#SKYBOUND YOU ARE. A SEASON.

[seashoes]

Let’s (not) get married

[blubberingblobmonster]

I want to see Nya cry and be emotional in dr.

Listen I like her "strong independent woman" thing she has going on but man am i getting tired of it. I want to see her cry and be sad and just have a full on breakdown instead of putting the bad feelings away and staying strong for the others. Like LET HER HAVE FEELINGS MAN! SHE GOT SEPARATED FROM HER FAMILY FOR 5 YEARS, SHE LOST HER HUSBAND THE LOVE OF HER LIFE AND STILL HASN'T FOUND HIM AND HAS NO IDEA WHERE TO LOOK, SHE LOST HER BROTHER LIKE THREE TIMES WITH THE LAST ONE BEING BASICALLY PERMANENT IF NOT FOR SOME MIRACLE. SHE DESERVES A BREAK AND A GOOD CRY! LET HER HAVE IT PLEASE!

[tornoleander]

I think about this way too often.

The ninjago police are just… So dumb

I kinda Love it

[agenericplaceholdername]

Why Nya and Jay Can Remember Skybound

By the time Jay makes his final wish in Skybound, the realm crystal and Zane’s falcon have been destroyed, PIXAL has been deleted, Lloyd is an old man, large chunks of land have been ripped out of the ground and are poised to fall back onto Ninjago, and Nya is dead. Those last two parts are most important for Jay, the only character with a wish remaining (if you ignore all the Ninja replacements, who never made wishes and conveniently left after the real Ninja returned). Thus, Jay makes his final wish: “I wish you had taken my hand, and no one ever found that teapot in the first place.”

After Jay makes his wish, time is reversed and the Ninja return to where they were in the first episode of the season. The paparazzi is about to find the Ninja and all of them but Nya use airjitzu to hide from the helicopters. Jay asks Nya to take his hand, which she originally rejected, on the basis that, “I can stick up for myself” and “I'm a ninja, and I'm nobody's girl.” However, after Jay’s final wish, Nya uses airjitzu, which she learned over the course of Skybound, and takes Jay’s hand.

While they remember the events of the season: 

“I remember! I remember it all!” – Nya, The Way Back

“Me too!” – Jay, The Way Back

They don’t care how they do:

“But how?” – Jay, The Way Back

“Who cares.” – Nya, The Way Back

I, on the other hand, do care, and that’s what this post will explain. The other Ninja experience some deja vu, but aside from a subtle reference to Skybound in season 8 and a mural depicting the events of the season, indicating that Master Wu (or at least the painters of the monastery) was told, only Jay and Nya actually remember what happened.* Functionally, Skybound is an alternate timeline that never occurred.

This is not the first time Ninjago has dealt with alternate timelines! In Season 2, the Ninja time travel to the past and create an alternate timeline where Nya is kidnapped later on by the Ninja disguised as skeletons, Lord Garmadon from the future fights Kai at the fire temple, and the Ninja use the golden weapons to send the Mega Weapon into space. This timeline is erased when the Mega Weapon is destroyed, with series creator Tommy Andreasen confirming that the only change that the alternate timeline left is that the Mega Weapon ended up in space – the pilots still happened as depicted in 2011. At the end of the episode, the original four ninja remember the events of the episode, along with Garmadon, Nya, and Wu, but not Lloyd, who was not present. Wrong Place, Wrong Time’s time travel is extremely confusing, largely because Lloyd doesn’t just not remember the time travel but also doesn’t remember the Mega Weapon at all.

If the logic of Wrong Place, Wrong Time holds, then only those present for Jay’s last wish should remember it.** That means Jay and Nadakhan, obviously, but also the rest of the Ninja, but crucially, not Nya, since she was dead at the time. Now, perhaps the rest of the Ninja don’t remember, since the wish was between just Jay and Nadakhan, but that still doesn’t explain why Nya remembers Skybound.

Now, perhaps you could explain Nya’s memory as Jay’s wish was about her – Jay wanted Nya to take his hand. And this would work, except that Jay’s wish was also about Clouse. While he’s not named directly, Nadakhan ensures Clouse never finds the Teapot of Tyrahn in the first place.*** Now, if Clouse had remembered Skybound since the wish was about him, then it would have been very straightforward – Clouse would remember that Nadakhan tricked him into wishing it all away and stopped searching for the teapot. Clouse is instead chased off by angry citizens of the Village of Stiix while still searching for the teapot. You could argue that Clouse remembered Skybound but was arrogant enough to keep searching, but there’s zero evidence of this, so while this theory isn’t necessarily wrong, I think there’s another, better explanation that covers why Nya remembers Skybound but Clouse didn’t (Clouse also never mentions this in the Dark Island Trilogy).

The most logical explanation why Nya remembers Skybound is, based on the rules of wishes established in Skybound, love. And no, I’m not talking about how Jay “wished from the heart” so Nya ended up remembering Skybound.**** I find it hard to believe that Jay’s true, heartfelt intention was to make sure that he and Nya remembered events that never occurred. Instead, let’s look at what Jay wanted. He wanted Nya to take his hand and Clouse to not find the teapot. The second half is easy, since Nadakhan is more than capable of altering the actions of others with his wishes – after Jay’s first wish, the mailman comes out of nowhere, and so does Nya after Jay’s second wish.

Theoretically, Nadakhan could override Nya’s free will and have her take Jay’s hand – except for two problems. First, on a metatextual level, this would run totally counter to Nya’s entire message in Skybound, as muddled as it is. Having Nya take Jay’s hand because of a wish would not only undermine the entire point of Jay’s growth over the season (Jay goes from saying “Maybe a wish is what it takes! Maybe this is how she falls for me” in Public Enemy Number One to asking Nya, “Well, what do you want?” in The Last Resort) but also utterly obliterate Nya’s agency, the exact thing she spent the season fighting for. Now, can Ninjago have totally contradictory messages? Of course! Skybound is a case study in mixed messaging on this very issue! But there’s a second, in-universe reason why Nadakhan can’t make Nya take Jay’s hand, and it’s not for the reason that Tommy Andreasen gives, which is that Nya is dead, and Nadakhan can’t control the dead. Nadakhan is more than capable of making dead people do things, since he literally brings Delara back to life earlier on, and he is capable of doing multiple things in one wish, by making Lloyd both older and wiser.

The reason is that you can’t wish for love! This is one of the first things Nadakhan says (“You can’t wish for love, death, or more wishes” – Nadakhan, Infamous). Nya makes it very clear that the reason she won't take Jay's hand is because she doesn’t, or refuses to, love Jay at the start of Skybound. Having her take Jay’s hand because of a wish would mean he wished for love.

However, right before Nya dies, after the whole plot of Skybound has happened, Nya does love Jay, so Nadakhan is not magically making Nya fall in love. Instead, Nya takes Jay’s hand of her own agency, but this can only happen because Nadakhan ensures that Nya remembers the events of Skybound, so that the love that was created naturally, not as a result of wishes, does not go away, and he fulfills Jay’s wish.

Thus, Jay remembers Skybound because he made the wish, Nya remembers Skybound because she needs to to love Jay to take his hand, and Clouse, the other Ninja, and the rest of Ninjago don’t remember it because it never happened.

——————————————————————————————————

*And technically Zane if you include Ninjago: Decoded

**The same time travel logic sort of holds in Lost in Time, where the Ninja in the present are aware of the changing timeline after having been present for the Iron Doom's time travel. That being said, they are also still affected by the changes in the past (Zane reverts to his pre-rebuilt state when Ninjago's advanced technology is undone).

***It would have been very easy to twist that wish into no one having ever found the teapot, that is, Captain Soto would never have found the teapot, but whatever.

****I think it’s possible that Nadakhan didn’t twist Jay’s wish because it was from the heart, but that’s totally unrelated and not based on any actual evidence. The Ninjago wiki seems to think this: "Nadakhan, being hit with the venom and with Jay’s wish being pure, has no choice but to grant it" [emphasis mine].

[big-tit-soup]

Hey guys. Rewatching Ninjago from the start to show it to my partner for the first time. We’ve gotten to season 6 finally, and I’m realizing I remember less of it than I thought I did. Speaking of what I didn’t remember, who was going to tell me that in EPISODE THREE Zane gets essentially ASSAULTED when they’re in prison????? The mechanic literally HOLDS HIM DOWN TO OPEN HIS CHEST.

Everyone is always talking about Jay and Nya in this season. Which is absolutely fair, they go through a hell of a lot. But WHERE are all the people talking about ZANE getting actually assaulted?? In front of our eyes?????

[milk-ducts]

///spoilers

…,,,

me thinks they want eachother carnally ..

[parachutingkitten]

I will say, one good thing I actually really like about skybound, is that it removed skybound from the show’s timeline.

[yellowsugarwords]

season 2 is the most devastating season of the twdg franchise

I genuinely believe that season 2 of twdg is the saddest season in the entirety of the franchise. like, don't get me wrong, lee's death hurt the most, but season 2 is so fucking grim and dark. it's like watching clementine's innocence die before your eyes. even the damn colour palette in comparison to the other 3 seasons is drearier. I get depressed just thinking about that season. I would argue, out of every season, it showed the most devastation.

season 1: the apocalypse is just beginning - everyone is trying to figure out what to do.

season 3: people know what to do to survive, but it's combatting with other people in how you go about survival that makes it difficult.

season 4: people are surviving, but gangs have almost taking precedence over walkers. walkers are used as weapons by others to maintain power.

season 2: people know about the apocalypse, and people know how to survive, but you're literally watching the very brink of society collapse at the seams. you’re in the transition phase between society not knowing what to do, and going literally mad with power. I think Matthew is a perfect example of the mentality that season 2 displays: that any good left in the world is dying out. and that’s the season where you’re just watching it happen.

in season 3 and 4, you’ve come to terms with it. but in season 2, you’re watching, in real-time, how everyone came to terms with it. you’re watching the trauma that defines society in seasons 3 and 4. and good god it’s harder to watch than once everyone has accepted it.

[jinxed-ninjago]

If one person reblogs/replies to this and tells me to add the "I'm sure Cap'n Zane would have us keelhauled if we don't do our dishes!" joke from Seabound to this "Skybound is a nightmare" compilation I'll add it to the compilation

[galaxyhanart]

i keep meaning to do proper fanart for the fic when you think you’re all alone by @mondothebombo but these doodles and sketches have been sitting in my files for like a month unfinished so i’m just gonna post them HGKJFDHGDFSHJGDFKS

also massive TW for torture and implied sexual assault if you decide to read it, jay goes through it

[abstractpenny]

don't you love the feeling when you come up with the most disgusting and stomach churning torture plot for a fic ever but you know as soon as you write said fic you'll never ever be able to see the characters the same ever again.

Yeah. Anyways.

[fanficmaniatic]

Skybound is not a season, is an event and we all have to go through it.

[mondothebombo]

“So even if we win, we lose?”

What Kai had said couldn’t be more true.

How can everything turn out so right but so wrong at the same time?

—

ITS HERE!!!!

a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to everyone who continuously leaves such lovely comments in my inbox and comment section, and to those who’ve drawn absolutely incredible fanart, i appreciate it so much y’all have no idea. and i sincerely apologize for the ridiculous wait, but life locked me in a washing machine and pressed start and i’m just now figuring how to get out of that so i appreciate the patience <3

that being said PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read the tags and warnings in the authors note. this chapter is pretty much as dark and deep as we’re gonna get and it’s rough. every tag you see on this fic? yeah it’s in this chapter so just please be careful.

with that, please enjoy over 20k words of skybound trauma and feel free to lmk what you think :)

[tornoleander]

I know it’s been said, but Jay’s ‘bullied for growing up in a Junkyard’ Vibes are off the charts.

Parents saying how he hates talking about being born in a junkyard.

insecurity had to of come from somewhere.

In Skybound, Nadakhan overhears Jay mentions this insecurity and uses it against him several times.

(very good villain writing I would praise if they didn’t make him the creepiest creep to ever ninjago.)

[kittyloops]

the honest to god worship of kenny in some twdg spaces needs to be studied... are we forgetting the everything about him being a complex and nuanced character or am i just insane. this man is NOT a hero he is literally just on a downward spiral

[nonbinarykai]

Genuine question what is up with skybound fans and assuming you don’t like the season because of the time reversal at the end or some other arbitrary reason

Seriously I’ve experienced multiple times people just assuming I don’t like the season for something like that or even accusing me of being misogynistic because I don’t like how Nya’s story was poorly written

Like do these people not realize that it’s completely valid to dislike a season because of its misogynistic or racist writing regardless of how the rest of the season is written? Do they just ignore the misogyny and pretend like everyone else should as well? I don’t get it, it always confuses me.