The assignment was to experiment with illustration, you weren't supposed to JUST draw an animal but instead experiment with expressing the animal in a different way. I choose cats because they are silly
(i got a mid grade, the work was supposed to be cohesive from one another aka it was supposed to have a line from one to another, but i just thought we were to experiment different things, also i hate experimenting with mediums out of my confort zone, this assignment was hell, also i think my teacher misslead me but its neither here not there)
I've re-written a lot of information a well as explored a lot more about this AU, and yes! the ref sheet is also new, i've always been midly unhappy with the first one, i was inexpriences/lazy to make a lot of details this time around Im very happy with the result and how uch i have expended the au
ALSO! its officialy has a name "Virtued Ninjago" it already has a tag that you can follow
== Contextual Events ==
[1] Kai's plan- After his ascension into godhood, Lloyd hid his newfound immortality from the team, as he too was trying to deal with it emotionally; however, that plan didn't last long after he accidentally cut himself gravely in front of Kai; Kai had gotten worried about Lloyd's cut and checked it out, only to be met with an already healing wound. Everything went downward after that; Lloyd had to explain his immortality when it happened and what it entailed. Kai was mortified. He had thought that, while sure Lloyd was part dragon and thus already had a longer lifespan than the rest of the team, he would still die one day. This changed everything- they were all brothers in arms, teammates for life; not even death has truly split them apart, now this? This was something else, and Kai was having none of it. Despite Lloyd's wishes, Kai called the rest of the team, gathering them all for a meeting, nudging Lloyd to confess and explain to the rest.
Kai was not satisfied by only doing that, he wanted to fix it, to ensure that Lloyd would not be left alone forever, so a plan started to form- souls, in their last moments, would insert their souls into Lloyd's body, ensuring that even if they don't become physical entities, they would stay with Lloyd for as long as he lives.
[2]"Deathly Bonded"- 1000 years after the events lead by the lives of the Ninja, Cloud Kingdom known for their ability to write destiny, whom kept writing records surrounding Lloyd and the team, released a book by the name "Deathly Bonded" that came to be a record of Ninja's early life; and became serialized after the continuous release of more books on their lives until their deaths. The series now contains 20 books, and the Ninja hate it due to its accuracy.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
==❤︎CHARACTER INFORMATION❤︎==
Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon | The Harmony
Age- 3000+ (immortal)
Height- 5'5 (1.65m)
Lloyd has lived many years, of course, now he's immortal. He doesn't have much of a choice but to continue living on; after being put between a rock and a hard place, he made the tough decision to sacrifice his humanity in order to save what he held most dear. He ostracized himself from society after that, after all,- it's painful to make relationships when they are so short-lived.
He was many things throughout his life: a bratty child, a son, a brother, a master, and a hero, and now he's nothing more than a myth, a "Virtue", or merely someone unnoticed by the masses, while still a part of Ninjago history, recorded through time thanks to the release of a serialized book of the ninjas history by Cloud Kingdom(*2), many actually question if he ever really existed or not in the end, if his story was actually just a fairy tale.
He is considered a god by many, often referred to as "Virtue", but he denies that being the case; maybe he is the embodiment of the balance between good and evil, but he won't even try to call himself anything like that to begin with.
Lloyd now lives with the spirits of his family, as their souls are embedded into his body, with occasional visits from Morro, his adoptive cousin, and Garmadon, his father, both of whom live in the "Realm of the Departed" as its protectors.
The name "Harmony", given to him by historians fascinated by his story, came to be because of what historians believed to be his personal values, his beliefs, basing themself on his want of peace, the want for the world to be unified through heart and spirit, harmonized into a beautiful symphony. His current power level is beyond human comprehension, but still, something humans beg to understand, beg to just have a glance into the knowledge he possesses; people, places, cosmic truths and lies—nothing escapes his gaze.
=How he became a "virtue":=
On a mission to find a great and powerful creature, referred to as a source dragon, one whose power revolved around "Life", pretty much a god among living creatures, Lloyd and his team went into a luscious cave said to harbor the dragon inside; however, they were ambushed by a foul group that wished to steal the power for themselves, the ninja separated to cover more ground in the cave and to thin out the enemy. Lloyd, in his search for the dragon, found them in a large open space, deeper within the cave. The dragon's life was slowly draining, all around it was dying vegetation, it longed to pass down its power, to finally accept it's cruel fate; So when Lloyd appeared, someone who shared it's power to a certain degree, it saw an opportunity and took it, it asked Lloyd to became the new source dragon of Life, to continue its duty of keeping all life in check, Lloyd accepted it, there was no other option. But something went wrong, Lloyd hadn't been the only person in that opening- not anymore, during the transfer of power, during the visceral pain of astronomical power being inserted in a mortal body, Lloyd was pierced by a spear through his heart, someone from the enemy group had found him and attacked. Through this action, the transfer had inadvertently been aided, making Lloyd no longer mortal. Where the source dragon's body lay now exists an enormous tree and Lloyd now had become a godlike being with the power to control the very concept of life.
Lloyd had become a "god", or a source dragon of his own, depending on who you ask; he soon started receiving invitations? From the other Source Dragons? That didn't make sense; the other source dragons had either rejected him when he became a conduit for one of them or had accepted him warmly, but now that he had become one of them, they wanted to meet him? a confusing situation. The truth is, a good portion of the remaining 5 and newly revived 6th dragon wanted to follow their previous comrade's steps; they too wanted to give away their powers; finally tired of the long eternal life they had lived, thousands of years keeping the balance of the world in check, and they had had enough, deciding to give their powers to Lloyd. Making him a supreme Source Dragon, but he is only referred to as the Source Dragon of Balance and Life.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
Nya Smith Walker | The Teleology
Age- 3000+ (spirit)
Died at 109
Height- 5'7 (1.70m)
Nya, a famous racer, only had to step down from the hobby/career when she got into a small accident, while she wasn't gravely wounded, that was enough for her to be prohibited from competitive racing. From that day on she still raced but became more of an idol than a racer per say, people admired her and er dedication to racing. Even so she was never one to leave quietly, she made her mark, imprinted her voice into the mind of many. She ended up working on engineering projects, solo or with Jay, mostly out of boredom. Now, since she is dead, she has more free time than ever and uses it to learn and explore every corner of the sea, practically a marine life biologist, she has a whole journal filled to the brim with sea life unknown to the rest of the population. Many say she is mystical and her strength is as crushing as the waves in a storm can be, yet calm and relaxing as the days on the beach. Others, like the Ninja themselves, just see her as their beloved sister.
Everything has meaning, everything exists for a reason, things are done for a reason, she stands by that view, while something can exist just because that in itself is a reason. Teleology, a branch of causality giving the reason or an explanation for something as a function of its end, its purpose, or its goal, as opposed to as a function of its cause. A means to an end. She was a ninja to protect others, that was her purpose, her duty, and that has yet to change. The people of Ninjago see her path as a finality, the ultimate path to take, often dedicating themselves to their careers of grueling labor finding it an almost necessity.
=How she became a "virtue":=
Her death was peaceful a slow drift into a eternal sleep, she couldn't have asked for anything else, she's glad it wasn't anything of note, she got to say goodbye to all of the people she loved, they were all present beside her giving her soft and sad goodbyes, it's strange how they've all been able to tell when each of them was going to pass, every time it's Lloyd that warns the others, being able to predict the future is both a blessing and a curse. She will share that burden with him now, that will be her new duty, and this time- it's a choice she made in light conscience. She will become the Source Dragon of Flow.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
Jay Walker | The Nihility
Age- 3000+ (spirit)
Died at 112
Height- 5'7 (1.70m)
He was a man of the spotlight; he shined brightly- TV shows, TheyTube channels, he was known worldwide, both as a celebrity and as an inventor, creating cars, phones, and other gadgets all under the company of "Walker Corp". Not that he minded the retirement in the end, he lived his life, saved lives as a ninja and as an inventor and celebrity; he had two beautiful twins with the love of his life, Nya. He died happy, even if he was the last one to die, 3 years after Nya had passed. His last years were spent with Lloyd and Nya at the monastery, since he did not want to burden his children with taking care of them in their old age (70's).
He, in his younger years, often practiced racing with his wife in his free time and created all kinds of machines and weapons, which ranged from house equipment to ninja tech, like mechs, weapons, and transport. In his many years on the Ninja team, he's come to realize he doesn't exactly have the same type of strength as the others, so he created a different weapon, one that creates iron alloy strings that resemble spiderwebs, extremely sharp and often deadly after being combined with his lightning powers; this weapon is imbedded into his gloves.
Nihility…- he loathed the name historians gave him, it's double meaning became a shadow of his past, a thorn at his side; he accepts it, he understands the reasoning behind it, after the loss of his memories, during an event called "The Merge" where many different realms collided with Ninjago, and him going missing, the betrayals and heartbreaks, a ritual that shattered the goodness inside his heart, the confusing of meeting a team that he once knew and not recognizing them, with the eventual return of his memories, his time spent away to putting himself together again; he had become a rather cynical person, viewing the world as meaningless and unfulfilling for a long time, his mind in shambles from the strain put upon it for so long without a proper break or explanation. He did figure himself out, even if in the most terrible of situations, a terrifying encounter with a being that had made its home in the Land of Madness, one that left him with knowledge he did not want and nearly drove him to madness-… but he came back home, HIS home, with the people he loved and cherished; there was no doubt about that.
=How he became a "virtue"=
He was last to die, old and bedbound, his only saving grace being Lloyd, still as young looking no matter how much time passed.
[His memories were failing him, and the beeping of the machine next to him didn't really help, he didn't remember the place he was in, or whoever was the kind blond guy that kept coming to the storm themed room with delicious food and a sad face, the one he couldn't tell if he looked at him with pity or grief. All he remembers is helping save Kai's sister, Nya, and asking her if she liked blue, he doesn't remember if she answered at all, and he feels like he doesn't have much time to ask; when the guy comes back Jay asks him if he knows who Nya is, he says with a shaky voice and face filled with grief that he does, -"C'mon blondie, you gotta tell me, do you know if she likes blue?"- -"she does Jay… she does a lot, it's her favorite color actually… Her whole room is storm themed"- Lloyd answers between sniffles and chuckles -"Heh, does she like lightning too?- Jay asks with a chuckle, his voice going quieter by the second -"Yeah, she loves it"- Lloyd grabs his hand, they are warm compared to his that keep getting colder -"That's nice"- He smiles -"See you tomorrow, greenie"- the last words spoken as the machine next to them flatlines.]
After his death, Jay imbedded his soul into Lloyd's body, enacting Kai's plan (*1), his memories back and the reminder of a silent promise to always be by his side even after death- little did they know how literal that promise would become. With his soul inside Lloyd's body, it started to resonate with the power of the source dragon of "Energy", giving him a new spectral form with which he could interact with the mortal world once more. Its power attached itself to his soul, now making a spirit "god", aka The Source Dragon of Energy.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
Kai Smith | The Harborer
Age- 3000+ (spirit)
Died at 85
Height- 5'10 (1.78m)
Kai was a little bit of an influencer in his younger years, but as the years went by he settled more into being a family man with his wife Skylor and his little girl.
How did he become a spirit? Well it was his idea; well his plan was to become immortal like Lloyd but he was intersected by Morro, so he opted for the second best option: giving his powers to Lloyd, so even if he was dead he would be with Lloyd through his power; I guess powers being connected to the soul of a person was implied enough to no come to mind. With that, it wasn't part of the plan for him to actually become a part of Lloyd as a spirit, not that he is complaining, he got what he wanted in the end; and since he was the one that pitched the idea to the ninja, he just involved them all into the mad plan- one that Lloyd was unaware of.
Harborer… He doesn't really know where that comes from, i mean sure he cared about his family and protected them but that can't be his biggest defining trait, right? Perhaps he doesn't give himself enough credit for being the closest thing to a paternal figure/safe place to many in his life, raising himself and his sister alone after his parents kidnaping, then his proximity to Lloyd when he was just a child, his adoption of Wildfire after he moved out of monastery to live his life with Skylor, even those unrelated to his closest circle. He is what many wanted to be like after reading the book "Deathly Bonded"(*2), wanting to follow his footsteps and protect their families at all cost, a warrior.
=How he became a "virtue"=
Life took him early…well not THAT early living up to 85 is a record, below the average lifespan- but with a life like his he sure held up for a while; he was second to die.
["Bad habits can be the death of you" was that just something grown-ups said to scare you or an actual warning? Kai wouldn't be able to tell ya, sure he wasn't looking too good, he still can dish out a good beating, even if he is wheezing at the end of it; but he won't say he regrets it entirely, small indulgences can hurt that much. Well at the end it doesn't really matter anymore, being sick and bedbound is kind of embarrassing though, not really how Kai saw his life ending, he thought maybe a big world ending monster would attack or something but oh well, he isn't exactly leaving this world with regrets; wife, kids and grandkids…yeah he's alright, he's happy.
Lloyd came to visit today, he might have sensed that it's going to be the last, like a cat coming to cuddle next to me- Lloyd being there really felt like a final warning, at least he's not a burden to his family for long; -"hey bud, coming to see this old man, huh?"- -"Kai, you're not much older than me"- -"Maybe, but it does feel like it when it's us here, you'll always be like a little brother to me"- Kai lifted his hand to ruffle Lloyd's hair one last time -"Geez, don't get all mushy on me, it's not like you"- soft giggles filled the room, a small beat of silence stretch out -"Lloyd, can you do me a favor?"- -"Yeah?"- … -"Don't leave yet, I don't want Sky and the kids alone…stay until the funeral"- Kai can see Lloyd stiffening -"I'll be a wreck when you'll leave, you know that, right?"- -"I know, but you'll help each other out, it'll be okay"-.]
Lloyd did stay, just as Kai had asked. While he really didn't want his family to be alone, that hadn't been the only reason he had asked Lloyd to stay, after all it was easier to enact his plan if Lloyd was nearby. And it worked? Well, it wasn't what he had in mind, but it works, he was a ghost? spirit? doesn't really matter, what matters is that he is where he was supposed to be, with his family -so says the new Source Dragon of Motion.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
Cole Brookestone | The Tutelary
Age- 3000+ (spirit)
Died at 62
Height- 6'0 (1.83m)
Cole, King of the Kingdom of Shintaro, Husband of Queen Vania and Geo, father of the princes of Shintaro, and our beloved cake lover. Always there to protect, a pilar that sustains the very foundation of the Family. His departure from the Ninja and staying behind with the Finders was a painful decision but one that came with its rewards, a new Family; i mean it's not like he abandoned his old Family, he was still a Ninja at heart, and if they ever needed him they knew where to search, and with Lloyd's ability to teleport it was even easier to come fetch him if need be. At one point when a mission sent him back to Shintaro, he was able to make contact with Queen Vania once more, you can about guess how that ended.
A Virtue, his name given with a solum purpose, so obvious it is self-explanatory, "The Tutelary", a guardian, The very stone walls protecting what's inside. It need no introduction, that was Cole's duty, the first thing that came in his mind if danger ever arose, when Lloyd became a proper part of their lives that was the first task they had been given, "protect him at all cost", then when any ninja fell into danger (and knowing their lives it is often) that too was the first thought in his mind, then the Finders came into his life. "Protect" and "guard" the words engraved in his subconscious.
=How he became a "virtue"=
First to fall, a painful death all got to see, the first to test Kai's plan(*1), a bittersweet thought however.
[How sad, the unknow illness that had taken the life of his mother had decided to claim another. Cole fell gravely ill, bedridden in his late stages of life. Bedridden in the castle alongside his whole family, seeing them all at his bedside was heartwarming even if painful. All came to see him most likely as a final goodbye, although he didn't think they would all stay around the whole time it wasn't completely unexpected; the look in their eyes said it all. They all held each other's hands a silent prayer that it would all go away, hoping for a miracle that would never come. He didn't want to leave them all behind, if he could have had a choice this wouldn't be it, but alas this is what destiny chose.
They all left, Lloyd was still here- why? Cole couldn't even talk anymore, his body too weak to handle words coming out, instead he weakly extended his hand- Lloyd took it. It was scary you know, the thought of dying for real this time was scary, would it feel like when his soul was sucked out? or just blank? would it hurt? I guess he would find out anyway so why ask questions that are going to have an answer anyway.]
Right there he was the first one to execute Kai's plan(*1), and the first to discover the side effects of the plan; from then on he was part of Lloyd , he became the Souce Dragon of Strength, and made sure to let the others know of the end result by any means necessary.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
Zane Julien | The Epistemology
Age- 3000+ (nindroid)
Height- 6'4 (1.93m)
Always a caring presence calm and collected, a caretaker of the rest of the Ninja team and their children, especially since those little kids sure liked Uncle Lloyd a whole lot and would visit constantly. He stayed with Lloyd in the monastery alongside P.I.X.A.L., him and Lloyd share house chores, and Zane is in charge of looking at news around Ninjago, to ensure its safety, as well as helping in some researches since Lloyd is only one person and can only intake soo much information at a time.
At one point during Jay and Nya's comeback at the monastery, Zane and P.I.X.A.L. when on another journey and only came back when both had moved on, he couldn't handle seeing the last one of his family go away, but he knew they had to be there for Lloyd, no matter how painful it would be.
Epistemology? What do they mean by that? does this really fit him? if he were able to have chosen his own name THAT would not have been it, sure he searches for knowledge and has tried to understand the varies events that have fallen upon their shoulders every time, but he wouldn't consider that is biggest trait or at all his most defining gift. Either way, he is too tired of people jumping to conclusions about his character to care about a dumb name with no justification.
=How he became a "virtue"=
He is the only one that hasn't partaken in Kai's plan(*1), since there is literally no reason to, Zane obviously doesn't die of old age, one may claim that he could possible get rusty and need repairs at some point but Lloyd and P.I.X.A.L are always around if any issue is to come. No, instead his way is far simpler, why not just ask Lloyd to share part of his powers with him, that way the link between them would be almost identical to Lloyd's link with the others. He would become the Source Dragon of Focus.
==꒷꒦︶︶꒷︶︶꒦꒦︶︶꒷꒦==
==Additional Information:==
The Ninja team, many years after most of the team's death, has move the location of the monastery far away from the main Ninjago island, and instead now lives in a faraway island that Lloyd created west of Ninjago city, around the middle of Ninjago and the dark island (that's has been sealed away by Lloyd). The reason for that change is because of something rather strange, it's not just to ensure Lloyd's ever so wished isolation but also because a merchant had attended to buy the place, with the intention of turning the monastery into a tourist attraction. Lloyd got a bit peeved and decided to pick up the mountain where the monastery was on top of and relocated it, creating a new island from scratch surrounding it;
The stars engraved on their bodies are actually a type of core, where the heart of their powers come from, and inside is a type of pocket dimension not based in reality, it is also where their Golden weapons are stored. (it can also be used as an actual pocket to store general stuff, but Lloyd kind of hates when they do that) Zane and Lloyd do not possess one.
Likewise, the engravings on their arms are merely consequences to being bonded to Lloyd's soul;
Jay's encounter with that being has been scrubbed from the Cloud Kingdom records and came out redacted in the serialized books concerning the Ninja's life(*2). Jay was the one that redacted those months away from the Ninja, due to how genuinely terrifying the creature was.
The creature itself was horrific looking, but the worst is that it drove anyone that looked at it to madness, and sometimes to death. (very big "King in Yellow" inspo)
It is currently dead since Jay went back to that cave to kill it, but the encounter made its permanent mark on Jay's psyche, who is now sometimes referred to as a Mad Man for his erratic behavior; This also manifests on his specter form, corrupting the halo on his head to a sludge of black rubbery type substance, his eyes are able to bring anyone to madness if they stare at him for too long and his steps forever drowned in darkness, a void that none have come back from (except the people from the "Sunken Harbor" that are immune to it and even use it as a means of transport, the key is the flower that only Jay can create).
Additionally the "Sunken Harbor" is a literal sunken harbor that can only be accessed if Jay personally gives you a flower, then you become one of his employee and work for him;
(The entire AU, or at most a small part of it, can be conceivable to change due to the events of Dragon Rising).
==Fun Facts:==
Lloyd has a cute nickname for all the Ninja's kids, and spoiled them to no end (he is the fun uncle who takes everyone to Disneyland), he calls Kai's daughter "munchkadee", Jay and Nya's twins has "Starlight" and "Moonlight" for the girl and boy respectively, and Cole's son is "Duckling";
The age difference of the Ninja are, from youngest to oldest: Lloyd - Nya - Jay - Kai - Cole - Zane ( to say, with maybe the idea of the 1 season, Lloyd (8->15) - Nya (15) - Jay (16) - Kai (17) - Cole (18) - Zane (30-40? he is old);
The specter form of the Ninja are visible to others but only if want to, they can easily go invisible, not even Lloyd can see them; HOWEVER Lloyd can touch and smell them, each ninja has a specific smell to them like a trademark smell, and it's not like a normal human smell, instead the smells are based on specific memories they had with Lloyd. Nya smells like "Vanilla Mochi with blueberry jam", Kai smells like "Cinnamon Buns", Cole smells like "freshly baked chocolate chip cookies", Jay like "Caramel latte" and Zane like "Lemon ice-cream";
Other Tumblr posts:
Cute headcannons- https://www.tumblr.com/a-butterfly1/729823201331412993/do-you-have-any-cute-headcanon-about-your-spirit?source=share
When they are bored- https://www.tumblr.com/a-butterfly1/727627460081041408/can-you-please-tell-us-more-about-the-ninjas?source=share
Hewwo, im back on my ninjago hyperfixation thus my disapearance, im reworking my ninjago AU (finally came up with a name) and planing on rewriting some stuff and come up with some concept art, as well as redoing character sheets.
snowghoul
janainaart
vaporwave
areudirty
pixelskylines
tangentwithtanner
2087
stormborns
yousharknotpass
jbbartram-illu
