#not to mention how much that episode did for the world of ninjago

[nerdyenby]

What’s your favorite episode of ninjago and why is it snaketastrophe?

[soralymystaken]

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

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

Also, warning, spoilers plus some swearing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[parachutingkitten]

Not an ask per se, just a similar feeling. You’re someone whose Ninjago stuff, here and on YT, I’ve really enjoyed for at least a few years. And I’ve been similarly obsessed with the show for some time. But… it’s as you say — DR is objectively fine, objectively nice, but I don’t feel the same obsession about it and its characters, plot, etc that I used to feel all the time with Ninjago. And I *cannot* figure out why, and it’s also been driving me slightly up the wall. It’s maybe because I genuinely try to give media the best chance when I interact with it, but despite multiple DR rewatches I don’t see what everyone else sees. And the disconnect is a sad, like you mention — I joined the community here because I was so glad to have people who loved this show in the same ways I did, and now it’s like they’re all on a different wavelength and I want to be there but I’m not. It’s definitely strange for sure, made worse I think by the fact that DR isn’t like horrifically bad or anything, I just feel… okay, when watching it, and can’t even explain why.

I don’t know how much sense this makes, but I thought it might be something for you to think about if you’d like. I’ve been tossing around the idea that I don’t love DR because it is… good. It’s good, but too neat — if that makes sense? The new characters — I love them all, but their personalities and backstories and situations they’re put in all remind me of several other stories. The subplots of the episodes always have an end goal in mind, often an emotional realisation, and whilst that’s a neat way to tell stories, it doesn’t feel like, to me, the way Ninjago used to tell stories. Like, the first thing that comes to mind is Sora feeling hopeless and that episode with the djin where she realises that it’s important to hope. And maybe this isn’t a great comparison (as I’m typing it out, I realise that it isn’t the best example oof), but I immediately thought of Zane after Seabound, when he’d turned off his emotions. Sora’s bad feelings, whilst not as ‘significant’ as Zane’s in that context, began just before and were wrapped up neatly in that episode and not brought up again. Zane acts detached from the start of S16 if I remember, and it’s only near the end of the season (I think! I know that it’s a few eps at least) when he meets Sally, talks to her, learns a little about her life, and is able to come to the realisation that he shouldn’t be repressing everything. I think DR, because of the amount of characters it has, especially those that are new, and the amount of new worldbuilding, plot stuff, etc that they have to add in, it being a reboot/sequel type of thing, leaves less time for the nuance and time devoted to the character arcs in the original show. Or maybe I’m just crazy, honestly idk.

Something else that stands out to me is the fact that DR has to establish so much about these new characters and their world that they… they do something that old Ninjago didn’t do, and whilst it’s maybe objectivity a better storytelling choice, I think it’s part of the reason I’m not really feeling it. What they do is that they have the characters act kind of realistic. Arin worries about his parents, often. Sora did too. Wyldfyre and Kai definitely have a few moments where it’s implied that they’re confused about what’s up with their powers. In Ninjago up to s16, because they wrote a lot of it without intending much or anything to come after it, I feel like they thought less about this than the DR writers, who know that they’ve got a few seasons lined up, do. For example — hands of time is when we find out about Ray and Maya, but it was never often addressed by Nya and Kai. It’s brought up in s4, of course, but if they were real kids whose parents had vanished one day they’d probably bring it up more often, like Arin did. But it’s often not done in the narrative because the writers gave them other things to focus on, because they’re storytelling devices and not real kids. There was no real buildup to Nya being the water ninja, for example, but Sora’s said to be good with tech a few moments after we meet her. This ain’t a critique of either show — just a different choice I sort of picked up on, if it even makes any sense. And as crazy as it may sound, I liked that about the old Ninjago — it saw the characters more as storytelling devices, I think, than relatable to the audience (Kai was the hothead, Jay the humour, etc — ofc they were more than that, but they retained that sort of vibe from S1 a little all throughout the show I think). DR, on the other hand, seems to want their characters to be more relatable, more multifaceted, make more sense — which, when coupled with the fact that they’re new characters and that the ninjago fandom has historically thrived on gaps in the show to enjoy it (we’re a very AU, OC, heavy fandom, etc), I think DR attempting to flesh out their characters in the way that we’re often used to doing with the old characters in fic, art, etc means that I like DR a little less because there’s less to ‘work with’, and less that inspires thinking of the characters in different situations — bc whilst relating is nice, it is also enjoyable when the characters are written with some core characteristics in mind and you explore other parts of them or those characteristics in different contexts. I don’t think makes much sense, but I hope that it maybe gives you something to think about — as you can probably see, I’ve been going a little crazy over not liking it and not knowing why, so I know that the feeling isn’t great.

I'm picking up what you're putting down here. My next video has a bit about getting disillusioned with a fandom, and it sucks. It always does. It's heartbreaking when you feel like that special bond between you and your show was somehow broken. I empathies, and it's important to feel it out.

Now, I don't think ninjago was better at character arcs, i don't think having a character arc be longer is better, or even really a characteristic of classic ninjago, but I do think the DR character arcs feel very by the book. They're following the screenwriting 101 guide perfectly, but it ends up feeling a bit lacking because of it? If that makes sense? Now, ninjago was historically very bad at character arcs, but when they got it right, they always had a bit of a spin on things, and interesting visual payoff, whatever. I think the zane's emotions arc isn't particularly great (and the sally piece is sort of at the end of the first half of the season ;) I would argue sora's arc in season 1 about finding confidence is better, but that doesn't mean I find it much more enjoyable.

I will agree that that the characters in ninjago definitely feel more like characters, while the DR cast (old cast included) feel more like people. Neither are a bad thing, but I think it definitely has an effect on the tone. Characters allow for a more lighthearted goofy vibe, because the show is operating on a higher suspension of disbelief most of the time. DR on the other hand, does want a little more vulnerability from its audience on a regular basis.

Lastly, I do think you're onto something with DR being fully planned. The two seasons we have so far feel very indistinct. There is less of a defining singular "adventure" in each season. And again, that's not a good thing or a bad thing, but it ends up making things feel different. Ninjago is an episodic series of adventures. DR is a continual evolving set of circumstances. Those are just going to feel different.

[prismaticflare]

Hello everyone! Throughout my time here in the Ninjago fandom, I’ve talked a lot about a major AU of mine I began thinking about all the way back when I was only about halfway through my first watch-through. I’m officially ready to begin talking about it, which I have named Equilibrium, although I may refer to it occasionally as Ninjago : Equilibrium to avoid confusion since it is just a normal word lol.

Unfortunately, this is not a project I plan on officially starting for quite a while. I already have too many projects on my plate and not remotely enough time to complete them, much less a whole Ninjago rewrite. That doesn’t mean I can’t begin planning it, though!

The first step to that is a Ninjago rewatch, and I decided to blog my process. I will be discussing quite a few different topics (which I will lay out under the cut) and post it here. Feel free to read only the parts/seasons you care the most about. Whether you want to hear about my thoughts and my AU, want to use my thoughts for your own projects, or simply want to hear my autistic ramblings about a silly Lego kids show, I implore you to join me on this journey!

Below the cut I will lay out the plans of the rewatch and will have links to each part when they come out! I will use #prismaticninjagorewatch for all of the posts, so you can sort by it or block them out if you are not interested. Also, if you have any questions about the rewatch or my au, feel free to ask. My inbox is always open!

Enough said, see you soon for our first part!

Okay, onto what will be being discussed!

1. Summery - Will give a short plot summery of what happens. This is just rough, and will likely leave out information I plan on using/expanding on in the final rewrite. This is just to fill the audience in and make sure I know what roughly happens.

2. The Point - Why does this season matter? This means a few things. Why does this season matter in-universe? How does it affect the plot, the characters, and the world around them. Also, why does this matter to us? Why does it affect both our view of the plot and why should we want to watch this season? Obviously, it is to entertain, but what is being done to fulfil that goal?

3. The Characters - Who are the main playing characters and how do they affect the plot. If it is a new character, what are they like, and if it is an old one, how do they grow and do they fit modern interpretations? Why or why not? I plan on discussing what role, arc, and subplots involve each character. If there isn’t enough of one, what can be done to fix that?

4. The World - Ninjago has quite a rich history, geography, etcetera. What is brought up? This can be landmarks, cities/towns, history, climate, ecology, and more.

5. Pros and Cons - What things did this season do well that I want to keep? What things did it do poorly that I should either attempt to fix or completely scrap? Are there any ideas that are mentioned that I want to expand upon?

6. Continuity - Ninjago has evolved a lot over time, and so have many plots and concepts. Now, I suck at seeing bad continuity, so if even I can notice something, it is a problem. So, are there any continuity issues. How do I want to fix them?

7. Tropes - This may seem odd, but let me explain. Ninjago is filled to the BRIM with tropes. Episode tropes, season tropes, character tropes, it’s all there! ESPECIALLY in S2, although most of Pre-DR is just based on tropes. So, to fully understand each season, I need to go over the tropes used. This will end up being VERY useful to understanding the season and how to write it.

8. Conclusion - Summery of what discussed to wrap things up and any additional thoughts I think are worth mentioning.

--- Quick Travel ---

Pilot, S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, DOTD, S7, S8, S9, S10, FireChap, IceChap, S12, S13, Island, S14, S15

[hollowflight-propaganda]

Unpopular opinion, but I genuinely think that March of the Oni is one of the worst Ninjago seasons, (That is if you even count it as a season.) and it's all because of that last episode. The fact that the title is even "Endings" and yet is one of the worst season finales I've seen in this whole show just makes my blood boil.

Because when you think about it, this episode is supposed to act as the ending not only for itself and the two seasons before it, but the first ten seasons and the Wilfilm era as a whole. But, to me at least, it just feels like it dropped the ball. (If you wanna read my long ass rant, be my guest.)

The most egregious thing this episode does is what they did with Cole. Literally what was the reason for this fake out death if he's just gonna show up completely fine afterwards. And yes, I know that it sparked some of the most tear jerking moments in this show and furthered what Lloyd and Garmadon had going on, but doesn't that just make it worse that it feels like this whole thing went nowhere? And I don't want to hear anything like, "Well, bad and unexpected things happen in life all the time! It's just being realistic!" If this show was going for that type of realism everyone in the main cast should be dead by now. And I'm not saying that that's not a true statement about the world, but this is a lego ninja show aimed at eight year olds.

And then there's the second fake out death in this four episode season. And I'm also aware that the scene where Lloyd meets the FSM is cool. I also think that the scene is really cool! But my problem lies in the fact that Lloyd dying and then being fine minutes later doesn't serve anything. At least Cole falling caused some interesting scenes, but what happened to Lloyd doesn't cause anything! And yes, he met god, but then god told him that he won't remember any of this anyway. Oh well.

And then Garmadon just walks away??? Like, I get why HE would do that, but Wu just let's him leave????? Isn't this guy literally only the evil parts of who he was before? And not to mention that he forcibly became a dictator like three weeks ago.

And there's so many other things that piss me off, like how Kai has kind of a full circle moment with his smithing abilities, and as a longtime Kai fan I really like this idea! But then it was only a 20 second montage. Like, you aren't even going to give us a reason as to how he became so good at being a blacksmith that he can reforge the fucking GOLDEN WEAPONS? NO??? Ok then! *explodes with rage*

And my next complaint is moreso targeted at the whole season, but am I the only one who thinks that the Oni where really underwhelming? Like, these are supposed to be demons hellbent on the total destruction of the universe, but they're also the most forgettable villains in this entire show. The only reason why I even remember Omega's name is because that name in this context is kickass, but other than that he has nothing going for him. He's just here to destroy and kill everybody, that's it. What makes him and say, Kalmaar so different, is that Kalmaar has an actual personality. They have the same fundamental plan, but Kalmaar feels more like a classic disney villain while Omega is an extremely watered down version of the Christian take on Satan. This could've been the chance to make some absolutely epic lore about the Oni, where they've been, what they're like, or literally anything. But no, they're just here to kill.

And then they where defeated by the power of spinning really fast with your fam. The whole Tornado of Creation coming back just to serve as a callback and a convenient Oni killswitch has always bugged me. It just feels really cheap, especially with how everything faded to white and we didn't even get to see what actually happened.

But the real reason why I hate this final episode so damn much is that, I really liked the episodes before it! When it was coming out I thought that this would be really good, and I was legitimately excited to see how it ended! But then it crushed my dreams by having the worst ending possible and I haven't been able to trust since.

Okay, I think I'm done now, these aren't all of the reasons why I hate it so much, but I've rambled enough so I'm done.

[felikatze]

it has been A Full Year and i finally finished DR season 1. so that's right fuckers. it's time for the grant return of Feli's Season Review

the short of it: i like it!

the long:

Okay it's been a bit since i watched the first episode (a year.) but i remember that I really liked the opening. The set design is gorgeous, the character designs are extremely varied by ninjago standards, i love including more of the weird and wacky species across ninjago that only get their one off appearance.

love seeing serpentine again, and skulkin, and those underwater snake guys, and all sorts of new creatures brought in. it really opens pandora's box to potentially bring in any setting that was usually only reserved for special appearances.

like the realm of madness. the administration as an extension of it is so fucking funny. passierschein A58 bitte. it's just that asterix and obelix skit. it's FUN that they can just pull as many places out of a hat as they want without having to justify it at all. also chima is canon and i think that's where raz is from.

arin and sora are also just a great first duo. i have mentioned it before (a year ago.) that having arin as the fanboy and sora knowing fuckall is a great setup for some natural exposition, AND YET it doesn't overstay it's welcome, with arin (and later, the ninja) only ever giving as much info as is required to understand something and not a single bit more. no we are not going to explain in depth what the geckle and munce are you can understand enough to interpret this as an allergory for a mixed race bastard unwanted by either of his cultures god bless

sora is so trans coded i love it. generally a lot of really good rep going on! it's down low, but i do think a lot of ppl r gonna see themselves in this show. again, sora trans real, arin being black coded (his VA is also black, i believe), it's good!

and cole is gay godspeed. (alive, but gay.)

I LIKED THEIR ARCS AS WELL... i think it was very hamfisted when cole just went "wow the power was in me all along and geo just helped me believe in myself!" and sora was standing Right Next To Him and internalized none of it. girl. girrrrl. mädel.

but generally harkening back to the s1 arc of sora having to find her true potential and then making nya her mentor figure in that, pretty great. the entire story seems to revolve around sora and her potential as she also gets to be the one to dismantle beatrix' weapon right at the end. lloyd gets to do the final bit but sora got the big moment ysee.

and from discussion floating about arin not having powers and being mildly sidelined in the big moments in favor of sora will actually be relevant to his arc?? i'm so excited for that?? especially since it was revealed that beatrix, our big bad, hates elemental powers because her older sister had them and she was jealous. (reminds me of pre s5 nya a little bit??? why does my big brother get to save the world and i just have to sit around when i'm also capable of doing shit). if all that gets paralleled against arin's increasing feelings of uselessness, that'll be fucking fantastic.

arin's so charming. it's a bit sad to watch that he starts out starry eyed and enthusastic, yet his fanboy-isms wane as he trains with lloyd because he sees himself as a burden, no matter how often lloyd reiterates that what arin did, teaching himself spinjitzu, is Fucking Incredible.

in that way, putting arin in a duo w lloyd was also great, because lloyd is once again, The Plot's Special Boy, being the dragon conduit and all. i like all the new dragon lore.

love how more and more it seems like the first spinjitzu master was a hack, lol.

oh he created ninjago? well, um, the world already existed before he came there. it was just a big ocean. he created the elements? wellllll, the source dragon did that, actually? it's really funny, considering he's canonically a neglectful father and the plot probably could've been prevented if he told garmadon "i'm proud of you" just once, he can take the L.

but again like, Lloyd, Grandson of God, up with Arin. And Arin at first doesn't know all the previous adventures, just what's shown to the public, so seeing the actual day to day of his heroes AND how much more they did than he thought, tis sobering. AND YET, HE TRIES HIS BEST. ending the season with arin making pies to cheer everyone up was cute.

as you might notice, i really like the duo structure set up with the cast. first, we meet our new Main Characters and then we're reintroduced to the ogs one by one. It keeps up suspense, obviously, to see what's become of the ogs, but it also stops them from stealing the spotlight and lets the new faces find their footing first.

I also just, kinda, appreciate that not all the og ninja have to be main characters. Zane is pretty clearly a side character, and Cole has other shit to worry about. And Jay has less than a minute of screentime that is SO fucking funny because a new viewer isn:t even going to know he's important.

Anyways yeah, the focus is on Lloyd, Kai, and Nya, for the old characters, and they get much stronger scenes as a result. Narrowing the focus, yknow.

wyldfire is fucking hilarious and her and Kai are probably my favorite duo. Again, great to make duos of one new one old (even with Cole & Geo, and Zane & Frohicky) (i dont know how his name is spelled). Allows the new character to find their footing while also giving old viewers the characters they're familiar with. By connecting the cast so thoroughly across generations, you prevent old cliques from forming, stop the plot from separating the new and the old out. It's more transformative and cohesive that way, it's interesting new character constellations.

I guess my main complaints are the pacing in the middle kinda dragged. Splitting the plot three ways during the search for the dragon cores REALLY stalled progress to a standstill. That's what I loved about wildbrain era of the original - every 10minutes, every episode, you Accomplished Something. The plot moved forward in blocks. With it split three way, you'd have moments where all three duos eat shit at the same time. As much as I love the dynamic between Kai and Wyldfire, their segment was definitely the weakest outside of that.

And also the fight scenes are kinda boring. Really doesn't take advantage of elemental powers in any cool or interesting ways. They're all just lobbing around recolored fireballs. (Or just regular fireballs). Those then plink of the enemy, and they get smacked around. The fight choreography was overall just Lame. The fights were never my favorite part anyways.

yeah so like, i think i talked myself outta words. I could talk more how all the duos parallel each other, but I kinda don't want to atm. ninjago says trans rights

[hollowflight-propaganda]

I've excepted that Kai's gonna be beat at this point because it's fucking Zuko, but please spare a thought for the fire lego y'all. Kai's just so special to me and I have no clue how to describe it.

When I originally started to watch Ninjago, I just picked him to be my favorite because my favorite color was red and I was like 7. I would consider him to be my favorite character, but in actuality there wasn't really anything that separated him from any of the others in my mind all that much. Seasons 4 and 5 gave me quite a few reasons to like him, but besides those I picked him to be my favorite out of the obligation to have a favorite.

That was until season 7. (This is probably gonna be long so continue if you dare)

Most of the fandom shit on Hands of Time because it kinda sucked, and honestly I agree on that. Kind of. You see, I ignore a lot of what happened in season 7 and I only pay attention to the bits I liked, and the main thing I like is what they did with Kai.

Because what happens in this season is that there's a lot of stuff about Ray and Maya, who are Kai's parents. They start coming up quite a bit during the first couple episodes (because we need to let the audience know they're gonna be important) but then in episode 3 is where the Lego Ninja Angst™ kicks in. One of the main villains named Krux gets into a fight with Kai, and during this he tells him that his parents actually where on his side during him and his brother's first attempt to.... rule the world I guess? I don't really know what they were trying to accomplish really.

Anyway, Krux tells him this and Kai is not happy about this information. (Thinking back on it now, Kai's voice actor, Vincent Tong, absolutely killed it this season, and this scene is a prime example.) He tries to deny that they would do anything like that, but after this he has his doubts. And then this sparks one of my favorite dynamics the ninja team have ever had, and this is that nearly everyone else is goofing around, Lloyd's trying to be team leader while everyone's goofing around, and Kai's just disassociating in the corner. I don't know why, but that's hilarious to me.

I'm gonna skip over a lot of the details as to not go on forever, but over the next four episodes Kai starts looking into this and actually finds a lot of evidence that his parents where evil. Not only that, but that they could be alive. Now, from the audience's perspective all we've known about Kai and Nya's parents up to the season are this:

1: Their father was a good blacksmith.

2: They were the masters of fire and water.

3: They probably died at some point.

That's basically all we knew for like six years, and nearly every time they where mentioned it was treated like they where dead. The one time where it seemed that wasn't the case was in the Halloween special that came before Hands of Time, in which Kai says something to Nya along the lines of, "Do you ever wonder what happened to them?" This is the first time it was ever mentioned that Kai and Nya actually didn't know what happened to them. Because of this people consider what happens in this season a retcon, but I honestly don't. Because for starters, from Kai and Nya's perspective why would they clarify that they where abandoned and don't know what happened to their parents? They're both the type of people who avoid talking about their emotions as much as possible, so if given the chance they probably wouldn't talk about it. Secondly, I think they were always talked about vaguely enough to allow this to happen.

Getting back on track here, Kai goes to Nya and tells her about all of the evidence he's found. I think the following scene is really underrated because this one of, if not the only time where these two get into a legitimate argument. Nya refuses to believe that their parents did this, while Kai keeps listing off all the things he's found out. The argument is dispelled unceremoniously though because of course it does, this is Ninjago for crying out loud. After this they go their separate ways and Kai finds the damning piece of evidence that shows that his parents are alive. He shows Nya this and now she believes him, but honestly it seems that she doesn't really care too much, at least not to Kai's extent. Which makes perfect sense because we also learn in this season that Nya was at least three when Ray and Maya went missing. So keep that in mind and also that Kai was least five.

Now we come to probably my favorite scene in this whole show. I'm not kidding. In episode 8 the ninja are now invading the villain's base they have in this reclusive swamp. What the others are doing isn't really important right now, but what Kai and Nya are supposed to be doing are tracking down where Krux and his brother Acronix are. Instead of sticking to the plan Kai immediately runs off as soon as he knows where his parents are. He finds his father and then proceeds to try to KILL HIM. I Am Not Kidding. He literally tries to kill him and I can't get over this. The writers for this lego show for kids literally went, "We should have one of the main characters try to kill his father. I think that'd be fun!" To which ever writer came up with that, thank you so much for this. This turns into some Shakespearean drama shit and I love it.

Anyway, I literally don't know where to start or what to say about this, but just know that this is where my love for Kai is rooted. He is so much fun to psychoanalyze because of it. Honestly, find the scene for yourself and watch it if you haven't. I don't think I can do it that much justice. Is the dialogue the best? No. Do I still love it despite it's flaws? Yes.

Getting to the end of this now, Maya comes in (I don't know where the fuck she was) and breaks it up. She's completely chill about this too, she's just like, "It's great to see you again!". So is Nya really, she's just along for the ride. Kai's still pretty pissed though but allows them to explain themselves. Ray and Maya then explain how they're here because Krux kidnapped them like over a decade ago. How he did this was that he literally THREATENED TO KILL THEIR CHILDREN. This bitch threatened to kill a three and five year old. I want to know who came up with all of the oddly dark stuff this season and shake their hand. After this Kai's like, "Hey, sorry about almost killing you and stuff." And Ray's like, "Don't worry about it son!" Ray's also really chill about the fact that he was almost murdered and I love him for that.

I'm done with most of the season 7 stuff now because after this everybody's mostly focused on the plot of stopping the Time Twins from.... I still don't really know what their goal is honestly. There's one last thing I want to touch on though, and it's that there's literally no canon evidence that Kai and Nya had help from any adults after their parents where kidnapped. Besides a mention of them having a "babysitter" there's literally nothing about anybody who helped them. In Seabound, Nya even says that Kai and her, "had to raise ourselves." Excuse me while I go CRY. Because wtf Ninjago, you're supposed to be a stupid lego show, why do you have some of the most depressing backstories I've ever heard of???

So, what was it that this was about? Oh yeah, fire guy polls! This got really out of hand, but if you actually read through this shit you have my applause. 👏👏👏👏👏

The Quarter finals Match 4, the one you’ve been waiting for

Zuko from Avatar the last Airbender

Vs

Kai Smith from Lego Ninjago

[spinjitsuburst]

Things in Ninjago that I think about a little too frequently

In no particular order

- Morro’s gay ass violin theme

- Every time Kai’s like “who would like/want/care that much about JAY” and Nya’s like “HELLO????”

- Every single Bruiseshipping moment in Skybound there are so many

- in Prime Empire when Wu completely falls for a cardboard cutout of Zane in the elevator. I don’t think y’all understand when I watched that the first time I had to pause the episode because I was crying laughing. Why did he fall for that. Wu. Wu please.

- Kai being corrupted by Chen’s staff why wasn’t that part longer please Ninjago pleASE-

- Ninjago Confidential

- actually just all of Prime Empire tbh (im the CEO of Superstar Rockin’ Jay that season’s been imprinted in my brain for all time)

- Child Lloyd watching his father leave, knowing that they next they meet, he’ll have to fight him as it is now his destiny. Hard cut to the rest of the ninja throwing a fucking party

- “I was never meant to be the Green Ninja… I was meant to PROTECT him.”

- when Jay goes apeshit after Klamaar “destroys” Nya and he grabs Wu’s staff and just loses it

- all of season 11 episode 4 just all of it it’s so funny

- Ice Emperor content

- Cole: about to go to bed Lloyd: APPEARS OMINOUSLY Hello, Cole.

- “THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN JUST SURVIVING!”

- Cole’s fall and everyone’s subsequent reactions from March of the Oni. MotO overall sucks but no matter how many times I watch that part even knowing he’ll be fine I get so emotional

- Lloyd breaking through Morro’s possession to give Kai the sword

- COLE ACTIVATING THE SPINJITSU BURST THAT MOMENT GOES SO HARD, IT’S WHY MY SIDE BLOG IS SPINJITSUBURST I LOVE IT

- “I’m not strong enough!” “Then we’ll be stronger together!” And Nya and Jay form a COMBINED ELEMENTAL DRAGON IT’S SO COOL

- Jay: lying on the floor in Nadakhan’s quarters, barely able to talk, beaten and his eye so damaged he’s wearing an eyepatch. Cole’s reaction to seeing him him this state: JAY YOU’RE OKAY

- the entire Sweatin’ to the Goldie’s short

- Jay being so genuinely upset and distraught about being unable to help the people stuck in ice in the Neverrealm

- Echo Zane

- Echo Zane!

- did I mention Echo Zane

- “Look, we caught the chicken!” “Yeah, it’s in the box” someone help them

- “Zane, can I ask you something.” “You have half my heart. You can ask me anything.”

- Every Pixane moment lives in my brain actually

- that part in Skybound when Jay falls from the sky and is upset he doesn’t know how to save Nya and his friends and his dad is like “THE WORLD’S FALLIN’ APART AND HE’S EATIN’ SOUP!”

- “Kai, babeyyy~”

- that episode of Crystalized where it opens to Harumi monologuing her life story and then it’s revealed she’s been talking. To Lloyd. The whole time. Harumi he knew half that shit already why did you tell him all that again

[they-need-therapy]

I was thinking about Zane’s fear. I think it’s the most interesting and fairly consistent over Ninjago’s run. In early seasons of Ninjago, I think Zane feared losing his memories again. When Zane found out he was a robot and regained his memories by literally pressing a switch, he was probably overwhelmed with a new appreciation, even a new fear, of the impermanence of his current state. When he reunited with his father, he even asked that his memory switch be removed, as he “happened to like his life, and did not want to forget (his father) ever again.”

(Which I think is cute that he actually asked his father first instead of just doing it himself, which means he had at least some respect for his father’s original design before blowing up to save the world. I wonder if he feels any little bit of self imposed guilt every time he modifies himself like he obviously has done… but I’m getting ahead of myself.)

Later, when his father has passed on, Zane sacrifices himself to save Ninjago City. After which he rebuilds himself, most likely, without a memory switch.

Season seven has often been put down as one of the worst seasons for Zane, as it, out of many things, had him behaving in ways that were quite out of character for him. However I think in some cases there may be more of an explanation than bad writing. Remember, this is the season he lost Pixal from his head. That and the constant malfunctions he was experiencing were probably another wake up call reminding him of the impermanence of being a robot. {insert Zane freaking out here}

Zane’s fears come full circle in season 11, where he really does “forget... again.” and his fears come true. He forgets everything and is manipulated into being someone completely different. When he finally does regain his memories again,you can imagine how angry he was at Vex, the man who made his fears come true.

One thing I think Ninjago failed terribly at was giving Zane time to deal with what just happened. He forgot everything, became a tyrannical ruler, and committed genocide. And then next season he’s just like “I’m fiinneeee” I think he maybe is stuffing his true feelings deep inside, like, even when Cyrus mentioned that Prime Empire could rewrite the nindroids code, Pixal seemed more afraid than Zane!

Meanwhile, in the episode the explorers club in season 11, we get to see the mirror that shows the Lloyd, Zane, and Nya their fear. Zane sees himself with no personality or memories.... Basically what happened to Wall-E. Jokes aside, this fear, being nothing but a machine, seems different than the fear I had stated before that he had. But, really, when you think about it this fear is just an expended and more generalized version. Zane is afraid of simply being a robot, and nothing else. As a robot in season two he was much more likely to lose his memories than any other human. He asked for his memory switch to be removed because he was afraid of even the chance that his robotic nature could enable further pain. And a whole, Zane seems to have a very, touch and go relationship with his robotic nature. One second, he is excited to use his robotic capabilities to help the team, the next second he seems to desire a much more human existence. Notice how in season eight, Zane starts to use cloaking on missions where there are many people around. This a long with a few other clues tells me Zane is more insecure about being a robot than we might think.

[midnight---hollow]

Ninjago lore is so convoluted and stupid. Like i can explain almost all of it from season 1 to season 15 easily but that would take hours because there is so much before ninjago content and so many things tying into things qnd more things. This show is its own circle of hell and im trapped in it cus brain when "hur durh ninja when spin he ha he"

(Long "rant" ahead)

Like how do i explain that garmadon was bit by a snake that was gonna make him pure evil and cus of that he cucked his brother and married his crush and whike that was happing his brother,wu, adopted a kid and that kid died cus he wanted to be special.

then they team up to fight snakes cus snake people are here now fighting i think to prevent the overload prophecy but it might have just been cus the humans where racist idr. They fight against garmadons old teacher who is evil btw. They are losing really badly but while doing a sad walk through a village they see a snake charamer and realize that they can hypnotize the snakes with the flutes so they do that and banshin 5 strong snake guys to death and also garmadons teacher to like an island or something, but oh no these guys that where fighting with them turn out to be evil and want to take over the world so they like punch them or something and seal their elements into these weird blade thing, oh yeah did i mention there are elemental masters, anyways.

Peace returns till garmadon becomes fully evil and plans to take over using these golden wepons of mass destruction (that are honestly kinda useless but eh) but wu has to stop him so they fight two golden weapons on two golden weapon and garmadon win and tries to kill wu but wu is wearing a gi that has a binding or some shit that says "no you" and strikes garmadon down into the underworld and from there he like beats up some skeletons and becomes their king or something. Wu thinking the weapons are to dangerous goes out to give them to fucking dragons cus they exist to and makes a map and gives it to a fire dude i dont remember the name of. Then said fire dude gets kidnapped by said evil that got their powers stealed by the blades leaving the new fire dude and his sister parentless and the map that they dont know of with them

AND THATS BEFORE THE SHOWS EPILOGUE EPISODE. THATS NOT EVEN INCLUDING ALL THE STUPID ASPHERA SHIT OR THE SPLITTING OF NINJAGO AND THW STONE ARMY OR THE FUCKING WINDERA SNAKE OF WIND AND STORMS OR THE NADAKHAN LOREOR THE NYAD AND THE TRIBES SHIT OR REALM CRYSTALS. THATS JUST THE THINGS WE GET TOLD AND SEE MONTAGES AND FLASHBACKS FROM.

I think ninjago is just a big fever dream tbh

[indra-istari]

Thoughts While Watching Every Ninjago Season (s1 edition)

(excuse my spelling i did most of this while tired)

Episode 1: Rise of the Snakes

The intro is good, specifically the music but the end card makes them look like a sitcom family

these seasons go through cycles of being unable to do things competently and being op

ooo Lord Garmadon

That is a fucking child, an annoying one at that.

I love how the fake snakes sound like a

What's a wife's tale? Why do only wives have tales?

Publicly Humiliates Child → Child Becomes Evil

Oh, Green Ninja prophecy

The Green Ninja prophecy will cause internal conflict within the team

"no one has ever found the tomb of a serpentine tribe" Lloyd *finds one almost immediately after being tossed out of a village for pretending to have control of the serpentine

Ah yes, they are going to use their extremely powerful weapons that can literally rip apart the world for sparring

The old man yells at them

Now Lloyd has actual serpentine, they have mind control powers too, funky

Spirit Smoke? Never mention that ever again

Kai is a Serpentine denier, how tf does Nya know that the antivenom is in the staff?

Zane "we can't use our golden weapons" Zane *uses golden weapons*

That dude who tried to control Cole is going to cause problems later

Teach us! Teach us! these idiots are stupid

I was right, Cole's partially mind-controlled

Episode 2: Home

The rest of the Ninja after saying Zane is weird because he laughs during sad movies.

Do they have Fan Mail?

Oh Zane's an orphan

Oh that snake guy is named Scales, that's stupid as fuck

"Snakes don't belong in trees"

Bird!

"If I see one girl in here, I'm going to go ballistic" Lloyd is in his woman-hating arc

Zane's arc rn is just Neurodivergent in a house of Neurotypicals

Cole's mind control is a problem.

Jay almost pulled a Peter Petrelli

So they decided to not leave anyone behind to guard the monastery? idiots

They have no home.

They decided to blame Zane for destroying their homes even though he couldn't have known the snakes would go for the monastery.

The snakes are fighting for command of the tribe

Scales got wombified

I miss Zane. Zane! No Zane! *Zane shows us*

He found a fucking sky boat

Lloyd is stalking them

Episode 3: Snakebit

Wake up call is "Evil doesn't sleep so you shouldn't"

the Chore episode

Using their powers to clean things

"He hates it when we tell people he was born in a junkyard"

God, I hate parents episodes

Ed is the name of my dead uncle.

Which ones are these? oh the vampire snakes!

Lloyd is an annoying motherfucker

They have hotel Transylvania vibes

oh his parents are here, which means they are going to die.

They chew on machines and the machines turn into snakes

Jay has a crush on Nya and Nya is Kai's brother

They are migrating? of course, dragons are so unreliable

"Hello Uncle" Lloyd is so annoying

I think Nya is going to be the green ninja

Their weapons can turn into vehicles??

"Does your flute turn into anything? *looks at flute* "I wish"

The boat can fly

The staff slid out of the cabin and off the ship into the Vampire snake's hands

Episode 4: Never Trust a Snake

Zane is having a Dream

Lord Garmadon!

Green Ninja is Kai?

They are punished by training more

Scales and the Vampire Snakes are friends?

Green Ninja has all of their attributes so Zane's dream is pointless in the context of finding the Green Ninja's identity

Lloyd is going to the Anacondrai place and he met a British dude

This British snake guy is sus, he wants to eat Lloyd

We both have no friends? Cool! Let's be friends!

A stupid child is going to break the world

Boarding school time.

Lloyd is paranoid

elevator music

SNAKE BETRAYAL

THE SNAKE DISAPPEARED

L for Lloyd's bowl cut

Episode 5: Can of Worms

I bet Lloyd is messing with everyone

I hate children

Zane is pink

Why does Kai hate Nya so much

smh they are flirting

"But this is the mountain of a million steps

They just went inside but there are snakes on the loose

Snakes say Musicians dni

Uh oh

Kai's worst fear is gingerbread clown elves

They are gonna die

That red bitch after knocking tf out of the ninja after saving them

Kai is high

They are stupid as hell

skydiving without a parachute

Zane is still pink

Scales knows he knows, he knows

Let us blow this popsicle stand!

Ice vs snake, Ice wins

Fridge snakes

Episode 6: Snake King

a lost city?

Damn that's a big city

Green Ninja arguments

Lloyd gets the box

The samurai did their job for them

Sensi Wu loves Ferris wheels

They are all fucking stupid

Kai is being an older sibling to Lloyd

That child is sneaking into snake town

Lloyd fucked up

they didn't realize that Lloyd is missing

idiots walked right into a trap

They are fighting the samurai

Creation tornado

The samurai just saved them big time

Mans got the golden weapons

Kai's separated

the samurai is Nya?

They just let Lloyd stay there with Pythor

AYYY Kai!

Sensei Wu Knows

Episode 7: Tick Tock

Zane is sitting underwater petting fish like Percy Jackson

Oh they are True potential

L for Lloyd

Sensi Wu is off to find "someone who can help"

Snake politics

Kai is just like 'he, she samurai"

The bird!??

really good music for literally no reason

slowly, everyone is leaving and it will only be Zane

Kai isn't giving up

THE FALCON IS A ROBOT??

ANOTHER ROBOT?

That tree is a house

many stairs

ZANE IS A ROBOT???

Sensei Wu is buying tea from a mean old lady

Wait if Zane is a robot how does he use spinjitzu

oh a memory switch, how convenient

Zane's creator died

The Queen!

Zane is op

The snakes are plotting

Sensei Wu is doing some weird tea ritual

LORD GARMADON???????

Episode 8: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Of course, Jay is wearing perfume and Nya is allergic to it

This is awkward

Oh she's going to die

That bug became a snake

Sensei Wu and Garamdon are fighting like a dysfunctional family, oh wait

Sensei Wu is trying to talk t him but all Garmadon knows is murder

at least he cares about Lloyd

They are brothers

Ah yes, an amusement park

Jay is trying to flirt but he's turning into a snake

Date ruined.

Date not ruined

So Garmadon is evil because of a snake

They are so awkward

Jay dissing the samurai when Nya is the Samurai is the most awkward thing ever

Jay is turning into a snake

Hallucinations

Zane fucked up his true potential stuff

Samurai saves everyone again

Oop, Pythor unveiled Nya

They are going to execute Nya

Nya comes out as the samurai

True Love's kiss saves the day

True potential moment

they're gaslighting Kai

Brothers Vacation

Episode 9: The Royal Blacksmiths

using children as bait

Kai is the jealous one

Cole has a picture of the fang blade

Lying to your parents is fun

Climbing a mountain for family bonding

the mountain became a man

use the bell, son

Cole's dad is annoying

oh they can't sing

Cole's dad is going to train them

"Zane, you're like a machine" CRYING he looks so proud of himself

Pythor and Scales are flirting

I feel like something bad is going to happen between Garmadon and Wu

I was right

when you're farming and a fucking vortex opens up

oh boy, he is coming out to his dad as a ninja

Pythor ate the real Judge and is impersonating him

Zane has butterflies in his stomach

they are performing the theme song

They won!

Cole's dad is proud of him :)

PYTHOR TRIED TO KILL COLES DAD

Kai's still in his 'I'm the green ninja' mindset

Episode 10: The Green Ninja

I think this episode will reveal the green ninja

we start with someone in red clothing stealing the green ninja suit

maybe its cole bc they show the scythe blade

oh Cole is fighting serpentine

so is Jay, so this is either Kai or Nya

It's not Nya

God Kai, you're so embarrassing

SENSEI WU IS HOME!!

"Zane's a nindroid" "Zane's a what?"

Lord Garmadon appeared!

"But Sensei! he has 4 arms!" Love you, Zane

He is a smug mf

He's pure evil but he's still Wu's brother

Kai's impulsive

Me when I sharpen my teeth with a knife

and eat evil worms

When you're on a date but then the Lord of Darkness starts third wheeling you

When you're trying to sleep but your roommate is pondering the orb

Falcon theme my beloved

oh a volcano

dumbass

Nya green ninja arc???? please??

Kai is a fucking idiot

Cole is the reasonable one

GARMADON HAS ALL THE GOLDEN WEAPONS UH OH

Because fucking Kai is a fucking idiot

The volcano is about to explode and they are going in it.

Lloyd! Son! Son! STFU Son!

Of course, they see the ninja in the reflection

THAT SNAKE JUST GOT THROWN INTO FUCKING LAVA AND HE'S OKAY????? WHAT THE FUCK

Idiot Kai took out his Golden Weapon and activated the Volcano

The snakes destabilized the volcano

Lord Garmadon may be evil but at least he cares about his son, unlike my parents who

That is a fucking dramatic show for a lego show

Kai and his self-sacrificial act

LLOYD IS FALLING AGAIN L

Damn Garmadon, 4 hands, and you still can't catch your son

They left Lloyd and Kai in the volcano

Garmadon is screaming crying rn

It's Kai! and Lloyd! Kai's finally got his true potential powers!

Kai passed the fuck out lol

"Dad, is it really you" "yes son" "Dad, why do you have 4 arms?"

what? Kai: "my training wasn't to become the green ninja, it was to protect him" that means that Lloyd is the green ninja?

HOW TF DID HE FIGURE OUT THAT LLOYD WAS THE GREEN NINJA THAT MAKES NO SENSE

Wait Lloyd has been around the golden weapons multiple times what the fuck do you mean the weapons only react now

Lloyd chose one arc

Oh that means he has to fight his dad

The fang blade didn't melt?

Shit writing tbh

Episode 11: All of Nothing

They are all harassing one snake

this snake is like "i hate you" "no i don't hate you"

But they don't have noses

Zane can connect his eyes to the Falcon :D

Garmadon and Lloyd are bonding

Lloyd b like Daaad :((((((

Ever since the Devourer bit me Evil is in my blood

they/them prns for Lloyd my beloved

Garmadon doesn't want Lloyd to be like him im crying real tears

Ooof Lloyd ROASTED his Dad

Garmadon got kicked out by his son L

Firestarter is a lit nickname lmao

Jay is so in love and it's kinda funny

ITS A TRAP OH NO

Oh its Pythor

poor Lloyd has no clue what the fuck he's doing

SLITHERPIT SLITHERPIT SLITHERPIT

they are playing chess

what the fuck is a vengestone

they are pirates of the carribianing this shit

Pythor jumpscare

Nya: I have faith in Lloyd.

Meanwhile Lloyd: Ninja roll! Jump! *falls down the stairs*

This is bad

Poor Lloyd

God Pythor be original for once "You and who's army" mf

GARMADON IS BACK AND HE HAS AN ARMY

YEAH FUCK SNAKES

L for Scales

They are Brothers, your honor

I THOUGHT NYA STEPPED ON KAI LMAO

Garmadons and Lloyd </3

Headpat

THEY :'(((((((((

He is gone

PYTHOR IS ON THE SHIP????

Episode 12: Rise of the Great Devourer

the smoke of future sight

the future smoke says big snake will come

Lloyd gets beaten up by an inanimate object

Pythor is terrorizing children

Pythor is mean and british

Sensei Wu talks about dying

Sensei Wu starts Dying

Sensei Wu stops dying

Pythor has the fang blades again

HES GETTING AWAY

they all start dying

Nya stops them from dying

the snakes steal a bus

the bus is alive

snake motorcycles

"if we drive any faster the engine will explode " that's not how that works i think

Zane is kicking ass while Kai is on the window

Cole just blew up Scales

The engine exploded

SENSEI WU IS SACRIFICING HIMSELF FOR THEM??

LLOYD!

Sensei Wu got his gold tornado

Wu is beating Pythor for the moment

And the train flipped

Pythor is about to awaken the Great Devourer

Lloyd is going to get himself killed or smthin

"Go Ninja, go"

IS THAT A GOU'AULD

Episode 13: Day of the Great Devourer

Season finale!

The Great Devourer ate sensei wu (and pythor but idrc about him)

JAY DONT FUCKING FALL

They got away

Oh they didnt

They lost like 1/4th of the engines

Oh it grows

Oh the classic "we lost it" *sneak attack*

Nya holding Lloyd like a doll is so funny

Screaming Death Core

force ghost Wu but maybe its a hallucination idk

Russian snake

poor Lloyd is too short to be included

LMAO THE MAILMAN DOESN'T SEE THE BIG FUCKING SNAKE IN THE BACKGROUND

Creation tornado

Zane is self-aware

and Zane got stabbed maybe

HE'S OKAY!

his face came off tho

"it's heading towards the city!" it.. came from that direction?

"what's that in the subway?" "a fucking snake"

Jay's parents are gonna die

Cole threw a car at the snake

Lord Garmadon is buying tea

The Dragons are Back!

The snake is going up the building

Garmadon is going to stop the snake

Since when could Zane run possibilities

Lord Garmadon just got the golden weapons

time to see if garmadon can beat him

"You bit me once, now you'll know what it's like to be bitten back!"

the snake fucking exploded

SENSEI WU!

foreshadowing for Lloyd vs his dad

the end of s1

[purplerose244]

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (2/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

For now, nothing to complain about! We got Nya, we got MAYA AND RAY, we got GILES PANTON BACK A LEGO SHOW!!! 😍😍😍

Of course now I'm definitely curious about what the story is really about, like I'm guessing Wojira will wake up at some point so... Great Devourer all over again maybe? 😅 Idk, for now I just wanna enjoy Nya having her moment 🥳

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

New alert for reader, during the Nexo Knights period I was and still am the hugest Clay fan. Now that his voice is in this season I might scream more than necessary... keep that in mind 😅

I love the humor in this, all random but still kinda clever 😂😂 Maybe I'm biased because I love Jay but still 🤷‍♀️

I really like the design of the marine world, very cool!! 🌊🌊🌊

I guess I'm not really seeing any big plot twist moment for now? Ninjago seasons have history of basing seasons on a "we need to prevent this event from happening but it will happen anyway", so I can see Wojira waking up no matter what 🤷‍♀️

I wonder if that will be shocking? Usually when this situation happen, someone makes a major sacrifice (Zane with the Overlord, sensei Garmaron with Chen, again sensei G with the Preeminent...). Maybe Maya? I DON'T WANT THAT 😭 But I am curious, everything is going nicely and I'm not sure what it will bring! 🤩 I'M EXCITED SO LET'S GO!!!

THE WRATH OF KALMAAR

So this is the name of Clay's new incarnation, neat! 👍

Okay really, for having a season lately the main character just can't help but be trapped by the villain: kinda Zane in the ICE Chapter, Jay in Prime Empire, Cole in Master of the Mountain... we can call it a tradition at this point 🤷‍♀️

Giant serpent, yadda yadda, I wonder if we're gonna address the Great Devourer at some point? Not mandatory, but the reference would be very cool 🤩

Clay's new incarnation is a prince I- *hyperventilates in awe*

Nya playing dumb lol, I don't know if that's personal experience as she used to get kidnapped a lot in the past or she just have too many idiots in her life 😂

ALSO ANOTHER BEST GIRL'S SMIRK

NYA YOU'RE TOO MUCH ILY ❤💙❤💙

Jay I love that you're so worried about Nya but maybe try NOT TO DIE? YOU'RE WITH LLOYD AND ZANE YET YOU'RE THE ONE GOING FOR THE SACRIFICE WTH?? 😱 But he's worried about his cool GF I kinda get it, also he didn't do it so good...

WHAT. THE. HECK.

WHO ARE YOU OH MY FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER YOU'RE ADORABLE I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU YOU ABSOLUTE CUTIE 🤩🤩🤩

So Giles is doomed to voice LEGO characters with daddy issues 😂 That being not having a dad at all or having one that is... a good guy? Idk he seems chill with the surface at first glance, I wonder what's the story of this family

Maya reminds of my mom, she also mentions her work a lot and I study the same thing. But she doesn't want to brag, it gets annoying but she just wants to give me advice. It's nice to see actually 👍 Also Ray reference NEAT ❤❤❤

Wow, if any child-parent couple of this show was doomed at going semi Emperor's New Groove style, I would've bet on Ed and Jay honestly 😅

Oh HECK yes I knew that with my water girls things were BOUND to get cool 😎 ... yeah I know where the door is *goes away*

JAY NO WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TRYING TO DIE STOP DOING WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!! 😱😱😱

My GOSH that scared the crap out of me 😅 Jay honey we have too many deaths in this team, you're not helping... BUT YOU POWERED AN ENTIRE SHIP BECAUSE YOU LOVE NYA AND YOU DIDN'T DIE AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BLUEBELL 💙💙💙

They were all so worried, I love this ninja family so freaking much 💜💜💜 Also better not tell this one to his GF 😂

And Bluebell?

Welcome to the "change eye color because of elemental power" team! WE GOT ANOTHER ONE I LOVE WHEN IT HAPPENS!!! 😍😍😍

Awww, Zane letting Jay be the captain, that was so cute of him 💕

Another great episode! Doing great so far but I still wonder if we got into the main story. Feels like there should be more, well we got time! Next one! 😊

LONG LIVE THE KING

Sooooo... that's one very telling title 😅 If we're going full Lion King on this one, I think I know where this is going 😵

Maya: Don't they know that metal taste terrible?!? (Again feels like Kai could say something like this 😂)

FINALLY NYA USING FREAKING WATER POWERS UNDER THE SEA!!! Thank you Maya for saying out loud what we were all thinking 👌👌

NINJA TO THE RESCUE!!!

Pff, okay, the fact that Kalmaar is all evil and cruel and then he gets startled like that, it's kind or adorable! 💕 Honestly Giles got such a deep voice, with Clay it was firm warm and reassuring, here we got plain devious and I ADORE it 😍😍😍

Maya come on don't doubt your daughter 😅 But I like her, and if she knew Nya they way we all do she wouldn't doubt that she could make it every time 😎

Yeah I was right, the king seems chill... oww I fear what's coming then 😳

Okay, so Kalmaar thinks that the world should go back to be lead by them like in the past, while the king just wants peace with the surface. And as we know, no drama no season so...

Yep, saw the death coming 😅

WHOA DID NOT SEE THAT LITTLE BLAME ACT COMING KALMAAR IS SO EVIL!!!... with a glorious voice but still (Rose focus on something that is not that godlike voice, you can do it 💪💪)

THE OLD ONE TWO I LOVE THIS SO MUCH COMBO ATTACK!!! 🌊❄🌊❄

Awww Benthomaar is actually really cute, he's so worried about his father 😢 And he's adopted apparently? I wanna know the story!!! 🤩🤩

Yep, there's the reason why Zane got a mask even though he doesn't need one, it completes his attire 😂😂😂 My gosh how I love this nindroid ❄

Did... did Jay just say phooey? Dude Ducktales ended a while ago but I'm still not over it 😭

I said it once before I'll say it again, Ninjago is really REALLY good at making death scenes. Like, omg, I genuinely felt sorry for them 😢😢 I also really liked that the king didn't ask to be avenged, he still wanted peace and he asked his son to protect the ninja and he cried actual tears...

MY HEART WTH 😭😭😭 So we're adding this to the real tears moments of the show, with Jay crying over pie, Zane with the flashback of his dad, Jay crying over Nya and Lloyd thinking the ninja are gone... my world this show is angsty 🙂

Third startle for prince Kalmaar, I love the gag 😂 Oh wait, king Kalmaar 🤷‍♀️

Okay, we got a coup, the ninja running away because they got framed, Benthomaar is most likely going to join them or at least help them, I guess Wojira will come out at some point while... Kai, Ray and Cole are still playing videogames? 😅

THIS IS GETTING COOL I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT AAAAHHH HECK YES THERE IS THE HYPE!!! 😍😍😍

Although I hope we get more stuff with Nya and Maya, that's what I like 🤩

ESCAPE FROM MERLOPIA

I'm good at English and I can follow most of it, but the fantasy names are tricky so I didn't get before that this was the name of the place 😅 It's nice, at least it's not another Atlantis 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

LLOYD I SWEAR TO YOUR GRANDPA IF YOU TRY TO DIE AGAIN 😱

NYA YOU ARE NOT A GOOD SUBSTITUTE NONE OF YOU ARE OMG 😱😱

Ah, there he is, my new son Benthomaar 💙 He is so lovable already, I know nearly nothing about him and I like his character already a lot! He could relate with all of the ninja really, but maybe with Jay the most? They were both adopted after all 🤔��

*scribble note for a fanfic for later if this doesn't come up in the season*

Alright moving on 😗

I am so happy Nya gets a season, Kelly got a great emotional range that doesn't come out often in my opinion, but with a full introspection of water goddess we are all blessed by her voice acting 😍

Gotta say, admitting that Bentho didn't have to help them to answer the usual 'Can we trust him' question is pretty reasonable, like, better than other stupid answers 😅

Also don't mind me

Just screenshotting by ship 💙❤💙❤

Somehow lately we are letting Jay do the talking and I both hate and LOVE the fact 😂😂 Plain Bluebell nonsense, heck yes that's my jam👌👌

MAYA IS SO COOL OMG 🤩🤩

I literally can't not laugh at the startle gag with Kalmaar 😂

LLOYD WHAT DID I JUST SAY ABOUT SELF SACRIFICING!! PLEASE IT'S NOT EVEN YOUR SEASON!! 😱😱😱😱

Aww Jay is still the Captain, nice! Wonder if it's giving him Skybound flashbacks... I hope not considering all he went through that time, poor Sparky 😅😅

ARE THOSE LITTLE WU ROCKETS?? 🤯

Can we skip a season and hang out with Pixal one time? I really wanna know how she organizes her free time to create these things 😍😍😍

THANK YOU LLOYD FOR NOT DYING ONCE AGAIN, MUCH APPRECIATED!!! 💚💚💚 My green bean needs a vacation... they all do 😅

THEY ARE

SO BEAUTIFUL 💙🌊💙🌊

Alright, back to the island hoping Kalmaar will not track us and follow us so he can get to the place and discover the amulet 🙂

Are we not calling the others? I miss my flame babe and Rocky ❤🖤❤🖤 Also RAY WATCHA DOIN I WANNA KNOW EVERYTHING 🤩🤩

THE TALE OF BENTHOMAAR

Wait what? Shark boy backstory? SHARK BOY BACKSTORY?!? 👀👀👀

Wow, I see that Kalmaar didn't change a thing growing up, still the same gonna-be-a-villain 😂 Of course his voice got a lot deeper and cool and okay you know I love his voice moving on

I find it kinda funny that Kalmaar is so focused on royal blood and superiority, while Clay was basically a farm boy who worked his way up. Giles knows how to get the character no matter what 😍

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

BABY BENTHOMAAR AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

The king seems like such a good pers- fish- creature 😅 Now I'm double sad that he died, my world, why do I always care so fast, it's not healthy in this show where everyone could die 😰😰

I'M SORRY IS THAT KAI'S HAIR??? 😂😂😂 I LITERALLY CAN'T LOOK AWAY WTH I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS

Literally every frame of Benthomaar makes me love him even more 😢

Interesting that we got an academic villain, he kinda reminds me of Clouse in a way, maybe even Harumi since she studied her way to her plan as well? I like that we got a bit of personality too!

Using your little bro for your own purpose... it's very evil but kinda also brotherly like 😂

Benthomaar really gives me that very PRECIOUS vibe, kinda the perfect son but also a naive and unaware BABY 💙

LEGO HUG 🤩🤩 Not exactly reciprocated but still 😅

Ooohhh, so this is how he found the temple! I like this, it shows that Bentho is most likely physically stronger than Kalmaar, while evil brother is focused on brain and studies. They are planned differently, I like it! 😚😚

Ouch, peer pressure... sibling pressure? Eh you get what I mean 😂

POOR BENTHO 😭😭😭 YOU GOT THE NINJA NOW DON'T WORRY WE'RE NEVER GONNA LEAVE YOU ALONE YOU PRECIOUS SHARK BABY!! 🦈🦈🦈

Bentho: will I really fit in with you guys? Do you really understand how I feel?

Lloyd: Jay was adopted, Nya's parents were gone most of her life, Zane lost his father while mine turned evil

Bentho(tearing up): yeah that can work

Okaaaaayyyyy, I like that we got a bit of backstory for Bentho too! We didn't get much for Vanya in Master of the Mountain, which is the only thing I was sad about (very little detail, AMAZING season 🖤🖤🖤), nice to see it here!!

But I really want more Nya and Maya interactions, I hope we'll soon get to them again!! 😍😍😍

Alright, getting somewhere here! I'm very curious about what's next 🤩🤩

[dapper-nahrwhale]

Thanks so much! All those ideas sound super interesting, both the character-focused Ninjago au (I love the idea of a “canon divergence” in which Wu is never a part of the ninja’s lives, but they still get roped together in a different occupation with a different influential figure) and the plot-focused RvB au (because heist aus SLAP and I am always a sucker for Simmons getting more of a spotlight with a subplot bout his family). Happy to hear more about it!

Ur welcome! And thank you for the interest in them! It honestly really does help with my motivation to finish writing things when I know people do want to hear abt them!

Heres some more lil tidbits abt them lol:

In the rvb one, the whole main heist is all about taking down the simmons family.

But the main plot is a grimmons fake marriage :3

I dont want to spoil it cuz I think it's a hilarious twist, but the reds are not supposed to be on this con. It was an accident.

And theres multiple heists going on at the same time in the same place and its basiclly that one always sunny meme of the two guys recognizing each other across the restaurant and also the leverage two teams competing at the same heist episode vibes going on.

Also did I mention it all started with a fake marriage thing going on with grif and simmons that they have to keep up around his family. Then I made it better by adding heists. For some reason lol.

And also theres ridiculous bets.

And tex >:)

In the ninjago one, it's more of taking place over time and through years ect ect and it's not solely focused one one heist it's more of just we'll sometimes hear references to jobs theyve done. Cuz I dont think I could write that many overcomplicated heists. I mean I could but this au doesnt call for that so I'm not. Yet...

None of them know about their elemental powers yet either. Kai just thinks hes good with fire, jay just thinks hes good with electronics ect ect

Idk how lloyd fits in it all yet but I will. I'm sure. It's come to me.

The timelines and certain events are kinda all over the place since the ninja never stopped garmadon from getting the golden weapons or the devourer or really any of that, I'm envisioning that the world has become very divergent from canon. The lore will still be similar just not exactly the same ig. Still figuring put the worldbuilfing in it

Cuz alot of the villians in ninjago are a direct cause of villains of previous events. So if those events never occur. Then what happens. This I guess.

It all takes place a few years past the pilot, so they're older than when they first met there

I genuinely cannot find the first pilot eps anywheres and I cant remember how it all starts exactly, I just wanted to see it again anyways and to see how different the beginning of the series would be if wu wasnt there.

It's really fun to try and figure out how different the ninja would be as criminals, like what would drive them to that, and what would that change about them, and how different they would be from their canon selves too. Rn they're just. The same but more crime.

I'm imagining ronin finds them all separately and then they go their own ways then meet back later? Idk still figuring out alot of the particulars in it too

I'm also planning on posting some doodles of these aus soon too! :^D

[that-was-anticlimactic]

ninjago for the series asks?

favorite character

cole cole cole cole cole cole cole did i mention cole ninjago ??? he is Literally one of my favorite fictional characters ever y'all. like, he's been my favorite since s1 ep6 the snake king aired. the love in my heart for cole is immense. i adore him. he means so much to me. one of the biggest comfort characters.

second favorite character

kai ! kai becoming my second favorite is actually a recent development, but God i love him. he's so funny and so loyal and he's just trying his best... usually! kai holds a very special place in my heart <3 also need to give darreth an honorable mention just cause i think he deserves it

least favorite character

fanon jay what ahem i didn't say anything about how i hate the way the ninjago fandom babies and treats jay and that they have contorted and twisted his entire personality what hahaha... ha. no, um. probably misako oops. love you kathleen barr !!! miskao is just. kind of a terrible mom ??? the skull sorcerer was also Very Mean to cole and that is Not Allowed. so also him.

the character i’m most like

hmmm... on some levels, cole. but, really, i think jay. no. not fanon jay. the Actual jay walker in canon. but i am cole where... as jay is an extrovert, cole is an introvert. where jay was humor to cope, cole throws himself into whatever he possibly can to distract himself. so, that's kind of my two major things

favorite pairing

i hate this question. i Literally changes all the time. sometimes it's glacier because they and also my favorite ninjago fanfic ever (morning sun everyone please read it) is a glacier fic. then sometimes it's lava because DUH. it used to be bruise no questions asked, but again, fanon has ruined that for me :) i still Like the ship, but i like My interpretation of the ship. and sometimes i really am a sucker for jaya. i mean, the last resort is one of my favorite episodes and the jaya in it is So Good! and then sometimes i'm like yeah... pixane... they... lloyd x therapy is a great one too tbh

least favorite pairing

gREENFLAME !!! i mean, lloyd x any of the ninja in general. he is aroace and he needs to heal first. but greenflame is my ultimate least favorite because of the greenflame shipping war on ffn when i was in middle school and because kai and nya are the siblings lloyd never had. let them be siblings. but then also conya cause cole is gay and i hated the love triangle. then also cole x cake because cole had an eating disorder in canon that everyone makes fun of all the time and in this essay i will--

favorite moment

dad, i didn't mean for you to hear that, but i'm glad i did. there's something i've been wanting to tell you. all these years, i haven't been training to be a singer or a dancer. i found something new that i'm really good at! dad... i'm a ninja. and the truth is, if we don't steal that fangblade... i mean, blade cup, there's other people that will. bad people. serpentine. and we need it to save the world. and i know how ridiculous this sounds, but i'm proud of who i am and i want you to be proud too.

what? what is it? where's cole? where's cole? somebody say something! where's cole? / he-h-he's gone. / what'd you mean, gone? / lloyd... he fell... into the cloud. / i-i'm so sorry. / he's... he's really... gone? / *garmadon head tilt* / it was my fault! i pulled the thrust lever the wrong way and--*throws head in hands* / it wasn't your fault, it was an accident. / it could've happened to anyone. / alright, let's get going. / do you mind??? / yes i do. we are wasting valuable time! all that matters now is this! / the golden armour! / what about the realm crystal? / it didn't work. but this will, they fear it. / cole was our friend, he was more than a friend, he was family! but you don't understand that, do you? what's the point! you're never gonna get it! because you don't care about anyone but yourself! / every moment you delay risks our survival-- / there's more to life than surviving! gah! / how do you reason with that? you, nindroid. if Any of you are capable of logical thought, it is you. tell them. / i am happy to say, you are mistaken. at this moment, even i am incapable of logical thought

it was her... / what? / it... wasn't the blades. / i told you that. / it was her... the power inside my mother... it was the spinjitzu burst! / alas, you're not half the warrior your mother was. / no, but i am her son. and i made her a promise to stand up to tyrants like you. always! / what are you doing? what is this?

TWINS LOOK ALIKE!

rating out of 10

hmmm imma say nine because: cole only had one season, the love triangle, s7 as a whole (except for twins look alike), the lack of recognition and attention they gave cole.

send me a series and i'll tell you my...

[pokemon-ninjago-world]

Headcanon/Pokéninjago version of Lloyd’s identity crisis during season 5 of Ninjago

Got ab 12 likes on the announcement post so here we are: This is an essay-sorta-thing about something I thought and wrote some six years ago. It’s been so long since I wrote this I feel cringy reading it, but it’s tenable in Pokéninjago lore. It’s kind of a mix between my headcanon for the show, and canon of my AU, which is why there is mentions of “evolving” and Pokémon types.

Things to take into account:

Idk if there should be content warnings, but depression mention at least. Otherwise, this is pretty much as intense as season 5 went, just a little more angsty I suppose.

I must say that my version of Lloyd and his identity crisis were inspired by a certain artist’s version of him and by a comic they made about the Child’s Play episode’s aftermath. I don’t dare name the artist, since they don’t wish to be linked with the Ninjago fandom anymore, but some of you might know who I’m referring to. 

I do not know how psychology stuff actually works, all of this was made on grounds of a couple of high school psychology courses and a lot of imagination `:D

I wrote this originally in Finnish and let Word translate it, so this might be v clumsy at points.

Most of the text is under the cut!

                                                  ~***~

When Lloyd was just a small cub, closer to three years, his mother had left him in his father's care. Misako knew the boy would become the Green Ninja and Garmadon would become the Dark Lord. That is why she went looking for any ancient knowledge to avoid the final confrontation. Although her heart was torn since she had to leave her loved ones, she knew that she couldn’t just sit on her hands, and that perhaps she was the only one that could prevent the decisive battle between good and evil. It was also her wish that the father and the son could spend as much time together as possible. Thus, Lloyd's earliest childhood memories are about his father, and his recollections of his mother are blurry, obscure, and fading away as he grows up, or mixing with other memories.

            Dad meant everything to little Lloyd. Although they lived in the same monastery with Lloyd’s uncle as well, whom he also liked, his own father was still the greatest. Garmadon also loved his child deeply and wanted him to have a happy life. Although the poison in his veins was starting to get a hold of him and he was increasingly drawn to the Golden Weapons, his love for Lloyd and the desire to be with him in anticipation of Misako's return kept him away from them for much longer than if the boy had never existed.

                    When Lloyd "evolved," he lost some important years of his life, during which a youngster usually developes a picture of himself and his changing body. Lloyd's body changed in a single moment and even though his mind also changed to some degree, it was still mostly on the same level as before, since artificial aging did not bring him the years of experience that growing up normally would. From that moment on, he had to form himself a new image of himself. Frankly, he was facing a fierce identity crisis.

                     After the episode Child's Play, Lloyd adopted an identity whose foundation was flimsy and unstable. It consisted of a few simple pillars that supported his image of himself. Some emotions, thoughts, and memories that he could not, wasn’t able to or didn’t dare to deal with, secretly and slowly gnawed at those pillars like erosion. They grew into doubt that settled into the cracks like rockfoil.

                     That flimsy foundation for his self-image, consisted of these elements: I am the Green Ninja. I'm the strongest ninja of all. I’m the son of  sensei Garmadon. I’m the grandson of The First Spinjitzu Master. I'm one of the Elemental Masters. I'm a student of Sensei Wu. I'm one of the five elemental ninjas. It's my destiny to protect the world from evil.

                     This made it easy for Morro to destabilize and crush Lloyd’s self-esteem. Morro proved himself to be stronger and more independent than Lloyd, and that he could win him over and over again, no matter how hard Lloyd tried to fight back. Lloyd felt weak and desperate. Two pillars of his self-image collapsed to the ground and the masked emotions and doubts that chipped away at the other columns began to grow and intensify: He was not the strongest ninja and was therefore unable to protect the world from this evil.

                     This also affected his view of him as the Green Ninja. Although logically he still was just that – the Golden Weapons and his powers had proven it – he could not help but think that maybe Morro really was supposed to be the Chosen One. His identity was cracking, which ate away at his strength and self-esteem. Being a Psychic Type, his greatest strength resided in his psyche, and whenever his mind was in an unstable and vulnerable state, he couldn’t do his best, even if he had used everything he had learned. Losing his father fairly recently had already struck a dangerous notch in his mental stability.

                     Even though Lloyd was still his father's son, it didn't feel the same when he was no longer with him. Finally, he was only driven forward by his relationship with his other loved ones. He had to do everything he could to stop Morro from harming his friends. By protecting them he was also protecting the last intact remnants of his Self.

                     Lloyd did everything he could to resist Morro's possession. From time to time a memory of his friends and the will to keep them safe increased his "self-control," weakening the ghost's hold on him. However, a long, grueling time in constant motion, without water and nourishment, poisoned by a cold, vindictive spirit, steadily filled his mind with anguish and despair. Doubts penetrated deep into the tears of his self-image, breaking everything old until he no longer knew who he was. Only with the last bits of his mental strength could he interfere with Morro's possession so that he failed to clear the other ninjas out of his way.

                     Then, when Morro broke away from Lloyd's body, the Espeon felt like nothing more than an empty, broken shell floating aimlessly in the dark, beachless sea. He was unable to live up to any of the expectations and goals that had been set for him. Now, he was used as a trade-in item in the market of the world’s destiny. He longer had the strength or power to save even his best friends. He was as helpless as a newborn pup and all he could do was to stand by and apologize when he was traded for Realm Crystal.

                      Somewhere from his past, he dug up one last spark of strength. Already as a child, he had been left alone with unfriendly people, who then had ignited that stubborn flame in him: the desire to fight the cruel, unjust and repressive world. His body still had more strength than his mind, and this momentary burst of grit made him kick the Crystal out of Morro's hand. This, however, caused him to end up in the freezing stream, all his energy used up. There was not much left but a primitive desire to survive and a little strength to keep his head afloat before the cold numbed his muscles.

                     Lloyd's mind was in shambles. Images, memories, shattered fragments of his adopted identity… they all churned in his tired, blurred consciousness. Unintentionally, he began to go through the feelings of uncertainty, fear and inadequacy that he had denied from himself for years. The present seemed more surreal than the memories. He relived moments that had had a revolutionary impact on his life: When the golden weapons pointed him out as a Green Ninja; when he grew up under the influence of Tomorrow's Tea; when he met his mother and became to know her; when he unleashed the Golden Dragon in the Temple of Light; how he fought the Overlord who was possessing his father; how he harnessed his True Potential; got his father back; lost Zane; reunited his friends again and felt great togetherness with the other Elemental Masters. When he lost his father again. And when Morro possessed him.

                     Lloyd was lost. If it wasn’t for his friends and their care, he would have sunk deep into depression (and, on the other hand, drowned or, at the very least, died of hypothermia). When Kai carried him out of the FSM’s tomb, it triggered a very clear memory of the day when the Master of Fire had fulfilled his potential and Lloyd had been identified as the Chosen One. That day, Kai had come to save him from an erupting volcano and carried him to safety. Now, Lloyd felt like he was that little scared cub again, who had for a moment thought he was going to burn to the ground in the boiling lava of the volcano. He remembered how Kai's closeness had brought a feeling of immediate security around him. Even though the mountain had raged and wanted to kill them both, Lloyd had known he didn’t have to be afraid. Kai was there. He'd protect Lloyd. There was no reason to fight the fear anymore, he didn't have to pretend like he was tough. He was carried by someone older and stronger, whom to rely on.

                     The feeling was so intense, the memory so vivid that Lloyd was overwhelmed by an inexplicable, immense grief. The sadness of being forced to give up a carefree childhood so early on, to take on an enormous responsibility and assume a role that seemed too demanding for such a small boy to perform. He had had to grow up way too soon. He started shaking from holding back the tears. He didn’t mind since he thought Kai was probably assuming that he was shivering from the cold. But when Kai said quietly and understandingly: "Shh... It's okay... Don't worry about it," the last wall of pride and fear fell, and Lloyd could no longer repress his weeping.

                     At this point, he slowly began to build a new identity on the ruins of the wrecked one. He understood that even though he was the Green Ninja, it didn’t make him greater or more important than the others. He had more magical power than anyone else, but he was still only a person just like them. He could hesitate, too, and fail. There was no way for him to do anything more than what he was capable of, mentally, physically, and skill-wise. That’s all there was to offer, and if it wasn't enough, there were others whom he could rely on. Others, who would catch him when he ran out of strength. He wasn't the last link to hold the whole structure together.

                     These ideas developed slowly in Lloyd's exhausted mind. Slowly, he got stitched back up from the fragments of his previous self-image. This time, however, his new identity was not something that was given to him from the outside, in which he would have had to fit himself, but it was a solid, authentic self-image created as a result of self-reflection. It was still obscure, uncertain and seeking its form, and its growth was overshadowed by fear. But the conversation with his father drove away that last fear. The fear that Morro was supposed to be the Green Ninja instead of Lloyd. His father assured that Lloyd’s qi had no influence on how he should live and act. He should live the way his heart told him to.

                     In the end, although Morro managed to beat Lloyd one last time, this time he did not break down. He was more intact now, he had more inner strength, and he knew for sure he wouldn't be abandoned. That the fate of the world wasn't really up to him. He may have been part of the story, but after all, he wasn't the protagonist, at least not the only one of them.

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Whumptober 22: Do These Tacos Taste Funny To You?

Alternate Prompt: Presumed Dead

Remember that Monkie Kid/Ninjago crossover I mentioned? Stay with me for a minute, we’ll get there. Oh and this doesn’t really involve WBS but it does take place after episode 9. That seems like important information.

Summary: In a fight against DBK, MK is defeated. Once and for all.

Trigger Warnings: death, mentioned drugs

792 words

Patience. Focus. Step into the strike.

MK could do this.

He’d dealt with DBK before, and he’d won. He would win again today.

Training with Monkey King (and… him) for all that time had to have given him some sort of advantage here.

He took a breath, adjusting his grip on his staff. He could do this.

DBK was powerful, and while MK wasn’t invincible anymore, he was pretty sure he could handle this.

Unless he really was just some kid with a heavy stick and DBK won and he disappointed everyone.

Whoa, where had that come from?

He shoved that thought aside, deciding he’d deal with the crippling fear later. Bottling things up was better than letting stupid emotions get in the way of important things, after all.

“Here comes Monkie Kid!” MK shouted, readying himself to take out the demon.

Instead, that was uh. Definitely not what happened.

DBK somehow managed to be completely unfazed by his attack. Like it hadn’t even done any damage. What the hell?

That was not good. That was actually very very bad.

MK, against his better judgement, took his eyes off of his opponent to glance in the direction of his friends. From the looks of it, they weren’t doing too well either. There were so many bull clones, they were overpowered and outnumbered, he needed to help—

MK fell to the ground with the force of DBK’s hit.

Oh god, had that broken something? It sort of felt like he’d broken something. It hurt. He groaned, pushing himself up, only to be dragged the rest of the way by DBK.

“You have burdened me for too long,” he said, growling. “No longer.”

MK opened his mouth to give some sort of snarky reply, but that’s when the real hurt came. He didn’t know what was going on, couldn’t even find it in him to figure out. It hurt so fucking bad, oh god. It was only getting worse.

With the pain came a light, blindingly white and growing brighter with every second. MK squinted his eyes against it, gritting his teeth against the pain.

It burned. Like his whole body had been lit on fire, doused in gasoline. He couldn’t move.

It was getting worse and worse and worse why was it getting so much worse and why couldn’t he stop it, was he really just some kid with a heavy stick? Why couldn’t he use it?

He couldn’t make himself move no matter how hard he tried.

Useless.

He whimpered, but giving into the pain only made it hurt worse.

It was like his body was being ripped apart, and he couldn’t hold back his scream, and he just wanted it to stop. Please stop.

He wasn’t sure he’d ever felt pain like this.

The light glowed brighter and his scream rang louder.

He couldn’t — he couldn’t — just stop…

And, miraculously, it did.

For a single moment, the pain vanished. And then, infusing into his body like a drug he’d never asked for, it was back, a thousand times worse and a thousand times quicker. It was over like the drop of a coin.

The light encompassed the world, blinding them all. When it was gone, the silence was deafening. 

No more screaming.

No more fighting.

No nothing.

Nothing.

Dead silence.

The clatter of the staff.

Where was its owner?

DBK stood there for a moment, taking it in. He’d done it. He’d finally taken care of that pest.

Unable to help himself, he began to laugh. At first, just a slow chuckle, but it quickly grew.  He’d killed him. Obliterated him. Destroyed him.

“Father…” Red Son whispered, staring at the spot the little thief had been in what almost looked like horror. 

In the sudden quiet of the night, Mei and the others finally managed to defeat enough bull clones to get closer.

“What’s going on over there?” she asked, nearly tripping over one of the robots.

“Where’s MK?” Tang added, concern seeping into his voice. Shouldn’t he have been fighting DBK? And why did DBK look… happy?

“Don’t bother trying to fight me,” DBK said, addressing them directly. It was enough to make the group pause in their haste to get over there. The next declaration was made with too much certainty and too much content. “Your friend is dead.”

Mei froze.

Her heart stopped.

No.

No no no, he was lying, he couldn’t have been serious.

But that scream. That horrible, gut-wrenching scream. It had been the worst thing she’d ever heard in her life, and it had come from her best friend.

And he was nowhere to be seen.

Which meant he really was…

Her own scream tore through the night, echoing in the silence.

“No!”