Made A Parallel Canon Plush

Me, sometimes, out of nowhere, at no specific time and for no specific reason.

Okay, we've got height headcanons, face headcanons...but you know what we need? Name headcanons.

Okay, yes, I know, the ninja already have names. But their names originate from Earth cultures and Earth languages, which, uh, don't exist in Ninjago. Like!! The name 'Lloyd' is Welsh, but Wales isnt a place on the Ninjago map! And 'Zane' is German - but again, Germany doesn't exist in this fictional fantasy world either. How can Zane's name be German if Germany is nowhere on the Ninjago map?

Realistically I know this is because this show has painfully messy worldbuilding and they gave all the main characters simple European names that their young American audience would be able to easily identify and pronounce. BUT I love to overthink things so that's what I'm gonna do.

Logic would dictate that although their names have specific cultural contexts within our world, they have different contexts and origins within the world of the story. Their names would logically have some kind of different meaning in relation to the cultures, languages, and dialects that exist within Ninjago itself.

This is already canon, to some extent. The name 'Nya' already has a canon in-universe origin, with her being named after a legendary Merlopian hero - from this we can assume the name Nyad and its derivative Nya are Merlopian in origin. Which suggests the idea that the same is true for all the other characters as well, we just haven't gotten the chance to get backstories for their names yet. And there is so much untapped potential in exploring what their names could mean in-universe.

Here, I'll start with my own personal headcanons about the subject:

Most names in this series come from 'Classical Ninjargon', the ancient dialect that was spoken in the time of the FSM but gradually evolved into Modern Ninjargon, which is the dialect commonly spoken by the characters to this day. However, a lot of words, terms, and names still rely in some part on their classical roots.

'Kai' isn't really a name, so much as it is a noun. It's commonly used in the names of towns and villages. For example, Jamanakai Village. 'Kai' means 'shelter' - or, more specifically, 'a form of barrier or protection that defends against cold weather.' It's not a very common name to give to children, though, but it appears in the names of villages and settlements all across Ninjago. It seems fitting, considering the kind of person Kai is. His parents gave him that name as a reference to its more specific meaning. Shelter from the cold. During the Serpentine War, Ray and Maya's dreams of starting a family were what gave them comfort and kept them going. Kai wasnt just named as a shelter from the cold, but a shelter from despair as well.

Nya's name has its obvious origins - she was named after Nyad, the storybook hero who befriended whales and defeated Wojira. Nyad was also Merlopian, where her name means 'courage'. Likewise, Nya's name has similar connotations. Of course, Maya hadn't known that meaning when she named her child, as Merlopia was just a myth and its language much the same. She did know of the fairytale, though, and Maya's own mother had told her that story as a child, so she wanted to give her daughter a name that was meaningful in that same way.

'Jay' comes from a regional dialect of Classical Ninjargon that became prevalent in the Sea of Sands. The name itself originates from the term 'jairu', meaning "blessed storm." Some historians speculate the name goes back further than that, with the term 'jairu' originally meaning "Wojira's favor"...but there is much debate about that. Both Jay and Jairu are pretty popular names in the Sea of Sands. Jay was an unexpected but highly valued gift to Ed and Edna, just as a rainstorm is in a desert.

'Cole' was originally the word for earth/dirt, but over the centuries its frequent use in Classical poetry led to it acquiring a myriad of more specific meanings - 'solid foundation', 'stable ground', 'dependable and reliable', 'steady and unshaken amidst conflict', etc. The word itself has a lot of very poetic, very vivid interpretations, and when most people name their children 'cole', thats what they're referencing. But not Lily. No, she knew the name historically meant 'earth', and she wanted his name to be a pun. It was 100% intentional

'Zane' isnt so much a name as it is a colloquial term, from the Birchwood region. Even though the word has Classical roots, it still remains widely used in that region. The word 'zane', a noun, is in reference to the constant, unmelting snowcover that blankets the region year-round. In Classical Ninjargon the term means, "endlessly persevering" - but over time it became repurposed as their term for their endless snow. Dr. Julien always thought the snow was beautiful, and named his son after its remarkable endurance

Lloyd's name has an interesting history to it. In the time of the Stone Wars, when the FSM initially split Ninjago and sealed away the Overlord, the people of that era celebrated the occasion by turning it into a holiday. They called it "belloid", which Classically means "victory over darkness." Eventually a new tradition emerged where children who were born on the holiday were named after it - and so the name "lloyd" came to be. And although the holiday evolved and is now more commonly known as Festival Day (yes, thats a canon holiday), with its history and origins fading out of public awareness, the tradition still persists. But heres the catch: Lloyd wasnt born on that holiday. His dad's reasons for naming him Lloyd were twofold. First, because he made a promise to himself to resist the venom's corruption for the sake of his son, and the name "victory over darkness" served as a testament to that promise. And second, because 'lloyd' sounds like 'lord', and giving his child a pun name sounds exactly like something Garm would do

And of course, since the ninjas' rise to fame, they have inspired some increasingly popular baby names. 'Lloyd' has been the baby name of the year for four years in a row now, which is something the others tease him relentlessly for.

The evolution of Hat Kid

A while ago I did this fun challenge on Twitter and look how far we've gotten!

I found this camera on the subway and look what was inside...

-slides 5 dollars- give me your royal trio headcanons

I Am So Sorry This Ask Is From February

I'm going to make a short list of five things just so I can give you something. One headcanon for each dollar. This is romantic royal trio bc that's my preference and I assume you probably knew this because of code violet (if it was romantic back in feb yet? I'm honestly not sure)

Sumire and Akira are both bi while Goro is 100% gay but also sumiromantic. He doesn't understand why this is but she is the single exception to his otherwise entirely homosexual orientation.

Akira wants to get a tattoo but he's too indecisive to pick anything so he ends up getting nothing even after he's old enough. Sumire is a little horrified by the idea of getting a tattoo but divorced from social stigma she likes the idea of getting something to honor her sister. Goro got a tattoo in November while drunk. It's a crow. He's really embarrassed by it but Sumire and Akira both think it's beautiful and refuse to let him get it removed.

Akira and Goro are Constantly teasing each other/lowkey being assholes but then they turn to Sumire and are the nicest kindest people to walk the earth to her. Sumire starts trying to join in on the teasing and every time she says something even remotely mean she blushes furiously and Akira and Goro both go error 404 not found

Akira is very cuddly with both of them, even in public. Goro rarely initiates anything but he loves cuddling with either of them (but if anyone other than the two of them tries to touch him their life is immediately in danger). Sumire initiates cuddles with Goro but she's shyer with Akira.

You know that one post that's like rock paper scissors polycule? Yeah, that's them. Sumire tops Goro. You can figure out the rest from there. (In reality I think they're all switches but this dynamic specifically is Very funny to me.)

I am so bad at thinking of headcanons apparently I guess that's just not how my brain works. There are Many of my headcanons in code violet so uh I guess you can read that if you want more! Thanks for the ask!

[Ninjago] Almost forgot to post these…anyways lloyd art, s5 doodles, plus rgb siblings bc I love em :)

Busy finalizing and hammering out layouts for Chapter 3!

Catch up on the story: Comic Archive

*Stares directly into the camera*

Zane: "good morning"

Jay: "good morning"

Cole: "good morning"

Lloyd: "you all sound like robots, try spicing it up a bit"

Kai: "MORNING MOTHERFUCKERS"