#Ninjago Analysis

[the-immortal-restless]

FINALLY

it took me far to long to figure out how to post on tulmblr website

@kyri45 I got the courage to post this from the discord stream

Can you find the spicynoodles reference in there?

[penofwildfire]

I think one of the tragic things about the ninja is that they really do LOVE this job. They love fighting, they love saving the world. When there's no bad guy to fight and they have to do something else they get real fuckin bored. Lloyd takes in and trains the kids because he really truly wants more people to BE ninja, he thinks it's just about the coolest thing a person can be. And he's got good reason to feel that way! Before he became a ninja he was a lonely kid on the streets causing trouble for attention! So as much pain and hardship as ninja-ing has put him and the others through, the only thing worse than being a ninja is not being a ninja.

I've seen a handful of works where the Ninja are bitter about their jobs and very clearly only doing it out of obligation, and openly discourage others from doing the same. And unfortunately for us and them, that's just not accurate. As said above, they're EAGER to train the next generation and pass on the skills and life lessons they've gained throughout the years. And they don't even seem to realize just how much this gig as fucked them up. The only thing that seems to get them to quit is the loss of a teammate (ToE, Crystalized), and since so far all their dead have come back to life, I think it's fair to say that even that will have less of an effect on them as time goes on.

It's been said before by smarter people but the mantra of "Ninja Never Quit" is a bit of a double-edged sword. Because sure, it's great that they keep going, it's what's gotten them through so many disasters, but there are times when they really do need to just stop. Lloyd is a prime example of this, with his almost blind willingness to do whatever destiny or higher powers may ask of him, usually while everyone else is literally begging him to stop and think of himself for a minute. He's got no self-preservation to speak of, and I think it's safe to say this job will eventually be the death of him. Unfortunately "Ninja Usually Don't Quit But Sometimes They Do" isn't a very good catchphrase.

[sharksandjays]

This is sort of going off my recent artwork but I really wanted to take a moment to talk about Jay's adaptability. Specifically weapons. With the other ninjas, they seem to stick to one thing. Kai seems to always stick to a sword, Zane a long distance weapon, Cole an impact-based weapon, and Nya a spear-type weapon. (Lloyd still has the same sword he's had since season 11.) And while Jay does stick to chained weapons, he shows a lot of comfort with continously changing weapons in situations of need.

Personally, I think it's to make up for his element. Lightning is an incredibly powerful element that is likely very difficult to control. He probably doesn't WANT to use it much outside of his usual shocks and power outages. Unlike Lloyd, he doesnt need that much power because he's usually not fighting The Big Bad.

So he makes up for it with variety. With hand to hand combat, agility, speed, adaptability of weapons.

I mean, just look at all of them.

(And dont get me STARTED on how insane it is that he reguarly uses kusarigamas. That's RIDICULOUSLY DIFFICULT TO MASTER. I think this guy needs a ton of respect just for using chained weapons.)

But the coolest thing, to me at least, is that it looks like he specifically trained in the other ninjas weapons. (Maybe the others did too? But i dont really see it as much with them.)

This scene in crystallized is what got me.

Cole literally just threw his weapon to Jay, trusting him to know how to use it. And Jay kicks butt.

I wonder if a little 15 yo Jay trained in the training yard for hours, frustratedly hacking at something with a katana, then training with a hammer, switching to a spear, then to a bostaff, then to sai, and just keeps going and going until he's comfortable with all of them. He cant be the weak man on the team. If his power isnt going to cut it, then he needs to master weapons. Master combat. He wont be the weak link. He refuses to.

Anyways sharkanalysis is back

[rainofthetwilight]

something something, arin is desperately trying to run back to his past, even if it meant to give up the present..while sora is trying so hard to run away from her past, trying to hold on to the present, but her past still catches up to her no matter what..something something...

arin would give up the present, as he denied that the ninja are his family when his mother asked him so, if it meant for him to run back to her and his father.

this whole season alludes to motion. everyone, everything is moving. but here in arin's fear, he's trying so hard to do that, to move and run back to his parents, to his past, but he couldn't, stuck in the same place as he was. which also fits in his whole arc of not progressing in his spinjitzu, still being in the same place as he was before. he didn't improve, he couldn't move, he's still, and stuck at where he started, he has no motion, and is constantly being reminded of that whether intentionally or unintentionally (unintentionally: lloyd and sora, intentionally: ras)

meanwhile with sora, in her fear, she was able to move. she was able to run back to her past,  despite trying so hard to move on from it, to turn away from it, to stay still and never come back to it. but it still pulls her back, no matter how hard she tries

and of course, this also goes to how she's currently progressing with her powers. she's improving, she's moving forward, she isn't still, she's much more powerful than she was before, she's learning, and most importantly, she has motion, and is reminded of it everytime, whether by herself or someone else, while also being praised for it

and the way these two arcs just very clearly contrast from eachother is so interesting. arin had always wanted to be a ninja, he wants to make his parents proud, but when he got the chance, he fails time and time again. meanwhile sora did not even think she'd be involved in any ninja adventures, yet here we are. she didn't even think she'd have powers, no less improve at controlling them, she didn't think she'd have all of this but still got it

one friend had neverending hope, had a dream so big, that his imagination became reality. yet, it looked like destiny didn't agree with it, making his hope falter and his dream shatter, his self esteem dangerously lowering as he started to doubt if he was ever good enough, and he started to doubt if everyone else believed in him too

the other was never focused on hope, or a dream, she accepted the life she lived as long as it meant she won't return to her past. destiny didn't disappoint her, but it contrasted with her opinions in ways that she didn't really agree with. but in the end, she managed to resolve her past and move on from it, as she started focusing more on the present and being happier than she's ever been, even if her past pulled her back at times. they're both best friends despite all these differences, but after what happened in the s2p1 finale, will they be for long?

[nyaskitten]

This little moment, of Sora looking back at where her parents were, only to see a Mergequake has already taken them while she wasn't looking, the look of anguish and sadness on her face... She didn't know whether her parents even Saw what she was capable of, missing her one last chance to ever possibly, maybe, just Maybe, reconcile with them, or help them get better... the way she just stares, as if her heart to some capacity longs to have her potential recognized... oughghg

[psychologicalwarclaire]

When did Jay forgetting her become Nya's worst fear? | An analysis

We know from the mirror at the Explorer's Club that Nya's worst fear used to be being ordinary, and not having her powers. However, in Crystallized, she faced that fear.

You know what else happened in Crystallized?

She forgot Jay.

She forgot who she was, her friends, her family, and the love of her life. Even though she is back to herself now, Nya remembers what it was like to forget everything. It must be terrifying to think about.

Imagine Nya post merge, searching for her friends, for her family, for her yang. She knows from experience that destiny cannot keep them apart for long. Even if Jay was dead, Nya knows it's only a matter of time before she sees him again. Because she knows that there is no physical barrier that can hold them apart.

Except.

Nya knows the power of memory loss. Nya knows the power of things never even happening in the first place (cough, Skybound).

At some point since the merge, Nya must have developed a new fear. Searching an unrecognizable land, traveling the Realm of Madness, alone, she must have thought about when she was merged with the sea. Alone. And she must have thought about Jay. Alone. And Nya must have thought about how awful it would be for Jay to be in that situation of amnesia.

Slowly, the fear of Jay losing his memory, the fear of the only thing that could truly keep them apart, must have set in.

Jay forgot Nya. Her worst fear is just around the corner.

And I, for one, and stoked to see her fear soon become a reality.

[alien-of-earth]

Lego Ninjago and Race: An Analysis for the Upcoming Live Action

I know there’s been a lot of discourse in the ninjago community since a live action movie has been announced, and there’s sure to be even more after the cast list is released. Many fans are afraid the cast will be all white, while others don’t care what race the ninja will be. Non-fans looking in from the outside might say, “Why does it matter? They’re legos, they’re yellow.” I’ve seen this argument more recently, especially revolving Arin in the soft reboot Dragons Rising.

The point of this longer post is to explain how race still exists in Ninjago despite the plastic, yellow nature of the characters, and why making the cast entirely or mostly white would be a disservice to the fans and the source material as a whole. So let’s ninja-go into this topic.

Part 1: Hair and Black-Coding

When people claim that legos don’t have race, they often claim it���s because they are yellow. However, they forget that legos still have humanoid characteristics, and one of the easiest ways to tell when a lego character is black-coded is to look at their hairpiece.

Here are some examples of hairpieces clearly meant to resemble black hair textures/hairstyles:

When characters have textured hair (i.e. Arin and Euphrasia from Ninjago) or locs/braids (i.e. Mateo and Zoey from Dreamzzz), it’s hard to argue they’re meant to be interpreted as anything other than black. And if that’s not obvious enough, there’s also:

Part 1b: Voice Actors and Black-Coding

People of color voice acting non-human characters doesn’t determine race, but it does add to character coding. This can be seen in characters from other shows, such as Darwin from The Amazing World of Gumball. Even though Darwin is a 2D animated goldfish, he has been voiced exclusively by black voice actors. Because of his voice (and other mannerisms/narrative elements), Darwin is generally accepted to be black-coded.

Being voiced by a person of color does not automatically make a character black-coded, but it can certainly add credence to characters who already have black characteristics, such as Arin and Euphrasia.

Part 2: Names

Another reason it’s hard for ninjago fans to interpret certain characters as white is because of their names. While many have stereotypical “American white boy names” (i.e. Jay, Cole, and Zane), other characters have names that are certainly not strictly American. Examples include Wu (a Chinese surname), Misako (a Japanese name), Chen (a Chinese surname), Okino (a Japanese surname) and Sora (Japanese given name). Ninjago may be set in a fictional world of animated, plastic people, but it’s still based on real-world names, and considering how a lot of the characters’ names come from East Asia, there is merit to declare that characters like Misako and Sora are meant to be interpreted as East Asian.

Part 3: Cultural Influences

Now, to the most obvious reason why it would be absurd to put an all-white cast on screen: the cultural influences. I am not Asian myself, but other ninjago fans have expressed frustration about the cultural melting pot that is Ninjago. It takes influence from both Eastern and Western cultures for its setting, worldbuilding, lore, and fantastical elements. Ninjago puts ninja, samurai, Kabuki, and Oni from Japanese history and culture, Djinn from Arabic regions, the yin/yang concept from Chinese philosophy, and dragons from various cultures into one narrative. There’s even a character named Ronin (which means a “wandering samurai”).

Additionally, the ninjago language seems to be inspired by Tategaki, an East Asian style of writing.

What this means is that Ninjago is brimming with real-life cultural influences. They rarely come from the same places and are not always faithful or accurate. In fact, they can sometimes seem borderline disrespectful and stereotypical in the earlier seasons- particularly with the portrayal of Chen and pilot Wu. However, it doesn’t take a genius to spot the East Asian cultural influences on ninjago. This is clear in the character designs, attire, and especially in the settings:

Part 4: What does this mean?

In summary, Ninjago is a fictional setting that takes inspiration from East Asian cultures, and has coded certain characters as certain races through more indirect means such as naming and designs. Even though none of the ninjago characters have 100% canon races, there is still evidence that some are meant to be interpreted as black or Asian. Therefore, making all the ninjago characters white would be a disservice to the fans AND the source material because it takes away subtle but essential parts of the characters and world.

Additionally: Representation matters. It could mean a lot for fans new and old to see the ninja becoming humanized and seeing themselves on screen. Not only would an all-white cast be unfaithful to the source material, but it would be disheartening to fans hoping for racial representation, especially in an age where “wokeness” is considered a touchy subject in some areas.

Part 5: Other Thoughts/Clarifications

The beautiful thing about Ninjago is that the Lego nature of the characters allows them to be interpreted in so many ways. The characters don’t have canon skin tones, eye color, body types, ages, heights, etc., so they can be whatever fans want. Whatever the fans interpret them to be or even what they feel like, they can be. And I think that’s beautiful.

TLDR: I don’t want the movie casting to limit the fan’s creativity or headcanons. Even if the cast isn’t entirely white, I hope people continue to make creations with their own interpretations of the characters.

Also: I urge fans to not harass the actors if they are white. I feel like the ninjago fandom is above that but I feel inclined to make this statement in advance regardless.

Finally: I’m leaving this post wide-open to discussion and discourse. I did surface-level research for the ninjago cultural influences, so if anyone wants to add on to or correct anything, feel free to do so. All I ask is that the conversations remain civil.

That is all :)

[lunar-eclipse-bunnies]

crying once again over cole's symbolism

death being tied to him, the earth ninja, makes so much sense. all that comes from the earth (students, children, mothers) someday return to it in a never-ending cycle. not even cole, a manifestation of the element of earth, is free from it

and the fact that his initial weapon is a scythe, a farming tool,

and is ANOTHER symbol of death and mourning hits me so fucking hard because this was NEVER intended in the beginning of the show but naturally evolved from it

and then transfering his weapon to a hammer, a symbol of revenge and justice, building up to master of the mountain where he truly comes into his own, avenging his mother AGHHHHHHH

and despite the fact that he is the strongest, has the most to be angry and vengeful for, cole chooses to be good and kind. just because his mom asked him to, because he knows the good he can cause:

"I will always stand up to those who are cruel and unjust."

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON DAD COLE. ON THE SYMBOLISM BETWEEN COLE, THE EARTH, NURTURING AND GUIDING YOUNG WU, HES ARGUABLY THE BEST WITH CHILDREN, AND DOMESTIC WORK REGAURDING THEM, UGHHHH

even just between cole and his own mother; keeping her son grounded and whole, despite her passing, the fact that decisions she made as the earth elemental master had ripple effects that long outlived herself, the fact that she lived on not only through her son, but through her reputation among the mountain inhabitants and the good she did for them--

their NAMES, even! Cole -> coal -> victory, or literal charcoal black.

Lilly -> lily (flower) -> passion, rebirth, purity, abundance. literally white flowers.

she was the flower that nurtured a victorious coal.

[legosreallyarekissable]

"All this time I've been trying to protect you, and you've never needed it. You're amazing!" KAI TO NYA. Why is he so older brother.. sob.. but I came here to point out how this hints Kai has taken the responsibilites as much as he could through his whole life to help Nya

[jinxed-ninjago]

Honestly, I love The Call of Home. We have someone who's been merged with the sea for millenia and someone who's been merged with the sea for a year, and the differences are so interesting to me. Nyad just exists; her morals are weird and amount to "nature is nature, and we can't do anything to change that" because she's lost herself. When Nya explains why she saved the sailor, her response is "That's just how things are, there isn't any right or wrong." Nya doesn't remember who she is, but she's retained her morals, and when Nyad asks about it, Nya's response is "Because it was the right thing to do." Nya's memory is at least partially intact, Nyad's isn't.

It creates a really interesting dynamic where we're shown what will happen to Nya if she stays merged with the sea. The entire conversation between Nyad and Nya is fascinating to me. It also makes me wonder how long Nya would've had to be merged with the sea to completely lose herself like Nyad did. After a year Nya still has her morals and a fundamental understanding that her morals are who she is, but she can't really identify who she is because her memory is intact, but not completely.

I don't think this dynamic between Nya and Nyad was done by accident either. I very much think it was done on purpose to show the consequences of what can happen after someone merges with the sea and basically tell us, the viewers, that if Nya stays merged with the sea, this is what will happen to her, and there's a high chance that it'll be too late to save her from that. Since her memories are at least partially intact, it's not too late yet. She still has time to be saved. For Nyad it's too late; not just does she have no sense of self besides that she's merged with the sea, but there's nobody around to bring her memory back like Nya has.

It's really interesting and I'm surprised I haven't seen it discussed at all.

[arkad322]

I honestly don’t think arin would do anything too « evil » on season 3

season 2 part 2 kinda proved that arin might hold a grudge towards the ninjas specifically Wu , but he doesn’t do anything horrible or unforgivable to them , I don’t even think that arin chasing ras counts as running away because I doubt he expected an explosion ( even tho it does advantage him)

Don’t get me wrong I love when people draw him as a villain that hates the ninjas , but I just think it doesn’t really fits his character, I mean his intention are finding his parents not taking revenge on the ninjas , he’s mad at them sure but not at the point of starting a fight with them

What I do think is that the ninjas would start the fight, not in a direct way , they probably mean to attack ras but arin would defend him . Excluding sora I think that the ninjas (specifically Lloyd )don’t seem to understand that arin doesn’t want to be with them anymore which could result in a fight. I think that there is still a part of care that arin has for the ninjas but right know his only concern is finding his parents so I don’t think arin would be in any way throwing hands with anyone honestly ( ok maybe jay but idk)

But that just my opinion

[uffi29]

Ok but who says that all the realms have to follow the same rules?

What if people from other realms aren't the same biologically to people in Ninjago. What if they have a different kind of cell structure? What if they have funky coloured skin because of such different conditions? Does every realm need it's own special medical care because of how different their conditions are?

What if they have a different gravitational field that affects the physics of said realm, Do travellers have to adjust the way they move when going through each one? What about the elements in the periodic table? Does each realm have a less or even more elements than the ones we know? What if the size of the atom is different for each realm? And how would those atoms react with the foreign atoms?

What about bacteria? Let's say realm X has a bacteria that just causes a mild fever. How would someone from realm Y respond to it? How many diseases would there have been after the merge? How long would it have taken to develop the proper vaccines against them?

What about crops? Each realm probably has wildy different soil from the other so what did farmers do in the first few months of the merge? Do post-merge scientists engineer realm-specific soil for the different types of crops?

And time!! We know that some realms have different rules for time, so what happens to that after the merge?? Does time slow or speed up when you cross a specific area? And what if you stay there for too long?

[sharksandjays]

guys.

guys Built To Protect plays when Jay recharges the ship.

guys.

[rainofthetwilight]

okok this has been in my thoughts for a WHILE

so. the fsm had two kids. one's colour was purple n the other was gold/yellow

lloyd technically adopted two kids. one's colour is pink and the other is also gold/yellow

the pink/purple kids are more impatient and wouldnt trust people easily

the gold/yellow kids are more confident and are big firm believers

guys?????

[cable-salamdr]

Alright, y’all already know. It’s time for a teaser breakdown.

Before I start, I will say that I will at times deviate from the chronological timeline of the actual teaser in order to accentuate or explain my point, or just because the images correlate to each other. Spoilers ahead, obviously. And just be aware that this is probably going to be a massive read (future cable who just finished writing: it is.).

(Also, here’s the link to my previous analysis post on the IMBD pictures because I cite it a lot, in case someone hasn’t seen that one yet)

So, let’s crack in, shall we?

Right off the bat, what I noticed immediately: This is a different punch than we’ve seen in the other Lloyd vision where Beatrix punches him (right). The lighting and background are different. Maybe this could be an indication that Beatrix is close to coming back? Either way, that sure is a way to start a teaser (I will be addressing the other part of that vision later)

Yay! Roby! By that selfie stick bit I am PRAYING that he *actually* has the personality that he does in that set promo video, because it now seems ever more like that. Also, hey! That’s one of the Explorer’s Club members! I’m assuming that he managed to find work in this Temple City after the Merge (good for him honestly tho he doesn’t look too thrilled)

Okay, this. We’ve already had this image as per the IMDB thing and we already assumed that it was Roby welcoming the ninja into the temple city, and through that I am going to assume that that image comes right after this one:

Which implies what I had already kind of guessed, and it’s that the ninja will have difficulty getting into the Temple City/ there will be some force trying to stop them. I actually first assumed this was the Imperium Hunters, but it seems like those are actually the Temple Guards.

Now, as per what I thought before and what I see here, I’m going to assume that this is a challenge already. In a sec I’ll talk about all the different kinds of challenges we see, because I think they’re quite interesting in of themselves, but because of that giant screen we see projecting the ninja (Lloyd and Nya) on Jiro behind Roby, this basically confirms to me that these Temple Guards aren’t there because they want to particularity stop the ninja from entering, but that they are just a sort of obstacle that any potential participant has to overcome in order to get into the city.

So, yay, the lizards aren’t being hurt just for the sake of it! How nice.

Then we’ve got this and. Uhm. Well first off what the fuck

But now to actually be serious, other people have already been saying this, and it’s the idea that the person sitting down (in what looks like almost a throne? Idk) is Nokt, and he’s sort of… half and half between the two worlds, which could bring about all sorts of things.

Edit: I have been made aware that this, in fact, probably isn’t Nokt (neither his body nor soul)

So what do I think this is? I have no fucking clue. I could say that this was my idea about Jordana getting mildly possessed by another FF that may have gotten out (because the way she acted at the end of p1), and honestly that seems to be the most plausible answer right now. Either way, to me, it looks like the other FF are either praying/ casting, or perhaps having some sort of meeting together? No matter what, it looks ominous as fuck, and something Kai and Bonzle (who we see walk up behind Kai) should probably not be walking into for their own safety.

*THIS* I find a very curious screenshot. Because yay Lloyd in his master robe HEWLL YEARH but also. He didn’t wear that before. In that IMBD picture we see him on the screen, and he is in fact wearing the green tournament suit.

I think what this implies is that THIS is actually for the The Feast episode, wherein I think they gave this sort of formal robe to Lloyd as a way to… I guess make him stand out as the leader of the group? Not to mention that they seem to be coming from a building and going into a new building and looking at something rather grand, which I can thus only assume is a big dining hall. I know people are saying that Arin looks too happy for it to be an episode farther in, but I honestly think it could be a facade. The fact that he’s holding open the door could imply that he feels the need to do something useful, at least.

However, the fact that Lloyd is wearing his robe also makes me think of another clip that we see:

I am going to say that I’m directly assuming these two things happen within the same episode. I haven’t seen anyone talk about how Lloyd is wearing the same outfit, and I think that’s with the assumption that he’s wearing this for the entire tournament which, as said, I don’t think is true.

What everyone IS talking about tho is the cloaked figure. Which, yk, is a cloaked figure. Of course I want to know who it is, but I have attempted my best at cross referencing any of the villain’s suits, and none of them match (A further post about that here). Which brings me to…

Something that I find very curious is that we don’t see any of Ras’ crew, except for Cinder. He’s the only elemental master they’ve got, and we don’t know whether Jay is *actually* gonna be there at all now, considering we didn’t see him whatsoever. Could this cloaked figure be Jay? Sure. But the suit doesn’t match up, either. Which made me realize that we don’t see any of the other fighters at all, really, which is… interesting, to say the least. Perhaps they’re just waiting to reveal what kinds of others powers there will be present at the tournament.

And since I was already talking about Cinder, let’s look at these screenshots, shall we?

What I get from the first one is that HORRAH Wyld vs Cinder rematch!! (Which means we can’t fully trust those fighting promo cards from a while ago because the fights don’t seem to completely match up). What else I get from it is that Shatterspin is allowed in the tournament, and by extension Rising Dragon! Which means that this is likely a tournament with rules similar to the Tournament of Elements, where the rules were basically that you could do whatever you wanted.

And for the second one. Good lord, I don’t even know. It just scares me, that’s all.

No, but, fr, what is happening. Why does he suddenly have Wyld’s power. Someone said this could be also like in the TOE, but instead of the loser’s element going to one person they go to the winner, which, yk, isn’t terrifying at all. You know what else isn’t terrifying at all? This bit:

I have much thoughts about this image, but I’m just gonna say what my first thought was, and it’s that this is Wyld accidentally setting something on fire, and then not being able to control it. Maybe even IN the Cinder fight. Maybe this is someone else causing it and Wyld gets blamed.

Either way, what I think is going to happen here is exactly that: WF gets blamed, and she will have to show that she’s grown as a person and wouldn’t just set things on fire anymore without reason, that she can help. Whether that works, or whether other people even believe her, is yet to be seen, I suppose.

(On a lighter note, I fucking love the little face of the flame on her back. The second letter seems to be a F, and the first one perhaps an R? I’m not quite sure. Anyways, it’s adorable.)

And speaking of adorable things:

GEO. HE’S HERE!!! He’s here and he’s cheering and I am going to selfishly believe that he’s cheering on Cole because GAH I need Geode to become real by the end of this season. God I hope no one at that Tournament is racist to Geo I would punch my screen

Ahem. Anyways. I guess what we can get from this is that those outfits seem to be spectator outfits rather than what the participants wear! And what we can get from that is that Geo will sadly probably not participate in the tournament. To be fair, it seems like only trained fighters will be attending, and despite Geo being able to kick ass, I don’t think he would be particularity good at it against people who have been training for who knows how long.

This also might imply he left the finder kids at the monastery in Mr. Frohicky’s care— which, yk, still leaves the question of how he gets to this tournament in the first place, as we do not see him in any of the screenshots where the ninja are still outside Temply City.

What I also realised from this is that we don’t see Euphrasia anywhere in this trailer. I’m still holding onto hope, so we’ll wait and see.

Then we’ve got all the Sora centric bits (which there seem to a lot of, which kinda tells me that she’s gonna be a focus and YES this will cause issues for Arin no one can convince me otherwise)

Anyways, as I said before, these images demonstrate to me what kind of challenges there will actually be within this tournament: Not just fights, but also what looks like a parkour and a race! Oh what joys. The first one actually kind makes me think that this is a challenge about ingenuity (due to that pole Sora is holding), but I might be reaching with that.

I didn’t get a screenshot of that lil Cole we see in that third clip as well, but I think that means we can safely assume that they're driving that combo vehicle we already have a set of, for which Cole gets the white and orange wedding suit! (Why? I don’t know. In my heart I'm choosing to believe everyone gets a similar outfit to that one.)

And that fuckass little dragon? I've got no idea. It kinda reminds me of Vania's dragon, Chompy, but also of those little Source Dragons Lloyd saw floating around his head right before he had the Master Dragon vision. Idk, it confuses me, so I'm choosing to ignore it lmao

And now the screenshots that I’ve been wanting to hold off on the longest… ho boy. Okay, there’s a lot here.

First off: This is before the tournament, and the next two images that I will be looking at are also before the tournament (the one with Lloyd falling), due to the fact that they are wearing their normal suits.

Second: The Matriarch. In the Kingdom of Madness area. As many people have already been guessing, this is likely where she thought to settle next after getting forced out of their previous home. But also, she looks… bigger? Idk maybe that’s just me. I also keep thinking that it’s the Energy, the Source Dragon that was imprisoned, or that it kinda looks like a bigger Zanth, but I’m probably wrong with that, as that doesn’t make much sense.

Either way, the kids seem to have to help her with something. And, to me, she almost seems… hurt? Like she didn’t call them there to chat or catch up with Riyu, but that she desperately needs help, perhaps something about her horde. Anyways, it concerns me deeply, especially with the next image in mind, which I cannot imagine being before that first one.

Other’s have been saying it and we all know it: that in the background looks like an Administration computer. The problem is that… it’s not the usual color (which was I think green? Berate me if I’m wrong)

So, what do I think happened here? I think the pictures directly correlate. I think what’s gonna be happening here is that the Matriarch wanted to move to this place within the Kingdom of Madness, the Administration was notified of the wrong kind of dragon activity, and is then trying to get them back out, most likely by capturing and deporting them, but maybe also something worse— who knows at this point. Somehow, the Matriarch got hurt, that’s for sure. Maybe she fought them, who knows. What I think will then happen is that either the kids attempt to find where they took the dragons, or they, too, will be captured and brought back.

What happens after this is entirely illusive to me. Of course they could be seeing Jay in that second screenshot, but somehow I doubt it (if this prediction comes true I’m gonna lose my fucking marbles). Either way they are seeing something that’s not normal, which has got to be something extreme, considering Arin has been in that place and has most likely told Sora about it. Maybe they just set off an alarm and that’s why it’s blaring red? Who knows. I sure don’t.

And these screencaps are just as a mystery (as said, these are very likely pre-Tournament, as Lloyd is still in his climber suit)

But what I haven’t seen a lot of people say yet is that we do know who that dragon is, as it appears to be Heatwave (you can see his face in that split second, in the first screenshot). It looks to me as if Lloyd was either deliberately jumping to one place and Heatwave caught him as to prevent that (for whatever reason?), or Lloyd somehow ended up in this falling situation, and HW is saving him (for whatever reason???). Either explanation scares me.

And last, but oh my god definitely not least, we have this clip of Motion. She is so gorgeous I don’t know what to say.

So I’ll just repeat what others have been saying, which is that this is likely in the first episode and the way that the ninja actually get their invitation.

Also I lied I do have smth to say: I feel like this could correlate to that one part at the beginning with Lloyd’s nightmare, where he also sees Motion. Perhaps Lloyd will be convinced that following this invitation will be a bad thing, since he saw it in relation to the other bad things (such as Beatrix punching him for a second time), but the others will convince him, for better or for worse.

Either way, this means that the invitation is personal. We can assume that this will not be some sort of trick by others, but that this is really Motion, inviting them to the tournament, as she was also one of the SDs that was up for helping Lloyd. This makes me ever more so believe that whatever the prize of the Tournament is could potentially result in Kai’s return.

Anyways, that’s all from me. I hope this ramble wasn’t too unorganised, I’ve been writing this for………..an hour. I am normal about this show I swear.