characters
frozen liberation au
main characters
zane julien
elemental master of ███████████
he is going through the horrors (let's throw a brick at him!)
he/him/his - male - unlabeled
[no artfight link]
profile
lore:season 1 - ice chapter
2k+ words
[work in progress]
[cw for graphic depictions of violence, character death, racism towards formlings]
THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL FINAL VERSION!!
he had been the ice emperor for 60 years. and when the green ninja had gotten himself captured it must have sparked the memories to wake up. the memories of his original life.
it had been overstimulating. a new flood of information. but he had stayed put on his throne. there were more intruders outside fighting his elemental dragon.
the link between them was growing messier. the emperor losing control over boreal. vex had been by his side throwing reassurances his way. the new memories found them untrustworthy.
he sees fire through the dragon's eyes and panics. the connection breaks. he stands, beginning to walk down the stairs, heading for the signal. vex follows behind him with an array of questions. he needs to find boreal. needs to make sure she's ok.
with each step comes another memory. he remembers standing by a table, a group of people sitting and laughing. there are plates of food. they look happy. he keeps walking. vex is still talking behind him. trying to convince him to return to the throne.
soon they make it to the dragon keep. the emperor ignores the white haired man in his memory, focusing on the elemental connection instead. boreal is here.
vex finally gets his attention, grabbing his arm and turning him to face each other. the man continues to pester him and the emperor refutes, insisting he must find boreal.
there's distrust lined in his voice, the memories becoming more convincing as their appearance grows in his mind. vex sees it and argues of his loyalty. the emperor argues back.
arguing turns to fighting. the thud of boots on cobbled ground. scrape of metal against metal. the rise of a staff and a plunge forward. gasping. shuddered breathing.
vex had never been good at fighting.
a squelching twisting noise as the blood begins to drip. drip. drip from the wound he's just now realised he's inflicted. the tip of the spear having breached skin and flesh. embedded right through the abdomen.
vex says something. zane's too focused on another memory. a sacrifice against a dark force. they meet eyes. shock meets grim clarity. vex is going to die. vex who- vex who was there for all those 60 years. vex who kept him on track, who gave him advice. taught him everything. vex- vex who cannot be trusted.
his hands shake. the staff drops, shifting from where it sits, sputtering and causing vex to yell out. he flinches. vex who cannot be trusted. he- that can't be right. he steps back, eyes taking in the sight. red trickling onto cobbled ground. seeping between the cracks.
it's all too much, he breathes, robotic lungs shuddering with every artificial breath. it's too much. he needs time. he just needs time.
vex says his name. his real name. his eyes flick up from their view of the blood-soaked ground to meet his advisor's own. his brow is furrowed and his expression is shot with pain.
his throat feels tight. seeing him like this. knowing that he might not have been as good as he once thought. but he's still vex. he's still his advisor. he's still been purged from this world by zane's own hand.
he takes a slow step forward, boot scraping the cobble. moving closer. close enough to touch. their fingertips connect, frail skin meeting metal. then their hands. the emperor crouches beside the man, prompting him to lean, shoulders touching.
"i'm sorry." his voice is quiet, dull. "i'm so so sorry." the spear still protrudes from vex's torso, held tensely by his free hand and still gushing crimson blood.
vex hisses quietly as he turns, motion shuddered, to spare one more look at him. his dark eyes half lidded in a dying man's gaze. a blue glow reflected in their shine.
"they're going to take you away." he murmurs. "take you away from here."
there's something bad about that. something in his words. but he trusts them. one final order of a departed soul. "i won't let them." he promises. "i won't let them."
zane stands, another memory passing by of a dark cell and the breaking of chains. a contraption in his arm. he grabs onto the end of the staff. vex smiles weakly, nodding. the emperor looks at him for the last time before he tugs. the heavy spear making a wet sound before sliding from the wound. the body slumps against the wall as he turns the weapon in his hands, blood dripping to the ground.
vex is dead. vex is dead. and boreal might be dead too. he feels something but he can't face it. not right now. they're coming. something barks down the hall and he turns.
the formling. soon joined by the one in green. he doesn't see him yet. the emperor backs away slowly, steps quiet. spear clutched tensely in his hands. a head turns.
"zane?" he calls. "zane!" he's coming closer. the dog barks, it's speed is fast. he turns and runs, each step growing louder against tile, faster and faster and- he stumbles but picks himself up. bolting through the keep's entryway. the heavy wooden gate creaks open.
the wind whistles and toussles his hair, cape floundering behind him. the snow is piling outside and it's difficult to run but he knows flesh gets cold and that's enough.
running turns to walking, a trail of red on clean white. zane approaches the winter forest with stuttering joints and whirring fans. something tells him he's cold and he gets another memory. it's boreal. or something like boreal. a feminine voice. who am i? who am i? who is he?
he's the ice emperor. he's always been the ice emperor. 60 years of his life, vex by his side as all he knew. the new memories tell him he's zane. someone sacrificial, nonhuman. someone who watches while everyone else laughs. the barking returns and he turns around too late.
the titanium ninja he thinks, as it pounces on him.
the beast tugs on his arm, scraping the metal plate with it's teeth. zane panics. pushing and shoving in an attempt to summon his ice. his other arm reaches up at the dog, white sparks growing and flickering. flickering turns to fizzing out turns to dissipating.
there's a buzzing in his ear.
"akita! no!" the voice calls again. something sparks in his vision and his fans stutter in their rotations. "no!" the beast is pulled off him. the relief is temporary.
suddenly he's seeing green. "zane! zane can you hear me?" a pair of hands reach out, one moving by his head. instinctively he moves away, flinching. "don't touch me."
the hands raise from their spot in a display of nonviolence. the dog growls but doesn't move to fight him. it won't hesitate if he tries anything. zane sits up and shuffles backwards, leaning against a tree for support. he's still buzzing.
they let him sit. the trees bristling in the cold air. the one in green looks at him, something in his memory prodding at familiarity. this is a ninja. green... the green ninja. like the titanium ninja. he's a ninja too? this makes no sense. he looks down at his lap. seeing the scraped up arm in his peripheral. there's blood on his clothes.
the green ninja sees it too. "did... did you kill him?" he asks. zane curls into himself. surely that's enough of an answer. "the others will be here soon. we can go back to ninjago."
"you can't take me." their eyes meet. "don't take me." please. he has to stay here.
the ninja has some kind of pity in his eyes. "what happened to you?" he says carefully. as- as though he knows him. he doesn't know him. they've never met.
"nothing." his voice wavers. "it's nothing."
"was it vex? did he hurt you?" zane clenches his fist. "is that why you killed him?"
"shut up."
"what did he do?"
"he didn't do anything."
"zane."
"i'm being serious!" he yells. "i- i don't even know you and you're prying into my life!"
everything goes quiet for a moment. time standing still. the ninja looks upset, mouth slightly agape in his shock. "i don't even know you." he repeats. the silence persists.
"my- my name is lloyd. ...i'm your brother." that can't be right. "i know you, zane. and i can help you if you let me."
the dog barks and growls in warning. "even vermin knows it's a bad idea." it barks again. "sorry? use your words. beast."
the formling shifts, anger written on it's mockery of a human face. "how dare you!" it whines. "lloyd, you can't trust him. he killed my people."
"i froze them in ice." he scoffs, revelling in the mutt's reaction. "there's a difference."
"you took my brother!" it stomps.
"you can have him back! i'm sure he'll make a nice rug."
"stop it!" heads turn to lloyd. "both of you. stop it." zane watches him skeptically, though he's soon the focus of attention. "zane. when did you become so mean? what happened in the last few hours?"
"hours..?"
"yeah? aspheera only sent you here today. we were pretty quick to come find you."
"it's been 60 years since vex made me the emperor."
"you can't be serious..." lloyd stares at him, hoping for any semblance of a lie. zane doesn't give him any. "you're serious."
the formling snarls, teeth bared. "that's why you can't trust him. whoever you think he was is gone."
zane absentmindedly tinkers with his scuffed arm, clicking a panel into place. "what did he do exactly?" lloyd pries at the beast.
maybe this'd be a good distraction to sneak away. it lists his 'crimes'; the death of the yeti, reclaiming of the palace, pest control. with a final hiss of hydraulics, his arm becomes stable enough to function regularly.
his eyes glance over to the staff resting in the snow. he can grab it if he's quick. grab it and run. hit the dog first.
he doesn't wait, arm reaching out, taking and then running. the mutt immediately springs to action, pouncing at him. he swings the spear, knocking it to the side with force.
lloyd comes in next, standing defensively. zane begins to back away, blade in front of him. "zane. don't do this." his hands are raised in the same manner as before. but his eyes are calculating. distracting.
enough for the dog to get back up. the emperor swings again, though it sticks. caught in lloyd's hands.
he twists out of it, hearing a slice and a yelp. going back to lunge the weapon towards the dog. it dodges. he briefly recognises lloyd clutching his face. a second hand reaches for his ear before he speaks.
"ninja, come in. this is lloyd. zane is hostile. come in, zane is hostile." zane resists a hit from the mutt, immediately having a burst of green energy rush past him.
static hums from the ninja's earpiece. at the same time, something buzzes from his head. "got it. approaching your location now!."
there's backup on the way. he has to move.
he gets another memory. a broken boat and a snow covered mountain. without thinking, he acts. a burst of ice shoots across the ground as he retreats. his boots slide and scrape as the wind screams around him.
the ice feels weaker as he continues but he persists. there's an ice lake nearby, he can make it.
flickering. flickering. the ice path cuts off. zane jumps into a roll, using the momentum to keep moving.
machinery roars over the horizon and he realises it's too late. the vehicle pulls up in front of him and an array of people step out. more ninja.
he didn't make true to his promise.
the emperor holds his staff a final time, the glint of sunlight glowing against a blade slick with red blood.
he fights well. dodging and swinging the spear. getting a few hits in but inevitably falling to a tornado he'd never seen before.
zane's lights flicker out as he hits the snow.
distantly he remembers rushing water and green smoke.
...
twitching.
...
fans spinning.
stuttering.
spinning.
...
a beep.
consciousness.
zane wakes with a jolt, something clinking behind him. he finds his arms are restricted by something metal. unbreakable.
he tries breaking them off anyways. tugging and pulling. it's no use.
but...
does he? could he?
that mechanism in his arm. where is it? he closes his eyes, focusing on the circuitry.
an electrical pulse rushes from his mind. something clicks and begins whirring. zane sighs. he still has it.
he can have these chains removed before anyone comes back.
as the time passes he finds that it's taking longer than first thought. what these cuffs are made of is truly a mystery.
[writing still in progress! check back soon.]
kiki starr
bangin out the tunes
she/her/hers star/stars/starself - transfem - ???
[artfight link]
profile
insert lore here
darian
would you like a flower
nameself (dar/darian/dars) - agender - aroace
[artfight link]
profile
darian is lowkey rich. like mega rich. dar's creator is actively competing with cyrus borg and they intend to win. darian has a younger sister called darcy who comes to visit sometimes.dar is a programmer and has been working on replicating human emotions in nindroids. darian has managed to replicate most of them including touch and smell.
despite smell being done first, dar has struggled with taste to an annoying degree. because of this, darian has put focus on gardening and flowers as a therapeutic measure.
darian likes to hang out at lance's diner for crazy amounts of time. imagine those people who go to cafes with their laptops and sit writing essays with their coffee. that but it's darian staring at food and dissociating.
if you were wondering, radiant is a side project darian made just for funzies. but also for equality between nindroids and the flesh. humans can do a whole array of things that nindroids are unable to do. radiant aims to change that, even if in it's current state it's only used recreationally.
dani harte
they are going to blow something up by the way
he/him/his they/them/theirs - non-binary masc - men??i guess??
[artfight link]
profile
adopted son of the mechanic, dani knows their way around not being caught. they leave no trace in the tech stores and junkyards they frequent for spare parts.he likes to tinker with metal and wires and strives to compete with borg and darian's creator. dani was the one to create nick's robot arms and provides tech and weaponry to the group of people under their leadership.
they are second in command below the mechanic and lead with a mix of kindness and intimidation. good-cop bad-cop in a sense.
they're really smart but i (the writer) quite frankly might not be to the same degree so i'm doing them a disservice. dani is very smart.
lance papiere
undefeated bowling champion. makes a mean sandwich. ignore the trapdoor.
he/him/his she/her/hers - bigender - poly + demipansexual ??
[artfight link]
profile
lance is the proud owner of a diner and bowling alley combo. there's a monthly bowling competition that lance herself participates in (along with a few familiar faces). nobody has beaten him yet, only ever getting the runners-up prize of a discount until the next winner is decided next month.as it turns out, before lance had become the owner of the diner, sometime in it's past it had been used with semi-criminal intent. it's less so now, but the trapdoor is still there. sometimes lance will get a visit through it from dani, nick and more frequently sicariss who gained a job through it.
to break the fourth wall, the diner is considered the main meeting place for all our main characters. nick and dani are there due to nick and lance's long-time friendship, kiki lives nearby, darian is testing dar's tech and sica works there. zane you'll find out in the loooore.
lance's family consists of cara and aris who are her cousins, they like to appear and participate in the bowling comp but they also enjoy just hanging out. lance has a husband and two kids though realised she was into girls more but the love was still there so they moved into an open relationship. there's someone who comes to the diner every tuesday who she likes and there seems to be something there.
fourth wall again, lance was the first flau oc i made and honestly i love her so much he's so cool
nick mechanic
i gave him a name and pronouns look
he/him/his (rarely she/her/hers) - transmasc - bisexual
[no artfight link]
profile
insert lore here
sicariss
honorary straight lime snake
she/her/hers - female - straight
[no artfight link]
profile
sica lives in the serpentine tunnels with her brother acariss. she is interested in human culture so came up to the surface and ended up with a job at lance's diner.she uses the trapdoor hidden in the diner to commute to and from work. her goal is to eventually have enough money to buy a house or apartment and move to the surface permanently.
sica enjoys photography and journalism and takes a pocket camera wherever she goes.
ninja+
canon characters
lloyd garmadon
elemental master of energy/life/green
legendary green ninja
he/they - ?? - ??
[no artfight link]
profile
insert lore here
nya smith
elemental master of water
lowkey highest kill count
she/her - ?? - ??
[no artfight link]
profile
insert lore hereminor characters
you don't know them yet
cara papiere
resident troublemaker
pronouns - gender - sexuality
[no artfight link]
profile
insert lore here