Elements is a Ninjago fanfiction series by VelvetPersona, starting with the first book The Makings of a Storm
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The story is based off the first season of the show, with a more realistic (well, as realistic as you can go with a fanfic based around show staring Lego ninjas) and adult approach. The fanfics each have been praised for being able to keep the characters completely in character, while making the situations darker.
While the Serpentine are still the main villains, and stopping the release of the Great Devourer is still the main objective, the story features some new elements as well. There are powerful deities that chose the ninja as their advocate, a prophecy that introduces three female ninja and causes Nya to join their ranks, and a new threat – the Agamemnon.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Abnormal Ammo: Ayane's bow can shoot arrows of pure light at enemies.
- Adaptational Badass: The author did a lot of research to make the ninja more badass than they are in the show. Unfortunately for the heroes, the bad guys are all a lot more dangerous as well.
- Affectionate Nickname: Zane calls Ayane his angel (in Russian) while Kai enjoys calling Ebony Snow White (in Japanese). The gods also like to nickname their advocates as well.
- Awful Truth: One of the first things Ebony does when she joins the team is rip into Ayane about her personality – and Ayane admits that it is true. Later, there is also the revelation that Ebony’s true name is Cereza Garmadon, and her mother was the queen of the Agamemnon.
- Badass Bookworm: Zane and Ebony might be the most intelligent members of the team with a deep love of books, but that won't stop them from kicking Serpentine butt.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Jay can be absolutely ridiculous at some points, and the whole team of heroes can be told off by the enemies for behaving this way. Doesn’t stop them from taking down entire armies.
- Big Bad: Despite the major threat the Serpentine present, and the fact that the Agamemnon have committed genocide before and probably will do it again, Lord Garmadon is still the threat everyone seems concerned with.
- Bilingual Bonus: Though the translations are present, the work is a lot more enjoyable if you do speak a few languages as the heroes occasionally throw in a few phrases from their native tongue.
- Bittersweet Ending: In book four, the final book of the series, they may have managed to stop the Great Devourer and Ebony is content with her relationship with the ninja, but the Serpentine are still active, Lord Garmadon is on the loose and Sensei Wu died – which only made Lloyd and Ebony more determined to stop their destiny.
- Black-and-White Morality: Most of the heroes firmly believe what they're doing is right, and that the villains have to be stopped at all cost. Ebony and Lloyd, however, disagree since most of their family is on the side of evil.
- Body Horror: Sasha has a fun experience in the third book where she was painfully forced to transform into a Serpentine. Luckily this was reversed.
- Break the Cutie: This almost happens to Ayane when she had watched Zane ‘die’ in front her before she was kidnapped. Lloyd also is hinted at breaking in the last book. It’s confirmed to have happened in the next series.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Depends on your definition of happy, but after watching Ebony almost die in her trial, fighting hordes of Serpentine, watching their mentor die and having to destroy the Great Devourer – a giant snake that devour an entire city they definitely earned the break they get.
- Emotions vs. Stoicism: Before her character development, everyone wanted Ebony to express her emotions a bit more.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: Nya and Sasha are the two fighters, Ayane plays the mage with her healing abilities, and Ebony's abilities and attacks make her the thief.
- Glowing Eyes: You know you're about to read about something awesome when a ninja's eyes start to glow.
- It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Lloyd has to deal with harsh training for a ten-year-old, and knows he will have to fight his father one day. And the rest of the chosen heroes don’t have it easy either.
- Lethal Chef: Fans of Ninjago know Cole is a lethal chef, but this takes it up a notch when he almost kills Nya, by serving her something she was allergic to.
- Living Weapon: The girls’ weapons are alive, with their own names are personalities. Usually they're very helpful, but sometimes they just decide to tease the girls.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: All the girls but Nya have long hair.
- Me's a Crowd: Garmadon and Ebony both have the abilities to create shadow copies of themselves and use it against their opponents.
- Mood Whiplash: When you least expect it, the mood completely changes.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: The Serpentine, who constantly are trying to either kill the ninja or destroy Ninjago.
- Running Gag: There are a few of these, and most of them are centered around Jay. Jay's nicknames for Kai (he seems to come up with a different one each time) and his invention, the Portable Motion Sensors (PMS for short) are the two major running gags in the series.
- Sacred Bow and Arrows: Ayane’s weapon is literally named the Bow of Divinity though that’s actually the name of the spirit in the bow.
- Screw Yourself: Played with in a lost chapter, where the ninja switch bodies (Cole and Jay switched with each other, and Zane and Kai switched with each other). Cole comments that he never realized how attractive he really was. Jay takes it a step further.Cole: I've never been one to be labeled a narcissus, but I look damn good up close, well, without the grumpy sulk that is.
Jay: Are you as turned-on as I am? - Shown Their Work: The author has actually researched multiple languages, multiple martial arts, weapons and other things to make this series a little more realistic.
