#ninjago reversal time blade

[toastingpencils37]

So we know during the Oni Trilogy Master Wu was rapidly aging, and supposedly stopping at the end of Season 9.

But then in Season 11 he is shown to look a bit older, opening two possible options:

The six month period just let him age naturally, no Time Blade involved

Some point between Seasons 10 and 11 he had one final age jump, though probably nowhere near as drastic as the previous ones

[al-luviec]

compiled whatever this is (and I run out of tag space)

meh HoT gifs (3/?)

[grumpy-zane]

((XAL13

[pixanefan]

The things that P.I.X.A.L and Zane had to go through is crazy!

P.I.X.A.L:

Had to go through Zane:

Sacrificing himself to the Overlord (Season 3)

Being abused by Clouse (Season 4)

Being stuck in the Djinn Blade (Season 5)

Dying because time had reversed (Season 7)

Shutting down because of Mr.E (Season 8)

Being sent to the First Realm (Season 9)

Being banished to the Never Realm (Season 11)

Being used to open a portal for Unagami (Season 12)

Going through a coma (Season 16)

Zane:

Had to go through P.I.X.A.L:

Getting hurt because of Cryptor (Season 3)

Almost going to die because of Chen (Season 4)

Dying because of Nadakhan (Season 6)

Asking if she was useful or not (Season 8)

Going into Ninjago City to save Garmadon and Lloyd even when it was dangerous (Season 10)

Not being there (Dragons Rising)

These two have gone through a lot! If you guys want more on their feelings, I did write a small story about it called,"True Feelings".

[destinygoldenstar]

I Rewrite The Climax Of Hands Of Time By Just Changing ONE Plot Point.

You know how Kai had been playing detective for the entire season and realized that his parents were traitors to the Elemental Resistance, and therefore pretty twisted people?

And then in canon it was revealed they were good all along?

Well, here's the change: Kai was RIGHT.

Ray and Maya ARE alive, but they are NOT good people, and they work for the Time Twins at their own will.

Why would they do that?

The Time Twin's ideals of "control time control everything" wore on them because their desire was to remain in their present fame as Elemental Masters. And the twins, especially Krux, were good friends of theirs. However, it broke them to be fighting against friends, and they felt like their past relationships were broken because of it. It pained them to make the blades.

Then not only did they fade from relevance due to fatigue from making the blades, fatigue that would plague their bodies for the rest of their lives, but they also had children. Which dented their ideal time.

Yes, Kai was not intended to be born. But once he was, Maya had the sympathy to have another kid so they could live on in their ideals. This is why she turns around in Seabound.

Then it was revealed to them that Krux was alive and in disguise, and he told them he knew how to get their Elemental Master fame back, and undo what the creation of the time blades did for them. So they made the bold decision to cling to the past and go with Krux.

They believed that as long as the time machine worked, no harm would be done to Kai and Nya, as they would be able to go back in time and be parents later.

Again, they're supposed to be bad people for this.

They're traitors. They work for Krux to make this time machine.

Kai learns this the same way he did in the original, but we also have more baby Kai and Nya flashbacks where we see not just the good memories of his parents, but also the trauma he endured as an abandoned child. How exactly he coped with losing them suddenly. How he put himself in an adult position in the house. His growing hostility towards the rest of the town (their shop is far off from the town after all). Him putting himself to work. His sacrifices for his sister, like his place in school or food. And importantly, how Nya wouldn't allow Kai to destroy himself like that, and she gained her own independence and responsibilities against his wishes, to save him. (He did say in Season one that he spent his whole life trying to protect her and he was just now realizing she never needed it)

Ray and Maya abandoning their kids left a ton of past trauma that they cling to. They're both clinging to the past. Nya is clinging to her past identity as Samurai X and her bond is with P.I.X.A.L and she learns to accept her present role and let it go. Kai is ALL ABOUT honor and the legacy he THOUGHT of his parents. As a blacksmith. As a Master of Fire. As a savior to Ninjago. He's all about doing what they did, and doing it better.

So when he learns that they're actually BAD role models, him asking if they're destined to turn evil, actually makes sense.

Then in what he deems justice, Kai decides to be dishonest with his sister, and ATTEMPT to assassinate his dad (he fails). He's clinging to the past. (Obviously Nya stops him from assassinating his family, because that’s wrong and that’s a horrible thing to do.)

And this clinginess to the past is what makes Kai and Nya get caught by the Time Twins.

In this scene, Ray and Maya PRETEND to be the sympathetic kidnapped parent that did everything to see his kids again. (He's not lying when he said he did it to see his kids again, but it's not in the way they think. Technically)

Their story about how they were kidnapped in the original is a LIE.

They use the opportunity to 'take in' Kai and Nya, and they pretend to be on their side in finding the Reversal Blade (The Time Twins aren't with them, at least by Kai and Nya's knowledge)

NYA is the one who is against this, as she does not believe anything. Because she's the kid with no memories of her family, and she's the independent one, and she's already learned the moral I'm going for with Samurai X.

They get the time blade, they're ready to defeat the Time Twins and get Wu back...

And then Ray and Maya betray them. Krux and Acronix were tracking them the whole time, and they arrive to claim the blade. This is where the kids learn the TRUTH.

And Ray and Maya frame it as though this is a GOOD THING for their family, and the kids are the ones in the wrong. If they can make this time machine, not only would they be glorious like they were in the past, but they could be proper parents to their children and raise them as the perfect Elemental Masters they were meant to be.

Yeah, become good parents by abandoning your kids. It's supposed to be MESSED UP.

Kai and Nya refuse this ideologies, because they're traitors, and they get ditched. Ray even claims to Kai that he is a failure of a Master of Fire, and when they time travel, THAT Kai will be so much better.

This leads to another point I need to make with all of this that is true about the original too:

Kai was very neglectful of the other ninja ever since his fight with Krux in the museum. He had been so fixated on the past and finding out the mystery of his parents that even the other ninja got annoyed by it. He didn't talk to them, he didn't listen to them, he didn't even care about his role as a ninja.

This is where, as the siblings are ditched and trying to get back, Kai APOLOGIZES for this, realizing he was wrong in this behavior, he was a bad brother, and he caused this disaster.

And Nya not only forgives him, but reminds him that the reason she never looked up to their parents was because she HAD a parent to raise her, and that was Kai. Had it not been for each other, they would have never gotten here, let alone survived long enough for Wu to come find them.

So Ray and Maya are bad parents. So what? That's the past. It doesn't matter now. What matters is what they want to do to stop them from destroying their REAL family.

So they follow the Time Twins back, Ray and Maya are with them, and that final fight proceeds. The kids not only participate but get a chance to confront their parents again.

Ray plays the 'you don't want to hurt your family' card.

And Kai claims. "You're right. I have a family. They're the ninja."

Doesn't matter who his birth father is, right NOW, his family is the ninja. That's who raised him. Not Ray.

It HURTS Ray that his kid thinks like that, and is SARCASTICALLY THANKING HIM for ditching a five year old child and his little sister in a forge.

When Krux and Acronix betray their original plan and decide to go far into the future, Ray and Maya feel betrayed as that's not what they wanted, but they get knocked out by the twins when in the machine.

Blah blah, Kai Nya and Wu get caught in the time vortex, and this is their final fight against the twins.

KAI is the one who gets the final blow on Krux. The man who influenced his parents, and destroyed the happy childhood he and Nya could've had, and was also a traitor to a resistance he stood for proudly.

Krux asks why he'd ruin his chances at a happier past.

Kai claims that his past does not matter anymore. His focus is on who he is RIGHT NOW. And RIGHT NOW, he is the Master of Fire, an older brother, and a loyal savior to the Elemental Resistance, and he's fighting for the future of everyone he loves. Something a self absorbed power hungry maniac like Krux would NEVER understand.

He gets the last blow on Krux, and Krux falls out of the machine, lost in time. (We COULD see what happens to him. Maybe that's a Randall Monsters Inc situation.)

The time machine is breaking down, and they're nearing the present, so they have to go back and jump off the machine now.

And out of sympathy, they take their unconscious parents with them and save their lives. Despite everything, it would be clinging to the past to act like they're too far gone.

So they're all ready to jump off, and at the last minute to avenge his fallen brother, ACRONIX GRABS WU AND PULLS HIM BACK IN THE MACHINE.

Kai and Nya try to save Wu, but they lose their grip, and can only watch as Wu gets lost in time with Acronix.

The ninja get back to the present and reunite with the team. Wu is lost in time. They don't have the Reversal Time Blade in this version, because future seasons never use it, so there's no harm in cutting that.

As for Ray and Maya, they regain consciousness when they're back in the present. And the ninja arrest them.

So for the Oni Trilogy, they are in jail. That's why we don't hear from them.

This is actually going to take us to Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitsu.

I'm going to say that during them running around looking for something to do, Kai get an offer to pay bail for Ray and Maya, who were serving their time up till that point, and they want to try to be better parents.

Kai does not take it. He is not emotionally prepared to let them back in his life.

It's part of a narrative that Kai is content with his role as the Fire Ninja and his ninja family, and does not want that to change. But not only are Jay and Nya married now, but crime had stopped, and the ninja are transcending into adulthood, getting some jobs, and starting a new chapter of their lives. Kai and Zane are the ones who can't move on. Zane because of his programming, now that there's no one to protect, and Kai because his life as a ninja is the ONLY life he has, and thus he isn't anything without it.

This would make Kai losing his powers and feeling useless and deciding to not go on the mission make more sense.

(I mean it's still a bad plotline, but it's... less bad?? Idk, that's a whole other rewrite story)

Instead of this random kid coming to Kai, it's another message from his parents. He visits them in jail, because Ray is a Master of Fire, he would know how to get it back.

We could even have Ray explain something about Fire Elementals. That their fire functions though the state of their souls. And as long as the soul is strong, their fire being drained can be undone. (At least, I think it would be a better more lore-related explanation than 'You just gotta believe', which is a massive plot hole on how Elementals work. This too is probably a plot hole, but I try)

And Ray is the one who snaps at Kai, and claims that a Master of Fire who can't fight without their powers is not a Master, they're just pathetic and dumb and they really are useless.

It hurts Kai, they get into an argument because they're hot headed like that, and Ray at one point asks what he needs to do to help Kai be better. Kai says he doesn't NEED to be better, he WAS the best version of himself, and Aspheera took it from him...

Why can't his own father see that clearly enough to WANT HIM?

Ray claims that he DOES want a son. When they agreed to get the Reversal Blade, it was the most alive he ever felt through the years of him working for Krux. Despite Kai being accidental, when he was born, Ray knew that there was a spark in his kid that was precious and warmed his heart. He thought maybe his kid could be better than him... and he already was.

Ray doesn't know much about the other ninja and what they mean to Kai, but if they're the people Kai needs to be around, then Ray can't stop him. After all, Ray doesn't deserve it.

This doesn't allow Kai to forgive his dad, as Kai still leaves Ray in jail, but it touches Kai and it's progress.

Then at the very end of this season, probably one of the last scenes of the season, Kai decides to bail his parents out and reunite with them at the blacksmith shop, and for the first time in years, they can hug it out. Despite everything.

You can have like, one line of dialogue in Prime Empire (doesn't matter when), where Kai tells someone (doesn't matter who) about what happened to his parents. It was awkward, and people in the village weren't open to forgiving them... but they did manage to have a good hiatus in between seasons and work things out. Forgive and forget.

This goes to Seabound, where Kai has been able to forgive his parents, and Nya, who's been absent of interaction in Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitsu, has not. At this point, Maya and Ray are as overbearing as they are in the original, because they want to be good parents. They want to be better. They want to put in that effort.

Nya is not open to that, because again, what happened, she didn't get a chance to forgive them or talk to them, and she's the independent one.

So yeah, Ray and Maya have a redemption arc in this alternate reality. They're garbage parents, started out as such, but decided they wanted to be better when they were snapped into reality what their kids are capable of.

ALSO, if anybody wants to steal this for a fanfic or something, go ahead, take it, just let me know it exists, I would be open to reading that.

[avidninjagofan]

okay crackhead drs2 part 2 theory:

Ras is going to go after the Reversal Blade.

Hear me out: Dragons Rising has already been reintroducing viewers to the concept of Chronosteel through use of the mechs, and now through Sora's grappling hooks. There was also a direct mention of the Time Blades from Kai in the Mech Shorts.

At the end of Season 7, what was the one blade Wu didn't leave lost to time? The Reversal Blade. This means it was floating around Ninjago pre-merge, and is now somewhere in the Merged Realms.

After the Part 1 finale, what does Ras need to finish summoning The Forbidden Five? The Blood Moon. How is he going to get that? By reversing time back to the night of The Blood Moon.

[knwatchesninjago]

S1E5 Can of Worms

Hellloooooooo!!! Look who's back!! <333

So this ep was a LOT of fun to watch, ngl!!

---

Alrighty!! Let's start with some good old fashioned...

#SiblingBonding

Honestly I love how this episode focuses on the GlacierBros and the PlasmaBuddies (No. I do not ship any of these four together. They are brothers. I have a brother as well, so I know and can relate to these four's relationship. A sibling relationship can and may times is very close. And it's just a fact. Not everyone has to be shipped.)

---

Anyways, we also got our little gremlin!! :3

#Lloydster_Enters_The_Scene

---

Sadly, as I predicted in the previous post for ep4... there was barely any scene where Lloyd regrets his life decisions...

but alas... we got one scene...

#RegretsLifeDecisions

----

Okay... now onto the funny part, loll

Teacher: So kids, what can we learn from this? Student 1: don't have green eyes? Student 2: Don't smush food on your face? Student 3: Hide in a corner and look cute? Teacher: NO! The lesson we can learn from this is... don't do drugs. Or you'll end up like him.

Alright, all jokes aside...seriously, stay away from drugs and smoking stuff. they aren't good for you. And in the future, you'll be wishing you could reverse time itself. But sadly the Time Blades don't exist in our beautiful world, loll. So please, for yourself, stay away from all sorts of drugs/alcohol/smoking thingys.

----

Anyways, because I don't want to end on a serious note... we're now onto the highlight of the entire episode...

(drum roll pls)

I NOW PRESENT TO YOU....

#TheLegendaryPinkNinja (aka Pinky)

^First of... his face 🤣🤣🤣^

Oh my goshh.... even his tornado is pink!! 🤣🤣🤣

I'm questioning how those snakes couldn't see Zane... Like, come on!! He's so obviously visible...

Anyways, I can't with PinkZane!! He's absolutely hilarious!! Thanks to our little green gremlin, we got some comedy, loll.

I dunno if PinkZane is mentione anymore in Ninjago... I hope he is, loll!!

I would be adding more pics, but sadly I'm up to the 30 pic limit.

So, byeeeeeeeeee!!

~KN out~

https://kittenninja14.tumblr.com/post/731916269075480576/hey-yall-i-just-found-this-incredible-video-and

[ratherbeabrcharacter]

Thinking about the elements of time

How tf does a master of time get their powers? After all, they (or just the one master) can reverse their aging body, meaning that they can't die. Not only that, they can time travel as well, preventing unwanted surprises.

Perhaps when their powers first start coming in, their days get shuffled out of order. If its not controlled, they can potentially live their entire life out of order. I headcanon when the twins timey-wimey first started coming in, one would wake up 5 days in the future (or in the past), and they would get each other situated. Over time, they started developing their own secret codes.

Maybe after a master of time has lived a millennia, they pick a person (barring other elemental masters) whose future(s) have the most potential to change, as it makes their powers stronger, and have them inherit?

Besides that, their is also a LOT of shenanigans when it comes to temporal powers. Can they be a seer? Start to see the past of every person, place, or thing they go to as they get stronger? Do they go insane after a while?

What about time paradoxes? There are also different types time travel, from time loops, to not being able to act on knowledge of the future, and more!

Since the elements of time felt trapped into the time blades, can one potentially melt them down, and split them? (like the power of pausing time split into thousands of tiny earnings for some villains minions) Would the powers stay the same, or would they be weakened the smaller the pieces of metal are split?

Speaking of that, WHY HASN'T A VILLAIN CREATED A TASKFORCE TO STEAL TO THE ELEMENTAL POWERS? ....or maybe it's already happened before, and there could be relics out in Ninjago somewhere.

In addition, we know that the metal can ABSORB powers, right? How come when ray and Maya were forming the blades, their elements didn't get yoinked? This has been something the has bothered me ever since I was a kid lol.

Anyways, feel free to add on to this, would love to see other people's ideas.

[ninjago-fa-story]

Ninjago FA Prequel: Restart

Chapter 1: Breaking Free

---Acronix's PoV---

My head was spinning and I felt so dizzy, it was hard to stay on my feet. I was aimlessly tumbling around the Iron Doom, falling to the ground with a loud thud. It was difficult to stay conscious, but I was still able to see what was going on on the other side of the room. Even with my blurry vision pulsating.

Krux was fighting against Wu, who was much older than him. It may appear like an unfair battle, but both were great warriors, equally skilled. But something was strange, Wu looked different just a few moments ago. a possible effect by the Reversal Time Blade. Mentioning it now, where did it go? Though I quickly realized that the siblings of Fire and Water probably took it for their father. Despite the inability to actually show it, I was genuinely happy about that fact: Ray gets to see another day. The battle appeared tough, though I could only hear what was going on. My consciousness was fading to black.

"I seriously don't understand your problem, Acronix. Why is it so hard for you to let go of someone who hurts you? I had to do it twice and yet I am totally fine... Well... As fine as I can be... I am free from them now. I know you want that too, just like you said! If you cling onto your brother any longer, it will hurt you more than it would do good. And if Krux can't see how much he is hurting you, does he really deserve to be your brother? I have seen how he treats you, or even the Vermillion, and you simply cannot tell me you like it this way. You are like his puppet! Like a marionette!"

"And that is exactly my point! If I ever go against him, he will discard me just like them! I can never leave, I have no choice! My choices don't matter! They never did, they never will. I am trapped."

"Why didn't you leave while you still had the chance? Right after you got here?"

"I wanted to! But Krux is everything i still have ever since. I just didn't want to lose him too! And after I realized that he didn't change in the slightest, I hoped to be able to change his mind. I was so focused on my brother, I totally forgot about myself."

"I totally know how that feels like, only doing things because others want me to. When I first started inventing, I rebuilt gadgets from Video Games to get a hang of Technology, then I built myself legs and Nindroid Assistants, once my skills advanced more. Over time I gained more popularity and I had to build whatever the people wanted. I even lost interest in something I knew I once loved. I eventually learned to ignore my own feelings to serve those of the others, I forgot that the words 'me', 'myself' and 'I' even existed. All of this took a toll on my mental health. Seriously, don't end up like me. I can't leave because prety much the entirety of Ninjago depends on me, but you can still run away. It is not to late yet, it never is. Your choices do matter."

What is this? Why was he crying? Was it the inventor's hopeful and encouraging spark within his gray eyes? Whatever it was that caused this outburst, it was helping. Acronix finally realized it wasn't to late yet. He finally collected all the strength he needs. The inventor noticed the breakdown Acronix was going through and engaged in unusual behaviors. He slightly inched forward to hug the other, patting his back lightly. Acronix didn't question anything that was going on, instead, he decided to continue with the downpour.

"Thank you so much, and I am terribly sorry for what happened to you. i wish I could undo my actions."

"It is not your fault.I forgive you. And more importantly, i believe in you, you can do it."

Now all he still has to do is wait for the right moment to break free.

I woke up from my slumber again, the fight between Wu and Krux was still going on. However, Wu has aged down once again, and with age, his skills and combat knowledge faded as well. The only skill he could potentially use properly was his size, though his sword was ways longer than he was himself. That didn't make it's handling any easier, since the weight distribution was a lot more difficult now. Krux did not have a hard time getting Wu to drop his sword, which fell onto the floor with a high-pitched ringing sound. I quickly shut my eyes to act unconscious, I did not want to be seen awake just yet. The younger Wu pointed at me, telling my brother that something was wrong with me, he, however, didn't care at all and continued to point the tip of his sword at the boy's neck. my hand was hastily searching for the nearby sword and eventually found it. After a quick breather to regain my orientation, I tried standing on both of my feet again. While still slouchy, I managed to regain strength in my legs, making my way towards the fight scene.

I actually didn't want to fight, I actually hoped that my brother would realize what he was doing and that it was wrong, once I threaten him. I mean, who would willingly attempt to kill his own brother? Of course, Krux simply didn't care, he didn't care about me at all. Despite the tears filling my eyes, I looked right into my brother's face. It was left entirely emotionless, lifeless even. It has been this way since our family died. The family he has killed. I actually doubt he was actually responsible though. They may have died by his hands, but those hands were controlled by something else. Even back then I knew he didn't mean to, but that doesn't change or undo what has happened. Krux has been living with this guilt for over 40 years, slowly turning him insane. Today he was just a soulless vessel. I can't tell if that thing was back, or if it was actually him who was doing this right now.

The grip around my sword has tightened, I know how heavy his blows are. Slowly backing off from the scene just before attacking was one of the best strategies do use in a fight, as it helps building up strength. At least for me. I charged at my brother with full speed, but this time felt different, yet familiar. My powers have returned. How was still a mystery, yet they somehow did. That sudden surge within the me heavily disturbed and destabilized the iron Doom, causing something to explode. There wasn't much time left until this entire thing would blow up entirely. my brother looked at me in surprise, but happily accepted the challenge. What a monster he truly is... I am coming for you, Cruz. It was a tough fight, I must admit. We may be brothers by blood, but not by heart, he has had his last change. I was angry, truly mad at him and what he has done, how he treated me and others like garbage. he doesn't deserve to be spared. If I want to win this fight, I have to ignore the pain, I cannot focus on that now. There was one advantage I had on my side though: my age. I was far more agile than him and had a lot more stamina too. Despite being stripped my powers, I aged a lot slower and barely any time has passed since my teenage years anyways. Krux however, aged normally like every other human being, the past 40 years. He must be almost 60 by now. I jumped high and did a roll above my brother's head to end up behind him. Though his reaction time was good enough to turn around quickly and block my sword with his own. I, however, fell backwards due to the sudden pressure on my leg. My head hit the wall behind me with a pretty strong force, causing it to start bleeding. My hair became sticky from blood and my face paint washed of just as quickly, making it hard for me to see. I closed my eyes to focus, maybe I could use my superior sense of hearing to know where my brother is. Finally my Tawali heritage came in handy. my mind completely shut of, even leaving my body. It felt strange, especially since no Power of Time had this abilty. Must have something to do with my heritage then. I saw myself crouched in-midst of a gray void, my brother being a little bit to close. i tried reaching out to him and my view switched back int my body. There was this unbearable pain in my left arm, immediately bringing me back to consciousness. My arm was held up in the air, blocking an otherwise fatal blow. Blood was dripping down from his blade, as well as from my arm. Even the armor couldn't help at this point, it was shattered into a million pieces, leaving just as many scratches on my skin. The cut was deep, going almost all the way through, probably even through the bone. At least I think it did, judging by the way my arm looked like. By this rate I will most likely bleed out, most certainly dying within minutes. I had to yield. But of course that wouldn't change anything for my situation. I need to escape somehow. though being trapped within Time and Space doesn't really give many options. What happens if I jump now? maybe I'll end up somewhere safe and people can help me. maybe I'll end up back in local time and get arrested... no matter where I end up being, every place is better than here. Anyone is better than him.

"Las palabras no pueden describir cuánto te odio en este momento. Ojalá no fueras mi hermano..." (es-MX: "Words cannot describe how much I hate you right now. I wish you weren't my brother...")

My body felt infinitely heavy, I was not able to breathe at all and I felt so cold. I was barely able to stay on my feet, but somehow managed to get to the 'window'. I didn't dare to turn around and look at Krux once again, but I caught a glimpse of him in the reflection within the wall. he left me alone and didn't attack, he just stood there, his face appeared to not be able to decide whether to feel guilt or anger, trying to stay as blank as possible. my mind couldn't handle it, I reached my healthy arm out and froze my brother in time, jumping without hesitation.

I plummeted down slower than expected, I was basically floating on the spot, there is no gravity within the Temporal Vortex, after all. I saw the young Wu jumping after me, he too, managed to escape. He appeared to age down mid fall, now he was just a helpless toddler. my consciousness was slipping away and my vision was already fading. This is it. My life ends here. Endlessly I was floating around without a destination, my lifeline going flat as I close my eyes.

***

My entire figure was surrounded by glistening golden light. I felt as if I was as weightless as a feather, there was no pain or any other feeling, just my mere body and mind. An unknown figure approached me, she must be an angel and this must be, what death feels like.

[s0ull3ss-p3rs0n]

Hold on lemme explain every single one of these:

1: Cloud Kingdom apparently doesn't really do that much in regards of destiny, although it is theorised that Ninjago and Cloud Kingdom are sister realms which could be why they can influence each other easily

2: Simps, also shipping, and also simply because why not, a lot of people like him

3: it isn't really changed, people just used to call it energy because it was described as one by characters who did not know what Lloyd's element was, and Dragons Rising ended up confirming that Energy is actually the source dragon that sources Jay's element, not Lloyd's, Lloyd's element comes from the source dragon of Life, and therefore is called the element of life so far, as it's still a bit ambiguous.

4: Pythor is somehow still alive because I actually forgot if it was really explained, he was in jail before breaking out in s15. Garmadon on the other hand got resurrected as more Oni leaning, and got manipulated into doing evil, and then went on a journey to figure out wtf he really wants (turns out it was redemption), and then in s15 he was found in a cameraman named Vinny's apartment trying to figure out how to be good (I'll provide context on why separately), in DR he disappeared like everyone else and we all just have to hope he's okay. Also autism allegory comes in all of this somehow.

5: Jay was always kinda bisexual tho? Cole is the gay one in this fandom, and also has canonically implied to have a boyfriend (and three adopted kids, probably four if that one dude joins), and homophobes lost their shit at that time. Welp, now we got the "Alive but Gay" joke from a homophobic tiktok slideshow which is funny as hell.

6: s14, she kinda sacrificed herself and became one with the ocean, she's fine now (if we don't count the jaya divorce arc due to Jay having lost his memories and becoming evil), she got revived in s15.

7: s8-s9 shenanigans where Wu had turned into a baby due to s7 having involved time, he got hit by the reversal timeblade that turned him into a baby, Cole was his careraker/dad on main btw, which is why DILF Cole was canon for some time before dying out until DR where he got to be a DILF again. The time blade's effects did start wearing off and Wu did get to grow pretty fast.

Yeah the lore is crazy but it was always lowkey funky like that, and I haven't even told you about the merge where all the 16 realms collapsed into one another and became one bigass realm! I actually love the worldbuilding.

yo this is a post to all ninjago fans

are y'all good?? bc i swear the lore looks like more than a mess then fnaf

why is there a land in the sky that writes down peoples lives?? does free will exist??

why does everyone talk about morro didn't he only have one season??

whats all this talk about lloyds powers being changed??

why is that purple snake still alive?? tf happened to garmadon??

why is jay not gay anymore??

THE FUCK YOU MEAN NYA TURNED INTO THE OCEAN???

WHY IS WU A BABY????????????

[ice-emperor-zane]

Sorla (the old lady from the Ice chapter) to Kai: yeah you cant permanently take Elemental power away, it always comes back, no more than half a season

The time twins, who have been waiting a lot longer than Kai:

[the-emo-ninja]

Master Wu

If Master Wu got younger because of the reversal blade, doesn’t that mean it should of happened to Kai and Nya’s father too?

[destinysbounty]

Oh nooo I have two new Ninjago OCs, whatever will I dooooo

Anyway their names are Nato and Kascha, and I've only had them for a day but if anything happened to them I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.

Details under the cut!

Nato (left/top) is a weary Ninjago City resident who's been here for several years and has pretty much seen it all at this point. She works a concerning amount of odd jobs - builder, mover, bus driver, tour guide, waitress, line cook, janitor...you name it, she's probably done it. She got bitten by a Fangpyre a while back, and while she managed to have the transformation mostly reversed she does still have some patches of scales scattered all over her body and her eyes are still a weird shade of green. She doesn't hold it against the snake responsible though, and they're actually on pretty good terms now. She is worryingly nonchalant about everything, and highkey disassociates to cope with living in Ninjago City. She's also a Darkley's student, but dropped out a year before Lloyd enrolled so they just barely missed each other. This probably factors into her inability to be phased by literally anything.

Kascha (right/bottom) is originally from Metalonia, but recently moved to Ninjago City to study history, so she is super involved in the academic scene. She's really into, like, history, and archaeology, and linguistics, and all that. Linguistics is her specialty, and as such she actually has a better grasp on Ninjargon than a lot of Ninjagians. But also she's very new to Ninjago City, and is very much NOT used to all the apocalypses happening on a weekly basis. Very panicky, on edge, and is constantly exasperated with Nato's nonchalance. She often used to visit Ninjago as a tourist in her childhood (her dad is a Metalonian trade ambassador so they had to travel a lot), and she ended up falling in love with Ninjagian culture. Of course, she is quickly discovering that being a tourist and being a resident are two very, VERY different experiences. Also she has a lot of metal jewelry, because y'know, her dad works for a metal export company. One time she broke a creepy porcelain vase while at a gift shop on one of her many trips abroad, and the shopkeeper cryptically told her that whoever breaks it will find themselves living "an eventful life" - and in retrospect she's like 70% sure that's why her life is so chaotic. There is a non-zero chance the SoG fiasco might have been caused by her curse, and she's not sure what to do with that information.

(For various reasons I am choosing to interpret the deserty wasteland Metalonia is shown to be in Korgran's flashback as being a more rural area, while Karlof and Kascha are from more urban regions. The fact that Karlof used to build Roto Jets suggests Metalonia is fairly industrial, at least in certain areas. It's probably similar to Ninjago in that way - major metropolitan areas act as major hubs of technological advancement and industry, while large portions of the country remain consistently and noticeably less so. Korgran comes from a more rural region, Kascha is from a big city, and Karlof is probably from a semi-industrial area like a factory town or something. Anyway, that's enough from me about worldbuilding theories.)

The fun thing about these two is that they're basically just kinda vibing in the background of all the canon plot while sometimes accidentally causing the plot. For example: Kascha interned under Dr. Saunders and was the one who set up the Yin Blade's clearstone display, and also helped put together the Hall of Villainy exhibit. Their hijinks caused the traffic jam that led to Pixal, Cole, and Zane being late for the boat ceremony in the beginning of season 10. Nato gave Vinny the idea to give Garmadon a plant, meaning she's indirectly responsible for Christofern. Kascha's cat gets possessed by Morro for a bit. They somehow join the Sons of Garmadon for a hot minute but purely by accident. They end up kinda adopting avatar!Harumi post-s12, but that was also an accident. Also Okino lives with them for a while. Nato and Tox are bitter exes. Kascha was also supposed to be on the expedition to the Island of the Keepers, but she overslept and missed the boat. They live in the same apartment complex as Dareth and were some of the first customers at Laffy's before it got overrun by SoG.

As I mentioned before, Morro ends up possessing their cat at one point due to reasons that are most definitely their fault. That is, they broke his Hall of Villainy mannequin, and thanks to all sorts of convoluted magic rules this led to his spirit returning to the material plane and becoming trapped in the nearest living thing - that is to say, Kascha's cat. I'd like to think their first encounter goes a little something like this -

Kascha: Let me get this straight. The ghost of that one emo teen who destroyed a small coastal village last year apparently had his soul tethered to a random mannequin at the museum - so when we broke the manenquin, your soul got trapped in the nearest living thing. So now you're, what, stuck possessing my cat for the rest of time? Morro: Trust me, I don't like this either. As soon as I figure out how to un-possess this stupid body and get back to the Departed Realm, I'm gone. Nato: ...so...do we still have to get the cat neutered, or...? Morro: NO Kascha: That's your takeaway from all this?! Nato: What? It's a valid question!

Of course, Morro still sticks around even after they exorcise him from the cat because why not, because they're his friends now and maybe getting a second chance at life isn't so bad after all. That being said, he's not keen on interacting with the ninja at all, and has no intention of making his presence known to them. So yeah, Morro is 100% hanging out in the background without any of the ninja finding out and he wants to keep it that way.

The running joke is that Nato and Kascha keep encountering various background/supporting characters, and keep almost meeting the ninja but never actually do (except that one time Sascha had a late-night conversation about the meaning of life with Zane at the grocery store, but didn't realize who she was talking to until two days later). Like, they'll interact with pretty much every canon character except the ninja themselves, often just barely missing opportunities to meet them in increasingly convoluted ways. So many of their shenanigans directly influence the main plot but they just straight-up never realize this. They're just out here causing AND solving problems completely on accident, all the time. Ultimate chaos duo. Just a couple of oblivious dumbasses stumbling into the plot but without even realizing it.

Also! This is very important to me. Their dynamic is essentially "I'd follow you to hell but I just wish you'd stop going there" but in both directions simultaneously. They may be each other's ride-or-die, but that doesn't mean they're happy about it.

[before-time-had-a-name]

Alright! Let's go through the answers!

Option 1: two of the main characters commit genocide (ON SEPARATE OCCASIONS)

It's TRUE!

Both Nya and Zane have committed genocide. Nya destroyed two entire realms, and Zane hunted and froze a species known as the Morphlings to near extinction while being brainwashed.

Option 2: an entire season canonically doesn't happen due to time travel shenanigans

It's TRUE!

During season 6, in order to both revive a dead Nya and defeat a djinn known as Nadakhan, Jay wishes that the events that set the season into motion never happened. Therefore, time got reversed to before the season's main plot and the only people who remember it are Jay and Nya.

Option 3: master wu gets turned into a baby and the ninja had to raise him

It's TRUE!

During season 7, Master Wu is affected by a weapon known as the reversal blade, and is turned into a baby because of it. He grows up rapidly within season 8 and 9, with the ninja raising him during that time.

Option 4: A character gets dismembered onscreen

It's TRUE!

During season 9, a robot known as Mr E fails to hunt down the heroes for the bad guy, Lord Garmadon. Lord Garmadon responds by tearing him apart. If you think I'm exagerrating, see for yourself. (I swear, they only got away with this because he's a robot.)

Option 5: the theme song lyrics became plot relevant

It's TRUE!

During season 15, in order to defeat an enemy known as the Council of the Crystal King, the ninja need to achieve Dragon Form. In order to do this, they must "jump up, kick back, whip around and spin."

Option 6: one of the main chracters had an evil long lost brother

It's the LIE!

While a main character DOES have a lost brother (Zane with Echo), he is never revealed to be evil. Infact, during season 6, Echo helps Jay in a battle against the evil pirates.

Option 7: a main character adopts three children, all of different species

It's TRUE!

Within Dragons Rising, after being misplaced by the merge, Cole ends up in the land of lost things. While there, he meets four people; Fritz (a morphling), Spitz (a serpentine), Bonzle (a skulkin), and Geo (a half munce half geckle.) Out of these four, only Geo is an adult. Therefore, Cole effectively helped raise three children during his time apart from the team.

Option 8: a main character's father endorses grand larceny

It's TRUE!

During season 15, the ninjas need a dangerous artifact in order to save Nya. Problem; this artifact cannot be legally obtained as its owned by a 1%er. Solution? One of the main characters is a robot created by said 1%er, and when asked, tells her the exact location of the artifact in order for them to steal it, meaning he has endorsed grand larceny.

This was a pretty fun poll! Good job non-ninjago fans, cus the lie was infact the highest rated answer (aside from see results lmao)

this has probably been done before, BUT

[nyaskitten]

My biggest fear for Crystalized part 2 is the possibility of another time reversal, except worse than Skybound, like "Trollhunters Rise of the Titans" worse. Now, idk how big the overlap of the two fandoms is but ROTT ended with the main protagonist using some magic bullshit to reverse everything back to the beginning but "a little different", and having his best friend discover the magic amulet instead.

That ends up invalidating the three seasons of the first show and the two spin-offs, as well as all the character progression/suspense, and also undoing ALL the deaths and important story beats, and meaningful sacrifices.

The issue is, this is TOTALLY a possibility, seeing as they have a Reversal Blade hidden somewhere, and Ninjago isn't afraid of making stupid as fuck decisions (although WildBrain era Ninjago has totally toned it down with those).

Most likely, someone is gonna die, but the ninja get the Reversal Blade to undo it, because that'd shake up the status quo, and unless this death could somehow actually affect the "new series" and drive most of its plot, they wouldn't be willing to kill off anyone permanently.

[destinygoldenstar]

How Ninjago Hands Of Time Fails At Dialogue (And how I would fix it)

"Long time no see."

"Wu? You look... old. As if your best days have passed. Unlike your monastery."

"I still have plenty left in me. Care to finish what we started? I've been waiting ages."

"Really? Doesn't feel that long to me."

"This ends now."

That sounds WRONG, right? This is one of the first dialogue exchanges in the entire season, and it sounds wrong.

How Season 7 of Ninjago FAILS at dialogue. (And how to fix it)

Now, just a disclaimer here, this is NOT a review of the entire season. I'm not diving into the story or the characters or the animation here. I'm ONLY focusing on how the DIALOGUE was written.

It's actually much different than talking about the story being written. You could have the best story ever told, but if you accompany it with bad dialogue that feels unnatural, the story gets buried. I feel like that is the EXACT reason why people don't get invested in Season 7's story. It's not because of the actual story, it's the dialogue.

Because there actually IS a good story on paper here. Wu faces consequences for his wisdom and overly-responsible tendencies, Kai and Nya are discovering the history of their family, and overall there's a message of time and age and how that should or shouldn't affect you now.

But the dialogue fails to convey this, and thus what good story there is gets buried. (Not saying Hands of Time is a 10/10 story for Ninjago, but it's not an awful one)

And this seems to be a huge problem that distracts me only in THIS season. This isn't an overall issue Ninjago has. Some of my favorite seasons understands dialogue perfectly well.

"Why would you touch the creepy picture JAY?!"

"I didn't know it would do that COLE!"

That's probably not the best example but I love it.

But Hands of Time is where they really dropped the ball with how to write effective dialogue. I'm gonna show the lines of a scene in Episode 3, in the Krux & Kai fight where Krux tells Kai about his parents being traitors. Tell me if this dialogue sounds natural to you.

"My parents helped Wu and Garmadon defeat you once. I will do it again."

"Is that what you think?"

"That's what I know. Master Wu told me."

"You were not there young ninja, I was. Your parents were. And Wu. He's told you a lie. Your parents were not who you think they are. They didn't fight against us, they fought with us."

"What? Can't be. They were heroes!"

"They were heroes, but heroes for our side."

"I don't believe you. Master Wu would never lie!"

"Surely that's why he didn't want you to know the truth."

That sounds wrong, right? Like these two don't talk like they're currently trying to beat each other against a wall. Which is what's happening action-wise in the scene. The dialogue actively interrupts the fight.

But story-wise, the scene should be quite good and devastating. Krux is telling Kai a harsh truth that his parents were traitors to the elemental masters, and Kai doesn't believe him because he's the bad guy. It's a moment of denial and anger towards the disrespect for his family's 'legacy' for Kai, and a moment of taunting to weaken the opponent for Krux.

But the dialogue fails to convey the emotion that needs to be dealt in the scene.

And I didn't even show the full context here. Krux goes on the BLATANTLY EXPLAIN the clues as to why he's telling the truth. In context, Kai's parents are alive and still his slaves, and if he really doesn't want drive Kai to learn that fact, you'd think he'd leave the truth that they're traitors at that and just use it as an emotional weak point. Seriously, you're basically ASKING to lose your blacksmiths for your army.

(You could argue that he'd use the info to lure Kai and Nya in to force them to get the Reversal Time Blade in the boiling sea for them, which is what they do later, but in context of the story, Krux doesn't know where that time blade is yet)

So how do we fix this scene?

Well one, we make make the dialogue make sense for the character.

"Let's teach these two a lesson on sibling rivalry!"

Nya, you are fighting WITH your brother on equal ground, not against him. LEARN WHAT THE WORD RIVALRY MEANS.

And, we improve on the SUBTEXT of the moment.

Based on Wikipedia's explanation:

'Subtext is any content of a creative work which is not announced explicitly (by characters or author) but is implicit, or becomes something understood by the audience.'

Dialogue is almost always carried by the emotions of the two characters exchanging the dialogue. The setting could play a role, or the action could play a role. Maybe the two dialogue exchangers are in a quiet room together sharing a heart to heart, and I'll get to a scene like that later. Or in this context, they're in a museum, they're to beat each other up, and Krux is using the fact of Kai's parents being traitors to get a weak point.

So I'm going to rewrite this scene, with the only difference is that subtext is now added.

So we have Kai and Krux in the museum in a fight. Cyrus Borg is on the floor tied up and Kai is trying to reach him. He gets kicked away by Krux before he could reach him. Kai gets up and his eyes meet the portrait of his parents. It's shown on his face that his ideology of them motivates him. Krux tries to grab Cyrus and make an escape, but Kai grabs a nearby prop sword to throw at him and get his attention back.

Kai swears to him: "I'll finish the fight they started. I'll stand for what Wu, mom, dad, and all of them fought for!"

And he charges at Krux with a fire-based attack. Krux blocks it and pins him to the floor. In the struggle, Krux gazes at the portrait of Kai's parents and smiles in a very smug way.

Krux then says: "Then you'll be fighting alongside us. Just like your parents did."

Kai is caught off guard by his claim, shock all over his face. All he can give off is a "What?!" Before he's thrown off and slammed into the wall. The portrait of his parents is behind him, and while Kai is down, Krux approaches to add to the taunting, using the painting as a reference.

Krux taunts: "You weren't there, young one. These paintings of honor don't tell the full story of who your family was. What they represented. Wu may not want you to know the truth, but I'll tell you."

The whole time, Kai, on the ground, tries to punch, kick, and spew fire at Krux, but again and again it's blocked, and Krux only approaches closer, his claims echoing in the room, and Kai's head, disorienting him.

"Your parents were TRAITORS. They were DECEITFUL. They were ENEMIES TO THE MASTERS. They fought for OUR CAUSE. They BETRAYED EVERYONE THEY CARED FOR TO SAVE THEIR OWN SKIN."

Kai gets smacked to the corner, and Krux has him pinned again, a smug as ever grin on his face in seeing Kai distraught, confused, scared, and breathing heavily.

Krux asks, "And you want to be like that?"

With Kai's body pretty much molded into the painting by this point, there's a few seconds that focuses only on Kai's expression. His teeth get more gritted, and his fist (claw, thing, you know what I mean) is clenched and burning red under his glove.

Kai then grits, the first time in a quiet bit of anger, "You're a liar."

Krux gives a smug, "Hm?"

And suddenly, Krux is thrown back by a punch of heat. Kai is now the one charging at Krux, trying to slash fire from his fist everywhere. The whole time, he's screaming, "YOU'RE A LIAR! A LIAR! THEY WOULD NEVER! YOU LIE!!"

And from his anger getting the better of him, he doesn't notice Krux pulling a smart move to get him off of him and thrown to the floor.

All Krux can give is a reply, "And you're a fool."

Then Acronix shows up.

See that? That's how you use subtext to get the scene's point across.

It's not good. But it's better, it doesn't spoonfeed info, and it doesn't pause the action.

I could go on with nearly all of the scenes in this season, but lets not.

A pet peeve I have is when people talk to themselves for no reason. Sometimes it's effective, other times, it's...

"Wait. There is a better place. A scrapyard. Like the one that belongs... to my parents!"

Jay is talking to NOBODY.

This is blatant explanation on why Jay separates from the group. We the audience KNOW Jay's parents are from a junkyard. So we the audience can FIGURE OUT OURSELVES that Jay's parents are in danger from this. We don't need Jay to tell us.

You just flat out don't need this line. Just have Jay go the opposite way. The next episode SHOWS that Jay is going to his parent's scrapyard. So if that line wasn't said, it would be a mystery cliffhanger for Episode 4 as to why Jay left, if you can't figure it out yourself, and Episode 5 proceeds to answer your question by SHOWING why Jay left by showing him arriving at his parent's junkyard.

In moments like this, sometimes no words is better.

OR, I get Jay is characterized to be talkative. If that's the issue, have him tell one of the other ninja, ANY of the other ninja, doesn't matter who, that he's going to the junkyard to save his parents.

So let's say he tells this to Cole, just an RNG.

Cole notices Jay is driving the other direction, and asks, "Jay, where are you going?"

Jay answers, "There's another place they could get metal. You know where."

Cole, who KNOWS Jay's parents are from a junkyard, realizes what he's talking about. He asks, "Are you sure?"

Jay answers, "Yes. Go with them, I'll contact you if any of those snakes show up."

Then Jay speeds off, and Cole, reluctantly, goes with the other ninja.

Boom. Subtext. AND it's good characterization to show these characters trust each other. Bonus.

And we DON'T have characters TALKING TO THE VOID.

Same with this:

"There's only one person who could possibly understand what I'm going through."

Kai. Buddy. You are talking to a HELMET.

Do you need to see a therapist?

(Clearly the answer is yes after this season.)

The next scene with him SHOWS that Kai is talking to Skylar, so why did they TELL us?

And Kai does not have the excuse of being a talkative character. We KNOW what Kai is like when he does talk to himself. It's when he's parading in a Green Ninja outfit with his head in the clouds. This is supposed to be a serious moment, so why would Kai be talking to himself?

(To be fair, this is far from the worst instance of Kai being OOC in the show)

All I ask is that characters talking to themselves makes sense and is consistent.

Speaking of his dialogue with Skylar, I wanted to talk about that:

"It's just so... shocking. To find out that your father, someone you've idolized your entire life, turns out to be... there's no other word for it... evil. It makes you question everything you know, everything you are. Which is why I came to you. Because you went through the same thing and I-"

This sounds WRONG. Like, nobody talks like this, especially after what Kai's been going through. If you saw two people in a restaurant talking to each other like this, you'd raise an eyebrow.

Because again, SUBTEXT, WHAT'S THAT?!

Skylar is Kai's girlfriend, right? Or, there was nothing that said they were not dating, and they're clearly keeping in touch. Plus, forget we the audience already knowing it for a moment, Kai, the character, KNOWS that Skylar went through the same thing as he is. HE WAS THERE WHEN SHE WENT THROUGH IT. He's talking to her because he knows that, he trusts her, and he needs someone to vent to and talk to. From the context alone, we already KNOW why Kai is here. We don't need him to tell us. Skylar doesn't even need Kai to tell her that she went through the same thing. SHE KNOWS HER FATHER SUCKED. SHE NEEDS NO REMINDER.

There's also an issue with vocabulary. Depending on the character, vocabulary plays a bit of a role in dialogue. If a character is incredibly smart, like Zane, then you can see him using bigger words. (Zane also has an excuse with him being a robot) But if a character isn't characterized as that, then they won't be saying bigger words.

"Someone you've idolized" Is how I expect Zane to word it. Not Kai.

"Someone you looked up to" Works better for Kai.

(I'm not saying Kai is dumb or anything like that. I'm saying he's impulsive and often speaks and acts before he thinks, so he wouldn't be thinking of big words to use.)

And mind you, that's just the OPENING LINE of the scene.

So let me rewrite this bit with subtext, and show the bond between these two characters without telling.

So Kai at first is seated by himself at the table, staring off into space lost in thought.

Skylar then shows up with a tray of noodles for herself, him, and Nya (who shows up later in the scene).

She tells him softly, "Sorry for the wait. It's a busy night tonight. Should've told me you were coming, I would've gotten that spice you liked last time."

Kai doesn't answer, still staring off into space. Skylar notices it, and takes a seat across from him.

She puts her hand on his and asks, "Are you okay?"

Kai, from her touch, notices her and snaps back to reality. He takes a pause to figure out how to approach it, and only sighs, "Oh, you know. Classic ninja truth bombs going off. The usual."

Skylar doesn't buy his poor attempt at a joke, and she's about to ask what he means-

But then he cuts her off and asks, "How long have you known your dad was evil? Before we showed up, I mean."

Skylar, a little confused, answers, "Um... I'd say it's a deep down thing when I knew. Not exactly a social place on his island. Why do you ask?"

Kai then opens up, asking her, "When the person you look up to is... horrible... what went through your head?"

Skylar hesitates to answer. She doesn't know what to say. Her answer gets cut off when Nya shows up.

There you go. It's not Shakesphere, but it's something better. Utilizing Skylar in the scene and having her talk to him.

In the original scene, Nya blatantly states that Skylar is the head of this restaurant they're at.

But with this rewrite of the scene, we actually DO get that information WITHOUT it FEELING like we're being told it.

Skylar is acting as a waitress at the start. "It's a busy night tonight." Tells is that Skylar works at the restaurant place. And we know she's the head of it because in Season 4 she said that was what her dream lied. So we don't need her to say that.

"Should've told me you were coming, I would've gotten that spice you liked last time." This line gives info that Kai somewhat came unannounced, and also tells us that they do see each other. "I would've gotten that spice you liked last time." Tells us that Kai comes here often, and sees her often. It also tells us that Kai like spices, or just he likes his noodles a certain way.

We also see how Skylar puts her hand on him and softly speaks to him that these two are close. That they are romantically involved. Or, maybe that's not explicitly said and vague enough to have that not be the case. But it still says they care about each other. They trust each other. Kai is here because he trusts her, and it's shown to us why he does.

Kai is lost in thought before she shows up because there is a lot going through his head. We know why, so all we need is his facial expression to show that.

"Oh, you know. Classic ninja truth bombs going off. The usual." We can infer he vents to Skylar quite a bit. Especially with the half-baked joke tone he uses, because he doesn't know how to approach it to her.

"I'd say it's a deep down thing when I knew. Not exactly a social place on his island." This is actually NOT information the audience had yet. We knew Skylar's dad was evil, but we didn't know her exact headspace. So this is added characterization. Skylar lived on an isolated island with her father and a snake cult for a huge majority of her life. We could believe her words when she admits she was very lonely there. But her father was her only influence so while she could comprehend he was in the wrong, she felt as though she had no choice but to be like him until Kai showed up.

That's all you need. You DON'T need Nya to say "Look at her, she could've inherited her father Chen's evil empire and ruled the world, but instead dedicated her life to spending her day bent over a hot stove to provide low lost quality noodles to the people of Ninjago City."

Even Skylar, in the scene, is annoyed by her words. Just don't have Nya say that at all. Just have her say "Skylar's right, look how she turned out." And then the scene's dialogue is better and subtext is there.

THAT is how you write effective dialogue.

The worst thing you can do is treat your audience like they're babies and don't understand anything. I know this show is for kids, but kids are smarter than you think. It's even worse in this show's case, because 90% of the audience is people who have SEEN the previous seasons. At this point, they KNOW certain stuff about the show's world. It's really bad when you're THIS late into a show, and then it suddenly treat its audience like idiots. Like they can't possibly understand what's clearly being shown, or what was established before.

Nya blatantly says that she now trusts the new Samurai X and that they're worthy of the armor. Gee, I couldn't tell from her actions. Nya explains why she kept her Samurai form a secret all that time ago. It's not like we SAW her as Samurai for FOUR SEASONS. (No, the character she's saying this to doesn't excuse it. She doesn't know it's P.I.X.A.L, but she knows it's someone she met before at this point. She knows they saw her in action.)

And before you say Ninjago as always done dialogue without subtext. NO. They have NOT. They HAVE used subtext.

Look at Season 8 with the fight between Lloyd and Garmadon. One of the BEST scenes in the WHOLE SHOW. There is very little dialogue here. It's all subtext. We SEE Lloyd refusing to fight and lose himself, we see his emotion, we see Garmdon's cold stone faced expression. It makes the actual dialogue exchange everyone remembers from the scene hit SO MUCH HARDER.

"It's me, your son."

"I have no son."

THAT is a GREAT way to use affective dialogue. That's all that needs to be said.

But again and again, this season fails at understanding subtext, and my gosh does it ruin the story being told here.

(The Wu nightmare scene is, well, a dialogue nightmare)

You know why I hate Delicious Party Pretty Cure so much? Subtext is flat out just not a thing.

The elephant in the room there is the random narrator blatantly telling us what is going on. No charisma. No context as to why this happens. Nothing.

Saying that they're at an art museum. Gee, I couldn't tell.

Saying that Rosemary is sad. Huh, couldn't notice that.

I actually got ENRAGED at a few moments because of this. And it's not just the narrator, the dialogue leaves little to no room for subtext.

It's not all of Pretty Cure. It's JUST this season. This really truly thinks its audience is a bunch of idiots. They can't possibly understand anything.

When I write my dialogue. I like to rely on the emotion needing to be shown in the scene.

For clarification, I'm going to rewrite the scene in Ninjago Hands of Time that I think was RUINED by bad dialogue THE MOST. When if the dialogue did it justice, it would've been emotionally powerful.

That's in Episode 8. The Smith Family Reunion.

Ray: "Who are you? What do you want?"

Kai: "I want justice!" (Fancy line, but not what I'd say to my long lost father who I think is an enemy)

Ray: "You're red like a Vermillion warrior. But you're no snake." (Thanks, couldn't tell)

Kai: "No... but you are. Traitor!"

Ray: "You've messed with the wrong blacksmith my friend." (Just... cringe)

Kai: "I'm not your friend!"

Ray: "Firepower?! No... you're certainly not a guard. You're... my son. Kai?! You've inherited my elemental power." (Ray KNOWS about the Elemental Masters and how descendants work. How is he shocked his son inherited his power?)

Kai: "That's the only thing I'll ever inherit from you."

---

Maya: "Kai! You don't know what you're doing!"

Kai: "I do, Nya! I absolutely-"

Maya: "I'm not your sister, son."

Kai: "...mom? I don't believe it."

Maya: "That makes two of us."

Kai: "Why?! She's just as guilty as he is! They've been working with Krux and Acronix for years! They're the enemy!" (They know that. Everyone in the room knows that.)

Maya: "Is that what you think?! We're not the enemy."

This scene SHOULD have been one of THE most POWERFUL scenes of the ENTIRE season. And yet bad dialogue BUTCHERS it.

So I'm going to do it justice right now.

So we start with Kai barging into the blacksmith shop.

His father is there. There's a look of solitude and despair on his father's face as he hits his hammer on the metal he's working on. The sound of the hammer on the metal adds to the uneasiness of the scene.

Kai stands there, unsure what to do. He's hesitant, his hand tightened on his blade (or whatever that thing is).

Ray looks up, assuming it's a guard. He says, "The next load is on the shelf. I'll have the next batch by morning, as you wished."

Then he goes back to hammering the metal.

It's louder this time.

From under Kai's mask, his eyebrows are tightened. He shuts the front door and locks it. (Because this is an assassination attempt. That's what he's trying here.)

Ray stops hammering and notices the 'guard' locking the door, and he goes, "What? Was it something I've done?"

That's when Kai gives a sneer. "Yes."

Then Kai, no other words, no patience for his father's reaction, charges at Ray and tries to strike him with the blade.

Ray, with the hammer in his hand, defends himself.

The two engage in a fight, with Kai trying to take him out, and Ray acting out of self defense. Ray holds his own very well, and even knocks Kai back a bit. (Showing the audience he's capable of holding his own.)

When Kai is on the ground, Ray, in a moment to breathe, asks, "Who are you?!"

(Showing the audience he's detected Kai is not a guard)

Kai, on the ground, catches his breath, and shoots the question right back. "Who are you?! You traitor!"

Kai gets up and continues the fight, and Ray again, defends himself. All Ray can get out is a confused, "Traitor?!"

Kai, in his rage as he tries to assault his dad, vents to him (because that's in character) "I thought you were a hero! I looked up to you! I wanted to BE you! I was a fool!"

Ray, again, gets the upper hand and knocks Kai to the ground, throwing away Kai's weapon (thing).

Ray demands, as an act of mercy, "I don't know what you thought of me, but stand down. This doesn't have to end badly."

Kai flinches from his spot, emotions of rage, confusion, sorrow, and vengeance written all over him.

He takes off his mask to catch his breath.

Ray's eyes widen a little, but he still can't recognize his kid. (Because Kai was left as a toddler. He wouldn't know right away.) Confusion starts to ride his face as well. (We can tell from just his expression that he's detecting this is a young fellow, a teen, in a state of grief.)

Still, Kai clenches his fist, now in resolve on his stance.

Ray sees and raises his hammer. He tries to demand again, "Stand down-"

Then Kai's hands start spewing fire.

That's when Ray, having it all hit on him at once, drops the hammer.

Kai gets up and holds out his fiery hand towards Ray.

Ray is devastated by this. He's stepping back. He's breathing heavily. And as he stares into his attacker, he says a soft, "...Kai?"

Kai then slashes fire, and Ray is barely able to defend himself from a nearby helmet on the shelf.

At this point, Nya is on the other side of the locked door, and she's trying to break in. Her pleads are heard muffled in the background. "Kai! Stop! He's our father! Kai, please! Don't do this!"

But the focus is still on Kai trying to strike down his now unarmed father, who has stopped trying to fight back.

Ray pleads, "Kai, I can explain! It's me. Your father!"

Kai screams out, trying to strike him, "My father wouldn't have left me! My father wouldn't have turned his back on Ninjago! My father would've been there for me!"

Then he manages to pin Ray to the wall and grab him. His face is filled with grief. Kai finishes it with a sad, "He wouldn't be my enemy."

He raises his fiery hand.

And then Nya busts in the room and spews water at Kai to put the flame out.

She pleads, "Kai, put him down!"

Kai demands, "Stay out of this, Nya!"

Nya, instead of engaging, BEGS, "He's my father, too."

Ray, in another wave of shock, says weakly, "Nya...?"

Nya's beg touches Kai, and his serious angry face softens in regret.

Ray touches that regret more by saying, "I missed you so, so much... your mother and I, we wanted to come back to you, I promise we did, but... Krux... I wasn't a father. I... I'm so sorry... If I could undo the past... I'd put up a better fight to be there for you."

Kai is touched, almost changing his mind about taking down Ray.

Almost.

It's only for a few seconds, as Kai decides, "That doesn't matter now."

Kai holds up another fiery fist.

Nya screams in plead, "KAI-!"

But then, before Kai could do any more blows, Maya storms into the room.

And the first thing she does is throw her arms around Kai in a tight hug.

It lets Ray go, and it leaves Kai in a stunned shock. All Kai can do is give a soft, "...mom?"

Maya continues to hug her kid tight, emotionally overwhelmed. She begs, "Please stop this, son..."

Nya, still standing by the door, also in surprise, realizes, "Mom?!"

Maya then notices Nya, and parts one arm from Kai to allow Nya to run into the hug.

It's worth of note that Kai isn't hugging her back. Kai's hand was still sparking from flames when Maya came in. But now with both water-powered family members in this hug, we see the sparks from his hand get extinguished as he's overwhelmed by their embrace.

Kai then tries to wrap his head around it. He asks, "Why did you leave us? Why did you leave me?"

Maya parts with her kids, explaining briefly, "We were forced to. Your father and I, we..."

Kai processes, "Krux."

Maya says, "It doesn't matter now. Whatever happened, it doesn't matter now. You've grown up. Both of you. I could never imagine..."

Nya hugs Maya again, but Kai holds back.

He looks over at Ray, who is still by the wall trying to catch his breath. Kai looks over at the girls, then back at his dad, then the girls again.

He backs up into a corner, clearly sick with dread over what he had almost done.

This is his family, and he almost assassinated them. It was a state of him giving in to Krux's taunts and a corrupt mindset.

He covers his mouth with his hand and crashes into the shelf of helmets. The helmets clatter before him, which draws the family's attention to him.

He's kneeled down and dreadful, and a single tear falls from his face.

(Kai has never cried in the show up until this, so it would be effective.)

All he can get out is a tearful, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I'm sorry dad... I'm sorry..."

Over and over again.

As this happens, Ray gets up and approaches his kid. He softly ruffles his boy's hair to get his eyes onto him. Ray sheds a smile of forgiveness, and he hugs his kid tight.

Soon Maya joins in as well to help calm down her son.

The three of them share a warm embrace in their reunion.

(Seriously, am I the only one who was bothered that Kai didn't apologize for trying to assassinate his family? I know they'd forgive him, but still.)

Once they part, Nya asks, "Did Krux force you to do all of this?"

And then we get Maya telling them essentially the same story from the original about how they forged the time blades, Krux wanted revenge so he took them away, yaddy yada.

By the end of said flashback story, Kai has calmed down, and they're seated by the helmet mess together, so there's easy access to the 'helmet stamp' part of the story.

Bada boom.

The original scene was SO CLOSE to being great. Dialogue and subtext makes all the difference to being the power of the scene home.

Dialogue makes ALL the difference, doesn't it?