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Morro Ninjago - Blog Posts
More of this angsty green guy
Art for @captainbrookeworm of their fic Land of the Living!!
Thank you for breaking me out of my art block xD I’ve been drawing Morro non stop since I finished reading and I can’t recommend the fic enough 👌 it’s so good!!
Mr. Ghost man Morro 👻🌪💎
The cry of anguish I let out at the end of episode ten was from the HEART 😭😭
I've been thinking a lot about Kai and Morro again, and specifically their parallels (dangerous thing, I know) and I just really wanted to ramble about what I've taken to calling the inferno of destiny parallel.
As a beginner ninja, both Morro and Kai dealt with arrogance, recklessness, and anger. We see this in how Morro took extremely dangerous risks to get Wu to save him, with how he assumed he was to be the green ninja when Wu told him he believed Morro was to wear green, and how Morro reacted when the weapons didn't react to him (ripping off the sliding door). We see this in how younger Kai jumps into situations without a genuine plan, how he gets angry and often (literally) explodes with fire when something frustrates him, and how he kind of defaults to the coolest person on the team/the hot one/the center of attention/etc when that's just really the immature persona he's thrown up to try and be the best.
Both Morro and Kai want to be the best at what they can do, and when they heard about a chance to be even better than their original concepts of the best (becoming the Green Ninja), both of them jumped at it.
Morro trained so hard he ended up hurting the kids he was training against and worrying Wu
Kai tried so hard to be the green ninja he ended up placing unnecessary strain on his relationships and even went so far as to risk letting people get hurt/die because he was prioritizing what he thought might get him closer to being the Green Ninja (a competitive line of thinking that Kai's been known to buy into in addition to his constant needs to try to be the best in the situation before he matures) (btw I'm talking about him originally trying to get the fang blade instead of. yknow. the CHILD about to burn lol.)
So, where do we see the shift from heroic to villanous in these two suspiciously similar characters? Well, it's when both of them are placed in an inferno scenario where they have to choose between pursuing their perceived destiny and their true destiny; hence, the inferno of destiny parallel.
Morro
When Morro searches so long to try and find a way to become the Legendary Green Ninja and rewrite destiny, he eventually finds himself in the Caves of Despair. We don't have the details of what happened, but we see the ninja try to escape Morro's fate in season 5 episode 7 titled "The Crooked Path". Here we see them encounter geysers that are releasing poisonous gases at an alarming rate, and they also spray boiling water/steam out in addition to rising the temperature to an unbearable level in the cave. It's reasonable to assume that Morro experienced a cave-in due to the caves' lack of structural integrity (also experienced by the ninja)* and then was killed either from burns from the hot steam and/or due to inhaling too much of the dangerous gasses.
The point of Morro's inferno: Morro couldn't accept the fact that he was not destined to be the Green Ninja, so he wasn't willing to turn away from his perceived destiny to save his own life. He wouldn't leave the cave because he couldn't let go of the fact that his perceived destiny wasn't his true destiny.
Kai
When Kai trains and practices to become the Green Ninja, making rash decisions (like jumping down for the Fang Blade again) and reckless choices that hurt his relationships (like barricading himself into a room to fight Garmadon for… literally no reason other than his desire to be the Green Ninja), he eventually finds himself in a similar inferno: The Fire Temple. An ancient temple constructed inside a volcano that once held the Sword of Fire, this is where the fourth and final Fang Blade is located and where the ninja must fight against Pythor and the other Serpentine generals for it. The volcano begins to erupt and collapse in on itself, and Kai ends up with a choice: save young Lloyd from his inevitable death in the erupting volcano, or try to reach the Fang Blade before it ends up in the hands of Pythor. This is the critical moment* for Kai, as he has to choose between his percieved destiny (becoming the Green Ninja and getting the Fang Blade) or his true destiny (protecting Lloyd in the hopes of saving both of their lives). In the end, he chooses to give up the thing he'd been working towards for most likely months now to try and be the best in the favor of saving a kid that used to be a massive pain in the ass (no offense, little Lloyd).
The point of Kai's inferno: Kai gave up his perceived destiny in the end, and only then was he able to unlock his True Potential in addition to being able to escape the Fire Temple safely with Lloyd and himself still alive. He was able to save himself and Lloyd because he gave up something that had felt like such a core part of his being, that he believed was his destiny, even though it turned out not to be.
He even says this himself to Sensei Wu: "I knew when I had to make a choice. I wanted the Fangblade so badly, to prove I was good enough to become the Green Ninja. But then I figured it out. All of my training to become the best ninja wasn't in preparation to become the Green Ninja. It was… to protect him." (s1e10, titled "The Green Ninja")
Kai and Morro both experience infernos that threaten their lives and rely on their ability to relinquish their percieved goals in favor of the objectively best choice in the moment. Morro was unable to give up what he truly believed was his destiny, and he ended up dead and sent to the Cursed Realm as a result. Kai was able to give up what he had been working towards for so long, and was able to save his life and Lloyd's life (especially entertaining when you remember that Kai had to give up trying to be the Green Ninja to… save the Green Ninja, lmao)
The critical moment I noted with a * for both Kai and Morro is that this point is the moment where each of them have to decide what's more important to them: what they believe is their destiny, or what would save their life. Morro tried to push through to his "destiny" and became too hurt or sick from the fumes to escape, and eventually died there. Kai gave up his "destiny" and just barely managed to escape with his life and Lloyd's.
So yes, I love the inferno of destiny parallel quite a bit! All three of these characters are very near and dear to my heart and they're rotating in my brain like a rotisserie chicken lmao
silly morro doodle
my ninjago hyperfixation has a chokehold on me again/starting back up.
@irl-morros-account I hope you like you're cape and armor!
Decades Doever
A little idea I had laying in my bed. The basic thought process was: Ninjago's two characters who have literally been sent to a realm to rot in for literal DECADES. Morro, who's already struggling with his own exile from the departed realms finds a manipulated Zane and manipulator Vex. I mean both of them can't grow too old, and Morro probably would want a redemption for his deeds, the white ninja may be his path to doing it. Zane is interested in the departed realm, hearing that Morro is from it (even if it's not in the most pretty ways), it intrigues him to learn more about the former ghost, and how he may see his father one day. More Info underneath the cut!
Morro's literal backstory Once an elemental master dies they can not only see their family in the departed realm, but if they are not blood related nor can remember their family (cough cough, Zane), they can also meet the departed elemental masters that came before them. The little groupings of elemental masters hold great power, having the ability to traverse the 16 realms but regarded as something different than a ghost, more similar to a peaceful spirit or aura passing by. Unable to be seen by the living, sometimes depending on their mental will having the ability to converse in dreams and visions. When Morro finally get's sent to the Departed realm, as an orphan and being 50+ years old he cannot simply remember his family, so he get's sent and transported to the elemental grouping of Wind Masters. They don't like him. And so after a rather horrid argument the elders, the first elemental master of wind (FMOF), decides to send them down to never-realm, being previously used as a waste deposal of other Elemental Master's (more than just wind) that have gone "rogue" in the Departed Realm. The FMOF graced some mercy to Morro, convening with one of the form masters in order to see that they could return him in some sort of ghostly form, if they sent them down there as is, it would result him becoming living once more. Morro being the wonderous human (ish) being he is stumbles across this conversation, eaves dropping and taking notes. So when the final ritual(?) takes place he lashes out and does his best to ruin the spell, the only thing being that: 1. It works 2. He's not alive, and instead, has been merged with the storm. There he goes barreling down into the artic wasteland that provides an abundance of wind and storms to command, but despite the feast-like appearance of power and his element, Morro knows and regards this as a banishment. Dude got banished from death itself.
How Zane is connected in any of this Being also wonderfully banished and sent to the Never-Realm (via: Aspheera, Nacho Snake lady) he is also lost on his way. The only canon divergence or well difference being, when he's holding a staff he can feel another, stronger, rivaling, presence. Zane tries his best to fix the mech and eventually get's memory wiped by Vex. Back to the main plot line Morro additionally the counteracting sensation of another elemental power, and although it's not as strong as he isn't a master of Spinjitzu, he still senses it and decides to drift off on a storm cloud in that direction. Reaching the cave just when Zane plugs himself into the mech, disregarding the staff in general (in this AU I don't think young Wu would've told him about it), being confused in the slightest before getting a rush of Lloyd's memories he intercepted during possession of the titanium ninja, and dashing away behind the mech when he hears Vex's footsteps. Watching the whole exchange happen before his eyes, he decides to step in at the last moment, using his cool (very new) lightning powers. Being a somewhat super battle with the staff that he's honestly wonders how the ninja got a hold of, and his amplified form. During the exchange he does lay hands upon the staff and his powers go A-wire, somewhat breaks space and time, smacks Zane in the noggin to regain select memories. Vex fleeing the scene and barely recovering Zane prying Morro; who's form and right hand is practically melding into the staff, away from the supercharged stick. Although both mutually dislike each other they suppose they are both in the predicament of needing company for the days, weeks, and unbeknown to them, years to come. Morro not knowing how robotics or in general any mechanics in Zane works, opts for the: I'll just sit here and regret my decision as my partial robot friend has a reoccuring flashbacks for several decades while having an ongoing existential crisis I am little help to. Zane does believe Morro holds some interesting tales and description on, why and specifically how both are here. Morro just thinking it's something he can do to make up for acts, probably go see Lloyd (despite him probably bolting as soon as he see's the green gi), and maybe just maybe get somehow reaccepted back into the departed realms.
Morro's fishy transformation
FSM: We need to find a way for Morro to be redeemed, my son when he was young made mistakes, though his Morro has paid the most for them. Cloud Kingdom: Well you see, we have tried multiple times... He was given another chance as a ghost you see. FSM: That was a singular time and under the grasp of the preeminent and destiny was warped to fit her pleasing. Cloud Kingdom: Fine we shall try the process once more, he is in wonderful hands.
... Cloud Kingdom: turns Morro into a fish.
Morro was a failure, everyone knew that, since the day he was born. His no where to be seen parents saw that, Wu saw that and destiny did too. He had tried and tried again to be something, something that mattered, something that would prove to the three to keep him around. Of course destiny had to constantly screw him over and throw him under the bus.
So the day that his second life has ended his third life began.
This time, this life, he embraced what destiny had out for him. Which was not much, mostly rot and spackle in the water depths of stixx, hear the screams of the cursed, and be crushed by the deathly grip of what remained of his late mistress. A hell hole customized just for him, how lucky.
It was a constant state of torture, the constant pain being branded into his mind as something that would always be there. A fact that living could not be without it. Time passed and nothing would ever change, repetitive cycle that had a beginning but no end. He certainly didn't get used to it, no matter how long it would last he couldn't (getting sucked out for the day of the departed and being trapped in a wax statue of himself didn't help either). Though it became a sense of home for the specter, a shelter from the barrages of thoughts that swirled in his mind. He didn't want to think about his previous lives, and with this treatment he was given, he didn't have to.
Pain reeked with a stench that stained ones mind, worming it's way inside like a weed. Weeds blocked the grain from growing, overwhelming the field and giving the famer an unfruitful harvest. The grain if you couldn't tell was his thoughts, his thoughts. These were of the purest, not warped by the Preeminent, nor tainted with Wu's guidance. And Morro feared them for that very reason.
Confrontation of any sorts never set well with Morro, he was skilled in fighting, not in whatever sort of communication which was this. When he was confronted by Wu he had been given a home and let himself drive himself to something he was not destined to be. When he was confronted by the golden weapons and destiny itself, he left what mattered the most and drove himself to death. The tiny confrontation with Wu, when his sensei offered him practically another life? Nope. He chose to let himself rot in here, for here he could be ridden of this belligerent, annoying, feature of life which was, confrontation.
He wasn't let off the hook that easily. He should've known. He was destiny's personal punching bag after all, he had spited, broke and disobeyed it. So when the glowing figure of the FSM master materialized of nowhere, he should've been prepared.
The pair's conversation was short, mostly due to Morro's stubbornness of staying in this little mindscape he cowered and hid in. Maybe he should've been less antagonistic, maybe the old man should've drank some weird tea to open his eyes and see that Morro was in no state to be given another life. The ex-ghost had clearly tried to convey the message in his tone, curt and annoyed. Though nothing ever had gone Morro's way before, this was not going to be the start.
The next thing that happened he didn't even notice until destiny nudged another in his way... That person was Benthomaar.
Mote magical girl sketches
OMFG YES PLEASEEE THIS IS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT, arin and morro are hitting me so hard being parallels AAHHDJSJFJ
both lloyd and wu may be putting too much pressure or expectations on arin and morro being their first students akdjajdjsjdjjd and now they’re turning away from their masters
and I need to see morro back omg CRYINGJDJSJD
morro. morro please stop lloyd from repeating wu's mistakes. morro im begging you. and stop arin from going down your path. morro please. morro
Istg, season 5 feels like the writers realized the fandom was getting sick of lloyd getting the majority of the screentime and decided to have morro take him out of the picture but also give him more trauma because that's definitely mandatory.
What usually do Hellspawn when his dad suffer the consequences of his adventures?
If he's injured or just are like, sad or then Morro with nightmares
She does something specific?
I love your au!
For nightmares or when he's sad, she has this thing where she snuggles up to him and pats his chin, saying absolutely nothing. And it kind of works. Lloyd's eyes widen for a while until he eventually relaxes. It really grounds him. It reminds him that he's here and not wherever his dreams convinced he was.
She did just that when he was moping around about Harumi and when she realized he wasn't feeling the greatest after banishing her grandpa in s4.
But with Morro, it usually doesn't help much. He has all these dreams about his possession causing him to hurt everyone he cares about so he'd like to keep himself as far away from his offspring as possible for the first hour since waking up from that. Healing takes a while.
When he's hurt and in forced bed rest, she usually ends up sitting by him and just staring because Aunt Pixal & Uncle Zane are like "it's not advisable to jostle anything at the moment." She eventually got the idea to make him a get well soon card and set to work.
One time, they ran out of paper so she decided to scribble a 'get better soon' on his face when he was sleeping. She meant well but yeah Pixal was not amused. When Lloyd woke up, he spent ten minutes wondering why the heck everyone else was cackling.
Glad you like the AU!
Ninjago AU: What if Lloyd sacrificed himself instead of Garmadon?
Don’t know if this has been thought of before but I’m going to continue anyways
We all know during the tournament of elements Garmadon sacrificed himself for the elemental masters to win but instead while he’s about to be taken by the cursed realm something pushes him away and when he turns back it’s Lloyd getting taken away and his last words are that he wishes for his father to live a good life even if he’s missing despite Garmadon shouts that he doesn’t do this but it’s too late as the realm has taken his son he’s paralyzed by the pain and just breaks down in sobs and pleas for the cursed realm to take him instead and to give back his son all to no avail.
They build a memorial for Lloyd but the pain Garmadon feels is unimaginable. He is in constant grievance shutting everyone out and just wanting to be alone. Taking frequent trips to the memorial where he’ll spend countless nights there because he doesn’t want to go back where everything feels empty without him. Wu and Misako try everything to cheer him up but nothing works yet they don’t give up and keep trying until Garmadon snaps at them which is when they give him space. Not only is he mourning but he’s trying to find a way to get Lloyd back without needing a sacrifice and without raising suspicions from others.
Then comes to the events of Possessed and Morro is free from the cursed realm in search of the green ninja but he doesn’t find anything in the city but spots an old man that reminds him of Wu and follows him to the gravesite of the green ninja much to his dismay as he wanted to take him down instead he appears and demands the man to take him to Wu before immediately getting blasted away which makes him realize the man is Garmadon, Wu’s brother, putting the pieces together he sees that he is mourning over the green ninja which just so happens to be his son and his son looks identical to a certain blond haired boy within the Preeminent.
Morro then gets an idea of how he’ll get the realm crystal and starts by telling Garmadon that he’s seen Lloyd and knows how to get him out(lying about getting him out) and Garmadon so desperate to reunite with his son agrees to help him even though it’ll mean fighting against his brother but he doesn’t care, his son will be coming back and that is all that matters. And well, you can imagine the rest from there ;)
A “Normal” Day
Harumi: and ah... How did we get stuck with this plant?
Morro: Uncle Garmadon wanted us to babysit it.
Lloyd: today might actually be a normal day.
NOT EVEN 30 MINUTES LATER! ㅡ~ㅡ
* Morro and Harumi riding Harumi’s motorcycle down town, Lloyd in dragon form while Christofern is on the back of some random truck*
Morro: COME ON! ITS A $@&!?#% PLANT!
Harumi: YOU WANNA DEAL WITH GARMADON?! BE MY GUEST!
Lloyd, now STANDING on the BACK OF THE BIKE holding onto Morro’s shoulders: TAKE A RIGHT! NOW!
Morro: WHY DID WE LET HARU DRI- AAAAH!
If hypotheticly the hellspawn au would take the morro gets resurrected because reason this and that what would be his relationship with our beloved hellspawn? What would lloyd think?
Hmmm...I'd say Lloyd would be quite wary of his undead cousin — well, the guy did try to kill them all, after all (can you blame him?), and this would also mean Lloyd would be hesitant to let the resurrected emo interact with his —niece...I guess? This is assuming the resurrection happens before DOTD and happens just after season 5, so Morro hasn't given a full apology yet. Also, Morro did kinda threaten hellspawn in Lloyd's mind when he was possessing him, so...yeah. Green bean still has trust issues.
But over time, Lloyd starts to realize how wrong he is about his cousin. Other than that, when Lloyd isn't looking, hellspawn likes to toddle to the newest addition to their somewhat family, some weird guy that looks like he feels more out of place than that children's book Lloyd usually keeps with his comics. I like to think that Morro's wind abilities would amuse her and Morro would fly a kite using his wind in front of her just to make her smile. Sometimes, his wind even brushes against her hair like a hair ruffle, which makes her giggle.
Wu notices that he made a new friend immediately and can't hold back a smile when he comments on it to him. Morro turns red, but doesn't deny it. Instead, he merely scoffs that Wu is just seeing things in his old age. The top of Wu's staff collides with his head as a result.
How were the ninja managing to take care of little hellspawn throughout the seasons? Did her existence changed certain events or did the seasons plot stay the same?
Also little hellspawn hugging her daddy when he's sad after the oni trilogy and being adorable comforting him
P.S: i can't think about any right now but how about names that start with L to match her dad? maybe search some on google?
Hmmmm. Well, I would say MOST of the events stayed the same with her existence. Not all, but MOST. I'll answer until Season 10 first.
So she would have to be born during Season 3, before Lloyd lost his Golden Power. There are two options here. One is that it was an ordinary day at Garmadon's monastery and Lloyd just happened to be experimenting a little with his powers, while the other one is that she was born while Lloyd and Garm were on the run from the Overlord. It's also Lloyd's fault for not listening to his dad about being careful of overusing his powers. Take your pick.
Although I personally love chaos * inserts maniacal laughter *, I'll be using the first one for this post. (I might write another one about the second option if there's a lot of interest in it though, but right now that's kinda hard to work with)
Rebooted
She's like six months old here, and Misako takes the kid while Lloyd and Sensei G are on the run from the Overlord. Garmadon still isn't quite happy with the fact his son just spawned a kid at the age he currently is, and Lloyd on the other hand is still a disaster when it comes to children. They somehow manage to work it out though. She's also present at Zane's funeral.
Tournament of Elements
The season where our new dad literally leaves his kid sleeping in his dad's monastery to compete in a noodle guy's tournament. (Sigh) She's about a year old here. And eventually, her grandad leaves too but his is actually an attempt to knock some sense into her father, but even he doesn't come back either so...
Possession
About fifteen months old.
While helping Wu set up the tea shop, Lloyd left her alone long enough for her to get her hands on Montrositea and use it on a plant.
While being possessed, Morro would often torment Lloyd by showing him nightmarish visions of him hurting her whenever he tried to fight back. On one occasion, he had a nightmare that he caused her death while being possessed, and without even a single ounce of control to stop it from happening.
Skybound
Around 2. I like to think that Lloyd would be the type of person to keep their kid out of the spotlight ya know?Considering how much the press had been on him after the Final Battle. And, I also like to think that the fact that the Green Ninja even had a kid was leaked shortly after Stiix. Just imagine the fan girls scene in the first episode of Skybound... but ten times worse.
While they were in jail, the kid got taken by CPS. After they broke out, Lloyd found her and gave her to Dareth in the middle of the night after literally breaking into the dude's apartment. Since the events of Skybound were erased, this no longer happened, and no one remembers this.
Day of the Departed
3 years old. She goes with Misako & Lloyd to light a lantern for Garmadon in the Corridor of Elders. She also thought Pythor was actually an overgrown tape worm, well maybe that's what he was in the Great Devourer's belly.
Morro felt really guilty for what he did to Lloyd while possessing him. So much so that the guy even apologized.
Hands of Time
Still 3. (I can't do much with this season because I didn't really finish it) But let's just say, Krux thought her eyes were a bit creepy.
Sons of Garmadon
Well, I think I've already explained this one before.
But if you're interested in some pre SOG info : The kid started to notice her dad's voice pitching deeper but whenever she points that out, Lloyd just laughs. It's only until the team comments about it in The Mask of Deception does he actually realize she was right. During the year the team is searching for Wu, he lives in the city with her and Pixal—who's a lifesaver whenever he gets a bit clueless on things about children's development. She's about 4 here by the way.
Bonus; she fell really ill at some point during the year they were searching for Wu and Lloyd took her to Mystake, hence explaining Mystake's familiarity with Lloyd in Season 8. (This was before his voice completely settled btw)
Hunted
The kid stays with Lloyd in Ninjago, and does her best to cheer her dad up after the death of his friends. It goes to a point where Lloyd actually snaps at her, something which makes him feel utterly terrible moments later. (It's stress from everything bruh. His friends just died and the city's under the rule of his tyrannical resurrected father. Give him a BREAK)
And do you remember that scene where Misako and some of the EMs got arrested by the SOG? Little hellspawn was one of them and this really sent Lloyd and Nya into fucking panic mode for the most of the season.
However, she was actually unharmed. Emperor Garmadon basically took one look at her and decided he kind of liked this kid, I guess? (* insert Harumi seething in the corner *) Kind of like Maleficent and young Aurora vibes, if you get what I mean.
The season ended like it originally did though. The Resistance members in Kryptarium broke out, and Garmadon was arrested.
March of the Oni
Nya bought her a green kimono while shopping for her own blue one. Hellspawn also caught Jay practicing his proposal to Nya but decided to keep it to herself.
Garmadon also requested Lloyd bring her while visiting him, but Lloyd decided not to and went alone. Garmadon wasn't quite pleased.
When the ninja heard about the dark cloud thing happening in Ninjago City, Lloyd told his kid to stay in the monastery, but of course—like a certain demon child that once snuck on a Serpentine bus—she snuck aboard the bounty. Lloyd almost lost his shit when he found out.
After Garmadon was released from the prison, he tried to get closer to the young hellspawn while on the bounty, getting to know her etc. Lloyd wasn't happy with that, and told him off immediately, having very little trust in this version of his father.
Hellspawn helped Garmadon to understand humanity after Lloyd yelled at him about survival in The Fall. He doesn't quite understand everything, but he gets a somewhat picture of what it means. Of what there's more to life than survival means.
When it was time for the final fight in the monastery, Lloyd suddenly picked her up and handed her to Misako despite her protests & attempts to bite him.
At the end of the season, Garmadon doesn't immediately leave. Instead, he attempts to stay behind as his four-armed resurrected self merely to remain close with hellspawn (maybe it's also cuz she begged him not to leave when he wanted to lol). But what I'm saying is, the only reason this guy is still in the monastery is hellspawn, not Lloyd, not Wu, not Misako. Just this tiny young girl who looks a lot like a blonde boy he faintly remembers. But Lloyd here believes his father is up to something and (I really hate to say this, but for the sake of Crystalized's events I have to 😭), but Lloyd basically just yells at Garmadon to leave, and he does. Poor guy's trust issues are damn severe.
And hmmmm, names starting with L it is.
Evil uncle and nephew bonding since canon Ninjago wasted this potential :')
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Cyberpunk AU Garmagoths + Akita band (don’t know what to call them as a group lmao)
This drawing has been in the works for literally months and took a total of 15 hrs!
I think Morro would like racing
”High achiever, don’t you see?”
“Baby, nothing comes for free.”
Song: Are you Satisfied? by MARINA
help. The Morro curse found me. It’s almost Morrotober
Here’s some more Morro doodles
Congratulations, he doesn’t have a square head :D
I just think Morro with a ponytail is pretty neat
