Tumblr cut off my tags (yes, there was MORE), So I'm continuing them here
What do I consider to be the darkest, tone-wise, parts of Ninjago?
Garmadon's whole thing.
Oh yeah baby, we need a ''keep reading''.
He was cursed as a child and his father believed it was turning Garmadon into a monster, (and in a way his dad was right), but what exactly his curse ever was he never knows. But it's something wrong with his mind/soul that no medicine was able to fix.
So Garm grows up believing he'll turn into a monster/turn evil. And then he finds a prophecy that says a BBEG will take over the world but be defeated, and he assumes (totally reasonably!!) he's the dark lord in question, so he just gives up on trying to be good and becomes evil out of nihilism. (the nihilism part is played for comedy, and the prophecy was also likely and ironically written by his father in an attempt to save him, we'll get to that)
To the point where he SELLS HIS SOUL (to a demon??) to try and gain advantage in this prophesized final battle. And the guy who's meant to defeat him is his SON, WHO IS LIKE 10 AT MOST WHEN THEY FIND OUT, AND 12 AT MOST WHEN THEY HAVE TO FIGHT (likely to the DEATH)
But his son SAVES him, he saves his life and his soul, he undoes the curse by some miracle... But in doing so now Garmadon is hit with all this delayed guilt for his actions (especially now that he's questioning if he was ever doomed to be evil) to the point where he...
He uuuh...
"Heroically sacrifices" himself (this show is rated TV-y7) and hurts his son deeply by doing so.
So deeply that his son's will is too weak to resist POSSESSION BY THE GHOST HE ACCIDENTALLY LET OUT OF HELL WHEN HE JUMPED IN. AND NOW LLOYD IS FORCED TO DELETE HELL WHILE GARMADON IS IN THERE TO DEFEAT THIS GHOST'S EVIL PLOT.
So he just CEASES TO EXIST. Until a crazy fanatic revives HALF OF HIS SOUL, ONLY THE EVIL HALF OF IT. AND HE FORGETS ALL HIS GOOD, AND LOSES ALL THE LOVE HE HAD FOR HIS SON (THE ONE CONSTANT THING HE HAD THROUGH ALL THIS)
GARMADON SUFFERS SO MUCH. In such messed up ways.
And to make it so so so so much worse?
In season 8 we (not him, he doesn't exist in any way when this happens) find out the monster his curse was turning him into was called an "Oni".
And Oni aren't all evil, We learn what Oni are from one, and she's helpful and kind. But his father thought they were, likely because he grew up with them, and they have a violent culture.
So now we have explicit confirmation that he could have chosen to be good this whole time.
(oh also, his wife left him about at the ''turned evil because of nihilism'' part).
---
And all of this is explicitly canon. The only part that's not canon is me acknowledging how messed up it is.
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happy birthday!! i hope you have a wonderful year!
for the prompts, how about an au where katsuki temporarily travels to the future (via a quirk, got into a coma, etc), and whatever he sees in said future drives him to vigilantism?
Thanks! This is a fun idea
Katsuki screwed his eyes shut, tightly enough he could pretend they weren't burning. Tightly enough that the pain was something he could explain away - something that wasn't -
Deku. It was always fucking Deku. Little shit couldn't do anything but be a hero, could he? He'd never read of a quirk that could show you the future, hadn't thought it was possible (Deku would have known. He'd have been amazed, would have picked it apart in a matter of minutes.). He still didn't want to believe it. All Might's mentorship? Deku's borrowed quirk? It had seemed fantastical, like he was being shown one of Deku's stupid playground games made into reality.
And then he'd died.
Deku had died. Oh, sure, he'd saved the day in the end, but it had used everything he'd had. One moment he'd had his fist raised to the sky in victory and the next he was cold on the ground. Internal bleeding. Blood loss. The specifics hadn't really mattered. He'd been alive and then he hadn't.
And Katsuki had woken up in his bedroom, eyes burning and trying not to sob like a bitch.
It was that white haired bastard's fault, fucking Shigaraki Tomura. He'd been strong but not outstanding, and no one had killed him because they were heroes and that's not what they did. And then he'd not really been Shigaraki Tomura anymore and he'd been like death made manifest. Well, fuck that. So what if heroes didn't kill people, heroes saved and stupid fucking Deku wasn't going to be saved unless that prick had his head blown clean off.
Katsuki levered himself from his bed, warmth returning to fear-numbed limbs. Deku was a quirkless nerd right now, but Katsuki? His quirk had always been powerful, and, importantly, didn't need him to touch the crusty fucker to kill him.
Vigilantism might look shitty on a high school application, but if he threw the word 'All for One around enough neither All Might or rat would give a fuck about who he'd killed.
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just found some Valiant AU development sketches and notes in my old OLD sketchbook
I really thought it would be a webtoon
long post warning! And I mean long looooooooong post. If you get to the bottom and go "I'm not reading allat" I do not blame you
more under the cut:
^^^ OC
General notes:
This Valiant AU was meant to be a solarpunk superhero slice of life that slowly reveals a heavier plot, mostly focusing on character interactions and personal growth
White Hat Incorporated is a struggling, newbie business and clients are rare
The episodes can range from domestic shenanigans like fixing a leaking pipe or getting dinner, to running their business by defeating the villain of the week
The villains and heroes stay in their roles from canon. The only ones with major changes are our main 4 guys
All major information about White Hat would be discovered from the point of view of Lumencia and Zug as they realize that not only is PEACE corrupt, but that their boss is neither human nor demon nor alien
Now onto the characters themselves:
Dr. Zug Gleis
Like his name suggests, he likes trains. His train is also a drill that was an attempt to burrow out of government's arrest
Which he then modified into a laboratory, each train cart being a unique kind of laboratory for surveillance, medicine, etc. He sleeps very uncomfortably in cramped spaces and likes it that way
V.I.R.U.S is now a software he created and repurposed into his bratty computer assistant, now Cambot. She's also the one recording all their commercials and making his coffee. Basically Zug doesn't get along with ANY of his children
He doesn't like to leave his laboratories, so he set up a network of tunnels through White Hat's mansion that send and receive messages, inventions, food, etc. There's one little chute for these in most parts of the place
His arc was focusing on his inability to accept help from others because he sees any kind gesture as a possible way to control him. Even worse if the kind person genuinely means it, because he also sees accepting kindness as a handicap, a debt
His villainy was an easy way to make money and show the world his capability without any assistance from any hero or villain organization
Really, he just wants to be able to do whatever he wants, but his need to be the best or else he's the worst is tiring for him. Anger issues don't help
This stemmed from a past of constantly being bullied and compared to his brother, Goldheart
After dropping out of hero college, Zug became his own supervillain's known as The Mad Condoctor, whose theme was, you guessed it, trains. He stole trains, modified scrap metal, targeted stations and trade centers, held hostages, prepared puzzles for heroes to solve, etc
The Mad Condoctor was notorious for being uncooperative and a backstabber. He operated at night and was an expert in secret missions, spyware and tech-based combat and the likes
By the first season finale he would have genuinely cared for his coworkers but still didn't value his own life, so he let himself be taken in by PEACE. The crew have to go retrieve their idiot and many things about White Hat Incorporated are revealed to the public after they clash with their local PEACE headquarters
He finds authority annoying and hates seeing people kiss up. Mostly shameless in his actions and doesn't much care for other people's opinions. Can be honest to the point of hurting
So he is a terrible liar. It's like he's allergic to it or something. Prefers to lie by omission
Will only call White Hat 'sir' and 'jefecito' sarcastically or to get a point across. Unfortunately hopelessly devoted to him at the end of the series whoops
Lumencia
A superwoman with horse-like powers that decided to choose unicorns as her motif because that's way cooler. She has kicks and punches that convert her diet into energy, which is great because she loves eating
Changed it up so that Lumencia is the resident prankster and WH tells puns, not the other way around
She has a room with a slanted ceiling which she can climb out the window of to lie and chill on the roof. She's also converted that space, where flat roof meets slanted roof, into an outdoor cinema/gym, decorated with christmas lights. The mansion is a three-way clash of decorative styles from afar
She doesn't have a license to be a hero, but she helps out wherever she can anyway, stopping purse snatchers and helping lost children find their parents and such
In fact, she is actually one of the most beloved people in the little town they live near, with many residents familiar with her buffoonery but affirming her as a reliable source of help
She's also relatively well-known online, as she posts videos of her playing the guitar and well-intentioned but nonsensical 'Lumencia Tips', filled with terrible puns and comic-like ballpoint pen doodles
Her arc would have focused on letting herself acknowledge her strengths that aren't related to fighting
Shes very buddy-buddy with petty criminals and shop owners alike, able to strike up a conversation and make pals no matter who they are. Once she deems you chill, you can chill, yknow? This isn't on purpose.
Even though she has gross taste in food and is messier than Zug, her handwriting is very pretty and neat. She also is very good at graffiti and sticks to an aesthetic, with glitter and y2k stickers and denim-clad wizards on skateboards, all the works
She has a very straightforward view on heroics and is not big on plans, preferring to punch her way out of situations or annoy her enemies to tears. In fact, her main goal is to become an official part of one of the many PEACE-brand hero leagues.
There's other hero corporations too but PEACE is the number one in America
So one day she just showed up on White Hat's doorstep and never left because it would 'look good on her resume'.
Previously, she bounced from place to place, relying on connections and the occasional tip from her halfway-illegal heroism efforts to get by. She also doesn't remember where her powers are from, only that her parents worked at PEACE and where killed by 'villains' when she was a little girl
Her favourite place is the funfair because that's the last nice memory she had
By season two she would have started another arc where she learns that she was an experiment and her parents were killed by their own higher ups in PEACE to silence them, and she has to come to terms with why she even wants to be a hero as well as stand her ground when her optimism is challenged.
Lumencia's music is like whatever Equestria Girls and Electric Mayhem have going on. I think the genre is power pop? Either way it sounds like those elaborate 80s radical van murals look
Is an effortless liar in the sense that she says the most batshit things with utmost confidence and treats consequences like an afterthought.
Only calls White Hat 'White Hat' and not 'boss' when she feels the situation calls for it. Also unfortunately hopelessly devoted to him by the end of the series
624
An extra set of hands that cleans the place and helps out with their little business. Does not like being interuppted when listening to music
Goes from 'fucking hate these guys' to 'they give me food therefore they are mine' in the span of the entire series
Quite lazy, plays the winning side. Which is usually the heroes here
Dunno if I'd call his arc an arc. All I know is there's an episode where his spoilt teenager-ismd hits their peak and Zug and Lumencia have to reach an understanding with him by respecting his boundaries and helping him feel secure
And after that episode, 624 stopped being a total catalyst for disaster plotwise
White Hat
He is one of the comic reliefs and manages White Hat Incorporated, often making really stupid decisions because profit is not on his mind
The final voice I settled on for him was fucking Australian Markiplier
His "growth" would be the characters and readers seeing him to actually be a caring, experienced-in-heroics-but-not-business individual who gives really sound advice and becomes a source of comfort for his close friends
But is still a MEGA-PRICK. Every time he gets beat up it's for a valid reason
In canon, villainy triumphs because Black Hat is there. In the Valiant AU, the story is in the heroes' favour because White Hat is in his place.
I wanted him to be (mostly) opposite to Black Hat in many ways! BH's office is huge, minimalistic, corporate and cold, while WH's office is small, maximalistic, filled with sentimental items and like a warm cabin.
BH basks in hellfire and while WH does use fire, he prefers the ocean. BH enjoys golf, WH enjoys dancing. BH takes himself seriously, WH very much doesn't. BH detests everything, WH has an appreciation for everything. And etc...
They're still horrible creepy eldritch monstrosities, the fish theme for WH is just because he likes ocean shit and fish are scary
BH has made himself known globally and universally, he has statues and monuments and paintings
WH has nothing; White Hat is five years old. This is his first time being White Hat
But he's been around since the beginning of time, taking many forms and names, learning the wonders of the universe and giving all of his time to help however he could
He believed this to be natural, he's the one of a kind who doesn't need rest or food. He can't die or get really hurt, and would later learn he couldn't bear to love either
Some of the things he was included many plants and animals before the humans, then farmers and warriors, witches and politicians, an entertainer vigilante, a writer, a parent, a fur-clad warrior in the snow, guiding forces of nature, and a female pirate.
I wanted him to cycle through the entire alignment chart in terms of morality as he exhausted everything he could do to make a difference
After World War 2 on earth, his psyche gave out and he collapsed into a long, long nap; a shadow pooling in a lake, his favourite
Finally woke up and decided to take his own form not based on any species or star or tree, chose his own outfit and everything
And made his debut as White Hat, forged documents to start a small business for heroes support
He doesn't have an arc, but if he did, he would be in the midst of learning to let himself get attached again and be properly selfish. Maybe identity issues.
But he doesn't have an arc
And so really only serves to help out Zug and Lumencia. He's comfortable with no one knowing these things about him ever, because what would they even do if they did?
Wouldn't change anything, they wouldn't understand the full scope even, so he's at peace with himself right now, grateful that he's alive for once
He uses manipulation to direct conversations away from himself and get people to spill their feelings, or burrow into their trauma without using magic
if he wants he can let loose to trigger some kind of indescribable primal instinct within a person, that cripples them with terror and despair and love for the sublime face of something divine, bigger than the observable universe. He doesn't like doing this.
He's a fan of ice and shadow manipulation, he thinks the colours go well with his coat
Most animals hate him and he cries about it
He also cries when he tries to download an app on a laptop
He is a competent medical doctor, babysitter, and waiter. In fact, he seems to have infinite patience and calm when he isn't whining over dessert like a toddler
The human skeleton hanging in his office is real
Hopelessly attached to Lumencia, Zug and 624 by the end of the series but they don't need to know that
This AU will forever make me warm and fuzzy inside I love them so much, I had so many locations planned, started Pinterest boards and shit
Instead I think I'll take some of these things and apply them to my OCs instead! HUGE thanks to everyone who enjoyed this version of this AU while it lasted! Maybe it'll come back one day, maybe not. Likely not
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