire lord chen is quite interested in an old legend of what is called the serpentine: ancient tribes of snake people said to have been born from the hatred and despair of the overlord, led by the toughest and the greatest, the great devourer. chen wants to bring these serpentine back, and at first garmadon agrees to help him, if only to get revenge on his father.

but he snaps out of it, because he realizes that its the great devourer’s fault in the first place that he’s like this. he betrays chen and clouse and warns wu of their plan, but without telling him whose plan it is. together, the brothers manage to gather together an alliance of the greatest bending masters in the world. garmadon wants their father to help, but wu gives some unfortunate news.

the first bending master is near his deathbed. he is very, very ill, and he is thousands of years old at this point. he wants rest.

so, naturally, garmadon is conflicted about this. he’s ecstatic bc he thinks that he can gain the powers of the avatar once his father passes, but also he’s sad, because, well, thats still his dad after all.

but anyway, the bending alliance manages to defeat the serpentine and seal them away in the spirit realm, like the first bending master had done to the overlord. this… turns out to be a bad idea.

fire lord chen and clouse both manage to shift the blame away from them, and since garmy was the only one who knew they caused the plan, he lets it happen. because he still is a bit evil.

something happens that gives him hope, though: he meets misako, who might be the love of his life. (also in this au that weird love triangle shit don’t happen) they get married, and for a while, garmadon seems perfectly sane. but.

the first bending master dies.

lloyd is born almost right after.

no one makes the connection, though, thankfully, but it is enough for garmadon to lose whatever sanity he had left. he completely goes insane.

he races back to their family monastery believing that he can and will gain the powers of the avatar, somehow, but he doesn’t. and that is too much for him to take. all of this… all of this… waiting… for nothing?

garmadon stares at himself in the mirror. he looks down at his hand, at the bite mark blemishing his skin, and grabs a ceremonial knife. he laughs to himself and places his hand on the mirror, slowly raising his knife towards it… he thinks he can stop all this pain in one easy swoop.

garmadon, sneering at himself: maybe… maybe this will fix it… if i just cut off the damn thing…

first bending master, in the mirror: i would not recommend it, son.

garmadon, face falling: why are you here?

first bending master: i came to speak with you. and to try and help you.

garmadon, snarling: don’t pretend like you care about me! i know what you really think. you think i’m a monster.

first bending master: i think you’re conflicted. the part of you that wants to be the avatar so badly you are willing to kill for it… that part of you clashes with the real you. the one that wants everyone you care about to be safe. your brother, your friends, your wife… your son.

garmadon: *laughs and turns around* why should i care about them, father? they don’t care about me! not my brother, not my wife, not my so-called friends, and certainly not you! the only one who does care about me is my son, and thats only because he doesn’t know any better. he’ll leave one day too.

first bending master, solemnly: you are wrong. i do care about you. i always did. i love you, garmadon. i do.

garmadon shakes, his hand gripping the knife tighter. his mouths trembles, and eventually turns into a scowl. he whirls around to face the mirror and slams his knife into it, shattering it into pieces.

he gets worse from there on. he begins to attack people left and right, villages and cities, even going so far as to consider breaking the serpentine free. he doesn’t get that far, though, because his brother interrupts him.

wu is very concerned, bc, well, garmy was a bit weird but never straight up insane like he is now. so he heads over to his family’s old monastery. there, he finds garmadon, seething and stewing. garmadon doesn’t take his arrival well.

garmadon: ugh! for once, can’t you just leave me alone?!

wu: no, i cannot. this isn’t you, brother! you must snap out of it!

garmadon: this is me! this has been me for my entire life, wu! i can’t change it now, and i can’t even be the avatar. what’s the point?

wu: the point is that father trusted us to take care of ninjago once he passed on. we have a duty.

garmadon: father was a fool, and father was selfish! i am remaking the world in my own image, an image that won’t let anyone have the kind of power that he did, except for those who are worthy!

wu: that’s crazy! you can’t just pick and choose who gets to be the most powerful bender in the world!

garmadon: isn’t that what father did, though, when he died? who is the new avatar, wu?! tell me!!

wu: i don’t know. and neither will you, if you keep this up.

garmadon: *laughs* are you threatening me?

wu: i am.

garmadon: fine. you want to take control of ninjago over me? fine. fine. fine. i challenge you to an agni kai! the battle that was always meant to be.

wu: very well.

garmadon: for the record… i’m sorry it had to end this way, brother.

wu, sadly: no. you aren’t.

cue final agni kai type fight, light vs darkness. fire vs air. obviously, wu wins, and manages to chain garmadon up so he can’t attack anymore. garmadon then has a complete psychotic breakdown like azula, complete with the spitting fire and sobbing hysterically while wu watches sadly.

wu banishes garmadon to the spirit realm, because he doesn’t think there’s anything else he can do.

ninjago is saved.

or so he thinks.

see, chen and clouse are still around. as are the serpentine, biding their time in the spirit realm. they meet garmy and decide that they should work together. garmadon, so torn up by hatred and despair, agrees to help them, if he gets to destroy his brother.

meanwhile, everything is going good.

lloyd is the avatar, obviously, but he’s only like. thirteen when he finds out. he’s an airbender avatar and lived with koko (bc its my au and i get to pick the mom i use) in one of the air temples (idk which one tho). he’s raised believing that he’s just a random kid who happens to serve the avatar, kinda like kyoshi.

that avatar he believes he serves is none other than morro, the adopted son of airbender sage wu. morro is four years older than lloyd, and he was just revealed to be the airbending avatar. morro, of course, is thrilled. but he also gets an incredibly big ego over it, believing that he is better than other people bc he is the avatar. the reason he was thought to be the avatar was because he appeared to waterbend at one point, but it is later revealed to have been simple airbending that pushed the water.

but morro doesn’t realize or know this until its too late. and when he does… its a shitshow.

basically, lloyd and morro are sent to meet with fire lord chen and his daughter skylor, along with wu, koko, and some of the other air sages. skylor is a chi blocker, an incredibly talented one who has mastered all of the different bending fighting styles even tho she herself is a nonbender.

ok so clouse is obviously there. he recognizes lloyd via koko and is fucking pissed. he’s like my ex-boyfriend rival’s son is here?? what the hell?? so he keeps a close on eye on lloyd bc he doesn’t like him. morro, meanwhile, is treated like a king at the palace bc chen wants to get into the avatar’s good graces.

and uh. well, as it turns out, morro isn’t the avatar…

they’re attacked by the serpentine, bitter at the bending masters for having locked them underground. morro is excellent at fighting, but lloyd has more adrenaline.

and lloyd firebends.

cue shock and horror and anger from all sides.

wu is the most horrified of all. the son of his brother… the man he banished… is the avatar?

so yeah thats the background AT LEAST. i dont really know what happens after that but lloyd runs away or something. i will write more i promise!!!

[lloyd-needs-therapy]

Random thought but when I was rewatching season 6, I just realized that it actually shows that Lloyd knows how to pick locks. When they were arrested he breaks them out of the hole by picking his lock with a fork. So have this oneshot...

Picking Locks

They think they can make fun of him, he is Lloyd Garmadon for heaven's sake. He is so fed up with them not calling him evil. So if everyone says he not evil well hes gonna show them how wrong they are.

He needs a plan something big. Pranks won't work thats to basic. He could try get good grades, if he got good grades then it shows how good he is at being bad. Yeh thats the plan, soon everyone is going to regret being mean to him.

***

"Okay class today, you're going to be picking locks, as you can see you each have a standard lock on your desk. The instructions are on the board, you have ten minuits. If you fail to unlock it in the time given you will be punished. You may start."

Okay Lloyd c'mon you can do this. It's simple all the instructions are on the board. He can't fail at this, because if he fails, he'll be punished and those punishments hurt. Okay if he jigles it this way he should feel a light click. Ughh why can't he feel a click. All he needs to do is push the pins on the inside of lock up and put a little bit of pressure on it with the paper clip and it will unlock, simple. Although it's not simple, its hard.

"One minuit left" the teacher anounced. Only a handful of people had theirs done.

Wait he nearly has it just click there...

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5,"

Click, he's done! With 5 seconds to spare. He can't believe it! He thought for sure he was going to fail.

"1, Locks down everyone if I see a single hand on thier lock i swear... Anyways the people who didn't finish will meet me here after school for their punishment and trust me I know who didn't get there's finished. Okay now leave you little brats before I make you."

Everyone packed up there things and started leaving when the teacher came over to Lloyd.

"Cutting it close there Garmadon. This is the first time i've ever seen you succed at anything you worthless brat. Keep this work up and you might make it."

"Yes Mrs"

And with that Lloyd took off to his next class.

***

"All you need to do is kill it!" His teacher next to him told him with frustration over Lloyd's hesitance, in his voice.

In Lloyd's hand was a little mouse, it was a very small one, with white fur and big adorable eyes that seem to be staring into his soul, begging him to let it live. It was like it was mocking him. He needed to kill it for him to pass this class. Lloyd so desparetly wanted to kill it so he could prove to everyone that he was evil like his father. So far he was acctually doing good at his classes, but when it came to hurting anyone or in this case anything, he just couldn't.

A small part of him, that he has tried to burry for so long, kept coming up and it would remind him that everything about this place is wrong. It almost buzzed like it was alive, but that was just his imagination.

He just couldn't get rid off it the only time the buzzing stop was when he did something good but he couldn't do good because he was born to be evil.

"Hurry up"

Lloyd was to scared to speak back so he started to squeze his hands shut. The little mouse let out a sqeek when he started to squeze harder, It looked up at him with big eyes and Lloyd finally broke, dropping the mouse.

"I- i" Lloyd felt like his throat was closing up the more he tried to speak.

"Save it, your a disappointment to the Garmadon name, we noticed the way you care for others but we had hope to snuff the light out of you."

"B-but I do g-good in my other c-classes."

"That is true but for all of your other classes to matter you need to be cold hearted or else you won't survive in this world"

"Y-yes sir"

***

Those memories feel like ages ago or like they happened in another life. After he was kicked out he spent a good time on the streets then he met the ninja and his life changed for the better. But now he was in jail because the stupid djinn framed them. He is so sick of being in jail, Wait!He can just grab a fork from the cafeteria and pick the locks, ughhh he so stupid, he could off done this alot sooner.

Well he got the fork but now there in this thing called the hole, oh well they're getting out of here either way.

After they broke out he really forgot that he didn't tell anyone he knew how to pick locks. So obviously that was a convorsation starter with his big sis, while the other were talking to Captin Soto.

"Lloyd you never told me that you could pick locks." Nya exclaimed.

"Well yeah I guess it never really came up" Lloyd shrugged

"When did you learn to pick locks, thats not something any of us taught you"

"Well I did go to a school where they taught you how to be evil, I learned alot of other things too, but I don't think any off them really go with the whole 'saviour of ninjago' thing" laughed Lloyd

"Yeh I suppose so".

Nya remebered reading Lloyd's file from darkly's with the other ninja. It said that he was a good student, but got kicked out because he was to good and kind. In there words 'he did not have the moral ambition to be one of tomorrows master minds' or thats what Lloyd told them anyways.

***

Its been a few days since his father had taken over ninjago and to be honest he wasn't faring well. Not like ninjago was doing any better with buildings collapsing, people getting hunted down, people dying and the list goes on and on. He was currently over looking the city from the roof of there hide out.

Just his luck his family was dead, he was being hunted down by his newly resurrected, deranged father, who had put him in a coma and disowned him all in one night, and Harumi his psychotic ex? Were they even together? he really dosn't know. All he knows is he had been too trusting and too good and what had that gotten him? Destiny had set him up to fail before he was even born. He probably has a good few bets resting on him up in cloud kingdom. There was a sound of the rooftop door opening but Lloyd kept starring off into the sky.

"I knew I would find you up here"Nya said softly.

Lloyd didn't reply, he didn't trust himself not to breakdown right there. Altough there wouldn't be much tears. Lloyd thought bitterly, another thing darkly's forced out of him. After what felt like an eternity of silence he spoke.

"You know when I was little I wanted so bad to follow in my Dad's shoes" Lloyd laughed shallowly.

"Lloyd, this man isn't truely your father, your father is the father that loved you and would never even think about hurting you"

"Did I ever tell you why exactly I got kicked out of darkly's?"

"You said something about 'lacking ambition'" Nya recalled

"Well they told me I wasn't cold enough, that I needed to be cold hearted to survive in this world, after I couldn't kill a mouse. I guess they were right, I opened up my heart and now look what thats done." Lloyd motioned at the city.

"Lloyd you're caring, loyal, trusting, a great leader, an amazing baby brother and so many more. Don't let this stop you, I promise we will rise above all this and when that time comes you can laugh at all the people who told you any different."

[sibillascribbles08]

If you could take creative control of ninjago what would you change

Christ...

WELL

Actually no idk where to start with this there’s so much anon there’S SO M U C H I guess I’ll do a run of MINIMAL changes tho (for as long as I can)

I don’t think I have to change much in the first two seasons, thankfully, since the writers actually sat down to think about what they were writing at the time but g o d did it go to hell afterwards

Season 3 - This Zane focused season is going to be ZANE FOCUSED DAMN IT. We’re focusing on his loss over his Father, having salt rubbed in the wound by having his father’s work turned into an evil army, and being faced with the fact he’s obsolete compared to it all. He keeps trying to stack up numbers to win, recalculate things, and it’s why his line at the ending ACTUALLY has impact. The thing that sets him apart from the nindroids, his ability to love, is what allows him to defeat the Overlord.

Jay, Cole and Nya love triangle is DESTROYED. Pixal, Zane and Cole is the new love triangle and later OT3

Season 4 - The explanation for the other EMs being around is far less stupid. Garmadon establishes that oh yeah all of your parents had elemental powers and even talks about a few of them because holy SHIT. Cole mentions his mom because he should have done that a g e s ago. Is this supposed to be a Kai season doesn’t feel like it. Open the season with better explanations of why the ninja split. Emphasis the fact that Kai blames himself for what happened to Zane, and continues to do so throughout the season. Add that to why he’s so desperate to save Skylor from her dad (not willing to lose someone else). We still lose Garmadon, Kai and Lloyd have a talk at the end of the season. Also ZANE IMMEDIATELY GOES TO GET PIXAL A NEW BODY WTHHH????

Season 5 - Idk this season was pretty good over all I think. A bit better lore established into the cloud kingdom, hints that they don’t actually control fate they just think they do. Explain where the FUCK NIMBUS CAME FROM?? Water can still beat up ghosts but idk feel like there should be some other factors involved, some magic. Kai and Zane figure out they can make water a LOT sooner. Also why doesn’t Kai just set the preeminent’s house armor on fire??? Should have. OH I did forget since this season is supposed to be for NYA GETTING HER WATER ELEMENT how about she actually GO WITH THE NINJA AND DO SOME SHIT SOMETIMES??? I don’t mind her training, specially Ronin helping her but like??? Wtf why not have her ENGAGE, idiots.

Season 6 - I’m the weirdo who actually likes season 6 but that doesn’t mean it’s not without its issues. I don’t mind Jay wondering about where he stands with Nya but his behavior throughout the season has to stay consistent. When he agrees with Nya he needs to let it go he needs to LET IT GO. IT LITERALLY SHOULDN’T BE BROUGHT UP AGAIN UNTIL THE LIGHTHOUSE. He also needs to linger more on his birth father (and besides he should have suspected he’s adopted since season 4 cause he knows neither of his parents had lightning powers). Zane doesn’t ignore Pixal’s warning about Nadakhan but if she’s off somewhere else idk how she gets threatened I’m sure Nadakhan could figure it out. OH and time can still reset and stuff idc but like, Jay and Nya need to talk about it and they need to GO BACK FOR ECHO. EVEN IF THEY DON’T FIND HIM THERE.

Day of the Departed - just wish it was longer tbh, but major changes: Why do the ninja not seem to care that cole is FADING OUT OF EXISTENCE and Lou should be a lot more worried about his son.

Season 7 - I mean, it’s mostly a trash fire, but I think it’d be a lot more enjoyable if they actually had good sibling dynamics going on. Acronix following his brother because he always has, but starts questioning their plans as things go. At first their relationship is much better, which is why they best Kai and Nya, but by the end that flips over. Actually have Kai and Nya having an ISSUE. Kai thinks their parents could have been traitors, Nya seemingly doesn’t care because she’s so wrapped up with her samurai x stuff being stolen. They end up fighting and don’t make up until the boiling sea. ALSO GIVE RAY AND MAYA A BETTER FUCKING EXCUSE FOR BEING GONE THEY COULD HAVE FUCKING SHANKED KRUX WHEN HIS BACK WAS TURNED GET OUT OF HERE HE HAD NO LEVERAGE.

Also Machia isn’t dead okay she’s just in the past she WILL COME BACK

Seasons 8 and 9 I’d say are pretty solid honestly? My minor changes: Garmadon isn’t Garmadon he’s a fucking fake get out of here with that shit THE REAL GARMADON WOULD NEVER. We actually learn where Mr. E came from I don’t even care if it’s just Harumi and UV talking about how they found him in a scrap heap and got him fixed just give me something. Stop treating Dareth like SHIT. Ronin and The Commissioner plan a jail break long before they’re let out in season 9. Teen Wu is a lot less... air headed. Like seriously he seems to have more logic when he’s a child it doesn’t add up. I’m not saying he has to remember everything but wth?? Oh, and Mistaké isn’t dead fuck you.

Season 10 - ............................................ delete it and start over. Literally, hate all of it, get it out of here. Four episodes for villains you built up like FUCK in the last two seasons??? All of them fucking as big as people???????? cowardly, weak, uninspired, I don’t want it I’m just going to have to redo this whole gd season. A) Oni leader is a QUEEN now and she can be up to 30 feet tall no I do not give a FUCK B) Fake ass Garmadon is revealed to be a different oni entirely he was an agent for the queen the whole time but never finished his mission C) She can still paralyze a bunch of people but man Lloyd you’re going to need more than a shiny tornado to fight her off. D) In fact you need to summon your other great grandma so the two of them can get over their divorce spat. E) Where’s the mask of vengeance bring that back into play. F) Mistaké shows back up to help. I suppose plot wise it can?? Mostly run the same but I think they’re going to have to run much farther than the city with how fast she spreads her reach. Also she’s weak for Lloyd because he’s the smol great grandson and he has to use that to his advantage to slow her down. Mistaké makes something that can unparalyze people and they get some of their allies back before the finale thank god. Faith isn’t just in a coma the whole GD time.

Season 11 - Fire half? Good. I need a much better reason why the ninja go to the never realm tho because wow did they just make everyone out of character in that last episode. The ninja have no reason to just ignore Wu and shove him out like that. Wu has no reason to NOT NOTICE LLOYD IS BREAKING INTO HIS ROOM WHEN HE WAS KICKING THE NINJAS ASSES IN THE FIRST EPISODE. Ice half?? ... h Yeah no they should have known Zane was the emperor from the start LMAO. Or at least suspected the possibility. The decades of time passing??? Deleted. Maybe give it a year. Idk why it’s just Lloyd snapping Zane out if why aren’t the other ninja involved like p l e a s e. Also kill Vex with an ice spike, thanks.

Season 12 - Over all I liked what this season had going but there... should have been more. And that ending felt so crunched together like damn... Unagami was a p cool villain at least BUT idk, despite all the focus on the plot so much of it didn’t feel tangible enough. Even if we’re going to focus more on the video game world I want to see more of what these NPCs are up to. Should have tossed in a couple of filler episodes. Also can someone just kill the Mechanic too SMH (and they should have tied Wu up in something sturdier how did he not just break out of that WHATEVER)

Suppose I’ll stop there I haven’t season season 13 yet.

Oh, the timeline itself needs some fucking work too. At least establish Wu and Garmadon’s sudden aging. At least establish how old Zane is (I’d believe he was built 40 years ago but I find it hard to believe he was active for all of it). Establish that yeah the FSM really did basically fuck off like idk 14 years ago and idk why the show acts like it was so long ago it couldn’t have been based on the other facts we know have Wu learn that his dad is a bitch ass motherfucker and he needs to ditch.

Honestly there’s more but like................. this is the simple version

[blursed-ninjago-ideas]

TELLUSTELLUSTELLUS!!!

Oh hello.

So ATLA AU. (Trigger warns will be applied in the tags)

Kai and Nya are both born in the Southern water tribe. Kai is still a firebender though, him and Nya are half siblings, same mother, different fathers. (Ray and Maya are not their parents in this AU) Kai was the result of a fire nation raid with an over eager solider forcing himself on their mother.. So Nya’s father resents Kai heavily, even more so when their mother passes. Similar to the dynamic in the Wicked musical, Kai is entirely focused on protecting and caring for Nya, the favorite and “legitimate” child, he feels a lot of guilt and shame about his existence and tries to make up for it by being useful, often working himself to exhaustion.

Nya is a waterbender and loves her big brother and didn’t understand why he father didn’t for most her life. When she gets old enough to understand, she still has a lot of trouble wrestling with it. Her father was always a great dad to her and loves her very much, but could she really forgive him for all he’s done to Kai? She also tried very hard to get Kai to see himself as worthy with little luck.

Jay is a firebender, awesome at lightning bending, not too good at the basics. He was born and raised in the Earth Kingdom, his parents were some of the first people sent to live in the colonies, so he’s never seen the Fire Nation and is pretty far removed from the rest of the world, living in a small remote place.

Cole is his best friend. earthbender, his family has lived in the village since forever. He was too young to know why he wasn’t supposed to befriend the boy from the “other” village when he met Jay, so he stubbornly did anyways. He understands a little better when he grows up, but he’s never seen any soldiers, They were long gone by the time he was born, having moved on to bigger and more important targets. So he only really understand the war as an abstract concept, not a reality. The Fire Nation colony is mostly assimilated into the existing village by the time Jay and Cole are teens, so there isn’t much conflict or tension around them.

Zane is Northern Water Tribe, waterbender. Maybe he’s part moon spirit? IDK.

Now. The avatar didn’t get frozen in this AU. He was killed. Two more avatars lived and died, not being able to do much or hiding.

Wu and Garmadon are the two sons of the Firelord (FSM, cause I couldn’t bare making either of them evil, but that ass I can do it to.) Garmadon was banished when Lloyd was young and Misako disappeared shortly after.

Morro, is the child of some airbenders that escaped the genocide and were living in secret. However, his parents died when he was a baby and they kept their secret well and left no clues. So when Wu adopts Morro, nobody has any idea he’s an airbender (not even him)

Morro is jealous of Lloyd because he will inherit the throne, since he’s the legitimate child of the Firelord’s first born, and because Lloyd is a fire bender and Morro (as far as he knows) is a non-bender.

The whole story kicks off when Lloyd discovers he’s the avatar. He freaks out and runs away, finding himself at the southern water tribe.

Morro is tasked with finding Lloyd and returning him home.

Lloyd runs into Kai and Nya. Kai feels a connection after finding out Lloyd is a firebender like him, but not a soldier. So Kai helps him and takes him home, hiding who he is from everyone else so they don’t kill him. (Nya of course is all aboard for this plan)

Well Morro comes looking for Lloyd and through plot, it’s revealed not only that Lloyd is the fire prince, but also the avatar. (Morro’s jealousy skyrockets)

Kai, Nya, and Lloyd barely get away, they go to the Northern Tribe looking for safe haven and find Zane, and eventually decide to go looking for an earthbending teacher for Lloyd, finding Jay and Cole, who get a rude wake-up call to what’s really been happening and what it really means. All the while being chased by Morro and Wu who is trying to Iroh the boy. Eventually finding Garmadon who had rebelled, and Misako, who knew Lloyd was the avatar and went to go research all the things he’d need. Morro also dramatically finding out that he’s an airbender and having his over crisis over that somewhere in there.

I wish this took my as long to come up with as it did to write it out. But no, this all hit me in the same ten minutes.

-Ivy

[eyeofthewolfe]

Ninjago & TLNM: To Be Green

Chapter Nine: History Never Always Repeats Itself

Lloyd thought his high school day couldn’t get worse. It came in the form of History Class.

The good news was that all six of the ninja shared this class. After Physics, Nya took Lloyd back to his still partially open locker and gave him a thick textbook with a huge “History” on the front cover with collected images of villages, people, and what looked like Ninjago City. In the middle was a yin-yang symbol.

Finally, Lloyd thought to himself. A class I can actually excel at. I know all about Ninjago’s history, thanks to Master Wu and my dad.

One glance into the History book confirmed everything Lloyd knew was a waste. He didn’t recognize any stories within the pages. Even worse, when the teacher wrote two words on the board, Lloyd had no idea where to start.

“The Ebon Year.” The teacher droned, her voice tight and lacking energy. “Who knows what that is?”

A girl a few rows over raised her hand. When she was called on, she answered, “It was the year Lord Garmadon attacked the city of Ninjago for the first time.”

“Okay,” the teacher responded as Lloyd felt his eyes widen in surprise. “And what makes the Ebon Year stand out in Garmadon’s years of conquering?”

After a pause, the student finally said, “It was because there wasn’t ninja, right?”

Lloyd finally flipped to the page in the textbook where the chapter was recounting the events of the Ebon Year in great detail. And on the front page was none other than the four armed king of shadows himself.

“Close. There were no ninja, so who protected the city?”

The class spoke a very tired chorus of “police”, “coast guard” and “soldiers”.

Loots. Kidnappings. Death. Destruction. The more Lloyd scanned through the chapter, the worse the feeling in his stomach felt. He remembered when his dad was evil like it was yesterday, but it was never this bad.

“Now,” The teacher grabbed a piece of chalk from her rail. “Who can tell me the most important date from that year?”

“The Darkest Day. July 12th, 2015.”

The answer came from Nya, who was to Lloyd’s right. They met eyes, and Nya gestured with hers to look back at the book.

Sure enough, there was a large section just about the Darkest Day. And the pictures...

“What makes the Darkest Day so important?” The teacher followed up while writing the name on the board under “Ebon Year”.

“It’s the first day Garmadon attacked using mechanical weaponry.” Nya replied plainly. “The destruction was uncanny, and it was the first time his attacks almost overcame the police force.”

“Very good. Someone did their reading.” Nya grinned. Lloyd however, was about to throw up.

Finally, the teacher spun on her heels and her eyes snapped right onto Lloyd. “I’ll let Lloyd go ahead and say what happened next.”

Oh no, Lloyd panicked in his head. Oh no, no, no, no-

“Um-“ Lloyd took a shaky breath and quickly flipped to the next page, where he suddenly saw a very familiar green ninja head off the chapter. The chapter name? The Green Years.

“The start...of the Green Years...?” Lloyd hesitantly answered. A few giggles rose from some of the classmates.

“You sound unsure,” The teacher chuckled lightly. “Have you forgotten about your own personal history, Lloyd?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he felt his cheeks go red. With a wink, she turned back to the rest of the class and began to ask for important dates from the Green Years. Lloyd however, began to read as much as he could in the history book as fast as possible.

Suddenly, it just ended. The next chapter was about culture, not true history. There was no mention about how the “Terror Of Lord Garmadon” ended in the book anywhere. Does that mean....?

The bell went off. Lloyd shut his book and joined his friends. Kai looked like he had just woken from a long nap, and Cole still looked as if he was still mad at Lloyd. Uncomfortable, Lloyd clutched both his book and lunch nervously. “So, uh....now what?”

“Now,” Nya beamed. “We all go to lunch!”

_______________________________________________

“Gosh Jay!” Nya yelled over the alarm as they all ran out of the room. “It’s way too loud!”

“I’m sorry!” Jay shouted back. “I just installed it a few days ago, remember!! I haven’t tinkered with it yet!!”

“Forget the alarm!” Lloyd joined in the conversation. “What’s the threat?”

The ninja burst out of the doors of the temple and tore across the lawn that was still scattered with training equipment. “Bank robbery, armed, with hostages.” Zane informed them all.

Cole groaned. Lloyd stared at him in horror. “Another bank robbery? Wasn’t there one last night?”

The team nodded as they approached he edge of the island. Then, each with a twisted face of effort, they jumped off one by one.

“What the-“ Lloyd shouted in shock as they dropped into the sky. Then, they were suddenly surrounded with a colorful cyclone-tornado thing and they hit the ground safely.

“Airjitzu,” Kai told Lloyd. He was the only one who hadn’t of jumped. “It’s gotten harder lately, but it still has its uses. Ready?”

Lloyd stepped back, terrified. “What? No!”

Kai raised an eyebrow. “You don't know Airjitzu? Do you even know Spinjitzu?”

“Of course I know what Spinjitzu is,” Lloyd snapped back. “But...this flying stuff is messed up.”

“Noted.” Kai nodded. “Then hold on!”

Before Lloyd asked to what he should hold onto, Kai grabbed his arm and pulled them both off the edge.

The screaming came immediately. The air rushed past them in a way Lloyd had never felt before. He was dropping faster and faster and the road below him where the ninja were getting into weird vehicles was getting closer every second.

At what seemed to be the last second, Kai wrapped his arm around Lloyd and suddenly the area around them shimmered red. The air under them felt like it thickened, slowing their descent. No, it wasn’t that, the “Airjitzu” had made them fly upwards, but at the speed they were falling all it did was grant them a relatively soft landing.

Kai let go of Lloyd and the blonde teenager promptly collapsed onto the ground, panting for his life. Kai grinned a side smirk. “I hope you enjoyed the ride!”

Still gasping for breath, Lloyd lifted a finger to point at Kai. “Don’t- don’t ever do that again.”

_______________________________________________

Lloyd trotted next to Jay on the way to lunch. Jay was having a grand time telling the blonde teen all about the giant cat and the adventure to the Temple of the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon.

“-and then boom!! I exploded the door and we all ran out and escaped!! Master Wu and all of us sped back here to stop your dad and then we battled more and I zapped so many of their planes out of the sky- and then the cat ate Garmadon but you talked to the cat and then it spat him out and Garmadon has been good ever since.”

For a few steps, Lloyd let Jay’s words settle in his mind. “And how long ago did you say this was?”

The curly haired teen squinted his eyes. “Like....two weeks ago?”

So for two weeks Garmadon had been good. He thought back to when he had defeated the Overlord and his own father had been relieved of his evil. Within two weeks the two of them had become inseparable. If he was captured by his ex-generals who had tried to kill him...

Finally the group arrived at the huge cafeteria. Walking up to what seemed to be a table at random, Jay and Zane took their seats while the other three walked off to join the long lines to get school lunch.

As Lloyd plopped down and opened his bag of food next to Jay, Zane watched Lloyd carefully. “What?” Lloyd asked as he pulled out his food.

“How old are you?” The robot finally asked. “You do not appear to be sixteen.”

Lloyd snorted. “Sixteen? You’re funny. No I’m older than that.”

Jay and Zane exchanged a look. “But...” Jay wore a puzzled expression. “You just turned 16, like...two weeks ago.”

A lot happened two weeks ago, Lloyd couldn’t help but think. “I’m not entirely sure how old I am, but I’m definitely not 16.”

Kai, Nya, and Cole chose that moment to rejoin, each with a very basic looking lunch on a tray. Kai ripped open his milk carton.

“So,” The spiky haired teen put his elbows next to his tray and stared at Lloyd from across the table. “What are you not telling us? You’ve acted weird in every class today. Something’s really up.”

“It’s what I’m trying to tell you guys,” Lloyd replied as he ripped open his sushi. “I’m not your Lloyd. I’m from somewhere else.”

Cole’s head perked up some. “Like...from a different world?”

Lloyd shook his head. “I don’t think it’s the same thing. I’m from a different realm, a different reality of Ninjago. My best bet is that your Lloyd is there in my place, and that we somehow switched.”

Silence. They all stared back at Lloyd with blank expressions. Lloyd stuffed some sushi in his mouth. “Wha I thouwght.” Lloyd mumbled. To his surprise, Kai suddenly drained his carton of milk and crushed it in his fist.

“I believe ya.” He finally told everyone, but especially Lloyd. “Lloyd could never lie, and by the sounds of it you are telling the full honest truth, even if it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Wow Kai,” Cole snorted as he picked at some greasy broccoli. “That was the first thing I’ve heard you say that actually makes sense.”

The group all giggled, Lloyd included. Suddenly he forgot he was at school, in a new realm, or even surrounded with what really was a group of strangers. He felt back at home.

Home.

It felt like a ton of bricks had dropped on him. It did feel like he was back at home... and suddenly Lloyd realized that he had a mission in this world. For the first time, his circumstance felt like it had a purpose. There was something he- and they- had to do.

The other ninjas have seen their Lloyd’s serious face turn on many times before. But even that had a hint of easiness he could never rid himself of. But when the Lloyd sitting at the lunch table suddenly sat up and put on his game face, every ninja couldn’t help but feel his sheer confidence radiate off him like he was a power source of seriousness.

“After school we are going after those shark-wanna be’s.” Lloyd announced to the table. A small grin grew on all of their faces. With one last nod, Lloyd picked up another piece of sushi and excitedly said, “We are going to go save Lloyd’s dad.”

_____________________________________________

Once Lloyd finally found his breath, Kai pointed at a car on the edge of the road. “There’s yours. Hop in, we don’t have much time.”

His breath was gone just as fast as it came back. The car was sleek, powerful, and best of all- green. “This is my car?!” Lloyd shouted with enthusiasm. He jumped in and grabbed the weird half-wheel.

“No, it’s Jay’s car!” Jay replied sarcastically.

“Actually, it’s my car!” Nya inserted pointedly. “I built it. But I built it for Lloyd just a month ago. I call it the....the....”

“Names aside, I love it!” Lloyd grinned ear to ear. Then, feeling back in the zone, he pulled his mask down dramatically, revved the engine, and shouted, “Alright ninja! Shout out your call signs!!”

The comms fell silent. Lloyd waited a few seconds. Finally, Jay spoke. “Uh...ninja...go?”

“You all don’t have call signs?” Lloyd gasped. “How do you all get ready for a fight?”

“I dunno, we just...go.” Cole replied. “Speaking of going...can we go now?”

Right! There was a robbery right now. “Oh...uh, yeah! Zane! Lead the way!!”

Zane nodded from the seat of what appeared to be an ice tank. It wasn’t like the one he knew...this one was an actual war-like tank ready for true battle. Cole, in an off road looking buggy swerved after him, followed with Kai and Nya on matching motorcycles. Finally, Jay saluted to Lloyd and took off on a blue bike of his own.

Lloyd quickly adjusted his seat (gosh the other him has long legs) and then sped off after the ninja into the city.

It didn’t take long to get to the scene of the crime. The police were still in a stalemate with the robbers on the inside, but the ninja parked far enough away so the crooks didn’t know that the cops had back up. They jumped out and off their vehicles and quickly grouped up. For a second, they all looked at Lloyd, then Kai cleared his throat.

“The game plan,” he started, but Jay interrupted him.

“Who said you were giving out the orders, flames for brains? When has one of your plans ever worked out?”

“Jay’s right,” Cole butt in. “We need to listen to me-“

“I wasn’t supporting ‘Team Cole’ either!” The shorter teen snapped. “If anything we should listen to Nya! She’s the best strategist here, no question.”

Zane blinked. “Wow, Jay, I’m hurt.”

“Suck it up roboto, the truth hurts sometimes.”

Lloyd couldn’t believe his ears. Here they were, standing nearby an ongoing robbery, and they were arguing over who to lead them.

Finally, Lloyd snapped. “Listen up- I want three teams to infiltrate. Jay, Kai- you guard the front door. No one leaves. Cole, Zane- you are the first wave. Use your brute force to hold them back. Nya- you and me are going to deal with the hostages while Cole and Zane distracts the crooks.”

All five of them blinked in surprise. “That...is actually a good plan.” Jay muttered.

With a nod, Lloyd dispersed the team. Nya quickly grabbed something long from inside the car Lloyd drove in. “You may need this.”

Lloyd accepted the long samurai-esque sword. His name was engraved on the metal in red. He nodded his gratitude at Nya. She placed her hand on his shoulder.

“We saw how good you are at dodging this morning,” Nya told him. Glancing at the sword, she added, “Now show us how good you are with combat.”

[p0tat0-g0ddess]

Father’s day oneshot

My mother’s day fic only got 9 notes but misako is basically the most hated character in the fandom so maybe this one’ll have better luck

Big boys don’t cry / Rated K (G) / hurt/comfort/family

“It’s fine.” Lloyd whispered under his breath as he folded his uniform, laying it in his backpack before taking his few other possessions and placing them inside as well. “I don’t care about this place anyway. I’m too good for it.” But that only made him feel more disappointed, especially when he realized what he had just said, and how closely it resembled the principle’s words just minutes before.

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon?” The imposing man behind the desk peered down at him through his glasses, and Lloyd nodded shyly. Why had he been called here? Was he in trouble? “Take a seat.” The blond boy clambered into the tall chair facing the desk, sitting on his knees to make himself appear taller. “Garmadon,” The principle said, addressing him by his last name. “You are being expelled.”

“E-expelled??” Lloyd exclaimed, his eyes going wide with alarm. “Why?!”

“Watch your tone!” The man snapped, and Lloyd shrank back. “Answer me!”

“Y-yes sir.” Lloyd stuttered.

“Put simply, you lack the inherent evil required for this world’s next generation of villains.” The principle folded his hands on the desk. Lloyd just stared. “Put more simply, you’re not bad enough.”

“I-I’ll try harder!” The blond pleaded. “Please, I have nowhere else to go!”

“If I cared about children, I wouldn’t be in charge of this school, would I?”

“What?”

“I’m a villain!”

“My dad cares about me!” Lloyd puffed up, defensive. “And he’s the best bad guy ever!”

“If he cares about you so much, why doesn’t he come and take you? Why not go to him?”

“He’s trapped in the Underworld! He can’t leave!”

“If he really cares about you, wouldn’t he be able to find a way?” Lloyd stared with wide eyes. Was… was that true? If his dad cared about him more he would be able to get out? Did he really even care about him at all? “This conversation is over. Pack your things.”

“But-”

“Now!” Slowly, Lloyd climbed down out of the chair, leaving the room with a heavy heart. What was he going to do now?

He really was too good for this place – in a  bad way. There were giving him one last night here, then in the morning he would get kicked out. Lloyd sniffled, fighting back tears as he zipped his backpack shut. What was he gonna go? Would he starve? Get killed by monsters? Fall off a cliff? He was scared. How could he survive on his own? A tear escaped and trickled down his face, and he quickly brushed it away with his sleeve. He was a big boy. Big boys don’t cry.

“Lloyd?” A voice name his head jerk up in surprise, and he turned to see his father’s silhouette standing on the wall behind him.

“Dad!” His face lit up in a grin. “You’re here! I-” Another tear trickled down his face, and he sniffled again.

“Lloyd, what’s wrong?” His father asked in concern, stepping out from the wall as a ghostly shadow.

“I-I’m g-getting kicked out…” More tears fell.

“What?? Why??”

“They said- they said I’m n-not b-bad enough to b-be a villain…” He hiccupped. “They… w-where am I g-gonna go? I’m g-gonna starve or get e-eaten by m-monsters, or s-something awful…” He started to sob, covering his face with his hands.

“Oh Lloyd…” He felt a barely-perceptible touch on his shoulder, and looked up with teary eyes to see his father’s image kneeling in front of him with a hand on his shoulder. “Do you know where your mother is?”

“N-no…”

“Or your uncle?”

“No…”

“Then I’ll have to come.” Lloyd’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Y-you can do that?”

“Lloyd, I’ve been watching and waiting for a long time. I’ve bested the previous lord of the Underworld, and now rule his vast armies. I know where the map to the four golden weapons is located. I have a plan. Soon, I will rule Ninjago, and I will take you to rule by my side.” His father clasped his shoulders with both hands. “What do you say?” Lloyd sniffled, rubbing the tears off his face with his sleeves before giving him a tearful smile.

“I c-can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.” His father put his arms around him in a hug – he could touch Lloyd, but Lloyd could barely feel him.

“You do care about me.” Lloyd whispered. Abruptly, his father pulled away.

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Th-the principle said th-that if you d-didn’t c-come for me, y-you didn’t c-care about me…”

“Well he is a stupid man.” His father said firmly. “Lloyd, I would give my life for you. And trust me, I won’t let any harm come to you. But you must be brave. Be strong, fight for your freedom. You are strong, Lloyd, I know you can do it.” The blond bit his lip, then nodded.

“Okay.”

“I have to go now.” His father let go of his shoulders. “But you will not be harmed. I promise. Can you be brave?” Lloyd gave a tiny nod.

“I think so.”

“That’s my boy.” His father clapped him on the shoulder. “Get some sleep. By tomorrow, my armies will be in Ninjago.”

“Okay.” Lloyd nodded, a small smile on his face. “G’night dad.”

“Goodnight, son.” His father squeezed his shoulder once more, then faded away into nothingness. Wiping the remains of tears off his face, Lloyd blew out the lamp before climbing into his bed. If his dad said he would protect him, then he would protect him. He just had to be brave.

<{}>

“Three of the ninja have been in training for the past two months at Wu’s monastery.” Garmadon tapped a mountain on his map of Ninjago. “Wu plans to recruit one more tomorrow, the son of the keeper of the map. Samukai, you and half your fighting force will attack that evening, take the boy’s sister and the map, and make off with them while Wu attempts to train the boy.”

“Er- half?” Samukai asked in a gravelly voice, confused. “Last time we went over this, you said my entire force would be attacking the village.”

“Yes, but our plans have changed. I have another mission for them now.” Garmadon folded his hands behind his back, turning around to stare at the lava below their platform.

“And… what’s that?” Samukai asked after a few moments. Without turning around, Garmadon replied,

“Protect my son.”

[kylereviewed]

collider:

Olivia Munn Teases X-Men: Dark Phoenix As A Two-Parter

No one knows the evil warlord Garmadon (voiced by Justin Theroux), aka The Worst Guy Ever, better than his ex-wife, Koko (voiced by Olivia Munn), and when it comes to their son Lloyd (voiced by Dave Franco), the eternally optimistic mother just wants to help him survive adolescence. But in The LEGO Ninjago Movie, being a high school teenager isn’t easy for Lloyd because everyone knows that his father won’t stop until he’s achieved world domination, which can make friendships tough to keep and teenage life insurmountable.

While at the LEGOLAND California Resort for the film’s press junket, Collider got the opportunity to sit down with actress Olivia Munn to talk about why she wanted to be a part of The LEGO Ninjago Movie, what she loves about her character, why Koko was so much fun to play, what she’s like her superpower to be, if she were a secret ninja, and why she wants to move in with Justin Theroux and Jennifer Aniston. She also talked about her cameo in Ocean’s Eight and how she was responsible for her own wardrobe, hair, and make-up, and why Simon Kinberg, who’s making his directorial debut on X-Men: Dark Phoenix, makes such a great director.

Collider: What sold you on the LEGO Ninjago Movie and made you want to be a part of it?

OLIVIA MUNN: Well, I didn’t really have to be sold. I hadn’t seen LEGO Batman yet when I signed on for this, but I had seen the first LEGO movie. What’s so great about the LEGO movies is that, from the get-go, they were made in a way that wasn’t just adult-friendly, but you don’t have to have a kid with you to go see them. They’re edgy and funny and clever. The toys are the toys, and I love that about these movies. It really allows for the actors to bring so much life to them, and I really love that. It was so much fun!

Who is Koko and how does she fit into the city of Ninjago?

MUNN: What I love so much about Koko is that she’s this always optimistic mother. A lot of kids his age are going through some tough times, and he happens to be going through a very tough time ‘cause his father is an evil warlord and the whole school knows it. It’s like, “Your dad’s the worst guy, ever, and we know that!” She tries to be so positive, and I just love that so much about her. And I love that she has this other side to her, that gets revealed in the movie, but she chose to keep that private from her son. I love that she has this whole other dimension to her. I wanted her to be a positive force in Lloyd’s life. No matter what, she was going to love him through it and be super positive. And then, we find out this other side to her life, and I loved that so much. You might look at her like a mother who’s just being super positive, and that there’s all there is to it, but when you find out about the other life that she’s had and what she’s capable of, it makes you realize that, out of all the roads she could have chosen with all of her capabilities, she chose to be a mother. She could have been a hero for many, but she chose to be a hero for one. That, to me, was so special because it really shows the importance of what being a mother is. Out of all the amazing roads, she could choose, she chose the most amazing of all, which was to be a mother to Lloyd. I loved that so much.

Even before we know about Koko’s previous secret life, we get to see what a fierce temper she has when it comes to Garmadon. Was that fun to play?

MUNN: That was really fun, to play the momma bear who’s like, “I don’t care if you’re the biggest evil warlord! You’re annoying me right now, and I’m not afraid to tell you that!” That’s why I feel I had a kindred spirit with Koko. That’s how I live my life. The one thing we all have in common is that I exist as much as you exist. You can be the President of the United States, you can be an evil warlord, or you can be the head of a studio, but I’m here and you’re here. We may have different paths. You may be a lot more powerful and really wealthy, and all of those things, but we both exist and we’re both here, so I’m gonna treat you as a human being. What I see in you and how you treat me is what you’re gonna get back, and that’s Koko. She’s the one person in the world who’s not intimidated by Garmadon because she’s like, “I know you! You can be fancy with all of your evil warlord get-up, and your helmet and block clothes, but I know who you are! It’s all a facade, and I don’t care!”

Could you ever have imagined a world where you and Justin Theroux would be playing parents to Dave Franco?

MUNN: It’s actually art imitating life. Justin and I have decided to adopt Dave. He didn’t ask to be adopted, but we felt he needed it, mostly because I wanted to move into Justin’s home with Jennifer Aniston ‘cause it’s beautiful. I was like, “For this movie and for the press tour, I should be living with you guys. We should really think about whether to put Dave in private school, or whether we should go the Montessori route.” They haven’t really accepted my offer yet. It’s coming. I think it’s gotta come! Side note: Jen and I are friends now, which blows my mind. We filmed a movie together. We meet a lot of people through social parties and work parties, and I’ve been able to meet a lot of the people that I’ve idolized, and who are at the top of their game or who are the most famous people. Out of everyone, Jennifer Aniston is the nicest, most down-to-earth person. She’s nice, in the way that I think of nice. She’s so real. She’s the real deal. She’s in life. She doesn’t have a horde of people around her. She’s always engaged and talking to people. I just love her to death. That’s why I want to move in with them. Maybe this article can be about that.

We’ll put in a good word for you!

MUNN: Oh, my god, please! That would be great! I’ll just start Uber-ing over there. I’ll be like, “The Uber just dropped me off here, and I don’t really know how to get back. Maybe I should just stay forever!”

You got to be a part of Ocean’s Eight.

MUNN: I got to do a cameo in Ocean’s Eight.

What was that experience like?

MUNN: I got the call to see if I wanted to come do a cameo, and they were like, “We’ll fly you out.” During that time, I was in a relationship where I didn’t work. He played football, so during the season, for three years, I’d have to go do press, but I wouldn’t work. I just wanted to be there to be supportive. But then, this came up. It worked out that it was on a day off, so I flew out and did it. They said, “You’ll be playing a part at the Met Ball. We want you to come out and be in it, but wear whatever you’d think you would wear and do whatever you think you’d do for hair and make-up.” Basically, it cost me a lot. I paid for the stylist, and for the hair and make-up, but that’s how much fun it was to be a part of that movie, which I think is so cool. It passed the Bechdel test, 20 times over. It was amazing! Mindy Kaling is a good friend of mine, and I was so excited when she got that. Sandra Bullock is my favorite. Cate Blanchett is my favorite. Sarah Paulson is amazing and so great. Anytime you do a cameo, you don’t know whether you’ll be in the movie, but just to be there was amazing. We shot at the actual Met, and I didn’t know this, but there’s a whole bar. On movie sets, you wait around a lot, and on this one, everyone was up in the bar, where there was a counter of ridiculously expensive diamonds that you could go borrow if you wanted to wear them in the scene. It was extreme! I had to pay to be in the movie, but it was worth it. It was such a great experience! There were a lot of people there, and it was really fun.

Image via Warner Bros.

Are you currently working on X-Men: Dark Phoenix?

MUNN: I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. I’m supposed to be vague. That’s my answer. I’m horrible at that. It’s like a two-parter, this movie. That’s more than I’ve said, in general. I don’t know why people have to be so secretive.

What’s it been like to work with Simon Kinberg, who’s been with the franchise as a producer, but is making his directorial debut with this film?

MUNN: I love Simon Kinberg. He’s such a visionary. We’re all so close. Anytime that you’re working on a project where everyone hangs out and they’re close, it’s a breeding ground for great content and a great experience. I think Simon is gonna kill it. He’s gonna do such a fantastic job with it. When I came on, he pitched me to be Psylocke, and I didn’t know him until I worked on that movie, but you see how everyone is friends and they hang out. It’s really cool! I just filmed a role in Josh Duhamel’s movie (The Buddy Games), up in Canada. He wrote, directed and is starring in it, and it’s the first film he directed and wrote. He got a bunch of his guy friends to be in the movie, and it was one of the most fun experiences. I’ve never worked on something where it’s another actor’s passion project. It’s interesting ‘cause you see how, when the director is also the writer and it’s a passion project, everybody steps up. You always try to do your best, in general, but there was a different energy. Those guys – Nick Swardson, Dax Shepard, James Roday, Dan Bakkedahl and Kevin Dillon – had me laughing the entire time. I only filmed for five days, but it was so much fun and they were so funny. Nick Swardson is one of the funniest human beings. Working with Simon, as a director, has that similar thing. It makes it more fun because everyone just steps up, a little bit more.

If you were a part of your own secret ninja group of warriors that save the day, what would you want your power or ability to be and what would your own personal mech look like?

MUNN: I know it’s crazy, but I would take on Psylocke’s powers, to be able to create anything with your mind. That’s why Psylocke was always one of my favorite X-Men characters. The fact that she could create anything with her mind, but she still chooses to fight, she wants the challenge. That and/or the ability to control time. If you could control time, you’re good. And if you have the power to create anything with your mind, you could keep creating different mechs.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie is now playing in theaters.