#even the shatterspin???

[theroxian]

They've really just given up huh 😭😭😭😭

[nyaskitten]

NEW SHATTERSPIN PREVIEW

CHEN IS BACK CHEN IS BACK CHEN IS BACK

[taddymason]

I'm a fan of jay "I can't make rational decisions" walker, but the fact that in DR he wastes so much time explaining his backstory to his enemy, instead of taking advantage of the time that Nya was NOT fighting him at all and, you know- go for the fucking blade to win the match like he kept saying he wanted to do. It's like. I still don't understand what the hell happened in that battle.

[wyrmswears]

>:) glad you agree, see look heres my thought process for how it'd play out:

the ninja go back to rontu and egalt now theyre back to normal and report what happened at the blood moon ritual and describe the forbidden five member that escaped. the dragon masters recognise the description of nokt and explain that he was the master of lightning.

this reminds the ninja of their good friend jay who is still missing and has no reported sightings since the merge, and they have a Moment because i hope their grief gets emphasised before they reunite. the dragon masters explain that nokt will still be powerful after his release, but serves less of a threat without his element so it is likely the shadow dojo's aim is to get nokt to regain his element so he can be a real threat. the ritual would need the current elemental master of lightning present though, and so the ninja are like :( oh no jay is in trouble wherever he is.

meanwhile jay, scared of people finding out about his element, jumps at the offer when ras turns up and goes "hey man i can help you get rid of that silly lightning power". Yessir.

the ninja turn up at the tournament of the sources, they fuck about and find out, and eventually realise jay is working with ras. they try to warn him that ras just wants to steal his powers and give them to nokt, believing that will convince jay to leave the shadow dojo and rejoin them, but jay reveals that this is actually his aim.

the ritual happens and jay loses his powers and shit goes down and eventually the ninja escape with jay. but jay has no memory of losing his powers before, so the feeling of stillness, of emptiness, is completely foreign and he realises that hes lost the last part of his identity from before the merge.

(bonus points if nokt is the past EM of lightning because that'd make him being controlled via electric shock really funny)

sometimes in order to think about other things i assume a certain headcanon or theory to be true. and then i eventually forget that it isnt true until it gets proved wrong by the source material. anyway this is what im doing with nokt as a past EM of lightning

[oracleofdiscord]

ugh i'm so of-two-minds when it comes to the jay and nya fight.

because on the one hand, i'll be honest - i do feel like i would have actually preferred jay to win his match with nya for a few reasons:

i feel like lightning actually has the potential to be a really badass element and it would have been cool to see a jay who doesnt have hangups about hurting the ninja show that off

i didnt love the way he lost; i really liked the creative usage of elemental powers in the various matches and having a dramatic match like nya vs jay just turn into "shatterspin vs rising dragon, rising dragon beats shatterspin because of course it does" was...a letdown to me

i wanted more of the emotional gutpunch of the ninja having to deal with jay being a villain - the fact that he immediately got sent away to who-knows-where means it feels like the emotional conflict has turned into "we have to rescue him" with "he's evil now" just being an additional layer of things to rescue him from in addition to him being who-knows-where and probably trapped. whereas i wanted more of "we are actively having to deal with someone we care about being evil" (and while we may get that in the future, the ninja will now have had forewarning to emotionally prepare themselves for that, which they would not have gotten if jay had stuck around during the tournament)

even if it's a character that's already known to the audience, i feel like introducing a new antagonist by having them very quickly lose a fight to a single protagonist is...not ideal? makes them feel like not a big threat, and i wanted evil!jay to feel like a threat

on the other hand, while watching it, it did feel like it made sense that nya won - because jay can't remember his own years of fighting experience, whereas nya is just as skilled as usual. (and i will admit that them having to choose between staying for the tournament vs going after jay was also good angst)

but one thing that might reconcile those ideas if i ever flesh out a "jay wins the match" au is an idea that @destinysbounty came up with - nya loses because she really cant bring herself to attack jay. and the reason i like it is because it immediately sets up a contrast to wyldfyre - who loses because she cant bring herself to not attack cinder!

(and while i would need to figure out more details for why this matchup would happen, maybe he fights nokt in the same match nya originally did, and loses. a villain losing to an already-established-to-be-more-powerful villain doesnt knock their threat level down as much. nokt still wins water and lightning from the match and the rest of the tournament plays out as normal. and jay can still be sent away for losing a match so things arent totally canon-divergent - he just gets a bit more time in the city, potentially interacting with the ninja, first)

[toastingpencils37]

Thoughts on the teaser

Explorer's Club looking mf

Hey why the fuck is that one guy glowing white? Is that the guy who was trying to get through the portal when it closed? So he's stuck between the two worlds? Shit

Also why's he sitting in a chair while the others are standing very formally? Leader of the Forbidden Five?

I know they're all happy and don't know what's coming for them in this shot, but look at Arin

I'm assuming this is before he learns he won't be able to compete.

Also, Lloyd in the new master fit!

Can't tell one hundred percent, but that looks like the Matriarch without her crown. For some reason she's in the Kingdom of Madness (might be because she decided to move her herd in s1 ep2 and thought this was a safe place). And why does she look like she might be dying? Or at least not in a good condition. (Assuming this'll be in the episode 11)

Oh fuck Wyldfyre's face. Whatever happened can't be good. But I'm not sure if it has to do with Cinder having heat or some other event. Mainly because Wyldfyre very much is controlling heat right now.

Also, nice design on the back of her suit

WAKE UP NEW SORA WEAPON

(If I had a nickel for everytime a character with tech powers had a tech staff as their weapon I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice) (Yes I'm referencing Donnie from ROTTMNT)

Roby with the selfie wand! Not what I expected but I'm here for it.

And he seems to be having them doing a wave thing, as when he passes in front of the crowd they lift their arms up a bit and then put them back down.

I have no idea why they might be in the Administration, but I guess they are. (Also looks like this will be Episode 11)

Cinder in his sick ass outfit. Haven't even seen the whole thing and I can already confirm the minifigure does NOT do it justice at all.

Also (like everyone else) wondering how the hell he has Heat. Stole it from Wyldfyre using some weird Shatterspin magic? Maybe Jordana stole it using her dark magic for him? Or some other Tournament related thing that gave him said ability to take her powers.

Or maybe a new master of Amber? But 1) don't think the writers are going to just kill Skylor like that and 2) There's no way he would've been able to hold Ash's power for that long, even without broken Amber powers like Skylor likely did past Season 9

That's actually a really small dragon.

And Cole

No idea when this'll be (or who Lloyd's even fighting) but based on his outfit and the time of day, this is not one of the actual Tournament battles.

Maybe during these episodes in the actual battles Lloyd will wear the Tournament outfit, and then in scenes that are not Tournament events, he'll be wearing the master outfit. Which would put this scene at pretty much any point in the season except for Episode 11. And likely episode 20. Maybe

Or Lloyd will be wearing this outfit only at the beginning of the Tournament (likely only Episodes 12 and maybe 13) and then will wear the Tournament suit the rest of the season

WHAT DID JIRO AND ZANTH DO TO THEM TOT

They don't seem to have any people on their back?

Maybe it's illegal in the Tournament to use dragons? Or the guard dudes are just being bullies.

And why's that guy's gun got a clock on it

Ha. They deserved that for being mean to the dragons

So did that guy

Also there's some of the ninja. Can't tell who all of them are, but there is Wyldfyre for sure, and it looks like Maybe Zane and Geo? As well as whoever's wearing the brown color? I was going to guess Arin but the grapple makes it seem like it can't be him, so maybe Cole?

Maybe this is them trying to get to the Tournament and the Guard dudes intercept them

So it looks like those might be spectator outfits...

Also, Geo supporting his man!!!!! We love Geo! Look at his happy face!!!!

Wouldn't really explain why some of the apparent competitors are wearing them though

I'm thinking this may be the scene where Cinder somehow gets Wyldfyre's power. And/or Wyldfyre isn't having a fun time because this looks eerily similar to the fight in Episode 2 that resulting in her leg being shattered

Yeah. Very similar.

And Cinder's using his Shatterspin powers in this fight too. Shit

And he's smiling as usual too...

Except his eyes aren't red this time. Possibly he completely shattered his soul (as he said he was willing to do in Part 1's finale) and no longer needs the gong to access the Shatterspin powers?

Better look at the tech staff. I like it.

Though thinking about it now it might be specifically for this obstacle course thing Sora's been doing.

Looks like that might be Heatwave catching Lloyd? (Based on the claws and the fact that he caught Lloyd using his tail rather than some possibly more harmful or violent way such as the claws or mouth)

Also looks like this'll be episode 11. Maybe episode 12 prior to getting to the Tournament.

Saw someone else ask why the Source Dragon of Motion is glowing over the Monastery and honestly I have the same question.

Maybe this is supposed to be the end of Episode 20 after they free her?

Or earlier on in the season where she might be telling them to go to the Tournament of the Sources (as she and the others might be scared of Ras being able to get to them if his team wins the Tournament)

Also, that sure is a way to end a teaser /pos

Also, looking at the fact that it'll be October rather than earlier like I thought it would be, I'm thinking the date of release might be the 24th if following the previous patterns of release dates (Thursdays and multiples/factors of 4). But at the same time that feels very late, so it might actually be an earlier week like that of the 10th. Which will break the multiples/factors of 4 pattern, but it could happen.

Also, we did not see Nokt at all during this teaser, which is kinda odd. Maybe Ras is waiting until the right moment to use him in the Tournament?

[alastair-1205]

Part 2 Spoilers ✨️✨️✨️

NAH BUT LIKE ARINS FIRST SPINJITZU TORNADO??? I don't have like a full theory about it but I feel like we all gotta be a little more insane about the fact that Arin was pulling put the shatterspin bullshit when he made his first full tornado.

Like that's not normal, even for Ras' training. We don't see that even from someone like Cinder who'd have some ambition to get a result like that. ITS JUST ARIN MAN!!

Like we've been told he has the potential to be a really skilled ninja, but I think this is the first time that's Actually being realized BUT ITS THROUGH FUCKING SHATTERSPIN! WHAT DOES IT MEAN??? WHY CAN HE DO THAT MAN?

[astroi]

He didn't do shatterspin. It was not his attack, he was being possessed by spirits/ghosts. He is somewhat conscious during the possession but not in control of his body.

shatterspin issue 2 spoilers

i am BEGGING that garmadon's shatterspin being blue has some kind of significance and isn't just a inconsistency

[dropletsofraine]

So Jay’s yellow lightning

So I said if my last post got to 60 notes I’d actually make a post on this and a certain mutual decided to be funny. Now here I am so allow me to share my thoughts on the change of color in Jay’s lighting because BOY do I have ideas. I’d also like to state this does have spoilers for part two of season two for Dragons Rising so if you haven’t seen it, LOOK AWAY!

so as we’ve seen, Jay’s lightning changes to a yellow rather than the blue is always has been. We really get to see this in one of the newest episode of Dragons Rising during Inside the Maze. So why would his lightning change like this?? And why am I over analyzing the color of a lego’s powers?? Because I think that this color change really does have a sort of significance.

Sure you COULD argue and say that the change in color was just a stylist choice to better fit with Dragons Rising animation but I don’t think that’s all it is. If you look at this image of Jay during the flash back with him and Cole fighting over the remote, his lightning is still blue. The lightning does not flicker between blue and yellow like it has been shown during the present setting of Dragons Rising, so it doesn’t seem to just be a stylistic choice.

Now onto Agent Walker. We get a brief scene of Jay as Agent Walker during part 1 of season 2 where his powers are shown. When we do see his lightning here, we see bits of yellow in it. Remember this is now the current timeline of Dragons Rising, so there’s clearly been some sort of change between that flash back, and the merge. But even here when the yellow does first show up his lightning isn’t completely yellow, it still has more blue than yellow to it. This is before he had been ‘saved’ by Ras, when he was still apart of the Administration. Or rather before he had shattered his goodness.

Into the Maze. What an episode. We FINALLY get to see Jay use his powers in battle here. When he does make his appearance in front of the ninja, we see him show off his lightning. NOW it is more yellow than blue, and at this point Jay has not exactly shattered his goodness yet however he’s very close to that point, as when he does put the mask on and Arin exclaim he’s going to shatter his goodness, we hear Lloyd say “I’m afraid he already has.” Hm. Kind of a strange thing to say, even if he WASN’T fighting Nya at this moment, it’s still strange to hear Lloyd so quickly assume Jay has lost himself. So, Lloyd himself must have sensed or seen some sort of change indicating that Jay is different. Now onto his fight with Nya, we see him use his powers to his full extent. His lightning is almost completely yellow at this point with only small bits of blue here and there.

The wolf mask. At this point, Jay has now used the wolf mask and shatterspin, he has shattered his goodness. From this point on, his lightning is almost completely yellow as he battles with Nya. Once he loses the fight and has his powers taken, it is shown as completely yellow when Roby takes it into the Elemental Cup. Even when Nya has Jay’s powers, they are still shown as yellow however as she shoots it up into the air, it does appear to be a bit more blue once again. And how does his lighting being yellow tie into Jay’s lost goodness?

Yellow. This color can have many many different meanings and different symbolism. However, yellow has had a HISTORY of being associated with betrayal. In history with the Spanish Inquisition, in religious history, yellow has always been connected to betrayal. People seen as traitors were tied to the color yellow. What else can yellow also tie to? Warnings and danger. The gradual change of Jay’s lighting becoming more and more yellow, Jay is coming closer and closer to losing himself. Yellow is a perfect color to use for Jay in his current state in Ninjago. It’s a bright color that grabs attention, bur can be almost overwhelming or even abrasive at times.

On a final note about his change from blue to yellow, let’s focus in on not the gain of yellow, but the loss of blue in his lighting. I’ve talked about the different meaning of yellow and how this can tie into Jay slowly becoming disconnected from himself and who he once was, but what about the blue in his powers? What can that signify?

Blue is a color commonly associated with memory, as it is a color the brain most easily and frequently remembers, such as notes written in blue pen may be easier to remember than notes written in black. What else has blue been known to represent? Tranquility, stability, and loyalty. All attributes Jay has lost as his lightning slowly changes. Even as Agent Walker, with his lightning being mostly blue still we see him still have hints of himself in there. However during Inside the Maze, he’s a completely different person. Ras’s influence is a lot scarier than you’d think, and just by looking at Jay we can see, that this is no longer the Jay Walker everyone knows. He’s lost himself and who knows when we’ll get him back.

IN CONCLUSION-

I am mentally unwell, and probably had no reason to type out this entire analysis over the color of lighting that Jay has. But here I am and maybe you guys wanna read this for whatever reason idk. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. I’m going to go pass out now.

[teshiee]

hi hiii this is my super awesome totally cool oc x canon!! the oc here is Finson, and i pair him with Garmadon!

(hit 'read more' if you're interested to know more about them :D)

This guy sprouted in my brain when i was reading Shatterspin and looking at survivalshipping screenshots, BEFORE i found out about survivalshipping. And my brain at the time was like, cheating isn't cool! Garmadon has a wife! (even though we haven't seen them interact in a while...) and poor Lloyd!

So i started imagining what Garmadon's life pre-Misako was like! Wu too, of course, but mainly Garmadon. These guys are canonically around thousands of years old, right? so they should atleast have some kind(s) of relationship(s) back then, right?

Down here shows the very beginning of it all...up to you if you'd like to read it, i really don't want to transcribe everything...ahah

Anyway, Finson is based on Vinny...hence the generic design. I imagine that somewhere deep in Garmadon's mind when he sees Vinny, he remembers Finson in some form! ..Though super vaguely. Like "hm, have i seen this guy somewhere?" but he doesn't really remember properly until, well, when i say he does. :]]

Finson lived by paddy fields, with his house hidden up on a hill among other houses within it's thick grove of trees. A small village!!! A special one, too. Why else would Garmadon ever have needed to visit it? eyh? eyhh??

P.s. If you've read this far, thank you!! Feel free to ask if you'd like to know more :] I'm still in the middle of figuring them out, too,,

[nyaskitten]

i may be stupid or have missed out but why is ras, a tiger, the leader of a wolf clan? is his leader a wolf?

Ras knew of the Wolf Clan and wanted to assmble the Five, so I think it's fair to assume he'd wanna utilize the Forbidden Five's army to help free them.

[childdevourer1]

🫡🫡🫡‼️

Me when I have assessments sandwiching the dragon rising release date

[taddymason]

Hello, This one is about the au from your Au.

How was that Jay and Kaida got a wolf form?

Ty for the answer.

I've been meaning to talk and draw more about this au for a while now so: In this au, the Forbidden 5 have developed, before Shatterspin, a shapeshifter technique with Theraxian magic to use the form of wolves.

The technique is originally made only to be used by elemental masters, hence why Jordana had the bad luck of being just a small pomeranian.

Unlike their condition of not using Shatterspin, Jay and Kaida can't say much against this requirement to join, but they end up agreeing because at least the cost isn't as brutal as literally losing your soul.

Kaida obviously ends up being the more enthusiastic of the two to learn this technique as soon as possible, and she would use it constantly too.

They can continue using the technique even after betraying Ras because everything here has to have permanent effects (and bc I say so)

The technique requires knowing at least some Theraxian magic to learn, so even after Jay and Kaida join the team, none of the ninja are particularly keen on learning it for the same reason they don't use spinjitzu. Bc dark magic, you know. And because Jay and Kaida were only able to learn it because Ras taught them+ they're both first learners; so neither of them are very good at teaching how it works.

All of the Forbidden Five are the size of a direwolf, except for Rox who is even smaller than Kaida (Jay and her are the size of normal wolves)

Now Nya not only has to deal with her fiancé joining a furry cult, having a daughter, losing an eye, but also the fact that he and said hellspawn can turn into wolves.

[sepublic]

Hold up. The Theroxian language was created by the Forbidden Five to cast evil spells. Out of the Wolf Clan, we have Ras the leader, a bunch of generic Wolf Mask warriors… And two named characters; Cinder and Jordana. Cinder is meant to be an Elemental Master wielding Shatterspin in lieu of an actual member of the Forbidden Five. By that logic, Jordana fills a similar niche as a user of Theroxian magic.

Jordana is later possessed by Rox, who is also able to wield magic; It’s implied this is how she possessed Jordana. Even if that was just her Elemental power (possibly Magic), she still knew magic at all to design and later use it in Jordana’s body. Between Nokt making Cinder redundant and Rox practically taking Jordana’s place, I guess this makes Cinder and Jordana sibling parallels but if they only hated each other.

More importantly!!! Rox. Theroxian. TheROXian.

Did Rox devise this magical language to cast spells, and it was named the Rox language. Before being the Roxian language, to make it an adjective. And at some point a Writer of Destiny missed the space and misread it as like. Theroxian language. And this is one of the first things Rox learns after eons of imprisonment. Instead of just her name it’s. The Rox.

Imagine if it was another member of the five;

Thenoktian

Thezarktian

Thedrixian

Thekurian

Thejayian

[writing-hat]

shattering

/!\ Spoilers for Dragons Rising S2P2!

(very original title) hiii i'm still not dead <3 sorry i'm not active but y'know. life.

here's a jay fic!! about him experiencing shatterspin for the very first time but this is actually more me trying to make the wolf masks kinda gory and made out of flesh it's. it's an experiment. as well as like. physical effects

i'm just having fun and trying out some things (ig it's not really a fic then but idk adfkjsegd)

/!\ TW : Blood, Gore, Wounds, Death (tell me if I forgot something)

Also not beta read and I don't read that well behind myself yaddi yadda y'know the drill (especially since this is more of a bunch of scraps assembled together and not a real fic akfjzsgv (I might cross post it on AO3 at some point we'll see))

This is around 6.8k words so it's half a short? anyway enjoy

Jay narrowed his eyes at the mask he held.

It seemed to be looking back at him. And to be frank, he wasn’t a fan of how it looked back.

A shiver crawled down his spine as he passed his fingers on the front. It was meant to be a mask, but the fact that there was hair there, even if short, was somewhat disturbing to realize. He didn’t know how to feel about the idea that these could be made of real fur. Or worse, that they were somewhat organic, and used to be alive.

He checked the eyes; they seemed colorless, and dull, when inactivated. Glassy.

Dead.

That last realization brought relief. Yeah, it was dead.

Whatever it was.

He knew he was supposed to put that shit on at some point, but… it didn’t seem like a great idea, in hindsight. At least that’s what his guts were telling him.

His mind was on a whole other setting. He trusted Ras, after all. Why shouldn’t he? He had saved him, from the insanity that the Administration had been.

Thank goodness this is over. He was grateful to the man, and had taken the time to hear his interests, and plans. Things Jay wasn’t bothered by, too big to be of a concern to him. But since they were important to his savior, well, who was he to refuse helping him?

He passed a hand on the fur again, before turning it around to see the inside. He winced.

It had been… somewhat ‘polished’, but one could not look away from the flesh that had probably been ripped apart from some unfortunate creature, the whole mask made of stitches between different kinds of skin. But he didn’t dare to touch it to confirm his fears. Had it been the same specie, every time? He did wonder if asking himself that wasn’t the most unimportant question of all.

Living beings had to die, for these masks to be made.

Jay hated how his brain was sure of it.

That, and there was some… sort of taint, at the bottom of it. Where the mouth was supposed to be.

It wasn’t on all the masks, but enough of them had it to pique Jay’s curiosity.

He hadn’t talked about it to Lord Ras yet, of course. He doubted others had noticed what these visages were made of. He wasn’t even sure how he had noticed the details in the first place.

Perhaps due to his weird anxious nature about everything that’s been happening since starting his life in the Administration. His only life, actually, since he couldn’t remember shit from before.

The medallion felt heavy in his pocket. Its sudden presence making itself known made him frown.

This piece of metal was all that was left to him. He wasn’t even sure how the ones that had found him in the Land of Madness hadn’t taken that away from him, just like all his previous belongings.

He placed the mask back in its place, giving it a final glare, before walking away.

He looked at himself, unsure of what to think of his clothes.

They were comfy, that was for sure. Much better then the suit he’d been forced to wear for years in this damned Administration. And looking much better. He did enjoy the patterns that had been added to go along his powers. Symbols of wolf could be seen as well, on his chest, making sure people would know which clan he belonged to- in case the mask wouldn’t be enough.

But the fur covering his neck, and the gloves… he didn’t like as much. They hid away scars, important parts of himself.

Then again, he still had the ones on his face, definitely due to his own powers when it came to the lightning paths, and probably from fights where there were cuts, and skin that had been torn.

He wasn’t a fan of keeping them away.

But, having his body completely protected when it was clear he was going to fight in the future wasn’t that bad of an idea. Are we going to fight now? Jay doubted it. A lot of the new recruits had probably no idea of what they were getting into. Had probably been enrolled with the idea that they were going to become better fighters, with something close to powers. Lots of people didn’t listen fully when about to drastically change their lives, he had seen it many times in the Administration.

With a heavy sigh, he passed a hand on his face. To be honest, Jay hadn’t thought that long about this idea of joining Lord Ras’s forces as well.

But I owe him. He was there when no one had tried to help. It was all that mattered.

Jay could hear people getting closer. He turned around, seeing Cinder and Ras coming towards him.

The latter still had the same expression as always, severe, and mildly pissed off at people for breathing in front of him. The master of smoke, on the other hand, often had a smug expression there, knowing he was above everyone else, and enjoying it way too much. Not too far from them, he could see Jordana, the sort of witch- he didn’t completely understand what her deal was- who looked away as soon as she saw Jay noticing her.

He didn’t get to focus on that, though, when Ras made sure to be the only thing in his vision.

“I take it you’re ready for today.”

No. Not at all. But this wasn’t what their Lord wanted to hear. “Yes.” He took a deep breath, doing his best to resist the need to fidget with the fur around his collar.

“A first test, to make sure everything will go smoothly for the first battle.” Cinder chuckled at Jay’s expression, before handing him the wolf mask. “You’re lucky to try it before the real deal, Jay.”

He glared at Cinder. “Yeah. I guess so.”

Though, with how the master of smoke was looking at him, mocking, he wouldn’t call any of this luck.

Inhaling sharply, he tried to not let himself show how nervous he felt. He hadn’t expected to wear it so soon. He grabbed the mask that was given to him, nauseous at how he was about to wear unknown skin on his own.

He tried to compare it to leather, but fuck that had nothing in common. He passed trembling fingers on the inside, wanting to confirm his fears.

…Yup. Organic tissues. It was repulsing.

Cinder quirked an eyebrow. “Are you hesitant now?”

There was a threatening growl coming from Ras that echoed with the other’s words. Jay closed his eyes, and shook his head. At least… there weren’t any smell to go with the thing. “No. Not at all.”

“Good.” Ras crossed his arms behind his back, walking towards the arena. “Then get ready. You will be tested along our new soldiers.”

Soldiers. Why did he hate that designation? Wasn’t he supposed to be more, with his elemental power?

He adverted his gaze, focusing it back on the inside of this mask. “Sure.”

It was the first time he entered the shadow dojo. The outside had been eerie, with nothing but the strange orange and red light on their paths, but the inside was a whole other deal.

It was… poorly lighted, somehow, despite the bright lights coming from outside, with candles offering a soft blue glow all around them. He wasn’t sure how the flames managed to stay in that hue, but couldn’t really focus on that when he was trying to avoid all the others that entered with him. Some were chatting, apparently already knowing each other.

Jay didn’t want to know anyone in here. He didn’t see the point.

There were runes everywhere as well. He had no idea of what they meant, but they were glistening too, in that same color as the candles. Plants had grown as well on the wall, somehow.

He sat on the ground, unbothered to stay up like the others. From here, he could see that the only one on the ground like him was someone with a large hat, covering most of his face. His eyes were revealed briefly when he raised his head to watch who had come here for the first trial, allowing Jay to recognize him.

He was the guy he had seen many times speak with Ras. Although speak was a light statement; more so yelling and arguing, with the latter always having the last word, letting the other clearly frustrated.

Nokt. That was his name. He remembered him due to the electrical device placed on the back of his head. Even if he wasn’t sure he had heard his name right earlier, since it seemed like he preferred to keep to himself, as proved when he lowered his hat down again, effectively shielding his expression away from everyone else.

But there was something Jay managed to see before he did.

A spark of amusement, of all things, akin to one about to watch some sort of entertainment unfold.

…Jay didn’t think he was going to like that guy.

His attention shifted back to their leader, when he hit the ground with his hammer. He gave a speech, one Jay half-listened to, about being ready to change their lives for this better form of power, and so on and so on. Monologues are always so tiring.

…Where had he heard boring monologues like these before?

A glimpse of- something, from before, barely there, that escaped him as soon as he tried to look for it, smothered away by another hit of Lord Ras’s hammer against the ground, and someone getting on their feet and walking to the center of the room. Jay thanked his luck helping out for once, since he definitely wouldn’t have heard his name if he had been first.

Watching the guy, he gave way to his urge, and started to play with the fur around his neck to keep himself calm. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like his anxiety was eating him alive, starting with his insides, and pulling on his guts and get him to run away from there as fast as he could.

He gnawed on his lip. He couldn’t make himself worry about nothing. This was just… apprehension, that came with every test he had to take.

Except if he failed this one, he might’ve to be forced back into the Administration. Damn it.

Deciding on ignoring the painful cramps his overreacting unconscious gave him, he focused back on the scene before him, observing the one that had been called.

The guy nodded his head to Lord Ras, and placed the mask on his face. Jay winced, clutching his other hand around the one he was holding; he really didn’t want to know how centuries old flesh would feel on his face. But he supposed he had no choice.

Holding his breath as Ras approached the gong, he tried to think of the power that wearing this mask would mean for him. He knew there was something about a forbidden technique of some sort, the Shatterspin, which he’d been taught the basics, but what about his powers? What would be the effects?

He’d seen Cinder. He’d seen how much quicker and agile he became whenever the mask would fuse with him, and gift him an armor instead of staying as a mask. The red eyes, he wasn’t that fan of, but if it meant finding who he was supposed to be, by feeling his powers better then ever before…

The scar under his left eye throbbed, forcing him to rub it. Not that he didn’t feel his power now, but he didn’t quite think he had a good grasp on it. He managed a few zaps here and there, and sparks to help him when it was completely dark, but other then that, not much else.

There is potential within you, Jay Walker. These had been Lord Ras’s words.

And he couldn’t wait to unleash that potential.

The gong was hit a first time.

Jay jumped out of his skin when the one put on trial shrieked in pain. Someone beside him gasped, letting him know that he definitely wasn’t the only one to be surprised.

He walked back, holding his face in pain and doubling over as the mask’s glowed that bright cyan. Not letting him the time to rest, or even wonder what was happening to him, the gong was hit a second time with a sound that echoed all around them. It was enough to make the room shake, and dust fall from the unexpectedly stable walls of this place. All the blue lights turned red.

The guy screamed again. Jay watched as he tried to remove the mask, pulling on his hair when trying to remove the strap that kept it in place. But it didn’t budge, despite his knuckles turning white from the force he was using for this one thing.

Jay felt sick, witnessing all this. Glancing around, he noticed how disappointed Lord Ras looked, and the way Cinder let his disgust appear.

…Shit.

His attention shifted back to the man in the center when he heard him puke. From here, he couldn’t really see what came out, and couldn’t help his flinch when the sound of retching reached his ears.

Chocking sounds could then be heard. It surely didn’t help when he threw his head back, gasping for air, too far gone to realize that he was making things worse.

Jay couldn’t look away from him. Doing so… doing so would mean he wasn’t cut for this role. It would mean showing weakness, and not being worthy of the chance offered to him.

Doing so would mean abandoning the man to his fate, a far side of his brain whispered. Jay took a deep breath, brushing that thought aside, just like he always had back in the Administration. Kindness and pity weren’t the way to go when one wanted to master Shatterspin, and the power of the Wolf Clan. He remembered Ras’s warnings too well.

Speaking of which, he couldn’t help but check a second time their leader, breath getting stuck in his throat when he did.

Lord Ras was watching them, not the poor guy struggling to survive against the surges of powers that went in his body forcefully. He was quick to understand; he wanted to see who was able to stomach it, and who would be useless in the future to him. And fuck, Jay didn’t think he could do that, but he didn’t have a choice. His body and mind didn’t have a choice.

The man screamed in pure pain and terror one last time, turning Jay’s insides. His hands grabbed at his skin, scratching with abnormal nails that had grown after the gong had been hit a third time. It made deep wounds, forcing crimson to pour out, but it seemed like the man couldn’t care less, just wanting to get rid of that cursed mask.

He heaved, then coughed, falling on his knees with a final yell, yielding to the pressure of energy that must’ve been coursing through his body. Unable to adapt.

And then…

He fell to the ground.

As soon as he did, the red lights came back to the blue hue they had first seen when entering the room.

When others gasped, and some cried, one, Jay heard a snicker. He looked around, trying to see who was sick enough to have that kind of reaction to someone dropping dead in front of them.

He frowned when he found out who.

Now he knew why Nokt had seemed amused at the beginning. He must’ve known this could happen. What a fucking psychopath. He looked away from him, and back at the center of the dojo.

Ras growled, stomping his boot on the ground at the result. He then turned towards Wolf Warriors, a finger pointed at the now dead man. “Get it out of here. We aren’t done yet.”

Shit. Shit. Jay swallowed hard, unable to look away from the blood, as well as the one the corpse left behind when pulled away in a messy trail.

Their leader hit the ground with his hammer, demanding attention from everyone in the room. “The reason he failed, was his resilience against our power. To become powerful, one must learn to bend to the rules that make it all. Only then, can you be one with the Wolf Clan’s powers.” He pointed his weapon towards the recruits, snarling when most of them took a step back in front of it. “Another one of his mistake was doubting me, and being a coward.”

His eyes scanned the room, glaring. “If any of you feel that way as well, you may as well leave. Now.”

That would be a mistake. Yet, some people immediately hurried out, not needing to be told twice. Not a lot- four of them, he counted. Jay closed his eyes, and tried to ignore how two Wolf Warriors followed after them, their claws ready.

What had he gotten himself into? What was going to happen to him?! How many others were going to die? Not that he questioned of the others’ loyalty, but there was no doubt that witnessing that guy’s death must’ve changed their will to join.

Now that Jay knew this was the consequence of failure… fuck. Fuck. His guts were twisting in there, hurting his stomach physically, at this point. His ears were ringing, clouding his mind from everything else. What if all that he had done, all this ‘surviving’ shit, had only lead to his demise?

Jay clenched his fists. He’d never allow that. Cinder had managed to do it, so why wouldn’t he?

This was an opportunity. To find purpose, and a place where he would belong. He couldn’t screw this up. He wasn’t a damn coward. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to fight back the power that was about to allow him a new beginning.

This was a cruel world after all. Hadn’t he learned that over and over again? And he couldn’t be at the bottom of it all just because others weren’t able to keep up.

He would not. He would survive through it all, no matter what it meant to wear that mask.

No matter the price.

Ras called his name. He was the second one to be tested.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his head, and faced the Lord’s eyes with a fierce glare.

Slowly, he got up, ignoring how his stomach still felt like a pit, and how his head was still hurting from the panic he had felt earlier when seeing that man die, his pulse somehow perceivable in his ears.

Still, he got to the center of the room. Only when he did, his eyes found themselves unable to detach from the splatters of blood everywhere. Some were older. Some were on the walls.

They had all witnessed that many times, hadn’t they? And they hadn’t told anyone.

It was… it was…

He took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to loose it.

A dark paw handed the mask to him. It allowed Jay to focus his eyes in front of him, and away from the red splatters. Something he regretted doing, when meeting Ras’s eyes.

They were harsh, and unforgiving.

Jay couldn’t mess up.

He was being given a chance. A chance, that could be taken back, and handed to any other elemental master. He wasn’t the only one gifted after all, Cinder was the proof of that. Ras didn’t need him for this grand plan; he had an army, and people ready to follow his every order.

On the other hand, Jay needed Ras. And he owed that new chance at freedom, to him.

Straightening up, he grabbed his mask, and tried to not think back on how it was made of skin. Instead, he tried to concentrate on how there was metal there as well. When tying the strap behind his head, he tried to not remember how the one before him hadn’t been able to remove it when wanting to escape.

No turning back.

Darkness cornered his vision, the latter becoming defined by the constricted sight given to him.

Once settled, he placed both his arms along his body, and nodded to Ras with a dry throat. The latter growled, rearranging his hold on the hammer.

The gong was hit a first time.

The wave of its sound exploded in the room, reaching Jay’s body. It froze him, both his physical shell, and thoughts. Everything had gone silent in his mind, and around him. And he wasn’t sure if this was due to the effect of its power.

Even breathing seemed impossible, in these short seconds. He was completely petrified, finding himself feeling as if he’d been stuck in something so dense and heavy, holding him back. No noise could make it out of his mouth, despite the pain that had started to build up in both his face and chest.

Something had cracked inside of him.

Just as he sensed it, the gong was hit a second time.

It felt like a blow to his chest, making him back away. His bones felt breaking as he did, making him wonder if they could’ve been weakened by the power he had been hoping to obtain.

His ears unblocked. It caused him to be suddenly dizzy, and made his head heavy with the lack of oxygen.

Then his breath hitched, as soon as he noticed the paralyzing effect was gone.

Like breaking out of shallow waters and reaching the surface, he gasped, greedily sucking air. His legs wobbled, making him feel like he was about to loose balance, as both his hands reached for his neck to protect the precious air he was barely able to keep in his trachea.

His skin was itchy everywhere. Something was going on inside of him, turning his veins icy cold.

Something was wrong, and hurting. Something was very wrong.

The rush of his blood too was fast, and strong, making him think that his blood vessels were doubling in size, and perhaps stretching his skin as it grew, leading to his articulations becoming harder to move. It left the impression that everything was about to blow inside of him.

For a second, he wondered if he had died, and if he was about to fall on the floor, just like the man before him had, but then realized that the sound of his heartbeat was still there, and as fucking loud as it was quick.

He was alive. He was-

The gong was hit for the third, and last time.

The final wave forced him to puke, which he went along with, trying his best to not suffocate with it like the first guy. A blink, and he noticed that it was blood, coming out from his mouth in worrying amounts.

His insides abruptly felt like shattering, and he yelled, as his whole body seemed burning up, a harsh and painful contrast compared to what he’d been feeling seconds ago.

Jay wasn’t able to keep a shriek from escaping him, when the power he’d felt in him for as long as he could remember reached for his limbs, and exploded. The scent of burning skin made it to his nostrils, and he held his middle, as if trying to stop his insides from escaping him like his powers had. Only when he did, he sensed his lightning breaking apart.

Millions of pieces, made of parts of his powers, going absolutely insane, and making his body spasm.

Getting electrocuted was a familiar feeling. One he despised, but was never able to escape for too long when it came to dealing with his own incompetence and ignorance. Or when he would redirect lighting on their ship, to protect the ones he cared about.

But just like his power, these thoughts were shattered, making him cry, as his head hurt too much for him to keep up with.

So he didn’t.

He let these words and images get torn into pieces, shards feeling like they came to his heart, pulling his whole torso in a constricting sensation that once again made him think like he was about to die, just like that. The boiling sensation kept on increasing, causing his whole body to feel like he was burning alive.

Something clicked, then, and his vision became too blurry to understand. The red lights made it so he didn’t know where he was anymore, the distant image of people he used to know breaking apart again and again, causing his mind to shatter as well.

And once it was all gone, he vomited again, hugging himself tightly as if trying to at least keep his body in one piece. His shoulders slowly felt heavier, and the fur that had been around his sensitive skin suddenly ceased to be.

Though this was the last thing Jay cared about, as he fell to his knees, the collide with the ground making his bones almost rattle. The way his fingers kept twitching made him wonder how they hadn’t broken yet.

His breathing was difficult, with a voice that had turned hoarse at yells and cries of pain he hadn’t even been aware to be letting out.

He was about to die. He didn’t know how the feeling was so familiar, perhaps due to the blood that accumulated in his breathing pipes, akin to water, filling his lungs until there could be no air passing through. His heartbeat was diminishing, yet it stayed as the only thing Jay could hear.

So he caught it. He caught his heart, for it was all that was left to him.

His will to stay alive. His will to have something of his own, that would make him whole.

And it was a heart burning with rage.

This, was what pulled all the pieces back. What once had tried to escape him, was now caught back by the sheer amount of anger he felt at how fate and destiny had treated him.

What does it mean? The question went away as soon as it brushed his mind, the violent waves of power crushing anything that wasn’t meant to be like it away.

Thoughts. Feelings.

They no longer mattered.

All that mattered was power. Stitching back all that had been separated.

His lightning felt growing. Launching itself and balancing his body in positions and forms that meant both a cry for a help and the picture of a violent force forbidding anyone to get close.

Then came the fusion.

The skin that made the inside of the mask slithered in through his pores, pulling and tearing its way through to have full possession of him, and share its cursed strength to the one that had dared to agree with its ways. Jay wanted to wonder if this was what it meant to meddle with dark magic.

But he couldn’t even do that, screaming again with his broken voice at the violent intrusion he had allowed for someone else’s game.

Foolish. Foolish. He always was foolish.

The foreign matter didn’t bother to be careful, before settling in- although not without damaging the inside of his mouth some more. It forced out more blood out, kicking out whatever was left that wouldn’t be useful to this newfound power.

A final deep breath, and Jay felt…

Liberated.

Gone, was the weight that had been caused by his soul and mind shattering and leaving behind too many pieces to carry. His whole body now felt light, lungs freed enough to give him as much space as needed for the air he needed to live.

The power felt lurking in his systems, flowing and giving him feelings he’d never felt before.

It was pure bliss.

After a few minutes, Jay blinked, his vision coming back, although with nothing to muffle it this time. The euphoric sensation slowly escaped him, letting reality settle back in his mind. Feelings of what was around and on him came back, making him tighten his fists.

He felt as though his sweat had drenched all of his clothes, along the blood. His chest kept expanding in grand moves, each breath making his body quiver, as he tried to catch his breath properly, and return oxygen to his brain.

When he did, his head returned to its previous heavy state, with each pulse increasing the pressure at an impossible rate. Yet, this stayed incredibly dull compared to what having worn the mask the first time had felt like.

He opened and closed his mouth, stretching his jaw to check if it hadn’t changed, or if the muscles there hadn’t torn apart. They had certainly felt so. He checked his limbs as well, particularly his hands, by opening and closing them multiple times.

Everything was good, it seemed.

Bringing his hands up, he checked his face, wanting to make sure everything was still there, and if he hadn’t just imagined the mask going inside of his skin.

But he hadn’t. The mask wasn’t here anymore.

He rubbed at his neck, but scratched himself, making him hiss. He looked at his hands.

Claws had grown, there. The gloves hadn’t even torn, having adapted to the new form they had gained. Closing his eyes, he then oversaw how his powers reacted to the newly added strength.

The response was immediate, surge of powers making his body twitch, and forcing him to gasp for air again. Opening back his eyes, he saw these bridges of electricity between his fingers, going all the way to the tip of his fingers, before disappearing, over and over again.

He chuckled, snapping his fingers. It created a small blow, enough to shake his curls. He then got back up, not bothered to look at the people around him, despite the loud whispers. Directing his gaze in front of him, he then aimed for a wall with his fingers, before sending his lightning there.

The stone that made the wall exploded, pieces of wood and rocks flying everywhere in the room, and allowing dust to float freely.

Jay snickered, feeling this happy buzzing inside of him, always here in the aftermath.

Fuck yeah.

He had missed this so much.

…I wonder who thisused to be.

Walking away from the gravestone, he added the wood to the fire he had prepared for the night.

A caravan was in that junkyard, but he didn’t feel like he was allowed to get inside, even if no one was there. No matter how cold it could get in the desert at night, this wasn’t his home, and he was simply there as a guest. He wasn’t even sure why he had traveled all the way here, but by the time he had realized where he had gone to, the sun had been long gone, leaving him with no choice but to set up camp here.

At least this spot was empty. It was a welcoming change compared to the crowded and suffocating places that had been the Administration or staying with the Wolf Clan. Although he had always been on his own in these previous positions, here the loneliness was one much better then what he’d dealt with in these last few years.

Jay hoped that there at least wouldn’t be any wild creatures to attack him. Fighting back without his powers had proven to be more difficult then he had expected. Thankfully, he had kept the gun from his time in the Administration; a great way to defend himself.

He sat on the ground, and looked at the fire crackling in front of his feet, relieving the itch on his face by scratching it as much as he could. No doubt his skin had not only turned red, but with marks left behind as well. Damn it.

…Being without that mask was going to be very hard. It had adapted to his skin- or maybe it had gifted him a second one. He wasn’t sure. He didn’t understand any of this.

All he knew, was that whenever he had been wearing it, even if for a short time, it had been granting him such an incredible thrill that he already knew just couldn’t be compared.

Oh, he had felt like he was on top of the world. As if nothing could’ve ever stopped his powers and him, from getting back at everything that had been unfair to him up to this point.

Now, all he had left were scars. From wearing this cursed mask, and bearing these powers that had never been truly his, but another’s hidden through his own element.

Jay had no idea if he missed the mask, its power, or if this was all caused by how much he missed his lightning.

His eye twitched; he should’ve listened to his urge, in that moment, and killed her. Destroyed her. And now that he hadn’t, the feeling of regret was unbearable.

He wanted to tear at his skin, but he didn’t even have the claws left for that. Only his poorly taken care of nails, dirty and gnawed by his need to relieve his anxiety and surges of powers every time he hadn’t been wearing the mask.

…Jay missed it all, as much as he cursed it all.

Had he not followed Ras, he would have never lost his powers. Had he stayed in the Administration, in this false life of his, he would have never been bothered by flashes and addictions he had never been prepared to face. He would’ve found his own way to his demise, sure, but at least through a path never led by others.

How had any of what I heard so farsounded right? How could I fall for their lies?

Jay frowned, thinking back on what he had listened to again. He didn’t believe them at all. Their fake stories…

Everyone lies. They’re all the same. Great warrior my ass. Jay now didn’t doubt that Ras could’ve lied to him, and it upset him greatly. What for?! To give him hope, and then crush it all in the next moment because of his so called failure? Gah!

He thought back on that woman he had fought. She too, had pretended to know him.

The sweet tone he could remember from her voice made him grit his teeth.

Even if she and her team had been right, why had they never come for him? It had been years. He had found himself all over again, since then.

“Let’s theorize that it was because they had no idea of where I was. Fine.” Jay clenched his fists. “Why didn’t they come get me when I was kicked out?”

His words were barely above a whisper, not even heavy enough to be carried around by the wind.

He stopped moving, forbid himself from flinching, focusing on the sounds of the burning fire so he could shift it as a background noise so his brain wouldn’t have to bother itself with. He then closed his eyes, and just… listened.

Strong wind, making the abandoned metal around him creak softly, and passing through small and tight openings, whistling all around him.

Deep down, he knew he waited for another noise. The snap of a branch, or the crunch of the sand under someone’s shoe that would make his hair bristle in apprehension. The sign that someone would come for him.

So he waited.

Until moments later, silence was still all that answered him.

He cursed, bringing his knees up to hug them, and huddle in a smaller position.

Jay didn’t know what else he had expected. Of course this wouldn’t happen.

He was alone. He’d always be, in the end. And it seemed like… he wasn’t enough. Not enough to make up for the help given to him, nor enough for people that were supposed to care about him to come back and find him. Loneliness was all that awaited him. He understood that.

… And despite feeling like this, he didn’t feel as he thought low he would’ve.

No. Quite the contrary.

Jay was… appeased. After all, that meant he could finally build a life. Even if it wouldn’t be much.

Throughout the years, he had learned that he had to move forward in order to survive. To do as told, and never question what he was ordered to do, or face consequences. Whether it had been the Administration, or Ras’s Wolf Clan.

So now, knowing for sure that no one and nothing was going to hold him back was freeing. Enough to get rid of these incessant thoughts bugging his mind, at least. Yet not quite enough to get rid of that pressure in his stomach.

Because all of this meant that he had nothing. He never had, and he never would. It left him… empty.

At the end of the day, it meant that he was nothing.

He watched the sparks escaping the fire. Like lightning’s, in a sense, but much less volatile, and not as comforting. He followed their trails, until his gaze ended up towards the stars. Had he known their names, a lifetime ago? The paths they traced, and how they never changed?

But it must’ve changed after the Merge. There was no doubt about that. Even something supposed to never be in motion except throughout centuries had completely shifted, no matter how infinite and big it must’ve always felt to him.

Everything had changed.

How was he supposed to find his past self if nothing was the same?

I don’t. That’s how. There was no need to waste time for something so meaningless. At least he hoped.

He sighed, glad to be protected from the chill of the night.

Warmth whenever it was cold was always a better thing. It was a comforting presence he had never admitted to enjoy in front of him. His… his heart kinda regretted that now.

Jay blinked at the dark sky.

…Who-

Something flashed before his eyes, too fast for him to identify what it was. It aimed for him, reaching its target in a millisecond.

Lightning had just struck him.

He shouted, feeling his powers immediately coming back to him, making him fall on his hands and knees.

Fuck. He hated that feeling. The one of his body getting electrocuted by his own life source, because he just couldn’t control it right.

Come on! He hit the ground with his fist, spitting on the grass as he grasped at the insanity of his power. He kept gritting his teeth, until finally, the lightning settled in, and buzzed happily to be back in its rightful place, with its rightful owner.

Jay took a deep breath. Yeah. Missed you too.

Since the start, his lightning had been the only thing there for him. To be reunited with it again brought tears to his eyes, both of joy, and anger.

At having lost them in the first place. At losing them to that damned water ninja.

I love you, Jay. I will always love you.

The memory of the woman’s desperate face flashed back when he shut his eyes to get rid of his tears.

An act. It wasn’t that difficult to pretend emotions after all, was it?

If he ever saw her again… he was pretty sure he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her.

She hadn’t hesitated to defeat him. Pretty fucked up for someone who was supposed to care, like she wanted him to believe.

Or maybe she’d been following orders, like I was.

Jay shook his head. Whatever the reason, it clearly wouldn’t justify anything. Nor would it tarnish the way his heart dripped hatred into his blood, making him even angrier then before.

The medallion felt heavy in his pocket.

Too heavy, this time.

He took it, and looked at the shape.

…It was a missing piece. He could see that now.

Jay didn’t want to be that. The missing piece of someone instead of being his own person. Of a puzzle he had nothing to do with.

What kind of life could he expect if all he was supposed to be was a pawn placed by others, and never able to have his own free will? The piece in a long chain of supposed important people. Full of important tasks, to serve the greater good of some kind of Great Administration, or a Great Cause of some Delusional Clan.

He’d be no one’s missing piece. No one’s lost part.

He was his own soul. No matter how shattered it felt, and how many little pieces of it were left.

Jay threw the heavy piece in the fire, the weight in his heart never tarnishing during the long time he watched it in the flames, as the moon advanced its course. He stayed that way, holding his limbs tightly against him, while taking deep yet suffocating breaths.

Until, it finally started to melt.

The slightest tint of gold, pearling down as it became a liquid again, and advanced on the darker metal it was attached to.

Never again.

[localguy2]

Valid asf, I've honestly sorta given up on semi decent Canon Zane arc or trait, his character is bland and boring atm, he's been heavily nerfed in comparison both in terms of just brute strength and element

Like seriously, given everything that's happened and when comparing him to someone like Nya, who controls water and has partial control over Ice, it calls into question why Ice was even a core element instead of water (obviously 2011 and 2024 Ninjago are 2 different things but you get my question)

Touching a bit more on his element, I'm honestly really really tired of how badly utilised it is in show, it's to the point that ice doesn't make water anymore (S2P1 in the Desert and Crystalized also I'm the Desert), it can't even hold up against enemies well (S1P1 in Imperium and God damn Zur somehow (and this is comparing it to SEASON 1 WHERE THE MASTER OF EARTH'S FOOT WAS ENCASED BY IT)), and even when it's used it's used very very poorly

Like think of how Ice could be used for a moment: For making sharp on-the-go weapons, cornering opponents by summoning ice walls or spikes behind/around them, making ice armor to absorb any shock or physical trauma, or just even ICE PILLERS for an easy escape or quick height advantage

And this is only touching on Zane's element, I won't even get into his character and how CANONICALLY, we've yet to get a proper address of how traumatising his death in S3 was (I'd like to note, it's addressing the truama brought on by a traumatic expiernce, not what S4 gave us, which was addressing how he might have not been himself even)

Then you've got the stuff with Echo that was just, never brought up (whether you see Echo as an actual character or just "Zane's brother") and how that might've affected his out look on Julien ((tbf this is more of a Skybound problem then a show problem so I'll allow it)

Then there's the Ice Emperor who WAS addressd really well in fact but it was in... A book, 4 seasons and a special after the deed was already done and dusted

Then there's the lack of explanation regarding the show's stuble hints of him tampering with his memories (The march of the Oni set shorts and the Spinjitzu Virtues shorts)

Then there's the lack of reaction regarding something like him being just a robotic character for exposition and plot device or heck even characterless, so much so to the point are starting to doubt if he, in universe, sees worth in himself a lot (aham that one scene with The Administration, his whole "Hightined Emotions" line, the Wyldfyre voice lines (which all could me interpreted differently but from my own POV that's how it looks like at least, feel free to disagree tbh I wouldn't mind it), and just ughhhhh-

Zane's character has never been in a worse state, and it's even worse when you consider that not even the writers seem to be realising they're doing all of this intentionally

Like take the part where Zane calls Arin cringe and think about it for a moment

Zane, the show's definitive little guy since S1, calling a Teenager Ninja in-training (who is likely his same age or younger when he started with the ninja), struggling with being lied to by his best friend among other things going on in the season

How does that make any sense

Answer: it doesn't

Dragons Rising Season 3 predictions about Zane

Does nothing

Decides if everyone else is going to go out and find people then by golly he is going out and finding Pixal (maybe gets leads by going through the Administration's archives)

We get a flashback sequence about Pixal through Zane's dreaming or because he is missing her

Does nothing

Frog plush comes back

Him and Nya have a conversation of missing their loved ones PLEASE HAVE THIS HAPPEN PLEASE

If he does end up finding Pixal, they both work together and fix the mech that is coming out in this next set wave

Does nothing