When you mess around a bit more with the Picrew you started a game with and ended up making 3 versions of you and your best friend’s SU fusion plus her Ninjago AU self’s robot girlfriend:
Tell us more about ECHO au? When does Cole get snapped out of the hypnotism, and what's Lloyd's role in all this?
So Lloyd’s role is pretty much the same as canon, but with an additional reason for releasing more Serpentine, that being he honestly feels sorry for the ninja and may just be inclined to try and get their friend back to them. (Not that he’d admit it at first). Beyond that, it’s...pretty much like normal.
As for how Cole gets snapped out of it—oh boy. Time for an info dump. There’s a lot to explain for this to make any sense whatsoever.
Basically, here’s a messy timeline of the events of ECHO:
Episodes 1 & 2 proceed as canon until returning to the monastery, which is still intact
That night, the hypnosis gets activated again and Cole steals the staff and burns down the monastery
The others wake up and everything is OH MY GOODNESS ITS ON FIRE—After...taking care of all that, they realize Cole is missing, bicker a bit about the situation, and eventually put things together
Oh, right, and here is where Wu realizes he probably should tell them about their INHERITED powers, shouldn’t he. And yes, this includes Nya.
Cole is released temporarily while the slither pit happens, and he and Lloyd end up talking for a small bit before he gets put back under
The others find the bounty, Lloyd decides he just might get their friend back for them (not that he’d say it out loud right now)
Snakebit proceeds as canon, except for Cole not being present. So does Never Trust a Snake, at least until the ending, where Lloyd admits to Wu he feels really bad about what happened to Cole (and how he feels it’s his fault)
The Snake King is where things really change. Nya has no reason to become Samurai X due to being a ninja already in this, and thus that subplot gets dropped. Instead, this is when the ninja meet Jils. Lloyd still gets kidnapped, but the attempted rescue mission isn’t able to happen in this continuity.
Tick Tock proceeds as canon, just with Nya replacing Cole. Snakebit also happens mostly canon, except no Samurai X reveal. Also, Jils learns that Zane is a nindroid and also gives Jay some dating advice.
The Royal Blacksmiths is a fun one. The ninja are terrible liars, and trying to keep what happened to Cole secret from his dad is...hard. Jils manages to keep Python from being a judge (as she’s a judge herself in this), and Nya reaches her True Potential. Lou inevitably finds out and asks (read: threatens) the ninja to save his son.
No real changes in The Green Ninja aside from the obvious.
All or Nothing ends with the ninja not only retrieving the fangblades, but also Cole. He’s still hypnotized, but they manage to keep him from attacking by basically playing a recording of the sacred flute on a loop.
Rise of the Great Devourer: no changes except the obvious (and also having to drag around a half-conscious Cole)
Day of the Great Devourer: once they reach the city, they end up running into Jils, who takes over taking care of Cole.
While the battle is happening, Jils is trying to see if she can find a possible cure anywhere and ends up finding a set of teas made from Serpentine anti venom in Mystake’s latest shipment to Moondust (the shop has a sort of partnership with her, long story) Using that, she manages to break his trance, and he passes out immediately.
Once the Devourer is defeated, the others come by. After a couple hours, Cole wakes up, and gets a full explanation of what happened over the past few weeks.
If you’re wondering who on earth Jils is, well...normally she’s a fusion of my friend and I, but in ECHO it’s a bit different. In ECHO, she’s a barista the ninja end up befriending, who ends up acting as a therapist for them? (Also she’s the master of mercury but that’s not important until the sequel) And they cross paths a couple times throughout the story.
Well if ya want some interaction I can give much more than a prompt request (and come off anon ovbiously)...
I can show ya my AUs and drawings and HC complexums and shit too...
Though I'm also curious how you'd go with season 5 after effects on Lloyd 👀
Ooooo who is this I’m intrigued now—
PLEASE YES I WANT TO KNOW YOU HAVE GOT MY ATTENTION—
And I’d love to see your ideas! I really like hearing what other people have to say.
As for the prompt...oh chaos I think it’s time for your first taste of Moondust, peeps. Sure, that does make this take place in an AU and not just straight S5 but I HAVE INSPIRATION AND SO HELP ME I WILL USE IT!
(PSYCHO IM WRITING MOONDUST OUT OF OREDER IF THATS OK I KNOW WE BE COLLABING ON THE PLANNING OF THIS BUT I JUST GOT INSPIRED)
—
Ever since she’d seen the news of what had happened in Stix, Jils knew this was coming, and had thus prepared accordingly.
So when Lloyd entered Moondust next, looking sleep-deprived and bedraggled, the barista immediately set to work getting a drink ready for him, not even waiting for an order. She’d served the ninja team enough times by now that she knew their regulars by heart.
Are you sure we should be making it this strong? We’ve barely started trusting him with actual coffee, period!
Lils, you do realize what he just went through, right?
I know, Geri, but still—
“Guys, quiet, I’m on shift,” the redhead told the mental voices. “And Lily, I think it’s enough that he needs it, mental age be darned.”
...Okay, but if he starts acting like he’s on a sugar high—
She said to be quiet, Lily!
Sorry.
Lloyd didn’t appear dazed by Jils’s behaviorist seemingly talking to herself (which she was), most likely because he was long used to her...quirks.
“Here you go, kiddo,” she told the green ninja, sliding him the cup of coffee she’d made him. “I made it extra strong—you need it.”
The teen gave her a weak smile. “Thanks, Jils...”
There was silence for a minute, before Jils finally felt it was time to talk.
“So...the whole ‘possession’ thing...how have you been handling it? Because there’s no way you aren’t feeling something, I can tell.”
Lloyd sighed. “It’s that obvious, isn’t it...”
“Lloyd, you were possessed, if anyone thinks you’re fine with that there’s something seriously wrong with them. But what’s bothering you the most? Remember, I’m here to help.”
“...I hurt them.”
Jils grimaced. “And THAT is why you guys need help. Seriously, this is, what, the second time one of you has been controlled by the enemy? Except this time you were aware of it, unlike what happened when I first met you guys.”
Setting down her own mug of coffee, the master of mercury put a hand on the boy’ shoulder.
“So there’s the first step—identifying the biggest problem. Mind you, this is one that I actually feel you should talk out with Cole, as he has more experience with this kind of fear than I have. Now the next step is to identify triggers—what’s been setting you on edge lately? Things that may not have bothered you before, but now bring back bad feelings?”
“Well...this might sound silly...”
“Trauma is never silly, Lloyd.”
“I’ve...been having trouble whenever there’s a strong wind,” he admitted sheepishly.
“That...is perfectly justified. Moreover was the master of wind, wasn’t he? So it makes sense that that would remind you of him. Anything else? Certain colors? Certain sounds?”
“I...I can’t really think of anything...”
“Lloyd, I know that tone, you’re hiding something. And not a good kind of hiding like hide and seek.”
“...It’s about Cole, okay? I just—I don’t WANT to be so nervous around him, but he’s...well, you know, he got—”
“Turned into a ghost, oh chaos you’re scared of ghosts now, aren’t you.”
Wincing, the teen nodded.
“Well, all the more reason for what I was going to say next. Lloyd, I want you and Cole both to come next time. At first I was just going to have him help lead you through working out some of the specific trauma, but now there’s also the whole ‘afraid of ghosts now’ thing to address so yeah. Definitely you both.”
Standing back up, Jils gave the blonde a smile. “But hey, it’s not like we have anything that’ll conflict with the schedule these next few weeks.”
“...Jils, how do you schedule people getting coffee—”
““I am an adult and can do whatever I gosh darn want, Lloyd.”
“...Okay, you have me there.”
“Anyways—this was all on the house today, I already talked it over with LATT3. You deserve it, Lloyd. You deserve so much better.”
This would be a Moondust Coffee side thing, with Jils ending up acting high (accidentally mixed in like, Venomari venom in her after-work cup of coffee) and LATT3 is bringing her home and Jils ends up acting very overly flirty and it’s hilarious and fluffy.
(Psycho🔪) One thing I can see Jils doing; one day she walks into a vet's office while exclaiming "I have done it! I have brought Schrodinger's head!" And it turns out she had found a cat in a box she had dubbed Schrodinger and it had a bad cut above it's left eye. And from there it's a hop, skip and a jump from Moon dust becoming a cat cafe.
It’s the planned sequel to ECHO, focusing on the AU’s version of my friend Psycho🔪 and I’s OC Jils pretty much helping the ninja cope with the events of the rest of the show. As well as basically exploring the effects of the differences caused by the AU’s events and changes (for example, Nya knowing about her element earlier).
I’ve actually written a thing for it some time ago (involving Lloyd post-S5 and Jils helping him figure some things out)
This is about Jils and the ninja finding out about the voices in her head.
...Wait have I never mentioned that about Barista!Jils? That because that version of her is not a fusion, my friend and I decided she has us as just, like, voices in her head? Because she has my friend and I as voices in her head.
