#Yours To Keep: Rethinking Skybound Through Fashion

[cboffshore]

What a shame the poor groom's bride is a... plot device. This is "All I Wanted To Hear."

For his third wish, the only one that ever actually mattered: something to love, I think. Something that isn't himself.

As I've discussed previously (not in this series, just in general), a common critique I see about Nadakhan is that he's a little too erratic. And, yeah, that comes out on any casual Skybound rewatch: his master plan is kept under wraps until past the halfway point, his respect for his crew wavers from being touched at their support to screaming at them every five minutes, and we're never quite sure if he actually loves his home realm or if he just wanted to become some kind of urban legend by going home. This, naturally, leads to complications: in order to maintain a facade of respectability, he covers all of his idiosyncrasies up with an utterly batshit terraforming plan that only has minor relevancy to his ultimate goal. In other words, he exercises those first two wishes I analyzed - notoriety and control - in excess to cover up the third, softest one: love. An actual, loving relationship that he's not ashamed of somehow.

Because, let's be real: does his crew actually love him?

Jury's out on this one, and unless we ever get more of The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye or some kind of Nadakhan revival season, it'll likely stay that way. The Tall Tales shorts, if accepted as canon (a massive if!), don't even answer the question. Most of the crew's recruitment shorts read as begrudging submission at best (Flintlocke and Dogshank) and near-indentured servitude at worst (Doubloon and Monkey Wretch). Clancee joins through sheer luck, and only because he's attracted to the pirate lifestyle itself, not to Nadakhan's leadership. I refuse to acknowledge the Sqiffy/Bucko short's existence, but their canon induction is much the same as Clancee's: they show up, fuck around, and find out. The shorts, fortunately, aren't canon (two words: electric drill); the only reason I'm considering them here is that they're just close enough to the canon blurbs to fill in the cracks in the meantime. Their loyalty is held on with bubblegum and a wish no matter how you look at it.

Canon or not, the shorts don't address Delara. The season doesn't, either - at least, not in a way we can see clearly.

It's well-established that Nadakhan is very secretive about what he actually wants, and for the first nine episodes or so, Delara falls into that category: he deflects any mentions of her by others on his crew, almost so quickly as to imply it's a weakness of his. Still, he can't avoid it entirely - stolen moments with his pocketwatch (snapped shut the moment anyone else arrives) and his obsession with Nya based solely on her resemblance to Delara prove this. As hard as he fights to hide that, others notice - Flintlocke's criticism comes to mind, but even Jay comments that the way Nadakhan looks at Nya is peculiar. Look what happens in both instances: Nadakhan, although not present for the actual conversation, sweeps in immediately to shelve that discussion and inflict pain on whoever brings it up. And once there's nobody left to remind Nadakhan of his grief - once the wedding party's been banished or driven out of the temple - his first personal wish is to bring her back.

Strangely, this... doesn't help. Their reunion scene is almost awkward, honestly. We open with Nadakhan in disbelief that it actually worked, which is weird considering how unshakable he was about the plan before, but that's not the concerning part. The most damning evidence of Nadakhan's desperate need to be loved comes in the second part of the reunion scene in this incredible exchange:

Nadakhan: Do you forgive me, Delara?

Delara: You did what you had to do, so that we could become all-powerful.

Nadakhan: But do you still love me?

Delara: Of course. How many times must you ask?

This was scream-into-a-pillow frustrating for me the first time I thought it through, and it remains so to this day. Now? After all the stalking, manipulation, kidnapping, and psychological stress he put Nya through to get to this point - now he's doubting it? The moment he succeeds and pulls his beloved back from beyond the veil, he starts questioning his own morality? And he does so to the point that Delara - who might, if her casual tone is any indication, be worse than Nadakhan - has to reassure him that he doesn't need to keep asking? Imagine the irony of wanting to be loved so badly that the things you do for that make you wonder if you're worthy - but only after the fact.

And then the Keep crashes into the temple and the bravado goes right back up. When Delara's spirit is torn from Nya's body, Nadakhan says her name one last time... but that's it.

That's all.

----------

It's no secret that both Nya and Delara's characters get the short end of the stick here. With Delara, it almost makes sense: she's included as a plot device. She's Nadakhan's lost Lenore, his green light across the bay; losing her is the inevitable low point of Nadakhan's fall from grace.

All the official information we get on her is that she's important only because she so strongly resembles someone we know a little better: Nya.

Either here or elsewhere - I'm no longer sure - I've spoken of the accidental perfection of Nya's place in Nadakhan's schemes. Her seasonal arc centers on her striking out and trying to find herself; Nadakhan wants to tear that away from her, but without even caring if that means anything to her in the first place. Unlike how other villains treat the ninja, there's no desire to strip her water power here, or taunt Nya for some personal grudge. (I mean, the grudge does exist, but Nadakhan never acknowledges it.) Here, it's all about appearances: Nya conveniently looks like Delara. Whatever traits Nadakhan tries to sweet-talk Nya with don't actually matter. She's a warm body for the taking. The fact that she's associated with his realm's death is a bonus, and probably the only reason Nadakhan went for her and not for, say, Cyren. That Nadakhan would go to such lengths just to use Nya is simply another sign of his desperation.

Nya's treatment at the end of this season is awful, even seven years later. Plot-appropriate? Sure. Honestly, I think it works, but it doesn't change the fact that I feel that Nya was shortchanged. In that spirit, there was really no other way to evaluate her role but via a heavy remix of the canon wedding dress (which Nya's right about: that thing is hideous.) There are touches of Nadakhan analysis in here, too, but given that Nya was the catalyst, most of this rides on what the season should have highlighted about her importance beyond her haircut.

If we're going to lean so heavily on visual significance, let's at least get it right this time:

As a way to honor Nya's vehement dislike for dresses, I built this outfit around an ivory jumpsuit. Although the rest of the outfit looks like it was attacked by a coffee frother, this sleek layer calls to mind the athletic lines of Nya's seasonal gi and her efficient, determined personality. It also references her final fate with vein-like, venom green spiderweb embroidery blossoming out from the chest.

An ivory jacket serves to anchor the entire outfit, both physically (to stabilize all of the other elements) and metaphorically. Sharp shoulders, layered hip accents, and solid gold lapels call to mind the royal armor worn by both Nadakhan and his father - a nod at the canon dress' origin. The hems, sleeves, and lapel borders feature intricate sky-blue embroidery as an alternative to the massive blue flowers on the canon gown.

A fragile yet suffocatingly heavy floral lace train and layered bell sleeves dominate this ensemble and cover whatever the jumpsuit and jacket don't, representing how Nya's body and identity are slowly taken over by desires that aren't her own. However, that grip is as fragile as Nadakhan's security in Delara's love - look close and you'll find the whole thing held together by little more than delicate golden piping, liable to rip apart the moment anything shifts. (I should mention that I did not hand-draw the lace - I'm nowhere near skilled enough for that. Instead, I did a little digging on Google and found this excellent file with built-in transparency, which I colored over and cut to size: blueJAY2's "Lace" on DeviantArt .)

Blue lace gloves, almost lost in the riot of finery around them, are a reference to the hand imagery that Nya's torn apart by throughout the season. There's an interesting phenomenon throughout Skybound that serves as an excellent divider between Jay and Nadakhan: both are insistent on having her, but the subtle differences in their methods are best demonstrated by their dialogue concerning her hands. Jay's line, "Take my hand," is repeated only twice; urgency aside, it offers Nya the ultimate choice in what happens. Those outcomes appear in the premiere and the finale. Nadakhan, however, twists that line and her metaphorical wrist in episode 61 with "Give me your hand and they live," which is phrased as an order that Nya has less of a say in. I chose to use the same filigree texture as the jacket embroidery to represent how Nya attempts to play into Nadakhan's plans for an advantage; however, the color choice betrays this. The blue shade foreshadows one of the few choices Nya's able to make in this season: the choice to accept Jay's hand during the rooftop reset. (Like the lace, the base texture for this one was not my own creation; I have unfortunately lost the exact link, but it was on some kind of weird free PNG site and I ended up snagging it from the Google results page instead of the site itself. Again, I recolored and cut it to fit as needed.)

Gold aiguillettes on the shoulders and top layers of the train are a direct parallel to those in "Sure Of It" as a link between Jay and Nya. Throughout this season, Nya wears her independence as a badge of stubborn honor even when in the worst situations. These ropes, tucked under the lapels and frills of the jacket and train, aren't as obvious as Jay's - a sign of how her role is, sadly, pushed off to the side for most of the season. Still, they're an important part of the outfit: they hold the front of the train open in the same way that Nya's mere presence drives much of the season's action.

The jewelry choices in the original outfit were remarkably dated and didn't match the rest of the ensemble well enough for me - I have a hunch the designers threw the necklace on just to match the bracelet - so I redesigned those, too. Nya's distaste for glitter and gold (which is technically not a thing until Sons of Garmadon, but I like to think it started in Skybound) lends itself nicely to all of these next elements:

The closest element here to the canon jewelry, the gold choker is a heavy reference to the cutthroat pearl necklace that went semi-viral a little while back. Instead of blood and pearls, though, this version soaks the golden spheres of the canon necklace in neon venom droplets and serves as the only asymmetrical part of the outfit.

A pair of drop earrings, fashioned after venom droplets, complement the necklace.

Tucked behind the lapels, a high web collar with blue crystal accents is a blend of the weaknesses of the men trying to overtake her life: the venom that weakens Nadakhan and Jay's vision in the ice. The blue crystal is also a symbol of Nya's new powers and role on the team, although their small size represents how that's not her true motivation.

Given that all of the other jewelry is venom-centric, I don't think I need to explain the spider brooch creeping along the web embroidery.

Nya's brief stint as queen is never mentioned, but it's a thing that does happen; that's represented by a delicate tiara. Of course, she's possessed pretty much immediately after; Delara's acid-green eyes lent me the color scheme for the attached spiderweb veil, a symbol of Nya's thorough, tragic loss of self at the end of the season. For technical reasons, I've chosen to let the tiara and veil dangle from the mannequin's hand instead of placing it on the head. I think this works well, though - the other entries in this analysis series are holding a symbolic item, too, and the placement of this crown represents all the identities Nya holds but isn't able to utilize throughout her arc.

Even though this was my longest entry analysis yet, I don't think I'm quite done. This may be the last entry, but I've got more to say - in the coming weeks, you'll eventually get a wrap-up post summarizing this series and closing things up as neatly as I'm able.

Special thanks to @abunnsburrow, whose Delara Rant reminded me that I needed to post this - and might have influenced this particular analysis.

[cboffshore]

Keep it in and we'll all get rich. This is "It Will Never Be Enough."

For his first wish: the mortifying ordeal of being known. I'm not even kidding.

Given that this series is just a front for an in-depth Nadakhan character study, there's really no other way to start than with the man himself. This design has been bouncing around my mind for a few years now, actually - it first came to mind before I had the skills to pull it off and has been tapping impatiently on my shoulder ever since. This past fall (yes, this has been in the works for months), that moment arrived. I felt confident enough in my artistic abilities to bring it to life, sparking this series and analysis.

So, back to the tagline: the mortifying ideal of being known and my bold claim that that's the first of Nadakhan's actual, character-defining wishes. It's a desire that becomes apparent early in his life, when he abandons his home to seek a life not defined by his royal heritage. And, somehow, he gets it: he spends decades, if not longer, practically ruling the Endless Sea. Nothing gold can stay, though, leading to his two-hundred-year stint imprisoned and a less-than-glamorous return to existence in Stiix. Shortly after that, though, there's a shocking development: he wants to go home. Generally, going home after a life of adventure is seen as a retreat of sorts, but it means something entirely different for Nadakhan. In episode 57, Flintlocke's the first to express surprise that Nadakhan wants to go back, leading into a telling exchange:

Flintlocke: But you said you'd never be welcomed back there. What about your father?

Nadakhan: Better to live in a world where you are hated than in a world where you are forgotten.

In short: Nadakhan refuses to exist where he won't be seen. No such thing as bad press, right? The sheer ridiculousness of framing teenagers for petty crime, the real possibility of being ostracized by his own home realm - it's all about attention. He's been alone for two hundred years, only to emerge in a world where he can't relive his glory days. Finding out his backup plan of being the resident black sheep in his home realm is off the table, well... that's just saltwater in the wound. That's also the start of his second secret wish, so that's where this chunk of the analysis stops and we get into:

The Outfit Breakdown

Because any Ninjago villain traditionally sets the tone for their season, I chose to go perhaps a little too hard on this design in order to have a pool of motifs to pull from later. It's also meant as a mirror to the quote this look is named after - truly, I could have added so much more to this look. I only stopped out of necessity when my art app started lagging. I still like the effect this gives off, especially in regard to Nadakhan's origin as a character. His existence draws from a dizzying number of tropes and sources, creating an unusual and unforgettable presence. We'll break this one down piece by piece.

Of course, we've got to start somewhere: this is heavily based on Nadakhan's (positively awful) human disguise from the season premiere. Oof, did someone get dressed in the dark or what? Pine jacket, red pants, a hairdo that literally prompts a total rando to call him a bozo - let's be nice and call it a difficult pairing. No drip. Anti-drip. Dry as the Sea of Sand. One of the first pieces of feedback I received on this design was "goth band prep goes to a holiday party," if that tells you anything. It never entirely got away from that, which I'm willing to embrace - it's a loud combination! This is the garb of an attention-seeker! Step into a holiday party in this and immediately trigger several record scratches. I just wanted to do it better, because the original iteration is not it.

Originally conceived as a stereotypical pirate jacket, the brocade silk-lined cape blazer came into its own after the friend who gave me the "goth band prep" feedback suggested amping up the drama. It was an inspired suggestion given that said friend knows nothing about Nadakhan - who was I trying to design a stereotypical pirate jacket to embody his character? A fool, that's who. This blazer features a few nods to his origins, both meta and in-universe: sharp lapels as a nod to the Dracula love story that fueled his arc and rich materials to suggest his royal heritage. The silver dangly sections on the clasp and shoulders are extra pointy to reference the silhouette of his iconic chestplate.

Beneath the jacket lies an emerald-and-silver corset intricately woven with a set of golden body chains. These were initially separate elements, but while I was drafting the choker and chains, I had a thought: what if it was all one piece? Thematically, this ended up making perfect sense - this is the world's most uncomfortable halter top, reflecting how his own rage and desires slowly choke out his relationships with his crew. Zoom in and you'll notice that these body chains permeate nearly every inch of the ensemble: as bracelets and arm chains, a pair of draped garter bracelets in the slits of the slacks, and even wrapped around the boots as anklets. These constitute a twist on the concept of the gilded cage, which I feel Nadakhan both experiences and weaponizes. They're intentionally subtle - as hard as he works to conceal his plans, his tragic greed is an integral part of his character, heightened by the dramatic irony of the audience getting to know him before the rest of his crew appears. That we know just what he wants, but the people closest to him (emotionally and physically) don't?? Beautiful. Give me more of that, please. In addition, silver filigree elements on the corset are meant to mirror Nadakhan's hook hand.

The collared shirt under the corset is purely functional (and designed to be reasonably easy to bring to life because FSM knows the rest of the design would be a nightmare to make) - the peach shade is both a nod at Nadakhan's coloring and a weak attempt to fend off Christmas outfit accusations. The original human outfit uses a white shirt, which doesn't blend in quite as well.

A silver glove on the mannequin's left hand calls to mind Nadakhan's hook hand and brings in a little bit of needed contrast. Despite his association with piracy, gold, and opulence, Nadakhan's canon metallic accents are all silver; this is deliberately overridden to heighten his strangling sense of greed. The glove, modeled after his hook, helps ground the outfit in canon.

Even though I don't think I'll ever bring these designs into the real world, I like to design them with a cosplay runway in mind. Simple as these velvet slacks are, they're meant as a stand-in for Nadakhan's.... lower body? Tail? (What are we calling that, y'all? It's been seven years and we haven't arrived at a consensus. I read a fic that called it his "lower area" once, and we definitely can't use that.) The smoky bit that's always moving? That part. The part that should be legs but isn't legs. Anyway, point is that it has some crimson shading and that it moves. So would these pants with a sassy enough runway walk. Beyond the rebellion implied by slashing massive slits into expensive pants, there's not a lot of symbolism here.

The leather boots are the first of two mirrors to Nadakhan's iconic heirloom weapon, the Sword of Souls (the name Djinn Blade, while entirely canonical, is simply not as cool): sparkling crystal wedge heels and thick leather, with the same hook filigree motif as the corset. After he acquires the Sword of Souls, much of Skybound's plot hinges on how Nadakhan chooses to use it; in the same way, the green crystal wedge heels physically support the entire look.

The second reference to the Sword of Souls is far more overt: a luxury handbag traced directly from the Sword's theatrical hilt. Made of pale leather and gleaming gold blades and chains, this handbag doesn't quite coordinate with the rest of the outfit. Instead, it's forced to work out of necessity in the same way that Nadakhan feels he has no choice but to wreak havoc with the blade. Asymmetrical blue crystal accents on both the handbag and the statement earrings are a twofold callback: both to the shattered Realm Crystal that reveals his realm's fate and to the mirror he manipulates in "The Last Resort".

Exhausted yet? I hope not - we're just getting started. As a reward for making it to the end, behold the duality of my art skills: this meme I made months ago, somewhere in the middle of designing this outfit, after a heated Ninjago-themed round of Skribblio where I was tasked with actually drawing Nadakhan. Safe to say, that's not where my skills lie:

[cboffshore]

Paint it black and take it back. This is "Sure Of It."

For Nadakhan's second wish, something we've all heard before: power, pure and simple.

Sheer power is a traditional and expected wish for every Ninjago villain, and of course, Nadakhan takes it to the extreme: he wants to control reality and everything in it, right down to the earth under his non-existent feet. Until he gets all the way through his plan, though, he's forced to settle for controlling his crew - but what fun is that? They're on his side. Even the mildest questions, like Flintlocke expressing doubts early on, can be easily swept under the rug if he raises his voice a decibel or two. Nadakhan likes a good fight, and he simply can't get that when his immediate sphere is deeply loyal to him (which... what a problem to complain about, sheesh). No, in order to tide himself over until he can hear those wedding bells chiming, he has to get creative - and he needs a target. A good one, one that's not so keen on listening to him, someone who's done something remarkable... like escape with only two out of three wishes made.

Although we don't know Nadakhan's full history, the amount of energy and resources he spends to torment Jay indicates that he's used to having so much more power over his targets. What little we do get is a tidy pattern: manipulate victims into making all three wishes in one go and make sure he can profit off of the results. Jay, having only made two (and booting Nadakhan out of the vicinity with one of them!), breaks that pattern for what might be the first time ever. And that's just unacceptable. In fact, Jay is so much of a roadblock to Nadakhan's desire for power that Skybound dedicates an entire episode to his efforts to break Jay down. In demonstrating the depths Nadakhan will go to to exert control over the slightest hint of rebellion, episode 60 is a character study of both Jay and Nadakhan at their respective peaks - unstoppable force meets immovable object. It's also the reason that the Nadakhan tag on AO3 is a minefield of very dubious work, but if you can ignore all the distressingly graphic assault stories, you encounter that same theme as in the episode: Nadakhan's frantic need to assert power by any means necessary.

The Outfit Breakdown

As I described in my introductory post, "Sure Of It" is a blend of analyses: Nadakhan and Jay are both represented here, often sharing parts of the same element. Ultimately, this outfit represents theall the ways Nadakhan tries to overpower the world of Ninjago and all the ways Jay pushes back. Appropriately, it's an elevated version of the gi Jay wears that's become an iconic part of Skybound imagery. (Alternatively, it's "My Dinner With Nadakhan" condensed into gritty formalwear.)

A sturdy parade jacket and pants provide a somber canvas that's not too far off from Jay's seasonal gi: near-black fabric, rigid stitching, and asymmetrical golden closures. I should confess that much of this look (especially this part) was drafted during a full playthrough of The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance; the visual design of that album, as well as the themes of dying and becoming someone new, offered a really cool parallel to both Jay and Nadakhan's situations and ended up being a great place to start. Little wisps of bright, character-defining blue slip out from the wrists, collar, and ankles on what's otherwise a very disciplined suit. Upon first glance, the overwhelming darkness of this suit holds quite a bit back from the viewer in the same way that Jay and Nadakhan mislead their respective teams to accomplish their selfish goals.

The gold aiguillettes and shoulder pauldron are a militaristic twist on the gold chain motif from "It Will Never Be Enough." Instead of being sultry and all-encompassing like the chain elements, these sturdy accents represent Jay's determination to take Nadakhan down. They're also something of a badge of honor that's pinned on as soon as Jay realizes he can set his own wants aside for the greater good. Functionally, they stand in for the gold closures and armor on Jay's canon gi. The pauldron is deliberately closer to the Possession-era armor for two reasons: as a callback to the vision in the ice and the simple fact that the Skybound Panini Pauldron just didn't look good here.

The feathery chain cape is a threefold reference: a riff on the aviator wings on the back of the seasonal gi, Jay's overall connection to flight, and - most importantly - that odd moment where Nadakhan refers to Jay as "little canary" and the overall energy of episode 60. If you look closely enough, you'll see the blue chain edging curl around the mannequin's ankle as a reference to the ball and chain Jay is forced to wear during his time as a prisoner. Aside from lending a little balance, the miniature chain wing on the opposite shoulder is a nod at the common fanwork motif of Nadakhan being a serial shoulder-toucher (which is never shown in canon for longer than two seconds, but I think it's interesting how it's taken on a life of its own in the art and fic scenes). Overall, this cape is an ironic twist on Jay's situation: aboard the Keep, he's attaining the dream of flight that he was brought into the entire series with, but in a way where he's not in control at all. Similarly, Nadakhan presents the image of being in control, but it's not as complete as he wants it to be (hence all the gaps in the cape).

Transparent heel pillars swirling with gold glitter represent the way that wishes - from the ones Jay expresses privately in the first few episodes to the real ones he makes with Nadakhan later on - support most of the season's plot and ultimately drive Jay to better himself. This accent was specifically inspired by the gold dust effect that radiates from most characters at the moment that they make their wishes. The boots that they're attached to are blue to draw out the accents in the base suit; they also feature rose gold feather toe caps and heel accents to compliment the feather cape.

Legally, it's not a Skybound work unless an eyepatch factors in somehow - and I am a law-abiding citizen. Begrudgingly, though. I wasn't excited about this part during the drafting phase, but I grew to appreciate it. This one features the same broken crystal accent as Nadakhan's accessories, but textured slightly differently to represent how his vision in the ice colors most of his viewpoint. The chain veil attached to the band hides most of the mannequin's face and represents all of Jay and Nadakhan's attempts to lie their way into what they fully believe are better situations. We don't need to talk about how that works out for either of them.

Color-picked straight from the aviator's wings on Jay's back, half of a lavender cloak acts as a contrast to the fragile, clinging chains: something solid, comforting, and predictable for the rare moments where Jay experiences warmth and compassion during this season.

A lavender quill dripping with ink from a glass inkwell represents the power of language that Nadakhan weaponizes throughout his ascension. It's also a pretty obvious reference to Jay's message-in-a-bottle scene, which is why it's paired with this look instead of Nadakhan's.

It's weird to think that I've made two out of three wishes in this series come true, albeit in my own special way. Keep an eye out for the third one - no matter who you ask, it might just be the most important...

[cboffshore]

Anyone who's ever discussed Ninjago with me knows that I live to overanalyze Skybound. It's part of my fandom identity, and I imagine it'll stay that way until the show ends. But - for all of my color theories and rewatches, all my essays and theoretical ramblings - there's one question I haven't quite been able to answer:

What was Nadakhan after?

No, really. What the hell did he want? For a guy so motivated - if not outright defined - by desire, it's astounding that Skybound never really addresses Nadakhan's deepest wishes head-on. That's what Yours To Keep: Rethinking Skybound Through Fashion is about. In the coming weeks, I'll upload a trio of designs meant to examine that question a little more closely.

If you'd like to know a little more about how that's going to work, read on.

So, back to my original question: what was Nadakhan really after? It doesn't seem like a question that should be hard to answer. Ultimately, it's not, but you do have to work through a lot of inconsistencies to get there. A stunning villain, but a volatile one, liable to change like the wind. His respect for his crew fluctuates wildly - whether he ever loved his crew or not is a debate I've engaged in more often than I should have. We know little of his past or heritage, whether we should even care about it, or whether he even cares. Even his loyalty to Delara is called into question more than it should be, given her influence over the plot.

But we do know a few things for sure: he has desires. Vague ones, sure, but they're frighteningly strong. He's ruthless. He's desperate. And, of course, he gets what he wants by manipulating others. That's the only starting point I felt was appropriate to use for this series.

The first design in the series, "It Will Never Be Enough," takes into account what I know about Nadakhan's desires based solely on his actions. The next two, "Sure Of It" and "All I Wanted To Hear", examine his manipulative tendencies and other two deepest wishes based on how he interacts with the season's leading couple: Jay and Nya. The last two will, to a lesser extent, examine those characters' roles and fates, but I want to emphasize that the point of this line is primarily to analyze Nadakhan more deeply than ever.

I also want to mention that my usual policy against wear-and-tear applies here (with one exception near the end - but we'll get into that when we get into it). A hallmark of Skybound fanart and fanfiction seems to be gore, mess, disaster: gouged-out eyes, blood, torn gis and scratched armor and venom burning through silk. Done well, they're incredible ways to examine the effects of Skybound on those who remember the events. But that's not what I'm after. Since I'm examining Nadakhan's unattainable wishes (and, by extension, the underlying themes of the season), I've chosen to keep things blindingly crisp.

Of all the couture lineups I've done, this will be my shortest: only three designs long. That's on purpose, although I admit it was very hard to not do more given Skybound's killer ensemble cast. Ultimately, though, I thought three was an appropriate (and doable) number. Additionally, these won't be quite as derivative as my previous works have been. All three designs are elevated versions of existing outfits and motifs in Skybound. The key word there is versions - they are, intentionally, different than their canon counterparts.

One more thing: I am beyond excited for this series. I hope you feel the same way.

[cboffshore]

Welcome to Lila's Skybound Masterpost!

Apparently my stuff hasn't shown up in tags at ALL since I got here thanks to me misreading and activating ONE button. Now that I've got that fixed, it's time to get my stuff out there! For real! Each title link will take you straight to the appropriate project.

On Sea, Sunlight, And Sky

What it is: Nya-centric and canon-based Skybound fanfiction, covering her experience between the ending of "The Last Resort" and the season finale (plus one post-MOTO chat). What it isn't: outright sopping wet angst, or any of the other usual post-Skybound fanfiction things. Updated once yearly until I decide to lay it to rest, this currently has four complementary installments and its own playlist (linked in the series summary and under #OSSAS tag on my blog). Definitely the crown jewel of my work, and a great way to get familiar with how I interpret Skybound.

Sorrow Is All The Rage

A two-parter vent essay about the trend of SA insertion in the Skybound fanfiction scene, including critical reviews of two of the biggest works out there and a brief analysis of how I think some of that might have happened. Certainly not my friendliest work, but this is an issue that has irked me for years now, and it had to come out sometime. Heed the trigger and spoiler warnings on this!

there's a light on

This one's short and sweet: what if I made a Nadakhan character analysis playlist using nothing but Fall Out Boy tracks?

Yours To Keep: Rethinking Skybound Through Fashion

Half couture fashion design, half character analysis essays - this is a new way of approaching the mindsets of Skybound's biggest players (in more ways than one).

[cboffshore]

Hey there - I'm Lila!

If you're seeing this, it could mean any of the following: you're already a mutual, you like Ninjago, you really like Ninjago's infamous (ha!) sixth season Skybound, or you know me from something else entirely. Or it's none of those and you've just taken a super wrong turn. No matter what - I'm glad you're here!

Join me under the cut for a more detailed look at my account, or just venture off on your own - the choice is yours.

WHO I AM & WHERE TO FIND ME

You can call me Lila! I've been around the Ninjago fandom since 2011 under a whole bunch of different names and accounts, with all the bizarre stories and memories to show for it. Now, though, you can find me under one of two handles: @cboffshore (here and on Bluesky, where I'm not all that active, but it sure beats Twitter!) or OffshoreWriter over on AO3.

My title as Skybound Analysis PhD holder was born from a joke (initially given to me when I overanalyzed Skybound's color scheme and then Flintlocke's development in a Discord server) but grew into, well, not a joke; I take Skybound about as seriously as someone can take a toy commercial cartoon. Through all of my years in the Ninjago fandom, I've never seen a season as misunderstood and contentious as Skybound. Unfortunately, I happen to like it a lot for what it is, and I'm willing to defend it very hard (but don't get me wrong, I know it's got flaws! I'm not completely nuts!). Read this ask for a detailed overview of my position on Skybound analysis.

Outside of Ninjago overanalysis, I'm into a few other things: crocheting, the occasional piece of digital art, music (special faves include I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance), and Bionicle (but only on a casual "wow cool vibes and killer writing" basis because that timeline does NOT make sense to me.).

SOME STUFF I DO

The best way to get into my work is just to explore all the nooks and crannies of my blog, but for those of you in a rush, here are links to some of my favorite projects:

On Sea, Sunlight, and Sky, aka OSSAS, is what I'd consider the crown jewel of my AO3 catalog: a Nya-centric series diving into her experience during the last few episodes of Skybound. Updated every December until I decide to lay her to rest (which, by the looks of it, will be the 2024 installment), this is my longest-term project that exemplifies how I approach Skybound as a season. If you only check out one corner of my work, make it OSSAS. You can find all things OSSAS under #ossas tag here on my blog (newcomers beware of spoilers!)

Yours To Keep: Rethinking Skybound Through Fashion is an older project of mine that blends fashion design and Nadakhan character analysis. As in, I drew a trio of banger outfits and then wrote essays about what all their details meant. Trust me on this, it's a cool one! (This is a holdover from when my fandom involvement was almost exclusively Ninjago character analysis-based couture fashion art... you can thank Giles Panton for that.)

Sorrow is All The Rage: An Analysis of Sexual Assault in Jay-Centric Skybound Fanfiction is a two (technically, three) part essay detailing my attempts to come to terms with the (frankly rather concerning) trend of gratuitous SA inclusion in a surprising swath of popular Skybound fanfiction. (Spoiler alert: I still think it's weird as hell and I haven't come to terms with it... but I have gotten way better at using the block button to keep it out of my line of sight.) The link in the title will take you to part one; part two is linked at the end, and part three's mini update is lurking somewhere in those tags. Please note: this essay is not an attack, or a condemnation, although it may come across that way at times. This was written largely as a vent piece about an issue that has disturbed me deeply and affected how I go about interpreting Skybound, and that definitely impacted my tone. If you'd like to reference this for any reason, or if you have any questions, please shoot me an ask or DM.

[abunnsburrow]

OOOOOO I LOVE THIS SO MUCH DISUBSHS!!!! Your analysis is so interesting and cool, I love the design!!!! I could rant about how much Nya suffers in Skybound all day if allowed

This was really cool to read, thanks! (I feel honored to have influenced this post)

What a shame the poor groom's bride is a... plot device. This is "All I Wanted To Hear."

For his third wish, the only one that ever actually mattered: something to love, I think. Something that isn't himself.

As I've discussed previously (not in this series, just in general), a common critique I see about Nadakhan is that he's a little too erratic. And, yeah, that comes out on any casual Skybound rewatch: his master plan is kept under wraps until past the halfway point, his respect for his crew wavers from being touched at their support to screaming at them every five minutes, and we're never quite sure if he actually loves his home realm or if he just wanted to become some kind of urban legend by going home. This, naturally, leads to complications: in order to maintain a facade of respectability, he covers all of his idiosyncrasies up with an utterly batshit terraforming plan that only has minor relevancy to his ultimate goal. In other words, he exercises those first two wishes I analyzed - notoriety and control - in excess to cover up the third, softest one: love. An actual, loving relationship that he's not ashamed of somehow.

Because, let's be real: does his crew actually love him?

Jury's out on this one, and unless we ever get more of The Splinter in the Blind Man's Eye or some kind of Nadakhan revival season, it'll likely stay that way. The Tall Tales shorts, if accepted as canon (a massive if!), don't even answer the question. Most of the crew's recruitment shorts read as begrudging submission at best (Flintlocke and Dogshank) and near-indentured servitude at worst (Doubloon and Monkey Wretch). Clancee joins through sheer luck, and only because he's attracted to the pirate lifestyle itself, not to Nadakhan's leadership. I refuse to acknowledge the Sqiffy/Bucko short's existence, but their canon induction is much the same as Clancee's: they show up, fuck around, and find out. The shorts, fortunately, aren't canon (two words: electric drill); the only reason I'm considering them here is that they're just close enough to the canon blurbs to fill in the cracks in the meantime. Their loyalty is held on with bubblegum and a wish no matter how you look at it.

Canon or not, the shorts don't address Delara. The season doesn't, either - at least, not in a way we can see clearly.

It's well-established that Nadakhan is very secretive about what he actually wants, and for the first nine episodes or so, Delara falls into that category: he deflects any mentions of her by others on his crew, almost so quickly as to imply it's a weakness of his. Still, he can't avoid it entirely - stolen moments with his pocketwatch (snapped shut the moment anyone else arrives) and his obsession with Nya based solely on her resemblance to Delara prove this. As hard as he fights to hide that, others notice - Flintlocke's criticism comes to mind, but even Jay comments that the way Nadakhan looks at Nya is peculiar. Look what happens in both instances: Nadakhan, although not present for the actual conversation, sweeps in immediately to shelve that discussion and inflict pain on whoever brings it up. And once there's nobody left to remind Nadakhan of his grief - once the wedding party's been banished or driven out of the temple - his first personal wish is to bring her back.

Strangely, this... doesn't help. Their reunion scene is almost awkward, honestly. We open with Nadakhan in disbelief that it actually worked, which is weird considering how unshakable he was about the plan before, but that's not the concerning part. The most damning evidence of Nadakhan's desperate need to be loved comes in the second part of the reunion scene in this incredible exchange:

Nadakhan: Do you forgive me, Delara?

Delara: You did what you had to do, so that we could become all-powerful.

Nadakhan: But do you still love me?

Delara: Of course. How many times must you ask?

This was scream-into-a-pillow frustrating for me the first time I thought it through, and it remains so to this day. Now? After all the stalking, manipulation, kidnapping, and psychological stress he put Nya through to get to this point - now he's doubting it? The moment he succeeds and pulls his beloved back from beyond the veil, he starts questioning his own morality? And he does so to the point that Delara - who might, if her casual tone is any indication, be worse than Nadakhan - has to reassure him that he doesn't need to keep asking? Imagine the irony of wanting to be loved so badly that the things you do for that make you wonder if you're worthy - but only after the fact.

And then the Keep crashes into the temple and the bravado goes right back up. When Delara's spirit is torn from Nya's body, Nadakhan says her name one last time... but that's it.

That's all.

----------

It's no secret that both Nya and Delara's characters get the short end of the stick here. With Delara, it almost makes sense: she's included as a plot device. She's Nadakhan's lost Lenore, his green light across the bay; losing her is the inevitable low point of Nadakhan's fall from grace.

All the official information we get on her is that she's important only because she so strongly resembles someone we know a little better: Nya.

Either here or elsewhere - I'm no longer sure - I've spoken of the accidental perfection of Nya's place in Nadakhan's schemes. Her seasonal arc centers on her striking out and trying to find herself; Nadakhan wants to tear that away from her, but without even caring if that means anything to her in the first place. Unlike how other villains treat the ninja, there's no desire to strip her water power here, or taunt Nya for some personal grudge. (I mean, the grudge does exist, but Nadakhan never acknowledges it.) Here, it's all about appearances: Nya conveniently looks like Delara. Whatever traits Nadakhan tries to sweet-talk Nya with don't actually matter. She's a warm body for the taking. The fact that she's associated with his realm's death is a bonus, and probably the only reason Nadakhan went for her and not for, say, Cyren. That Nadakhan would go to such lengths just to use Nya is simply another sign of his desperation.

Nya's treatment at the end of this season is awful, even seven years later. Plot-appropriate? Sure. Honestly, I think it works, but it doesn't change the fact that I feel that Nya was shortchanged. In that spirit, there was really no other way to evaluate her role but via a heavy remix of the canon wedding dress (which Nya's right about: that thing is hideous.) There are touches of Nadakhan analysis in here, too, but given that Nya was the catalyst, most of this rides on what the season should have highlighted about her importance beyond her haircut.

If we're going to lean so heavily on visual significance, let's at least get it right this time:

As a way to honor Nya's vehement dislike for dresses, I built this outfit around an ivory jumpsuit. Although the rest of the outfit looks like it was attacked by a coffee frother, this sleek layer calls to mind the athletic lines of Nya's seasonal gi and her efficient, determined personality. It also references her final fate with vein-like, venom green spiderweb embroidery blossoming out from the chest.

An ivory jacket serves to anchor the entire outfit, both physically (to stabilize all of the other elements) and metaphorically. Sharp shoulders, layered hip accents, and solid gold lapels call to mind the royal armor worn by both Nadakhan and his father - a nod at the canon dress' origin. The hems, sleeves, and lapel borders feature intricate sky-blue embroidery as an alternative to the massive blue flowers on the canon gown.

A fragile yet suffocatingly heavy floral lace train and layered bell sleeves dominate this ensemble and cover whatever the jumpsuit and jacket don't, representing how Nya's body and identity are slowly taken over by desires that aren't her own. However, that grip is as fragile as Nadakhan's security in Delara's love - look close and you'll find the whole thing held together by little more than delicate golden piping, liable to rip apart the moment anything shifts. (I should mention that I did not hand-draw the lace - I'm nowhere near skilled enough for that. Instead, I did a little digging on Google and found this excellent file with built-in transparency, which I colored over and cut to size: blueJAY2's "Lace" on DeviantArt .)

Blue lace gloves, almost lost in the riot of finery around them, are a reference to the hand imagery that Nya's torn apart by throughout the season. There's an interesting phenomenon throughout Skybound that serves as an excellent divider between Jay and Nadakhan: both are insistent on having her, but the subtle differences in their methods are best demonstrated by their dialogue concerning her hands. Jay's line, "Take my hand," is repeated only twice; urgency aside, it offers Nya the ultimate choice in what happens. Those outcomes appear in the premiere and the finale. Nadakhan, however, twists that line and her metaphorical wrist in episode 61 with "Give me your hand and they live," which is phrased as an order that Nya has less of a say in. I chose to use the same filigree texture as the jacket embroidery to represent how Nya attempts to play into Nadakhan's plans for an advantage; however, the color choice betrays this. The blue shade foreshadows one of the few choices Nya's able to make in this season: the choice to accept Jay's hand during the rooftop reset. (Like the lace, the base texture for this one was not my own creation; I have unfortunately lost the exact link, but it was on some kind of weird free PNG site and I ended up snagging it from the Google results page instead of the site itself. Again, I recolored and cut it to fit as needed.)

Gold aiguillettes on the shoulders and top layers of the train are a direct parallel to those in "Sure Of It" as a link between Jay and Nya. Throughout this season, Nya wears her independence as a badge of stubborn honor even when in the worst situations. These ropes, tucked under the lapels and frills of the jacket and train, aren't as obvious as Jay's - a sign of how her role is, sadly, pushed off to the side for most of the season. Still, they're an important part of the outfit: they hold the front of the train open in the same way that Nya's mere presence drives much of the season's action.

The jewelry choices in the original outfit were remarkably dated and didn't match the rest of the ensemble well enough for me - I have a hunch the designers threw the necklace on just to match the bracelet - so I redesigned those, too. Nya's distaste for glitter and gold (which is technically not a thing until Sons of Garmadon, but I like to think it started in Skybound) lends itself nicely to all of these next elements:

The closest element here to the canon jewelry, the gold choker is a heavy reference to the cutthroat pearl necklace that went semi-viral a little while back. Instead of blood and pearls, though, this version soaks the golden spheres of the canon necklace in neon venom droplets and serves as the only asymmetrical part of the outfit.

A pair of drop earrings, fashioned after venom droplets, complement the necklace.

Tucked behind the lapels, a high web collar with blue crystal accents is a blend of the weaknesses of the men trying to overtake her life: the venom that weakens Nadakhan and Jay's vision in the ice. The blue crystal is also a symbol of Nya's new powers and role on the team, although their small size represents how that's not her true motivation.

Given that all of the other jewelry is venom-centric, I don't think I need to explain the spider brooch creeping along the web embroidery.

Nya's brief stint as queen is never mentioned, but it's a thing that does happen; that's represented by a delicate tiara. Of course, she's possessed pretty much immediately after; Delara's acid-green eyes lent me the color scheme for the attached spiderweb veil, a symbol of Nya's thorough, tragic loss of self at the end of the season. For technical reasons, I've chosen to let the tiara and veil dangle from the mannequin's hand instead of placing it on the head. I think this works well, though - the other entries in this analysis series are holding a symbolic item, too, and the placement of this crown represents all the identities Nya holds but isn't able to utilize throughout her arc.

Even though this was my longest entry analysis yet, I don't think I'm quite done. This may be the last entry, but I've got more to say - in the coming weeks, you'll eventually get a wrap-up post summarizing this series and closing things up as neatly as I'm able.

Special thanks to @abunnsburrow, whose Delara Rant reminded me that I needed to post this - and might have influenced this particular analysis.