#I am making myself write my thoughts after watching cartoons

[roturo]

SUPER SHY megumi fushiguru x f!reader

summary: way too scared to make a move on your brother's best-friend.

warnings: nsfw, aged up characters, reader is yuuji's little sister, reader is shy, semi-public, sexual tension, bad pick up lines lol, not beta read, fluff?, not finished.

A/N: This was a draft I wanted to post before I went for a break, I didn't have the motivation to finish it, mostly because of how insecure I am with my writings rn, but I know myself, and I know I wouldn't post this one after my break and i'm sorry if I didn't finish it but here it is.

It's your second semester in jujutsu tech, and you can't still seem to stop looking for Fushiguro Megumi.

He's in fourth semester, class president, and quite popular in your classroom. Mostly because of how handsome he is and every girl is thirsting over him.

You never understood the hype until you saw him for the first time at your brother's house. It's been, what? nearly a year? They were doing a school project, more like he's doing a school project while Yuuji stayed playing videogames in the living room. He was wearing an oversized black crewneck with some jeans. Simple choose of clothes, but why does he look extremely handsome in them?

¨Uh... hi.¨ You entered the living room with no clue Yuuji would be here with his friend, at least he could notify you about having friends over so you could change into more appropriate clothes. But I guess some tiny shorts and your brother's T-shirt wasn't bad.

¨Oh! This is Megumi¨ He introduced you by saying your name and for him to know both of you are step-family.

Since then you could never take your eyes out of him.

You told your friends about him and how you could never approach him, even when he's in your house. Something about his aura made you really shy to approach him or even come out of your room to see him. And when Yuuji introduced you to Nobara so you could be 'shopping besties' things could'nt get worse.

Nobara is a great person, she's not the problem. It's her friend group. It's Megumi Fushiguro and his hot damn persona.

You couldn't even keep eye contact with someone else in the group when you go out, because you were fucking scared for him to see your loving eyes that you could swear they would leave those hearts from your eyes like cartoon's.

Nobara knew about your crush for Fushiguro, since she's like your older sister. And to say she didn't accidentally slipped your little crush for him on the cafeteria with Fushiguro and Yuuji present.... would be the dead of you.

At first, Yuuji wouldn't believe it, but then he would remember all those days at his house, going out, your little glances towards Megumi, and 'casual' questions about him... brought him back to reality.

Second, he went through 3 stages. Anger, emotion, and... confussion.

He was furious for the fact you had a crush on his best-friend, which later turned into a fantasize like the kissing booth, one of the movies Gojo-senseid made him watch. But... that brought him into what would he do? Is Megumi good for you? Would he protect you like he does? Will you be happy?

He had mixed opinions about this. Most of them were good, but two or three were bad. Maybe his anxiety?

And Megumi? well, he was confused.

He knows he has plenty of girls falling for him, but he never expected you to be one of them. He thought you were pretty, really, really pretty... but he could never do that to his best friend, could he?

He had kinda of a crush for you too, but never thought of going this far.

Days passed and the topic stayed untouched, not until Yuuji asked Megumi to talk alone.

And it was the most uncomfortable moment Megumi could go through.

¨I just wanted to tell you both of you have my blessing if you ever become something, a really nice couple, both of you are really smart and have a difficult character, not that matters. But I also wish you the best if you ever get married, OHHH how cute, could I be flower guy? Okay, that's a topic for the future, and oh! also- I ALSO give you my blessing to the both of you, mostly to the kid-¨

¨Yuuji, what?-¨

¨Both of you would have really pretty and powerful children, hoping they have more of my sister appearance rather than yours... but don't forget children are for later, LATEEER.¨

Megumi would never tell you about his feelings for you, unless you make the first move, but he's been interested in you since your transfer to Jujutsu Tech in Tokyo. You were just the cutest thing, always blushing and following behind him and Yuuji until you got into your house. You were never outspoken, but you would never let anyone walk all over you, the few times he's seen you fight seared into the back of his mind. The look of unshaken determination along with the way your body moved with your cursed technique had the front of his pants tighten a bit. He wants you, even to this day, but doesn't know exactly how to take that step forward.

You pause your eating for just a second to catch Megumi's eyes staring you down. Did you do something wrong? Did he no like the way you eat? There was little you could do that change that, honestly. As you feel your face brighten and your eyes widen, you feel your confidence swell. You're gonna change him off-guard.

This was it. You were going to say it despite all your classmates being in close proximity. You were never going to live this down.

"Y-You've been staring at me all night, Fushiguro-san... Rather than undressing me with your eyes, did you want to... take this somewhere private and take it off... for real? Don't... don't act like I don't know Nobara told you about my crush... Yuuji can't keep his mouth closed.¨

You're sure he doesn't even know your name and knows you as 'Yuuji's little sister'

But you were really nervous while thinking how to finally make him yours. So shyness can go for a little bit, and fuck it.

You can feel three sets of eyes burning into your stuttering and blushing head, your eyes glaring holes in the half-eaten rice bowl in front of you. You can't believe that came out of your mouth, although it definitely took you a while to get it out. You were way too embarrassed to even look him in the eye.

Megumi couldn't believe the sweet, innocent and shy image he had about you had actually said that, to him of all people. He could do nothing but stare at you in pure shock for a few seconds before returning to his neutral nonchalant state, watching you slowly simmer in your seat. Well, at least he didn't have to take the first step. He was definitely going to take you up on that tempting offer, but he couldn't say that in front of everyone. He knows they wouldn't leave this alone, pestering the two of you until you spill the details.

Feeling the awkward silence weighing down on your shoulders, you shoot out of your chair and turn to head to the restroom, where you will hang your head in shame for the rest of the night. "I, um... I-I'll be back." You make a beeline for the women's restroom, tucked away in a corner behind a few plants. You were definitely going to puke this time.

-

Back at the table, Megumi continues to eat his food, the only change since your departure being him eating a bit slower, trying to process the situation. You justly openly invited him to engage in sexual intercourse with you in front of your confused friend AND brother. Whether it be a joke or something more serious, he needed to hear it again clearly from your mouth for confirmation. The question is, how is he going to do that with you stuck in that restroom?

His entire train of thought crashes when he feels something cold drip on his shirt, his dark eyes darting down to see a wet noodle slowly sliding from its spot on his shirt to land on his dark jeans, another stain forming on the denim material.

"So, it DID have an effect on him." Nobara glares at Yuuji, who stares wide-eyed at his best friend before feeling his lips stretch into a grin. "[Y/N] finally shot her shot! Oh, my little sister grows up so fast!" The light-haired man hums happily before digging into the rest of his meal.

Megumi places the dirty noodle on a napkin before standing and turning to the restroom. "I'm going to check on her," he mumbles to his friends before walking briskly to the restrooms, missing the knowing looks between the patrons at the table. 

"Five bucks if they walk out together." "Deal....Wait, we're betting about my sister here..."

Megumi stands between the two doors, hesitant about entering the women's restroom. He didn't need unnecessary attention or worse, getting everyone kicked out and ruining their meal. However, the way you tried to keep eye contact with him as you stutter your way through your flirting had him listening more to his groin rather than his brain. With a quick prayer that he wouldn't get caught redhanded, he slips into the nearly empty women's restroom, seeing a pair of small feet at the very last stall.

You continue to sulk against the wall as you hear someone enter the restroom. You sigh softly, arms uncrossing to press your hands against your still blushing face. You could never face him again. You had one chance and you absolutely blew it. You were sure he was going to either ignore what you said or completely reject you on the spot. Your heart wouldn't be able to handle the response, so you decide to sneak out through the restroom window and text everyone a sincere apology.

You reach up to unlock the stall's door, pushing yourself to stand and slipping out to be face-to-face with Megumi Fushiguro, yelping as his hands press onto your shoulders and push you back into the stall. You can only look at him in shock as he locks you both in, the awkward silence from earlier crushing your lungs. Oh, no. He was going to reject you right now, wasn't he?

"Fushiguro-san, I'm really sorry about--"

"Did you mean what you said?"

Every word dies on your tongue as he closes the gap between you two and cups your face in his large hands, your body melding against his own. Holy shit, you were NOT expecting this development. A few dying wheezes leave your mouth before you realize your speaker box isn't going to work any time soon. You rapidly nod your head, feeling his grip tighten just a little.

"Good, because here's my answer."

You always wondered what Megumi's lips would taste like back when you saw him for the first. A hint of spearmint and cinnamon, honey and strawberries, hell you even thought he'd taste like cookies and cream ice cream. You can't focus on the flavor when the feeling is the only thing you're thinking about, his lips moving smoothly over your lips. Your eyes widen before you hastily respond, burying your hands in the front of his shirt.

This was blowing your mind right now. You couldn't believe he was here in the women's restroom with his lips moving sensually against your own and his hands reaching down to grip your hips, but frankly, you didn't care too much. You've dreamed of this moment for years and you were not going to let it slip easily. Throwing your arms over his shoulders, you lose yourself to him, trying to keep in all your little noises the longer you were connected.

The taller sorcerer pushes a knee between your legs, letting his hips slide between and his hands lift you up by your bottom, getting a good squeeze. You were as soft as he thought and dreamt of. You were going to be the death of him for sure. One hand slithers up your shirt to brush his fingers against your ribcage, feeling lace brush against his fingertips. He groans softly against your mouth, pushing his tongue inside to assert dominance and letting his second hand join the first when you lock your legs against his waist. No turning back now.

You gasp then groan as his hands grasp the tops of your bra and yank them downward, latching onto your fleshy mounds while his hips grind slowly against yours, feeling your underwear dampen from the stimulating touches and breath-stealing kisses. Speaking of breathing, you part lips from him only to release a filthy moan as he pinches and pulls at your hardening nipples from underneath your shirt. Looking up at him with glassy eyes and drool dribbling down the edges of your lips, you could feel his erection grow and press against you harder. You wanted him, right here and right now.

"F-Fushi--"

¨Megumi, it's Megumi for you.¨

¨M..megumi-¨

The sound of the door swinging open makes you two freeze, eyes wide as whoever enters the restroom walks to the sink and stays put for a while, assuming she was fixing her hair or makeup. You grind your hips down against the tense man, feeling his grip on your breasts tighten slightly before he slams his lips against yours again to silence you. The two of you stay fixed in that position for three minutes before the woman decides her appearance is worthy and leaves the room, gasping for air as you pull away from each other.

"We... we should leave, huh?" You chuckle nervously as he slowly sets you up, straightening his clothes before clearing his throat. You also adjust your clothes and run your hands through your hair, trying your best to steady the blood flow in your face. You were sure you were tinted even redder than before.

"We're going to my place. I hope you're ready." With those few words, he almost zooms out of the restroom, leaving you surprised yet turned on. He didn't reject you or ignore you. In fact, he reciprocated your feelings, about to show you a good time back at his place. You get your mind back together before finally leaving the restroom, walking back to your table to see Megumi handing Yuuji a few paper bills.

[lotusarchon]

I had to make a whole google doc to sort my thoughts on this, that's how mad I am tbh. My friends have made explanations which you can find here, and here. And while I told myself that after that post I was done, seeing my friend receive a comment like this was the final pushing point I needed.

I'm both going to ramble about Nezha here again, and I'm going to try and explain this in a way that'll get people to understand, as someone who once followed an Eastern religion too + I'm going to be stating my basic thoughts here so maybe some things won't make sense.

Mild info about me: I'm from Trinidad. My family is described with East Indian descent but clearly, I'm not from India itself. My knowledge of Hinduism is rather basic because I quit religion thanks to traumatic experiences related to it, however not lacking fully. From my father's side, specifically his mother, they practice Hinduism and can even be considered devout Hindus (if I'm to believe all the statues and pictures of about almost every single Hindu god). Though my knowledge is basic, understand that I'm not Hindu nor Indian, so of course these are my opinions and my experiences with Hinduism, and I do not advise you taking my word fully to heart. I'm only trying to explain something to the LMK fandom in the best way I know how too, by referencing another Eastern religion that isn't half as popular as Daoism/Buddhism.

There's only one show I know where Hinduism is portrayed, and it's an anime/manga series called Record Of Ragnarok (Shuumatsu No Valkyrie), and from what I know it's not well liked by others (and even banned I think?) because of the fact Shiva is weaker than Zeus and the supposed sexualization of Parvati, Kali and Durga? It's been a while so I could be wrong on this though.

Why am I bringing this topic up to a rant about a lego character though?

#1) Fiction vs Religion and Reality

While one half expresses discontent and discomfort, I've seen others who clearly don't mind because Shiva is still badass and cool. I myself had some qualms about his appearance in the beginning because while I did quit religion, this was a god I used to worship, and seeing him in an anime/manga and be sexualized and simped for was…uncanny, to say the least. Overtime I grew numb to it though because it was genuinely funny and even I, an ex Hindu, found him attractive, and had not much hesitation writing smut about him in past fics. 

Similarly, I can imagine this is how Daoists and Chinese had originally felt about Nezha in Lego Monkie Kid [Only referencing LMK with Chinese deities. I'm aware there could be other media where they're in.] A bit weird at first but then overall got used to it because there's genuinely no harm done, as it's not meant to be an educational retelling of a god, but a fictional portrayal of him.

Returning to the point I mentioned with Shiva. When I first came across this series in 2021 (?), I did not feel too happy and comfortable with the image of a deity I've grown up worshipping as a child. I quit religion when I turned 13, so it's been nearly five years since I've had nothing to do with the main religion of my household; Hinduism. Still, I practically grew up worshipping this god I was taught to fear, and seeing a potrayal of him (which honestly in my opinion) didn't seem like a good thing at the time. 

Why did I eventually stop being bothered? Because this wasn't supposed to be retelling of Shiva. This was just a character with similarities to the god I worshipped, but wasn't the god. The series I watched wasn't even intending to teach audiences about any of the religions and real life figures they portrayed, they simply used them as inspiration to tell a story. They weren't accurate representations, but that was the point. It's a story about gods vs humans from history; of course it wasn't going to be accurate nor stay true to the figure they took inspiration from.

You can imagine then for a cartoon series meant to sell Legos. Lego Monkie Kid contains several characters that are known in Chinese myths and legends/religions. Of the most popular mentioned, there is Sun Wukong, one of the main characters in the series, Tang Sanzang otherwise known as Tripitaka and the Great Monk, Lady Guanyin mentioned in season 1, the one the fandom argues about, Nezha, the Jade Emperor in season 4, and most recently, Nuwa, and Heavenly Pagoda King, Li Jing. There may be others but these are the ones that are most known within the fandom. 

Mind you some of these figures are still very much worshipped now, but, point remains: the series was never intended to be a retelling of these characters stories, nor were they intended to be educational for audiences. They took inspiration directly, gave their own twists, and hence you have the story of LMK, meant to originally promote Legos and then eventually gave way to the series that this fandom belongs too.

These characters are not their source material, nor the origins of which they came from as religious figures. Sun Wukong is a Buddha within JTTW’s ends and if I'm right is still worshipped as such sometimes (?). He didn't hide away into a mountain at the end of his journey. His companions didn't die, nor were they reincarnated, but instead also acquired titles and became Buddhas as well. (Or gods? I frankly don't remember). Tang Sanzang as we've in season 4 was not some sort of brave, astute man in the book but rather a crybaby coward. Need I even point out that Nezha wouldn't have a giant mech to fight people, nor would he have such close deposition with the Jade Emperor? Or the fact that the Jade Emperor would be bested by someone like Azure Lion?

Not even counting Journey To The West and the Fengshen Yanyi, the real Tang Sanzang that Wu Cheng’en took inspiration of most certainly did not have a monkey, a pig, a water demon and a dragon turned horse with him on his journey. 

Why speak of all this?

To make my first point; religion and fiction are two very different things. Religion has existed for who knows how long, and fiction has recently decided to include fictional potrayals of these gods into stories and cartoons. From a writer's perspective, it's really interesting taking something that is a part of religion and writing it into your own works, with your own take on it.

And of course, brings me to the topic of Nezha.

Lego Monkie Kid Nezha is, according to an official writer within the show's team, an adult. Although many fans have their objections about this, supposedly because Nezha in other sources is a child god, and think that the writer only abruptly pointed out Nezha's an adult to save her own skin.

Taking all my points in consideration; let me humour the Nezha is a child god idea. What, exactly, does this have to do with Nezha in Monkie Kid? 

If Nezha, the god within Daoism and Buddhism, is supposedly a child deity, what law says that any other potryal of Nezha has to abide by this? 

By this logic. Shiva in the anime I mentioned above shouldn't be weaker than Zeus. He also shouldn't even be agreeing to fight mortals, as he's a deity far above such petty behavior. Zeus shouldn't be portrayed in books like PJO as a lecherous cheater, because in reality, Ancient Greece consisted of multiple kingdoms and thereby different interpretations of Zeus were merged together which is what consists of the myths we know of him today which is highly disrespectful, and Sun Wukong shouldn't be a mentor to MK, because he's supposed to be a Buddhist, and thereby wouldn't be entertaining fighting nuances.

Fiction doesn't not adhere to reality. The fact I need to say this astounds me because should this not be obvious? Lego Monkie Kid is a cartoon set in some sci-fi futuristic world with lego people walking around, where gods somehow need mechs to go around fighting, and there are animal-like demons/yaoguai walking around here and there. There is literally an arcade in the show with zero gravity. Do you possibly believe for a miniscule second that anything that goes down in a fictional setting will adhere to our reality??

And, even then, humouring the Nezha being a child deity concept > what law says that he has to be portrayed as a child in other pieces of fiction?? Especially when the fictional setting is not meant to be a retelling or for educational purposes, but rather to carry a plot. 

There is nothing, no law, no rules that insists that a religious figure must be portrayed as they are in a legend/myth for a fictional world.

Lego Monkie Kid Nezha is not the deity Nezha. He is a completely different character, which many of you should have realized from the exact moment he was brought into the show. They are not the same person. Never was. 

“Oh, it's disrespectful―” From a writer's perspective, I personally don't think so. If I wanted to make a story that involved a god, I wouldn't keep everything that makes that god who they are. There are some key points I would keep to make the story, but I would ultimately create an OC that shares some attributes to this religious figure, but it wouldn't be him. The show Record of Ragnarok does a good job with this in my opinion, because while many characters share some attributes to the real figures they're inspired by, the writers changed several things to create a proper story, and thereby making these characters OCs and not the actual gods themselves, and of course that logic applies to Lego Monkie Kid.

In the instance, again, Nezha the god from Daoism, is in fact a child deity, Nezha in LMK isn't. Nezha in LMK is someone who's entirely different from the god himself. 

So, the logic this fandom uses confuses me a lot. Do you not understand how to seperate fiction from religion?? Do many of you not understand media literacy, and what a writing process is like?

Sigh. Moving to another point―

#2) Character Designs

Sometimes, when it comes to character designs, anyone could just throw them into anything and think, “Yeah that's good.” Not much thought is given to a character's appearances depending, which I don't really blame as someone who's 1) done literature as a hobby and has seen my fair share of character designs, 2) creates characters myself. It's too hard thinking of a character's appearance, and even then when making them there normally wouldn't be any significance.

Nezha's design in LMK seems to be a huge source of debate when arguing about his age. It was actually brought up in my previous post, specifically that his hairstyle was often used by children at the time. 

I have a bone to pick with this point.

This is Nezha from Lego Monkie Kid:

However, this is Mei from the same show:

Before anyone starts, allow me to point out as a history geek that likes religion and pointless facts over politics: I am aware that there are different hairstyles to show certain things, including one's age and status and sometimes even personality. Do not bring up any points about the differences in these characters hairstyles with an excuse, “Oh, but you should know―”, because I know how hairstyles could be treated within history. 

However. Look at Nezha's hairstyle, and then Mei's. I've never seen the LMK fandom complain about Mei's age, because it was generally believed that MK and Mei are both at least 18 if not older, as the legal age for a driver's license in China is 18. 

Both Nezha and Mei are wearing a ‘bun’ type hairstyle. Mei's is arguably more of twin ponytails (?), but I'm not a hairstylist, so I don't know what they're called. To me they look similar, that's all I'm trying to say. And even if they weren't though―through a modern lense, a hairstyle isn't reserved for just any specific age. Anyone can wear a hairstyle they want. Keep in mind that the creators of LMK are also Western(?), and they chose a hairstyle for these two characters based on personality and appearances. 

A hairstyle is not reserved for any age. Grown women including my aunts have worn hairstyles similar to these just for fun.

That's point one.

Point two; Nezha is a very popular deity, much like Sun Wukong. In terms of recognition, Sun Wukong is very easy to recognize because of his staff and his overall cocky personality. 

Nezha however is an entirely different case. Most media potrayals of him always has the two-bun hairstyle of him, which is what makes Nezha recognizable. If you remove that specific hairstyle of his, you won't recognize him. It's iconic, and pointed out in this scene (The Legend of Hei) where Nezha makes an appearance as well.

[Characters sitting together. White haired boy (Hei + MC) looks at the older, dark haired boy (Nezha). Nezha looks back.]

Nezha: What? You want an autograph?

Hei: You're a boy?

Nezha: Yeah?

Hei: Your hairstyle is cute.

[Nezha looks in front with an annoyed expression.]

Nezha: If it weren't for the recognizability, I'd have changed it long ago.

Hei: Recognizability?

[Nezha removes the buns(? some form of them?) from his head. Three older figures glance at him.]

???: Who are you?

[Scene returns]

Nezha: See?

Aka, point being made: those buns are what makes Nezha recognizable. If he doesn't have that hairstyle, unless it's specifically pointed out, I'm certain majority would not recognize him. 

Some hairstyles are meant to be done for some form of meaning. But sometimes, as is the case with designs, they're just there just because no one wanted to make the characters bald. Using the excuse about Nezha's hairstyle to justify his age as a child is by far the lamest and dumbest excuse I've ever heard of, because the creators did not give him that hairstyle for the sake of some meaning anymore than MK was given his current hairstyle either. It's his logo at this point, ignoring his color scheme aside.

Even then, if the creators of Lego Monkie Kid intended for Nezha to be a child within the show, he would not appear as he is. Lego Monkie Kid has made children models, which we can see here (used from s3 and up in case someone tries to excuse the differences in seasons): 

And of course, Nezha's model;

Despite the perspective and low quality though, he's at least the same height as Red Son here:

If Lego Monkie Kid truly intended for Nezha to be a child, his appearance and model would be similar to the children's in the show. Perspective is difficult to find but you can clearly see he's about the same height as the other adult characters if not taller, and is not small like the child figures we see.

Pink isn't a children's color, and nothing about Nezha's clothing indicates a child. He very much looks like an adult and doesn't exhibit childish behavior as we see Red Son, Mei and MK do.

I've seen fans use his voice to point out he's an adult, but I'm not sure that's a valid point. I say this as someone who has a 13 year old brother and was recently a minor myself. 

Allow me to clarify: a voice isn't a clear proof of age. My father is a 45 year old man but sounds very much like a woman/teenage girl. My brother is 13 and sounds more of an adult than his father. My classmate in highschool was one year older than me and his voice was very high-pitched. 

The voice actors in LMK are directed to speak a certain way for a reason…in English. I'm not sure about Mandarin. In my opinion, Wukong's voice sounds like Son Goku's because it's a reference to the fact Wukong is what inspired Goku. Nezha's probably sounds deep and brooding not because he's a child but because it almost represents his own personality, and probably is a reference from another shonen protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki. MK's voice in the beginning sounds really childish to me but slowly as the events of s3, 4 and 5 happen it gets more deeper almost as a reference to show how his ‘innocence’ is slowly fading. 

Or, I might be looking to into it. Regardless, tdlr, don't use Nezha's voice in your argument. I've seen grown ass men have high pitched voices. 

Returning to my original point however; if you have an ounce of media literacy and understanding, you should be aware that some character designs are chosen for a reason. Nezha's icon is those two bun hairstyle, and the writers purposely chose it so old fans/readers of JTTW and FSYY and maybe other Chinese/Daoists would be able to recognize him and go, “Hey, that's Nezha from―”

Before I got into LMK, I read JTTW and also saw The Legend of Hei and the Nezha 2019 movie, so I knew him because of the hairstyle. And my first instinct of course was to point out, “That's the dude from TLOH!!” when I saw him. So, the hairstyle was chosen for the recognizability, and I highly doubt as a sign of age.

Even then, LMK Nezha aside, moving on to a different point.

#3) Sources Of Inspiration

The 21st century isn't really the first era where people are taking inspiration from other cultures. As a matter of fact, it's been happening for decades, and it's very prominent in religion, which someone of you would know if you both a) actually did proper research, b) gave a shit about what you're researching and c) studied history.

Hilariously, I have done all three of the above. 

I'm going to use a popular example here with Sun Wukong and Hanuman. Hinduism is supposedly largely considered one of the oldest religions in the world. If you truly think about it, certain Daoist deities are loosely inspired or are versions of Hindu gods, which I'm going to use here with a popular example (and provide a link too).

― Sun Wukong and Hanuman. The earliest Vedic records mention one of the supposed known monkey gods, and their similarities make scholars suggest Hanuman inspired Sun Wukong. Specifically his figure in JTTW, where it's speculated that the author must've had a copy of Vedic (?) hymns. While Sun Wukong does predate JTTW, Hanuman definitely has had some influence on him.

Much, much similarly, the deity known as Nezha, is also loosely inspired/based off the figure known as Nalakuvara, who appears in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, and often appears as a sexual trickster figure in Hindu and Buddhist literature.

Historically speaking, when it comes to religion and myths, something many people fail to understand is that before there was the idea of writing to tell a story, there was the process known as sharing from mouth to ear. Not in a literal sense, but rather that people often preferred to tell stories via word of mouth back then, and as things always go in history, there will be changes. The proof is literally right there. Nezha was originally known as Nalakuvara, yet when transmitted through Buddhist texts, he became known as Nazha, then Nezha. And as such, the Lotus Prince and Chinese god known as Nezha was created. A combination of Nalakuvara and the child god Krishna.

A lot of people will want to jump on that specific point that mentions Krishna being a child god, so allow me to immediately put you down right there.

Ex Hindu here; I did not even know there was a portrayal of Krishna as a child. Up until I stopped practicing Hinduism, I used to worship Krishna as an adult figure. In the paintings and statues my aunts had for Diwali as a child, he was always showcased as an adult.

Ironically, doesn't this apply for the actual god Nezha too? 

When it comes to religion and myths, many of you forget something very important; there is no such thing as a canon iteration. These aren't shows, these are stories from the past told through different people, and passed through many hands. There is no such thing as a canon version because almost everyone had their own version of a myth or story. Terms you may typically apply to fandoms don't apply to fucking religions and myths, and some of you are so chronically online that you forget it.

#4) The LMK Fandom's Chronically Online Attitude

I'm an ex Hindu who still faintly remembers some bits and pieces from my childhood while practicing this religion, especially during the Diwali period, where little me managed to get new information from library books about the gods my family worshipped. I personally didn't like sitting during the priest's (forgot what he was called) chanting though but the funny white thingy we used to have to wear was fun. 

There are some Hindu gods I'm familiar with, like Lakshmi, Kali, Durga and the other versions of her (I still can't recover from the one statue with her in a fish..) Parvati, Shiva, Vishnu, Hanuman (yaah), Rama and Sita, Ganesh (also yah) and of course, Krishna.  I also have watched my fair share of childhood movies and cartoons where the gods were mentioned or present―Karan & Arjun specifically struck the fear in me with Kali 😭���� holy fuck that movie scared me with the creepy edits jeez T-T. There was also that one cartoon about Rama and Sita”s story specifically Hanuman, and this Indian TV series where this little girl was a loyal devotee to Ganesha (I had no idea rats were one of his uh signature animals holy shit).

I'm rambling here a bit because the childhood memories were fun, but the point I'm going for is though….

I am familiar with these gods I grew up with. And I know about them, maybe not enough but certainly enough to know how to properly respect them from back then. 

And, using Krishna as a prime example; if someone came up to me, or I came across anyone, who argues that the god I know is an immortal child, even though I have worshipped and adult version of him, I'd be so fucking pissed. Krishna is seen as an adult, I worshipped him as an adult, but there are cases where he's a child god, and that's fine! But to have someone tell you that you're wrong about the god you know about because they got some basic information off the internet, undoubtedly, I'm going to be pissed. Especially when it's from a Western fan who has no fucking brain.

So, of course, imagine how devotees of Nezha and Chinese people must be feeling every single time this fandom fucks about with Nezha's age. I saw it myself; people told my friend that a) she was lying and b) her statement is irrelevant just because “I did my proper research, and even if you're Chinese you can still be a proshipper, Nezha's a child deity.”

It's genuinely so fucked up to me how the LMK fandom act towards Nezha's age. You guys will ignore the people who are willing to provide accurate information for the sake of being in the right and accusing people for being a proshipper over a deity they have more experience with than you, a Western fan who has no knowledge of Eastern religion.

It's insane. There are actual Daoist and Chinese who are pointing out the fact Nezha isn't an immortal fucking child. 

You're not only disrespectful, you insane, childish and most importantly chronically online. Nezha the god isn't a fictional character, there's nothing ‘canon’ about him. He's a god who's lived for decades longer than you, and his existence predates yours. People have long sinced worshipped Nezha, and the fact that you can so boldly tell someone they're wrong about the god they've worshipped is so disrespectful.

Do you not realize, as Nezha is worshipped as a child, he's worshipped as an adult? Do you not take into account how absolutely disgusting and horrible you are telling Daoists and Chinese who have stated time and time again the information of Nezha being an immortal child is factually incorrect that they're wrong and know nothing??

I'm repeating my statement; I'm an ex Hindu, but if anyone told me that Krishna's an immortal child too and then point out I'm wrong and my point doesn't matter, I would be seething. And I don't blame my friend who's losing their temper about Nezha's age. 

What amazes me though, somehow, is the fact that. If anyone who was Chinese + Daoist agreed with your claims, as Cole from Twitter once did, none of you would've spoken that way to my friend. But of course, once she points out she's Chinese/ex Daoist and disagrees with you, majority of the opinions switched because, she wasn't agreeing with your headcanon, right? So even though she's Chinese, she's bad because she disagreed with you.

You're all disgusting and fucking weird.

And the fact y'all in this fandom will habitually prove yourselves as hypocrites by attacking people, and then ignoring the ones who are capable of proving you're wrong to cling to a false idea is insane. You guys need some actual help, holy fucking shit. 

Nezha isn't an immortal child. That's a god. If he was intended to be a child in LMK, there would've been statements about it. 

Seperate fiction from religion, and seperate your headcanon from canon and the actual god. If you think this biased headcanon is okay and attacking people that point you out for being wrong is somehow okay, I sincerely ask that you take a break from the internet, and read a book.

No, don't just read a book. Read a history book. Pick up some knowledge, understand how religion and history works. 

Furthermore. The research some of you guys are doing is actually shit, by the way. You guys aren't researching properly if you can pull up with Nezha is 12, thing. If you actually cared about his age, you'd put more effort and actually stop being disrespectful to the people who are giving you the proper information. You only research surface level so you can attack people.

And additionally, stop playing the Devil's advocate. Most of you are just Western fans who think you know everything from reading one book or watching one show. You read JTTW or watch OSP’s videos and suddenly, you know more than an actual Chinese person or Daoist. You look up Wikipedia and think, “Oh yeah, I'll go with this!” And that's it. Most of you at best can provide only three websites at most, and I can bet my ass that these websites with information about Nezha's age was written by a fan who got their information from a shit source.

I love History, and most specifically, I love religion. Not so much the divine aspects as it is about the myths that surround it. Whenever I get into a fandom, I need to find out more about their religion and history. Getting into JTTW, and eventually, LMK, pushed me into a rabbit hole of Chinese myths that I really enjoy learning. But dealing with idiots who think they know more?? It's sickening as shit.

I'd like to think I'm good at literature things because once it's a religion or myth I want to learn everything about it. But I know I don't know everything, and I know especially I have more to learn. I'd never tell someone who is a part or worships the religion/culture I'm learning that they're factually incorrect about it just because I have an opinion and I learnt my info from a random source.

You guys in the LMK fandom are incredibly entitled. The Nezha is 12 controversy is a headcanon, which became worst by that asshat Cole on Twitter. And because so many of you don't want to learn the truth, whenever someone tries to point out and help you, you ignore them or attack them, and deny their heritage.

And honestly?? You guys suck. 

And this is coming from me!! Some of y'all are grown ass adults too!! And yet I'm childish and immature!?!

Brother I literally turned 18 a few months ago, yet I'm 100% certain I'm not throwing a blasted hissy fit over a fucking god the way some of you all who are most definitely adults are doing.

And finally, the one thing that actually does make me laugh is because I'm pretty sure most of you didn't do History classes. One of the most important things my history teacher taught me is; don't use Wikipedia as a source of viable information. Thousands of people are capable of accessing Wikipedia and changing information as they want, and so it's much better to find book solid resources from libraries. I did in fact use Wikipedia too (hypocritical of me yeah) so of course I wouldn't advise using the screenshots I provided from Wikipedia as evidence to the argument, because anything on Wikipedia can be changed. If I'm feeling extra petty I could change something myself to be in the right.

Furthermore, if you dare to bring up only JTTW and FSSY as a plausible argument about Nezha's age, I'm genuinely going to throw hands and fuck your mother. I think my friend also mentioned it in their posts but I'll mention it here too; JTTW does NOT state Nezha's age. I've read JTTW, and aside from Wukong vs Nezha there's nothing else that states Nezha's age. For all we're aware of, Wukong called Nezha a kid just out of spite, and I do it too when I'm arguing with someone. FSSY is the Investiture of the Gods and the ORIGINS!! Do you THINK a book about the ORIGINS of the gods would focus on other aspects about them!!? No!!

I expect some of the arguments I might get are;

"Oh, Nezha [appearances] could be wearing a glamor!" That is a headcanon, as we see nothing in LMK to refute that. Macaque's scar is canon because it's shown within the show. Nezha's appearance has NOT fluctuated since he was introduced. The idea of him using a glamor or illusion is a HEADCANON unless proven by the show. And headcanons are NOT vital.

"But you use Wikipedia too :(" Which I pointed out and made aware of, which is I also doubt that source myself. If any of you did History, your teachers are supposed to INFORM you that using a website is NOT a good idea for backing up information, and it's much better to use books or other trusted sources. In the case of Nezha, I'm trusting actual Daoists/Chinese who knows more about him than I do. It's because I did PROPER research that I even came across a good source of information, aka @ruibaozha, who I'm sure can share more light on this than me! The fact that some of you guys won't even acknowledge them is almost proof that...you're clinging to a headcanon. Jackass.

"But Nezha in JTTW/FSSY are 7/12 and that's where LMK takes it's inspiration from so obviously―" We've seen for a fact LMK does NOT follow JTTW to the letter. Jade Emperor beating Wukong?? Lady Bone Demon being a powerful foe and being trapped in a bunker? Azure even being able to kill the Emperor? Majority of the LMK fandom likes to point out that LMK Macaque and JTTW Macaque are two different people, especially when you claim that Macaque is a bad character because he cannibalized the monkeys. So then, with this logic, JTTW Nezha, FSSY Nezha, and LMK Nezha are also three seperate figures. I swear someone made a post about the differences JTTW and FSSY Nezha have too, but I can't find it so meh. The point still remains though. LMK Nezha are two different people, you're not making any sense to me about that argument. Even then, LMK isn't taking direct inspiration and putting their own twist. Who says anything needs to be accurate??

"The writer only said Nezha's an adult to ship lotuspeach!" Are you faintly aware people, actual Chinese people, have shipped these characters together? Proshippers can come from anywhere but I genuinely doubt every single person is a proshipper because of course, they're aware their god isn't an eternal child. On top of that, in a situation like this another writer would point out that Nezha ISN'T an adult. No one has argued against this claim, so why persist? Where's your logic coming from if not entitlement?

I want this to be the last time I have to talk about Nezha, because I made my blog to write porn and me smooching my favorite LMK characters. I kinda don't really like making discussions like this because that's not the point of my blog.

However...I do like rambling. A lot :)))

Anyways, point blank. LMK fandom needs to grow out of this entitled mindset and stop ignoring the facts from experts. You guys are just being annoying at this point.

My argument isn't really valid tbh, just pointless rambling because I only know basic information. I think you guys should find proper information from accounts online.

Also, if you're gonna argue: don't bring be albeist, racist etc etc. I'm capable of cussing you out without bringing up your mental health, race or identity :)))

[sadvid]

camp camp makes me insane ramble. do not click more unless you are so so very insane

camp camp is gonna make me go fucking insane i can't fucking do this anymore there is NOTHING!!!!!! NOTHING!!!! ALL THEY DID WAS GIVE US TINY PISS DRRROPLETS WITH ONE EPISODE FINALE SAYING MAXS PARENTS DONT CARE AND DAVID SAYING YOU DONT DESERVE THAT AND NOW IVE BEEN IN THE TRENCHES FOR YEAAAARSSS. i have read fics with over 100k words i have drawn so many things and imagined so many scenarios with angst and hurt/comfort and stupid stupid thoughts that would never ever happen in the show in a million years HIS ASS IS NOT GETTING ADOPTED DADVID IS NOT REAL GWENVID IS A SICK JOKE i love them so much you don't understand. i forgot to take my meds. oh my goddddd. THERE ARE LIKE THREE CAMP CAMP FANS LEFT BECAUSE THE REST WERE NORMAL PEOPLE WHO JUST WATCH THE SILLY CAMP CARTOON THAT SAYS FUCK. they dont wonder about the possibilities of a sad ten year old rejecting happiness but slowly allowing himself to be vulnerable and loved by a counselor who is surrounded by hate and despondency but stays positive despite despite despite because nobody else will and he wants to be the source of happiness that he wish someone was for him. NO! they say HAHA the ten year old said fuck! oh my god the non swearing counselor said fuck too that's so profound! oh no the ten year olds parents bad :( HAHA NOW HES BALD!!!! and after a month of the show being gone they LEAVE because they're NORNAL!!!!! but i. I AM IN THE TRENCHESSSSS. you have no idea you have no idea. listen maybe i'm just a little insane because i am a max who needs a david JUST MAYBE! and i think this is just a lot of me projecting my desperate need for love and my simultaneous rejection and fear of it onto max. And my need for someone to keep persistently and loudly loving me no matter how much i reject it. PROBABLY!!!!! i don't care i don't care how fucking insane i sound I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY I COULD talk about this show for hours i wish i didn't have job or school or life so i could write and anímate camp camp season 6 7 8 9 10 infinity and kill the warner brothers and write 500k word ao3 fics. IM INSANE. i am picking up crumbs and calling it a wedding cake do you understand. god i'm i i i i i i i i it's 2024 it's been too long too many years of this.... too many got damned years. every time i pick up a pencil i draw max camp camp. i have drawn david's stupid fucking face so many times its probably become the shape of my brain wrinkles. i go feral thinking about gwen's hair looks like down or what the fuck these characters last names are. Can you fucking believe i hyper fixated on a character whose last name i dont even know. hey who's that small angry fucker you're always doodling. uhh max. max who. max... camp camp. WHO?!!! DAVID?!!? DAVID ATTENBOROUGH?!?! MAX CAULFIELD?! i'm going to set myself on fire. i really truly am. i love them i live for nothing but a ghost child on an island and a silly friend trio. when will it end. when. i love them if you couldn't tell

[doyouremem8erme]

I just wanna let you know this blog feeds me marcy content even after the fandoms been dead and I can't be more thankful. GOD this show has such a special place in my heart, it really means a lot to know that there are still people who care about this series to the extent that I do. :)

I have many personal gripes on amphibia /LOVING, but mainly the missed potiental of a kids show by Disney that had to play back a lot of implications about the series to make it more palatable to the executives. I can't help but still respect that they got a way with a LOT, I also can't help but be sad there wasn't more darker scenes in s3 or for implications on true colors/the core/the girls grief as a whole. I can dream....,,,, that's why I live on fanfic and have a whole separate revised series in my head that I think of instead ❤️

Anyways I'm not really sure why I had the motivation to do this, I just think this blog is pretty great. I can't wait to hear more!

hehehe tysm!!! my hyperfixation got super suddenly reawakened right after i moved away to college and so im super nostalgic for the time i spent in this fandom back in high school now... this show really is closer to my heart than any other ive watched and i highly highly doubt ill ever feel the same way about any other show. it will always always be special to me. i said that abt other shows i hyperfixated on like steven universe but even that pales in comparison to what amphibia means to me!!! and marcy angst is ofc the best part of the fandom and i am not biased at all . these characters and their world are so incredible but tbh the fandom is even more special than the show. the true colors hiatus will always be incredibly nostalgic and idk if ill ever feel that same community in another fandom. hell i met my beloved partner of almost 3 years through this fandom and i see us lasting a lot longer. if i met my future wife because of amphibia then it really shows how much this show shaped myself and my life.

that really got away from me but yeah fanon is always there to fill in the gaps of the show. i never wanted to demand anything from this show that a disney cartoon wouldnt go through with but hey. the o&y anniversary is in two days. i sure never thought they would do THAT but they DID and it was horrible and fuckin AWESOME. and maybe thats why amphibia has always scratched my author brain more than any other fandom. the year and a half or so when my amphibia hyperfixation was totally dormant i spent just in the homestuck fandom and while thats easily one of the greatest pieces of media i have ever consumed in my life and ive written a decent handful of fanfic for... i have 80 published works for amphibia. thats so many!!! getting back into amphibia has gotten me writing so much again because theres something about it that is so compelling on its own but leaves enough loose threads open for fanworks to play within its structure and add in things that it feels like its missing.

to further treat ur nostalgia check out my fanart archive blog @3-stones-deity and my 3rd anniversary s3 rewatch project community which i got behind on running because of schoolwork but will certainly be catching up with before o&y!

[daddyelliott1979]

Daddy and Boy; what's it like to have the other?

I really want these posts to set a standard, to be a window into our lives but also set a benchmark for what these relationships look like.

I want to start by sharing something from @squirtdaboi

Baby Riley

When my daddy asked me to write about what its like having a daddy i initially didn’t know what to write about. But after giving it some thought i have to say this.

Ive found myself being so much happier and its so nice having that crutch in my life. That one person that always there for me is so reassuring.

He makes me giggle, smile and blush all at the same time. He does these little things like playing with my hair and giving me tummy rubs when my tummy hurts.

The way he changes me is so fun!!!! He blows raspberries and puts cartoons on for me and he dosent care if i am stinky!! If anything he makes me blushy and encourages it! He helps me push my boundaries and be more confortable being myself around others!

He tucks me and my teddies in at night and he checks on me if i wake up. Oh!!! The other night he even changed me while i slept!!! Just knowing how gentle he was and the care he puts into our time makes everything so much better!

If I’m feeling anxious in public he makes sure I’m okay! He makes me squirm and get embarrassed but it doesn’t upset me, it makes me happy.

Bath times are great. I get to play and enjoy myself! Daddy pretends to hate when i splash him with water but i know he secretly loves it!

He makes me feel loved and happy and safe and when i go to see him i feel at ease and i can be tiny and not have a problem.

He also helps me with my ‘big feelings’ and is always there for me. He recently bought me 2 sets of earbuds to help with my sensory issues which he didn’t have to do!

He helps me figure out trains for coming to see him and we are currently looking at getting me a tablet too!

He’s so helpful and doesn’t mind listening to me talk about my problems and things that are going on. He lets me talk until I'm happy and then i can go right back to watching bluey.

He helps me push me to my limits when going out in public and lets me explore my way of doing things. He doesn’t force me to do anything at all. It’s honestly so nice.

I guess the main thing im trying to say is….

HE IS AMAZING!!!

Daddy's thoughts

Honestly reading that made me cry, I know this was a lot for him to do, but once again he proves he's such a sweet little boy and not the "bad" kid he's made out to be!

Here's what this boy means to me, in the short while that he's come into my life, he's turned it upside down in the best possible way!

His cheekiness makes it impossible not to smile, his smile makes it impossible to not feel happy, his whole face lights up as he barely contains his joy; and it's beautiful!

When he's here I have to stay close, and if I'm close he's got to snuggle, and I get moaned at if I don't. It's completely adorable!

He gets squirmy in public and tells me "shut up" emphasis on the "shuuuut uppp" hehe. It's adorable to watch!

He genuinely needs me in so many ways, so much that he makes me feel like a real Daddy, something I've not felt since my son was little.

The first time he said "I love you Daddy" made my heart melt, it came out of nowhere just as I was about to rush off to the corner shop for an emergency supply of wipes- he was very stinky and feeling very little.

He has the most adorable giggle, there's nothing better than giving him tickles!

He's not kidding about the splashes, I really do love how I end up wetter than him at bath time!

And at bed time I have to snuggle with him, he snuggles into my chest and stays there all night, sometimes I'm convinced he can't get close enough. The other day he turned around only to come back with my giant doggy stuffie, scooting in so I had to cuddle them both; and somehow he took up 3/4 of my bed and left me a sliver!

Honestly I love it when he comes, I hate it when he leaves; even though he's only 30 minutes away!

He's such a special boy, he's warm, he's kind, he's sweet and he's just a boy, who needs a Daddy to love, care and protect him! And I get to be that Daddy!

And that's freaking awesome!!

[destinygoldenstar]

So I have a delayed reaction. It’s because of my current battle with anxiety and (undiagnosed but suspected) depression.

Episode 2’s message is very dear to my heart (and nothing y’all say is gonna change that), and the final scene of Pomni processing she isn’t alone made my eyes glossy. Then later that evening I started crying. Then I woke up in the middle of that night and started crying again. And now every time I watch that scene for myself I’m teared up and moved.

It’s the same with this episode. The entire sequence of hell is a sequence with brilliant writing. I was heavily moved with it but didn’t cry. But I NEVER stopped thinking about the episode since I watched its premiere. (Same with the previous episodes. It took WEEKS before it got out of my head)

And now here I am after having just started crying about the scene.

But it’s in a moving ‘I am heard’ way.

It’s been a very rough days of work for me. Days where I’ve actually suffered panic attacks. And the adults around me were not effectively helping. I thought I’d get a day off away from it all, but nope. I called my GF and got some soothing words and hugs (She’s amazing). Then afterwards I remembered this scene of this show and I started crying from being moved and heard.

In the midst of all the fear and stress, comfort and good memories of comfort will make you stronger and give you the courage to face the hard stuff.

And I feel like this stressful situation of mine is going to go okay.

Goddammit, how many times do I have to say it?! This show is incredible and very special to me. I’m not watching the show because of the trends. I’m watching it because it SPEAKS TO ME in a way that no show has ever done before.

It’s a show that’s not only very rewatchable and entertaining and intriguing, but there’s this spark and core and understanding that has helped me figure some things out about myself and is slowly helping me change as a person for the better.

‘Once In A Blue Moon’ guys.

Once in a blue moon, we all come across that one work of art that completes us and speaks to us in a way nothing else will. When you least expect it to.

Viewing Digital Circus’s episodes has been the greatest viewing experience of my entire life so far. And I doubt it’s gonna change till the show ends. We’ll see if it stays that way to the end.

It’s crazy too because where I’m from, the people around me either DON’T even know what Digital Circus is, or they dismiss it as this ‘silly kids cartoon’.

Thank you Digital Circus for touching my heart yet again.

[13eyond13]

Hello, can I ask from this ask game :

https://www.tumblr.com/threecheersforinking/677824836625694720/anime-ask-game?source=share

For anime/manga : Death Note and Berserk.

Thanks 🌻

Hi! Sure thing:

DEATH NOTE:

Favorite Character: L was basically a "love at first sight" situation for me and the main reason I ever checked out the anime (I just really loved eccentric loner sad boys at the time and he just looked exactly up my alley at a glance, hahaha). And he has stayed extremely dear to me and my favourite cartoon guy ever basically since! I actually think Light is a bit more of a complicated/interesting character than L is to think about in-depth, and has become also kind of my favourite one in the series in a different way over time, but L is def the one that I was really obsessed with from the start.

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: I love everything up until the Yotsuba arc the most I think, I just find it so much fun in the beginning of the story when everything is so well-written and so exciting and tense and fast-paced. The university arc stuff MIGHT be the part that I just find the most fun and funny in the way that Death Note is known to be, with all the detailed little mind games and bitch moves and shocking reveals every other page, ahahah. I remember laughing out loud so many times during that section of the story just due to how ridiculous it gets and how often everyone is pulling the rug out from under each other nearly constantly.

And my favourite scene is probably the "first ever friend" scene in the manga. I WILL NEVER STOP THINKING ABOUT IT it's just so funny and mysterious and intriguing and layered to me

Character I Think is Underrated: Mikami is fairly underrated, but at the same time I myself am not the best at intuitively understanding him or creating content about him either...

Character I Think is Overrated: Matt (sorry I actually like him in the manga, but I just don't think he's that interesting really)

Favorite Ship/Pairing: Lawlight! I never needed much convincing about this.... I went straight from watching the anime to going "omg they should have kissed..."

Something I Love About the Show/Movie: The anime's audio elements are just so iconic and so good a lot of the time! It makes some of the manga scenes SO MUCH better just with stuff like the gregorian chanting while Light's writing the names. And no lie, it's really easy to follow as a story without even seeing what's happening onscreen, too. I used to listen to the English dub while drawing or doing my work sometimes and it felt almost exactly like an audio play.

-

BERSERK:

Favorite Character: Guts is by far my favourite! Which was a total surprise to me, because I thought he was going to be a pretty boring macho action hero cardboard cutout type guy going in. I got very attached to him while reading the manga after a few volumes, and now he's one of my all-time faves...

Favorite Arc/Episode/Scene: I'm going to be very basic and say The Golden Age, but IT'S JUST REALLY GOOD OKAY. It's better than good, it's the reason the series went from just "ok this is pretty interesting" to "OMG WTF THIS IS SO GOOD I'M SO INVESTED NOW"

And my favourite scene?? Hmm.... extremely hard question, but I feel like the sword fights between Guts and Griffith are definitely some of the peak moments. Their first one is iconic in so many ways, but the second one in the snow really got me in the feels and made my stomach drop and my heart beat a bit faster as well!

Character I Think is Underrated: I feel like Casca is just kinda hard to talk about with other fans. She's my second favourite character in the series, but I feel like it's just really difficult to discuss her without it just getting either depressing or into too sensitive territory or something? I love her dearly in the manga, but the fandom space here seems only much fun to talk about Guts and Griffith in for me

Character I Think is Overrated: I am not THAT well-versed in who is overrated or underrated in this fandom, but I feel like mostly almost all the characters aside from maybe Griffith and Guts are a bit underrated and under-explored in fan stuff that I've seen? That might be entirely on me and the fact that I'm mostly looking at griffguts stuff, though...

Favorite Ship/Pairing: griffguts drives so much of the angst and the drama and I think is basically canon to me at this point... I don't think it's hard to interpret Griffith as in love with Guts, but I also think Guts is in love with Griffith too in just a more furtive sort of way

Something I Love About the Show/Movie:

I only partially watched the 1997 anime so far, and the Guts theme song in it is so good! My god that's still such a good fitting song for him and his personality somehow. And I'd never actually heard it before I read the series either!

[myangelicdisguise]

Ingrid Alicia Rose | The Angel Above

she/her, 22 | Singer/Songwriter & Visual Artist

This is a safe space - I’m always happy to help ♥ I share resources & my own work.

What do I do?

My songwriting captures deeply personal experiences. You could say I am exposing myself.

“The Angel Above” is symbol for reclaiming purity and innocence after intense humiliation and ostracisation. References to Social Anxiety, Trauma and cluster b personality disorders are common. I try to show rather than tell, which makes my writing graphic.

My Music & Art are centered around duality, so I combine horror and ethereal aesthetics. I share my darkest experiences, thoughts and feelings. I want to show you that no matter what you have gone through, you can recover. People can know your insecurities, but they cannot hurt you. They can hate you. They will hate me. But they cannot hurt you,

because I am here.

Below the Cut

My Songs My Art About Me

Resources

My Songs

Written, but not yet produced. Lyrics & Acapella recordings coming soon.

I Arise I found something beautiful Please just stay Bleeding Heart These songs contain references to social anxiety, loneliness, bpd, revenge, childhood & animal abuse. If you are currently struggling with any of these issues, please see a licensed professional. For educational purposes, I recommend the HealthyGamerGG community.

My Art

Fanart: Toga Sketches, Shigaraki Illustration, Ochaco Sketch Original Art: Nr.01 Skill Evaluation Piece Feb 2024

About me

Name: Ingrid Alicia Rose Age: 22 Country: Austria

Music I like: CORPSE, girl in red, IC3PEAK, Kade McCuen, SKYLAR, Ethan Bortnick & More. Lots of Indie. Also Jazz, Classical, Folk, Metal & Rap. And SO MUCH MORE. Art I like: Romanticism | Aristocratic | Rococo, Horror, Ivan Aivazovsky, Springtime by Pierre Auguste Cot, Albert Bierstadt, Alena Aenami, Jenni Pasanen, Peter Mohrbacher, Eliran Kantor, Miles Johnston, Yuliya Litinova, Stefan Koidl, Ivan Stan Fandoms: Harry Potter, DC, My little Pony, Creepypasta, various anime, & cartoons Hobbies: Cosplay/Dressing Up, Journaling, Reading, watching movies/series, sculpting, learning Interests: Psychology/Mental Health/Personality, Business/Marketing/Sales, Fitness/Beauty/Fashion

Resources

No gatekeeping. I share everything I know when someone asks. But I’m also just 22. So I share many things shortly after learning them myself. This includes: Business/Marketing/Sales for Creatives Psychology/Mental Health/Self Help Visual Communication & Storytelling Art & Writing Advice

Examples:

How to stick with a hobby

Farewell ♥ And remember. You can walk through hell and still be an angel.

[cyberthestarmedic]

Rescue bots x male reader who’s a bot…

Can I pleaaasee ask for a Medic/paramedic rescue bot x Heatwave. Where the two guys have major problems with one another, constant arguing like an old married couple when they denied that they’ll never be that close. I wanna take inspiration from the baby bot episode… since Kade got the baby for a week, I imagine him asking for help with Heatwave and kinda left him with the baby. That just got the two bots to put aside their differences and end up taking it in a deeper way 😭 LMAAAO LIKE

“You’re gonna leave me? Your son?!”

“he’s not our actual baby!”

Heatwave X Medic Reader

Hi! Love this request! Enjoyed writing it and I find it a bit funny as I’m actually a student paramedic myself!

I am going to call the reader ‘Patch’ by the way as it seems like a fitting name!

….

Babbles and Bickers

“Kade don’t leave the baby here!” “You look after him! I’ve got a date! Thanks! Bye!” He shouted taking off down the street as Heatwave groaned holding the babbling baby who didn’t who any better.

Heatwave sighed looking about for who could possibly know what to do with this baby…Patch.

He’d been away the last week at Team Prime’s base for some extra medical training from Ratchet while they had the commotion with this robo baby.

Patch was more a paramedic than medic as his training was much more generalised for a bit of everything and wasn’t specifically for just the army — he had a civil qualification that’s why he had a different title.

besides the point Patch looked too peaceful…a bit of a wind up was over due. Heatwave cracked a smile as he’d tapped the mech’s shoulder.

“Yes Heatwave?” “You’re good with babies right?” “Yes why?” He huffed turning round just to have a small robot baby placed into his servos.

“Heatwave where did this come from?!” He panicked as the firebot only laughed as Patch huffed.

“I mean like seriously this is an odd sparkling-“ “it’s not a sparkling! Kade left me to care for a robot baby! I had no choice in it as he ran off for a date or something!” Heatwave exclaimed as Patch sighed.

“Is this the same baby Cody was telling me about?” “Yeah” “and you’re suddenly incapable of holding him when I finish off important paperwork?” Patch huffed as the mech sighed and took the baby back.

“How long are you going to be?” “Well you missing me already?” Patch teased as Heatwave grumbled “sure. You finished yet?” “Give me half an hour, it’ll be done and I need this time to make sure everything is up to date” he chuckled as Heatwave walked off trying to think what to do.

Heatwave paced as the baby started to cry and he’d barely gotten a break from rescues today already.

He’d rocked the baby as he seen Patch appear a bit more sympathetic this time as he held the yellow dummy (British word for pacifier).

“You were finished your paperwork, I realised it was more like a baby than I originally thought it was and I found it in this care bag that was left in the garage” Patch explained.

”Look I don’t have the right mindset for doing this myself, mind helping?” “It’s no fuss Heatwave, besides I wouldn’t leave our son” he chuckled as Heatwave huffed.

“he isn’t our actual son” “he is for afternoon! Best start thinking it!” Patch chirped as Heatwave shook his head but if this is how he got help he’d play along.

the trio played rolling the ball about. Watched Cartoons, played ‘hide and seek’ where whoever had the baby always found the other making them win.

Heatwave and Patch sat down as the baby napped, it was just them in the bunker so it was peaceful and quiet.

“okay I’ll have to go finished the paper work” Patch said getting up and stretching as he was leaving Heatwave called after him.

“Hey don’t leave me alone with our son!” “I thought you said he wasn’t!” Patch groaned walking back over as the mech smiled.

“Oh and I did miss you. It made for a long week with my favourite mech to wind up and maybe even see” he chuckled as Patch huffed rolling his optics but smiling as he sat back down flicking on a tv show as the baby slept.

…

Sorry for it being so short! But I hope you enjoyed it!

Cyber 😊

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

Why I haven't been posting + thoughts on upcoming movies

Okay, so I mostly am gonna still spam reblog about the KOSA bill until we can finally stop it but I want to still use Tumblr for what it was meant to be for all along; to have fun! I just will take a short break on posting cartoons but I'm still active here every night! Tumblr's honestly the only place I feel like I can truly be myself right now...

Okay, let's put the stupid bill aside for the moment and talk about my thoughts on some upcoming movies and shows right now. Disney's really been p*ssing me off lately with their sequels. Like, I feel they're only making sequels of Moana and Inside Out to impress the hardcore Disney fans, because their "new original ideas" failed (like Wish, but it failed because they used A.I to write the story). The Inside Out sequel looks cute from what I seen, but I still have trust issues when it comes to Disney. And before you go blabbing "It's Pixar", let me inform you that they're not the same and Pixar is literally just Disney with a better animation studio. Like, it's literally part of Disney! Like, I feel like I trust the Inside Out sequel a little more than the forced Moana sequel but still... I don't trust them. The worst is the Moana sequel though. I heard they originally planned for it to be a Disney plus show but instead they're making it a sequel on a super low budget and the animation is gonna be done overseas. No joke! I honestly think Disney needs to take a break on making movies for a while and focus on stuff like Kiff. Kiff is the only thing from Disney right now that's keeping me from leaving them all together. And when Kiff ends after season 2, I'm done with them forever! I honestly think they should let Kiff run a little longer than 2 seasons, look how long Kick Buttoski ran (that was a weird show, let's face it). Anyway, that's my thoughts on Disney right now.

I haven't posted my review on Orion and the Dark yet but I think I will soon. Like I said, I been really terrified after hearing about the KOSA bill and will continue to spam reblog until I get justice! Long story short, Orion and the Dark was better than DreamWorks's other recent movies. I haven't seen Kung Fu Panda 4 yet but I'm sure Orion was better. I mostly only like the first two Kung Fu Panda movies. Orion and the Dark was better than Trolls 3, though. I don't think Chicken Run 2 Dawn of the nugget counts as being DreamWorks (the first Chicken Run will always be a DreamWorks movie whether you like it or not) but Orion and the Dark was better! Maybe I can post my review on it soon...

Okay, let's talk about The Amazing Digital Circus now! We all love that, don't we? I hope TADC episode 2 makes more money than Disney on their forced sequels. I'm really excited about episode 2, although I really really don't want to see any of the main cast get abstracted. Like, every character fits in with the show so well and makes it worth watching. Ragatha, Gangle, Pomni, and Kinger are my favorites, but I don't want anyone to get abstracted because they all fit in together perfectly. You have Pomni the new girl, Ragatha the supportive friend and optimistic "peace maker" of the group, Jax the sassy trouble maker, Gangle the emotional one who doesn't stick up for herself, Kinger who's upbeat and crazy and childish, and Zooble who's also kind of sassy and doesn't really care much. Plus, there's Caine and Bubble who are hilarious as well. Like, I just don't want any of the main characters to get abstracted so soon. I'm just way too attached to all of those characters! However, I'm still a huge fan of the show and hoping that episode 2 will make more money than Disney! And if there's anyone here in the comments who's also a TADC fan and wants to see my sketches that I'll never post on tumblr, I'll dm them to you!

PLEASE DON'T IGNORE ME, I DON'T BITE! CHAT WITH ME PLEASE!!!! Just please chat with me in the comments, I'll be nice!

[wings-of-ink]

Hi! (this got a bit long, sorry for that,,)

I just finished reading the update and wanted to let you know I absolutely loved it! It was such a pleasant read, even if it wasn't packed with drama and action to the brim—I feel like a palate cleanser like this was appropriate after such an eventful start to the story.

I loved all the interactions between the characters, the dynamic between Oswin and Nathanael is especially fun. Actually, Nathanael by himself is fun. The oats sowing euphemism made me laugh more than it should have because, yes, I'm childish like that. What a dork; I love him. (I'm imagining now a scene in an alternate universe where MC stumbles up to Oswin dazed out of their mind after they shared a pipe with Nathanael, which is immediately followed by Oswin grabbing the merchant and shaking him until he spills out what it is he smokes—because we all know it ain't just plain ol' tobacco—and how could he let MC of all the three other people gathered take a drag, all while MC and Zahn sit by the fire, watching a looney tunes cartoon unfold before them.)

Oh, and Zahn! Oh man. Can I just say if they asked, I would give them anything? (the world, the universe, the stars; you name it.) Actually, no, scratch that—they don't even have to ask; I would just bring them all the yummy food and warm blankets and pamper them until they accept they are worth it, because they! are! not! a bad! person! Also, I don't know why, but before they were introduced, I had this image of them being a character that would only appear here and there (you know, like every story has a character that just doesn't get enough screen time), but knowing they'll be tagging along for a while longer makes me really happy! Right now it feels like a circus lol we have a horse (maybe also a mule), an elk, a cat and a golden retriever✨.

I also found it particularly interesting how you implemented the hobbies! To be honest, I haven't read the flavor text for all of them yet, but I picked sewing as soon as I saw it as an option (no reason, I just liked the idea). My MC chose to be a healer, so learning that they were the most trusted with stitching up wounds was a really nice touch. (Not to mention they can—and will—make/mend clothing for Zahn in secret and then surprise them while they least expect it… >:P) Once their journey is over and the MC comes back to Stonebrook, they're going to wait for Nathanael to pass by with his cart and give Shadow a little kitty sweater💖.

This is already too long, sorryy; I just get very excited when I find a story that pulls me in and refuses to let go. Seriously, I keep thinking about it way too much lol. I'm usually a simple lurker and nothing but, however, I do believe there's never enough praise and encouragement! You've done amazing so far, and I know it's only going to get better. (Can't wait to meet the rest of the cast; I keep daydreaming about Rune.. it's getting serious)

Thank you for your hard work, and I hope you have a nice and cozy rest of the weekend! <33

No worries, Anon, sometimes you just have a lot to say! ^_^

I am so glad you enjoyed the chapter! I am hoping to update it soon. I'm adding a few extra optional moments to spend with all three of your camping companions. Fingers crossed for more shenanigans.

Nathanael cracks me up too. I find fun in writing for all of them, but I feel like he gives me more liberties. I wrote the oats line and made myself crack up, but thought most wouldn't find it quite as funny so I'm glad you did! Also, your imagination is pretty much spot on with that scenario!

The hobby section was fun, but also a little bit of a slog for me to write since it was huge, so you won't find a ton of differences. The exception is the singing hobby. I really want to incorporate original music in some way, but I have zero - absolute zero - skills in it, including writing lyrics. I went a little extra, and I found a small artist to help me out, though the type of song I asked for was like waaay out of their normal wheelhouse, lol. I think they did a wonderful job. They are listed in the credits too.

I can't wait to give you a chance to spoil Zahn a bit! They need it and will adore you for it! Well, they will adore you pretty well regardless, lol. Shadow does not like clothing, but he's also getting attached to MC - best bed he's tried probably ever - so he'll make an exception to wear the little sweater.

I am so glad that you are living a bit in my little world. I can't wait for you to experience more! Thank you so much for the wonderful message, it lit up my day! As someone who usually just lurks as well, your reaching out warms my heart. ^_^

[thepigeonblue]

Hey, I saw you did character matchups and decided to shoot a request. Can I get an Overwatch matchup? 21, He/Him, cishet.

Some of my positive personality traits (in my opinion): I try to play chill and easygoing. But really I just crave validation and the friendship of others. I try to be friendly, try to help people anyway I can, but most importantly I try to be funny. I riff a lot, often sprinkling quips and small jokes into conversations.

Some of my negatives: I can be incredibly insecure and impulsive. I’m also autistic, so my trouble with social cues and my social battery generally get me feeling like an outsider in social situations. I’m also dumb. Extremely dumb, often times making decisions either with little to no care or thought at all, or overthinking to the point of self sabotage. Operating on a single brain cell at any given moment.

Hobbies and interests: Video games for one. I play a decent mix of competitive shooters and story based games. Not to where I’m gaming for 5 hrs a day, but a decent amount. I also love watching movies and TV shows. One of my special interests is superhero and comic book characters. My favorite film franchise of all time is the MCU. So most of the time if I’m not playing games I’m rewatching, researching, or talking about these characters. I am sick in the head. I also voice act! It’s a dream career of mine to voice act in video games or cartoons, and I’ll often times dub over game cutscenes and comics and post them online.

That’s pretty much it for me, thank you :))

sorry it’s taking me so long to respond to my inbox, prelims are stressing me OUT but I can’t force myself to focus on revision so I’m writing them anyway

I have matched you up with…

D.VA!!

It was close between her and Echo but I feel like I have more to say about Hana.

When you first met, she didn’t think too much of you.

Sorry.

She doesn’t think much of anyone upon first impression.

But what she would do is make sure you were in the conversation

With her very outgoing personality, Hana was always the one guiding the social situation, so if you were trying to speak she would make sure you felt fully included

Maybe she sensed your need for people to like you, to which she can very much relate

Sometimes you’re being talked over and she’ll immediately call it out and give you room to say whatever you want to, sometimes you’ll make a joke or riff and she’ll be the first to laugh, often prompting others to follow

“HEY he was talking don’t be rude??? Sorry [ ] what were you saying”

She does have that effect on people

Hana mainly does this because she DOES find you funny. She thinks everyone else should also know how funny you are.

This leads to her hanging around you more, going out of her way to speak to you

She’s forward, and she feels like she can be straight with you, so hangout plans were made, then more, then somehow you were dating??

Both before and after an actual relationship manifests, you’re a total power duo.

Gaming duo, loud and quiet duo, both with no brain cells duo. All of it.

Playing whatever on Xbox call until 3am is inevitable. Don’t fight it. If you weren’t an excessive gamer you are now (unless she’s streaming)

If she wants to hang out with you and you’re overstimulated or your social battery is too low, you end up with her in her room as she’s streaming, you doing something entirely different but it’s quality time nonetheless.

Hana is definitely familiar with the MCU, but she never fully got into it, so when you’re infodumping to her about the fundamental differences between DC and Marvel that make them incomparable therefore making either argument invalid, she thinks maybe it’s something worth looking into.

Cut to you hanging out with snacks and a shared blanket doing a full MCU marathon in timeline order.

At one point, when you get a real voice acting role, Hana hypes you up SO MUCH that you have to pull her aside and ask her to stop handing out cards with the show name, where to watch it and what character is her awesome boyfriend.

She’s just very excited for you. The ultimate hype woman.

[iamgonnagetyouback]

okay for the snowmance, a bit about myself: love everything herbology related, hiking, mushrooms, reading, writing, love concerts. my ideal winter date would probably be going sledding and hot cocoa by the fire after to warm up, maybe watching a ghibli movie or cartoons 💕 any fandom is okay 💕

ayiiii, Marii!! Thank you so much for requesting, bun! And yes I paired you with Fred too (and yes, I am biased) (づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ♡

ivy's 1k celebration ⛄️ navigation ⛄️ fandoms

ˋ°•*⁀➷ REMUS LUPIN / FRED WEASLEY

Alright, OTP mode engaged ( •̀ - •́ ) —here’s why you’d be amazing with Fred and Remus, because you would absolutely bring out the best in both of them!

With Fred, it’d be nonstop winter fun and cozy, playful energy. You’d go sledding, and he’d make it his life’s mission to have the wildest, most laugh-out-loud rides down the hill, probably coming up with some ridiculous challenge just to keep things interesting.

He’d tease you about every herbology fact and mushroom you point out, but only because he’d secretly love seeing you so excited. Once you’re back inside, Fred would insist on making you a perfect hot cocoa, loaded with marshmallows, and would somehow turn even watching cartoons into an event, tossing out funny commentary and cuddling up with you on the couch. And honestly, you’d look like the cutest winter couple ever, with him keeping you smiling and on your toes every single second!

With Remus, it’d be a softer, cozier kind of magic. He’d love going on hikes with you, quietly hanging onto every word as you talk about the plants and mushrooms you discover, completely fascinated by your love for herbology. And when it’s time for sledding? Remus would surprise you with a competitive streak, laughing as he races down the hill, but he’d always make sure you’re okay (and probably end up in the snow beside you just for fun).

Afterward, he’d be the first to suggest cozying up by the fire with hot cocoa, wrapping you both up in blankets, and he’d get so invested in the Ghibli movie or cartoon, sharing little thoughts or just quietly enjoying it with you. You and Remus would be all about soft smiles, warmth, and the kind of quiet moments that make everything feel just right.

[los-ninos-tortugas]

Alright so I ended up watching both episodes three and four of Tales before I went to sleep last night (although honestly I was tempted to stay up later and just keep watching but I'm trying to maintain some semblance of a sleep schedule). I'm going to talk about just episode three here. episode four may not get it's own individual post because I kinda feel like a lot of what I have to say about it will sorta overlap with what I have to say about the arc of the first four episodes overall, which most likely will be it's own detailed analysis (I say. maybe. I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here and I don't exactly have a set format for when I do these watch-throughs.) I also kind of just want to get on with watching the rest of the show since I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. so as I go through it i'll probably just make shorter little comments and save these longer sorts of posts for a little more after the fact when I've maybe watched it a couple more times and had more time to kinda mull it over.

I feel like the series really hits its stride with episode three. honestly I was a little on the fence about each of these episodes starting off in medias res and giving a roshomon style flashback for each turtle, but Raphael's episode really hits the ground running. truly it doesn't stop either. of the four opening episodes that reacquaint us with the turtles I feel like Raphael's is the strongest, with some really excellent pacing and tight writing.

I also kinda found myself being a bit taken aback by just how violent (both explicitly and implicitly) this episode is. and then I was taken aback by the fact that I was taken aback. because by nature TMNT is just kind of a violent franchise, that's just kinda how superhero media works and they're, you know, ninjas. and it's not as though previous iterations haven't gone to dark places. 03 and 2012 particularly come to mind with their pretty frequent use of body horror as a go-to storytelling device. Rise has a bit more of a "Steven Universe" approach where violence is kinda hidden under a thin layer of cartoon logic, where the line is kinda blurred about whether certain things will have consequences or not; sometimes characters shake off an injury with relative easy (usually turning it into a visual gag) or then there's... the movie. (movie notwithstanding rise does a lot to kinda soften the blows a bit) but I think the difference comes from the fact that the violence and horror from previous series is always firmly in the realm of the fantastic. the prime example is what happens to Stockman over time in the 03 series but it's a kind of horror that is strictly sci-fi. but Kitsune coming up to Raph and point blank saying "I am going to sell you on the black market to be experimented on and also I am going to cut off pieces of you for the same purpose" hits a little too real. (i'm sure the angst lovers are enjoying their juice) I'm going to suspend my suspension of disbelief for a second to say obviously I know how this goes, Raph escapes with all his fingers intact. He's the hero, that's just how it goes. but in the moment of watching this happen, with my suspension of disbelief fully engaged, the presentation of this threat makes me believe in its credibility.

Now Mutant Mayhem did a lot to set up the kind of stakes we deal with in this iteration in particular, we know Superfly has blood on his hands, and now the payoff is Tales staying committed to that more grounded sense of danger and Raph really is the perfect character to do this setup and payoff with, since he himself is so tied up with violence as a character in any given iteration.

It's probably also why the purple dragons really shine in this episode.

Being used to Rise I initially thought the the leader was going to be a new version of Kendra (and there seems to be a little bit of a callback to Kendra's design in her) but I was really excited when she was revealed to be Angel. Same for Hun as well. He and Raphael kind of develop a bit of a frenemies dynamic by the end, and if this show gets more seasons it'd be pretty interesting to see where that goes.

this episode doesn't just test Raph's wits but also his moral compass in a really interesting way. Out of the arc of the first four episodes I think this one in particular is shaping up to be my favorite (favorite episode of the series overall tbd).

[otorange]

A Simple Ending

Around 2011 I started to work in animation, i entered as a background artist for a few commercials until i was moved to make storyboards and when there was the chance do some animation myself, later on a co-worker showed me this.

At first didn’t thought much of it, the logo was kinda cool like an omage to Misfit or something, and to be fair I really wasn’t into cartoon series at that time because i was watching a lot of anime, and the only american thing i cared was the Boondocks, but my friend ask me to give it a try and... I don’t regret it.

The series follows the adventures of Hank & Dean Venture, along with their neurotic dad Rusty, and their trusty bodyguard Brock Samson. And at first this would look like your regular Adult Swim show, the series is a parody of Johnny Quest and Jacson Publik and Doc Hammer could leave it like that but they went a step further and crafted a really deep world. And not only that, the series doesn’t follow the Venture family only, it expands to a wide variety of characters; from Billy “Quizboy” and Pete White, two scientist that help Rusty time to time and then you have the villain The Monarch with his henchmen and within this group you have the two best henchman 21 and 24.

While the series starts in your typical fashion with the “silly adventure of the week” Publik and Hammer manage wave a plot that moves forward and that’s the “growth” of the characters specially Hank and Dean as they go into those years of puberty and try to “find” who they are, friendships are born and later broken, relationships bloom and there’s betrayal of course these situations don’t happen only between the brothers.

They are the “protagonists” sure, but everyone has their time to shine, and in the case of the villains this is especially true for the Monarch.

Malcolm became my favorite character in the series, he begins like the silly villain of the week who’s the comic relief arching Dr. Venture (Rusty) but as the time goes by he begins to have his own storyline plus and hows his relationship with Dr. Girlfriend who later becomes his wife, along with his friendship with 21 thus stealing the limelight in the later seasons. 

It’s really hard for me to not gush over it and basically write about all the things that happen in the series since right now there’s a chance to get it on blu-ray and digitally all the seven seasons.

But the main reason i’m making this post is because the new movie came out

Honestly it’s still surreal to me that this managed to get the released, after being dropped by Adult Swim and later HBO Max, i kinda lost hope that we couldn’t get a closure after that last season, and how dire things look at the moment for animated projects and we are talking before the current actor/writers strike. I mean you have shows that are good like Inside Job that get canned just because...

But the movie is out! After many years and it’s not what I expected, not saying it’s bad or anything like that, i love the movie and i’m going to avoid talking about it because spoilers but, you are so used to expect like the “big spectacle” and action sequences and there’s some of that in here but  they mostly focus on solve the loose ends, and they do it in a simple way. Now i use the word “simple” and i know that sometimes it might carry a bad connotation, but in here is just simple and honest which is the core of the series, yes, the series it’s goofy and parodies old sci-fi and pulp stories, yes, they sometimes make reference that feel organic and they don’t over do it, but above all that they’re honest on what they want to say and in this movie the line “Blood doesn’t make the family, love does” has weight.

And at the end when the credits rolled and i saw the last scene, i didn’t mind that there weren’t big explosions, or action pieces, or insane animated sequences. Because at the end of the it didn’t matter, because finally the Venture had their closure and so am i.

GO TEAM VENTURE.

[destinygoldenstar]

The Best Scene In Every Ninjago Season

I love Ninjago. Out of all the cartoons I watched as a kid, this is the one that probably stuck with me as I grew up. Me and my sister have next to no show interests, in fact she watched TV more than I did. And that is still the case. But then she was watching the first episode of Ninjago one time and I dismissed it as a kiddy LEGO show with no substance. (Probably the mindset everyone has when they look at the show at first) And I just stayed in the living room to play with some Ever After High dolls (that I don’t have anymore). But then the first episode ended in an ambiguous cliffhanger that turned me on. And from there we watched the show together. We were there when Rebooted premiered. Then I got upset at a certain part, and took a two year break from the show.

But my love for this show isn’t completely nostalgia based. Because when I came back to it, now with a brain that could understand writing quality, I found the show holds up incredibly well. It goes HARD in cases.

And this is a LEGO SHOW. Made to sell toys.

They absolutely did NOT need to go THIS HARD with the show’s story, characters, or making you feel anything. AND YET THEY WENT HARD. 

And I am so happy to see more YouTube channels doing reactions to the show. I’m so glad it’s getting more attention and recognition. (I mean you could argue it already did from how much it blew up in toy sales, but you know, no one talked about the quality of the show.)

So I wanted to talk about this show myself. Because there is a lot, A LOT to talk about. 

I did make a few posts in the past, but unfortunately all of them were about a criticism I had with the show. Yeah, this show isn’t perfect. I have issues like that. But looking at those posts, while my thoughts held up, I felt bad cause ‘All I ever do is complain’.

So I wanted to break free from that and talk about stuff I genuinely LIKE about the show. Because there is a lot of things I like. 

I’m going to state what I think are the best scenes in every canon Ninjago season. 

I’m going to pick the best scene in each season, and say what I like about it. (My opinion)

This counts the Pilots and Day of the Departed. But the comics and shorts won’t count. That goes for the 2017 movie as well, as that is not canon to the story. So I don’t have to talk about it.

And yeah I’ll separate the Fire Chapter and the Ice Chapter. I know someone’s gonna complain about that if I don’t.

I might say a few honorable mentions here and there, if I can come up with some, but not mandatory.

My thought on the season overall has nothing to do with this. Because even in the worst seasons (in my eyes), there’s something I like. 

And these scenes range from a lot of elements I look into. A good character moment, a great action scene, or something that hit me in the feels or got me thinking.

And if I don’t mention your favorite scene, feel free to list it when reblogging. I’d love to hear them.

So let’s get into it:

The Pilots

I think the best scene in the pilot episodes was when the ninja first performed The Tornado Of Creation.

This, to me, is where the team we all know and love comes together. Wu assigned them as a team back in the first episode, but this is the first time all four of them collectively work together on their own call. And performing this group attack on the skeleton army is the signification of them as The Ninja. 

I say ‘attack’, but you know, it’s just a ferris wheel prison. Which is actually a really good joke.

You could argue them coming together is the skeleton fight in the first episode, and that’s a cool scene as well, but to me that gets rectified when the dragon shows up and Kai nearly gets them killed with the scythe. Here, they’re all in an agreement on a plan.

Also worth note, this is the first time we hear the collective “Ninja-Go!” Line. (Together, not just one ninja) 

This is part of my thought on that line. It’s not just them stating the shows title over and over. This is the name of their home that the first spinjitsu master created for them. This is their home of honor, that they uphold to protect as the Creation Elemental Masters. Their self-worth and loyalty to what their world stands for is a source of mental power. And it comes out in a glorious war cry.

(I just kind wished they didn’t always re-use voice acting lines. Depending on the scene, there are many expressions you could apply to the phrases. I think a different take of the line would be very fitting. That’s a nitpick though.)

Rise Of The Snakes

This one is gonna show my bias. But I don’t care.

I have to go with the reveal of Zane being an android.

This was THE moment I realized that this show was not just a toy commercial. And probably for a lot of other people as well. This was the moment we all realized this show had a story to tell, and characters who weren’t just one note. This had substance, and could make you feel. 

Like SHOCK.

Because holy gosh, this had me and my sister screaming when we first watched it. (And we got in trouble with our parents cause we watched the episode at two in the morning) Yeah anybody who sees Ninjago now KNOWS Zane is an android, so it’s probably no surprise to them. But back then? We didn’t know, man! This was a huge deal!

And on a writing standpoint, this plot twist was brilliant.

It wasn’t anywhere near obvious, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. There were a lot of clues and hints throughout the previous episodes that Zane was an android. And it's so well hidden that we the audience overlook it. Heck, they even SAY he isn’t human multiple times, but we don’t suspect it in the literal sense because the moral of that episode was that the others needed to accept him. UGH ITS SO GOOD. 

It’s not a twist for the sake of a twist. This is a HUGE thing for Zane that shakes up himself and his entire dynamic. Had this twist never happened, Zane would flat out not be the same character. Especially since it’s a twist that happens so early into the show.

My favorite part of watching other people’s reactions of this show is their reaction to this very twist. 

But shock isn’t the only emotion in the scene. It also leads to a very emotional response and revelation for Zane as a character.  

I love how the others ninja almost instantly accept this when they find out. They’re shocked, obviously, but they try to assure Zane he’s no different and they still care about him. It’s Zane himself who pushes them away because he can’t process that. It’s a very human reaction from him. 

Ironically, Zane acts more robotic when he thinks he’s human. But when he realizes he literally is a robot, he acts more human. I love that detail.

And the sequence of Zane trying to understand his own body, leading to those emotionally powerful flashbacks of how he was raised, learned his skills, and outlived his inventor/father… gets me every time.

That’s how you write good subtext for a scene. It’s all done with next to no words. This is how you write a story about self acceptance and self worth.

As someone with high functioning aspergers, this spoke to me so much. Other people may not understand us, but if we understand ourselves, it’s more rewarding than being perfectly heard by others. We have our own personal way of looking at things, and better than normal kids or no, it’s something to cherish.

I don’t think Zane is an allegory for neurodivergent people, because that would mean they’re comparing those people to robots, which… problematic. But it doesn’t harm by love for this scene.

And the fact that it’s all followed up with Zane being the first ninja to unlock his true potential, is the cherry on top. 

“There is nothing that will hold me back. I know who I am.”

That’s a great line. This is subtext right here.

You all wonder why Zane is best ninja? ❄️

The show starting with the other ninja considering Zane weird and a detriment, and then he ends up being a role model and setting an example for the human ninja. 

Speaking of, the other ninjas true potential moments are great too. So consider those honorable mentions.

Legacy of the Green Ninja

I could just choose what seems to be the obvious choice and go with the battle between Lloyd and the Overlord. 

So yeah. I’ll do that…

The fight in Episode 25.

Yeah, I think the first encounter was better. The reason is simple, I just think it feels more personal. 

Everything from the shockingly grotesque transformation when Garmadon and the Overlord merge, to the choreography of the fight between Lloyd and the Overlord on the beach. Lloyd calling out to his father, and his father hearing him and trying to prevent the Overlord from hurting his kid… yeah this is good angst. 

The actual final battle is fine and pretty to look at, and Lloyd being so resolved to fight them makes sense after all of this. But that’s a fight between the Green Ninja and a dark entity. An impersonal battle all things considered.

THIS is a fight between a father and son who were forced apart by the worlds perception of how their stories should play out. Who sacrificed everything for a better life for each other, but in order to achieve it, they have to take each other down. A personal battle.

Name a character that suffered more than these two, I’ll wait.

Rebooted

This one was a no brainer. It’s Zane’s sacrifice.

This is that scene. This is the scene that upset me and made me go on hiatus as a kid.

This is the first time I've ever cried to media. I am NOT someone who cries when watching TV. I feel the emotion, but I do not cry. At least, tears don't stream off my face level cry. My sister is the crier.

When it comes to TV, the only other time I've ever bawled my eyes out, as of the time of this post, was the ending of Arcane. (Fantastic show, btw) And that's adult animation, so it's been awhile.

I distinctly remember my reaction to this season's ending. The whole time I assumed nothing of it, just 'oh, Zane's gonna save the day. Yay.'

And then Cole said, "If his heart overloads, he'll blow. He'll never survive."

Then I realized what was happening. And I kept begging, BEGGING, to the TV, that this was a fakeout. 'No. He'll be okay. He'll be okay, right? He's gonna be fine. He won't die. He won't die.'

'Why isn't he letting go?! WHY ISN'T HE LETTING GO?!'

And it wasn't a fakeout. He actually died.

I ran out of the room, I was crying so hard.

(It was the PIXAL stare. That was what made me run out of the room. I had to pause the episode just so I could finish crying.)

So yeah. From that alone, this scene is the best in Rebooted.

But watching it NOW, it's kind of redundant. As Zane is revealed to be in a new body next season. (Idk if that's considered he was resurrected as him, or this is a Zane 2.0, a Zane Jr., it's honestly not made clear how that works. My headcanon is the latter.) (When I came back into the show after that hiatus, I thought because PIXAL had the other half of his heart, she took apart HERSELF to make a new Zane. And the original Zane really is dead. But I guess that's too dark for that to have been the case, so it isn't, but I think that's more interesting than 'Zane rebuilt himself')

So all the scene has in value in the show now is how Zane got his titanium body.

However, this scene STILL has my heart, and rewatching it now as an adult, it's STILL very emotionally powerful.

The build up was excellent. This is arguably THE conclusion to OG Zane's character arc throughout the entirety of these previous seasons. He knows who he is. He knows what he stands for. No tech is gonna replace his heart, and no matter where he belongs, he will protect those who cannot protect themselves. Not because he's programmed to, but because that is who he is as a living breathing entity.

This scene is, arguably, the PERFECT way for Zane to go out. And in that sense, Zane Jr. happening doesn't retract from the character work taking place.

The visuals are beautiful. The score is... MWAH. The other ninja's reactions. PIXAL watching from afar. It all SELLS the emotion that needs to be dealt in the scene.

And Zane doesn't even say that much. I realized. It's all on his face the pain he's going through. The heart monitor. His body is actually SHAKING. It really is a great usage of subtext. (Now I'm being annoying with that) Brent Miller's voice acting brings some of the best line deliveries for Zane. (All the ninja's VAs basically ARE their respective characters)

Presentation wise, this scene is phenomenal and HITS the exact emotions they want you to feel.

Then there's the funeral, with the statue, Cyrus Borg and Kai both get really good speeches, it starts snowing, and that final shot of PIXAL on the conveyor belt being dragged into the light with a smile... SO GOOD. (Again, back then I thought PIXAL died here, and she went to robot heaven.)

It's a phenomenal scene. It's iconic. You already know it is.

The Tournament Of Elements

This is, by far, the HARDEST one to decide.

I LOVE this season to bits. I've watched this season more times than any other Ninjago season. And there are so, so, so, so, SO many GREAT scenes in this season.

To the point where you could make a great argument as to why I should've chose HALF of the scenes in this season, and I would perfectly understand why.

(Just some honorable mentions: The fight between Jay and Cole, finding PIXAL's body, Cole and Zane's reunion, the prison break, the Elemental Dragons, Zane Jr. getting a self discovery moment, Garmadon's sacrifice)

So trust me, I had to think HARD on this one.

And I had to ask myself, which of these scenes really GRABBED me as a kid? What made me genuinely SCARED for someone? A scene that NOW, captivates me beyond reason, and what I consider one of the most important scenes for a certain character?

So this might be an odd choice, but I have to go with Kai's corruption.

IT'S MY LIST.

I rewatched this season more than any other season as a kid. I remember distinctly that I ALWAYS got stuck with this scene in particular. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

One part of me wondered a version of the season's last quarter where Kai just flat out turned evil and sided with Chen, then Lloyd and Skylor had to snap him out of it and have Kai learn that his own power is enough and that there's more value in the smaller roles in destiny than the bigger ones.

I don't know what it is, but Evil Kai AUs are captivating to me.

This scene was especially important for me as a kid, because it was the turning point for my opinion on Kai as a character.

To think, as a child I couldn't stand Kai for some reason. Now everything I hated about him is everything I love about him and he's probably my 2nd/3rd favorite ninja.

Zane is #1, obviously.❄️

(We love our confident sassy older brother with angst and anger issues 🔥.)

The whole episode Chen decided to be a daddy's girl and spare her crush, because he knew there was a darkness in Kai's heart about his place in the world and not being the Green Ninja.

But this episode also showed where Kai's loyalties lied, and that he was willing to put all of those thoughts aside for the sake of his friends. He even went out of his way to make a VERY risky plot to break the staff and get Skylor to turn. (Wow, a season where they don't make Kai some idiot with insecurities over his powers, and they actually make him smart. Recklessly smart as a cherry on top... yeah I love this season)

So I believed, 'okay, there's no way Kai is ever gonna turn on Lloyd. This is all a plan to save him and everyone. The power isn't gonna get to him- OH MY FSM.'

Yeah this caught me off guard.

For the longest time, we thought Kai was magically accepting of his fate because child Lloyd and older brother instincts. But no. He never accepted it. He put up an act because that was the role everyone gave him.

After all, The Green Ninja is a hero who saved the day all on his own. (Kai himself said that earlier in the season) He doesn't need his friends. He doesn't need his guardians.

Except no, because a moral of this season was that everyone needs someone they can rely on.

(I'll probably make a post about this in more detail, but this show writes its TEAM of protagonists better than most shows out there. Often when there's a team of main characters, there's usually a significant imbalance where the leader is the star of everything, and/or the so called team just has their own stuff going on and only interact with like one other member. I want to see a team BE a team. I want to see a found family FEEL like a found family. I want to see people interact, I want to see them banter, crack insults, be playful, share heartfelt moments, create bonds you buy into. And this aspect of Ninjago, I think is what remains consistently good the entire show. Even in the worst seasons. And I think it's what fans have grappled onto with the show the best. And it's also the reason very few fans care for the 2017 movie where the team dynamic was very much ignored, and it was all 'Lloyd is the star'. THANK FSM THE SHOW DIDN'T DO THAT.)

Hearing a character's bottled up emotions come pouring out in this scary moment, seeing said character trying to fight his own bad thoughts, Lloyd and Skylor's horrified expressions.

Had the Prison Break gang not slammed a boulder on Kai's head, this guy would've harmed his own little brother.

Thankfully Kai makes the choice to break the staff afterwards, rejecting those thoughts once and for all, and accepting his role as a guardian for the Green Ninja.

Sometimes you don't get to be a Green Ninja in life. Sometimes you end up being a Fire Ninja. And that's okay. They both have their parts, and they're both important to each other's stories.

(They're brothers, your honor)

This was just a really good moment for Kai as a character. This was the point as a kid I decided 'yeah he's alright, actually.'

Again though, there are A LOT of excellent scenes in this season. I bet you all expected me to pick Garmadon's sacrifice, and trust me I love that scene too. I was very close to picking that. But maybe I just wanted to shed light on something different.

Possession

This is another tough one. I can see arguments for a good handful of scenes.

(Honorable mentions: Morro's first attack on the ninja, Nya's true potential, Nya's bucket test, the ninja rescuing Lloyd, Lloyd and Garmadon's final goodbye, basically any interaction Lloyd and Kai have this season, Nya comforting Cole, Cole learning Airjitsu)

But I do think this time, I picked a pretty obvious one.

The ending of Episode 4.

What can I say other than MY JAW FELL ON THE FLOOR?!

I made a joke-ish post about how I felt like Cole should've stayed a ghost, but you know, the show doesn't do permanent consequences.

However, that does not make this moment any less of a shock to me.

I could not breathe after I first watched the end of this episode. The episode itself is GREAT, one of my favorite episodes of the show. But I don't think anybody expected the ending.

When they stated that 'if you're in the temple at sunrise, you turn into a ghost with no cure.'

I thought 'oh, that's just a stake they added for tension purposes. Nobody's actually gonna suffer those consequences.'

And guess what happened.

Again, excellent score, and brilliant usage of camera work. Kirby Morrow's delivery of the line "I'm a ghost..."

(Rest in peace Kirby Morrow)

CHILLS. I FELT THEM.

The tension of the clock chimes, and everyone running for their lives.

That quick moment of relief when we see the other three ninja making it out of there.

Then the camera only focusing on Cole's hand.

The other ninja's horrified reactions when they realized what happened. The fact that they can't even put it into words.

Then we see Cole's ghostly face in despair as he falls on his knees.

AND THEN THE EPISODE JUST ENDS?!

Dude, THAT is how you write a scene that makes your audience feel SHOCK and DESPAIR.

Skybound

I think the best scene in Skybound is Nya's love confession.

In my opinion, one of the only good things about this season is Jays character arc, and his dynamic with Nya. And this was a GREAT way for them to work things out and reconnect their love.

Obviously by running away together in the middle of the ocean while a djinn wants to forge marriage with the girl. THE kids show everybody.

While I don’t like the feminism allegory in this season, (it might be my least favorite thing about Nya’s character), it wasn’t the worst usage of it, especially nowadays, and there actually is a good message here.

Gals need men in their lives. But that’s not harmful to her own abilities. They all have lessons to learn and can improve from each other. Jay definitely learns a lot from her throughout the show. There’s nothing wrong with not being born perfect and asking for help. Or even falling in love.

When a LEGO show has a better strong female message than Hollywood.

And so Nya finally confessing that and her love for Jay is so satisfying. The setup here was great, and it pays off in such a gut wrenching way, because spoilers she sacrifices herself to save Jay and she gets kidnapped.

Before you say she’s embracing the damsel in distress role: No.

She helps Jay out with getting the sword. And it’s HER choice to save Jay in this moment. I say that’s stronger willpower than punching things. And shows that these two are on equal ground.

Ah if only the rest of this season was as good as this plotline and this moment.

Day Of The Departed

Nothing.

Okay okay, fine. There is one scene I really liked. The montage of everyone setting memorials for their loved ones.

This is a really nice touching sequence of the ninja respecting their loved ones who have passed on.

Except for Jay. Jay is the ONLY ninja with a normal happy childhood.

Nah, his trauma is present events rather than past ones.

Ninjago is 'Family Drama/Trauma, The Kids Show'

Hands Of Time

Well this is awkward since I very recently made a post complaining about this season.

Under any other circumstance, I would say the best scene is the Smith family reunion.

Everything else about the scene is there. The character setup is there. The action is there. The context for heartbreak is there. It’s one of the biggest deals of the season…

But I’m sorry, the dialogue in the scene is THAT distracting for me that it’s not my pick.

So instead I’m going to pick a very simple scene that wasn’t ruined by dialogue: Baby Kai and Nya flashback.

Simple. It’s SO CUTE. If you’re gonna have a season about time and the past, show us more of these moments of the past. And also there’s barely any talking, just Kai remembering a good simple time when his sister was born.

Then everything went in the garbage bin and he became a five year old adult with a child to care for.

As much as I wanted more of that in this season, it’s one of the few moments in this season that shows and doesn’t tell. And it works. Also Kai had freckles as a kid but not as a teen, and yet Jay developed freckles when he hit puberty. Lmao what is that about?

Sons Of Garmadon

Great season. But I knew what my choice was immediately. Lloyd Vs Garmadon

This is as close to perfect of a fight scene this show has ever gotten. I was SHAKING the first time I saw it. Like, you just feel so bad for Lloyd here. All this child wants is a family, and not only does he get robbed of that over and over again, but Harumi mocks any acceptance he has of the loss by resurrecting his father into this horrifying DEVIL that just wants to KILL him.

This scene pulls back no punches, and became one of Ninjagos darkest scenes yet.

Like yeah there’s attempted murder here on a father trying to kill his child, and said child just wants to get through to the father he knew, and the action is intense and brutal, but GOSH DID THEY HAVE TO DELIVER THAT GUTPUNCH OF A LINE?!

“I have no son.”

This is the first season to take place post movie, and I strongly believe the writers of the TV show took “I wish you weren’t my father” and said ‘hey we can do that. We can do it better.’

No matter the media, Lloyd is an emo child. I don’t make the rules. There’s a reason he’s the source of most Ninjago angst.

Protect the baby brother!

Hunted

Also great season, but also no contest for me. It’s Harmuis death.

They shouldn’t have brought her back. This was a perfect way to end her character.

This is the last character you’re routing for. She emotionally torments Lloyd, and resurrects his father to kill him. Then she steals said father and influences him to kill Lloyds friends and family, just so he could suffer.

Oh yeah and she also assassinates her adoptive family.

Gosh this show is dark.

Yeah her backstory is sad and you understand her motives, she thinks she’s saving humanity, yaddy yada. I was still routing for her downfall I loved to hate her that much.

So imagine the shock and despair I felt when she did.

Despite how insane, blood thirsty, ruthless, and EVIL this woman is, there was always a spark of humanity left in her. One that only wanted to do what was best, and when it dawns on her that she’s causing all the damage to others that happened to her, she resorts to what she originally wanted to achieve. At the cost of her own life.

The cuts to present and past, the expression telling the story, that last stare at Lloyd in her final moments as she sheds regret… ouch, man. This hurts.

And again, I could NEVER imagine myself ever caring for Harumi after everything she’s done. So this really achieved the impossible.

It was so sad that she died and didn’t come back. Ever.

March Of The Oni

This is a hard one. This is pretty much a 5/10 season with some really good moments.

I could talk about the conversation between Lloyd and the FSM. As I feel like that is one of the most important conversations in the entire show.

But for me, the best scene in the show, and the one that stuck with me is Garmadon's conversation with Vinny.

Yeah I had to look up his name. I keep forgetting he's in this show.

This was a great character moment for Garmadon's character. He's been all about survival and holding your own because death trauma and Oni trauma. But then the ninja lose a member (NOT, this show would never kill off one of the ninja. (Please Dragons Rising don't make that sentence end poorly.)) And suddenly he's confused as ever why they even care.

It's a really nice quiet touching moment of him looking into the ninja's photos and their memories, trying to put up a smile, looking back into a picture he smashed carelessly, and it's overall pretty quiet after the loud stuff that happened earlier.

Vinny doesn't even have to blatantly state the moral, he's just giving a human response and his own opinion. I like that. I also like that he doesn't hog the scene pretty much and the focus is on Garmadon.

Good stuff.

Secrets Of The Forbidden Spinjitsu Fire Chapter

Oooooooooooohhh...

What do I like about this season again?

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhh...

This joke is funny:

"You're all too valuable to risk. It should be someone expendable... like Jay."

"WHAT?!"

The gag that they have to drag Kai's unconscious body around a deadly pyramid was HILARIOUS. Especially with the ending joke of him getting a ton of concussions and the ninja try to pretend they didn't cause it.

But we're not taking about individual jokes I like.

...yeah this chapter is kind of ass.

(It's almost like I should rewrite this season or something...)

So I guess I'm just gonna go with Zane Vs Aspheera.

There is NO CONNECTION between these two characters besides Zane had a vision of her. So my reasoning is very simple: This is beautifully animated omg. Like this might be one of the most visually striking action scenes in Ninjago.

It's also a scene where Zane gets to shine after what, SIX SEASONS OF FLAT CINNAMON ROLL THAT GETS KILLED ALL THE TIME BECAUSE KID SHOW CENSORS CAN BE DODGED WITH HIM?!

Yeah cool fight scene.

Stop killing Zane though. Rebooted was the first time, and that SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY TIME.

(I understand wounding him, but fake killing and getting hurt are two different things)

Secrets Of The Forbidden Spinjitsu Ice Chapter

Everyone says the Ice Chapter is better. And... yeah? But not by much.

I think it's just because it's a new realm to visit, and someone slipped an Evil Zane AU fanfic into work day. Which is interesting, if a little underutilized and resolved way too quickly considering the TRAUMATIC STUFF THAT HAPPENS HERE.

Oh wait we're talking about good scenes, my bad.

I guess Akita is an okay character. Though she isn't that interesting to me tbh.

I could say Kai killing the Ice Dragon. But to be honest, while this is savage and probably where Kai has been the most powerful we've seen of him, I think I only like this scene because of Vincent Tong's line delivery being PEAK here.

Like, this is one of the BEST 'Hear Me Roar' moments in this show and I am obsessed with that scene because of it.

But the buildup to the scene itself was just NOT THERE. It was character assassination for Kai all over the place and I can't really forgive that. Had the build up been better, this scene would've been awesome.

So instead I'm gonna say Zane's Message is my favorite scene in this part.

It's really sad, and it really makes the whole Ice Emperor situation tragic when you remember just how innocent Zane really is.

It's also touching on Zane's basically immortal body. Like, I didn't even think of that until I saw this. Unless someone busts his code apart or disintegrates it from existence, Zane is pretty much an immortal being. He can't die. It's basically a Del Toro's Pinocchio where he can just come back over and over again because he's not literally a real boy.

And he'll outlive all his ninja friends...

(Oh gosh Dragon's Rising is gonna kill someone, isn't it?)

I admit the message itself is what I was emotionally investing in, as personally, I think the way they made Zane evil was pretty lazy.

Brainwashing is a lazy trope.

And again, character derailment AHOY. (Not for being brainwashed though, it's his reaction after the fact)

Whatever. This is still a heartbreaking scene on its own.

Prime Empire

VERY filler season. I keep forgetting what happens in it.

Not saying it's a bad season or anything like that. Just that all I remember of it is a few game levels, and that Cole and Kai became a thing or something...?

Okay, no that didn't happen, but good gosh the countless times I had to say "They seem to be very good friends". And I don't even know if I want to ship that or not just because of one season.

I think the best scene in this season is Lloyd VS VR Harumi

What a great way to showcase this character's trauma with his actions in the past. It's a really neat highlight and utilizing the Video Game World for stuff other than pure fun. Even if pure fun is pure fun and that's fine. (That's how I feel about Prime Empire. It's not deep, but it's pure fun and that's all it needs to be. After the last few seasons being so depressing, it's a breath of fresh air.)

And that final sword slash are you kidding me?

Finally, when a very played out anime trope ends the most realistically.

Master Of The Mountain

I think the best scene in Master of the Mountain is Cole unlocking his Spinjitsu burst.

I know what a shock, Cole is the goat this season. This whole confrontation was intense to say the least. Cole fighting off the Skull Sorcerer, Vania coming in, getting disowned, and they proceed to get TORTURED?! HELLO?!!

And that flashback of Cole’s final moments with his mom… fantastic.

Better late than never to fully establish Cole’s life and character. (I don’t mean that in a mean way, Cole is an icon 🪨)

(I was gonna use a leaf emoji cause that’s more visually pleasing in emoji realm… but wrong element)

It’s all great build up to unlocking Cole’s abilities to defeat the Skull Sorcerer.

And then he goes out of his way to say NO MERCY?!

Deserved tbh

The Island

Oh gosh what even happened this season…?

Tbh I think the best scene here is The Storm Fight at sea.

It’s a really visually neat fight on the ships. We surprisingly don’t get a lot of good sea fights in the show. Thankfully the last stretch of the show rectifies that.

Oh also this line:

“Who would want Jay?”

“Um… ME?!”

Kai just REALLY wants an excuse to get rid of his in-law. It’s funnier than it has any right to be.

(I question if Kai and Jay are even friends sometimes)

Seabound

I think you all know which scene it is already. Nya becoming one with the ocean.

This moment just… broke me. Like, it kind of did. It might because of my thoughts on the past four seasons being… yeah that’s cool. And I just thought Ninjago’s substance was dead in the water. (I mean Master if the Mountain was good, but that’s about it)

So thank GOSH this season came out when it did. And was I expecting the ending to go THIS HARD?! Absolutely not.

Just… Nya deciding to give up EVERYTHING. The life she created here. To live in the ocean as a liquid… that’s arguably a fate worse than death. And she does it with little room for an opposing opinion to save everyone and especially her husband from drowning. And that MUTED LINE OF HER SAYING ‘I LOVE YOU’ WHILE CRYING?!!

Gosh, why couldn’t this sacrifice stick?!

Crystalized

I’m not a fan of the ending. There are a few really, REALLY good scenes and memes that have joined my soul… but yeah Ninjago deserved a better ending.

But I will say, what we DID get of Oni Lloyd was great. Even if it’s just for a minute and I wish it was longer.

Like yeah, the previous EIGHT seasons built up to this moment, and it was a nice showcase of the dark side Lloyd had turned to. And one reflection later and he realizes ‘I don’t want to be this person’

I wish the scene was longer though. That is my biggest gripe. I wish we got to see Oni Lloyd more.

Oh also the scene with the ninja in matching colors and they can’t recognize themselves is a new meme in my folder. And that Among Us joke is… 10/10

THAT’S how you make an Among Us joke work.

Consider that scene a runner up because it’s so entertaining.

Dragons Rising Part One

I debated on whether or not I should count this. Technically, this is a sequel show. Not the original show. But I think people are gonna yell at me if I don’t count it.

And I hesitate to talk about new stuff because it’s not over yet and is fresh. Season 2 could have the show completely tank for all we know. It’s happened with Crystalized after all.

So I’m just gonna focus on part one. Which, yeah, this was a tough one. There’s a lot of really good scenes. I want to say RGB Siblings reunion due to my bias because everything with them is 10/10 I love it. (Although Wildfyre’s existence makes me see some Kai death flags)

But that’s not fair from how I’ve done this so far. So I’m gonna say my favorite scene in the season is when Lloyd sees the memorials of all the ninja.

Way to set the tone for this sequel and letting people know that this is NOT gonna be like the original. This is a new generation. And it hurts for fans who grew up with these characters. Especially since Wu is canonically dead. What’s left for us to think the other ninja are dead after that big bang? We were proven wrong, of course, but these children shedding honor to these heroes is really impactful and given the respect it deserves.

Even though we’re probably not gonna have these ninja much longer, I am happy to see a new generation of ninja starting to form, that kids in this decade can fall in love with as we did with the OGs. To that, I will give my salutes to when we inevitably have to say goodbye to them. And also for that, honorable mention is Lloyd giving Arin his mask. That’s passing the torch right there.

I don’t know how Dragons Rising will do, again, we have to see part 2 to decide that. But hopefully this new Gen gets something great.

And I am so happy that it helps other people start to see this show more. Theres more reactions and reviews of the show now, and after my hard work session is done, I’m definitely showing my GF this show because she’s curious when I mentioned it. (Do you guys want me to do episodic commentary posts on the show when I rewatch it? Because I can do that. Just gotta ask.)

And yeah, let me know if I didnt mention one of your favorite scenes.