#sora yaps

[s0raz]

”I hate him and I want him dead” I say about Hiroaki, knowing damn well my life would be over if he died because I relate to him and hes actually my baby and I love him so much.

On a serious note, his character is so complex and it makes me so sad that he convinced himself that everybody despises him.

His interactions with the rest of the cast are all so interesting, I’m particularly interested in his relationship with Wada (praying and hoping they become besties), Yanagi, Chiba, and Tsuno. It was heartbreaking for me to see Chiba and Nakamigawa grow closer and then she died. Same with Tsuno, I think they couldve grown to be great friends and Tsuno couldve helped him grow to be a better person. [Grieving Process] makes me cry like a little child who had their lollipop taken away from them. TSUNO AND NAKAMIGAWAS FRIENDSHIP WAS MY LOLLIPOP. AND IT WAS STOLEN. This episode also made me love Wada and Nakamigawa. Seeing that Nakamigawa truly cared about Wada from the get-go, (since he started designing him clothes and thinking about hairstyles in chapter one) makes me so happy and really sad. I SIMPLY CANNOT WAIT to see Hiroaki better himself and try being more open to everybody. Gotta love it when my faves get character developement

[fishedsticks]

Guess who finally watched the first eps of dragons rising??

[yhwcomeback]

FOR THE JAY FANS I KNOW... IT HURTS ME TOO BUT I WANT HIM TO FINISH HIS EVIL ARC FIRST

[sora-fish]

Wait wait wait, people who like JRWI rn, what was the fandom pipeline? Cause I’ve seen a lot of my same fandom pipeline on the dash from mutuals

For example mine went -> MHA -> DSMP -> TMA and then finally -> JRWI

[lozenga-arts]

Oda’s a pussy Sanji should’ve come back a girl. Uhhh I don’t know how to coherently type so here’s dot points for some of the totally silly headcanons;

- blue eye from Sora, brownish black eye from judge

- judge had Sanji hide the blue eye because she looked too much like her mum

- during the time skip she transitioned, grew out her hair and showed her blue eye instead

- depression arc (whole cake island) is perhaps worse because she looks like almost a carbon copy of sora

[sorikufeels]

they are,,, they are watching a meteor shower,,, 🥹

[cosmothealien358]

Lego Ninjago and Race: An Analysis for the Upcoming Live Action

I know there’s been a lot of discourse in the ninjago community since a live action movie has been announced, and there’s sure to be even more after the cast list is released. Many fans are afraid the cast will be all white, while others don’t care what race the ninja will be. Non-fans looking in from the outside might say, “Why does it matter? They’re legos, they’re yellow.” I’ve seen this argument more recently, especially revolving Arin in the soft reboot Dragons Rising.

The point of this longer post is to explain how race still exists in Ninjago despite the plastic, yellow nature of the characters, and why making the cast entirely or mostly white would be a disservice to the fans and the source material as a whole. So let’s ninja-go into this topic.

Part 1: Hair and Black-Coding

When people claim that legos don’t have race, they often claim it’s because they are yellow. However, they forget that legos still have humanoid characteristics, and one of the easiest ways to tell when a lego character is black-coded is to look at their hairpiece.

Here are some examples of hairpieces clearly meant to resemble black hair textures/hairstyles:

When characters have textured hair (i.e. Arin and Euphrasia from Ninjago) or locs/braids (i.e. Mateo and Zoey from Dreamzzz), it’s hard to argue they’re meant to be interpreted as anything other than black. And if that’s not obvious enough, there’s also:

Part 1b: Voice Actors and Black-Coding

People of color voice acting non-human characters doesn’t determine race, but it does add to character coding. This can be seen in characters from other shows, such as Darwin from The Amazing World of Gumball. Even though Darwin is a 2D animated goldfish, he has been voiced exclusively by black voice actors. Because of his voice (and other mannerisms/narrative elements), Darwin is generally accepted to be black-coded.

Being voiced by a person of color does not automatically make a character black-coded, but it can certainly add credence to characters who already have black characteristics, such as Arin and Euphrasia.

Part 2: Names

Another reason it’s hard for ninjago fans to interpret certain characters as white is because of their names. While many have stereotypical “American white boy names” (i.e. Jay, Cole, and Zane), other characters have names that are certainly not strictly American. Examples include Wu (a Chinese surname), Misako (a Japanese name), Chen (a Chinese surname), Okino (a Japanese surname) and Sora (Japanese given name). Ninjago may be set in a fictional world of animated, plastic people, but it’s still based on real-world names, and considering how a lot of the characters’ names come from East Asia, there is merit to declare that characters like Misako and Sora are meant to be interpreted as East Asian.

Part 3: Cultural Influences

Now, to the most obvious reason why it would be absurd to put an all-white cast on screen: the cultural influences. I am not Asian myself, but other ninjago fans have expressed frustration about the cultural melting pot that is Ninjago. It takes influence from both Eastern and Western cultures for its setting, worldbuilding, lore, and fantastical elements. Ninjago puts ninja, samurai, Kabuki, and Oni from Japanese history and culture, Djinn from Arabic regions, the yin/yang concept from Chinese philosophy, and dragons from various cultures into one narrative. There’s even a character named Ronin (which means a “wandering samurai”).

Additionally, the ninjago language seems to be inspired by Tategaki, an East Asian style of writing.

What this means is that Ninjago is brimming with real-life cultural influences. They rarely come from the same places and are not always faithful or accurate. In fact, they can sometimes seem borderline disrespectful and stereotypical in the earlier seasons- particularly with the portrayal of Chen and pilot Wu. However, it doesn’t take a genius to spot the East Asian cultural influences on ninjago. This is clear in the character designs, attire, and especially in the settings:

Part 4: What does this mean?

In summary, Ninjago is a fictional setting that takes inspiration from East Asian cultures, and has coded certain characters as certain races through more indirect means such as naming and designs. Even though none of the ninjago characters have 100% canon races, there is still evidence that some are meant to be interpreted as black or Asian. Therefore, making all the ninjago characters white would be a disservice to the fans AND the source material because it takes away subtle but essential parts of the characters and world.

Additionally: Representation matters. It could mean a lot for fans new and old to see the ninja becoming humanized and seeing themselves on screen. Not only would an all-white cast be unfaithful to the source material, but it would be disheartening to fans hoping for racial representation, especially in an age where “wokeness” is considered a touchy subject in some areas.

Part 5: Other Thoughts/Clarifications

The beautiful thing about Ninjago is that the Lego nature of the characters allows them to be interpreted in so many ways. The characters don’t have canon skin tones, eye color, body types, ages, heights, etc., so they can be whatever fans want. Whatever the fans interpret them to be or even what they feel like, they can be. And I think that’s beautiful.

TLDR: I don’t want the movie casting to limit the fan’s creativity or headcanons. Even if the cast isn’t entirely white, I hope people continue to make creations with their own interpretations of the characters.

Also: I urge fans to not harass the actors if they are white. I feel like the ninjago fandom is above that but I feel inclined to make this statement in advance regardless.

Finally: I’m leaving this post wide-open to discussion and discourse. I did surface-level research for the ninjago cultural influences, so if anyone wants to add on to or correct anything, feel free to do so. All I ask is that the conversations remain civil.

That is all :)

[yoroshiu]

The symbolism Sora takes on a chess board is very interesting to me.

(I, by no means am a chess expert, this is based off my knowledge of the typical meanings + rules of chess + what other people have talked about)

The usual take is Sora = the King which has a lot of layers and when you look at the overarching narrative sets up a lot of potential ideas of where his story is going, hence makes sense.

But there's also Sora = the Queen which when you look at it, also makes sense, somewhat even moreso then him being the King. He's technically the most powerful piece on the board by KH3 as he's the one who makes the biggest and most consequential moves (Him using the Power of Waking to break nature taboos can match the image of the Queen being able to go anywhere on the board).

So when you think about it, Sora's story can be seen as a pawn becoming a Queen.

It's kinda like how the characters can parallel each other in multiple ways. The chess symbolism doesn't really have to place one character in a box, you could make an argument for different interpretations.

[cosmosnout]

KH OC WEEK 20204

Day 3: connections

This took a bit longer than meant, but with the amount of things I wanted to include, it felt important to take my time.

Shiro’s part focusses a lot more on the relationships between them and the canon characters, while Aiko’s, Merin’s, Viktor's, and Tähti’s parts focus on the relationship they have with each other. (And some additional canon characters.)

Also there’s a lot of text here so sorry about any spelling mistakes haha.

Shiro

Xehanort (young)

Helped Shiro to get out of the realm of darkness and is helping them to recover their memory.

I am a firm believer that despite his cold demeanor, Xehanort has the capability of expressing other emotions outside of being a snarky jerk. He just needs to be around the right kind of people to bring that side of him out, and Eraqus and Shiro are exactly the sorts of people to make his brain cells die. /pos

Xehanort’s interest in becoming Shiro’s friend is due to his dreams as a boy of a mysterious child who he believes to be Shiro. (Some lost childish part of him does genuinely wish to be their friend, but he is also quite interested in Shiro’s connection to the keyblade war.)

They spent a couple years peacefully as friends attempting to recover Shiro’s memories, before Shiro uncovered Xehanort's true plans and the two ended up parting ways to fight on the opposite sides. They’re so divorced LMAO

Shiro feels quite betrayed and thinks their friendship was just a plot to get information out of them, while in reality their friendship was still genuine despite Xehanort's hidden motives.

They have a very bittersweet relationship.

Like when you just have that one person who sees right through you and you could just sit in complete silence for forever and still have a good time.

But oh my god do they also just bring out the worst in each other LMAO.

Xehanort is still a snarky bastard 99% of the time, and Shiro is so ready to throw his snarkiness back at him. It is remarkable if they get through a conversation without one of them trying to piss off the other one.

Anyhow they are so doomed by the narrative.

I’ve had a difficult time defining the relationship between these two, but in recent years since becoming aware of my own feelings as an aroace person, I feel like queerplatonic is a really good way to put it. I think that there can be strong emotions and love held between two people without it necessarily having to be romantic, and that’s just as wonderful as any other relationship.

Aqua

The first person Shiro came across once they emerged in the realm of darkness.

Shiro has a lot of admiration towards her and hopes to meet her again!

Shrio definitely has a little crush on her haha

Roxas and Xion

Shiro’s keyblade apprentices!

adopted little siblings

Shiro fought relentlessly to keep both of them safe but ended up failing as they both returned to Sora.

Losing them was a big wake up call to the organization's true nature and Xehanort's sinister plans.

Namine

Little sister<<3

Shiro took one look at her and was like “yup anything happens to her and I’ll make everyone's life a living nightmare”

Got Namine her crayons and sketchbook

Was very devastated when she had to return to Kairi.

Axel/Lea

Pyromaniac besties

Co-paretning Roxas and Xion (platonic)

They became good friends during their time in the organization, and they made an oath to bring Roxas and Xion back after Axel’s recompletion.

Shiro tutors him and Kairi on keyblade wielding, during their time in The Secret Forest.

Ephemer and Skuld

Childhood Bestfriend

Shiro has foggy dreams and visions of the both of them. (They truly haunt Shiro’s life like it’s a full time job)

Even once called Sora “Ephemer” by mistake. They were both extremely confused.

Shiro is actively trying to find them.

Aiko and Merin

The two start off on a bad foot due to a misunderstanding that led to Aiko and Viktor leaving their homeworld. Aiko thought Merin was the one to invade their world with darkness and ended up chasing after her through a dark corridor. In reality, Merin and Tähti were running away from Ansem (SOD) and happened to pass through their world.

Aiko and Merin ended up becoming separated from Viktor and Tähti and end up begrudgingly teaming up to find their families .

During their time together, they end up eventually becoming friends and even end up getting into a relationship together later on.

Their opposite personalities seemed like an issue when they first met, but they grew to love and learn from those differences and they’ve really helped each other to grow as people.

Viktor and Tähti

Viktor was at first very frustrated to be left to babysit a child, but switched into big brother mode pretty much subconsciously.

They’re a funny little duo since they’re both terrible fighters and are pretty much constantly just running for their lives.

Viktor appreciates Tähti’s quiet personality and knows to be patient with them.

Tähti also didn’t care too much about Viktor at first, but seeing him make an effort to keep them safe reminded them a lot of Merin.

Other friends!

Tähti, Namine and Xion!

Tähti met Namine during one of her visits to Ansem’s lab, and after some encouragement from the others, Tähti manages to strike up a conversation with her.

The two have a shared interest in art and like sharing their work with each other!

Tähti also got introduced to Xion through Namine, and despite Tähti’s antisocial nature, the two ended up quickly becoming good friends. (Nothing is as strong as the bond between two neurodivergent teenagers)

I like to think Kairi hangs out with them occasionally, but also she’s kinda busy trying to find Sora :’)

Viktor and Ienzo

Met post kh3 and became quick friends over their similar personalities and shared interest in tech.

Everyone around them was very excited that they were finally making friends. (Ansem and Aiko wiping a tear out of the corner of their eye)

Merin and Vanitas

Weird little brother creature thingy kinda

They met briefly while Merin and Aiko visited the realm of darkness.

They had a short confrontation where they fought with Merin winning.

Didn’t have the chance to talk much outside of that, but I think they have a secret mutual respect for each other due to being similar beings.

Merin and Isa

Got introduced post kh3 and ended up befriending each other as Viktor was spending more time with the apprentices.

They match each other’s tired energy

They like to just kinda sit back and watch as their friends mingle.

@khoc-week

[bibliophilesince2003]

Ninjago... Dead or Not Dead?

I'm here to discuss whether "new" Ninjago is better than "old" Ninjago, or vice versa. I see so many opinions float around, and some comments people make are extremely harsh or confusing. For my own claims, don't worry, I'll back them up with evidence and genuine consideration.

I would like to start by saying that I started watching Ninjago when it first came out in 2011. I was around 8 years old at the time. My younger siblings soon became invested in the show, and we watched it together. There are seven seasons total that I would consider "old" Ninjago that aired from 2011-2017. About a year later, what I would call "new" Ninjago aired with seasons 8-15. Dragons Rising is the current Ninjago show.

I have almost finished Dragons Rising. So, yes, I am aware of all the little details and therefore ready to provide my own thoughts. I am an old Ninjago fan at heart and grew up with the show, but if I'm to have an opinion about what's new I might as well know what I'm talking about.

New Ninjago fans say that old Ninjago fans are "blinded by nostalgia" and old Ninjago fans say that new Ninjago fans don't understand the point of the show.

Ok, first of all, is "old" Ninjago perfect? No, of course not. The fight scenes are extremely slow at times. The animation? Less detailed. As a kid, I didn't really care. As an adult, sure, it's painful to watch. However, animation is such a small part of any show, and there is more to life than things that are aesthetically pleasing, especially when it comes to criticism. On a deeper, plot-centered level, "old" Ninjago surpasses "new" Ninjago. You cannot watch "old" Ninjago and tell me that the plots aren't creative and exciting, with a good balance of humor, brotherhood, and pain. "New" Ninjago, for the most part, was pretty decent and added depth to the characters. I liked Lloyd's new voice actor. Some aspects of "new" Ninjago irked me, like Kai's lack of emotion when Nya quite literally became one with the ocean, Kai losing his powers yet again and wallowing in self-pity, or Cole becoming more and more of an insignificant character with few lines, save season 13.

The biggest thing, though, was lack of creativity and a shift in character development that is unneeded or backwards. Characters can develop, sure, but they shouldn't be an entirely new personality without cause. The ninja were extremely weak or extremely overpowered. In reality, they should remember most of what they've learned and continue to grow.

Dragons Rising is - pardon my aggression - a piece of crap. Now, I think it had promise in the beginning, and I was excited with the introduction of new characters.

Arin and Sora have distinct personalities and interesting backgrounds. It went downhill pretty quickly. I dislike Wyldfyre with a passion. A Kai and Skylor alliance would have been better. Not only does Wyldfyre act like she's consumed ten energy drinks, but she's wrecked Kai's personality. Their banter is humorous and realistic, but shouldn't Kai know how to handle an impulsive person? Lloyd was practically their little brother in "old" Ninjago. Kai was impulsive and confident in his own actions, perhaps even a little "mean" to Lloyd when Lloyd needed a serious wake up call, but he never purposefully put Lloyd in danger. He was willing to take the hit in a lot of situations. Now, we see him running away screaming his head off while Wyldfyre is throwing hands. Kai... you've faced worse than a giant rock monster, buddy. The humor in Dragons Rising makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes. I get it's a kid show, but they could do better. "Old" Ninjago had some pretty grim details, but there was always a ray of hope or humor that just made sense in the moment. Mainly, the ninja being true brothers and absolutely roasting each other. In comparison, the humor in Dragons Rising is forced and cliche.

"Why would you touch the scary painting, Jay?"

"I didn't know it would do that, Cole!"

Compared to...

"I guarantee the sewers won't have any security."

*cut to them being chased*

"I was wrong!"

I'm not saying that "old" Ninjago doesn't come with its own share of cliche humor, I'm just saying that it's significantly less compared to Dragons Rising. It's also sprinkled, not dumped.

So, Arin and Sora get the spotlight, and the ninja seem to weaken more and more every day.

If you're a new Ninjago fan, I can see why Dragons Rising wouldn't bother you, though I would question your sanity if you found the cliche humor even remotely funny every single time. But the ninja aren't themselves. "Old" Ninjago gave us characters with exaggerated personalities for a reason, and "new" Ninjago provided some interesting plots with improved animation. "New" Ninjago is where it should have ended, and Dragons Rising can rot for all I care. The more I see Dragons Rising ignore or discount previous lore, the less I want to give it a chance.

[naydralikessoup]

ansem: the true nature of the heart is darkness! and in the end, everything will return to the darkness from whence it came!

sora:

[s0raz]

Uh here have my opinions on tdrp ships

Explanations:

OTP: Hayashigeki - Theyre stupid, I love their dynamic. Its such a delight seeing them on screen together. Shigeki being head over heels for Mai and caring so much about her makes me so happy considering his past

Hayatari - I grew to love their dynamic after Watari’s “homoerotic rant” part in the warden episode. I think theyre fun

Hirojima and Hasemura - This would be way too long if I went into why I like these ships

Love:

Wama - I heart Wama as of tonight. Thinking about it, theyre such a cute dynamic. Watazaki - I love them so much but I think its down slightly because I have a major bias AGAINST Okazaki and Watari deserves better than that

Manasaki, Manatari, Tsuhama, Watamba - I actually have no basis for shipping them, I just think theyre cute

Nakamigeki - Outing myself as a Nakamigeki lover, chat. I just think they are absolutely hilarious. I really hope we get more scenes of them together, specifically Nakamigawa not being bitchy to Shigeki, because Nakamigawa seems to be trying to be better.

Like:

Hayanam, Ruinami - Theyre cute, idk

Neutral:

Literally all of these are ships that I have zero opinion on. They could be canon, they could be doomed, idgaf. (Also ignore the Watari or Tamba x any dude in here, I was not paying attention, pretend theyre in NOTP)

Mixed Feelings:

Similar to the last one, I just lean slightly more to disliking them

Dislike:

Chiba x anyone - I dont outright hate Chiba ships, theyre just weird to me since Chiba shows herself to be more childish and shipping her with more mature characters is odd to me. Keizou ships - I dont hate em, but he does have a gf. If he didnt, Id probably put Hama and Keizou in like because theyre goofy

Okahama - I dont like most Okazaki ships and Hama deserves anything but Okazaki

Hayazaki - Looking back, I wouldve put this in hate or NOTP because Hayashi HATES Okazaki for her abuse towards Wada

Kamiaki - I feel like they could be a fun ship, but ehh… idk.

Hate:

Ruizaki, Yanazaki - I dont like Okazaki ships that much

Shisaki - I liked them in Daily Life chapter 1, but after the trial and finding out about Lilah, I really hate this ship.

NOTP:

Watawada - Watari is lesbian (ignore the ones in neutral, I wasnt paying attention at the time.)

Hiroaki x girls, Kamimura x girls, Hasegawa x girls - theyre all canonically gay

Isono x anybody - Shes aroace, and as far as Im concerned, is not interested in any relationship (?) (I do like Tsuno x Isono, but I dont ship it for this reason)

Manazaki - .. Do I need to explain?

Ruigeki - Theyre siblings to me, chat. Nobody can convince me otherwise

[freakshow-babyy]

Dragons rising Spoilers !!

SORA FINALLY REMEMBERS JORDANAS NAME BUT IT WASNT REALLY HER SO SHE DIDNT HEAR ANY OF SORAS LITTLE SPEECH TO HER 😭😭😭

[rainofthetwilight]

hey hi hello hihi, welcome back to another post of me ranting abt sora <3333

(be aware...this got longer than I expected, also there's s2 spoilers)

smth I really wanna talk about is how much more cheerful sora seems in s2. she's more playful, and much more happier, more sillier, and it just means so much to me???

in s1, she was more resigned, more hopeless, she was still a bit playful but it wasn't like now. her time in imperium never left her mind, it basically haunted her and she hated it. she still wasn't able to be herself, it was already hard enough anyway

she was already alone before she made those photacs, and when she finally thought she got attention and more love, she got her dreams crushed. she saw the truth, she saw how horrible the situation actually is, and her idol wasn't who she thought she is. and before she knew it, instead of her parents standing with her, with no thought they immediately disowned her. everyone did, they all shut her out and gave her the cold soldier. she was lonelier than ever before. she was basically trapped in her home, and like she said, it was a prison. and for goodness sake, she was only like what, 10? she was a child younger than someone would expect. she had no one to help but herself, and the way she immedialetly left imperium with absolutely no hesitation just hurts dude.....

the only one who managed to shine some life into her was arin, he was basically a saviour to her. she knew him from the very start, and their friendship was almost unbreakable. but despite meeting arin, her past never left her. she was still frustrated and sad, she just couldn't move on so easily, and she didn't understand how arin still had so much hope in him

but then, she stood up to her parents, finally shouting to them who she really was, what her name always was. screaming her name did not only confront them to what her name really is, but the meaning of it had layers. sora means orphan, so her shouting it, she's basically saying she doesn't have parents. they were not her parents, never were. they were dead to her. and so, she finally let go of the thought that they could ever be redeemed, because there was no hope in them, yet she had hope in herself to finally let go. just like how she saw arin having hope that his parents will come back, she had hope that it was finally time to move on. only then did she understand his hope.

and she also got to expose beatrix's lies, showing the people beatrix's lies, despite them having disowning her once. she did not want another person to exprerience what she had, and to put an end to it for someone who was already experiencing it. after beatrix was defeated, after imperium was freed, she still felt that guilt and frustration, but with the help of her new family, she soon became prouder and stronger.

and now, in s2, she's so happy. she moved on, she's finally focusing on her new life and letting go of the other. she's just so cheerful and silly and animated, and just being herself. when she speaks, there's no guilt anymore, no sadness, no frustration, no hopelessness, no defeat, she moved on and is being treated so well by her new family. she's happy. the past still clings onto her from time to time, but when it does, it's much easier to actually handle than when the memories of that time were still fresh. and I think that's so goddamn beautiful

anyway I uh...maybe analysed a bit too much abt a silly lego character, whoops sorry guys 👍

save me dragons rising........save me sora ninjago......she's so me bro I literally can't, I love her so much 😭

[sora-fish]

Who’s gayer, Bisexual man or Grizzyplays

[honeyspotpie]

Hai everybody little life update ^_^ - my sister bought me the Riyu set so guess who has an ARIN MINIFIGURE now WOOHOO!!

HE'S SO SILLY BILLY GUYS... also I did in fact finish season 2 but I've been just so busy lately (and I'll be traveling next week so sadly I'll continue to be busy until like mid April) but I will share my thoughts and make art soon enough!! Peace!