#lloyd side story spoilers

[tgedphotos]

Side Story 1 - “Sir Javier Asrahan's Wish”

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[ying-doodles]

// novel spoilers (side story 3 / chp 406)

... okay yes charlotte is cute. lloyd influencing her into making contracts for everything was very him and him setting cheek kisses as the reward for the "contract" was very sweet- :>

... but how the fck did charlotte also get the system?? "... as though it was fated." what part of fate needs to be more involved in making what's soon to be the world's most overpowered child who's not even 7 yet??

like they already said she has her mom's swordfighting capabilities and her dad's wit and intellect, not to mention also having fcking javier the grandmaster as her mentor- I don't think she needs the system's help??

and all that for just a special summon for her birthday gift?? that's wild. (I'm not saying it's a bad thing but like. for why-)

[soralymystaken]

I think a lot about Lloyd and Harumi, solely because they have one of the most unique yet complex relationship dynamics in all of Ninjago, and it’s something I don’t feel like we talk about enough.

So often I see online that their dynamic is overly simplified. I so often see people arguing between them being “true-love” or “friends to lovers to enemies,” but stating it’s just one of those is overlooking all of the complexities. Even stating it as a one-sided thing from Lloyd isn’t looking at the whole picture. Of course, there can be many interpretations of how they interact. Again, that’s the reason I adore this dynamic so much. This, however, is my personal interpretation:

Also, warning, spoilers plus some swearing.

At the beginning, we see Lloyd have the whole “love-at-first-sight” trope, and we learn that Harumi invited him into the castle. While, of course this immediately is seemed as a positive interaction, later events reveal otherwise. It continues like this: Lloyd falls deeper in love with Harumi whilst she continues manipulating him to keep him on strings. She eventually realizes his feelings, and wants plays on that, making the process work exponentially better. Finally, we learn Harumi’s motives and her reasoning, and, in the episode, Lloyd is devastated. However, I have some additions on this, but I’m gonna finish up my review of canon before getting to that. We do also know that Lloyd still has feelings, though. We primarily see thing from Lloyd still trying to save her from Garmadon’s grasp along with his sadness from her death.

The next time we see her and Lloyd’s dynamic (at least as far as I want to mention,) is Crystalized. When Lloyd is captured, he apologizes. He still clearly has feelings for Harumi, and, in a turn of events, it seems that Harumi does as well, as she convinces the Overlord to spare him and to try to get him on their side.

Okay, enough about prior knowledge, lets discuss headcanons. So, firstly, I’m 100% sure that Lloyd was tormented by Harumi’s origin story. We know how high of a standard he holds himself to, and we also know how morally-driven he is. Him learning about the real stories of the real people who he had really hurt couldn’t have been taken easily. I’ve actually written a whole fic that revolves on that fact, and how Lloyd’s lingering feelings would have amplified that feeling to oblivion. Also, for people who assume he would immediately drop his feelings when he learned Harumi’s true motives, literally just look at how he talks about Garmadon and you’ll see he can’t exactly move on that easily. Things like this take time, and, again, he has guilt because of this whole thing. Moving on from a relationship when you believe you were the reason the person tried to destroy the entire world and subsequently died isn’t the same as a high school breakup. That’s fucking devastating, and especially for someone who hasn’t had the best relationships up to that point.

However, this dynamic really starts to become cloudy when you look at Harumi. Now, look: I’m like 90% sure she only had feelings for Lloyd in S15 as fan-service, but, fan-service or not, it’s canon, and therefore I’m still gonna cover it.

So, first off, when and how did Harumi develop feelings? Personally, I think there could be three main reasons. For one, gaslighting. The whole time, she was gaslighting Lloyd into loving her. Sometimes, when you keep up a lie like that for so long and with that level of commitment, you can convince even yourself of these feelings. Do I think this is the case for Harumi? Well, it depends. If you truly do believe there is a spark between them, then no. However, if you really don’t like the fact that they were given a romantic storyline in S15, then this is a totally valid reasoning.

The second reason that comes to mind is Lloyd’s persistence. Now, just to cover all our basis, reminder that “being persistent” and “never giving up on a love that could be” are not cutesy tropes and relationship goals, and no means no. I see too much stuff online saying shit like “I never gave up on her and, even though she said no 20 times, she gave in in the end.” This is not something to romanticize. If someone rejects you, fucking respect that and move tf on. That being said, though, I think that could actually be the case in this dynamic, albeit in a much less creepy way than some fuckers online do it. Lloyd clearly, even after all of the shit Harumi pulled, still has lingering feelings: a mix of platonic and romantic. I truly believe Lloyd is someone who believes that anyone can change for the better, and applies this to Harumi. The fact that, even after all the pain Harumi caused, he still searched for her in the rubble could be the reason she developed feelings. In my opinion, this is the most likely option.

The final one is a bit colder, and is for y’all who believe Harumi is evil through-and-through. Lloyd is fucking overpowered. Harumi’s reasoning to the Overlord could be just that: the reason. I personally don’t love this one as much, but if this is something you resonate with, I would totally understand why.

All of these factors strung together make Lloyd and Harumi one of my favorite dynamics. There is so much more that I didn’t even discuss here. Is it romantic or platonic or just romantic for one of them? Did Harumi develop feelings even sooner yet denied them solely because of her hatred? Is Lloyd’s relationship with Harumi less to do with Harumi herself and more-so to do with trying to rebuild a relationship with his father through her to prove he can hold onto someone he loves? All of these are questions I’d love to dive into but simply do not have time.

Hopefully you enjoyed my little rant. I love overthinking stuff like this and also love chatting about over-the-top headcanons. If you have any thoughts on this (or other headcanons you want to share), please do!

[yearling-234]

DR SEASON 2 PART 2 SPOILERS ‼️‼️ (Arin centric)

I’m shocked but not really. The fact that the whole thing got leaked 3 months before is very ninjago.

But other than that I’m happy with how the story turned out, I’m especially glad with how Arin’s storyline turned out.

Arin’s corruption arc was pretty well executed. I love how it parallels Sora’s arc with the fact that hers is about her rising above her insecurities and past, and Arin’s being about him losing himself to his insecurities and his past.

This arc is brought together by his growing frustration at the fact that he isn’t getting anywhere, he’s not getting any closer to finding his parents, he’s not getting any closer to mastering his technique, and becomes clear throughout the first half that he’s starting to have doubts about how much the ninja and about how much Lloyd can actually do for him.

This is where Ras comes in. Because of all the stuff I already mentioned Arin was in a position to be manipulated. And that’s exactly what Ras does. But Ras doesn’t just lie to him, no, he tells him the truth. He tells Arin that Sora made him think he did his object spinjitzu, and he tells him that Wu caused the merge, the thing that separated Arin from his parents, and to top it all off Ras tells Arin that he wants to reverse the merge.

Obviously Arin doesn’t believe him at first, but then Sora admits to faking his object spinjitzu, simultaneously confirming his doubts about his abilities and about and about other’s belief in him. Then he masters spinjitzu, but not from to Lloyd’s guidance but from to Ras’s. Then as the final nail in the coffin it’s confirmed that Wu did indeed cause the merge and by association caused Arin’s parents to disappear and that Ras likely knows where his parents are.

But all of this doesn’t make Arin turn completely to Ras’s side but it’s enough to shatter his faith in the ninja and Sora, and enough to put his faith in Ras. Which is precisely what Ras wanted.

Now I’ve seen people get mad at Arin for turning to Ras and away from the ninja. But I think that’s really unfair to Arin.

For all of season 2 he’s been struggling. Struggling to find his parents and to master his abilities. He’s been working hard and training hard to accomplish his goals but he’s made absolutely no progress, he’s even taken a few steps back. But then Ras comes along. And with his guidance he’s able to make progress in a way he hasn’t been able to before. Couple that with all the information Ras gave him. it’s no wonder he turned to Ras, it’s like what Arin said at the end of the season, Ras is the only person Arin can believe.

This makes it all the more sad that Ras is just manipulating him. for his own gain.

All in all I really enjoyed this season and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have fanart to make.

[corroded-hellfire]

Attend the Tale - Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddie proclaims to theatre nerd!reader that musicals are too happy for him. You then tell him the tale of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Note: This is partially because Gaten is currently in the show on broadway, yes, but also because it is one of my favorite musicals of all time and I myself am a huge theatre nerd.

Warnings: spoilers for Sweeney Todd, which has dark themes including bloody violence, murder, and cannibalism.

Words: 2.3k

Hawkins High School likes conventional. It likes when things make sense. For instance, it made sense when Chrissy Cunningham was nominated for Prom Queen, and Jason Carver for Prom King. It made sense that Nancy Wheeler was on track to give the valedictorian speech at graduation at the end of the year. What didn’t make sense—at least from an outsider's perspective—is you and Eddie.

Eddie Munson was all metal, band t-shirts, chunky silver rings, long wild mane, and tattoos. You are not metal. You are costumes, makeup, rehearsing lines and practicing songs for an audition. A theatre nerd, essentially. At night, Eddie blasts Metallica in his room, while you’re playing Andrew Lloyd Webber and attempting to hit the high notes in Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. The two of you looked like opposite sides of the spectrum. But in reality, you were two sides of the same coin. Both passionate about the music that moves you, embodying the looks of your respective niches. 

When you met, there was an initial clash between the two of you over use of the drama room. Yes, it was used for Hellfire meetings, but it was the drama room and Eddie shouldn’t have thrown a fuss if you had to come in and grab a costume that had been left in there earlier. Once the original ire cooled, the two of you found you gelled together quite nicely. Only someone else who has that deep appreciation for music can understand what it’s like to feel the music in your very soul, in every beat of your heart, and every breath you take. 

Though there wasn’t a crossover appeal with each other’s music, both you and Eddie could appreciate and respect the other’s taste. Eddie would blast metal in the van on the way home from school, so you’d come to learn some of the songs and point out your favorites to your boyfriend. When the two of you were at your house, a Sondheim or a Rodgers & Hammerstein record would be playing in the background as you makeout on your bed. 

Eddie had seen you in the last musical Hawkins High had put on—Into the Woods. The dark take on multiple fairy tales had drawn Eddie in more than he thought it would. Obviously, he had only gone to see you—dragging Dustin along because the curly haired boy was the only one willing to accompany him—but he ended up being honestly impressed by the talent and hard work it takes to put on a show. Hearing you sing as Cinderella had almost moved Eddie to tears, something he would never admit to a soul. But Dustin had noticed and told you when Eddie had gone to the bathroom after the show. You recognized the same dedication and effort in Eddie when you saw him performing with Corroded Coffin.

After you begged Eddie to play The Sound of Music cassette you just bought while you’re driving around one weekend, he comes up with a thought that astounds you.

“You know, musicals are just too happy for me. Everything is always okay in the end, and everyone sings and dances and it’s happily ever after.”

You’re staring at him for a good minute before he notices. He raises an eyebrow at you in question.

“That is so not true!”

“Babe,” Eddie says, knocking the rings of his right hand against the van’s radio. “We’re literally listening to a show that has singing nuns and nazis. And guess what? Everything ends tied up with a bow.”

“First of all,” you say, flopping back in your seat with a huff. “This is based on a true story. So, sorry that the real Von Trapp family escaped the nazis. Secondly, there are plenty of dark musicals. You saw Into the Woods!”

“Yeah, it was dark for fairy tales. I listen to metal. The witch cursing a family doesn’t quite cut it as ‘dark’ for me.”

“West Side Story? It’s tragic!”

“Tragedy and darkness aren’t really the same thing,” Eddie says with a shrug. “I mean, they can be. But they literally have gangs prancing down the street. Sad story, sure. But I wouldn’t say dark.”

You purse your lips in the way that Eddie finds adorable as you look out the window. A cheery song about favorite things playing isn’t helping you come up with any dark musicals.

“Aha! Phantom of the Opera,” you say, turning towards Eddie. “Kidnapping, murder, disfigured character. Dark enough for you?”

“Eh,” Eddie says with a shrug. “The opera part kinda cancels it out for me.”

Just as Eddie’s pulling into your driveway, your face lights up with an idea. Eddie notices it as he pulls the keys out of the ignition, the jingling of them breaking you out of your mini trance.

“Sweeney Todd.”

“Who?” Eddie asks.

“Sweeney Todd!” you repeat, as if just hearing it again will make everything clear to Eddie. Both of you get out of the car and you fumble to get your house keys out of your bag. “The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“Did we switch subjects, or…? Should I know this Todd dude?” Eddie asks as he follows you inside. He kicks his shoes off next to the door just as you do, and you toss your bag onto the closest chair.

“It’s a Stephen Sondheim musical,” you say. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.”

“A demon barber?” Eddie asks with a laugh. 

Spinning away from him and his dismissive chuckle, you stroll over to your collections of records. Nimble fingers pick through them until you find the one you’re looking for. Eddie just watches as you move to the record player and load up the album. The opening notes start slow at first, then gaining volume, with a haunting quality to the melody. It sounds eerily like music you would hear at a funeral. Then a piercing noise—a scream? a scrape? —slices through the air, startling Eddie. He won’t let you know it just yet, but this already has him intrigued. 

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd

His skin was pale and his eye was odd

He shaved the faces of gentlemen

Who never thereafter were heard of again

“Hmm,” Eddie hums, a smile curling on his lips. “Okay, you’ve got my attention.”

“It’s bloody and gory,” you say, jumping onto your couch. Eddie chuckles as he watches your socked feet move over the gray overstuffed cushions. You hold your hands out in front of you, fingers splayed as you begin to summarize the show in a melodramatic voice. “Sweeney Todd—who is actually named Benjamin Barker—returns to London after being wronged by a judge many years ago. Judge Turpin stole his wife and daughter. Like, literally stole. Not like he seduced her or something, he straight up took her and had her husband sent away.”

Eddie wrinkles up his nose and crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s creepy as hell.”

“Oh, that’s nothing,” you say with a devious smile. As you continue on with the tale, the music playing in the background, you keep walking across the couch, jumping to the adjacent couch as well when you come to the edge. Eddie watches you, an adoring look in his eyes. “So, Sweeney stays with this lady, Mrs. Lovett, who has a pie shop. And he starts up as a barber again, with the goal of getting the judge to come in so he can…” You run your finger across your neck, imitating the slitting of your throat. 

“Does he stick the bastard?” Eddie asks, jumping up on the couch you just vacated. 

“Hold on, hold on,” you say, shooting him a smirk. “This other dude comes in and recognizes Sweeney back from when he was Barker, so Sweeney kills him. When he and Mrs. Lovett are trying to figure out what to do with the body, she comes up with an idea! But is it too much? Never, for this twisted pair!”

Eddie laughs as he listens and watches. Your eyes are wide, a crazed look there as you describe the warped tale. Even if he wasn’t genuinely enjoying this debauched plot, he would’ve been thoroughly amused by your performance. 

“They decide to get rid of the body by grinding him up and putting him in the meat pies!”  

“Ugh,” Eddie groans, face full of disgust. “That’s morbid.”

“Told ya,” you say with a proud smirk. “But they don’t stop there. Every man who comes to Sweeney’s shop becomes the new flavor of the day. And the people love the meat pies. They keep selling out of them.”

“Okay, okay,” Eddie says, holding his hands up in front of him. “I concede. This is a dark musical.”

“Thank you,” you say, offering him a dramatic bow. “The dead bodies do not just come out tap dancing or some other cliche, cheesy shit you accuse musicals of. Although now that I’m thinking about that, it would’ve been cool.”  

“So, how’s it end?” Eddie asks, jumping over to the couch you’re on.

“Oh, no, no, no,” you say, shaking your head and backing a step away from him. “You’ll have to listen. Wait! See! They’re about to tell you.” You hold your finger to your lips, telling Eddie to be silent so he can hear the final lyrics of the song.

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd

He served a dark and a vengeful god

What happened then, well, that's the play

And he wouldn't want us to give it away

Not Sweeney

Not Sweeney Todd

The demon barber of Fleet street

Eddie steps forward and tugs on your waist until you’re flush up against him. “You seem to really enjoy this creepy shit.”

“I haven’t even told you the rest,” you say, cupping his face in your hands. “There’s the judge wanting to marry the daughter he stole as well. A beggar woman who goes around asking men if they wanna fuck her. And then there’s Antony and Toby who are precious boys.”

“Jesus,” Eddie says with a laugh. “Might just have to borrow this record.”

“I thought you’d like it,” you say, a satisfied smirk on your lips. “I know my boyfriend’s taste.”

“Yes, you do,” he mumbles as he leans in and presses his lips against yours. The two of you share lazy kisses for a few minutes, just standing there on your couch in the middle of your living room. When you finally break for air, Eddie rests his forehead against yours and lets out a small laugh. “Who would’ve thought I’d find a girlfriend who can match my theatrics?”

“I think I outdo your theatrics, thank you very much,” you say. “In private, anyway. I know I can be my true, authentic weird self with you.”

“I love your weird self,” Eddie says, hands roaming down to your ass. 

“And I love you.”

Eddie grins and presses a few more kisses to your mouth. 

“Are there any duets in the show?” Eddie asks. “Could learn it and we could sing it together.”

The way your eyes light up at his words has his heart stuttering in his chest. He’d never admit it, but he’d memorize all of Sondheim’s compositions if you wanted him to. Anything for you. 

“Yeah,” you say, voice the quietest it’s been this whole time. Before continuing, you clear your throat and blink your eyes a few times. “My favorite song from it is a duet. It’s the one where they decide to put the men into the pies. It’s called A Little Priest.”

You quickly hop off the couch and stop the record. Carefully, you turn it over and place it back down. Your eyes scan the track list printed on the record’s jacket to find the right spot. Placing the needle back down, a surge of pride flows through you as you hear it start playing exactly where you want it to. 

Seems a downright shame…

Turning back towards Eddie, you try to emulate Mrs. Lovett. Kind of crazy, but even crazier for the man in front of her. That part you have down perfectly. The fond look Eddie is giving you makes your tummy all fuzzy and your head all light. Knowing that not only can you be completely and unabashedly yourself around Eddie, but that he actually loves you like that still boggles your mind. 

The song is funny, filled with puns and jokes, and you sing through the lyrics with ease. As the long song comes to its end, you step up on the coffee table and use it as your stage. Closing your eyes, you throw your arms in the air dramatically as if you’re riding a roller coaster. 

We'll not discriminate great from small! 

No, we'll serve anyone, 

Meaning anyone, 

And to anyone

At all!

Eddie claps as you finish belting the last note, and your face warms at his praise. A shy giggle escapes you as you curtsy on top of the table. Your boyfriend hops down from the couch and wraps both of his arms around your legs. He flops backwards so he’s lying on the couch, pulling you along so you’re on top of him. 

“You’re so damn cute,” Eddie says.

“Takes one to know one, Munson,” you say, finger coming up to boop the tip of his nose. 

“I feel like I’m gonna have to take you to Broadway as a graduation gift,” Eddie muses.

“Baby,” you whine, shaking your head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“You don’t wanna take a trip with me?” he asks, jutting out his bottom lip in his most adorable pout. The big cow eyes only add to it. 

“Of course I do,” you say. “Not letting you buy me a trip for graduation, though!”

“Fine,” Eddie says with a sigh. “What if it’s a gift for both of us? We go up together over the summer? Huh?” He grins and tucks a piece of hair behind your ear. “You, me, whatever shows you want, then a nice big hotel bed at night. I won’t pay for everything, I promise.”

A giggle bubbles out of you and you rest your head in the crook of Eddie’s neck. “Sounds perfect, Eddie.” 

“I love you, my little theatre nerd.”

“I love you, my adorable metal head.”

[stormtheartistsstuff]

I FINALLY got to watch the latest season of Dragons Rising and I have a theory about who Ras’ master is, so for anyone who hasn’t caught up on Ninjago please keep scrolling because this is gonna have a lot of spoilers:

I believe there is a chance that Ras’ master may be the First Dragon, due to the similarities between his and Lloyd’s visions among other reasons.

To get this out of the way, I am not referring to Firstbourne. I am aware she is technically the “mother of all dragons”, but I believe her namesake gives it away that she may not be the very FIRST dragon. She is the first dragon BORN, perhaps not the first in existence.

Besides, do you really think the most powerful dragon in all of the worlds, the one supposed to be as powerful as the Overlord, would be defeated so easily by a small group of Oni, with other dragons AND riders on her side?

I mean THE Dragon, the one depicted in Mistake’s story. The antithesis of the Overlord. The Yang to his Yin. The Creation to his Destruction.

This sounds a bit far fetched, I am aware, but I do have a base for this theory.

In Mistake’s story, the Dragon was also fighting over the First Spinjitsu Master, just like the Overlord was. What is interesting to me is that the FSM chose to run from both instead of choosing the Dragon, despite the dragons always being depicted as “the good guys” and the Oni as “the bad guys.”

This means that the dragon most likely didn’t want to use him for the right reasons either, maybe even to eliminate the Overlord and overturn the balance of the world in its favor. The FSM is the balance, and he most likely knew that siding with one or the other would be disastrous.

The Dragon also has not been seen for the entirety of the series, despite the fact that the Overlord had been rampaging in Ninjago over and over. It isn’t like they could not come to stop him, we knew from the very beginning that dragons can traverse realms (I know this is probably because the dragon hadn’t been introduced in the plot yet, let me dream). Perhaps the Dragon had been sealed away by the FSM, not unlike the Overlord was when the FSM split Ninjago in two to keep him at bay.

It would explain the Dragons absence throughout the years.

Now, onto Ras.

He receives visions in a very similar way to Lloyd, almost to a T with the floating and glowing eyes, but with a GOLDEN background, which not even the Sources have, despite their connection to creation.

As for the “evil” masks, remember that the Forbidden Five that his master wanted to bring back are ELEMENTAL MASTERS, people who have been commonly paired with the dragons throughout history, as seen by the ninja themselves. Despite the corruption of their powers, it isn’t Destruction: it is simply warped Spinjitsu, corrupted Creation.

Perhaps the dragon needs the Sources to regain its strength, or hell, its powers were divided to CREATED the Source dragons, each one acting as a seal to keep it at bay. This is may be why they want to conquer the Sources, to free the First Dragon.

Another detail I have noticed, this might be a bit of a stretch but tigers and dragons tend to be a motif I have seen in mythology a lot, it would make sense for it to occur at least once in the show.

To wrap it all up, Creation can be used for evil and Destruction can be used for good. They are not black and white, but shades of grey. We have seen this in the show itself, for example, Gardamon in s2 with the Megaweapon for evil, a weapon that can only create:

And in s16 when Lloyd used his destruction to fight the Overlord for good (and in the original ending before it was changed, kill him):

Creation and Destruction have no morality, and no one shows this better than the FSM himself:

The First Spinjitsu Master chose neither Oni nor Dragon for a reason. Light can be just as blinding as the Dark.

[lloydfrontera]

wait lmao what I didn't know there was such a skip. I'm sorry this is comedy to me. so you're telling me they have this crazy ass dimension-jumping shenanigans with Javier tearing up as he finally finds Lloyd, his best friend, the most important person in his life, while it's a mutual statement for the both of them, and then we get no dialogue. and skip to Lloyd getting shoved into a hetero romance with no build up. sorry I can't believe this is real. this sounds like a joke and I choose to treat is as such. this is the most hilarious ending and the marriage now feels even more out of place hdufiskaoa9o

OH MY FUCKING GOD RIGHT?!?!?!! it is weird isn't it???? i'm not being crazy for feeling like it's a weird ass choice??? i felt like i was going insane!! i swear to god i felt like i was being gaslighted when i read it!!! there was no way that was the ending!! there was no way that ch 401 ended with one of the most romantic and heartfelt scenes i have ever read and then the next chapter just????? did a time skip where none of that was acknowledged and lloyd was just fucking married off to alicia??? completely off-screen if i may add!

i made a post about it before but i simply need to rant all over again oh my god

general warning for spoilers because i'm about to dissect the entire novel through a llojavi lens

AGAIN. SPOILERS WARNING FOR THE ENDING OF TGED.

i literally cannot express how much of a mid fuck it is when you realize that lloyd and javier's relationship is very much Thee Slowburn of tged. like. this is an indisputable fact. even if you don't think there's anything romantic between them, which, holy fuck that's such a fucking reach one must be really be in denial to not see it but whatever, even then you simply cannot argue that their relationship isn't the most important one in the entire story.

javier is the very first person lloyd talks to in the first chapter. he's the first person that welcomes him into his new life. he's the one he has to work the hardest to endear himself to. he's the one he spends the most time with. he's the one that follows him around literally everywhere he goes.

from the very beginning their relationship is given a special attention that few other things get in the plot.

through the entire story we get constant moments of them getting to know each other as people and getting closer as a result. they're constantly in each other's thoughts, which is very natural as they're in each other's company almost 24/7. it is actually hard to find a chapter where they not talking to each other or at the very least together. i cannot emphasize enough how,,, enmeshed and entangled they are with one another as characters. i mean it when i say they are a set do not separate them.

it takes lloyd 222 chapters to even admit to himself that javier is his friend and that he wants to keep him safe not because he's the protagonist of the story or useful to him or anything like that but simply because he cares for him and doesn't want him to die. because, and i quote, 'he thought he'd always be with javier for the rest of his life. just like now, he thought they'd spend all their time together moving forward. and like they always did, they'd be by each other's side during hard times. happy moments. relaxed days. they'd share all these moments as they exchanged insults and corny jokes, growing old as a lazy lord of a fiefdom and his knight. lloyd always thought so. the thought just came naturally, without much effort from him, much like breathing. lloyd believed that javier would always remain by his side as that was how it had been until now.' (ch222) <- actual textual quote. btw. if you even care.

and then. it takes javier 320 chapters, a hundred chapters more, to realize that he cares about lloyd much more than a knight cares about his lord's son. because he, and once again i quote, 'is [his] true master in [his] heart. lloyd was his friend. and now, javier wanted to protect lloyd. he would sincerely protect him with everything he had.' <- this is, if i may add some context, said as javier is fighting against a goddamn angel, literally heaven's will, to protect lloyd. after figuring out lloyd is a fake. that he's been lying to javier for several years about almost everything including who he is. and yet. this is what javier feels for him.

they are the definition of a slowburn. it takes them this long to even admit they are friends. and this is with us getting to see them together almost every chapter of the way. we get to see every step of the way. we see their relationship develop with all manner of detail.

and then. when you think you cannot get even more dramatic about them. guess what the major conflict of the plot is. guess fucking what the last obstacle for the story to get a happy ending is.

let me set the scene for you:

lloyd has just finished the jewel of truth, the artifact that will get him the answer he seeks on how to stop the restoration of fate, how he can stop destiny from making the original events of the novel come true and destroy everything he has worked and kill everyone he loves. he has javier at his side, who rushed to join him underwater to make sure he was safe and sound while using it, and he can't help but fondly think how lucky he is to have javier, who is loyal and true and has never abandoned him.

a quote of lloyd's thoughts in this scene:

That’s why, you bastard. I’m going to take care of you until the very end. Once I, your wise and older friend, solve the restoration of destiny problem, you’re going to enjoy the rest of your life by my side in peace. [...] He smiled at Javier and thought to himself. You’re my only friend, Javier. I couldn’t have overcome all the obstacles in front of me without your help. So, my trustworthy and reliable comrade, stick with me until I become a lazy lord and you become my personal guard. I hope we will be able to grow old together… -ch 327

as you can see. he's once again planning on spending the rest of his life with javier. canonically. not even an interpretation this is straight up textual i cannot emphasize enough

and then. the jewel of truth gives him the answer. how to stop the restoration of fate. it's very easy. very simple solution in fact.

either lloyd or javier have to die or otherwise vanish from existence.

that's it. there can only be one protagonist in the world and because of everything lloyd has done he's now being acknowledged by fate as the protagonist of the story along with javier. which cannot stand.

so that's the only thing stopping lloyd from getting his happy ending. he just,,, has to either kill his best friend or kill himself.

let me rephrase this from a narrative perspective: the major conflict of the story is now lloyd facing either the choice of letting everything he's achieved and everyone he loves be destroyed. losing his best friend, the person he cares the most about and has been developing an extremely close relationship through the entire plot. or dying himself.

lloyd of course then spends the rest of the plot trying to find a way to avoid having to die. that's literally what the rest of the novel is about. lloyd trying by all means possible seeking a way to not having to die. because at no point, does he ever consider letting javier die in his place even an option. he doesn't want to die of course, but he never saw javier sacrificing himself as the solution to that problem.

the entire conflict of the last part of the novel is lloyd finding a way for him and javier to be able to remain together without either of them having to sacrifice their lives for the other.

he doesn't succeed.

they end up in a battle down in hell where both of them try to give for one another leading to this absolutely delightful parallel

so fucking tasty oh my god i still go crazy when i see this set of illustrations actually

lloyd wins btw. he gets to sacrifice his life for javier. to javier's absolute heartbreak.

but lloyd doesn't die. he does end up stuck in korea tho, a place he would've rather died than go back to, so he has that going on for him. he's back in his goshiwon, absolutely heartbroken and without knowing what to do.

and then we end up with that scene. javier at his doorstep, having crossed dimensions, tearing up as he sees him and tells him how much he's missed him, looking at him with this face:

now. let's pause here. let's take a moment. take in everything i've just explained. everything that has happened to get to this point.

be honest with me. what would you say is the most natural way the story can progress from here.

take into account all that i have recounted and that i skipped so many other things of the same nature so we wouldn't be here all day.

what do you as a reader would expect to happen next

well, i'll tell you:

cut to black we're now an unspecified amount of time later lloyd has already had all the important conversations we've been waiting to see the entire time off screen and is now preparing himself for his wedding to alicia that we will also not get to see by the way

and you know what the funniest thing is. you know what is the cherry on top.

fucking guess who's the last person we see him talk with.

guess who's the person he ends the novel sharing a smile with.

yeah. Yeah.

i really don't know what else to say. i don't know how else to explain how insane this feels. how incredibly dissonant it comes across. i don't want to use the worse gaslighting like this but it's the closest word i can find to describe what it feels like. i feel like i'm being told something is happening when i can see with my own eyes it is not. or rather that i'm seeing something happen and i'm being told that no it is not and that i'm making it up.

i don't know what bk moon was going for. i really don't. especially when this is what he has to say about chapter 401 aka the chapter with javier coming to find lloyd in korea

clearly he feels very strongly about this scene too. it's the one he's been wanting to show the most, he must have analyzed it from every angle possible, must have put special care to get across what he wanted to convey with it.

so why does it feel like the last true chapter of the novel is meant to,,, undercut the feeling of it?? it almost feels as if the last chapter is telling us 'yeah yeah those two are extremely devoted to each other and would and have given their lives for one another and plan on growing old at each other's sides but don't worry :) it's nothing more than them being pals :) just two guys being really good friends :) see, lloyd is even getting married to a woman that's his real happy ending he's not gay or anything :)'

and this is not me saying that two friends cannot be devoted to each other. absolutely not of course friends can love each other platonically and that be more than enough to justify their devotion to one another.

but. it feels weird when the entire novel is dedicated to building up the relationship between lloyd and javier, taking so much time to make us really feel like their relationship is growing at a realistic pace, take almost 3/4 of the novel to even make them come to terms with how much they care for one another, spend actual years following their development,,, and then make lloyd just marry someone else. someone the novel really didn't spend enough time with to justify him developing feels for her.

this is not a diss against alicia i have nothing against her i just don't... buy that lloyd developed romantic feelings for her. much less that he acted on them that easily.

this is a man who took 222 chapters and several years in-universe to even accept that javier, the person he spent all day with, with whom he spoke almost every single day, who he had risked his life for and had been saved by several times at that point, was even his friend.

and now i'm expected to believe he's in love with someone else who, by comparison, he meets a couple of times and spends a little amount of time with.

well. i don't! it's not in character, it wasn't properly built up in the text and truthfully they don't have enough chemistry to make up for it.

i don't know what happened there. i don't know why bk moon decided to add a romance when the novel didn't need it. i don't know why he chose to make it happen between two characters that didn't have a relationship as deep as the one he spent the entire novel building up and promoting as the most important one. which may i add was between his two protagonists. y'know. the ones the novel is supposed to be centered around.

i don't know. i don't know what happened. i don't know if it was censorship, last minute panic, fear of opposition or rejection or actual obliviousness to what he had written looked like, i simply do not know.

i really hope it wasn't homophobia tho that would absolutely suck lmao

but uh. yeah. i do think the ending is very funny when you put it like that askhdsjkfds

[jordanhaszane]

DRAGONS RISING SEASON 2 SPOILERS

Zane better get at least some development in the little date side plot with Cole. At least the writers are giving him SOMETHING to do, but yet again, he is not apart of the main plot as per fucking usual. It's better than S1 right?

This is playing out like Season 9 where it was split into two different plots, and I only really cared about the First Realm part of the story because I couldn't care less for Lloyd. That is probably how I am going to view Dragons Rising S2.

I will die on this hill and form a nation on it, but HOLY CRAP CAN WE PLEASE HAVE SOME GOOD COLE AND ZANE BONDING?! Season 4 did this almost perfectly, but Zane and Cole have barely been a team together, give me scenes where they share a heart to heart, and I KNOW Nya told Zane about what Cole was experiencing but DAWG I WANT HIM TO TELL ZANE DIRECTLY LIKE "Yeah the earth is screaming and it deeply troubles me-" PLEASE DO THAT AND HAVE THEM HUG??? OR TALK IT THROUGH?? OR KISS TENDERLY ON THE LIPS-

Zane and Cole are singlehandedly the two most underused characters in the series, and having them paired together is quite possibly the best move, they bounce off each other so well when they are on screen together Overall, if Zane's development continues on this trajectory, then I'm all for it and I can die peacefully, I just don't want them to screw it up and underuse him.

[lumagarden]

DRAGONS RISING S2 P1 SPOILERS UNDER CUT

my thoughts per ep :3!!

ngl thisbisbjust me live typing my reaction but wtv!! also cw for lots of colorful language hehe

ep 1

- THE SILLIES!!!! also riyu is huge??:?2);

- lloyd is so cute when hes eepy

- “maybe you outa crawl into your crib for a nap buddy” WAHHHHHHHH

-lloyds nightmares omfggg poor thing

- SORA OMG NO WONDER HE COULDNT SLEEP theyre visions right

- spinjitsu-ing out of his nightmare to move out of the way and save his children can someone put me out of my misery

- “my nightmares are getting worse uncle” NOOOOOO

- OH MY GOD ARIN AND LLOYD NIGHTMARE TALK WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

- arin imitating wu i xant

- cinder?,

- LLOYDSD

- ???? ok

ep 2

- new intro sooo good fr WHO TAUGHT CINDER SPINJITSU DOE

- resistance kills

- xan percival be rhe new emperor (is 12 years old)

- OH??

- poor lloyd :(

- Frohicky serving swamp ass fr

-WILDFYRE

- lloyd acknowledging his panic attack someone let me out of my cage

- wait so wildfyre and kai dont have the same power right

- HELEODOSJFNS HIM BUEPING UP THE FLY

- ????

- the sillies!!

- arin cannot be mean im sorry

- HELP “i really didnt think a human could dance like that!”

- arins voice is so non-threatening hes so baby

- “i dont know anything about that” “cool :) thanks for your time!” HELEODOS

- arins so gullible i love him !!! (if he gets the lloyd treatment i MIGHT jump off a cliff)

- “wow. im really bad at spotting liars :,)”

- sora being rebellious :000 !!

- lloyd and arin i cnt .

- ZERO CATS DETECTED IN THIS IMAGEJFKEJFJ

- LMFAOOOOO LLOYD

- why r they just standing there omfg ☠️

- whoa. what if jay hits the gong OH MY FOD!!!!!! (it will not happen im delusional and just want evil jay)

- no causw wait now i think itll happen

- WHOS KNOXKING

- PERCIVAL AND ARIN<333

- wait so do the gongs power like is it permanent or no

- wait my stupid ass-cinders not that one twitchy guy right.

- percival!!!!!! fav side character

- “how can a language look evil” “trust me it does”

- alright what the flip

- WAIT LORD RAS CUESED THW WORMS.. my stupid ass how did i not realize this

- WAITTT FORBIDDEN FIVE… (doesnt know what hes talking about)

- is cinder one of the forbidden five

- wait no im srupid

- Ok.

- LLOYD HAVING A PANIC ATTACK NOOOOOOOOO MY BABY :((((((((((

- acrually theowing up at him like panicking oh mymgod oh kymgod

- “whoever you are” HELPPP

- uh oh chat

- what if one of the ppl w wolf masks is jay

- NOOOO NYA AND LLOYD I CANT DOT HIS . throwing up

- “then just use spinjitsu-oh right sorry” My god

- literally what will happen if u hit the gong that many times

- “u know i thrashed the last one right” NO WAYY

- succeeded.. (?)

- CHAT

- can i learn shatterspin please!!

- whoa like actually this is so cool im sorry

- lloyd frm the trailer!!

- NOOO WILDFYRE

- “wildfyres hurt bad” im crying

- oh my god one of them is going to turn evil to help save thwm. thats whats gnna happen ik it

- Wheres cole.

ep 3!!

- what r u training for clearly ur alreasy powerful

- is cinder into-oh nvm

- kai getting angry.. i missed this

- can someone translate wus notes

- arin :(

- poor lloyd i cnt

- dude kai with gis like wings or something QHAT IS RHAT IM SO EXCITED

- lloyd plz

- Huh

- WHAT THE FLIP??

- who voices the life symbol

- strwngrh is coles :,3

- id be like hello??? IM RIGHT HERE??

- why r they arguing right in front of him

- K see that did not help

- lloyd is going through Way toocmuch and its ep 3

- oh my god. kai and wildfyre can aomeone throw me off a cliff please

- the boringest :(((

- what the flip

- frohicky x zane is kinda cute sorry

- :(( kai !!! i xant

- breaking my silence. jordana x cinder anyone

- oh theyre actually so evil

- lloye sleeping hes so cute

- WAHHH ivlove rhsm

- “what about the younger ones” sobs

- UM WHO WENT ON BOARD

- WILDFYRE.

- U R NOT ALL BETTER I CNT

- soras lil story :(

- how Did she get out

- oh trueee. but the source dragons were basically telling him to find them so.

- lloyd with a grabber thing omfg theyre having sm fun

- “no offense buddy” HDKWJDKSK

- “WHOS HE TALKIMG ABT” HEKDOSKD

- alright what the flip

- have i ever mentioned how much i love nyas beauty mark . i have a lego figurine of her n the beauty mark makes me emotional

- arin n sora :,(

- i love these new suits!! but dragon rising s1 still fave

- waittt what isbgoing on

- WAIT

- WAITTTTTT I SAW THIS SCENE AS A SPOILER

- arin and his parsnts i cnt do it.

- “what, no? i love you i miss you” Kill me.

- Ohh no i sont like this

- oh my god lloyds is going to break me

- No. no. Why would you do this.

- “i blame myself nephew” no No!!!

- NOOOOOOOO OH MY GOD

- JAYA OH MYGOD THIS IS THE PART THAT I GOT SPOILED FOE

- OH KYMGOD NOOOOO

- nya is so. smart i cant. n the way she knew it wasnt happening . Even tho thats wuite literally what will happen if he finds her

- this is like that visionary ninjago fic

- what did kai see..

- “i know the real jay couldnt forget me” It might seem crazy what im bout to say….

- WHAT DID KAI SEE!!!! (i say louder)

- kai literally jumping off

- HELP??

- “i knew he was fine” U DID NOT

- ok now what

- watch the teachwr be like . oh nvm

- Thwyre cooked

ep 4

- OHHHHH MY GOD

- O HMYGOD OH MY GOD !!!!! IF THEY MAKE LOST SHIPPING CANOIM KILLINGN YMSELF

- WHY WOULD YOU DOT HAI TOCME

- pls im so scared i realyl cant

- COLE WAS THE REAL CHEF??? I FUCKING TOLD YALL HE COULD COOK !!!!!!! I TOLD YALL!!!!!! I WAS THE #1 COOK-COLE TRUTHER

- “why do u say stuff like that” /);&2&$;

- making art :,))

- literally coles family

- THEY ACKNOWLEDGED IT THEY SAID THE THING

- a city could be lost i think- oh. No no. No. if they take the cowards way out im actually never watxhing this show again /hj

- wildfyre is so funny

- why is he attacking them riyu is litwrally right there

- “ive always got you arin” im ending it all

- THAT THROW WAS SO COOL

- arin please

- HES SOS ILLYRJJSNF

- ughhh i know hes not gnna feel. great after that

- “is there some sort of social cue im not picking up” OH MY GOD!!! HES SO AURISTIC CODED

- huh???? why does it talk ☠️☠️

- HUH LMFAOO

- LMFAOOOOO ARIN LAUGHING MDKDJSJ

- OH MY GOD BACK TO GEO NOOO

- oh my god. if they. if they do what i think theyre going to do i will lose my mind.

- cole save me cole if you can hear me save me save me cole

- bonzle is so funny new kin

- NOT MY BEST WORK ☠️

- ok geo self sufficient he should be.. ok..

- why do they want bonzle???

- COLE OH MY GOD

- OHHH MY GOD

- is there a lego set of this dragon cause i want it

- yall better hear me out on this dragons va… /hj

- so how did cinder even learn shartterspin

- COLE OH MY GOD SNGRY COLE

- angry cole supremacy

- husbands

- WE REALLY MISSED TOUR BREAKFASTS OH MYMGOD

- OH MY GOD OH MYGOD OH MYOGOD LOST SHIPPING I XANT

- cole and geo r sooo gay

- lostshipping makes up for laxk of jay tbfh

- Ok i didnt know dragoks could be ninja either??

- ok but how cool would it be if one of them turned evil to fight them like

- omgomgomg

- yeah why did they want bonzle

- i want a bonzle figurine like NOW

- omg omgogmogmogm

- THEM TRYING TO PULL UP THE ROCKS

- ok she knoes . aomething

- jordana is actually insane

- alright what the flip

- Oh . No… no no

- it is a little funny wildfyre

- YESSS TRAINING ARC

- IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SCENEE

- WHERE CAN I GET A FROHICKY PLUSH PLEASW ANSWER QUICKLY

- PLEASE TELL ME THE STORY

ep 5

- ITS TO WORK ON CONFLICT ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️

- theyre aoo dating

- the heart on the plush ☠️

- the lil looks zane ans cole gave each other bc they havent seen each other in peobablt years someone put me our ofnmy misery

- Ok bonzle let us know fr

- UM?????????? BONZLE???????

- omg i was waiting for this scene omg where they like switch stuff frm their mexhs

- SO WHAT IS WILDFYRE THEN

- heat and fire. what

- GEO AND COLE!!!

- ZANE?? CLURXHING THE PLUSHIW?? COLE AND GEO HOLDING HANDS??

- MASTER WU??

- DRAGONS CAN DO SLI JITSU

- NOOO WU AND BONZLE :(

-wu not bringing it up is so canon

- loneliness :(

- Oh my god garmadon this season??

- Ohh my god. i MIGHT like wu after this

- little one :(

- its wildfyre pretending shes a mucoid that reminds me shes litwrally a child and i cry

- Ok is this get mad at arin day What the flip.

- OHH MY GOD

- COLe AND GEO HOLDING HABDA OH MYMGVOV

- OH MYMGOD????+> mygodbi cant icant

- cole has become. so so so soft it makes me so emtoional

- hello??

ep 6

- ohh my god the forehead touch.

- NO??:&/$:

- lloyd havinf anxiety incnt

- “my other family” Cryingn

- oh. oh no

- not dorama bro fuck this guy genuinely worst character i hate him sm

- cole not veing a performer :(

- this is some power ranger type transformstion

- why doesnt zabe have a mech

-qlright ehat the flip

- didbt type a lot this ep i was eating candy

ep 7

- bonzle is so silly

- THTEE MONASTERIES

- AAAAAA BRUISE FIGHTING OVER VIDEO GAMES AND GOING ON A DATE I CANT DO THIS.

- JAY REFERENCE OHHH MY GOD

- she loojs like ice kings gf frm adventure time. i forgot her name

- i feel so bad for arin this actually sucks

- OHH MY GOD IM SO ARIN!! not beinf able to take compliments bx hes so hard on himself . Kin

- wildfyre about to save them all rn by getting along w the dragons

- her acknowledging that kais her favorite can i please be let out of my cage

- Ohhh mg god??? hes dying?? no wonder hes so grumpy

- what is this lady saying omfg 😭

- NOOO WAIT OH MY GOD !!!

- “im just a bundle of nerves stumbling around in a daze” WAHH

- ohh lloyds gnna turn evil sorry not sorry

- can we get more baby lloyd and master wu scenes plz

- lloyds inly part mortal tho

- WHAG THE FLUP WHAT THE FLIP

- ghis is trap… this is a trap bonzle omfg

- nvm im just scared

- yeah theyre cooked chat gg

- Oh no. theyre cooked

- OH MGMGOD OH MYMGOD JAY????? IS JAY GOING TO BE OH MGMGOD

- PLEASE VILLAIN JAY SAVE ME SAVE ME VILLAIN JAY VILLAIN JAY IF YOU CAN HEAR ME

- kai gets so frustrated when he cant learn something its so cute

- Ohh my god lore.

- “just fun. no need to worry about saving the world”

- OHHG MY GOD BABY KAI AND NYA

- NOOOOOOO

- HE DID THE. HE HOLG CRAP

- GODDDDD I LVOE KAI AND NYA SO MUCH I CANT DO THIS

- thats so infsresting that he got it first like not to be that guy but - THSE BLOOD MOON WHAT THE FLIP

- COLE!! GEO!!! GET DOWN!! THEY COME FOR GAY PEOPLE FIRST

- EXCUSE ME??

- omg omgomgokg jay jay jay jay jy

- PLEASS VILLAIN JAY SAVE ME VILLAIN JAY VILLAIN JAY ID YOU XAN HEAR ME

- i hate the administration sm

- TRUEEEEEE !! zane is so silly

- THE SILLIES!!

- why is the administration mad like U MADE THE RULES ☠️

- save me agent jay walker agent jay walker if you can hear me

- Ermmm O HMGMGOD

- OH MY GOD AGENT JAY WALKER IF YOU CNA HESR ME

- AGENT JAY Wlker o hmygkod

ep 8

- NO ACTUAL WAY THAT HAPPWNED CHAT AINT NO WAY

- anyways. dragosn pulling the most epic prank . turning to stone

MY APP REFRESHED AND I LOST ALL MY NOTES

was mostly juat acreaming abt jay tbfh

anyways im at the part where they fell

- DID SOMEBODY SAY BOOM /ref

- genuinwlt almost had a heart attack there shoot

- bounty has to be destroyed at least once a season

- i need a bonzle figurine im so srs

- rlly confused rn 💯

- poor thint :(

- Okay get in

- wait im scared is she being tricked rn

- is this a trap idk im scared

- WAIT TIA A TRAP ITS A TRAP ITS A TRAP

- NO I DONT LIKE THIS I DONT LIKE THIS

- ok wasnt a trap but lord ras ass

- NOOO

- jordana be so fr

- “never seen her before in my life” LMFAO

- this sucks on god how is this going to be semi-wrapped up in 2 eps

- i thought that atorm was a lloyd nightmare ngl

ep 9

- ok baby lord ras liek i gaf???

- Ok nvm i do feel bad him w the apple put me out of my misery

- him sacrificng ppl is kinda crazy tho like hello?

- Like hello???? no way we cld actually feelcbad for him (did feel bas for him)

- wildfyre si scared of heights :(

- lloys getting all these visions is genuinely so sad and nya comforting him put me out of my miswry!!!

- LEAVE BONZLE ALONE

- ALEIGHT WHAY THE FLIP

- LITWRALLT WHATXIA RHIS

- THE ROCKS??

- but wherws the road road road road /ref

- RIYUS FLYING

- OO KILL EM

- “sorry i cabt remember your name!” OHH MYKDJSJDN

- “whats your elemental power?” its autism

- invisible shoes??

- HOW DID IT TAKE HIS VOICE

- COLES A PUPPYYY AAAA

- “im ALWAYS adorable” CUTEEJDKSNFM

- they cannot be fr

- cinders so-Lemme chill

- OU KY GOD HES BORDERLIJE FERAL

- if arin saw lloyd and nya as his mom and dad i wilk start screaming crying theowginh up

EP 10

- NIOOOOO ITS LLOYD AND NYA O HMYGOD

- WAIT HOYL FUCK I KNEWNIT I KNWW IT WHAT DID I SAY CHAT WHAT DID I SAY THEYRE EVIL

- OH MGMGODDDDD THATS ACTUALLY CRAZY IM SKIPPIGN THE INTRO

- bonzle :(

- ok nvm theyre not evil . Shoot. why did i want it so bad

- NOOO BONZLE

- ohh no chat

- cinders insabe

- Ok byt hes so.. Hear me out

- sharterspinning be so cool doe

- NO. NO NO N O N O

- oh ky fod i litedally paused it hc i cldnt NOOO

- OH MYMGOD NO ACTUAL WAY

- GG CHAT GG

- AND WHO IS THAT

- oh my god. is kai dead like

- NOOOO :(

- LLOYDDDD OH MY GOD

- YESSSSS

- BONZLE FIGHT BADK

- BONZLEEEE OH MGMGOD

- OH KYMGOD ARIN UR NOT SRS

- sora..

- wair.

- NO NO N O N O KAI

- ???

- what the flip

- what the actual flip chat

- ok what rhe flip

- jordana genuinely tweaking rn

- ok whos lord ras’ master

- lloyd n cole hug i cant.

- BUT MY BIG BROTHER WAS ALWAYS MY HERO FUCK.

- WILSFYRE NOOO

- this is rhe weost thinf tht couldce evwr happwnwd

- bonzle n kai wahhh 😭

- no axtual waycir ended like that

Thank u all for coming. i will now be crying my eyes out

[ups3tti]

Euphrasia & Morro as foils

@emerald-cloud23 HI OKAY YES ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE. Euprhasia is so important to me I'm so glad you asked JFHEKTJ (Morro too obviously but yk.). This is going to be a bit long, apologies in advance.

Dragons rising season 1 spoilers if that matters to anyone.

- To start off, the difference between Euphrasia's quote of "Time to make *our* own destiny!" and Morro's "Well *I* make my own destiny!" Is incredibly important to me. Euphrasia is connecting herself to those around her from the start, even when defining herself, whereas Morro defined himself *by* being set apart from everyone else.

- Something that immediately stood out to me was how Euphrasia's first major beginning moment as the master of wind is by being the main force used to drive back massive tentacled monsters out of/in order to protect cloud kingdom and back into a rift. This is such a contrast to how Morro's story ended, with him summoning a giant tentacled monster from a portal and destroying a Stiix in order to see it through.

- Speaking of Euphrasia's first fight, she is consistently using her elemental powers as a support for others. She saves Arin and Sora from falling, she helps the ninja launch spinjitsu attacks, and while she does still do damage herself, she prioritizes finding ways to support the others.

Morros style is not based in teamwork that way at all. Even with his ghost gang, he usually has them doing their own separate thing. "I control the wind, YOU control the situation" and all that jazz. He climbs the peak to blind man's eye on his own, confronts the ninja on his own, confronts nya and lloyd on his own, etc etc etc. When he has his gang do stuff, like distract Nya or the other ninja, he's normally watching from the side, or doing his own separate task. He's using the wind to get on the offensive or to get *himself* out of harms way.

- all in all, Morro uses the wind for offense and agility, Euphrasia uses it for defense and support.

- Euphrasia greatly values her culture, community and loved ones, to the point where she was intending to forgo use of her elemental power entirely in order to remain with them, AND risked exile in order to protect them. After she was able to reveal her power and wasn't shunned for it, she stayed on at the Cloud Kingdom as its protector.

We don't know where Morro came from, who his parents were, any of that. He had Wu and that was it. His entire identity was forged around what he wanted to become, instead of who he was to begin with.

- A more obvious one is their personalities, I feel the differences are pretty clear and I don't need to specify a whole lot but a big one is Morro's arrogance vs. Euphrasias uncertainty, especially as it translates to being a wind elemental.

I really love the choice to have Euphrasia wanting to write her own destiny but taking it in an entirely different direction than Morro did. Every element seems to have some concept that connects one master to the next, and I don't think Wind is any different.

Thats all I got for now! I could probably think of more if I rewatched certain episodes but I'm a bit tired. PLEASE let me know if anyone thinks of other stuff I would love to hear it

[tgedphotos]

Side Story 5 - “Eight Years Later (2)”

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[ying-doodles]

// novel spoilers (side story 1 / chp 403)

No but wait. Hold up. You're telling me that Javier wished for Lloyd to change and almost immediately Suho was sent into Lloyd's body?? Suho was literally sent to the world of 'Knight of Blood and Iron' for Javier?? ... If that's not the most romantic shxt I've ever heard of in my life?! Talk about destined soulmates!! Σ(°ロ°)!!

Okay but also why are they literally this meme:

[dragonform]

Dragons Rising Season 2 Pt1 overall thoughts!

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS DO NOT CLICK UNLESS YOU'VE WATCHED THE WHOLE THING

In no particular order:

Wow, this season was the heaviest one yet. I'd been a bit disappointed by how Season 1 seemed a bit light on the life lessons that I found so compelling in Ninjago. Well, DR2 delivered in spades, from the theme of secrets, to the issues of mental health. Never should've doubted Ninjago writers!

WHY LEAVE SO MANY UNRESOLVED THREADS THOUGH. Not even clues for fans to speculate on?!?

Like what happened in Cole's journey to follow Master Wu?

What really is that glowing orb sprite thingy? Because it showed up in the Monastary of Spinjitzu to close the portal gate, right? How was it doing that before they'd even traveled to Mysterium? Have I misunderstood something? (Granted, I had to do chores here and there so I really might've missed something... need a rewatch)

Where did Cinder even come from? How did Ras recruit him? What's his story?

What really is Arin's object spinjitzu power?

Of course I'm sure all of this will be resolved/revealed eventually, but it seems a lot to conclude in the next 10 episodes. Oh wait, they've said they have enough material for a few more seasons right? Well, sure looks like enough for at least a third season.

I think the ones who are gonna have a falling out are Arin and Sora. It's gonna be revealed, maybe at some critical point, that he didn't actually do object spinjitzu to get them the win, and it's gonna destroy his self confidence as well as his trust in Sora.

They're gonna get all of the Forbidden Five out eventually, possibly by shoving more ninja through the gate. Which is fine, because the ninja will just meet up and come back through the Power of Friendship!

SO CURIOUS to find out what the elemental powers of the Forbidden Five are.

I was a little disappointed by the lack of Euphrasia though. I thought for sure she'd have a more major role this season, but she still remained a side character for most of it. Oh well, patience!

BONZLE. I did NOT expect her story to go this way. Still trying to wrap my brain around a sentient spell, but hey. It's Ninjago.

Love her so much though she's so precious.

Speaking of precious, ZANE. That's it. That's the whole thought.

No, I AM going to expand on that. Look at how he had such a vast knowledge of the Administration's rules and regulations. Look at how he stalled them with it. Look at the pride he had in helping them raise their efficiency by NINE PERCENT. IT COULD'VE BEEN TEN YOU GUYS. IF HE HADN'T GOTTEN RESCUED.

MR FROHICKY. I need that Frohicky plushie like YESTERDAY.

Also PUPPY COLE PLUSH WHEN

COLE. He's still protecting and trying to comfort everyone. What an amazing fight he put on at the monastary, almost a one-man army against the Adminstration's mechs, with Gandalaria's support. I bet his failure to protect Zane would have devastated him if Zane had been deactivated permanently. Fortunately Gandalaria knows more about nindroids than she should...

GANDALARIA! Endlessly positive and chirpy and disorganised. Like a more established Fungus. Wish I could be her. Loved seeing her dynamic with Cole being her straight man (hush, yes I know.)

So happy to see Kai get his focus for a change. Love Lloyd but he gets the focus like... every season. Kai needs the love. He's really cool this season.

Nya gets the least focus :( I miss her

WHY are all the ninjas' powers only as powerful as the plot calls for it :/ Zane's frozen way more than just a runaway mech back in the day!

I still think Ras looks too cuddly to be taken seriously as an antagonist. I mean would you not hug a Ras plushie? Look at those eyes. Look at that nose.

Is Ras's master a Source Dragon or the Overlord? OR BOTH?

Love Rontu, but she is such an archetypal (?) Nurturing Mentor to Egalt's Grumpy Old Master

Egalt has dragon cancer :( he looks way cooler in the show than he looked in the promotional materials and the set

I haven't talked about Jay, have I? JAY. Oh how my heart skipped a beat when he showed up pointing that gun/taser at Bonzle. I literally said out loud "OH NO OH NO OH NO".

I think that was the single most terrifying part of the whole season for me. I don't even know why it was so visceral. I think I was worried that his entire peronality had changed, though I don't know why I thought that, since in Pt1 he was literally playing video games instead of working.

So I was actually relieved to hear that he felt he didn't really belong in the Administration. Pre-merge Jay probably couldn't even fill out a single form properly. He probably had Nya or Zane or Cole do all the paperwork for him.

He clearly wasn't suprised that he had control over lightning. Why did nobody know about it? He's the kinda guy who'd use his powers for entertainment if he didn't have a good reason to hide them.

He didn't recognise his own ninja outfit D:

Lastly, the Finders - I'm also a little troubled by how Cole seems to put them ahead of his ninja family, but then again. He knows the ninja are all very capable warriors who can take care of themselves. On the other hand, for who knows how long, he had felt responsible for protecting his little newfound family. It makes sense that he would continue priotising them even after finding his old family.

In conclusion, Cole is such a dad :D

And to wrap it up, NEED PT 2 NOW 6 MONTHS IS TOO LONG TO WAIT NETFLIX /shakes fist

Sorry that was so long and rambling! Fun though.

I had wanted to do a blow by blow reaction post of every episode, but I can't seem to get clear photos from my device without major reflection issues. Still trying though!

[destinygoldenstar]

Okay I’m going to make this quick because I’m stuck with a ton of work shifts this week, and my GF is currently sick, so I want to rewatch it with her. Now that she’s a fan. So it’ll take me some time to gather full thoughts in details. Sorry, but life is like that.

So if you want my thoughts nicely:

(Dragons Rising Spoilers)

HOLY GOSH THAT WAS A LOT. Like, there is A LOT of details to impact in just this one season. But I gotta say. I had SO MUCH FUN.

Like, OMG, this is the most hyped I’ve ever been about Ninjago since the Oni Trilogy.

I think the thing I love the most about the sequel show is that it’s GREAT for a new generation of kids to get into the show. Just as the original show did for us.

Not only does the merge make the story fairly disconnected to the original show but it’s also a great change of pace of PURE UNAPOLOGETIC CHAOS.

Seriously, they throw SO MUCH at you at once that I can’t process any of it.

It’s great for new kids not familiar with the original show to get into Ninjago. You don’t have to know anything to enjoy it. You can still get invested in these new characters taking center stage, and just treat the old ones like assistant side characters that are also very likeable.

If you don’t know anything and are just getting into the show, it’s a chaotic fun watch with head rushes in a good way, and characters easy to digest and like.

If you DO know the original show, your reactions likely range from breath snatched to FANGIRLING.

And that’s basically me.

Like, NO OTHER SHOW have I EVER been THIS fan girly over the tiniest details.

To give a quick rundown of my fangirl moments:

LLOYD’S FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE SHOW

LLOYD AND KAI’S REUNION HUG

THE WIND GIRL

LLOYD SMOTHERING KAI THAT ONE TIME

THAT ONE MOMENT WHERE KAI IMITATES WU

ZANE SHOWING UP

THE FLASHBACK WITH LLOYD AND WU AND WHEN WU’S GHOST APPEARS TO CALM LLOYD

LLOYDS DRAGON VISION

THIS HIGH FIVE BETWEEN KAI AND WILDFYRE

ARIN GETTING HIS MASK

ZANE MENTIONING PIXAL

LLOYD'S REACTION TO NEVER TELLING THEM ABOUT HIS INHERITAGE

KAI BRINGING UP HOW HE DEALT WITH HIS GRIEF OVER NYA

COLE. JUST COLE. COLE HAS A GOLEM FORM. COLE HAS KIDS. COLE HAS A… IMPLIED BOYFRIEND. EVERY TIME HE AND GEO INTERACT. (Tears were in my eyes when he showed up)

THE GOODBYE BETWEEN NYA AND COLE

JAYS CAMEO

SORA STANDING UP AGAINST HER PARENTS

ARIN GOT THE LAST HIT ON BEATRIX

SO. MANY. HUGS.

I… I just… I’m sorry. It’s too much. Too much awesomeness. That’s why I wanted to do separate posts and wait till I was in a good position in life. Because… holy gosh this season is PACKED. And CHAOS. But I want you to know that I DID heavily enjoy all of it.

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

So sibce chen is skylors cousin, does he know of the things his uncle is doing or does he know about elements?

Chad doesn't know the full extent of Master Chen's dealings (especially not the snake-cult thing), and a solid chunk of S4 for him is spent uncovering the darker secrets of his family and (in kind of a Pacifica Northwest situation here) eventually vowing to work to reverse some of the done damage after everything on the island comes to a head.

As for the elements, he doesn't know the whole story there either—all he really knows is that Skylor IS an EM, it's somehow associated with her eye color, that his family treats her better because of it/holds him to 'her" standards, and that's why he's already so suspicious (and particularly distasteful) towards the ninja as civilians.

(But as we are in Book 3, he doesn't know the specifics for the Eye Color Rules, nor any of the teachings of the Elemental Compass, so he doesn't know they're the ninja for sure, nor that Lloyd is de facto the Green Ninja—only that there's a chance they're potentially elemental to some degree and he's slightly jealous about it especially when those idiots keep using their powers in front of him)

(also also there's a deleted scene from Book 2 where Olivia confronts him about this and I miiiiiiiiight attempt to rework it for Book 3 or Book 4 cuz it was pretty banger ngl, but no promises)

Anyway, small spoilers, because Chad starts to suspect his side of the family is up to something questionable during S4 + they're not telling him what it is nor letting him go to Chen's Island for the tournament (as he's not "important" enough to be involved and he is OFFENDED), he begrudgingly teams up with the "Rescue Squad" (Nya, Dareth, Miranda, Sunni, and Antonia) to go to island and see things for himself and shenanigans and character development ensue and he reunites with his cousin and hopefully eventually starts to be on better terms with her especially since she was used/abused by "the family" as much as he was <3

[royonninjago]

A Funny Idea I had for Hands of Time

I believe that many people in the Ninjago fandom share the opinion that season 8, The Hands of Time, is one of the worst seasons of Ninjago. Weird writing choices, bad animation (even by Ninjago standards), and the confusing time travel mechanics plague the season making re-watches difficult.

I don't plan on making my own rewrite of Ninjago or anything, but I had an idea that's been rattling around in my head for a while that I will now share with y'all.

We all know that Jay is the comic relief and resident nerd of the Ninja, but most of these jokes are more current grievances addressed in an over the top and exaggerated way, which can sometimes get old.

We also know that apart from the Day of the Departed special, we are right off the heels of Skybound, the season that (arguably and within the context of the show) changed Jay the most, but since technically none of it ever happened the only one aware of it is Nya.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is the arc that involves time travel shenanigans that many sci-fi and fantasy feel compelled to write, making it almost obligatory for the genre.

Keeping all this in consideration, I think a really fun way to demonstrate how much he has grown since Skybound while still staying true to his character would to have him take lead of the Ninja in very specific counter-time shenanigan strategies that he developed based off of all the time travel stories he's read and watched.

The idea originally came from a realization while rewatching the season while still somewhat fresh off the heels of watching the anime "JoJo's Bizzare Adventure".

I highly recommend this anime and that you go into it as blind as possible, but if you don't care about spoilers then here you go.

The abilities of the Hands of Time and the abilities of JoJo's main villains from parts 3 to 6 line up shockingly well. There requires some tweaking to the abilities to make them fit, but it still works really well.

The Pause Blade and Dio Brando's Stand "The World" have the same ability to stop time.

The Rewind Blade and Yoshikage Kira's Stand "Killer Queen: Bites the Dust" have the ability to rewind time, although Bites the Dust can't use it on Kira.

The Forward Blade and Diavolo's Stand "King Crimson" can both skip ahead in time to avoid undesirable outcomes.

The Slow-Mo Blade and Enrico Pucci's Stand "Made in Heaven" both have the ability to control the speed at which time moves, however Made in Heaven uses it to speed up time for everyone else instead of slowing everyone down, but its used for the same effect.

I like to imagine that while the Ninja are heading out to meet Master Wu at the burned monastery, Jay is just thinking to himself "Wait, this can't be King Crimson, can it?" and when they finally get there and Jay realizes that it is King Crimson he uses the same strategy they use in JoJo. Because the skip is instantaneous and imperceptible to everyone, the only way to possibly defend against it is to physically measure the time. The easiest way to do this without relying on watches or clocks that can be easily broken is to cut yourself and count the drops of blood that fall on your hand. If the number suddenly increases, that means a skip has happened and that the enemy is probably in your blind spot. Obviously this is a kids show and they can't show blood, but the point of the strategy is to count falling droplets of a liquid.

Not only would this demonstrate Jay's newfound leadership skills to the rest of the Ninja while showing off more of his nerdy side, but it could also be easily used as comedy since now he has a good reason to be watching TV shows and reading comic books when he could be doing something more productive.

"No, Lloyd, I am doing something productive! I'm watching Back to the Future because we need to understand the potential ramifications of time travel!"

If you have any similar thoughts or opinions about something like this, please feel free to share because I love reading them!

(P.S. Can you tell that Jay is my favorite Ninja?)