#ninjago hometown glory

[spinchip]

for the fic prompts- something about your hometown glory au maybe?

OOPS. 2300 WORDS.

There’s a dinner in the grand hall two days after they arrive on Chen's Island. Clouse had been the one waiting on the shore to welcome them to the tournament and explain that they would be given two days to settle in before the competition began, with the night of the second day an introductory dinner with Lord Chen himself. They had all jumped at the opportunity to experience the luxuries the palace had to offer before fighting against one another. Cole particularly loved the fully stocked mini-fridge in his room, packed full of all his favorite treats. He made sure to interact with the other contestants as well- know thy enemy, or whatever.

Jay had mostly left him to his own devices, following that girl Nya around like a lost puppy. Cole had known Jay long enough to understand his obsession with love- he wanted to be in love very badly, and Nya was just the newest target of his affection. Whether it would last remained up for debate.

Cole inexplicably found himself running into the ice master, Zane, a lot over the next few days. Zane tended to hover around Kai and Nya or Cole and Jay, when he wasn’t off on his own, but Cole always seemed to stumble upon him randomly in the halls. Sometimes, Zane would have this look on his face-not quite guilty, but like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been. Cole never asked why Zane seemed to be poking around the halls on his own, and Zane never explained. They ate all their meals together.

When Jay had squeezed himself into a seat next to Nya at the welcome dinner, Cole had hung back and sat with Zane and the kid, Lloyd. There were soft murmurs throughout the hall as they all anticipated Lord Chen's arrival. When Cole glanced over at Zane, the ice master was frowning softly, the barest hint of a crease between his brows. Cole felt a chill creep up his spine that had nothing to do with the other man's element.

Chen threw open the halls at the front of the room dramatically. He gathered himself to his full height and cleared his throat, a hush falling over the room, “All rise for Lord Chen.” He announced.

They all stood from their chairs respectfully, standing tall and squaring their shoulders as Lord Chen made his first appearance of the tournament. He wore long, expensive robes that billowed with every step. Delicate embroidery and beading catching and twinkling in the hall's warm lights. He was flanked on each side by several samurai in strangely shaped helmets and elaborately tattooed faces, each with a sword on their hip who marched in time. Several women fanned out behind him as well, their faces painted theatrically in swooping kabuki makeup. They fluttered forward to pull out Lord Chen's chair, others throwing themself forward to unlatch his fancy outer robe and remove it, revealing equally elaborate but more practical robes beneath. One woman hurried to fill his glass with water and his cup with tea, bowing as she stepped away from the table.

Lord Chen, in contrast to his neatly put together robes and serious air, was a scruffy looking man. His eyebrows and his mustaches were wild and unmaintained, the red makeup around his eyes applied sloppily- even the salt and pepper of his hair seemed to get the memo and came in in awkward stripes along his sideburns. “Sit.” He commanded, his voice rough and scratchy.

Cole sat along with the others. The Samurai fanned out across the room, looking intimidating and mean, but made no move to draw their weapons.

Lord Chen's face was kept in a neutral scowl, eyes narrowed and assessing as he raked them across the gathered crowd. Then, his lip twitched- and just like that, he gave up the act and grinned broadly. He threw his hands out, a new air of levity breaking through his serious act, “Welcome,” He shouted, “to the Tournament of Elements!”

He smiled, arms outstretched. A long moment of silence passed, no one knowing quite what to say. His smile never dimmed even as his arms dropped and he settled into his seat, “I am delighted to have you all here, in my home. Please, eat!”

The moment the words come out of his mouth, servants flood into the room each carrying trays of food and drink. They serve each of them a small appetizer dish artfully arranged on the plate. The dinner continues in a similar manner, with each consecutive dish brought out ceremoniously. It's easily the most expensive meal Cole has ever eaten, with puffer fish a delicacy he never thought he’d taste.

The dinner passes quietly. So quietly, in fact,that after the third course Chen himself scoffs, “No need to act so shy! You are my honored guests. You are permitted to speak freely!” He makes a shooing motion with a piece of sashimi in one hand, “Socialize!” He orders.

Hesitantly, chatter fills the room. Zane quietly instructs Lloyd on how to properly eat some of the more exotic foods on his plate, and Cole not-so-subtly eavesdrops and mimics him. He can hear the sound of Jay and Kai arguing down the table, which has quickly become a regular occurrence among the two.

“You have a beautiful home, Lord chen.” Neuro says politely.

“Isn’t it lovely?” Chen smiles, sipping his tea.

“It is,” Zane agrees, and his voice slices across the room as he directs his eyes to the head of the table, “I suppose it must be, since you cannot leave.”

Chen's easygoing smile freezes on his face. The room grows quiet and strangely tense, Cole shifting uncomfortable. Zane's eyes are that bright, intense blue, and all his attention is focused solely on Chen.

Clouse speaks next, recovering smoothly from whatever Zane had just implied, “Lord Chen has been well documented as a recluse, but this tournament is his return to the public eye. He has always been intrigued by the elements, and has chosen to face the world once more for the opportunity to see you all in action.”

It sounds like damage control. Chen is still smiling, but there’s something dark swirling in his eyes now.

“Of course.” Zane nods graciously, “It must be difficult to come out of hiding considering his role in-”

“What was your name again?” Chen interrupts abruptly, grin tight along the edges.

“I believe you know my name.” Zane responds neutrally, “You know everything about us.”

When Cole was younger, when he still lived with his father, he could always tell when his dad was angry by the way his lips pulled tight over his teeth. Like he was suppressing the urge to snarl. He always walked away then, leaving Cole to practice his fouette alone with his fathers disappointment hanging over his head. Chen has that same tightness around his mouth, but there's a fury to it that Cole can practically taste that hangs electric in the air.

“You are awfully presumptuous.” Chen says jovially, the sharp blade of danger brutally apparent to Cole.

Zane dips his head, “It was not my intention to offend,” He says, despite the fact that Cole is one hundred percent certain that was exactly his goal. He looks up and meets Chen's eyes, “My name is Zane. I am the master of Ice.”

“Ice.” Chen echoes, “Symbolizing stillness, coldness- the absence of love. Death, even. What an element to be saddled with, but it seems it fits you well.”

There’s something there Cole can’t pick up on, some uneasy threat. Chen continues, “Despite that, I still welcome you to my island and I am eager to see you fight in the tournament.”

Zane regards him quietly, “Thank you for inviting me.” He says evenly as dessert is served.

Chen turns away from Zane and stands, addressing the whole table warmly, “Never before have so many Elemental Fighters been under one roof. I see Master of Fire, Earth, Shadow, Speed, even a prophesied Green Savior.” His eyes linger on Lloyd before he moves on, “I must welcome you again to the Tournament of Elements! Here, we will pit you against each other in friendly combat to reveal which element rules over them all! The rules are simple. Every match will be different. No two fights will be the same. Your powers will keep you in the Tournament. Use it or lose it!”

Karlof rubs at his beard, “Hmm, What does Karlof win?” he asks with narrowed eyes. It seems Cole wasn’t the only one to pick up on Chens strange behavior towards Zane- in fact, most of the table looked uncomfortable and wary, now. Zane had revealed teeny pieces of fact about Chen he was trying to suppress. What was he hiding?

“Win and stay on the island. Win it all, and you'll receive fortunes beyond your wildest dreams!” He flings an arm out and one of the lush curtains to the side of the room is pulled aside by one of his woman servants, revealing stacks of cash that nearly reach the top of the vaulted ceiling. There’s a collective gasp through the room, and Cole can practically see everyone's suspicion fly out the window at the size of that prize, “-and lifetime supply of Master Chen noodles. But no one is here because of noodle. You want the glory of being the greatest fighter in all of Ninjago!”

Jay is practically drooling at the sight of the money, as are several of the others. Cole gets a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but even he can’t shy away from a prize like that. Earth could win this thing- he could win this thing. He knew he could. Coming home with all that prize money… proving himself as ninjagos number one warrior… this was his chance to prove himself. Maybe then his dad-

A cold hand grips his bicep and Cole turns around to look at Zane, whose face is tense with worry.

Cole feels that same cold chill up his spine again.

“What happens if we lose?” Lloyds little voice pipes up, carrying ominously across the room.

Chen's smile grows strained again, but he doesn’t miss a beat, “Lose? Who here likes to lose?” A few of the others laugh at that, “Now please, enjoy my island. It's a super fun, happy place. Hahaha. Fun time on me! We will begin the first challenge of the tournament bright and early tomorrow morning!”

With that, he sweeps out of the room with a flourish. His servants and guards go with him.

Clouse stands as well, “Lord Chen formally requests you all retire to your rooms for the night.” He says bluntly, completely disregarding Chen's words not five minutes earlier, “We must prepare for the first challenge and that requires you all to stay in your rooms until morning. Our servants will escort you.”

As they are marched back to their rooms by several of Chens samurai, Zane stays close to Cole. It feels like a funeral procession.

“Cole, I have a favor to request.” Zane says quietly as they approach the rooms, the Samurai finally out of earshot.

“Uh, What is it?” He whispers back just as softly.

They arrive at Zanes door quickly and Zane barely has time to speak before the guards are ushering him away- he looks at Cole with those intense, knowing eyes and simply says, “I need you to find me.”

And then the door closes behind him with a finality, and the others are escorted to their rooms in similar fashion. Cole can barely sleep all night, but when he finally does doze off it feels like only a few seconds have passed before the rising sun cuts a path across his eyes and wakes him. He has a quick breakfast from his minibar and joins the meandering mass of contestants as they walk down to the grand hall once more.

Cole had been ruminating over Zane's request all night, trying to understand what he meant. Maybe he wanted Cole to stand with him this morning? He stands on his tippy toes and looks over the crowd, hunting for Zanes signature white hair. He frowns, turning around and looking behind himself too- where was he?

“Oof!” He grunts as Jay crashes into his side.

“Morning!” Jay greets with a grin, “How’d you sleep?”

“Not well.” Cole admits.

“Me neither! You know why? Because it occurred to me last night that Chen said there would be one winner last night- one!” Jay smiles with a manic edge, “Which means our genius team up plan is out the window. They’re gonna tear me apart!” He gestures at the others wildly, a few of them shooting him a weird look.

Cole snorts, “You’re the master of electricity, Jay. I’m sure you can hold your own.”

Jay throws himself onto Cole, gripping the collar of his shirt and sagging to the floor in anguish, “I’m going to die!”

The grand hall had been cleared of the dinning room table, the raised dais now the focal point of the room that Clouse was standing on as he waited for the last contestant to linger in. Clouse clears his throat, “Before Lord Chen arrives, I have some unfortunate news.” He clasps his hands together and summons an extremely fake looking frown, “Late last night, due to a family emergency, Zane chose to drop out of the tournament and leave the island.”

That cold chill is back. Zane didn’t have any family, that was one of the first things he’d told Cole.

I need you to find me.

“He is being transported back to the mainland by our ferry, which is our only way off the island. It will return in a few days, but for now that means we are unable to leave.” He says apologetically, “But I can ensure your accommodations here are more than adequate enough that you won’t want to go!” He says with a grin.

“Now, it is time for our first challenge: The hunt for the Jade blades. Lord Chen will explain the rules.” He says with a bow, graciously stepping aside so Chen can take center stage with his signature flourish.

Zane didn’t leave on that ferry.

Cole had a feeling no one would be leaving on that ferry.

[sensei-wus-beard]

Everytime @spinchip gives us more of his hometown glory au my brain explodes

[slowpokegamer]

Was thinking about @spinchip 's Hometown Glory AU and where mine and @sinningsmyspecialty 's characters fit into it so here's some doots

[spinchip]

I love your hometown glory au!! Where characters have spent different amounts of time with each other (Cole and Jay meeting earlier and living together for a while) and going through some big character developments alone (Zane finding out he's a robot) or having backstories changed (Lloyd having lived with his uncle mostly) how do you envision the group dynamic changing?

There's a lot of things about AUs that im honestly really picky about especially in one like this where i'm essentially gutting the series are rebuilding from the ground up, but one thing thats always important tome it to attempt to keeop the integrity of the character as similar as possible to their canon counterparts. So, for tghe most part, the dynamic within the group in the AU will lead into very similar dynamics that are in canon. They may start a bit more muddled and different but certain traits of the characters- Kais fatherly instincts, Coles leadership, Lloyds determination, etc. etc. will eventually lend itself to a dynamic much like the show.

There are several hurdles to jump through before we get there, of course, Like Zane keeping the crew at arms length because of his android secret. I do imagine that since Lloyd doesnt get a mystical age up that the others are a bit more protective and parental towards him, and I even entertained the idea that Cole actually in the groups leader, not Lloyd. Lloyd unites them, but cole leads them. (and honestly lloyds got enough to worry about w killing his dad. doesnt need to add ninja wrangling on top of that lol)

[spinchip]

in hometown glory, does lloyd still controls elements like fire, lightning, ice and earth along with energy? since he stopped using those after went golden, and that hadn't happened here

Id honestly say Lloyd has a very basic grasp on his power in HG. He's still pretty young, and HG is actually a complete reboot fo the series where the confrontation w garm and the overlord doesn't happen for several seasons, giving lloyd time to train up and grow at a normal pace. no magical age ups here lol... if im being honest i dont remeber the early seasons too crisply but all the power he gained later on her does gain in HG eventually

[spinchip]

What if the pilots and Season 1-3 never happened and they all met later at the Tournament of Elements. Hometown Glory AU

Kai has no interest in any of this elemental powers nonsense, fully committed to following his fathers footsteps and running Four weapons on his own. He’s content to toss their invitations to the mysterious Tournament of Elements the moment they arrive, but Nya has always wanted more... and when the opportunity comes, she’s on the first bus out of Ignacia, chasing her destiny. Where Nya goes, Kai is bound to chase after.

After running away from home, Cole meets a kid named Jay and starts working at his familys junkyard for a place to stay. Eventually, the Walkers all but adopt him and he’s a member of the family... He and Jay discover their elemental powers together, and when the invitations for the Tournament of Elements show up, they’re eager to test their limits.

Falcon still finds Zane, leading him back to Birchwood Forest and revealing to him the truth about who and what he is. With his memories restored, Zane becomes a wanderer, visiting all sorts of different places seeking all the information he can get his hands on about his Seer abilities, the Elemental Masters, Ninjago history, and a certain prophecy of the Green Ninja... He sees his invitation to the Tournament as the chance to finally unite with the people he’s supposed to save the world with.

Lloyd has been kept in the dark most of his life, he knows next to nothing about his family and his powers, and his Uncle refuses to tell him anything until he’s older. When the invitation arrives in the mail, Lloyd realizes Chen and Clouse knew his father, and they’re his only hope to understand any of this... But getting to the island means slipping into old habits and sneaking out behind Uncle Wu’s back.

[spinchip]

Pixal IS in my Tournament of Elements AU Hometown Glory! Here’s the designs i’m working with for her. (Shoutout to my friend Liam who gave me such big inspo for Pixals outfit!) Plus a bonus where Zane reveals his tightly kept secret... He’s an android like her!

[spinchip]

Hey so I really like your Hometown Glory au and the image of the elemental masters interacting with Lloyd is just in my mind so I written some drabble

(Submitted by @sombrerokiwi)

When Griffen bumped into the kid on the boat ride to the island he thought that the kid was one of the worker’s sons or something. A bit odd that their boss would let him run around in a boat but considering that he literally is in a boat full of elemental masters, it wouldn’t exactly be the strangest thing to see. A little concerning but nothing dangerous exactly happened to them so far besides some warnings and taunts all between them.

So it was shocking to find out that this kid is apparently the master of energy.

What Griffen was focused on was the fact that Chen let them compete in the tournament.

Don’t get him wrong, he was totally going to sweep the competition away and beat all the competitors at their own game. However, letting a kid into this? That’s just wrong.

All the other champions are already older than twenty and then they have to fight this kid who clearly has very limited training? Yeah no that’s not happening. He isn’t going to beat up a kid because he was caught up in this mess.

  If ever he is going to face him, he is going lose. Winning is great and all but he isn’t going to beat up a kid.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

  Kai wasn’t here for the tournament at all, he was here for Nya. All he wanted was to bring Nya home and forget all this tournament of elements BS.

  That all ended when the ship left and when they were basically stranded here once Zane left.

  He wasn’t sure what he was expecting in the tournament. Fights obviously of course. But other than that he doesn’t really know. And everyone else was an elemental master so who knows if he truly has the advantage or not.

  A thirteen year old being announced as one of those masters wasn’t something he would have ever expected. I mean who lets a thirteen year old into what basically is an illegal fight club?

  When the first event rolled around he went and last saw the kid being helped by the invisible guy. To be fair it was more like the guy purposefully dropped his blade in front of him and then stole another one from Cole if he remembers correctly.

  Kai just barely got through by beating the metal elemental master Karlof.

  It was clear to everyone that Karlof was the loser here. What was not expected however was for him to fall down a trap door to who knows where!

  Kai thought that the losers just kind of just either get sent home or are benched somewhere in the area, not dropped down below!

  “Hey hey Chen what exactly is under the trap door?! Do we get thrown to out deaths or something or do we just get thrown into cells?!” shouted Jay

  Chen looked at him with some annoyance. “Well why should I tell you? If you keep winning and not lose then you would never need to know what exactly happens!”

  No one liked that answer. There were murmerings all about and some are glancing at the kid with worry.

  Kai may not want to participate in this tournament but right now it looks like he has three goals in mind. First he needs to find a way off this island if things ever go to hell. Second is to protect Nya and make sure she doesn’t get disqualified. And third is to find out more about the kid and protect him.

  Nya can protect herself and Kai knows but he isn’t about to turn a blind eye at her and now that there is a kid in the mix, he isn’t going to let a thirteen year old get hurt in this place.

  He may not like the kid but he is still just a kid. No one really in this place feels great about the idea of beating up a spunky overconfident kid.

  Later he finds out his name is Lloyd and it turns out that underneath his spunky persona, he is actually a really good kid. Cole and Jay sooned joined him, Nya, and Lloyd at their table. During their time eating Jay talked about how he would tinker with some electronics when he was young, how Cole would basically be the strongest person anyone would have met, and how Lloyd would talk about how his training lessons and something about how his uncle and mom know almost everything about Ninjago.

  At that short time the group seemed to have decided to protect the kid at all times. Kai isn’t sure about the others but like hell is he going to let this kid get hurt.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

  Chamille wasn’t sure what to make of this Lloyd kid.

  On one hand he’s a kid and beating up children is generally frowned upon.

  On the other hand she really wants to win

  When first meeting him she thought he would immediately be disqualified first round through and through. Of course then Paleman pitied him and nudged him towards a jade blade and he advanced.

  Then Karlof fell down the trap door and that puts a new perspective in things.

  For one this means that the losers would be either given death or worse and now everyone is just being real paranoid with each other and making allies with each other and waiting to backstab the other when the time is right.

  This also means that if the squirt loses it means that they are probably sending him to his death.

  Chamille wants to go and teach him that he isn’t that much of a hotshot as he thinks he is but at the same time she doesn’t think death is the best method to teach him.

  As the rounds went by and more and more people get disqualified, everyone just sort of held their breath and hoped to not fight the kid. There is even some talk of finding a way off this island after some rumors fly around that this competition isn’t what it seems. And to be honest, after hearing that the kid is actually competing with them, she is starting to believe that. 

  Lloyd may be the so called Master of Energy but it took Chamille years to fully master her element. Lloyd is no older than thirteen and she doubts he even scratched a surface of his power. Maybe he is as powerful as everyone else but he obviously doesn’t have control over it.

  Of course Chamille was the unlucky one and has to be the one to be pitted against him.

  Chen says that they have to beat each other at Thunderblade and if he thinks that situation makes it better that she is competing with a literal kid then it really doesn’t.

  Everyone took their respective teams however there is some more people at Lloyd’s side than hers and really, she can’t blame them. It’s a rigged fight. I mean pitting a child against an adult is something that isn’t exactly considered fair.

  So she slows down a bit and everyone on her team seem to go a little easier on him. She wants to win of course but she still wants to give him fair chance at least.

  Then one of them starts talking about how Chen is planning to steal their powers for his own goals.

  At first she thought really it’s just something to get her to lose. She wants to win first and foremost and she already gave Lloyd a fighting chance when he had it and if he couldn’t catch up then shame on him. She’s in it for the glory.

  They kept trying to convince the others still and now her own teammates seem to try to sabotage her as well.

  She would have still called it BS if it weren’t for the fact that the kid started to beg to listen to them and to stop the tornament for the sake of surviving and keeping their powers and stopping Chen.

  There was some desperation in his eyes that made Chamille realise that Lloyd was not lying and was telling the honest truth. They both decided to win together and stop Chen once and for all.

  Chen tried to rigged the competition but luckily she is a master of Forme, and as such she can trick Chen into believing that she herself is Lloyd.

  The moment they realised that she wasn’t Lloyd, Clouse started to do some weird magic stuff on Lloyd holding him back. And then Tox decided to just tackle Clouse to stop it. Stupid move if you ask her but if it works, it works.

  At one point both she and Lloyd got the buggy and started to get the same amount of points. Chen of course kept trying to rig the competition but she doubts that at this pace, there is anything able to stop them.

  The moment the race finished they both won. Everyone started to gain up on Chen and take him down and let them go home and stop his plans.

  Chen of course was quick and presses one of the trap door buttons.

  Griffen however is quicker. Especially since he is the elemental master of speed.

  He pushes both Lloyd and her out of the way and falls into the abyss down below.

  Chamille’s not sure what Chen is planning but by god she is going to kick that guys ass for thinking that he can steal all their powers and get away with it.

——————————————————————————————————————————-

WOW! Thank you so much for writing this little fic, I’m so glad you like my AU enough to write for it! i was so excited to read this when i opened my inbox! Thanks again, i love this :]

[spinchip]

Ooh I haven't heard about Hometown Glory in a while!! Since the ninja aren't working together from the start, is there something that brings them together over the tournament or do they group off into different alliances with the elemental masters?

the power of gay pinning. this is partly a joke but now that I said it... yeah.

I wrote a fic of HG au a while back where the team meets each other so they’re already sorta sticking aorund familiar faces, but It’s definitely Zane- who’s seer abilities and travels thorughout ninjago clue him in on the green ninja prophecy and the ninja he’s supposed to fight side by side with- who starts to bring them together, and then Zanes mysterious departure from the tournament that brings them even further together to find him... Starting with Cole, who’s connection with Zane (romantic) made him start to dig deeper into where zane went.

[spinchip]

Whats your favorite thing to focus on/start with when it comes to fanseasons/canon divergent aus/oc stories that intersect with canon? Do you like building off of underutilized characters/lore or more leaning into "I just think this would be neat/funny/interesting to play with"? Do you find yourself drawn to particular concepts or ideas? Sorry if this is a bit much I just like thinking about the writing/brainstorming process

You'll definitely see a mix of these when I make and AU or fanseason- like for example, Sweet Dreams is a fanseason that introduced major OC side characters, building off the underutilized Seer lore, and is also something i wanted to play with since in canon Zanes abilities arent treated with much Seriousness for what they are. Then there's Hometown glory, which is absolutely just a "It would be interesting if they met at the tournament of elements first" because I wanted to explore a bit of how the characters would grow apart from each other (which, Hometown glory is developed from an AU where after the monastery burns down Zane never comes back, changing the timeline drastically and leading to them reuniting w him in the tournament of elements) so there's no really clean cut way i'd say i tend to favor for this stuff

but i guess i CAN say if i do make fan content for Ninjago, you can bet it's gonna be Zane centric

[spinchip]

ok for the asks: which is your favourite ninjago season, least favourite season, and the season you're the most neutral towards? if you're feeling extra u can rank all of them

KEEP IN MIND I HAVE BAD TASTE THANK U

in order from best to worst, with some reasonings

Master of the mountain- Cole season, thats immediate points. Vania was introduced and developed very well! I liked the Geckles and Munce, and Coles mom and the upply LOL

Sons of Garmadon- Harumi. enough said?

Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu- can u believe it. im the ice emperor guy and s11 isn’t even my number one... it has lots of problems :/

rebooted- PIXAL I LOVE YOU even though your characterization and introduction was so so rough and ur relationship with zane was weirdly rushed. also had cryptor. we love to see them

Hands of time- I love time travel stuff even if its campy and not done too well. i’m a simple man, easy to please. also love gay acronix

Rise of the snakes- the place it all began... rememeber when the monastery burned down and everyone yelled at zane? ninjago fucked up moments. also the convoluted inspiration for hometown glory au

tournament of elements- hee hoo glacier :] skylor introduced! Other elemental masters!! pythor comes back! lots of good moments if u can get past the ways it sucks so hard

legacy of the green ninja- Dr julien came back and the fight with the overlord was cool

possession- Morro!! Ghost Cole! Though that was not utilized to its full potential. Water master Nya... love it

hunted- no memory? rocky dangerbuff came back i think??? goatee wu. faith is awesome. not enough zane

March of the oni- the fall makes me sad :[ dont rememeber feeling a lot about this otherwise

skybound. should not have been written :/

also keep in mind these all sucks so bad sakdjfdkf if it werent for the charming characters.... i swear. Rife with bad stuff

[spinchip]

Can I ask the plot of the hometown glory au on how they beat Chen and his cult plot? Considering that Garmadon is still not in the clear it kind of makes the plot a bit up in the air on how they beat them

I havent rewatched season 4 yet so im going into this without a refresher lol. bear w me.

subject to change lol. also under the cut bc it got really long, what with having to incorporate the whole ‘you need the essence of a tru anacondrai to complete the spell’ except in this au we technically havent gotten ANY serpentine yet.

HOMETOWN GLORY AU TIMELINE-ish

tournament of element invites. The main cast meets all of each other for the first time on the boat. the boat ride itself takes a few days. This whole au takes a lot longer that original, in canon. could be split into 2 ‘seasons’ witht he tournament the first half, and the serpentine search the second half.

while this is happening, the boat is being tailed by a mysterious mech... that seems to look like a samurai... (PIXAL, BABEY!!!!!!!!)

they get to chens island and have dinner. zane lets slip he knows more than he should, and then asks cole to "come find me later, please?" by the morning he's gone, chen and clouse announcing the boat back to the mainland is taking zane home because of an emergency, so of course no one will be able to leave until it comes back, so sorry :( (not really sorry, also they are lying lol. zanes already been power snatched and locked up)

i havent thought the middle through lol. Skylor and kai interactions! Cole loses his match and is taken to the noodle factory, where he meets pixal, also captured! they find zane and the samurai x mech together! the three of them free the other EMs! some stuff with chens big snake happen! lets get to some exciting stuff

throughout the Au we learn more and more about the prophecy of the green ninja and garmadon through Lloyds snooping and Clouse trying to manipulate lloyd onto their side (cant be the hero that kills your dad if youre actually evil!)

as we learn about garmadon, we also get a B plot with Wu and Misakp realizing that Lloyd has gone to the tournament, meaning that Chens plan could actually work, and lloyd could be hurt! but do they have the knowledge on chen and clouse to be able to fight him on their own? no, they need help...

Wu and Misako go after Garmadon, who is SUPPOSED to be in the underworld, but he's not! After fighting off samukai and some of the other skeletons at the expense of their travelers tea home, they go through garmadons room and find a map where he's been searching the underworld for a place where the ethereal divide is thin, and they search the spots not crossed off on the map, finding a spot to jump between the underworld and the realm of madness.

The tell garmadon, whos transformed into his 4 arm self (we get a little info about the golden weapons here, but in this 'season' of the AU, we don't get to that plot), whats going on and he propses a truce while they save lloyd, going back with them through the thin spot in that volcano Wu knows leads back to ninjago.

WHILE this b plot is happening, Chen's plan begins to come to fruition, and even with his evil staff broken he uses his daughter to complete the spell like in canon i think? I need to rewatch s4. they go back to the main land and leave the others there... except the spell is wearing off!! Turns out they need the essence of a true anacondrai warrior to make it permanent, but no ones seen actual serpentine in decades... Chen however, has spent a lot of time gathering maps and information, and has a pretty good guesses at where they were sealed away.

BUT so does lloyd. after being kicked out from darkleys and going to live with wu, he got angry and ran away from home, wandering around trying to be evil to prove he didnt deserve to be kicked out and starting at jamanakai villiage. after they obviously shoo him away and call wu, he flees into the glacier barrens before getting homesick and going home... but when the elemental masters are trying to beat Chen to the anacondrai tomb and they're doing research on the tombs themselves, Lloyd recognizes the Hypobrai tomb and leads them there. race against the team Chen put together while the rest of his evil guys stay behind.

Hypnobrai are still angry about being sealed away, but put aside their feelings to stop chen and stop this war, wanting to live peacefully without any more pain. together using the hypnobrai maps, they free the other snakes, including the sole survivor of the Anacondrai tribe, Pythor.

chens small infiltration squad comes too late... but they find one of pythors shed skins (or anacondrai bones lol), and use that. the fight at the corridor of elders comes to fruition, but no the elemental masters also have the other serpentine tribes to back them up, and they start to beat back chens army.

because I do what i want, Garmadon doesn't have to sacrifice himself to call back the 6 anacondrai generals. instead of "the person who banished them must take their place" its more "The person who banished them must be the one to free them" so garm like does that lol and Arcturus denounces chen and banishes him, dissapating the effects of their spell and then moving on with his generals to the departed realm!

the au ends with a big celebration, but at the very end Lloyd catches garmadon leaving, and asks him about what clouse said about the prophecy of the green ninja. Garmadon hugs lloyd and reveals that it's true, their destinys are to fight for good and evil. lloyd cries, but garm tells him that he will always love him no matter what, and that hes looking for a way to change destiny.

lloyd asks him to stay because hes afraid he'll be all alone (sure hes got wu and his mom, but they won’t tell him anything), but Garm points him in the direction of Kai, Nya, Jay, Cole, Zane, and Pixal and reassures him he's got a great team on his side.

lloyd goes and joins them. garmadon is gone. 'season 1' end.