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“I struggle not to lose hope…”

Monstrosity was literally peak btw, here’s this sketch i started when the trailer came out

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and then it all faded back into color

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Monstrosity trio!!!

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sillys

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ONE thing i can’t get over on Kai’s design in Monstrosity is his eyes.

Specifically how tired they make him look,

He’s straight up exhausted and stressed beyond belief, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re also using this to show Kai’s loss of weight.

Also, whilst they heavily look like dark eye circles, the underneath of his eyes also looks sunken in.

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“But I don’t need you. I need them.”

It’s very important that we note how Kai says need. Not want, need.

He needs the ninja, his sensei, his entire family, near him and beside him or else he will lose himself.

I think it’s very important as to how, despite the ninja very obviously caring for Ninjago and its people, when they lose each other nothing else matters. They’re so stuck in grief and pain and suffering and sometimes they’re forced to still move on despite that, but in the end they truly just wish to go get their family back as their first priority.

And for someone like Kai, nothing gets in his way of getting them back. He cannot lose them, or he will lose himself, and it’s crazy how they wrote that in Monstrosity.

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Holy shit. I knew they said Monstrosity was supposed to be more mature, but I was not--I never could have expected they would've done something like this:

Kai willingly walking into water, something he had a deep fear of, as an act of suicide

Ignoring those trying to save him

He's blocking them out. He doesn't even care.

And then this...this is just haunting.

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Not Kai's last words to Rusty being that he doesn't need him

Then Rusty immediately kills himself to save his life

That's gonna haunt him forever

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Beware the Kai pipeline

Alt Blog | YouTube | Bluesky

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hhhhhhhhhhhhh

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(Lego Monstrosity Spoilers)

I see a lot of people not fully understand the entire scene with Kai walking into the water with the monster/siren thing where he just slowly accepts his fate rather than suddenly snapping out of it because why would he walk in there in the first place?

The thing is that Kai's entire motivation is his friends, family and the people he cares about. This is shown in the way he is quick to harshly blame himself for things or consider himself inadequate if he could've done something to prevent the injury or loss of someone; the fact he became a ninja only to save Nya; the fact he persevered through the Land of Monsters if only to see his family again.

Without the people he loves, Kai is, honestly, nothing.

There's also the fact that he was not only quite physically fatigued and most likely malnourished, but he was also so clearly mentally exhausted. There's no way he could 100% rationally think (And I say this because I also don't think he would've snapped like he did at Rusty had he been in a better headspace).

The creature in the water seemingly preys on that sort of thing: Creatures with strong desires or the mental fatigue of creatures struck with the loss and grief of a loved one.

• Loss can come in various ways that aren't just death. Kai had lost his home, path and contact with the people he cared about in the Merge, and damn well nearly lost himself too.

We see this same loss and grief thing with Daidan and Rusty. Daidan's child, who was cruelly taken from her all too soon and Rusty's creator who succumbed to the Land of Monsters.

Daidan's reason to live was stripped away from her when her child died. Her purpose was to be a mother, to protect her child. Of course she'd risk herself for one small, slim chance that it was all a bad dream and that her child was safe alongside her.

Kai's reason to push forward was, is and always has been — as I've said — his family and friends. He'd started to reach his limits, and was desperate to see them again. Of course he'd fall for the illusion and walk into the water; he was at wits end. He would do anything to go back.

Now, why did Rusty manage to break free from the spell while Kai and Daidan failed to do so? The answer is simple:

Rusty's creator, while someone he cherished and missed tremendously, wasn't his purpose or his grief anymore. His purpose was to protect, and his grief would've been failing another fire wielder and failing his creator's wishes. He knew his creator wouldn't have wanted him to let others die for no reason.

~

And I for one am glad we got to see Kai not be strong and certain all the time. He ran, he cried, he was scared.

He was so so human.

Yes he was brave and moral, but he also was not a strong unflappable Ninja, he was simply Kai. He had raw fits of frustration and anger, grief and pain, fear and hopelessness. And I think that's so refreshing to see, especially from Kai who hasn't gotten nearly enough time in the 'Emotional Depth' spotlight (In my opinion).

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Fell in love with the scale of that place and the things inhabiting it.

Monstrosity was so cool you guys😭

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I think the other ninja forget sometimes Lloyd isn’t actually Kai and Nya’s brother. Like yeah he’s Garmadon and Misako’s son but like whatever he’s a Jiang in their head.

Hell, I think WU forgets sometimes.

Wdym this isn’t canon? Because it’s canon to me.

It’s even funnier if any of the RGB gang also forgets. Like Kai and Nya referring to Ray and Maya as Dad and Mom to Lloyd, not our/my dad and mom. Or just making off hand comments to him like “oh you’re just like Mom, she does [x] thing too.”

Or Jay, Cole, and Zane being so used to their sibling shenanigans they genuinely forget and have mini “oh holy shit yeah” moments every time they’re reminded that Lloyd is in fact not related to the sibs.

And it’s SO FUNNY IF ITS WU!!!!!!! Like Wu being like “Lloyd, go get your brother and sister I need their help” and Lloyd is just mentally like okay??? Validating I guess????? And then Wu short circuits a bit when all three of them are there, and Lloyd is calling him Uncle while Kai and Nya aren’t.

Like just everyone, including the rgbs, forgetting is sooooooooo amusing to me. And not even in a Lloyd forgets Misako and Garmadon way. Like he knows they’re his parents and would never forget that, but he will forget that Kai and Nya aren’t blood on a daily basis.

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Smth short dedicated to @anarchicrealist and @megaloceros BC UH??? THANKS???? FOR THE KOFI?????? EIJDJDJDDJJ

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Lego Monstrosity was so awesome.