#ninjago gone spiritual??????

[onlyheretoreadevillouschronicles]

y'all i found a rant about what crystals would be the ninjas favourites and I found it too hilarious to not share 😭

jay: (-wouldn't really show interest in crystals but secretly wants to know more about them)

- radiates HUGE calcite energy, maybe blue or honey calcite

- would fall in love with shiny/sparkly crystals (aura quartz labradorite maybe)

nya: (- would introduce jay to crystals)

- HUGE blue lace agate vibes

- dalmatian/red jasper

- loves tumbles crystals to carry around

- black tourmaline

- moss agate (loves agate in general)

lloyd: (- seems like a huge crystal and spirituality enthusiast IF you would introduce him to it)

- amethyst (really had to think a lot)

- omg MALACHITE AND RAINBOW MOONSTONE (WHY DID I DO LLOYD LIKE THIS)

- lepidolite

- unakite

- amazonite

- maybe sodalite??

kai: (- doesn't believe in the healing properties of crystals even if you tried to introduce him)

- but I sense a carnelian lover

cole: (- c'mon as if he wouldn't love crystals, it's literally his lil treasures, openly loves spirituality)

- black tourmaline!!

- botswana agate

- selenite/satin spar

- has a lot of tumbled stones but would DIE for cute carvings

zane: (- is fascinated of crystals healing properties)

- SNOWFLAKE OBSIDIAN

- black onyx

- citrine

[summertide-treehouse]

season 1 review season 2 review

I finished Season 3 of my Ninjago Rewatch,  here’s my review. holy yapper

I think it’s going to be a recurring theme that I like each season a bit more than the last one; but Season 3 especially more because it seemed to be surer of itself, as well as condensing it’s plot into 8 episodes.  I found the pacing much better and I don’t think any episode had any drag. 

This season was VERY engaging, even during the slower moments I was very invested while watching.  I’m not a big fan of technology / hacker type plots, but I was very involved in watching.   In the later episodes, I was stressed while watching.  The stakes were very high only shifted to be more dangerous as the plot progressed.

It followed a consistent theme of “we failed this time, next time we won’t” and while I want to say it got annoying after awhile, personally I found it realistic.  In the previous seasons, the threats they were faced with were passed enemies coming back, or fates historically warned about.  This season, it was ENTIRELY new.  They had no ancient scrolls or old foretellings to warn and give hints, and with the new technology advancements, the Ninja were literally going in blind.  The most they had was the Serpentines legend about the Golden Master, and even then; it was also just a story with the perspective of the Ninja being the enemies.  The entire Season, the Ninja were always at a disadvantage, which made every attempt of desperation feel like one.

I also noticed that there was a consistent lesson of using the enemies strengths against them.  Starting from Garmadons “art of the silent fist” lesson to using armor that was used against the FSM to defeat the Overlord, I found that to be a very intriguing.  I found it to be a commentary of the balance as well; good things can be used for evil, and things used for evil can be turned back to good things.  Even when the Ninja were trapped at in a position where they thought was one of no return, they still managed to use their resources to prevail.

As for the characters, I like how they were all written here.  I enjoyed Lloyd and Garmadons dynamic and them finally having a father-son relationship.  Kai and PIXAL had a very funny dynamic in ‘Codename; Arcturus’ and I hope we see more of that.  I thought Kai was a little out of character in that episode though, he was super confident and cocky while the previous ones he struggled more with insecurities, but I think he was also riding the high with the belief they defeated the Overlord; just to later find out they didn’t.  While I still think Garmadons redemption should’ve gone a little differently, his oath to never fight again did hold real weight and his lesson to fight without fighting was what taught the Ninja how to keep going.  Garmadon dropping this oath to fight Pythor after they took Lloyd was kickass too. 

Garmadon and Wu had a very interesting dynamic this season.  Even when Wu was taken over by the Overlord, they always stayed close.  While they were allies again and seemed to rekindle the brotherhood they had before, there was still times where they clashed.  Garmadon seemed to be more of a “realist” and I think Wu is more “spiritual” compared to him, believing in faith and that, so long as the Ninja continue to head in the right direction, things will work out okay, while Garmadon is more in the moment, and seems to stick more to what the plan was, and worries when things get off track.  

However, I think both of their sides are good and provides each other a different perspective.  Wu knows the Ninja MUCH better than Garmadon does, both as a team and personally, Wu has much more trust and faith in them compared to Garmadon.  Garmadon also seems to be a bit of a pessimist; he didn’t agree with Lloyd giving up his Golden Power to share with the Ninja, told Wu the Ninja won’t back from space, and overall expects the worse out of a situation.  But, he also admits he needs to learn trust.  I would’ve liked to see Wu agree with Garmadon for something in his perspective as well, maybe seeing him take the Ninja out of a situation he knows could be dangerous, but I don’t think it’s something that took away from the season or makes me think of the character more negatively.  

My only complaint I had was the infamous love triangle between Nya, Jay and Cole.  But, I don’t think it was anywhere near as bad as I remembered it.  It was actually kind of funny, and truthfully; Cole didn’t really have much to bring to the table other than reacting to things Jay was saying.  It was implied Jay and Nya were having couple problems in the first episode, so I imagine when Nya was told that Cole was compatible with her instead, she just had self doubt and wasn’t sure if she could commit to Jay, considering the tension they already had together.  I don’t think Cole shared any big feelings either, the only time where Cole seemed to return anything was when he and Nya were talking about their students, but that wasn’t enough to only be taken romantically, at least in my opinion.  Cole might’ve just had sudden feelings after this was made aware to him, and might’ve continued to play along out of curiosity for what Nya would do, and probably just to keep messing with Jay, since Jay cared about it MUCH more than Cole did.  In the finale Nya did hug Cole, I remember that being something discussed about before and something I noticed, but I don’t think it had anything to do with the love triangle directly; their friend just died, and Nya hugged the closest person there was.  I don’t really think it was necessary to the Season, it only seemed to give Nya some develop or flaw in her character, but since there was no time to expand on it, it didn’t really add anything positive.  But again, I didn’t find to be as bad as I was remembering, so it didn’t really put a damper on the experience.

My only other complaint; I wish the side-villains had more screen time.  Cryptor didn’t really get anything until the last few seasons, and I found him to be very interesting when he was on screen, like when he told Pythor he didn’t want his army to be taken advantage of, it would’ve been cool to see his character have more use than just another pawn of the Overlord.

The finale was rough, but soo good.  I probably shouldn’t have watched it so close to my grandmas deathday, but if a Lego show can resurface such feelings then I say it was written WELL.  The ONLY thing I wish was different, was explaining a bit more on.. How Zane even sacrificed.  Part of it was self explanatory, but going in at first got confusing.  If I’m not wrong, Zane touched the Golden Power, and doing so was beginning to damage him, but also fuel his elemental powers to it’s strongest; which is what made it so strong to destroy the Overlord, and what ultimately ended up killing him.  The voice actors had rent due because the Ninja’s reactions watching it and being dragged away was gut punching.  Kai being the one to speak on the Ninja’s behalf during the ceremony and reveal of the Titanium Statue took me aback, I didn’t think Kai would be the public speaking type out of the Ninja; but it fit, and was memorable.  The finale ends with PIXAL being “contacted” by Zane, or something?  Not complaining, but the cliffhanger might’ve been too soon, and didn’t really make a whole lot of sense.  That might also have been the point, though.

Overall, the season was great.  Every review seems to get longer; the show is definitely expanding and only getting better from here. It was a fun watch.  Solid 8.5/10

[sepublic]

I’ve noticed that when it comes to shows and movies and whatnot, you can’t just ask the writers about the lore so easily, even with social media; Every once in a blue moon they’ll respond to a tweet, but otherwise they’re mum. Your only real shot is some dedicated event or livestream where they accept questions, but with so many coming in during a set amount of time, they can only get a few.

Sometimes the answers are for things that the writers genuinely planned and wanted to fit into the story, but couldn’t. Sometimes writers don’t even want to clarify, and would prefer there be room for fanon and interpretation, mystery, etc. Voice actors can answer relatively simple and inconsequential details, often presented as headcanons. Otherwise, fandom just has to make do with itself, make their own answers, or simply never know.

I presume this has to do with like, legality and whatnot. But then I’ve noticed with another fandom I’m in, Ninjago, that people have been casually asking the head writer(s) random questions since the dawn of time, and will often get them answered. Sometimes it’s really minor stuff too like “What’s the name of this incredibly brief character” and they’ll just have it ready like they created it on the spot for this response.

And I realize the same thing happened with Bionicle, for whom Ninjago is its spiritual successor; So many people asking Greg Farshtey questions on the lore that he had to create a dedicated forum. It got to a point where on TTV’s messageboards, there was a feature where fans could answer questions that Greg had already done, so he didn’t waste time trying to remember if he’d gone through this question before or not. People would ask the most specific questions too…

Bionicle and Ninjago are both Lego; This is ironic because for a toy company that wants to encourage creativity and even had a phase about letting kids decide their own stories and endings, now we have fans demanding the creator answer and decide everything for them instead of yknow. Having a headcanon or making their own details in fanfic, or even just waiting for the story to elaborate on basic stuff it’ll obviously get around to. There’s no real room for interpretation at this rate.

My frustrations aside (Maybe I’m just jealous), I wonder what’s the legal difference; Is it the fact that Lego is a toy company? Whereas Disney and Cartoon Network and whatnot, these are companies based on media and stories. So the rules about creators discussing canon might be different there, because the story is the primary product and focus, and would likely have the most laws surrounding it.

But with Lego, the story is just another way to advertise the toys, the focus is on the physical toys. So that might be why Lego can allow its writers to just ramble as they please, whereas with other showrunners, there are requirements to be less liberal. Maybe it’s just a creative difference where showrunners want to encourage creativity and interpretations. Maybe they’re more busy.

Maybe Greg was just a strange exception that set a precedent for Tommy Andreasen and then Doc Wyatt; Greg wrote books and comics but Bionicle never had a show, so that could be why he could get away with it, and then Ninjago’s writers are just following suit at that rate. Maybe laws were different back then.

[grayninjabreeze]

Full Name: Zephyr Windsor

Background on Name: Not sure, I guess my mom thought she was being funny.

Nickname(s): Zeph

Nickname Background: It's just short for my name

Birth date: December 30th

Birth place: Jamanakai Village, Ninjago

Age: 23

Visual Age: 23

Zodiac/Astrological signs: Capricorn

Blood type: I don't know

Social Class: Middle class, I guess. We're kind of our own thing.

Religious Values: I'm spiritual, but not particularly religious.

---

Gender: Agender

Height: 5'7

Weight: 150lbs

Body type: Thin, light, agile

Race/Species: Human, with elemental power

Eye color and Shape: Gray, slightly upturned almond

Glasses/Contacts?: None

Hair color and Style: Black with green. Loose curtain bangs.

Fur color and Area: None.

Additional Appendages: None.

Skin tone and type: Honey beige

Favored Clothing Style: Techwear/cyberpunk

Why?: Because that's what I'm most comfortable in.

Least Favored Clothing Style: Anything overly formal or restrictive.

Why?: It makes me uncomfortable for my clothes to limit my movement.

Important/Usual Accessories: Aro and ace rings

Tattoos: All are in plain black ink; I have a dragon on my right shoulder, ice crystals on the underside of my left forearm (lost due to amputation), a tree blowing in wind on my left shoulder blade, "Fly on my wind" in script above my left collarbone, ice crystals on the underside of my right forearm (to replace the tattoo I lost), a compass on upper back, "It's all part of the adventure" in script down my spine, and tech wires on right forearm.

Story Behind Tattoo: The tree and collarbone script are referring to my powers, the compass and spine script are just things I liked, the dragon is Mei Xing, and the ice and wires are for my partners.

Piercing(s): Left mid helix, left tragus, left daith, left lobe gauge, double left upper lobe, right mid helix stud, right forward helix, right inner conch, right lobe gauge, double right upper lobe, double left eyebrow, right nostril, snakebites, belly button

Scar(s): Plenty, but nothing that seems too noteworthy.

Other Marks: None

Predominant Features: Prosthetic left arm

Visual Health Level: Very fit

Spending Habits: I try to budget, but I do impulse buy sometimes.

---

Strengths: Quick thinking, creativity, determination

Weaknesses: Cockiness, impulsivity

Weapons: Sai

Habits: Nothing that stands out as far as I know.

Familiars/Summons/Pets: Mei Xing is my wind dragon. My dog is Feng Li, a village dog I adopted.

Fighting Style: Ninjutsu, Spinjitzu

Old Injuries: My left arm is gone, so I guess that counts.

Movement Issues: Nothing serious.

Speed: I'm quicker than my teammates, aside from maybe Jay.

Agility: Very agile. I try to avoid too many flips and tricks because I know they aren't practical, but they're too fun not to sometimes!

Strength: I'm definitely not the strongest of my team, but still probably stronger than the average person of my build.

Stamina: Definitely not my strong point. I fight best with some breaks in the close combat.

Defensive Ability: Pretty good I'd say. I can't necessarily take a huge hit and be unaffected, but I can usually block and dodge very effectively and bounce back quickly if I do get hit.

Magical Ability: Not applicable. I do have the elemental wind power, but that isn't exactly magic.

Planning/Strategic Ability: Not always my best. I do try and I'd say I'm a decent planner, but if it's just me I am way too impulsive.

Memory: Hit or miss. I'm pretty forgetful, but I can usually keep up with important things well enough.

Luck: Definitely not. I'm not unlucky or anything, but I have to work just as hard as anyone.

Reaction Speed: Very very fast, too much so sometimes. I'll often react before my brain has really registered what's happening, which has led to more than a few black eyes for my friends.

Learning Curve: I pick up on new things really fast, although I might forget them just as quickly if it isn't immediately relevant.

---

Alignment: Chaotic good

Occupation: Ninja!

Love Interest(s): None, I'm aroace. But Zane Julien and Pixal Borg are my partners.

Likes: Being outside, heights, adventure

Dislikes: Boredom, shitty people

Fears: Ostracization, failure

Wishes: Ninjago's safety

Personality: I can be pretty chaotic and high-strung. I care a lot about my friends, and want to help others.

Favorite Color and Why: Green and purple, I can't choose. They're really fun and pretty colors.

Favorite Music and Why: Techno/punk. I just like it, I can't really give a reason.

Food: I love any and all noodles! Vegetable biang biang noodles are my favorite.

Literature: I don't really read a lot, I don't think I've had a favorite book since I was a kid.

Expressions: Do I have any that I use a lot? I don't think I do.

Favored Expletives: Fuck is way too versatile and fun to say for my own good

Manner of Transportation: Dragon, random vehicles, it's usually whatever we have on hand at the moment.

Hobbies: Video games, art, movies

Favorite Childhood Memory: Probably when my dad first took me in.

---

Song: "Oh No!" By MARINA

Taste: I have no idea, how would I know what I taste like?

Smell: I mean, sweat usually. I like minty scents though.

Representation in Psychic Endeavors: Not applicable I think.

Myers-Briggs Personality Type: ENFP-T

Enneagram Type and Wing: Type 7, Wing 6

Character Flaws: Impatient, untrusting, overprotective, short-tempered

Mannerisms: Excitable, I talk too loud and gesture a lot.

Darkest Secret and Who Knows About it: I'd rather not share that here, only my teammates know.

Personal Triggers: Just. My mom as a whole. Manipulation, child abuse/neglect, etc.

---

Extra Notes: None that I can think of.

Family Members, and relationship with each: Lian Windsor (mom), Morro (father), Ronin (unofficial adoptive dad)

This template is from @rpedia

[nuesetine]

Fugi-Dove Headcanons

My little pigeon feeding blorbo has been selected for my nightly brain rot. More information about my thoughts below the cut!

Bear with me, it has been a few years since I last revisited S11. Fugi-dove is a forming and human hybrid, ending up with him being a little bit silly in the mind. For most physical qualities they go back to human roots and mental/(ig) spiritual are more formling aligned. There are few execptions like the small fluffy tuffs/markings along his cheeks. His formling qualities are garnered from his mother, a formling who had been brought to Ninjago via the Master of Ice before Zane. She was tasked with watching over the new master in hopes that the powers would be in good hands, that no harm would be brought upon them due to the new abilities. Her form was the falcon who had inspired Dr. Julien to create the robotic one later with Zane's life as something that would hold great symbolism within his life, and something that he could use to all ways remember him. The reason behind bringing a formling into Ninjago, and how even did that happen!? In this head canon the Master of Ice knew that since he bore no offspring that his element would find a new master though they chose to manually transmit the power as it would be randomized anyways once he departs from this realm. Since he is completely randomizing who he gives the gifts too he brings the formling in order to make sure that once the power is obtained the right stands remain in good morals. The reason behind the formling is partially because of the way of watching over them in plain sight, and knowing that the FSM distanced himself from the Never-Realm, the Master of Ice being the first to not blood related transmit the element, made this in a way that his acts could not be rather noticed and frowned upon within the departed realm. The ability of bring Fugi-dove's mother is unknown though most likely had some connection with the elemental power of ice and the Never-realm being a flat land of ice and snow.

The reason behind the acceptance of the offer relates to how in the animated scenes/episodes of S11, we see the leader of the formlings have some sort of eagle as their creature. Fugi-dove's mother is the sibling of them and was rather regarded rather poorly compared to her brother who seemed to a wish upon a falling star, leaving the formling village although in the slightest bit painful to cut ties was nothing much and a new start in Ninjago sounded like a ticket to a new life. Falcon formling fell in love, had a child, had a another, and bam modern S11. Since the Falcon held symbolism with Zane, so does/was Fugi-dove. Seeing as he appears to be within the Ice-Chapter, his sole appearance is to symbolize Zane's change of becoming the Ice Emperor and going to the Never-Realm. Where his mother was to represent the past he is too showcase the future, sort of. His pure curiosity and friendship towards Jay is mostly reasoned (in my opinion) with that he has a stronger connection and lead towards Echo (Zane) as he was not directly tasked watch over the ice elemental descendants. Jay had gone through Skybound and uncovered Echo's existence instilling the oathly connection that run's through the formling blood within Fugi-dove's veins. With Skybound and the final wish washing that timeline away, it screws up the connection and leaves the only him with the one-sided connection towards Jay but for an unknown reason. His formling gene's are showcased with his connections to doves, the creature that he would be able to shift into if he had been pure blood. Though he also has a bit more meek connection with other birds, pigeons and seagulls he enjoys to hang out and feed regarding their place in the social class of animal kingdom and how he feels about himself and his rank in the social classes. In addition to the fact that seagulls guard Echo's lighthouse out at a sea. What was your main though process behind all of this? The formling hats and Fugi-dove's mask look oddly similar in a way I will base my connection with them.

[calypsolemon]

I mean ok obviously I'm being a bit reductive here, the situations are much different, but I do think that DR is really making me view Skybound through an interesting retroactive lens.

I think it's very easy to reduce Skybound down to "Jay's being an entitled sexist prick and the writers bend the story to make Jaya happen" Which hasn't really been my read for a while anyways (I think its a little more complex than that regardless of DR's existence), but I think especially with the context of DR and Nya's reaction to Jay now, there's some interesting qualities of her relationship to Jay in Skybound to pick at.

Nya's primary conflict around actually being with Jay in Skybound wasn't that she didn't like him like that, or didn't have any desire to be with him. It's obvious that she did. The problem is that she had to reconcile that feeling with what she saw of Jay's behavior when faced with the possibility of her not loving him, as well as the way all of Ninjago treated her and her potential romantic relationships as nothing but drama fodder, a will-they-won't-they that doggedly pointed to "inevitably, Will." She had to really process what it meant to her that Jay was supposedly destined to be with her, and that when she really thought about it, she still wanted that, and yet the start of their relationship seemingly proved that wasn't a good idea.

I do think Skybound's main failure was that it didn't really succeed in giving that conflict a meaningful conclusion. But that, I think, is where DR (and to a lesser degree, Seabound/ Crystallized)'s Jaya plots really shine. Because now we begin to see a pattern emerge around Nya's behavior and her relationship to concepts of destiny and set roles.

Nya hates being forced into a role. She hates seeing her identity as pre-determined. That's something the fandom often hones in on. But the less mentioned quality of her character, one that's often discounted even as noncanon or bad writing, is that once she accepts a role as part of her life, she equally struggles to cope with having that role suddenly taken from her.

She fought against accepting the role of the water ninja, but once she became the water ninja, she feared losing it again. She railed against the idea that she could ever be put in the same position as her mother, and yet when it came down to it she gave in to the same acceptance of a tragic fate, allowing her identity to disappear into the sea for quite a long period of time. Then, when she came out of that fate lacking her powers, she threw a fit tossing all of her ninja stuff, as if she'd have to give up being a part of the team altogether even though she knew that her powers were never the thing that made her part of the team in the first place.

Nya doesn't want to be told what to do with her life. She doesn't want to be told she doesn't have a choice. But once she makes the inevitable "choice" that life has handed to her, she just as equally does not want to let go. And for understandable reason! You mean to tell her that she fought tooth and nail against a role until finally giving in, only to be told to just accept she'll no longer even be that? That's some real bullshit!

And this is where the DR stuff with Jay comes in. Because this is another example of that. She WANTED to be with Jay, she made the choice to be with Jay despite the baggage associated with that. And she was happy! She made the right choice, she's happy, the universe is happy, the end. Even if tragedy already occurred to them, it was, at least, to her mind, a noble sacrifice for Jay's sake. Another inevitability life handed to her, but it did not conflict with her role as Jay's life partner.

But now..... now, Jay is not lost. He's not gone. He's standing right in front of her, memory gone, but physically and spiritually intact. He just wants nothing to do with her. Just like that, that inevitable destiny, that forever that she thought she at least had the honor of accepting gracefully, crumbles into nothing. At least, if she accepts that's how Jay really feels now, that in his current state he's a whole person with his own autonomy, in the same way she was back when he was acting like her rejection of him was a problem to be solved.

Problem is, Nya doesn't like crumbly cookies. She never has.

DR retroactively making Skybound better by proving that if situations were reversed Nya would be just as Weird About It as Jay was the first time around. well I'm happy for them <3