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coolestzed · 10 days

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Alright, I’ve been holding this inside for years but I’m finally gonna say it.

Misako haters are actually fucking annoying at this point.

They always were to me, but now, they’re just OBJECTIVELY an annoyance. And they need to STOP.

They take literally ANY chance to slander her, even when it’s completely unwarranted. Like, I’d just look at a picture of her on Pinterest, and there’d be multiple comments going "the world’s worst mother". Or I’d see content about Koko and there’d always be comments comparing her and Misako and going like "Koko way better fuck Misako".

I’d even see a fucking meme and people would slander Misako. Like they couldn’t resist.

And that’s not even mentioning his people constantly make her seem way worse than she actually is. Im not gonna quote everything, but basically they act like she never does good things for Lloyd. That she doesn’t care about him at all! And it’s just- so WILDY out of character!! And it’s the same vice versa! I saw a funny Ninjago video the other day with a "your mom" joke and someone in the comments was like "jokes on you, Lloyd would never call Misako mom". I’m just?????? Yes he DOES????? ALL THE TIME???

People just act like their relationship is nonexistent! Like they don’t care about each other, or that Misako doesn’t care about Lloyd! Which is OBVIOUSLY not true!

People claim that she disappears every other season but the only seasons she was absent in are 12 and 13. Also, she has a job. She goes on expeditions. Obviously she’s not there 100% of the time. And she and Lloyd clearly spend time together off screen.

People don’t even acknowledge the reason why she left in the first place. They act like she dropped him off at a boarding school and dipped to take a vaycay. She was literally trying to stop her husband and son from having to fight to the death. You ever think about that? You ever think about how SHE felt in the situation? With her husband being consumed by evil and later being banished, and learning that he and their son would have to fight each other? She was HORRIFIED and GRIEVING! Ultimately she did it to save her family. It doesn’t make leaving Lloyd right but it’s understandable.

But apparently not to almost all of the fandom.

Most of y’all, completely ignore that, and everything else that came after season 2.

Misako constantly being worried about Lloyd in Tournament of Elements and Possession.

Both of them spending Day of the Departed together.

Her getting/building the Destiny’s Shadow as a birthday gift for Lloyd.

How she supported, fought beside, and risked her life for Lloyd in Hunted.

How she wanted to stay and fight with him during MoTO but only went inside because Lloyd urged her to protect the civilians.

Not to mention just their general interactions. THEY’RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO SEE EACH OTHER!!! Do you know how many times they hug?!

And this dialogue here:

"Aren’t you going to kiss your mother goodbye?"

"Mooom, we've-we've talked about this-"

WHAT MORE PROOF DO YOU NEED?!

Lloyd and Misako have a good, healthy and loving relationship. Misako has long since made up for her mistake and they’ve moved on.

Yet THE FANDOM REFUSES TO!!!

EVERYONE, TO THIS DAY, STILL TREATS HER LIKE THE FUCKING DEVIL!!!

I CAN’T EVEN COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES PEOPLE HAVE HAD OVERDRAMATIC TANTRUMS FROM HER JUST EXISTING.

IT MAKES ME SO UNREASONABLY ANGRY.

AND THE FACT THAT I’VE SOMEHOW BEEN SEEING EVEN MORE MISAKO HATE DURING AND AFTER MOTHERS DAY IS ACTUALLY APPALLING.

NOT EVEN FUCKING ENDEAVOR FROM MHA GETS THIS MUCH HATE AND HE’S DONE MUCH WORSE TO HIS FAMILY.

IT. HAS. BEEN. OVER. 16. SEASONS. AND. A. MOVIE.

GET. OVER. IT.

*deep breath*

Look, she’s not perfect. Obviously. She fucked up. But who in this series hasn’t? She came back, and she’s made sure to be a better mother to Lloyd. He forgave her, and they have a good relationship now. They’re close.

She wouldn’t be as hated if the writers didn’t do her dirty. Her introduction wasn’t handled the best, and having her and Lloyd have a more in depth discussion would’ve made the reunion and forgiveness feel less rushed and forced. That love triangle with Wu and Garmadon certainly didn’t do her any favors either. 😑

Regardless, her character’s gotten better over the seasons. Again, she and Lloyd and close and have a good relationship.

But hardly anyone acknowledges that, almost everyone in the fandom hyper fixates on that one mistake from years ago. They don’t pay attention to anything else. Like how she’s a better mother, or how she’s just a generally good person.

You aren’t supposed to judge characters or irl people solely on their past mistakes. Especially when they’ve already made up for them. Thats why the "Misako’s a horrible mother" statement is always bullshit to me.

Seriously, Misako’s been a part of Lloyd’s life longer than she’s been absent from it at this point.

The amount of passionate, unforgiving hate she gets is so undeserved and over the top. Too many people are projecting their own issues onto her. Or just being plain hateful. It’s not fair to define her entire character on a single mistake that she’s long made up for.

And it’s definitely not fair to people that actually like Misako. Often times on the few positive posts about her, there’d be Misako haters in the notes or reblogs complaining about her or insulting her, or just stating they hate her but love the content. And that is completely uncool and rude. It’s so unnecessary. You don’t do that, that’s so shitty. The again Misako haters have a habit of spouting unnecessary hate. Like it’s a terminal condition they have.

So, please, for the love of god, COOL IT. Stop and think, try to ACTUALLY look at her character without the veil of blind hatred.

If you still dislike or hate her, fine! But if you’re gonna detest her, at least hate her as she is and don’t make her worse than she actually is to justify hating her more.

And PLEASE stop bashing her at every turn, it’s annoying, upsetting, unwarranted, unnecessary, and just not good.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

#ninjago #ninjago misako #misako garmadon #rant post #I may revive backlash for this #I don’t care #I’m so fucking done with this fandom #the hate is actually so ridiculous #y’all can live without constantly putting down a misunderstood character #Misako Defender For Life

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omomofoat · 1 month

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My Little Pony: Masters Of Spinjitzu

This set in an altarnate timeline where the creator of Ninjago; Michael Hegner & Tommy Andreasen are siblings with Lauren Faust, the creator of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. And Hasbro bought Lego.

When Lauren Faust were told to make a concept show for the next generation of my little pony the 4th generation by Hasbro at the same time her other 2 siblings is pitching a new lego show centered around ninjas. In the middle of that somehow they decided to combine their ideas then BAM. Came out “My Little Pony: Masters Of Spinjitzu”. Hasbro and Lego liked it, so in the end the concept got accepted and the show runs for 2 season. But the fans got mad cuz they want more seasons so the seasons continued and yada yada yada theres movies yada yada yada multiverse yada yada yada have I mention that lloyd have a snake form?

Theres an elemental wielding ponies here.

An element that an elemental master wield are used just like in the original ninjago. So if nya were to use her power it won’t be like her controling some cloud and getting rain out of it, the water element will be controled by her limbs like in ninjago. Maybe by using her wings since I made her a pegasus.

‘but won’t a unicorn would also be able to do that?’

In this universe the magic an avarage unicorn have does not range into an elemental master category, and same goes to the other races.

Moving on.

How cutiemark works in this au is kind of like pokemon(it evolved) but only for those that wield an element/is an elemental master.

First, they got their usual cutiemark, their talent of some sort like the original mlp.

After getting their true potential like the original ninjago, their cutiemark changes slightly depeding on their destiny/element.

For the main ninjas; Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole their normal cutiemark changes giving it a symbol similar to their element with an added shield in the background because their destiny is to protect the golden ninja/Lloyd.

Meanwhile Nya’s cutiemark, because she was not destined to protect Lloyd (I’m basing this out of the original ninjago seasons, s1 and s2) she doesn’t have a shield in her cutiemark. That is unless her talent/original cutiemark already have a shield.

Now, Lloyd got his cutiemark in the episode of ‘double trouble’ in the course of him trying to escape the ropes that the darkley’s kid tied him up, to the scene where he and the darkley kids teamed up to defeat the bizarro ninjas.

Though no one noticed when it was specificly appeared.

They (including lloyd) have only noticed it when they go home and suddenly garmadon hacked the monitor in their veichle and pointed out the cutiemark on his son. Let’s just say that this is the more wholesome version from the original ninjago scene.

Time skip to the time lloyd fight the overlord and become the golden ninja.

When he changes into a gold gi like in the original, in this au Lloyd’s mane, body, and cutiemark changes. His hair becames longer+gold color on the inside replacing the light green, him becoming an alicorn tall princess, and his cutiemark having a more gold dominant colors. And because a ninja-pony still wear gis in this au, lloyd gi’s will also turn gold.

‘wait before lloyd become the golden ninja, the main four gotta give up their element to lloyd. Does that mean their cutiemark revert back to its original form?’

I have a headcanon that the elemental master never have their elemental stolen/dissapear. An element in an elemental master will always be in them no matter what. Example; in the end of crytalized the main four ninjas gave up their power to again deafeat the overlord, their element menifested into a dragon. And after winning dissapeared to who knows where. After that Ninjago; Dragon Rising came out and suddenly they got their power back??? Nah, it never dissapeared in the first place. Just got weakened I’d like to say.

‘oh, so does that means when lloyd gave back their elements and giving up his golden ninja form his cutiemark stayed the same?’

Lloyd’s cutiemark revert back to its original lightbulb form heres the explanation;

So i read some theories regarding Lloyd’s true potential and decided that Lloyd got his true potential when he become the golden ninja, but in that theory they also regard that lloyd’s green element are just a downgrade of his golden element/god power. So when he gave back the main four elements he had never given up his golden element so that should make his cutiemark stayed the same and didn’t revert back.

But because I made this au and I can do whatever I want with it, I’d say that lloyd’s cutiemark revert back to it’s original form and his alicorn body also revert back to his normal/earthpony form.

Because the way lloyd cutiemark works is that he have different elements (green, golden/god, destruction, a bit of creation, and perhaps some snakey from his dad getting bitten by the devourer) and with different element it got different form and true potentials.

The golden ninja form is the true potential moment for the green element becoming gold. And so his cutiemark changes into a more gold dominant, and when he gave up the golden ninja form the gold minimize and revert back to the original because its not dominating Lloyd’s elements.

The element that’s neutral is his green one and the green one have the original cutiemark.

Another timeskip when lloyd got his oni form.

The oni form shared the same case as the golden ninja form, but instead of green to gold, its green to destruction. And when it dissapeared/not the dominant element, lloyd’s cutiemark and form revert back to its original state.

As for the dragon and snake form its just my silly add-ons to the au :3 but still shared the same case like the other two.

‘what? snake form? How would lloyd even transform into the snake form? Yeah the dragon form is plausible since he’s part dragons. But snakes?’

Uuuuuuuhh, sometimes in dragons rising lloyd woke up and became a snake form.

allright I think that could cover up the basic explanation of ho- waiiittttt the racesssss yeahhhh I haven’t explained thatttt

This au at the mean time have serpentine, oni, ponies(pegasi, unicorn and eartpony) and dragon race. Though they mostly lived in a different realms(except ponies) and other races to (like in ninjago before dragon rising, but after that there’s many more other races)

Tl;dr

MLP:MOS lore leans heavily to ninjago and having mlp:fim as its visualisation and some parts of world building.

Anyway

Doodles+Sketches :

Edit:

So Ninjago: Dragons Rising Season 2 Part 1 have been watched... And there's a scene where Lloyd kind turned into a dragon... AND ITS. FRICCIN. GREEN.

GOD DARN IT.

I'll have to change the color for Lloyd's dragon form from gold to green.

Also, I'm having complicating thoughts on should I changed Lloyd's oni form body to gold or nah...

Eh.

I'll just decides them when I drew it, see which ones more pleasing to see.

Edit 2:

I hate myself

I SHOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM SPIKES IN HIS DRAGON FORM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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destinysbounty · 3 months

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pls explain the stupid powers thing where they came from lloyd but suddenly now theyre genetic out of nowhere bc the former is the stupider of the 2.

Oh my god Raine I am so sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for like 50 years, I completely forgot about this ask. If it's any consolation, I made diagrams!

So the bottom line is, the elemental powers ARE heritable. And although the Lloyd thing makes things complicated, it doesn't change that.

First, let's talk about Golden Power. As I understand it, Golden Power is a godlike power first wielded by the FSM and used to create Ninjago. Again, correct me if I'm mistaken, but my understanding of it is that it's essentially an amalgamation of the four Elements of Creation.

Despite being extensions of Golden Power, these four elements still operate much like normal elements - that is, under normal conditions.

See, Golden Power is also hereditary. It was passed down from the FSM into his grandson Lloyd. Kind of. Lloyd inherited an essence of his grandfather's power.

(Yes, yes, I know Energy technically classifies as an elemental essence rather than an elemental power. But even then this still tracks.)

The way I see it, Energy acts more as a foundation. A connection. Think movie rules, where "green" is the thing holding everything together. Energy is the foundation upon which the others ebb and flow, it is the thing that connects their elements together. The glue that connects the Elements of Creation and forms Golden Power.

Here's another way to think about it. Let's assume that this whole elemental network of Golden Power operates a bit like a circuit (more or less). Each of the four Elements of Creation act as a battery and Golden Power is the lightbulb, with Green Energy being the wires and circuitry connecting everything together. Like so:

When the whole circuit is complete and properly functioning, power is being diverted from the sources of power - the four elements - and transferred through the circuitry into the lightbulb. Under these conditions, the four elements would be considerably diminished on account of having their power diverted into something else, while the lightbulb would be brightly lit.

In some cases like in season 1 and most of season 2, this simply manifests as a diminished access to their own elemental power that must be supplemented with the use of their Golden Weapons (which in themselves are artifacts of Golden Power that have been attuned to particular elements). They still have some access to their power, and even more so after unlocking their True Potentials, but that access was inhibited on account of much of their power being routed into this Golden Power/Energy circuit system.

(Note that this isn't a perfect analogy - unlike batteries, elemental power is not a limited resource but is instead constantly regenerating. I think of it a bit like blood - finite in the moment, but so long as we are healthy we can consistently produce more every day. Hence why Nya was able to regain her powers without instantly being connected to the sea: in the context of this analogy, you might think of her power being drained as bloodletting. The new power she developed was new and untainted by her former connection to the sea. I know all these analogies are starting to get confusing though, so feel free to disregard this.)

Now in past generations, the Green Ninja hadn't been born yet. So the actual circuitry itself wasn't present, meaning there was nothing to connect these elements together. Nothing to spend from their elemental reserves. So while Golden Power cannot form under these conditions, the previous EMs could use the full extent of their power without issue.

But then Lloyd was born, and the ethereal threads of power tying their elements together finally entered the system - thereby diverting those four powers into a greater collective of Golden Power. Even if Lloyd hadn't unlocked his True Potential, the system itself had taken shape, waiting for him to be ready to use it.

Then in the latter half season 2, the og4 completely divested what little they had of their powers at the time. And due to the increased energy demands of Lloyd's awakened USM form/abilities, any scrap of power they may have generated thereafter would immediately be converted into Golden Power instead.

Then in season 3, they returned to the Temple of Light to reverse this transference. and this is, unfortunately, where the circuit metaphor starts to fall apart. But for the sake of argument, just let me have this.

When Lloyd did returned his friends' powers to them, he also completely dissolved his Golden Power in the process, restoring them to their pre-GP conditions but in fact to what their power levels would have been in a non-GP environment. That is, they were finally able to access the full extent of their elemental abilities because the lightbulb wasn't there to transfer their energy away. Similar to what the system looked like back before Lloyd was born. This is why they were able to actually wield their elemental powers without the use of the Golden Weapons, when in the past that had only been possible through their True Potential.

(Yes, I know this isn't really how circuits work. I took an electrical engineering class in high school, and you have no idea how much the inaccuracies pain me. I mean I did warn you the analogy would fall apart. But I've put too much work into these diagrams to turn back now.)

Now, as for why their powers didn't work in season 5...that's a whole other headache. My best guess is that Morro attempted to reset the system to its prior GP state, but since he didn't do it properly through the Temple of Light everything just kinda got a little fucky for everyone instead.

The TLDR is that the og4's elemental powers don't come from Lloyd, per se, but he does sort of act as a conduit (ha) for their powers. And his capacity as that conduit can at times inhibit or enhance their own indvidual elemental potentiality.

...does this make sense, like at all? I feel like I just did a bunch of incomprehensible rambling that no one else would be able to understand. Listen, Ninjago's magic system is agonizingly convoluted enough as it is. I'm just doing my best 😭😭😭

#i just remembered that i have a bunch of lore asks in my inbox that ive completely neglected for the past few months #so uhhh we're gonna try and remedy that #what no im not trying to put off my multimedia authoring homework why would you even say such a thing #ninjago #destiny post

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lightning-and-dragons · 2 months

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NINJAGO DRAGONS RISING SEASON 2 PART 1 SPOILERS!

So, after seeing Jay in part one of season 2, I began to wonder how Jay could become a villain, as many people have theorized (I love these theories so much, I would love to see him have a villain arc!).

Here's how I think it could happen with what we know about Jay now (sort of told in a story form....I'm a fanfic writer, so that's my default lol):

Jay was used to emptiness. Ever since he lost his memories, there was a void inside of him, a void created by not knowing. Not knowing who he was before the Merge. Not knowing his favorite color. Not knowing what he was like. Not knowing if anyone out there loved him. Not knowing if he even liked himself.

It was a numbing feeling, like staying still while the world moved around him, like being left behind as everyone moved ahead. He couldn't feel anything with that emptiness, that numbness in his heart. Perhaps feelings were something one gained from knowing who you were. Knowing where you came from. Knowing who loved you.

He pretended he could feel, that his world wasn't numb inside, and it worked to the people around him, but he could never trick himself.

Nothing in the Administration could fill that void. Nothing could make him feel much of anything. He tried to fill the void with paperwork, and then videogames, yet nothing could make him feel like there was something in him. That there was something about his life worth celebrating. Nothing made him feel like he was a person, someone with a history, someone people could like. Nothing made him feel real. Everyone at the Administration just treated him like another worker, which he guessed he was, and the emptiness grew.

The emptiness got bigger when he discovered that he could control lightning. He found that he had all that power, so much strength, yet no one to celebrate it with. Which made the power useless, didn't it? He couldn't use it in the Administration or else he could get terminated, he couldn't tell anyone, he couldn't do anything with it. It became just as useless as everything else about him, the him now and most likely the him from before.

The excitement he had felt soon disappeared, along with the worry. There was nothing he could do about it, and the numbness returned.

When he met that skeleton-person when the Administration was sent to find the machine known as Zane, Jay felt something change in him. The person had looked at him with confusion when he spoke up, and showed some care to how he felt about the job he was in. Sure, she was probably just trying to escape, but her words filled the emptiness, made him feel like a person, that there was something more to him that just a member of the Administration. And when he saw himself, dressed in something close to a ninja gi, in the yellow orbs reflection, he felt confusion and awe, the void filling once again.

It was in that moment that he wanted the void filled completely. He didn't want to live as an empty shell anymore. He wanted to be a person, someone more than an agent. And he hungered for it.

He was tired of being empty. He wanted to feel again. He wanted to be someone.

So, he escaped the Administration, leaving it as quickly as he could, searching, fighting to fill that void again, to feel more than numb, to find out who he could be. Could he be more than what he was? Was he meant to be someone incredible?

That was when Lord Ras found him. Ras promised Jay a life that he could be proud of, that would make Jay worth something, that his name would be known. That he could feel more than he had felt in years. That the void that Jay felt could be filled.

The emptiness in him screamed to be filled again, and he could already feel Ras' praises, his promises, filling it.

Jay didn't hesitate to put on the wolf mask that was handed to him.

And, with the resounding note of a gong, the emptiness was gone.

#jay walker #ninjago jay walker #ninjago dragons rising s2 spoilers #lego ninjago #agent walker #ninjago #dragons rising #dragons rising season 2 #ninjago dragons rising #angst #villain jay walker....maybe?#dragons rising s2 #ras ninjago #the administration #jay ninjago

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snugglebugs · 2 months

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KAI SMITH flip (caregiver-leaning!)

Kai Ninjago Smith is ABSOLUTELY an age regressor are you KIDDING me are you JOKING me. He is BASICALLY CANONICALLY an age regressor!!!!

> "I bet he loves being treated like a baby..." (Nya, Season 14, Episode 6, Call From The Abyss)... Yeah he does because he IS a baby. He is THE baby. He is BABY.

His entire traumatic backstory is that, after his parents were taken from him from an early age, he had to step into a parental role for his little sister and become the adult of the family while still being a child himself. He had to grow up before he even really had a chance to grow at all. On-screen, we see that once his parents return and he's no longer forced into that role of responsibility, he canonically regresses into childish habits and language we have never before seen him use or display beforehand.

"Ham and cheese sandwiches with crispy bacon? Oh thanks, Mommy! You're the best! Mm... bacon is the best, too!" (Kai, Season 14, Episode 6, Call From The Abyss).

Conclusion? Kai Smith is the most age-regressor to ever age regress ever I will not take criticism because I am OBJECTIVELY CORRECT.

Anyway!! I think Kai is regresses from 5-9~ years old. We can tell from his diction that he doesn't seem to be a baby regressor (at least in this scene), as he's capable of fully-formed sentences and has the cognitive skills required to play video games, so that leads me to believe he might be a little-middlespace regressor! Kai's parents left when he was around 5, so it makes sense he wouldn't be an infant regressor, but around the little-middle spectrum, regressing into the same range of years in which he didn't have a chance to be a child before.

I don't just think he's an age regressor, though, I also think he's a flip, too! He definitely has some care-giving tendencies built-in to him from having to be a caretaker for his little sister for so many years, and so he pretty naturally slips into the role of a big brother caregiver! I imagine he leans more towards the caregiving side then the regressing side, just because being a caregiver is what he's used to being - what he's always had to be - but that may be prone to change as he becomes more comfortable with his regression! He hates regressing around the other age regressors, especially when they're regressed, because he feels like when they're small he has to be big and adult to take care of them regardless of his own headspace. We can see his caregiver tendencies displayed in... countless interactions with Lloyd. Speaking of...

LLOYD MONTGOMERY GARMADON age regressor!

I am, once again, OBJECTIVELY correct. Lloyd is basically canonically an age regressor. He IS canonically an age regressor. He is, quite literally, a child stuck in a teenager's body -- as in he was a child and then magic age-up tea turned his body into a teenager's but still left him with the mental capacity of a child. Which is the DEFINITION of what an age regressor is!! Bodily an adult but mentally a child!! He IS an age regressor!!!!

And even if that WASN'T the case, he'd probably be an age regressor anyway, because, like. Look at him. He had the weight of the world on his shoulders since he was, like, eight, was unable to be a child because he had to endure constant rigorous training and when he WASN'T training he was undergoing countless traumatic experiences while he was still a child.

> Lloyd: "Well...The latest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix and it's a limited run, so if I don't go out and get it, it's going to sell out. Last they left off, intergalactic rogue Fritz Donnegan was surrounded by the Imperial Sludge, and if I don't find out if he gets out alright, I think I might have my own doomsday!" Kai: "The fate of Ninjago rests on your shoulders. As the Green Ninja, you have a giant responsibility to hold. I'm sorry, but you don't have time for such childish things." Lloyd: "Other kids get to play and have fun. All I ever do is train..." (Season 2, Episode 18, Child's Play)

I don't even think I need to argue my case that hard for why Lloyd is an age regressor. I think it'd be harder to argue why he ISN'T an age regressor, actually. TRY to argue that he's not an age regressor. TRY. I BET you CAN'T.

I don't have much evidence for this one, but I imagine he may be a pet regressor, too! He's an oni-dragon-hybrid, after all, and his heritage have proven to come with strong instincts regarding this animalistic half of his genes, as seen throughout the Oni Trilogy.

COLE BROOKSTONE caregiver!

Look at him. JUST LOOK AT HIM. The most caregiver to ever caregive ever forever. He has chronic can't-stop-adopting-children syndrome. He's adopted, like, three separate children at this point. It is becoming a problem.

"Huh? Oh, no. Don't make that face. Don't cry. Oh, I can't take it any more. Hey, look at me. Hehe. Yeah. I'm not sad. Ha-ha, I'm not crying. Oh, fine. But this is between you and me. Shine, little glow worm, glimmer glimmer. Hey there, don't get dimmer, dimmer. You like that, huh? Well, there's more where that came from. Glow, little glow worm. Glow and Glimmer—" (Cole, Season 8, Episode 5, Dead Man's Squall)

When his mentor canonically (mentally & physically) regressed into an infant his first and immediate instinct was to adopt and care for them. If that isn't agere caregiver behaviour I don't know WHAT is. HE BECAME THE FATHER TO AN INDIVIDUAL REGRESSED FROM THEIR NORMAL HEADSPACE INTO A CHILD.... HE'S LITERALLY A CAREGIVER GUYS!!!!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE YOU WANT ME TO SAY!!!!!!! I AM JUST STRAIGHT-UP CORRECT!!!!!!!!!!!

JAY WALKER padded regressor!

"Jay: Aah! [He picks up a ruined stuffed toy.] Mister Cuddlywomp… [sobs] is a teddy bear I used to love when I was five, but now he's totally lame and—

Cole: We know you still sleep with him.

Jay: And I don't care who knows it! Mister Cuddlywomp..." (Season 7, Episode 6, The Attack)

Jay Walker is DEFINTELY a regressor. His personality has been noted to be very child-like and babyish at times, to the point where the fandom (and showwriters) tend to infantilize him, despite the fact that in his own right he can be a very serious character when he need be. As much as I do believe he's an age regressor, it's important to remember he can be very capable and competent character when he's big, too, and not to define him by his regression!

If he's any regressor, it's definitely a padded regressor. Throughout the show, it's become a running bit that he's a bedwetter and has a weak bladder:

"Jay: But I don't wanna get wet. I...I only have one pair of underwear.

Kai: Jay, this is no time to be making jokes. The Bounty can only take so much.

"Jay: You think I'm trying to be funny?" (Season 2, Episode 9, The Last Voyage)

"Harumi: Uh, forgive me, but is that...underwear?

Jay: We're usually more organized. Ahem. But our leader got lost in a time-stream. Uh, they're Cole's.

Cole: They're blue!

Kai: You're lucky they're not yellow." (Season 8, Episode 3, The Oni & The Dragon)

"Oh, that reminds me, Jay, honey, I need to teach you how to bleach your boxer shorts." (Maya, Season 14, Episode 7, Unsinkable)

"Jet Jack: Then tell us, who do these diapers belong to?

Kai: Oh, those are Jay's. Tell 'em, Jay.

Jay: Oh. I have a weak bladder." (Season 9, Episode 2, Iron & Stone)

These are only a few of many, many examples (You can find others throughout the show, such as in Only One Can Remain, The Darkness Remains, Darkness Within, etc), and though it's usually spun as a joke, there's no harm and shame in it! In conclusion

ZANE JULIEN caregiver!

"I was built to protect those who can't protect themselves!" (Zane, Season 3, Episode 8, The Titanium Ninja)

I don't know what else you want me to say guys... he said so himself.,,,,,,. was built to protect those who can't protect themselves...,.....

Zane's entire identity is hinged around adaptability. Though I could go on a WHOLE 'NOTHER ESSAY about Zane's relationship with identity, the point here is that he often adapts to what people need him to be! I mean, he downloaded thousands pieces of detective media onto his hardware in order to try to track down the other ninja after they went missing, if called for I imagine he could very easily slip into the role of caretaker (he WOULD download hundreds of resources on age regression to help the other ninja)!

I don't have a lot of evidence for this one beside source: bro trust me but bro. trust me. The Vibes,,,, theyre there

These are just my personal headcanons based on evidence I've gathered from the show - I am in NO WAY saying these are the only headcanons or that they are the "correct" ones!! In fact, if you have DIFFERENT headcanons for the ninja (esp. ones I didn't provide a lot of detail for), I encourage you to share them in the tags, I'd love to hear other's opinions!!!! ^^

If this gets enough interested, I might make a pt. 2, so stay tuned!!

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rott1ngbra1n · 1 month

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First off! I wanna go ahead and drop some fun art stuff I’ve been doing as I’ve been watching Dragons Rising season 2, which I’ve been loving!

I did a version of Arin before but it wasn’t my favorite so a redo! More AlleyCat stuff and obligatory Cole, because I love him.

I do have more Ninjago Art I want to do (Still need to finish that Cole and Morro friend piece-) and I have some other fandom art I also want to do, but I’ll explain more under the cut as well as why I’ve been gone or a bit less active everywhere. This is optional you do not have to read under the cut!

TW// Transphobia

For those unaware I am a trans man, I go by a different name: both online and IRL (online for privacy’s sake), I also work as a barista due to being a college student and needing to save money for moving away from my own transphobic parents. That’s a whole other story. But at work there was a coworker of mine who was consistently transphobic towards me whenever we worked together. It had been going on since June of last year (The irony of it starting during pride month made me and my friends laugh) but it escalated after I returned from New York, so much so I had to go to management.

Myself. Management had been informed by my best friend (who also works with me) about it and was told it was “gossip”. Ok. Sure- So I informed management of the new incidents and was told I had options, the first being to have a meeting with me, the transphobe, and my manager to discuss the issues. I said no so my manager went to the DM to find another solution. To give even more context, the transphobe couldn’t even be transphobic to my face most times it was always told behind my back to my best friend.

That’s how I knew my manager talked to the transphobe one on one, cause the transphobe right after the meeting went to said best friend. Telling her “not to tell me as she didn’t want to start drama” Cool, I feel so cool. I was very mad, went back to my manager with it, had that meeting with myself, the transphobe, and manager. Where my emotions were downplayed and the transphobe said she had “never interacted with a trans person before and didn’t know what she said was wrong.” OK.

SURE.

After that we assumed it was over, my manager made an incident report, but it didn’t stop the transphobe still kept talking behind my back to others. Despite me talking respectfully of her. More context all the talking behind my back happened at work while on the clock. After a while I just went about my day, then Ethics and Compliance called. They spoke to everyone involved, including me and I relayed more about my testimony. They said they would be investigating and I assumed it would take a while, then finally. I was informed that the transphobe was in fact fired.

This whole situation, along with other personal stuff going on with me, caused so much stress. To the point I tended to fallback into habits I had thought I fixed, mainly regarding my physical health. Even at points hating myself for just existing and having been born wrong.

I’m thankfully doing so much better now and have recently gotten diagnosed with Autism, something I knew I had but didn’t fully understand for a while. I’ve been getting better existing in a world knowing the people that are my blood hate me, knowing that eventually, I will never be able to be loved by my parents or sister. I have friends and coworkers who support me and I want to support other people in this community.

With that said I’m back to making more art! I’m building a portfolio for animation and to intern next year, I also will be trying to post more animations to here when I finish them! I also will still be active in the Ninjago fandom, I’ve loved this show since it came out in 2011 y’all can pry it from my cold dead hands-

But I do want to make more original work, I want to do more Star Wars work, QSMP art and animations, and more Musical Theater art whether it be Broadway or Indie productions. I hope people enjoy what I make, especially some of my original characters as I’ve gotten to work on Cybernetic more thanks to my animation class. You’ll see more of it as we go!

Thank you if you’ve read this and thank you for supporting me!

#art #my art #digital art #fanart #lego ninjago #lego ninjago fanart #lego ninjago lloyd #lego ninjago morro #ninjago #lego ninjago cole #ninjago fanart #ninjago cole #ninjago lloyd #ninjago dragons rising #ninjago dragons rising fanart #dragons rising #ninjago arin #life update

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parag00n · 2 months

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Lighting/background practice but it turned into my old middle school otp WOOOO

I picked up a johndave fic, blacked out for a week, and when I came back I found myself feverishly drawing a lot of johndave. art block is no more but im squarely in homestuck johndave brainrot rn 👍 strap urselves in for more pepsicola WEEEE (just bear with me I’ll be drawing ninjago in time for season 2 of DR)

#homestuck #johndave #pepsicola #davejohn #hammertime #however many more ship names these two have #no I have not read Homestuck recently and I tried to I REALLY DID but 8 gave up halfway through act 6 #john egbert #dave strider

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hawkflame999 · 5 months

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Ninjago headcanon #1-5

#1:

AU where the three descendants of FSM actually inherit Dragon-Oni features

Garmadon, Wu, and Lloyd being part oni, CAN shapeshift and usually use this to hide their true forms, instead shifting to their human ones, unless it's only friends and family around. (or if the circumstances demand it)

Garmadon’s “true form” looks like how he usually does, except he has huge gold dragon wings coming out from his back shoulder area, ringed with black because of his oni blood, that he actually can fly with. He has a gold tail similar to a Night Fury's, with the tailfins being black. He also has black oni horns with a swirl of gold and dark gold dragon ears. His eyes are purple both because of his element and his Oni blood and they glow when he allows them to. His teeth are sharp, too. His hands are clawish (Like his hands look normal but they have all the claw abilities and all). He has some gold-tipped black spikes like a night fury’s coming out of his back.

When Garmadon was in that form where he had the red eyes and all, his wings, tails, spikes, horns, and such were all black.

Wu’s “true form” looks like how he usually does, except he has huge gold dragon wings coming out from his back shoulder area, that he actually can fly with. He has a gold tail similar to a Night Fury's with the tailfins being gold. He also has white-gold slanted-back dragon horns, with a swirl of black because of his oni blood, and dark gold dragon ears. His eyes are golden both because of his element and his Dragon blood and will glow if he allows it. His teeth are sharp, and his hands are claw-ish (Like his hands look normal but they have all the claw abilities and all) and he also has some gold-tipped black spikes like a Night Fury’s coming out of his back.

Lloyd didn’t even realize he was shapeshifted during the years at Darkly’s Boarding school. When he began staying with the ninja, his uncle explained about being Dragoni (dragon-oni-sometimes- part-human hybrid) and taught him how to return to his true form and shapeshift, and how to fly. Lloyd didn’t need to learn Dragoni-tongue, he already knew it instinctively.

Lloyd’s “true form” looks like how he usually does, except he has gold dragon wings, coming out from his back-and-shoulder area, ringed with green, that he actually can fly with. Like his uncle, He has a gold tail similar to a night fury's, with the tailfins being gold but with green at the tips except for the very tips of the fins being gold again. He also has gold horns, with a swirl of black because of his oni blood, with more black than his uncle but less than his father, slanted back like a dragon’s but not as much as his uncle, and dark gold dragon ears. His teeth are sharp, his hands are claw-ish (Like his hands look normal but they have all the claw abilities and all) and he also has some green-tipped gold spikes like Night Fury’s coming out of his back. His green eyes glow when he allows them to. The green-and-gold scales were able to glow after the Final Battle, except for his eyes, which were able to glow from the start.

#2:

AU where Morro gets turned back into a human in DotD and proceeds to take over as the oldest sibling for the rest of the series. (after the others begin to trust him of course)

“Jay Gordon Walker are you even trying to not have that thing explode!?!?”

“Kai Smith, how many times will I tell you to stop setting your room on fire.”

“All I’m asking for is one freaking patrol where you don’t say a word you shouldn’t even know, Nya.”

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon Spinjitzu. For the last time, Why were you up at 3:00 AM.”

“Zane you’re fine. You have common sense.”

“COLE HOW DID YOU GET ON THE ROOF-”

#3:

The ninjas’ eyes’ reflect their elements. And when the ninja unlock their true potential, their control over their eyes comes.

Zane’s are ice blue, Jay’s are electric blue, Cole’s eyes are dark brown, almost black though sometimes the same yellow-orange that came when he went Spinjitzu Burst, while Kai’s are fire-colored. Nya’s are teal but a bit greener, as in sea colored. Lloyd’s are green. Morro’s were gray. Wu’s are gold both because of his element and his Dragon blood. and Garmadon’s are purple, both because of his element and his Oni blood. Their eyes will glow if they allow them to.

They can reverse the effect and make their eyes dark, the way most people’s eyes are- but they mostly do it in public so it’s harder for their identities to be found out.

The shade of the color depends on their emotional state. When they are sad or talking about a “You don’t want to know” subject, or such, the shade of color in their eyes will get darker. If they’re in a good mood, they’ll get brighter. Sometimes it’s the opposite. (Cole’s turn light orange sometimes- he loves creeping his father out that way)

#4:

When Lloyd was little and still at Darkly’s, one of the older kids, Tatheron, trapped him in an unused room. There they beat him up and hurt him seriously with a needle. As a result, Lloyd has trypanophobia- extreme fear of needles.

The other ninja found out about it sometime when he was still a kid, when he got a gash on his arm. Wu said it needed to be stitched and Lloyd proceeded to panic, even ran off in fear. After being forced to catch him and bring him back to the Bounty, Lloyd tearfully confessed what happened to the ninja after his Uncle Wu calmed him down, and the ninja + Wu ended up waiting till he fell asleep to do the stitches.

After that, Tatheron may or may not have come home one day with a broken nose.

#5:

At first Lloyd was terrified of the ninja, and they didn’t realize this at first. They only knew that they’d barely see him while on the Bounty.

Then one day they found him hiding inside a big vase and realized that for some reason he hid from everyone in general 24-7.

They found out that the kid’s at Darkly’s were hurt for even little stuff like being slow to answer. And that Lloyd had grown up thinking that everyone would hurt him. And that it was gonna take a while to gain his trust.

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zaptrap · 5 months

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Seeing that you've been here since 2012 is INSANE like you've witnessed it all huh. You've seen probably SO many weird and crazy things in this fandom like man that's so cool for you I feel...

ive def seen and participated in a lot of dumbass bullshit over the years LMAO. although notsomuch during the skybound-to-seabound era cuz i'd lost interest for a bit

Random shit I remember off the top of my head (plz feel free to fact-check):

deviantart era: (2012-2013)

that bright green ninjago ask meme

like, literally everybody making self-insert purple ninjas (sometimes orange, teal, or rainbow) and shipping them with their fav ninja

everyone making their own genderbends of the ninja. cole was almost always called nicole or colette lmao

people also naming their accounts (name)-the-ninja (or "teh-ninja", since this was 2012)

there's a non-zero probability that if you were in the fandom during the season 1 era, you're a furry now

naruto crossovers

half-snake ninja aus.........wonder who uh......who could've done that.....heheh (me) (that was my whole deal pre-nindroid!jay lmfao)

everyone posting like, doll-maker things they made of ninjago? especially dragon ones

(me) posting leaked screenshots of season 2 eps that i found on the lego wiki or smth lmao. this is also how i found out zane was a robot. i think i kept posting leaks when i moved to tumblr

legends of chima releasing and i thiiink it was supposed to be a ninjago replacement? like, legitimately? though a lot of people weren't happy about it. "furry gang drug wars" was a phrase used a lot lmfao.

tumblr era (2013-2016 for me) (may overlap with dA era)

everyone losing their minds over the shirtless ninja in ns2 lmfao

that one video of kirby marrow (rest in peace) saying cole was 14

that other vid of like, behind the scenes and it was the ninja's actors but like in-universe? it's where "cole bucket" comes from

also some behind the scenes vid with the actual voice actors lol

thinking back on this, im like 100% sure it was bullshit but when the end of rebooted aired, there was a rumor going around about fans being so upset over zane's death that they carved a snowflake on their stomachs. lots of people were freaking out lmfao

the rise and fall of "fucknoshittyninjagoOCs" (ashamed to say i heavily participated in harassing this blog even if i rlly didnt like the premise.........)

maypong

lots of tension with instagram cuz of all the art reposts. like. tons of reposts. i remember someone blocked me when i said to take something down but then unblocked me the same evening and apologized LOL so

roleplay twitter accounts (twitter was kinda not-as-a lot at the time)

nindroid!jay of course. its so old there was an update that was made in flash lmfao...

absolute fucking shitloads of AUs and headcanons. i dont think this has changed much but like. there were so many lmfao. entire threads

actually there's too many fucking AUs. im scrolling through my main blog and i cant fuckin find anything cuz ITS ALL THESE STUPID AU THREADS THEY AREN'T EVEN LIKE DEEP LMAO

ask-all-the-ninjagians

the absurd screenshot redraws i did. like they were super stupid lmfao. icr which blog they're on but they're on my comp still at least

ninjagians just. being a term used at all lmao

the ninjago fan-tournament during ns4. people would draw/write about their ocs doing whatever prompt was posted and then everyone came together to defeat a big bad snake man

tbh i started naturally losing interest during ns5, and then VERY QUICKLY dropped the show (and therefore fandom) when skybound came out lmao............... so i dont really remember a lot from this era and everything after

and now im back :D

i hope this is insightful! xD

#ninjago #talking #asks

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mouschiwrites · 3 months

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oo that morro one HIT. thank you thank you

if you dont mind, can we get a part 2 with a premise of the day of departed lil short special?

for comfort i mean

Ofc dear!! Sorry this came out sorta long ^^”

Word count: 1.2k

Ninjago - Waiting for Your Morro

Part I here!

When Wu told you that today was all about remembering, there was no doubt that you’d come here. It was somewhere that reminded you of your old love; you spent your early years flying kites with him in this quiet meadow, and in later years he’d impress you with his wind powers by making the long grass flop this way and that.

You slowly tread through the grass, cool and soft in the night air, breathing in familiar scents of grass and wildflowers. You were used to the sky being a vibrant blue, but today it was black and speckled with stars. Still, you could remember everything vividly.

“Y/n, Y/n, are you watching?”

“I’m watching, Morro!”

“Okay, look at—that!”

“Oh wow! Did Wu teach you that?”

“Yup! My training’s going pretty well, eh?”

“Yeah… you’re gonna be a master in no time…”

The innocent dark head of hair flopped to one side quizzically, a sad look coming into those dark eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“You won’t forget me when you’re all great and powerful, will you?”

“Y/n, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s you and me, forever and ever! No matter what!”

“I know, but…”

“Shh!” His hands grabbed your face, forcing your gaze up from your feet to his eyes. “When I’m the most powerful ninja, you’re going to be right there beside me. And if you’re not, I’m going to hunt you down and force you to be with me!”

You couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled out of you at that. “Okay then. But I’d never say no to you.”

“And I’d never let you go anyway.”

You picked a flower bud, still green as it had not bloomed yet, and twisted it between your fingers. You let out a shivering breath and tucked it behind your ear. It stung to remember, but you knew that this was what today was all about.

I refuse to forget you, Morro. Even if it hurts to remember.

You managed to dry the steady flow of tears that came from your eyes on your way back to the museum. You sniffed sharply when you realized you were the last one coming back; the other ninjas were already talking among themselves at the top of the steps.

As you hurried up to meet them, you noticed an air of trouble emulating from their serious faces and grim voices.

You were planning to ask what was wrong, but the looks they gave you when they saw you approaching silenced you before that could happen. They were first surprised to see you, then they each adopted a unique impression of awkwardness. They exchanged knowing looks and grimaced, and Kai kept glancing over behind them.

The way they were standing seemed to be shielding someone, and you guessed that whoever this person was, they were the reason that the ninjas were acting so awkward.

Jay was the first to say something. “Uh, we should be on our way, guys…”

He was met with (almost too eager) responses.

“Yup! Lots to do!”

“We’ll explain later, Y/n. See ya!”

“Bye bye now!”

“Have fun, you kids!”

That last response, which had come from Kai, caught you off guard. You turned to watch the ninjas as they scurried past you, quizzically quirking up your brow.

Suddenly it was all obvious. The final clue had come in the form of a voice, a voice you could never forget, the voice that played in your head whenever there was a second of silence.

“Y/n..?”

You whirled around, eyes huge. And there he was.

Your arms were around each other before either of you could even remember moving, and there was the sound of laughing sobs muffled in cloth as you buried your faces in each other.

“I knew—” you hiccuped, squeezing tighter, “I knew I’d see you again.”

“So did I. Nothing can keep us separated,” he mused, pulling away to give you a mischievous look. It was as if you never spent a day apart.

There was a moment of breathless silence. Morro was looking you over, his eyes shining with pure affection. “You’re beautiful.”

You smiled. “You said that before.”

“I’ll say it again. And again. And again, until the end of time. You’re beautiful,” he squeezed your hand.

You looked down at your interlocked fingers, a twinge of sadness tainting your joy.

“I waited for you, you know. Every day. Every night.”

He blinked at you; you weren’t quite sure if it was because he hadn’t expected such devotion, or if he just hadn’t expected the change in mood.

“I tried to come back. I… I wanted to see you, too.”

“Did you?” Your eyes were teary when they met his, and you looked away shamefully when you saw the same pain in his eyes.

“I did. But… there are rules. Rules that not even I can break. And you know how I like to break rules.”

You let out a weak laugh. “…I understand.”

You felt his fingers under your chin, and you were gently guided back to his gaze.

“Y/n, remember what I said? It’s you and me, forever and ever.”

You laughed again, more genuinely this time, but with tears trickling down your cheeks. “You remember that?”

“I remember everything I promised to you. And I live by those promises. Well, maybe not live anymore,” he smirked, but shook his head to dismiss the little jest. “We may be in different realms, but we’re still tied to each other. And one day, that long cord that separates us will grow shorter, and you’ll be at my side again. We just have to be patient.”

Your lips pressed into a thin line, and you gave the slightest of nods.

“I knew you’d understand… you were always the reasonable one.”

You embraced again, limbs tight around each other. You breathed unsteadily into his shoulder for a long time, trying to collect yourself before facing him again, and at the same time basking in his touch.

When you came apart again you held on to each other’s forearms, your stomachs still pressed together with your faces fervently close.

“You’ve waited for me,” Morro whispered, his dark eyes dripping with wist and admiration, “but this is the last time I can come to you.”

You closed your eyes, your head dropping. Your forehead hit his, and he continued:

“Now it’s my turn to wait for you. And don’t you rush to get to me,” he chided, pressing his forehead firmly into yours in a show of affection. “Just try to live happily, okay?”

“Okay.” The word came out in a quivering rasp that was really not much more than a whisper.

You opened your eyes, finding a profound smile on Morro’s lips that somehow caught on your own face.

You knew it was time to say goodbye, but despite this your tears chose to stop flowing at this moment.

“Hey,” Morro said, clearly as an afterthought that would be the last thing he said to you in a long time, “guess what?”

“What?”

“I love you.”

You found yourself laughing, giving his shoulder a hardy punch as the attitude of old friends once more overtook your demeanor. “You’re an idiot.”

But just as he went to leave, you had to shout: “Hey!”

You knew that there would be no more tears; his promises put a new hope in your heart that far overpowered any sorrow you had. You knew you’d be together again someday, but now you were sure of it. And so you spoke with the voice of someone saying goodbye to a lover they’d see later that same day when you said:

“I love you too.”

Thanks so much for this request! And thanks for reading, take care sweet duckies!! <33

(divider by saradika)

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago x reader #morro #morro ninjago #morro x reader #morro wu #ninjago fanfiction

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destinygoldenstar · 26 days

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Ninjago Dragons Rising Season 2 - Is It Good Or Nah?

So, I'm late to the party, aren't I?

Well I've had so much work that I think I'm having an existential crisis. So I had to wait till I had a free day to watch this season because I wanted to watch it with my GF.

We got to Episode 6, and then what did my boss do?

Slap me in the face with long work hours several days of the week.

I feel like I'm in a spiral of work after work after work with no purpose to life besides failure cause I can't trust myself to be capable at anything-

ANYWAY. We finished it now.

You know what the insane part about the season is? That it got the show trending on Tumblr.

That's an INSANE level of hype right there.

So I seriously had to ask myself "What the actual f**k happened in the show that caused THIS much hype?!"

So... here are my thoughts on the season.

SPOILER WARNING

Okay, so this may be a factor of my judgement, but due to my schedule, I was forced to watch only 6 Episodes one day, and then the last 4 Episodes today. Keep that in mind.

When it came to the first half of the season, was it good?

Yes. Obviously.

Was it living up to the insane level of hype?

Uh... not really for me??

Now, don't take that as a negative. This season is still REALLY good.

After the first season took awhile to get started as it needed to set up its characters and this new world, it makes sense for this season to throw the punches immediately.

The season gets started with its main plot right away with Ras immediately putting his plan into action, and by Episode 2, it's very clear the threat level he opposes and it's believable that we should be intimidated by what he wants.

Even though in Episode 2's fight, while AMAZINGLY choreographed, I was just screaming at the screen "HIT THE PERSON HOLDING THE GONG."

Like seriously, more than one of the characters in this fight can use projectiles with their powers AND they have a blaster in the Bounty, and the show never says that Ras has some sort of armor defense preventing him from getting blasted. He's literally standing out in the open. And the gong is clearly what's giving Cinder power. So HIT THE PERSON WITH THE GONG.

GOSH.

Anyway, that's not important. What's important is that this season's fight choreo is genuinely AMAZING. I am obsessed with the way the camera moves with the characters in these fights you have no idea. I was genuinely blown away by the last episode's fight in particular. But more on the ending later.

What also shocked me was how BRUTAL some of the stuff that happens here is, which caught me off guard.

I mean, Episode 2 has Euphrasia getting ambushed and crashed off the Cloud Kingdom with clear injuries, and Wyldfyre getting her leg SHATTERED. Like, WHAT?! HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?!! (Even though the latter's healing was unrealistic. Like, it would realistically take months for an injury like that to heal. Not a critique, just saying.)

Ras body slams Jordanna at one point. He puts Arin in a CHOKEHOLD. And also beats him up so brutally... like OMG this guy does not mess around.

The Fear Cave Trial also REALLY got me tripping. Not only was it such a visually appealing moment, but it also, as the same suggests, showed several character psyches that were insane.

Except Kai for some reason. That's gonna drive me NUTS until I get an answer. WHAT DID HE SEE-?!

Then we get to the dragon mentors, and...

Yeah the season kinda loses me in the middle.

Don't get me wrong, I love the character bits here as much as anyone. But with how dyer they made the threat of Ras before, Ras and his forces take a backseat in the middle portion of the season and we're mostly just sitting at these training grounds talking. And for four episodes of it? It's a little grating, even if it is important.

The middle is mostly where most of my issues with the season stand. And here's where I get all my negatives out of the way:

Like I said, because this season is so long, there's an awkward pause in the conflict on the dragons plotline to learn this Rising Dragon Technique. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't FOUR EPISODES of it.

With the exception of the attack at the Land of Lost Things ONCE, Ras's army doesn't go after the ninja at all. I can kinda get the dragons group since they didn't have Bonzle, but he has to know that they ARE a threat, right? They're obviously trying to figure out how to stop you.

And even with the group that has Bonzle, what they NEED, the forces that go after that group is the Administration and the one off magician man villain, the former really didn't need to be in this season even if it was for a compelling Jay cameo, and the latter has overstayed his welcome at this point and I just rolled my eyes when he showed up on screen.

I'm all for Cole being a badass as much as the next guy, but WHY this magician man, who at this point, is so disconnected with the main antagonistic forces that he serves no purpose?

Why not, I don't know, use this screen time instead to explain what in the world happened with Cole when he left?

Seriously, the first season had this huge cliffhanger with Cole's character and him going after Wu's ghost. I wonder what's gonna happen to him and what he's gonna find out-

Oh. He's just back.

That to me is a huge disappointment. What was the point of him leaving the Lost Family in the first place if this journey was basically nothing? He doesn't even talk about it! COME ON NOW.

Also I think Zane should get slay pass on the Administration guy that called him equipment. What do y'all think?

I don't like Egot. Or whatever his name was. He's very condescending and cryptic and talks down to his only hope of the world being saved. But I think I'm supposed to dislike him for it, and there's gonna be more of his characterization revealed later, so don't take this one as a critique. The female one is great though.

The sorceress lady was... a choice in the narrative. My one critique for the ending was the potion shenanigans. Not because they were bad, but because they just felt so out of place among everything else. Like, "Oh, this finale is too dark and intense! We need to occasionally cut to wacky shenanigans with this sorceress's magic to prevent kids from feeling too much dread!"

I don't know, for me, I would've placed this stuff with the Administration instead, and instead have the group fight Jordanna, lose, and have her get away and flow that to Arin getting to her. Especially since the Administration posed such little threat to them and they even say such.

(I also have a theory that this sorceress is Wyldfyre's birth mom. I have no evidence to back this up besides "They both have red hair and similar facial structure")

With Cloud Kingdom getting taken over and Euphrasia captured, I thought she would have more of a role to play in this since this is, you know, her HOME and she's their guardian.

But nope. She does next to nothing up until the very end and plays prisoner and waits for the ninja to save her.

For gosh sake girl, you're the master of wind. FLY.

And finally, my last critique, Cinder.

Yeah I'm sorry, I'm not buying this character so far. Not that I don't think he'll have anything to do in the second part, but for how threatening he was in Episode 2, that threat level kinda vanishes in the middle and only comes back at the end. He does next to nothing and we learn nothing about him other than "He likes power". Jordanna is probably more unlikeable, but at least she has conflict going on with Ras and her magic, and she still serves more of a role in the plan besides being a foot soldier.

And... yep. That's all my critiques for this season. Which all seem pretty minor.

You know what this season is real good at? Characters.

As though that wasn't obvious already.

I did NOT expect Bonzle to play any major role at all, I thought she was just gonna be the dry and cynical side character. But no. She has a history. She has a life. She has emotions. All of which REALLY shine through at the end when you hear her voice have more range in it. The VA killed it. I ended up feeling so bad for her.

Especially considering what happens to her.

They're also not even hiding it anymore with Geo x Cole. They're just NOT. I love them and I hope we see more of their relationship in the future.

I genuinely don't understand the critique of "Geo is so selfish referring to him as Cole's family when it's obvious Cole has other people in his life."

Well no shit, you ever heard of a character flaw?

But it's also a completely understandable flaw. You guys aren't forgetting the part where Geo was abandoned for being a mixed race, right? Of course he's gonna cling to someone as compassionate and encouraging as Cole.

The Jay cameo was nice. I expect him to play no role in this season, but it's really compelling what they showed and I was satisfied with it.

Lloyd's conflict was handled very well in my opinion.

What's it called when it's PTSD, but it's about future events rather than past events? Foresight Traumatic Stress Disorder? FTSD? Yeah let's go with that.

For a kids show that glosses over trauma, (That's not a Ninjago problem, that's a kids show problem), it was really refreshing for them to not do that for once. It's actually explored and talked about and Lloyd is given advice on how to cope with it, and he freezes up in panic attacks when these visions happen and-THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR NOT IGNORING HOW HARD SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS.

Seriously, as someone who is going through stuff like this, minus the magic element, it spoke to me a lot. It really shows that this show grew up with me, and I both love and hate that.

I do think this sort of arc is going to hit hard for adults much more than kids.

Are kids constantly terrified of the future and getting paralyzed with these fears and finding it difficult to cope with the traumas that is time and human life?

No?

Kai is also a standout in this, especially towards the end. This is by far the best Kai has been in a long time in terms of quality. I love how one of his most significant flaws gets addressed here, that being his overreliance on himself and his own abilities over the others, who he feels responsible to protect.

And the way he grasps with that and learns to let loose like he did as a child back in the old days through what he loves the most, that being his family. And the flashbacks with him and his sister. And the whole sequence of him learning Rising Dragon - AUGH ITS SO GOOD.

How poetic is it that the character most devoted to family since childhood is only cocky and angry because of his own desire to be the one with power to keep them safe, gets power by letting that go, being a kid again, and joining the same roots as his own family?

AND THEN HE GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR THEM-

And finally, Arin.

Oh you poor sweet, sweet child.

First of all, yes, I am completely subscribed to the theory that the show is building up Arin turning on the ninja and becoming a villain. It's all there. It all fits. The amount of times they say how sweet he is as though that's gonna get lost. The dragons, the creators of the world, the gods basically, telling him he's not good enough. Ras confronting him. Sora's stunt even after she's been the most encouraging of him, like the BETRAYAL there. It's all there. And I will be posting my theory scenario on this don't you worry.

BUT, I don't think that's the route they're gonna go. Kids show and all of that. They wouldn't do that to one of their main characters. Unless you're Star Wars. At most I think Arin will be tempted by Ras's master's power in an episode and even do it, but then with the power of love and friendship, it'll get fixed.

So instead I'd rather say that Arin, by far, has the BEST power crisis arc of the entire show so far.

I LOVE that he doesn't get powers. That's something the original show would've done. I LOVE that he doesn't figure anything out in the end and his inner doubts get proven correct. That's something the original show would not have the guts to do.

I liked Arin in the first season, but he didn't interest me too much. Mostly because Sora had the lion share of focus in the first season. Here though? He might just take the crown for THE most relatable character. And I both love and hate it so much.

Like, seeing everyone else succeed in mastery while you can't even figure out your own thing. You get told you have a natural talent and a lot of potential and that you're good at a lot of things, only for that to be put to the test in the real world and you end up letting everyone down. Even when your loved ones encourage you that you are good enough and you're special in your own way, you can't get those voices out of your head and you mess up again and again and again to try and meet the world's expectations. Then those in charge tell you you're not good enough and wasted potential. Then you try everything out in the real world anyway and you FAIL, and those that doubt you and your own insecurities get proven correct as you're left a broken mess of a young child who doesn't know what the hell they're doing-

I'M IN THIS SHOW AND I DON'T LIKE IT.

I probably love Sora more as a character, but I will admit I grasp towards Arin more right now. Sora's a great trans allegory in a world that hates trans people. But I'm not trans so I relate to it a bit less. Arin's a great autistic allegory in a world that doesn't know how to help autistic people. And I am autistic so I relate to it more. That's just a me situation.

I am so invested in where Arin's story goes from here. Evil or not.

So yeah, the season was good, but didn't completely live up to the insane hype, which, to be fair, is a high bar.

UNTIL THE LAST FOUR EPISODES.

And then all of a sudden, I AM SHOCKED AND SHAKEN TO MY CORE.

These last four episodes are an absolute emotional roller coaster that left me shaking and screaming the whole time.

I actually SCREAMED at multiple occasions.

I actually screamed so many times watching this that I am now HOARSE.

THAT'S how hard it hit me.

The story goes from 0 to 100 the moment the Blood Moon shows up. Which was what the whole season was building up to. And it did NOT disappoint.

The race to try and protect Bonzle. The intense visions and paralysis Lloyd suffers from. Ras and the army coming back to the plot to be absolute powerhouses. The last episode of DREAD the entire time to desperately try to stop this ritual.

HUMAN SACRIFICES?! AM I WATCHING A KIDS SHOW RIGHT NOW?!?!

I was begging for Arin to succeed at getting Bonzle to safety, even though I knew he stood no chance against Ras. "Come on Arin! You got this!! YOU GOT THIS, SWEETIE!!"

And then Ras just goes to TOWN on the poor boy and taunts his utter failure, which HURTS SO BAD MAN.

The entire fight with the army, Cinder, and Ras. The destruction of the mechs which knocks them unconscious for a bit. Kai figuring out Rising Dragon again when his family gets put in danger. The way Nya avenges her brother afterwards.

When Bonzle was getting morphed back into spell form, BEGGING, I was begging too.

But they still do it!

And KAI?!?!

I couldn't even process what happened other than me screaming. From the moment Ras alluded to sacrificing Kai against his consent, I was screaming "NO. DON'T DO IT."

AND THEN THEY SACRIFICE HIM.

LIKE HOLY GOSH THIS FINALE DID NOT MESS AROUND.

I predicted a while back, in the first season actually, that Kai was gonna get sacrificed at some point. Who's laughing now? I DID NOT WANT TO BE RIGHT.

Like, usually in Ninjago the character would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. But here? This is without Kai's consent at all. Ras might as well have killed him right here.

It definitely felt that way with the way the others react and BEG for his safety. The way Nya avenges him.

And Kai giving up his shot at escape for the sake of his family? BRO. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

It hurts even more when you realize that when the Merge happened, Lloyd was ALONE thinking only he survived. He only gained hope again because of his reunion with Kai. His beloved surrogate brother!

AND NOW HE'S GONE.

NYA AND LLOYD LOST THEIR BROTHER.

WYLDFYRE LOST HER SURROGATE FATHER.

THEY THINK HE'S BASICALLY DEAD.

BRO. THAT'S SOUL CRUSHING.

And then Sora?! Why you gotta betray Arin like that?!

The most encouraging friend towards Arin, the person who held onto hope and praises for him the most, betrays that hope and doesn't trust him enough to get the winning blow himself. Then LIES about it.

GIRL. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

That's going to be SO compelling once that gets outed. Like, morally, that was messed up and she was definitely in the wrong, BUT it led to the best possible outcome for them at the moment. They WON because she did NOT believe in Arin's abilities. Which only proves that the doubts about Arin's said abilities are correct.

And I have a gut feeling she's gonna learn Spinjitsu on top of that. And once that happens... double ouch.

Again, Evil Arin Theory.

I really hate to say it, but this reminds way too much of Arcane. If you know what I'm talking about.

I am totally imagining a situation similar to that in my head, that being a rescue mission for Kai, they decide to leave Arin out of it because of the lack of faith in him, he tags along anyway and he ruins their plan and Kai stays trapped there, Lloyd and Sora lash out on him for it, and before they can apologize they get thrusted back by something and Ras and Ras's master find Arin and take him in-

Again, I'll make a post about that.

The finale was by far the best part of this season. It has been a long time since Ninjago has made me HOARSE from being too invested.

That has not happened to me since Sons of Garmadon.

Because, yeah, I actually have NO IDEA where any of this is headed. How are they gonna save Kai and Bonzle? Why did some of Lloyd's visions not come true? What in the world is going on with Ras? Will the Administration help with that? Will the source dragons help with that?

What I probably do know is that Part 2 of this season is going to turn this into the best Ninjago Product since Tournament of Elements. Maybe even top it depending on my rewatches if my problems are still problems.

So... yeah. Good or Nah? Good. Obviously.

The hype is a little overblown to me, but it still deserves the hype.

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