#Zane needs actual character development

[deximexi]

I’ve been watching DR S2 and is it just me when I say Zane feels like a background character?

(spoiler under cut)

He lost the tournament in his FIRST ROUND. It wasn't even a long fight! I know main characters aren't immune, but..seriously?

I know ZANE of all the ninja could’ve won that match. Since the writers are really hammering down the fact that he’s a robot in these past seasons, why make him lose a match against one of the easiest elemental masters?

I feel like if Zane is really embracing this robotic side of him, he could detect objects/people at high speeds. His reflexes would be more advanced (like a robot) if the writers weren't using him as another punching bag this season.

Poor guy can't get a break.

[al-luviec]

still haven't moved on from zane in this episode (aka I hit tag limit again and am unhappy about it)

[dbphantom]

I'm going through some of my H2O fanfic documents for... reasons... and I fucking forgot that I gave every single one of Lewis's family members names that start with L ahsggsgss. Do you think that his parents realized as soon as they had their first kid that they could do something extraordinarily funny. I think that's what happened.

[cablepowerhouse]

I’m thinking of writing a small fic about Ninjago but I’m unsure of if it actually has potential.

The basic premise is that it swaps the positions/roles of multiple characters, specifically siblings and family members for instance

-Kai gets kidnapped and Nya has to go the path of the ninja to get him back

-the smith siblings have their elements swapped as well (but their personalities and emotional hurtles are the same)

-Wu is bit by the devourer as a child and gets corrupted by its evil venom

-the positions of the brothers are switched, Garmadon is the ninja’s sensei and Wu is the dark lord of the underworld

This was what I thought of at first but I slowly thought about even more changes I could make in order to make this story even more “switched up” than before.

-what if Zane isn’t really Zane? What if there is more to reveal about him than just the fact that he’s a robot?

- in this au The white ninja will discover that he is not only a hyper realistic android, but he is also the SECOND android son of dr Julien and that he is the “Echo” of his older brother Zane (Echo takes the place of Zane and Zane takes the place of Dr julien in the latter part of season 2)

-Jay doesn’t go by the name “walker” in this story because he’s instead referred to as “Jay Gordon” the son of famous movie star Cliff Gordon and the master of Lightning Libber Gordon who had unfortunately gone MIA after a freak accident that involved Milton Dyer’s failed “Prime empire” video game experiment 12 years prior.

-Jay is rich kid who acts out in his own particular way. He’s not too different from his mainline counterpart in terms of personality, he’s still just as intelligent, inventive and hilarious as the Jay we all know and love but he often lies or exaggerates himself in an attempt to impress those around him (especially a fiery young blacksmith girl who happens to be on the same ninja team as him;)

The only character that I don’t have a fully developed backstory for is Cole. I have a few things in mind but I want to make sure that each of the main characters from the pilot have a solid starting point for their story to unfold before I get into any actual writing.

Lemme know if you��re interested in reading this and I’ll write it, I really want to know that there’s at least one person who is willing to hear this story before I dedicate my time to actually producing it. After all, every writer needs an audience.

[kindaasrikal]

All of my thought on the possible Morro return and then some, in one long rant about characters, powers, relationships, and ages:

The Morro minifig and the possibility of Morro soon being a character in Dragons Rising means we will soon also get more lore on the Departed realm AND the Cursed realm.

Im hoping this will not only give us world building lore, but Morro scenes and lore, as well as a possible hint at the fact he and Garmadon hung out when they were both dead, and also a lot more dead characters like Soul Archer, Bansha, Wrayth, Howla, Ghoultar, and previously alice characters like the previous king and queen, dr Julien, maybe some old friends of the fsm too to get some lore on him and how Lloyd’s element might work.

If they show Dr Julien as a ghost i hope they introduce Echo Zane against as either his own character or as Mr E as well as an explanation on why he left him.

Morro coming back is actually so important when it comes to the story in regards to the two realms of the dead because not only is Morro likely to be the most knowledgeable about BOTH, but whatever the ninja will need or have to do is likely to end up in the cursed realm and they would need Morro to help them. Not to mention he’s also the only trustworthy ghost who would know all the information that they would need.

Using him can also help give more Euphrasia scenes and story and let us see her grow too.

Im scared as to how they might portray Morro, since before he was a brat, then he was strangely calm and sarcastic, but he’s also really strategic and smart in what he does and super talented, so i hope they don’t portray his character wrong. I think it really a huge 50/50 on it since its been ages since Morro’s last scene so it can’t be that bad but its kinda scary to think what might happen cause if they do mess up his character (no matter how limited it is) it would be really disappointing.

Morro would is also likely to be introduced in either a super over dramatic way, a sudden and hidden surprise kinda way, or the most stupidest way possible. Examples: Morro flying in and kicking ass as he saves the ninja or someone the ninja know which leads them having a conversation as to their situations where the ninja and co are super untrusting with Morro who lowkey understands but doesn’t wanna give a damn, Morro is introduced as a faceless/random character who no one knows and helps the ninja in their recent adventure until eventually something makes his reveal his identity, or Morro just kinda appears and follows along because being dead can be boring.

Genuinely though I’m so excited to see it all happen because Morro is such a great character with such a huge lack on information on him, and it would be a good way to help develop some characters and give characters who haven’t had a lot of attention to get some. Euphrasia can train with him and learn her element better, we could get a Cole arc about his previous ghostlyness and maybe it could be affecting him even now, maybe Some bonding between Nya and Morro about elements of Wojira, and the obvious angst of the whole possession incident and how they should deal with it after years of not seeing each other, Kai being incredibly cautious and Lloyd being unsure how to react, and maybe Morro could help point Zane to Pixal because Morro and Pixal is probably the best duo ever.

Then we also need to take in consideration the fact that Morro does not have an element anymore, and unless they pull some weird elemental lore shi like “Morro is the first elemental master of wind so he can still control it too” he won’t ever have one. So far with a lot of non elemental characters or when elemental masters lose their element they are shown to be incredibly weak and unable to defend themselves, which is incredibly stupid to me. So i al hoping to imagine that Morro is a straight up badass with his hand to hand and weapons combat. Just realising this but whilst all of the non elemental masters are shown as weak, if you’re non-human you’re an exception to that rule. So maybe he will be fine in that aspect.

I also hope they don’t portray him as weaker then the ninja, BUT ALSO don’t portray the ninja as weaker than him. It’s always annoying when people do that when it’s more logical they’d be equals.

You know maybe they might resurrect Morro too but i don’t feel like it would be the best idea knowing Ninjago. They wouldn’t portray it the best and it would end up being a mess that might just ruins his character. But in my little au’s i can imagine him getting resurrected by accident and getting stuck with Wu’s element.

And now, finally, i hope you all realise every single ninja would be much older than Morro now if they meet him again.

[biscutpoo]

This fic idea is very gruesome, turn away if you are squeamish:

In the next saga of TSC but somehow angstier ideas imagine.... TSC but omegaverse AU. Everything that happened to Jean would be somehow worse if he was an omega.

- Riko asking for volunteers his freshman year to help Jean through his heats.

- Maybe Kevin helped sneak Jean suppressants but then after he left Jean was forced to rely on Riko's mercy.

- Zane promising to keep Grayson out of Jean's room during his heat but then betraying that promise.

- Grayson is kind of already in his own omegaverse in Canon, he has some fetish about biting Jean's neck like he's trying to form a mating bond.

- the whole incident in Palmetto would be 2x worse if Jean wasn't losing his mind about Riko being dead but actually found out he was pregnant from Grayson's SA and tried to carve that piece of Grayson out from his belly.

- of course Mafia families like the Moreaus are still practicing antiquated traditions of selling omegas. I like the idea of Riko being a beta who desperately wants to be an alpha and Kevin as an alpha because it only worsens Riko's insecurity complex.

- Jean being terrified to join the Trojans at first, learning that the way omegas are treated in the Nest isn't normal. Like maybe they made him play through heats at the Nest and the first time he goes into heat at USC he is so terrified and tries to hide it but the whole team is horrified he tried to show up to practice like that.

- Jean slowly coming to enjoy his heats and falling in love with Jeremy.

- then maybe Jean is in a better place and finds out he's pregnant again but this time, it's Jeremy's. And for the first time he really wants to keep it even though being pregnant is super triggering for him cuz of Grayson. But he can't play exy if he's pregnant, it'll slow him down and he needs to play exy to survive. Maybe he won't ever be able to have kids and he shouldn't want to because any kid he has will be a Moreau and belong to the Moriyamas the same way he does and no kid deserves that. But Jean is just heartbroken about it because he's never wanted something like this before and they never let him keep any of the others while he was in the Nest and he can't shake the image of a pup with Jeremy's dimples and Jean's eyes.

- I'm sorry I just realized that means Jean would have been 16 the first time he got pregnant and they made him get an abortion and that's somehow more heartbreaking.

- Jean quietly asking Cat for abortion pills because she's the only other omega on the team he trusts and just breaking down when Cat asks if he's going to talk to Jeremy about it.

- Jeremy's stepfather's family is probably super rich and powerful so even the Moriyamas would have to think twice about touching Jean if he married into that family.

- there's prob some omegaverse sexism about omegas playing exy since exy is such a violent sport so most of the omega players aren't "out" about their dynamics. Jean could be an unwilling trailblazer for omega rights because he's the best backliner in the NCAA and he's an omega.

- obviously Neil would be the way more outspoken omega rights activist though cuz he gives no shits about putting alphas in their place.

- I don't really know where I'm going with this but character development would probably be Jean overcoming his trauma and getting to keep the pup come hell or high water. And then he marries Jeremy and they live happily ever after, hurrah!

[carpenoctem-if]

Carpe Noctem - Intro Post

DEMO - tba

You are a nobody. A supposedly ordinary human in a world full of powerful beings. Your life is all in all pretty average if not bordering on mind-numbing, like watching paint dry... That is until you were kidnapped and tossed into one especially small carriage to be delivered somewhere only the ancients knew of.

From now on nothing will ever be the same and you need to adapt to the ever-changing outside world as fast as possible. All the while trying to decipher your past and with that your part in an every-growing political conflict that borders to develop into an all out war the world has yet to see.

General content warnings: Bigotry & prejudice, horror elements, interspecies awkwardness, explicit language, depictions of violence, injuries, blood and death, explicit sexual content (if selected), flashbacks of a dark past to unveil, sprinkled with some homophobia here and there & general an unfair treatment of people with disabilities.

FEATURES

-> customizable MC (name, pronouns, appearance, identity)

-> semi-set personality due to evolve (MCs reclusive upbringing forces you to start as someone that's not entirely comfortable with other people and as such you'll be able to choose coping mechanisms your MC will use to compensate such a deficit)

-> 5 characters to romance (3 in book 1, not sure if the other two will follow, they'll probably be fully romanceable in book 2)

-> POVs of the ROs included

-> an open-minded author that is inclined to change some NPCs to fully fledged ROs depending on the general opinion/wishes of readers

-> an emotional roller coaster, all in all nothing for ppl that want a light-hearted theme

-> later on you'll be able to choose part of your race (vampyres, merpeople, demons, shapeshifters, phoenixes -and many more) & with that you can determine and further develop your special skillset. Your heritage will reward you with quite different flavour texts for every possible race there is, so yes. It will matter greatly what you chose. And each of the available races will have disadvantages that could prove quite...fatal in certain situations.

romanceable characters:

the master [Alois|Alice|Alix] (m|f|n) 24 winters

An aloof demeanor at the first glance, A has a cold, strangely shrouded gaze. They're reclusive as fuck, so there isn't much the general population knows about them. Oh. And A is your esteemed master -as if any of you actually want this dynamic... A seems to hate you and your position even more, especially the hidden context it supplies to everyone they meet...

A has almond-shaped silver eyes that always seem distant and unfocused. They have defined cheek bones with mostly soft facial features and quite long, silver hair that is often tied to a simple ponytail. A wears fine dark clothing without other prominent features to despict their wealth.

Content warnings for A's route: denial of feelings aka one of the slowest burns imaginable, domestic violence, implied/referenced rape/non-con, anxiety attacks, self-harm, angst & hurt/comfort

the protector [Leto] (m|f|n) too many to count

Leto is a raven-like creature most would describe as monstrous-looking. They are rarely seen and the few moments they are, death is certain. For many commoners it's enough to see one of Leto's black feathers to warrant a swift escape.

Their past eludes them and you have to wonder - why does some antics of them seem kinda...familiar?

Content warnings for Leto's route: survivor-guilt, body dysphoria, angst, captivity & enslavement, torture, ptsd

the assassin [Zane|Zoey] (m|f) 28 winters

Z is everything their mother wanted them to be. Her own personal weapon. One she is now inclined to use for her vendetta against you.

They have dark brown hair with intelligent hazel green eyes that seem to observe their surroundings constantly. Z was raised with stories about you, stories you know nothing about. How can it be that they seem to know more of you and your family than you yourself?

Should it worry you that they sound extremely resolute in stating their sole purpose is to rid the world of your existance?

Content warnings for Z's route: enemies to frenemies to lovers, eating disorder, alcohol-addiction, a tendency of morbid jealousy, past emotional abuse & manipulation

??? [redacted]

??? [also redacted]

more info tba

Small note of the author:

Everything is slow burn in this - even the character customization, cause I want to add those moments seamlessly into the story.

I tend to take my time. You can expect me to heavily focus on the characters and their feelings, with a slight disregard to describing the environment and such. I work with minimalistic efforts to still give a sense of what I imagine everything to be but with the intention to leave fine details to the reader's own imagination.

I'll try to be considerate of everyone's preferences, especially in the more kinky parts of the story. There'll be versions for more assertive characters as well as more passive one's. Though I should add that the ROs all have their own set of bias that they prefer. However there will be growth throughout the story, including that.

The gravity of your choices will intensify throughout book 1, especially as you get to know the Circle and the Court and every other political hive of intrigue.

And yes. You can die. The ROs can die. Almost everyone will be able to at some point, I guess. Though I don't like the idea of writing a total distopia, don't expect me to change my mind regarding that one that easily.

More infos will be added over time. I'll post lore snippets of my sketchbook soon, like the worldmap, the general outlines of the Circle & the Court, the different races and such.

Asks are welcomed.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

i know you said that wu and garmadon wont reach true potential but what exactly is holding each of them back

"…I remember now, you know." Zane steps away, tugging off his hood and letting his smile shine through. "I remember everything my parents did to care for me, I remember where I came from…I remember why I'm here…and I feel stronger for knowing. I'd been so concerned lately with all the things I couldn't understand, but…I don't have to understand everything in order to be loved, or to love myself."

. . .

"All I did was realize something I should have a long time ago." Jay finds his strength again, standing while using Nya and Kai for support. "I was so busy worrying how much other people like me…that I forgot to like myself too. I have worth…even if not everyone sees it right way. But those that do, the ones that dare to weather the storm… even if they don't stick around forever, I can appreciate the time that they were willing to stand in the rain."

. . .

"Honestly, at first I thought I was weighed down by all the baggage with my dad. Sure, that was part of it, but…I realized I had come to believe that my worth was tied into what I could do for others, and that was so easy to believe…not only because of how I was raised, but because I care about you guys so much. The idea of letting you down or not being strong enough for you…that could've been enough to break me." A shy, somewhat embarrassed smile takes over Cole's face. "Heh, and I also kinda thought…I was too hard of a person to love, and therefore struggled to find some love for myself as well. But hearing it from my father, and my brothers…maybe that's all I ever really needed. That one, tiny thing…well, even a pebble can cause a landslide, I guess." 

. . .

"…when you said the heart was the key, at first I thought that meant I had to do anything to prove to myself that I was worthy of being the Green Ninja, because I thought that's what my heart was destined for." Kai hums, placing a hand against his torso. "…but all it really meant was to look inside ourselves, and choose to admire what was there. Lloyd helped me see that…I was obsessing over something that I already had. Our Elements are us, and we are our Elements…and I thought Fire was something that it's not. I thought I was something that I'm not."  Kai looks back up at Wu, beaming softly. "Simply put…all we ever had to do to realize our potential…was learn to love ourselves." 

THE ANSWER IS SELF-ACCEPTANCE AND LOVING YOURSELF

Wu and Garmadon can't fully accept who they are/the mistakes they've made/the actions they've taken/what they've done, and feel like they're not who they're "Supposed" to be and they hate themselves for it, though on opposite sides of the spectrum, and thus cannot attain the highest form of their own powers

IT'S THE SAME THING CURRENTLY HOLDING LLOYD AND JESSE BACK CMONNNNNN

(...not Nya tho; she doesn't technically "hate herself", just cannot accept both the best and worst parts about herself yet (plus all the self-identity issues to begin with; can't accept yourself if you don't exactly know who "you" are :d))

"OH but what about when Garmadon reaches his True Potential in S9 with Harumi—?!" He never actually 'fully' achieves it there (similar to Jesse currently) due to Harumi having him go about it the wrong way, but he still gets closer than Wu does (...unless I'm feeling generous in giving Wu some extra character development 👀).

[spork-supremacy]

Mr Walker’s unhealthy relationship habits

This analysis has been a long time coming but I’m just going to do a condensed version of what should be in a really long essay I’m working on.

so in a previous post I mentioned that I would further go into several issues that pop up in Jay’s character when he’s in a relationship. This shall be that post.

at the start of the show everything is fine, he’s quickly pinned as the comedic relief who would most likely derive some of his comedy from failing to impress the girl he liked. And then within eight episodes the show actually follows through with the relationship it sets up between Jay and Nya (who let’s be real was at first obligatory female we need to have this plotline and appeal to a wider audience from a narrative stand point, as much as I don’t like to admit it)

there was literally nothing wrong between the two for the first two seasons, like maybe early signs of possessiveness on Jay’s end, as seen in Double Trouble when he is told that his double kissed Nya before he could and then promptly poofs him out of existence. “No one kisses my girl.” But frankly that’s on par for the writing of the time from what I can tell. Or Jay’s general desperateness to be with Nya (see Wrong Place, Wrong Time, when Zane says something along the lines of “we have to convince Wu to help Kai or else Nya will never fall head over heels for Jay.” And Jay jumps at Wu yelling for him to help past Kai.) or any girl for that matter considering his first words in the pilot were “we’re saving a girl? Is she hot?”

aside from that there is no unhealthy display of behaviour that I can think of, and mostly the relationship was just a thing that was just there and often brought up to mess with Jay or even help build his character as his true potential lied in his self-confidence and learning he does not have to change who he is to be liked. For reference see the entirety of Once Bitten, Twice Shy.

the real issues start to show themselves during season 3, at first it was just something small, with the implication that over the months between season 2 and 3 that the main ship on the show was going through… something that developed offscreen. This mainly due to Jay’s clingy behaviour and boundary issues as Nya states “what did we say about boundaries.”

I still don’t know where this could be applied anywhere before season three though.

Unhealthy trait number 1 has been identified, and will take ages to be brought up again. Boundaries are further discussed in season six where he is shown to be in constant Violation of Nya’s, so much in fact he is able to have a parallel between him and the main villain of the season for that reason. It is implied that he himself comes to this realisation when Nya calls to the fact that both him and Nadakhan want her for themselves but no one considered her needs.

later on in the episode Black Out do we get the worst of his emotional outbursts. A side plot line that had been developing was that of Nya considering other options because a computer said she should be with Cole instead of Jay, no I’m not going to even how that machine knew anything about her, just going to accept the cartoon logic. Jay finds out about this from Pixal who corrects his mother as she says Jay and Nya are such a great couple. He freaks the hell out, as one does when faced with not being the number one option and instead of having a good discussion with his girlfriend about this, he instead tackles Cole as soon as he steps into the trailer.

for all intents and purposes Cole is oblivious to what is going on and fights back in a mixture of spite and self-defence, further fuelling a rivalry that really shouldn’t exist if someone just acted mature and-

Unhealthy trait two identified, that of jealousy so strong it overrides rational thought.

We can actually explain this trait as a result of Jay’s insecurities that we know have been present probably before the first season. Skipping to season six we are able to identify that a sum of these insecurities are rooted in how Jay grew up, raised in a junkyard and poor, we also know from season one he is also insecure about his general looks and personality. Most likely believes that he could never be enough for anyone so he overcompensates with false bravado, and once his ego is shattered it only grows with spite.

the third unhealthy trait that we can identify is the way he idealised relationships. In the pilots he makes it clear that he hopes to be attracted to whoever they end up saving, and once gets to properly speak to Nya he shoots his shot, well Zane speaks for him as he is unable to do it himself. All he asks is “do you like blue?” And the rest is seventeen seasons of history. In season six it is shown that Jay also more or less believes a relationship will solve all his problems, particularly to do with his self-esteem. Hence why he does anything to get his relationship with Nya back the way it was before season three, despite Nya’s insistence on not wanting a partner. He thinks it is what’s best for the both of them, when really he is just thinking about what is best for him, as being in a relationship helps him feel accepted.

with this we goes into the final trait, that of his selfishness. As we can see a lot of these problems are pretty much all on Jay and have to do with the relationship in relation to him. Until season seven, which is when the relationship was treated as more a background thing instead a catalyst for drama, we can see that Jay is often thinking of himself. He is insecure about himself, he disregards boundaries to get what he wants, he idealises relationships because he thinks it will validate him. He is too self absorbed in the early half of the show, so much that no wonder he developed these traits. But like a good character he grew and we don’t see much of these traits after skybound, signalling that some message about his selfishness was able stick and help develop him.

I’m probably not gonna read over this but here you go.

[thecatundertheladder]

So fsm really likes Kai, how does he feel about the other ninja, especially since Cole and Zane are a like Wu(especially Zane), also I’m curious does fsm have a favorite of the ninja(besides Lloyd of course)

The FSM: Of course I don't have a favourite, I love all Lloyds and non-Lloyds equally

Context: FSM only really starts to observe the Ninja when they show up to the Monastery, prior to that he just checks in every few years to make sure they're all still healthy. They meet properly in between seasons 5-6

He/they/she pronouns for FSM

Nyad has her memories

First of all it goes without saying that the FSM likes all the Ninja, he hand-picked them all for a reason. But I'll go into the specifics.

Jay: When Jay first showed up to the Monastery, he didn't have a lot of self confidence, and would try to hide it through jokes and just generally being loud. This wasn't a bad thing, FSM had had many times over the years where their self-confidence was pretty low, their main concern was that it would affect his training (and it did for a time) so they made sure to mention it to Wu so he could start working on it.

FSM really enjoys Jay's varying interests and liked that despite his lack of self esteem, he still tried everything he could. When Jay and FSM finally met in person they started having long (and I mean long) conversations about almost everything under the sun.

Overall all she finds Jay a very interesting person, and is proud to see how far he's come both as a ninja and a person in general.

Cole: He was the first person to arrive at the Monastery, and quite frankly, FSM was glad it was him. He was calm but lively and it was great to have him to be the one to introduce ninja training to the other's rather than just Morro (who was temporarily kicked out by FSM when Cole arrived).

It wasn't until Cole and Wu got closer that FSM started to see similarities. Both were generally disapproving impulsiveness but still impulsive themselves, caring and mostly calm people. Cole, at times, acts like a mini Wu, and she finds that very adorable.

Nya: The FSM wasn't entirely sure about Nya when she first arrived at the Monastery, mostly because he hadn't chosen her like he did the others. Don't get me wrong she still plays a vital role but it was less a part of the prophecy and more that Nyad saw that Kai was going to have a sister and took the opportunity to get a water elemental in the game as well. This meant that while FSM was mostly sure Nya was going to be a good match he didn't know a lot about her.

But he was pleasantly surprised by her. She was caring, confident, and determined, and reminded FSM of her namesake. When she became a ninja she fit well into the team. Of course he's aware that she has her flaws, they all do. But she learns to overcome them (eventually)

Lloyd: The favourite, the precious grandson. FSM absolutely adores Lloyd and would defend him at all costs. Lloyd, particularly when he was younger, reminded FSM a lot of herself, you know, causing problems and chaos while really just wanting a family.

FSM is very proud of how Lloyd stepped into his position as green ninja despite how difficult it was. Later when they actually met, FSM realises just how little Lloyd thinks of himself, and sets about to change that.

Kai: Unlike with Cole, it was immediately after seeing Kai and Garmadon next to each other that FSM realises how similar they are, and it amuses them to no end. Both are brash and argumentative, but when it comes down to it, they will always stick to their morals and do what is best for Ninjago. So yeah, FSM quite likes Kai, even if they think he needs some more character development when he first starts to train as a ninja.

Zane: Now this is very interesting, because when he was first writing the prophecy and foresaw Zane, he was very confused. Zane was the first of his kind after all, and while FSM had seen some stuff, he hadn't seen this. Nevertheless he still picked him as the EM of ice.

FSM actually relates to Zane a lot, not fitting in or understanding how other people work (autistic spinjitzu fam for the W) only to discover just how different you are (well, it's pretty obvious from the get go for FSM but same thing) and then learning to accept that.

And, as you mentioned he is also quite similar to Wu, both eccentric, calm and with a strong moral compass. So, if FSM had to pick one

Pixal: She was completely unexpected. FSM hadn't seen into the future past the Final Battle which meant they were completely blindsided when they first actually met by Zane having two souls in his body. After learning about Pixal they offer to create a new body for her but she declines, saying she would rather do it herself, which gained her the instant respect of FSM.

They only really start talking once she gains a new body but they hit it off immediately. FSM loves her attitude and ability to learn and accept new things.

Thank you so much for the ask! This one made me think a lot and was an opportunity to work out some more in-depth stuff for this au! If you have anymore questions don’t hesitate to ask!

[trashnotfound]

Maybe I’m being a little negative here, but I don’t really care for the new ships in dr 😭

I just don’t think it’s fair to create new relationships when old ones still need explaining! Kailor is almost 10 years old, and the only way we know they are cannon is by the element book! Other then that there’s no CANNON indication in the show that they are

Jaya is still yet to reunite after almost 2 season and 2 years without any moment. I would rather have screen time focusing on them and their relationship after the merge then new ones

Zane is still looking for pixel and is clearly missing her a great deal. I want to see them reunite, not only to see zane happy but also for a clear mind so we know she is actually safe

Yes new ships are exciting and getting to see new couples develop is very sweet. But as an old fan it does suck when you have spent years watching a relationship develop for them to just forget it. I feel like they at least owe us some conclusive endings for some of them, before they start new ones. Because their just gonna dig a deeper and deeper hole of unfinished storys and forgotten characters. I’d rather have no new side characters and get to see the old ones again, then new ones. Sure eupheashia is cool, bonsile too, Geo I don’t really have an opinion on. But why do they get so much screen time over others? Erin still needs way more development as he’s the most under developed of the new “main 3” his whole personality is finding his parents and being a ninja fan, which isn’t a new concept for ninjago. I want to know what makes him unique, I wanna know what makes him a bad person, isn’t to learn his flaws!! Why are they giving the screen time to these other side characters who barley add anything to the story. Bonsile in retrospect is the most important one of the 3, and I get learning her back story but the episodes with her zane and Cole are so unimportant to the story in my opinion and are extremely skippable once watched

Idk this is just me showing concern for the future of ninjago. I really hope the writers remember the origins of this show. The origins of the ninja and keep old characters in it. They’ve already made questionable decisions with some of the ninja, especially with jay. Like really an office that’s the most exciting place you could put him?? And cole seemingly not caring for the ninja one bit. This man did not sacrifice himself twice in past seasons for the writers to make him call other people his family 💀

This isn’t any hate towards shippers, it’s me questing the writer’s decisions 🩵

[oracleofdiscord]

possible ninja ages/timeline thing

(note: the reason i say possible is because in general i think trying to find a fully definitive age for any of the ninja is ultimately a futile effort.

there were actually pieces of information that i ignored in this because they contradicted other information i was using, and it's possible i missed something entirely. in general, i tried to ignore twitter and focus on in-show stuff. there are also fan theories i incorporated and fan theories i ignored, so if you subscribe to a different set of headcanons/theories you could easily come up with different results than me)

this isn't me saying "hey guys i cracked the code!" this is me saying that this is a possible timeline for their ages)

okay so this is something i worked out recently when i was trying to develop my ninjago oc, estrella, to help me figure out an approximate age for her.

it uses as a base this rough timeline by @destinysbounty (both in the sense that i used it as a guide and in the sense that when i needed to start visualizing things, i wrote on/drew on/edited this picture)

now, one theory i'm going off here is something that was proposed to me by @destinysbounty when i got confused about how harumi could be roughly the same age as lloyd both in flashbacks and in the present: the idea that after the tea, lloyd's body stopped aging until his mental age caught up with his physical age. this catch-up happened during the timeskip between s7 and s8, which is why his voice got lower

so this assumes that from s8 onwards, lloyd's mental and physical age match. other assumptions/pieces of evidence that i used:

kai mentions being a teenager during the oni trilogy, and thus is 19 at oldest

thanks to the flashback with baby nya, it can be assumed kai is at least a couple of years older than her

thanks to having seen nya and lloyd during s1 (where they have different body forms), it can be assumed nya is a least a couple of years older than him

(i've simplified this down to 2 years between each in my timeline, but there could definitely be an argument for more years. in my case, i felt like 2 years each made things line up in a way that made sense to me. feel free to make your own version and experiment with increasing the gap between nya and her siblings on either side but i've picked a number and i'm sticking to it)

@destinysbounty mentioned that most age estimates they'd seen for the pilots had nya in the 13-14 range

so, let's call nya 13 in the pilots/s1/s2 (the green chunk on the timeline). if lloyd was 2 years younger, he'd be 11, which works with the body form he had. if kai was 2 years older than nya, he'd be 15, which feels reasonable.

and let's call kai 19 during the oni trilogy. this would make nya 17 and lloyd 15, and also mean that 4 years have passed since s1. let's look at our rough timeline above. if the green chunk all takes place within a single year and there's a confirmed 1 year timeskip between s7 and s8, than for 4 years to have passed since the green chunk, the red chunk would need to be 3 years. which is a little on the short side, but within the bounds set by our rough timeline!

if lloyd was 15 in s8, he was 14 in s7. so going back to our earlier theory about his age, his chronological age caught up with his body in-between 14 and 15, and he started aging again. apparently 14.5 is kind of the upper boundary of when boys' voices change, so i'd say this checks out!

and here's my visual diagram of that

(i only included the characters that i used in figuring this out - lloyd and harumi's age relative to each other, lloyd and nya's age relative to each other, kai and nya's age relative to each other, kai saying he was a teenager, lloyd's voice changing...

but i would assume all of the core 4 ninja are about the same age except zane, who has his own thing going on. maybe jay is a year younger than kai, putting him closer in age to nya.)

assuming that the rest of the initial timeline is correct (s11-s14 being a year, the post-seabound timeskip being a year, the merge timeskip being 5 years)...

in crystalized, lloyd would be 17, nya would be 19, and kai would be 21.

in dragons rising, lloyd would be 22, nya would be 24, and kai would be 26.

[toothlespoggers]

AAAAAAAAA STIMMING STIMMING JUST WATCHED EPISODE 4 (I think) OF THE NEW SEASON OF DRAGONS RISING AND BOY THIS SEASON IS SUCH AN IMPROVEMENT FROM THE FIRST AND ITS SO GOOD AND ITS AMAZING AND COLE IS SO FUCKING GAY FOR THAT GUY AND THEYRE SO GAY THEYRE SO GAY, THAT GUY WHATS HIS NAME

DID YOU SEE THE WAY HE LONGINGLY LOOKED AT COLE NOT ONLY HAS THIS SEASON FIXED ALL THE CHARACTER WRITING FLAWS THAT THE PREVIOUS ITERATIONS OF NINJAGO HAD BUT IT ALSO CONFIRMED COLE GAY HE GAY FOR THIS MAN, THEYRE SO GAY, NO ONE STARES AT ONE PERSON THE WAY THIS GUY DOES AND ISNT GAY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AND ZANE WITH THE FRONICKY PLUSH AAARGHHH I CANT BELIEVE THIS THEYRE LETTING ZANE REST? WHAT HAVE I BEEN SAYING YALL EVEN IF TUMBLR HASNT EXPERIENCED ALL OF MY NINJAGO OPINIONS, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR YEARS THAT ZANE NEVER GETS A BREAK. HES ALWAYS WORKING, HES ALWAYS FORCED TO GET UP AND DO STUFF BUT THIS SEASON HES PLAYED VIDEO GAMES AND STAYED BEHIND, HES CHILLING WITH THE FROG MAN AND ITS SO GOOD AND AAAAAA I WANNNA WATCH MORE EPISODES BUT I WATCH IT WITH PEOPLE SO I HAVE TO WAIT BUT IT IS THE BEST.

I love the ninjago writers SO MUCH if anyone has like any information on the behind the scenes decisions and stuff that’s gone into the development of this season that’s changed and improved the previous issues tell me I wanna know! Argh I’m so happy, they finally gave Cole a family outside of the ninja team because let’s be real Cole was kinda sidelined for ages he needs a nice family of people who respect him and also he needs a hot purple boyfriend to look after him!

Lloyd isn’t an npc, he’s a human being with flaws?? Like actual? Logical? Flaws? He’s not just a main character anymore?? His flaws aren’t even super annoying either. And like CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW FUNNY IT IS THAT TIKTOK AND YOUTUBE CANONICALLY EXIST? THE NINJA ARE LIKE, TUMBLR SEXYMEN??? IN THE LEGO UNIVERSE?? THATS SO FUNNY, WHAT?

all the jokes feel like actual people talking, the writing feels natural for the first time in years! Zane isn’t constantly abused, he’s happy and frog man is the best character and if Lego doesn’t immediately release mini figures for frohicky and all the other minor characters that are pretty important I’m going to Sue.

also I haven’t watched the next episode but if it doesn’t explain what happened with Zane to end up with a frohicky plushie I’m going to go ballistic, alright?

Hot take but I’m glad Jay isn’t there anymore ik he’s probably going to come back but he’s honestly the worst ninja nowadays. And also, KAI CHARACTER ARC FIXED??

KAI ISNT INSUFFERABLE UNLEARNING AND RUDE ANYMORE HES AN ACTUAL GROWING CHANGING PERSON NOW, AND LIKE I USED TO HATE THE SELF INSERT NEW GUYS BUT THEYRE SO WELL WRITTEN NOW IT JUST MAKES ME LIKE EM’ and sure Aaron can get a little annoying but he’s so autistic coded like openly autistic coded he’s like “is there a social cue I’m not picking up on?” COME ON, MAN. COME ON!!

also like I said, girlie, baby, Sora, honey, you are the GOAT. WE STAN!

also if something ever happened to Zane couldnt sora just like, fix him on the spot?

my only complaint is the fact the ninja haven’t just taken off the masks before the wolf people turn all magic-y like bbg just take it off.

one last thing, JUST SAY CHIMA, WE ALL KNOW THAT GUY IS FROM LEGO CHIMA DONT HIDE IT EMBRACE IT. AAAAA

also that skeleton lady kinda..

Look I’m an undertale fan I have skeleton brainrot, ok? Don’t judge me

[linkspooky]

requesting shou and ryou!

Why I like them / Why I don't

I'll do these two at the same time, because the two of them are a set.

What I like the most about Shou is that he's deeply unlikable. His arc is very non-standard for a sidekick character who's defined by his lack of confidence. He doesn't slowly gain confidence and learn independence so much as he just latches onto Judai at first sight and uses him as a crutch, and like the show acknowledges right away how unhealthy this is. Then when Judai stops being the perfect big brother that Sho projected onto him as, he almost completely abandons him.

Sho is the only little brother I like though, because he's a character with flaws and agency of his own. Mokuba, Haruto, both only exist as plot objects to give Kaiba and Kite sympathetic motivations. Truly, the best sibling relationship in the entirety of Yu-Gi-Oh!

Which neatly dovetails into Ryo because Shou and Ryo's relationship only makes Ryo look worse. Ryo is such a shit brother, and I'm not saying this because he makes his brother wear shock collars and electrocutes him until he passes out. Ryo's just like, this big brother with a superiority complex that sabotages his brothers self esteem at every corner. Ryo's so naturally gifted he doesn't get that people learn at different rates. I think half of his treatment of Sho is that logic, "Well, Sho needs someone to be harsh on him so he'll grow. Honestly, Ryo probably projects himself a lot onto Sho. It's not from lack of care for Sho, but actually how close the two brothers are. Ryo's logic is likely WELL I CAN HANDLE IT SO SHO CAN TOO. it's ironic because part of Ryo's early characterization is the respectful duel where you understand understand your opponents, but he doesn't understand Sho at all for like ninety percent of the show. He seems like Sho as a little brother and extension of himself and not his own person.

What I like about their appearance

I like how Sho resembles Yugi a lot, from his height to his silhouette. it adds to the deconstruction element of his character. By relying on the pharaoh Yugi slowly gains confidence in himself. Relying on Judai to do literally EVERYTHING stunts Sho's grwoth and poisons their friendship.

Ryo's design is absolutely perfect. No notes. He dresses like a thirteen year old's idea of what cool is.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Hell Kaiser Ryo is the coolest fucking name ever, as well as Kaiser Sho, Zane and Cyrus couldn't possibly surpass that.

OTP

Kaiser / Fubuki is a favorite for me. Literally every time they interact it's golden. If they got to interact more than just, one duel, then they'd probably be my second favorite ship... but like characters are underdeveloped in GX compared to Judai, water is wet.

NOTP

I don't have one. I guess Judai and Shou because their relationship is super unhealthy. I don't see them as brothers at all either.-

OT3

Don't have one either.

Favourite card they use

The risk of powerbond is their attack points will be dealt to you at the end of the turn.

Favourite moment they were in

Hell Kaiser Ryo being dragged to an underground dueling match in a cage where he gets shocked until he reaches his breaking point, and also develops a fetish for shock collars. Truly one of the most Yu-Gi-Oh moments in all of YuGiOh.

Least favourite moment

I appreciate the spirit of Shou remembering Judai's words that even if a friend went to the dark side and there was nothing you could do to help them the least you could do is watch over them until the end because they're your friend. On the other hand, Shou took "Watch over them" to literally mean just sit there and do fucking nothing while observing from afar.

[grimreaperofroleplay]

I think a lot of people forget Jay could just zap someone to death if he felt like it.

Cuz I keep seeing the finger being pointed at Jay about being the weakest in the team, I mean I can see why people think that but honestly I really don't think he's the weakest I don't think any of the ninja is, there is no weakest but there is a strongest, but the point is the first 4 ninja's power level are most likely the same while Lloyd is the most powerful

Whilst their (the first 4) power level are the same, it depends on how they use it, like cole for example uses his power in significant ways and doesn't over do it so he doesn't cause significant damage to the surrounding.

while Zane uses his powers when needed, to not cause places to have ice everywhere, and uses logic when his power isn't needed.

while Kai uses his power in what way he feels like but is great at controlling the fire within so he doesn't cause too much destruction or a fire

And Jay uses his power in a way he's comfortable with, and in small portions enough to take out enemies but not cause further or permanent harm

And pointing this out, Jay is the one pulling his punches the most as everyone on of the ninja's are pulling their punches, to make it enough to not cause too much harm and since they are pulling their punches the one that would have to pull their punches most it Jay

Since Jay takes on control of lighting, it's a significant power source and can easily electrocute people if not careful, he is needed to pull his punches most cuz if he doesn't he might just accidentally kill someone if he uses just a bit too much lighting

Why I am talking about this is about the thing coming up in dragon's rising season 2 do be warned spoilers ahead

So it's stated that Jay will be a villain in this new season and that's exciting for a lot of us since Jay only had like 30 seconds of screen time last season, but I've seen a lot of people debating if he'd even be able to take on the ninjas or solo then at all

And honestly I think he could, because think about. If Jay is always pulling his punches as a ninja what would he be like as the villain?

Since he doesn't know who the ninja's are his objective is to follow orders and those orders could be anything, and nothing is holding him back because he doesn't remember the ninjas but they remember him

And if you had watched Dr S1 you'd know from the ending the monastery had a South wing but Arin said "but the monastery doesn't have a South wing?" And Lloyd replied with "Not after my friend Jay trained there"

So if Jay could destroy a fucking wing of the monastery because he hypothetically didn't pull his punches, what could he do? What is he capable of? Cuz it takes a lot of power to do something like that, power I'm sure all of them have, but that just comes to show how much Jay is actually holding back just so he doesn't accidentally kill someone

And like this is not gonna go well at all, and honestly? I'm excited to see how any of this will go cuz honestly seeing Jay finally get some character development is going to be great after whatever trauma he was shoved with last

This season is gonna be a really interesting one, especially for the Jay fans

[taddymason]

What are your thoughts on each of the Ninja? I'm just curious

Ooooo okokok this is going to be so long, I'm going to explain my first impression of them when I was a child and how it has changed over time.

Cole: I really didn't care much about Cole when I saw the series for the first time, like, as I remember he was my least favorite character on the team and he seemed boring to me. Now? Easily my favorite ninja. It's funny because of the team it's easily the one I identify with the most in terms of personality. I LOVE how most of his arcs have to do with the potential of his elemental powers, probably one of the ninjas who has grown the most in terms of skills over the course of the series. I know I don't talk much about the way they develop him and how much he matures throughout the series, especially how he becomes more and more open with the team, but he is one of my favorite characters.

Zane: I always liked Zane and he always remained my second favorite ninja. One of the parts I like most about his development is how he becomes more confident and sassy, especially in the new seasons. What I do not like is how many other ninjas's jokes about him are limited to "Zane, we need to adjust your honest/sarcasm ciurcuits", etc. It gets pretty tiring and somewhat contradicts the whole point of his character to be reminded that he's a nindroid when the whole point is that he actually sometimes ends up being a lot more human than everyone else but that's it. (ALSO Why did the writers forget that he had a falcon?)

Lloyd: sooo Lloyd is a complicated one because I don't really have strong feelings about his character. I guess one thing that kept me away every time I rewatched the show was thinking that he's like they put every cliche of a protagonist in a blender and most of his arcs feel that "predictable" when you compare him to the others. BUT I like what they are doing with his character on DR and I think it is his best season so far, SO definitely in DR it is more entertaining to see his development and his relationship with the kids.

Kai: Kai is a character that for me... is fine, I don't love him too much like most of the fandom. Again I think that in DR they are doing justice to his character since he feels that in Wildbrainera he was quite forgettable as if the creators didn't know what to do with him (like, I'm not a fan of his arc in S11 because we have definitely seen that lesson a Lot of times). I really love the development of him anyway and his relationship with Nya & Lloyd is one of the best parts of the series.

Nya: I'm going to be honest, I only started to like Nya in S9, before that with the sexist way the writers wrote her in the first seasons when I first saw the series I found her annoying (and S3 and S6 didn't help) . I think her character definitely improved after the Oni trilogy onwards because the creators began to give her REAL CHARACTER FLAWS and take her more seriously because then I started to like her character more.

Jay: soo, when I saw the series for the first time Jay instantly became my favorite ninja. I liked that there was a balance between the sarcastic jokes and the fact that he would then do something surprising like being the first to do spinjitsu, being a genius on roller skates, him shooting in space, etc. It's those moments in which he proved to be the thinker outside the box of the team that were very entertaining along with his humor, his powers, the duality in which he could be a bastard, an idiot and a genius at the same time was what made him that was my favorite on the team

Now, I'm not a fan of Jay when it comes to the new seasons where they basically removed all the traits I'm listing and turned him into a man child who only makes pee jokes. They literally took away EVERYTHING that made him a useful member of the team, he is a completely different character that really the only thing he has is... he is just the "uwu guy on the team". Honestly, it could be a whole essay explaining how I hate Jay from S11 onwards but I'll just leave it at that I hope DR gives him real development (and for a change it doesn't have to do with Nya)