#ninjago quest for lost powers

[destinygoldenstar]

Kai Is Getting On My Nerves ; So I Finally Read ‘Quest For Lost Powers’ (Commentary Part 4; The Lake Of Fire)

<< Part 3

Welcome back to the commentary on a book that should've been a special but wasn't. We are back with the epic story, a story that was totally not done before. Fire Chapter? Not canon.

So where we left off, Kai decided to get his revenge on the Pyro Vipers that started a new cult and rampage, Skylor's joining him, and the village was set on fire, and the chapter ENDED.

So let's see what the new chapter has in store for us.

[The ninja managed to knock down a few, but— “Ow! Ouch! Ow!” The flames singed Kai every time he made contact. He stopped spinning and rolled on the ground, putting out the flames.]

Ladies and gentlemen, The Fire Ninja is getting burn wounds.

The dirtiness done here, I swear.

And somehow, that's not nearly as humiliating as that time Kai got jumped by furries.

[“Kai, I have an idea. There’s a—” “I told you, I got this!” Kai cried, jumping to his feet. “Ninjaaaaaaaaa— OW!”]

Don't you just LOVE IT when a character who should have learned to work as a team A LONG TIME AGO is STILL struggling with a PILOT LESSON.

IN AN EPILOGUE OF THE SHOW.

I mean... I'm sorry, that's just, WOW.

I KNOW he's supposed to be in the wrong. I KNOW he's gonna get called out for this, and learn his lesson. My problem is that he learned to work with others in the pilot. At THIS point, he should already know full well that Skylor knows what to do.

[SPLASH!]

SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP

Oh wow, she caused a tsunami on them!

There are many things in this image.

One, Kai learned airjitsu again.

Two, I thought the army was a bunch of Serphantine, but that’s probably me reading it wrong.

Three, that poor guy lost his hat.

[“Foul water! Hydration prevents our salvation!”]

I'm sorry, that was just a CRINGE response.

[“Yeah, well, thanks for your help, but I could have done it on my own,” Kai muttered.]

Oh you liar. And he's gonna acknowledge he's a liar in a minute.

Be nice to the girl who saved you.

Your GIRLFRIEND, actually!

[She knows I’m lying. Without my powers, I’m nothing, he thought bitterly. I need to find Fire Fang and get my powers back!]

"I don't have my powers ToT" : 6

[“You know, Kai, I know you’re going through something, so I’m being pretty patient with you. But I don’t know how long that’s going to last.”]

Skylor is my exact mindset right now.

I think this is what we ALL think right now.

[“I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help. But I just know that if I don’t do this on my own, it’s not going to work!” “How can you be so sure of that?” Skylor asked. “You of all people should know that working on a team is better than working alone. Where would you be without Master Wu and the other ninja?”]

AGAIN. Skylor is saying EVERYTHING I'm saying. He already learned these lessons.

He was IN A TEAM, the WHOLE show.

That's telling enough.

[“I don’t know. Maybe I’d still have my powers,” Kai grumbled.]

"I don't have my powers ToT" : 7

AYE.

Kai's getting on my nerves this chapter!

But fr, if he never met Wu, would he even KNOW he's a fire ninja?

I don't think so.

It was that or be a broke blacksmith raising a sister.

[Skylor shook her head. “This is not the Kai I know,” she said. “I’m not the Kai I know,” he replied.]

Kai Stans being upset in a nutshell.

So Kai is fully aware he's being a prick, but he's choosing to be one anyway? What kind of message is this supposed to say?

Again, I KNOW the story's painting him as the one in the wrong.

[“Let’s get you to Fire Fang and see if your plan works. Let’s jump in our three-wheeler, and—”]

And you all said I was crazy for calling that vehicle a tricycle.

[“Those hotheads retreated as soon as they got a little wet."]

UH, Skylor, are you referring to the Fire Fiends, or Kai?

[They made their way back to the delivery vehicle and got directions to the Lake of Fire from the villagers. Kai and Skylor made the hour trip in silence.]

No reason to SEE that, apparently. Just a paragraph saying where the Lake of Fire is.

[There was no sign of the Fire Fiends—or Fire Fang—except for a giant, stone statue of Fire Fang, overlooking one side of the fiery lake.]

Oh great, it's the Great Devourer all over again.

Okay that’s really pretty. I got nothing else to say about that.

[“How can a Lake of Fire exist, anyway?” Kai wondered out loud. “Is it some kind of magic?”]

BOY, DO YOU KNOW NINJAGO?!

[“It looks like a crater to me,” Skylor replied. “There must be natural gas escaping from fissures in the crater. And all it would take is one spark—” “And the crater would burn, and keep burning until the natural gas runs out,” Kai realized. “That’s pretty cool, actually.” “Hot is more like it,” Skylor said, breaking into a grin.]

So they really are those geothermal lakes.

Also, we're just going with the overly complicated science explanation?

I would've personally just said "It's the fire elemental's magic" and been done with it. But points for effort.

[“Fire Fang’s got to be in there! Time to get my powers back!”]

"I don't have my powers ToT" : 8

[He darted out from behind the rock and raced toward the crater. “Kai, no, wait!” Skylor cried out.]

You should know full well that telling Kai to wait is like telling a fish not to swim.

[I’m not going to let her stop me from doing what I have to, Kai thought, and he launched into Spinjitzu and whirled across the sand toward the Lake of Fire.]

WOW. HYPOCRITICAL, MUCH?!

Of your own girlfriend too!

My GOSH Kai.

He is just getting on my nerves SO MUCH this chapter.

It's also kind of a sexist comment to have. You can't let a girl stop you from finding fulfillment. How dare they try to help.

Maybe I'm reading that horribly wrong, if so, I apologize, but I have to say it.

[…until the surface beneath his feet dropped, and he plummeted toward the leaping flames below!]

That's the last sentence of the chapter.

Kai died.

The end.

Goodbye.

Continued in Part 5>>

[1-noone-1]

[waterghostype]

masters of earth

[zanepilled]

quest for the lost powers changed zangst nation history forever. original book scene under the cut

i wish the show would touch on his trauma more because the character development in just these few chapters was crazy

[ghostscrown]

Lmfao

[schploinky]

I read quest for the lost powers and while i had Thoughts. i decided to set those aside for another day and focus on JAY AND UNAGAMI! JAY AND UNAGAMI! THEY'RE FRIENDS! THEY'RE BROS !!! unagami is just like me (autistic)

these doodles are messy as hell but! i really like how they turned out. i love these guys so much. i don't have any insightful comments about the art itself i just think it'd be so cute if the core four babysat for Dyer

it's my bjrthday by the way(threat)

[jalluzas-ferney]

I don’t think this is an unpopular opinions but lowkey fannon kailor is sm better than cannon kailor.

(Read the tags)

[mostdefinitelyahumanperson]

that time Kai got jumped by furries forever lives rent-free in my head

[hehelegos]

something i think is so sad about cole and lillys relationship is that even when lilly was healthy, she wasnt super present in coles childhood, she kept taking on missions and going out on adventures and lou took time off from the royal blacksmiths to care for cole and be his primary caretaker, despite thaat, cole still loved his mother and looked up to her as a hero. which makes it even sadder that when she passed away and lou ran back to the royal blacksmiths, cole essentially had no one to fall back on like he did before with his dad

[the-writing-trash-panda]

A child is smarter than Jay. To be fair that child is an ai but still, I find that hilarious.

[mimenoises456]

Shitty doodles from the past week. I still can't get over how radical pre ninja Zane was

[destinygoldenstar]

Kailor Is Canon, But Not Good Enough For The Show ; So I Finally Read ‘Quest For Lost Powers’ (Commentary Part 3; The Fire Fiends)

<< Part 2

Hey, remember when Kai got jumped by furries?

(My viewers annoyed with me) (Me)

Welcome back to the world of SLURP.

I'm kinda glad I'm doing commentary on Tumblr and not YouTube because then I'd have to use my voice. And I am currently sick. So it would not be pleasant to listen to someone who sounds like they're dying, when in reality they're just being shoved orange juice down their throats and getting headaches. (But I hate oranges, so maybe I am dying.)

We're continuing with Chapter 2 of the Fire Chapter.

Cause it is pretty much the Fire Chapter but with Skylor. I'm not the biggest Skylor fan in the show, but she's just being a girlboss in this book so I'm here for it.

Let the women do something dammit.

Last chapter, Kai's being a butt and sulking on the job.

Then he got jumped by furries.

And now he has decided that in order to get his fire back, he must hunt down a stray Pyro Viper.

Or sorry, FIRE FIENDS.

Come on, pick a name and stick with it Ninjago!

And you know what? At least unlike the Fire Chapter in the show, Kai gets to have a sweet fill of revenge.

Okay I'll stop. (No I won't) Let's get into it. We are starting right where we left off from last chapter.

They just had their encounter with the furries.

(I will not be surprised if I lose followers for this alone.)

[“Whoa, slow down, Kai,” she said. “I mean, it’s good to see you’ve got some pep back in your step, but are you seriously going to run to the outskirts of Ninjago wearing a stained sweatshirt in the middle of the night?”]

Uh, Skylor, have you met Kai? Clearly not.

Also he was wearing a HOODIE in the illustrations. So... Skylor is not fashion smart either.

That, or someone was just too lazy to change this line to 'stained hoodie'.

I'm a writer myself, I notice that stuff!

[“You don’t need to come with me,” Kai shot back. “This is a personal quest, and I’ve got to do it on my own. I can handle this."]

I'm... ugh.

I'm not as mad at that line as I feel like I should be.

I'm working on a Kai essay, and so you know, one of my talking points is that Kai can barely handle anything on his own. So this is deeply ironic that he says that.

And like, yeah, it is kind of a personal thing he needs to do. Sometimes your own thoughts/feelings are what you need to get out of a tight spot in your mental state, and contrasting feelings from another person clash with that.

He's not being MEAN about it... YET.

And SPOILERS, Kai is supposed to be the one in the wrong. Keep that in mind. Kai is wrong for his thought process.

[A flopping fish from the fish tank slid out of his sleeve and fell to the floor.]

How does that even happen? How did the fish get in his hoodie when we're dealing with LEGO clothing physics?

Did the fish try to take a bite out of Kai?!

[“I know you’ve got this. It’s just…maybe a road trip would be good for us. I mean, we haven’t

even been out on a real date yet.”] [“I visit you every night at the noodle shop,” Kai protested.] [“That does not count as a date,” Skylor replied.]

OH RIGHT KAILOR'S A THING NOW.

Um... WOW. Okay that's embarrassing for me.

I legit FORGOT that Kai asked Skylor to be his girlfriend in Crystalized.

That scene in the show just caught me off guard, because I thought they already were dating.

So TWICE now, the status of their relationship is news to me.

I'm more of a lavashipper, but I don't hate this. I just wish the show built up to these two better. But you know, good for them.

[He hadn’t been the first to leave. Zane, the Ice Ninja, had retreated to the Samurai-X cave with the android P.I.X.A.L., who had created some experimental software that she thought would help Zane regain his Ice powers.]

Okay slow down guys, we haven't gotten to their stories yet!

But that's also interesting. I am glad we're getting backstory on what happened and why they moved out.

[Then Cole, the Earth Ninja, had left the city for a simple life on a farm, and Jay—well, the Lightning Ninja didn’t tell anyone where he was going.]

That, or Kai just didn't care enough about his in law to get that information.

I know they're friends, but to me these two are rivals that work together who deep down want to get rid of each other.

[Nya, the Water Ninja, was busy saving the world in her revamped Samurai-X mech.]

You'd think once she got her powers back she'd ditch Samurai all over again. But no she's keeping it and reinventing herself.

Actually, I like that for her.

But we'll get there when we get there.

[When he wasn’t busy helping to rebuild the monastery, the Green Ninja continued to train, and Lloyd had tried to get Kai to train with him every day. But Kai’s heart just hadn’t been in it.]

I understand it, but YOU REDUCE THE BROS TO A FLASHBACK?!

Despite that, I love this for them. I love their dynamic overall. 💖

How long had that been going on? For awhile, right? Cause Kai was the last one to leave.

Lloyd knows how Kai feels about situations like this, and just wants to help his bro recollect himself. I've had anxiety, and I felt a depression when a close person to me moved to another country. I could not make friends for a long time after that, even when my family tried to help.

[“I want to try living an ordinary life,” he’d said, and he’d packed a bag of clothes and ventured into Ninjago City.]

...writers. Pick a motive.

To be fair, I think this is just a me problem. Maybe not though.

Does Kai want to still be a ninja? Does he not want to? Cause at the start of the book, he's not. Then he hears 'fire snake' and he decides 'nah I want to'.

Or maybe the furries motivated him.

[He found a place near the noodle shop, where he spent most of his free time. During the day he worked odd jobs around the city, and at five o’clock he headed to the restaurant and lingered there, talking to Skylor, eating noodles, and watching the giant TV.] [There wasn’t much to his apartment except a bed, a table, a bathroom, and a small kitchen area with a sink, mini fridge, and electric stovetop. The only time he spent there was to sleep. If he lingered for too long, he would be alone with his thoughts, and he hated that.]

Young Adulthood be like.

Also why didn't you say SLURPING noodles?!

[Kai changed out of his wet clothes and into some dry sweats.]

Sweats? That's a weird way to word that. That sounds like he has a hygiene problem.

[I’m not sure if I’m ready for this, Kai thought. But tonight I let a bunch of inexperienced goons with a ridiculous name kick my butt, and Skylor had to save it.]

HEY REMEMBER WHEN KAI GOT JUMPED BY FURRIES?!

[I need to be the Fire Ninja. And the only way I’m going to do that is to put on this uniform, defeat Fire Fang, and get my powers back!]

👏

I like this, actually. I like this scene.

I like that we got some backstory for his shoes. I LOVE that we actually got to SEE his headspace!

s11 didn't even give him that. And before you say 'well ones a book the others a show' you can STILL do stuff like this. Seeing the character's headspace goes a long way to understanding them.

What is that transition icon?

Like what is that supposed to be??

[“This is what we’re driving on our adventure?” Kai asked, wearing his uniform.]

…honestly I gotta agree with Kai on this one. Why does it have ONE WHEEL IN THE FRONT?!

This is a tricycle with no doors to protect the drivers/passengers!

And there’s LEGO studs sticking out!

Which is, surprisingly, VERY UNCOMMON for this show!

CHEN’S GHOST IS IN THE BACK WINKING

I don’t trust this thing.

Kai's face just reads "I should've written my will before this."

[“Looking good, Kai. Red is your color,” she said. “And your hair is styling.”]

(Kai) Thanks, it's uniform. And I use ten gallons of hair gel a day.

Even when I'm underwater, my hair is like a rock.

[She was an Elemental Master too, just like Kai had been. As the Master of Amber, she could temporarily use the powers of any other Elemental Master she touched. That meant that most of the time, she had to rely on her combat training in battle.]

THANKS, READERS OF THIS BOOK HAVE NEVER SEEN THE SHOW.

The audience already knows this!

[She’d been an ally to them— and a good friend to Kai—ever since.]

Good friend, you say?

[“So, where exactly are we going?” Kai asked as Skylor drove through the city streets.]

Why are YOU the one asking that?! YOU were the one who wanted to do this!

You don't even know where you're going?!

[“It’ll take us most of the day to get there. But I brought snacks!”] [She held up a bag from the noodle shop. “Not-so-puffy potstickers. Not good enough for my customers, but just fine for a road trip.”]

That is SAVAGE AND I LOVE IT.

Skylor just said "That is what you get for picking off my quality food peeps! I'll find use in my creations and I'm not gonna apologize for I made them."

Working at Hollywood be like.

I know I just said I'm not the biggest Skylor fan, but that's because of how the show treats her. In this book? She is a QUEEN right now.

[They drove for hours, listening to music, snacking, and talking. Their journey took them out of the city, over rolling hills, and through farmland. By the afternoon, the terrain had changed to more open, flat land. Kai could see what looked like desert sands in the distance, bordered by low, reddish mountains.]

That sounds like a very cute Kailor montage followed with pretty visuals.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE SHOW.

[As much as he thought he needed to make this journey alone, it was good to have company, especially Skylor’s.]

I do really like this aspect of Kai's character. Kai at the start of the show would never just enjoy himself around anybody like this. Unless it was Nya.

It really shows that in terms of THIS, Kai has come pretty far in letting people into his life and just being a dumb kid again. It's wholesome.

I know people hate it. I don't hate the concept itself of Kai being happier, I think it's wholesome. I just don't like how it's executed as 'arsenal klutz/can't be taken seriously anymore'.

Again, Kai essay, I'll get to it and talk about that.

[Can I really beat Fire Fang without my Elemental Powers? he wondered to himself.]

...

SEASON 2.

TOURNAMENT.

POSSESSION.

YOUR INTODUCTION IN THE PILOTS.

Do I HAVE to put up a counter EVERY TIME he whines about this?!

I'm gonna do that, counting last chapter

"I don't have my powers ToT" : 4

I won't count that flashback. He didn't say anything about his powers there.

[“IT’S KAI THE FAMOUS NINJA! HE’S COME TO SAVE US FROM THE FIRE FIENDS!” someone yelled, and the villagers began

to swarm Kai.]

Kai proceeds to have Skybound flashbacks.

This is toxic fans of a cartoon character in a nutshell.

Oh wait, Kai doesn't remember Skybound...

I to think when this happens, he subconsciously gets anxious, and he asks himself "Why do I feel a great wave of DREAD?"

[“Okay, okay, everyone, please back off! You’re messing up my hair,” Kai said, and the villagers quieted down and obeyed as the ninja patted his hair back into place.]

DIVA KAI. We love it.

[“You will find Fire Fang there, in the Lake of Fire,” he said.]

Is it one of those geothermal lakes?

Yeah that's all actually heat.

[“Those who live around the crater have always worshipped fire. They kept to themselves. But when Fire Fang arrived, they worshipped him. And that’s when the trouble started.”]

[A teenage boy spoke up. “They began to attack the villages in this region, burning down houses and bringing the plunder back to Fire Fang.”] [“They have attacked us once already, and we’re trying to rebuild,” a man added.] [Kai gazed around at the village, and saw what he hadn’t noticed before. Some of the homes were just shells of charred wood. Other buildings were under construction with fireproof bricks made of red clay.]

Oh I actually love that backstory for these creatures.

I always wondered this about the Pyro Vipers. Because fire is such a destructive element that's very often used for wars, destruction, just burning things to the ground. Yet here Kai is using that element for good. So these sort of villains are like the anti-Kai in terms of how you can play with fire. And you know, also be aware of damage you cause and what you do when you screw up or get too emotionally unstable.

We didn't get that though. It was just 'You have firepower, yoink, it's mine now" And Kai gets no character development related to his fire besides "I want it back"

And it's the same here, unfortunately. This is just lip service to a deeper narrative they could've done.

I think that would've been glorious development for Kai.

Or at least, made a better rivalry between him and Aspheera.

[“And the Master of Amber, too!” Skylor said]

I did not edit that. I did not mess that up. There is, legit, no period at the end of that sentence.

This may just be a problem with my copy, let me know if it's different for yours, but WOW.

What the heck editors?! There's a thing called editing the text, right? Where you check for grammar errors?

Yet SOMEHOW, this NEVER got edited and fixed.

This sentence didn't get punctuated.

What happened?!

[“We’re glad you’re here, Kai, but haven’t you…well, people say you’ve lost your

powers.”] [“He’s still a ninja!” Skylor interjected.] [Kai frowned. “It’s okay, Skylor. It’s true. I don’t have my Elemental Powers of Fire. But that’s only temporary."]

"I don't have my powers ToT" : 5

I don't like that these people are basically saying "You're useless without your powers"

That's what s11 reinforced. And I hated it. I hate it here too.

And before you argue with me that the message there was that you didn't need your powers, may I remind you that Kai not being able to use the forbidden scroll was a factor in how Zane got banished, Kai not having his powers nearly KILLED a whole realm of people and he needed to get it back to save them, and Nya had to learn to bend ICE.

GOSH I hate how this book reminds me of s11...

P.I.X.A.L doesn't exist.

[Clang! Clang! Clang!]

SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP.

[“This way!” Skylor cried, and she raced toward the direction of the fireballs.]

I had to look back to see if I read that right. I did read it right.

She raced TOWARDS it.

"Yeah this way everyone! Let's go get set on fire!!"

THAT’S THE END OF THE CHAPTER?!

Okay we’re going HARD.

Also that guy in the back is just 😂

No one’s gonna help out that poor dude?

Continued in Part 4>>

[goldenavenger02]

found my place

His heart was pounding when the darkness allowed him to come up for a quick moment, just a few seconds to let him thoroughly panic before a hand tightly grasped onto his with the hushed voice insisting, “hey, hey, it’s okay.”

And with that, he was pulled back under.

For @senseigrace, edited by @21st-century-ninja

Lloyd’s thoughts had been hazy since the final battle.

He knew it wasn’t his final battle with the tight rope that destiny had around his neck, but he couldn’t help but hope that it was the last time.

That this was the last time he would have to fight The Overlord, the last time he would have to see Harumi and the last time he had to see Garmadon.

He tried to find the bright spots in all of it, like how Nya was back and even had regained her powers, how Ninjago was rid of the persistent darkness that tried to engulf it, but despite that, his mind just kept wandering back to the darkness that lingered inside of him.

Even the sunrise exercises, training hours and meditation sessions that he was still expected to show up for despite being the only participant were unable to center his absent mind; nothing could erase the memories of the mental and physical pain that was associated with becoming something that he wasn’t, even if there was a small voice inside of him begging him to forgive his father.

Which had led Lloyd to where he was now, standing outside of Master Wu’s bedroom with his hand knocking lightly on the doorframe; he highly doubted his uncle was awake, given that the time was nearing two in the morning, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t lull himself to sleep.

But, to his surprise, it only took a few rapid, soft knocks for Master Wu to open the sliding door and given that he was still wearing the clothes he had spent the entire day in, Lloyd couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t the only one who was struggling to sleep in the eerily quiet monastery.

“Come in, Lloyd,” his uncle insisted as he stood to the side, allowing Lloyd to walk inside; his usual meditation setup with the tray of burning incense and the red, fraying carpet was still out as well as the secondary brown carpet that was reserved for lessons, “I’ve been expecting you.”

‘Why am I not shocked?’ Lloyd thought as he sat down on the familiar brown carpet, crossing his legs when he had fully brought himself to the ground.

“You haven’t been sleeping,” Wu called him out, “because something is troubling you.”

“Have you heard from the others?” Lloyd asked, hoping that his lie would be enough to quell his master’s prying, only to get the head shake that he had been expecting along with a sigh.

“Not since they left. But we both know that’s not what is keeping you awake, if anything, you should be sleeping better without the late-night video game sessions.”

Lloyd pulled in a breath to try and calm his nerves, pressing his palms into each other so they wouldn’t shake before the truth spilled from his lips, “I just…I’m worried, Master Wu.”

“About the others?”

“Well, yes, but no,” Lloyd stopped to bring in another shaking breath, feeling his heartbeat pound in his ears, “I’m worried about becoming like my father” those words resulted in Wu raising his eyebrow with what he hoped was curiosity instead of disappointment, “and the whole Oni form thing isn’t helping me feel better about that.”

“My brother was slowly corrupted by the darkness inside of him from the Great Devourer, the Oni inside of him simply propelled it,” Wu insisted, his voice growing eerily steady like it did every time he spoke about Garmadon, “we each follow our own paths, Lloyd. Paths that we are not even aware that we are on.”

“So, you have no idea if I’m going to end up like Garmadon.” Lloyd sighed as defeat seeped into his bones, “or if I’m going to turn into an Oni and get stuck like that.”

“I’m afraid I do not, nephew,” Wu agreed, “but, what turned your father into what he is now, was corruption of what once was truly good. The things that turned him into what he is now, they no longer exist.”

Lloyd nodded; he knew that the Devourer was long gone, that the Oni masks were destroyed and that the Golden Weapons had been returned to raw, elemental energy. 

Nothing existed that could corrupt him the same way it had destroyed his father.

“But, and you’re not going to like this, you should continue to work on controlling your Oni form.”

“Have you not been listening to me?!” Lloyd couldn’t stop himself from shouting as he stood up, “that sounds like doing exactly what Garmadon wanted me to do! He wants me to be like him, you know that, right?! He wants me to let go of all of my emotions, my sentimentality, anything that makes me human!”

“Lloyd-”

“I can’t end up like him, Uncle Wu!” 

And with those words, Lloyd felt like he was eight years old again; terrorizing Ninjago, releasing the Serpentine and being everything that he thought would bring his father back to him only to get taken in by the ninja, screaming and fighting as they made him board The Bounty.

He hadn’t even noticed the hot tears rolling down his cheeks until his uncle approached and brought his hand up to wipe them away before pulling Lloyd into a tight hug which only made him cry harder.

His chest heaved harshly, his body shook and all he could do was grasp tightly onto his uncle, burying his head into his shoulder.

Master Wu didn’t speak, he just kept one hand on Lloyd’s back and let the other one gently brush through the golden wisps of hair, but it didn’t do much to quell the sobs of what he had been keeping in longer than he should have.

But, when his eyes started to sting and his ears started to hurt, he finally managed to pull himself away from Wu’s shoulder, wiping his face on his sleeve.

“I-I’m sorry,” he muttered under his breath, “about yelling at you.”

“I would rather you aim your anger at me then someone else, nephew,” his uncle insisted before putting his hand on his left shoulder, “now, even though I don’t assign bedtimes any more, it is much too late for the two of us to be awake. No sunrise exercise tomorrow, but I expect to see you awake before noon.”

“Goodnight, Master Wu.” Lloyd nodded, letting his shaky legs guide himself to his bedroom.

But as he walked, he couldn’t stop the thoughts of worry from creeping back into his mind to try and narrow down any object that could possibly corrupt him.

…

The post-battle haze didn’t leave Lloyd’s brain when he awoke the next morning; in fact, between the throbbing directly in his forehead and the heat in his cheeks, the haze was only stronger than it had been in the last few weeks.

His vision was blurry as he squinted in the darkness, trying to gain his bearings only to see the familiar form of his uncle hovering over his bed; even though there was a look of worry covering his face, he couldn’t help but feel relief when he identified him.

“Master Wu?” Lloyd’s voice cracked as he spoke, making his cheeks feel more flushed than they already were and his jaw started to ache, “is everything okay?”

“Everything except for you, nephew,” Lloyd knew that when he was referred to by “nephew” instead of his name that Wu was worried about him but it wasn’t until he felt Wu’s familiar hand rest on his forehead that he was able to process that he was sick, “you’re running a temperature.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Lloyd insisted as he started to sit up, only to be met with what he could only describe as a stab of pain directly in his shoulder blades, “ah!” the cry of pain tore out of his throat and tears sprang into his eyes involuntarily.

He tried to slow his breathing as he was gently pushed back onto the mattress with a hand on his shoulder, but when the pain in his back dissipated, he was met with the throbbing in his forehead returning with a vengeance and nearly making him sick along with a chill starting to seep into his bones and spread throughout his body.

He couldn't stop himself from shaking as he pulled his legs inward toward his chest and pressed his head harder onto the pillow to try and muster up some relief.

“W-what’s…” Lloyd managed to pull a painful breath into his aching chest and fought the urge to cry out again from the ripples of agony, “w-what’s wrong with me?”

The last words Lloyd heard before the darkness pulled him down deep into unconsciousness were the unmasked, terrified words of his master, “that’s what your mother and I are trying to figure out.”

…

“-is going to have to hold him still.” 

“I’ll do it.”

Lloyd couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak. All he could do was listen in on the words spoken by his bedside as pain continued to make its way through his back, his head, his teeth, his hands and his sides and he was pulled into someone’s comforting arms.

He could tell that despite the rough hands seemingly trying to press on every area that throbbed or stung, he was being supported by someone’s chest against his back.

“This is bad, Wu.” The smooth yet deep voice finally broke through his hearing, “this wasn’t supposed to happen for years.”

Lloyd could recognize that voice anywhere; whether that was in the deep recesses of his childhood, those few good years followed by the worst years of his life, only to be face to face with something that was everything but what he needed. 

He could recognize the voice of Garmadon anywhere.

But, despite his harsh touch against his aching shoulder blades, there was the gentle hand in his sweaty hair that gently made its way from the top of his scalp all the way to where his thin, blonde wisps touched the bottom of his neck. 

It was the only thing that kept Lloyd from fighting the paralysis that held him tightly in its grasp because he knew that no matter how much his uncle wanted to continue to foster a relationship with Garmadon, he would never let him put an unnecessary hand on him.

If he had asked a question, had managed to make his lips move or even had found it in him to try and move, he didn’t know.

All he knew was that his uncle knew, because the touch somehow became even more gentle as his familiar whisper lulled him back into the darkness.

“Everything's okay, just go back to sleep."

…

“You need to call them, Wu.”

“If this is what Garmadon says it is, then it will pass.”

“Regardless of whether it will pass or not, you know as well as I do that they will want to know what’s going on.”

“They are all in the process of trying to regain their elemental powers, Misako.”

“And they all left you their contact information if they were needed. My son needs them right now.”

A long heavy sigh and the same gentle touch running through his hair before his uncle finally responded.

“Very well.”

Darkness enveloped Lloyd yet again almost as quickly as it had let go.

…

His heart was pounding when the darkness allowed him to come up for a quick moment, just a few seconds to let him thoroughly panic before a hand tightly grasped onto his with the hushed voice insisting, “hey, hey, it’s okay.”

And with that, he was pulled back under.

…

When Lloyd awoke again, his head was throbbing and even though it was now centered in the top of his skull, it still made the pain radiate throughout his face; despite that, he finally managed to pry his eyes open once again.

The lights were off, making it difficult for him to focus on anything.

In fact, he considered going back to sleep for a moment when he didn’t see his mom, uncle, or even Garmadon when his eyes flicked downward toward the pressure surrounding his left hands and saw the familiar, scarred hand with the red fabric of a gi nearly covering it.

“K-Kai?” he managed to croak, only now realizing how much his throat burned and his jaw ached, only to feel a soft hand on his blanket-covered leg that belonged to, “Nya?”

“Lloyd!” Kai shout penetrated his skull in a way that he couldn’t do anything but wince, resulting in the sound of a hard ‘smack’ against skin that he could only guess was Nya, “my bad, bud” he added in a much softer voice.

“H-how?” He couldn’t help but ask even though he vaguely remembered his mom and uncle discussing calling the others.

“Master Wu called us,” Nya said with a nod of confirmation coming from Kai, “he said that you weren’t doing too great.”

“Granted, I don’t think anyone would be doing well while they were turning into an Oni-”

‘No, no, this isn’t happening,’ the anxiety started to swell at the thought of looking like, of turning out like Garmadon, at the mere possibility of his worst fear coming true, ‘not now, not now, this is not happening.’

“Lloyd?” Nya’s muffled voice tried to break through, “Lloyd, we’ve got you.”

‘I’m a monster. I’m turning into everything that’s wrong with me. They’re going to leave me again.’

“Lloyd,” the pressure around his hand tightened, forcing him to look up at Kai’s amber-colored eyes, the eyes that he associated with safety, “Lloyd, take a deep breath and hold it in. I need you to do that for me, okay?”

Lloyd couldn’t do anything but comply, the salty tears breaking away from his tear ducts and streaming down toward his ears as he pulled in a shaking breath.

‘In, hold, out, hold.’ He repeated the breaths that he was coaxed through like a mantra until his chest stopped shuddering and his cheeks grew sticky from the drying tears.

Eventually, Kai loosened the pressure on his hand enough for him to push himself upwards on his elbows and slowly prop his aching body against the pillows; his head felt way too heavy for his neck but the angle allowed him to take in the fact that Nya and Kai were really there.

“Here, let me just…” Nya paused as she reached forward with a soft tissue and wiped down his cheeks before running her hand across the top of his scalp while avoiding the two prominent sources of the pain that pulsed throughout his head, “there you go.”

“Thanks,” he smiled, despite the ache it sent throughout his mouth before letting it fall, “what do you mean, about what you said?”

Kai’s sigh was long, the kind he reserved when he regretted what he had said, as he responded, “your uncle and your da-Garmadon want to talk to you about it.”

“First Spinjitzu Master,” Lloyd cursed as he rubbed his hand over his face; the thought of having to talk to Garmadon about how he had become exactly what he had tried to mold him into and hearing him gloat about how he had been right the whole time made Lloyd’s headache come back with a renewed throb to it, “do I have to?”

“They’re gonna have more answers than us, Lloyd,” Nya shrugged hopelessly, “but we can always stall for you, say you’re still asleep.”

“Yeah, we don’t wanna push you,” Kai insisted before his free hand became alight with fire, “and you know, just say the word and I’ll hurl this at Garmadon’s face.”

‘Wait…fire?’

“You got your powers back?” 

“We all did, big shot,” Kai’s grin continued to widen as he extinguished the flame, “and I’ll give you all the details after you get some more sleep.”

Lloyd nodded, scooting himself carefully back onto the mattress so he was laying down before rolling onto his side and letting his eyes flutter shut. He felt Kai pull the blanket over his shoulder and Nya gently squeeze the same shoulder, but he just let himself welcome the darkness that engulfed him once again.

…

With help from Kai and Nya’s stalling and his first peaceful sleep for the first time in a long time, Lloyd managed to hold off the conversation for a solid five hours.

And despite that, when he finally managed to stand on his shaking legs and look at himself in the bathroom mirror, he still didn’t want to do this when he still had the option to lay down for a few more hours.

But the sharp fangs that protruded from his gums in the place of his canines and the nubs of horns that would have been fully hidden by his hair if he hadn’t just been victim to a raging fever and sweat reducing the natural volume worried him.

‘If I keep putting this off, are more things going to change?’ he couldn’t tell if he was imagining the red that had always made up his eyes trying to push through the bright green, if the Oni inside of him was fighting its way to the surface, ‘will I continue to turn into a monster until there’s nothing of me left?’

“Lloyd?” Nya’s voice was soft as it broke through the spiral and forced him to turn away from the mirror to see her slouched against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, “do you want me to go with you?”

As much as Lloyd wanted to say yes, he had a feeling that this was meant to be a private conversation between himself, Master Wu and Garmadon, something that the others would hear from him as soon as his father made his way out of the monastery.

“No, but…” he looked down at his fingertips, wincing when he saw the dark stain of dry blood under and around his fingernails from his claws forcing themselves out which sent him to the sink to try and scrub some of it away.

Nya approached silently, her hand coming down to rest on his shoulder as she spoke, “that promise I made to you, about protecting you? I still intend to keep it, and so do the others.”

“I know.” Lloyd agreed, knowing fully well that the others wouldn’t hesitate to take Garmadon down at the first sign of danger, that they had all been very uncomfortable with his methods of trying to teach him how to control his Oni form to the point that the insult toward Master Wu was the breaking point for them.

“Do you need anything before you go talk to them?” She asked while he pulled his hands away from the sink and wiped them dry on the brown towel that hung next to the sink.

Lloyd nearly bit his tongue in order to keep himself from saying ‘I need to get out of this conversation’ until he remembered that he had fangs now and he would actually like to keep his tongue, so he settled for looking up at Nya’s grayish-blue eyes and asking.

“If it’s not too much to ask, there’s a new Starfarer movie. It’s the reboot series, so it’s not as good as the original ones, but-oomph” he couldn’t hold the sudden wince of pain as Nya hugged him tightly, but she pulled away nearly as fast as she hugged him.

“I’ll let the others know, we’ll be waiting for you,” she insisted, leaving the room with one more look and a “good luck”.

Lloyd forced his legs to bring him towards his master’s quarters and as he brought his hand to the door in a series of swift knocks, the only thought that filled him was ‘here goes nothing.’

No one opened the door, but it was unlocked when he gently nudged it, so he let himself in; he wasn’t surprised to see Master Wu and Garmadon both sitting down at the small table pushed into the back of the room, talking softly over cups of tea.

He cleared his throat, instantly gaining both of their attention from their private conversation, but he kept his attention focused on Wu’s face despite his father’s voice being the first to speak directly at him.

“He lives.”

Lloyd swallowed back his anger as he crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to look him in the eyes and keeping his attention on a slightly darker spot on the hardwood floor.

“The least you could do is sit down with us.”

“I’d rather stand.” Lloyd tried to keep back as much of the bite in his tone as possible, if only for Master Wu’s sake of having to mediate between the once-close father and son.

“How are you feeling, Lloyd?” Wu asked while filling a third teacup which he reached over to hand to Lloyd once it was three–fourths full.

He took it gratefully, the warmth from the light brown liquid warming his palms while the scent of chamomile and vanilla worked through a few of his nerves; it smelled like Steep Wisdom, like coming into his uncle’s room late at night when something was keeping him awake; above all, it smelled like home.

“I’m feeling better,” Lloyd finally looked back up at his uncle with a nod before glancing over at his father, “do you know what all of that was? Is that why you were brought here?”

“That’s exactly why I was called here,” Garmadon insisted as he stood and approached Lloyd, “Wu and I may have similar genetics, but when it comes to the Oni side of it, I have much more experience.”

The lightest touch in his hair had him flinching away from the hand that was more than likely trying to get a closer look at the horns that had emerged from his skull, and the shame only really hit him in the chest when he saw the confusion and what seemingly was regret on Garmadon’s face.

“I didn’t mean to-”

“I’ve changed, Lloyd,” Garmadon cut him off, “and you still think that way of me? You still think I would hurt you?”

“I’m trying.” Lloyd swallowed to keep the tears from falling out of his eyes, “I’m trying to let you back into my life, but after that stunt you pulled, I…” Lloyd reached his free arm up to his face to wipe the tears off of his cheeks even though he knew they would quickly be replaced.

He was angry at his father, yes, but the real emotional weight of just how hard it was for him to have him and then lose him, only for him to come back but not as the father he remembered only for him to act as though he was losing him again, was finally smacking him across the face right in front of the man himself.

“The transformation you went through, that wasn’t supposed to happen until you were much older, when you aged from an adolescent Oni to an adult Oni,” Wu filled in, letting Lloyd’s unfinished sentence hang in the air, “but between your genetics and the Tomorrow’s Tea, Garmadon and I have come to the conclusion that your body assumed you were ready.”

‘Damn Tomorrow’s Tea,’ Lloyd couldn’t help but think as he nodded along with what his uncle was saying while setting down his untouched tea, “but that’s the end of it, right? The horns and the teeth, that’s it?”

“Well, that’s part of the reason that it was so hard on you, that I was so hard on you, aside from you being too young,” Garmadon cut in, only now Lloyd could find it in himself to actually look at his father’s glowing, red eyes, “the Oni side of you will always fight to let itself out unless you learn to control it. If you keep fighting against it like you have been, there is a high chance that more of your Oni features will end up like your horns and teeth. Permanent.”

“So the purple eyes, the claws, the wings and the extra arms?” Lloyd swallowed at the sight of the mental image he was faced with, the ruthless Oni that fought for dominance, “they would always be there?”

“Precisely,” Garmadon confirmed, making Lloyd’s stomach twist, “but you are closer to controlling it between this transformation and unleashing your Oni form, you just have to learn how to bring it out when you want it to come out.”

He didn’t respond to his father but focused his attention on his uncle as he asked, “I don’t suppose you could teach me that.”

Lloyd couldn’t help but deflate when Master Wu shook his head, “Your father is the most equipped to guide you through this training, Lloyd.”

He nodded and turned back to Garmadon, bringing his eyesight upwards to look at his glowing red eyes, the ones that used to remind him of home the same way the scent of his uncle’s tea did now, before finding it inside of himself to ask, “when do we start?”

“Once your horns finish coming in, you’ll have better balance that way,” Garmadon’s voice was unwavering and void of any emotion that Lloyd could try and pick out, “should be about three days from now.”

“Okay,” Lloyd nodded in agreement and hoped that he hadn’t just signed up for hours upon hours of misery, “is there anything else that you need to tell me?” 

“No, nephew,” Wu assured him, “you may leave now.”

Lloyd had never left a room faster, even if it was just to breathe in some less stuffy air and avoid having to process everything that had just happened. ‘Processing can happen later.’

And with that thought, he made his way downstairs toward his promised movie viewing and the others all while trying to keep his mind clear of any thoughts about his dad, the Oni or the pain that still occasionally radiated through his head and down his neck.

He had never been so relieved to see the others in their usual places, PIXAL and Zane setting up the movie, Cole holding the popcorn bucket that Jay had gotten when the two of them and Nya had gone to see the last Starfarer movie that had starred Cliff Gorden in the titular role, Jay and Cole already starting to eat it despite the fact that the movie hadn’t even started.

Given that Nya and Kai were sitting on the couch, leaving the spot in between them for him, Lloyd could only assume that Jay and Cole’s playful bickering had resulted in the two of them being banished to the floor like always.

Lloyd took his spot on the purple couch and shamelessly rested his aching head on Kai’s warm shoulder, his eyes already trying to flutter shut.

“Lloyd, the least you could do is try and stay awake long enough for the movie to even start.” Kai joked while wrapping his arm around him and gently rubbing his hand up and down his right arm.

“I’m gonna stay awake, ‘nless you put me to sleep.” Lloyd mumbled from where he laid, but made no move to sit up which only continued to enable Kai.

“Be nice,” Nya chastised as she finally got Cole to move the popcorn bucket upwards so she could reach some, “he’s been sick, he can sle-” she cut herself off after putting a few kernels in her mouth, “who the fuck seasoned the popcorn with ranch?”

Nya and Cole bickering about the ethics of putting ranch seasoning on popcorn was only stopped by the familiar intro music that indicated that PIXAL and Zane had finally gotten the movie started.

Lloyd tried to pay attention to the newest installment in his favorite franchise, but his eyes continued to try to flutter shut, Kai’s warm hand on his shoulder was the closest thing to a comforting embrace he had gotten in days and the blanket that someone had tossed over his body was so soft that he couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to stay awake during the first fight scene.

All he could really focus on before he drifted off wasn’t the classic “Fear? Fear isn’t a word where I come from” line, it wasn’t Jay saying that the design of the spaceship wasn’t comic accurate only to get loudly shushed by everyone else.

It was that for the first time since standing on that floating rock next to his father and Harumi, his thoughts were no longer hazy; for the first time in a long time, Lloyd’s thoughts were clear and for the first time in a long time, he welcomed the veil of sleep with open arms.

[ninjagosimp]

Short Lloyd+Nya siblings

I see Oni as naturally having very VERY close sibling relationships because (my au) when the oldest oni child is 10 years old they along with all younger siblings (above 3 years old) are pretty much abandoned by the parents, as they are considered old enough to take care of themselves and their siblings.

So having this for Lloyd means that naturally he would have a bond with siblings, but he doesn’t have biological siblings so Nya and Kai became non-biological siblings to him.

Nya more than Kai for two reasons. 1. In his partly oni brain, at the very beginning (before he was the green ninja) he saw Nya as more of not-human. (I will make a different post about this) and she was closer to Lloyd’s age (Lloyd: 9, Nya: 13).

2. Nya was much kinder to Lloyd than Kai was at the very beginning.

So mixing his oni protectiveness with his care for Nya. And then let’s add some Nya being attacked to the point where she fading in and out of consciousness, and you got a recipe for disaster.

(This is after Quest for the Lost Powers)

So Nya and Lloyd got paired up for a simple mission, but that never happens for them. It was an ambush and one thing leads to another and Nya is laying down on the ground and Lloyd is near her about to completely lose his temper.

The people that ambushed them are already talking about the payment they’ll get from this, but the straw that broke the camels back was this.

Creep: “You know, I’m thinking about keeping the girl, she does have a good face.”

Hearing someone talk about his sister like she was a damn artwork, the sister who had protected him though everything, who trusted him with her life, who was just laying unmoving on the ground hurt because of these horrible people.

It was the second time in his life that he went into his oni form. He couldn’t even get the motivation to try and stop himself. They hurt one of the most important people in his life, he wanted them to suffer.

[toastingpencils37]

"A serpent half as tall as a Ninjago City skyscraper"

Bull fucking shit. The Fire Fang is the height of smaller multi-story apartment buildings.

The Fire Fang would at least have to be 10 stories tall, and I'm pretty sure those apartment buildings are not 10 stories tall. So I'm calling bullshit.

(Unless the Fire Fang somehow fucking grew between SotFS and QftLP)

[ghostscrown]

Well. I've finally read Quest for the Lost Powers (after accepting I had to buy it in english because it was probably never going to be translated in my language). I'm not crying. I'm not crying, YOU are-

The angst in this book guys. I felt like reading a whole angst/comfort fanfiction

I want to share this because omfg