Welcome to Legacy, a collection of short stories spanning from different moments and seasons in Ninjago history. I thought this would be a good idea to help with getting back into the swing of writing (that and I really missed writing about my favorite spinning ninja team so.... o-o)
Most of them will probably be about Season 6 since Skybound is my go-to season. A fair warning though: there will be a lot of stuff based on headcanons and obscure/non canon scenarios, so we'll see where this goes. xD
I hope you will have fun reading and enjoy the ride!
-last edited on Jul 10, 2019 1:11:18 GMT by TeaLeaf❀
Post by TeaLeaf❀ on Jul 10, 2019 1:10:42 GMT
Meet Again (Post Season 6)
He knew it was coming.
It doesn’t matter if it happened in the past, the future, or the all-too-confusing present. Even though he made the wish, regretted it, erased it with a flick, he knew deep down that the outcome was set from the start. It wasn’t just a simple wish: it was the hideous truth unwrapped from pretty ribbons and plastic papers. He didn’t know, did know, now know, will know…time doesn’t make a difference to him anymore, yet time was what he asked for.
Time.
Time reminded him of where he is in the form of the printed message he holds now in his hands. It is a simple invitation on a 4x6 in. card, words printed in cursive and bold. A calm tone it seems to have, talking in soft brevity of the passing of the late Cliff Gordon, whose very service and burial he is welcomed to attend. Directions to the funeral home are stated on the back, and that is all he has apart from a suggestion to keep the knowledge of the gathering quiet, as it is intended in the will of the famous actor to be held in secrecy, with a plainness that so contrasts his glitz and glamour. Looking at it once more, Jay Walker traces the patterned edge and golden lettering in silence before dropping his arms back down onto the soft hotel bed, a low sigh escaping him as he closes his eyes.
He is, was, has been, expecting it. So why is he feeling like this?
He doesn’t want to do it again, to mourn a second time for a person he never knew. Cliff Gordon was a man he idolized and adored, nothing more but a façade, a character, a persona on the silver screen for entertainment. He actually hated the sequels; it was only because of the original, the first movie ever released, that the fearless space samurai made a place in his heart and childhood. Watching it play out again and again, repeatedly on the old TV set fixed by Ed in the junkyard was what made it truly special for him, what made the entire franchise especially nostalgic, in a way.
-last edited on Jul 10, 2019 1:29:28 GMT by TeaLeaf❀
Post by TeaLeaf❀ on Jul 10, 2019 1:27:50 GMT
That is why he kept watching, even though the plot doesn’t make much sense to him anymore, even though Fritz Donnegan began to lose his magic and became less of a hero, more of a cartoon as he was intended for from the start.
But who was Cliff Gordon? What was he like off the camera and set? Was he a happy man? Was he proud of what he accomplished, a lifetime of popularity and an ever-growing fan base that stretches across Ninjago’s generations? What was it like to interact with him, talk to him, and see the real man that made up the legend?
Why would a man as great as him abandon him?
There is nothing to remember him by, nothing for him to recall or preserve. It is a legacy of a fallen star he had never once thought to wish upon. Did he know? Did he know who he is? Of course he did. He built a shrine showered with affection but hid it away in privacy. If he was truly proud of him, why didn’t he show it? Why wouldn’t he stand up with his infamous Donnegan Smile and point at him, shouting, “That’s him! That’s my boy!” and be proud of him, both of them, together?
Is his very existence— —a humiliation?
“My, what a surprise,” a voice says beside him.
Jay Walker looks up to find an older man of tall stature, dressed in a black suit as he is but with a more formal design and sphere of solemn demeanor. The gentleman is expressionless except for the gleams of interest in his sharp eyes, his gaunt appearance and graying hair unnerving the teen’s already wavering spirit. Jay decides to turn his gaze away and fix it on the coffin laid on the lower floor, rows ahead at the very front of the funeral service. His hands are rubbed together in an desperate effort to make the twitching less noticeable.
“What brings the mighty blue ninja all the way out here?” Mighty?He’s nothing like that. He’s a coward.
“I’m, uh, a big fan of his. I just wanted to show some respect.” “I see,” the man muses.
-last edited on Jul 11, 2019 5:09:02 GMT by TeaLeaf❀
Post by TeaLeaf❀ on Jul 11, 2019 5:08:09 GMT
Multiple flower stands are being placed around the room, one of them Jay knows by heart because he picked it out himself: a circle of white lilies blossoming, blossomed, or are about to open, frozen in time as he is. He sent it to the funeral home yesterday as they prepared for the service, anonymous but identifiable with a blue ribbon.
It is a small gathering indeed, many guests unrecognizable to him but are said to be fellow actors and friends in the field. The place normally where relatives and family members would stand is empty, the people piling in only to sit without the accustomed handshakes and shared moment of grief. It is a gathering consisted of the most important people in Cliff Gordon’s life. Yet family, the one usually considered the most important of them all, is nowhere to be found.
Well, that’s a lie. He’s here, but not up there with him. That’s the distance they have. That’s the distance they will always share.
“Lily flower is an interesting choice.” “…Huh?” “It is often associated with passing, but it also represents purity—restoring innocence to the departed, sweetness to the dead,” the man smiles sadly. “The blue ribbon is obvious. So is your poor attempt at a disguise.”
He has nothing to say to that. He didn’t want to draw attention so he sneaked in through the backdoor, and he went the extra mile to curl his hair. It will stay like this for a long time afterward, but it will be okay. He likes it somewhat.
“How ironic,” Jay mumbles. Cliff Gordon is anything but innocent. To him, the man of the stage is shrouded in mystery, and even more strange is the affection he had for his son when they never reconciled.
They met once—for an interview that he readily organized and pleaded for when the ninja team achieved stardom under Dareth’s fantastic help. He finally got a chance to talk to his childhood hero and idol rolled in one, and in-person, too! Through so many months of scheduling and conversing on both sides, he at last arranged a 10-minute talk with the famous actor, and he was excited beyond belief.
-last edited on Jul 11, 2019 5:24:23 GMT by TeaLeaf❀
Post by TeaLeaf❀ on Jul 11, 2019 5:22:58 GMT
He wrote down all the questions he wanted to ask since he was a child, including Gordon’s thoughts on playing Fritz Donnegan and what it was like for him to travel around Ninjago and visit so many places. Nya helped refine his list of 100 inquiries down to just 10, and that alone took them the whole week to accomplish.
“What is?”
“Ah, nothing. Just…thinking to myself.” That man has excellent hearing, for sure. He has to be more careful from now on. “Since you’re here, I guess…you knew Cliff Gordon pretty well?”
“It’s hard to say but yes, I believe I knew him the best out of everyone here,” the man joins his view by the upper floor railing, leaning against the metal bars with hands over the side. “You see, I am the housekeeper for his estate. It’s a very nice villa that he occupied whenever he got done with filming or shooting for the day, more of an exhibit of his proudest moments rather than for solid living. Someone needed to keep things in check.”
The man reaches out his hand. “My name is Nicolas.” He takes it. They shake. “I’m Jay. You know that already.” “‘Jay.’ Is it short for Jason?” He shrugs. “Jay has a better ring to it.” “Very well, you can call me ‘Nick’ then. Goes easier on the tongue.” “Heh. Okay, Nick.”
Below, the doors of the funeral home have begun to close, and the small group is fully seated. A preacher walks up to the stage behind the placed casket and welcomes all with a grieving tone. Some in the audience are already dabbing at their eyes with a handkerchief or wiping their cheek, but for him, Jay Walker feels only what one would describe as an emotion of unfortunate loss and longing.
“It’s strange,” he finds himself saying. “It felt like I’ve known him for a very long time, being a lifelong fan who followed his every appearance and featured film. But now, standing before him, I realize…I don’t know him at all. I never did.”
“I understand. He tended be quite different once he got off camera, resting alone at the estate. It was almost like looking at another man.”
Nice idea, Leaf. I should probably try that sometime.
All jokes aside, this is pretty sweet. I was just thinking about how little Jay fanfics there are. Thankfully, you took the audacity to write one. I thank you
Ooh, hopefully Jay doesn't get heartbroken or anything by his birth father. I bet Cliff and his wife had a good reason to leave him in someone else's hands! Oh, will there be flashbacks? That would be wild
Welcome to Legacy, a collection of short stories spanning from different moments and seasons in Ninjago history. I thought this would be a good idea to help with getting back into the swing of writing (that and I really missed writing about my favorite spinning ninja team so.... o-o)
Most of them will probably be about Season 6 since Skybound is my go-to season. A fair warning though: there will be a lot of stuff based on headcanons and obscure/non canon scenarios, so we'll see where this goes. xD
I hope you will have fun reading and enjoy the ride!
Nice idea, Leaf. I should probably try that sometime.
All jokes aside, this is pretty sweet. I was just thinking about how little Jay fanfics there are. Thankfully, you took the audacity to write one. I thank you
Ooh, hopefully Jay doesn't get heartbroken or anything by his birth father. I bet Cliff and his wife had a good reason to leave him in someone else's hands! Oh, will there be flashbacks? That would be wild
You totally should. My future vision thinks it would turn out pretty good. Haha, thanks! xD TBH I haven't wrote fanfics for a while and Jay was the first one that popped into my mind. My venture into the writing hole didn't come empty handed. Hopefully...we'll see. c: There will be a minor flashback so yeah, wild.
-last edited on Jul 12, 2019 6:20:46 GMT by TeaLeaf❀
Post by TeaLeaf❀ on Jul 12, 2019 6:19:37 GMT
“For an actor, he actuallyhatedattention,” Nick chuckles at the memory. “There are times crazy paparazzi and fans alike would follow him to the villa, asking for commentary, photographs, and signatures to no end. I, along with the security guards, had to shut the doors and clear the mansion while he sneaked away by his lonesome to grab a pudding cup from the fridge, fanning himself because the AC broke down for the fifth time that summer.”
Jay looks up with surprise. “I never knew there’s that side of him.” “What can I say? There is always more to a person, especially when all that people see is a face crafted to meet public approval and ratings.” “You mentioned pudding cups. Did he like sweets?”
“Sadly, yes,” Nick sighs, though the humor is apparent in his reply. “Ice cream, chocolate, cotton candy…Oh, cotton candy made him the absolute worst. He’s like a giant man-child behind that impressive adult figure he displayed. He was very good at what he did.”
Jay can’t help but smile at the image this painted in his mind, to think of THE Cliff Gordon gorging down sticks of cotton candy like he used to do when…when…
“What did he do in his free time? Did he even have free time?” “Some, not much but some. He wrote a book on romance, which sold pretty well but it’s complete garbage. He forbid me to speak of it, and he got very embarrassed when I took it out to put around the mansion. He wanted to seal it away like it never happened.”
“Seal it away, huh?” Jay’s smile fades a bit at the thought.
“His habits change from time to time, so it’s understandable,” Nick tilts his head. “For a while, he used to watch a reality TV show with obstacle courses, but he stopped just as quickly after several episodes. He claimed it wasn’t the same, that he hated seeing Fred Finley back to his old shenanigans and losing the talented young man who left just as unexpected as his burst into the media world. You have no idea how relieved he was to know that Finley later turned to the news and talk shows.”
-last edited on Jul 12, 2019 6:48:26 GMT by TeaLeaf❀
Post by TeaLeaf❀ on Jul 12, 2019 6:45:12 GMT
“He also had a peculiar tendency to… ‘disappear’…for an hour every Thursday afternoon. No one could find him around the estate, but he always showed up on time. I followed him once and discovered he had a secret makeup room, and that was where he would spend his time thinking and remembering the past,” Nick continues. “He found out I spied on him, of course, and told me to refer to the room as a ‘concealer.’ Get it? Because it’s ‘concealed’ and it’s makeup—” The housekeeper frowns. “Him and his horrible puns.”
The preacher has stepped down, and in his place is a woman who claims that she was Cliff Gordon’s photographer. Since there are no families, no relatives to relay the life and history of the deceased star, those in attendance rebuild his presence with what little they knew of him, bit by bit to form a makeshift portrait.
“Do you understand what I am getting at, Jay?” Nick turns to look at him right in the eye, the fun discussion finally reaching its end.
“Your father loved you very much. More than you can ever imagine.” His mouth feels dry. “How…How did you…?” Nick seems taken back. “So you knew?”
He glances down. “I…haven’t known for a very long time. It’s a recent discovery.” Jay decides it's best to not get into all the details; otherwise, neither of them will leave before night falls, and he might get sent to the asylum for intensive mental care. “Ed and Edna…my adoptive parents…told me.” It’s not entirely false. They did…in another past…
“…I see.” The housekeeper nods. “I figured it’s about time. It is good you came prepared.”
One person after another follows up to take the stage, immersing the small congregation in their own retelling and impressions of the man that had brightened their day or changed their career forever. Some hail him as a true inspiration, others as an irreplaceable, loving actor who will be honored for his contribution and dedication to Ninjago cinematography. The room is filled with voices and subtle sniffles, yet Jay Walker finds his face dry and eyes without tears, only a feeling of unease and something heavy weighting on his stomach.
“If he loved me,” he finally asks. “Why did he abandon me?”
Nice idea, Leaf. I should probably try that sometime.
All jokes aside, this is pretty sweet. I was just thinking about how little Jay fanfics there are. Thankfully, you took the audacity to write one. I thank you
Ooh, hopefully Jay doesn't get heartbroken or anything by his birth father. I bet Cliff and his wife had a good reason to leave him in someone else's hands! Oh, will there be flashbacks? That would be wild
You totally should. My future vision thinks it would turn out pretty good. Haha, thanks! xD TBH I haven't wrote fanfics for a while and Jay was the first one that popped into my mind. My venture into the writing hole didn't come empty handed. Hopefully...we'll see. c: There will be a minor flashback so yeah, wild.
Np:3 I thought you went down in the writing hole to write Skylor fanfics??????? Jk, write whatever you want. It's your imagination Hey, my cookie!
*cut* “…I see.” The housekeeper nods. “I figured it’s about time. It is good you came prepared.”
One person after another follows up to take the stage, immersing the small congregation in their own retelling and impressions of the man that had brightened their day or changed their career forever. Some hail him as a true inspiration, others as an irreplaceable, loving actor who will be honored for his contribution and dedication to Ninjago cinematography. The room is filled with voices and subtle sniffles, yet Jay Walker finds his face dry and eyes without tears, only a feeling of unease and something heavy weighting on his stomach.
“If he loved me,” he finally asks. “Why did he abandon me?”
You totally should. My future vision thinks it would turn out pretty good. Haha, thanks! xD TBH I haven't wrote fanfics for a while and Jay was the first one that popped into my mind. My venture into the writing hole didn't come empty handed. Hopefully...we'll see. c: There will be a minor flashback so yeah, wild.
Np:3 I thought you went down in the writing hole to write Skylor fanfics??????? Jk, write whatever you want. It's your imagination Hey, my cookie!
OOOoooooooooooh. Flashbacks
My imagination is weird. I asked for Skylor but it gave me Jay instead. I guess it's time to go into the hole again.... *munches on cookie* Yummy. Oooooohhhh indeed o-o
![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)
A fair warning though: there will be a lot of stuff based on headcanons and obscure/non canon scenarios, so we'll see where this goes. xD
Oh, will there be flashbacks? That would be wild 
A fair warning though: there will be a lot of stuff based on headcanons and obscure/non canon scenarios, so we'll see where this goes. xD
![[cook]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/XSYwdAkTEQMsodaDBxbE.png)
