#but also we've never had a filling that blends in so well with the rest of the tooth. you can't tell there's a filling there when you look

[thethingything]

also though this dentist is genuinely the best dentist we've ever had.

she was really understanding about us having issues with toothpaste and we asked if she had any recommendations for alternatives we could try to see if those help and she gave us some options to look into so that's cool.

she also took our medical trauma into account and kept checking if we were okay throughout the appointment and asking if we needed to take breaks and we've never had a dentist do that before.

she warned us about what each tool would feel like too and actually warned us if something was going to be painful which like, I would in fact rather be warned that "this is going to be uncomfortable in this way" and "yeah this is gonna feel really bad for a few days but that's normal" than have someone try to reassure us that it won't be that bad only for it to get really painful.

our next appointment is to have a tooth removed and she explained the procedure to us and how that normally goes, and then we asked if we can take the tooth home afterwards and I can only assume from the look on her face that she's never been asked that before, but she was like "yeah I don't see why not, it is yours after all" so that's cool

[emmybeearts]

Day 17: Teeth

This cave is becoming more and more of a maze with every passing day. Tunnels split into dozens of branching pathways that go off into any and all directions. Some tunnels open up into expansive caverns while others narrow until you can just barely squeeze through. This cave system is becoming ever more dangerous as it is inconsistent. 

We had to pass through one such tunnel earlier today. The whole place began to narrow further and further until it got so narrow that even crawling on my stomach was a challenge. I don't think the wisp took into account the size of an average human when it chose its path. As we pushed through, eventually the narrow passageway abruptly opened into a much larger cavernous tunnel that I could once again stand up within. Looking back from where we just came, the narrow crawlway looked like nothing more than a crack in the cave wall.

Once we stepped out, we were immediately met with a heavy blanket of the white algae growing in a near perfect circle on the cave floor. My first thought was the algae was eating another fallen cave animal, as finding an animal shaped like a 3 meter disk would not be surprising to me at this point. However, near the center of the algal ring were hundreds of small, translucent, gelatinous pillars, all roughly 8-10 centimeters tall. It didn’t take too long to deduce what we had just stumbled upon. This was a nest full of eggs. Some animal must have built its nest here thinking it was the backmost part of the cave completely unaware of the immense winding system that lies behind the crack in the wall. 

Unfortunately, we were far from stealthy when we first entered this chamber. The scraping of metal against stone could probably be heard for miles as I pulled myself down that tunnel, not to mention Lily’s unceremonious entrance from the crevice three meters in the air which left them splayed flat on the floor. Our wisp guide also lit up the entire chamber in its pale blue glow. It's no wonder why the parent of these eggs was upon us so quickly. 

This animal was very brightly colored. I could see its bright yellow body, stripped with deep blue. It walked quadrupedally, tucking its primary arms close to its throat and its highly derived secondary legs against its shriveled stomach. It was already a frightful visage, but clearly its display had only just begun. Planting its thin, spindly legs firmly into the cave floor, it hoisted its body into the air flashing its deep blue underbelly. As if this wasn’t enough, its jaws sprung open wide revealing a glowing, blue gaping maw filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of glass like teeth. This horrible mouth now stood between us and the only way out of this cave.

We’ve brushed with death before, on this plane, but never so closely as at that moment. It didn’t want us anywhere near its nest and the only thing we wanted was to leave. There was no way we could turn back but I also knew I stood no chance at fighting a wild animal that's defending its young from an intruder. My options were incredibly limited so I fell back on the one skill I well and truly know and proceeded to analyze this bizarre animal and its behavior to figure out what we could do next. 

First of all, the animal looked frail. There was little musculature on any of its extremities and its core moved too fluidly to be restricted by dense, bulky muscles. Not to mention, being so isolated this deep in the caves, it likely doesn’t need to have the copious muscles required to fight or flee from predation. Second, its bright, aposematic coloration forced it to stand out against the rest of the dreary cave. Other ambush predators, that we've come across in this cave, prefer to blend in before striking their prey and this fearsome animal doesn’t possess the ability to blend in. 

My assumption was it was bluffing. It uses its massive, gaping mouth to make itself look larger and more scary, while not having enough bite force to actually do any real damage. It uses its bright colors to hold the attention of predators but still keeps stripes to break up its distinct shape and silhouette. It may be a carnivore, but it's hardly an apex predator. Most likely this animal is prey to many other things in this section of the cave, hence why it's nesting so far back. Despite its looks, I know animal behavior, and everything about this animal's front screamed “harmless threat display”. 

It wanted us to get away from its nest but I now knew it was powerless to do anything towards us. We couldn't go back but we now didn’t have to fight. Knowing more about this animal was all I needed to get us out of here. It was betting on its intimidation to get the best of me to make me lose my nerve; at that point I would have been as good as dead. And so, I chose to call its bluff. Gingerly, I stepped around the protective animal's nest, so as to not disturb the algae or the eggs within it, as I walked straight towards the massive set of jaws that blocked my path.

Luckily, I called correctly and the animal began to back up as I approached. I felt the static in the air again as a choking, guttural hiss reverberated from deep within its throat, sounding like a terrifying mix between the sounds of a cassowary and an alligator. The closer I got the farther it backed away until, walking with an air of confidence I've never felt my entire life, I found the animal behind me; the next leg of our journey no longer barred. 

As I was moving past, I tried to give the animal as much room as possible. I knew neither of us were happy with the situation we found ourselves in. Lily, however, in their glitched state, was far more curious than I. Sensing my lack of fear towards the animal, they ambled right up before it seemingly unaware of the genuine danger that it possessed. It hissed ever more aggressively and, seeing as Lily didn’t take the hint, the creature snapped its jaws shut with tremendous speed. 

Lily was fine, of course. Not only are they wrapped in a proactive metal shell, but I was also correct about the animal's weak bite force. What I wasn't expecting was the fragility of its outermost teeth. For such a weak bite, I wouldn't have expected one of its teeth to have broken off, and yet one did. It's possible that these teeth are like fangs of a smilodon, where they can be used for active hunting but rather are used to deliver the final blow. Perhaps they are for display only, or it could just be that they eat only soft bodied animals like the wisp and its jaws function as a giant net. 

So many things could have gone wrong in that moment. One slip up, one miscalculation, and that would've been the end of this mission for me. Looking back, even though it did feel really cool, what I did was stupidly dangerous and senseless. If this path needs to be re-explored in the future, I beg anyone who walks it to avoid this situation entirely rather than to do as I did. 

I did learn something very important from the encounter though. Even though this species is all bark and no bite, it is still, very much, a predator, and a large predator at that. Due to its apprehensive nature and defensive behaviors, it's clear that there are things in this cave that hunt it as well. Today, we stumbled across one thread in an ever growing food web. More complex predators means more and more prey animals. All of these animals have to be getting their sustenance from some original source. It can't all be a foundation of carnivorous algae, this food web must link back to the suns. We have to be getting close now.

[End Transcription]

[kazoohaa]

Miza, this is great. I adore what you did with a spellbound Rosa in your fantasy AU. IT'S SO GOOD! I can't stop re-reading it. How about another fun headcannon scenario for the team when Rosa takes one for a team member and ends up afflicted with a status effect (burned, paralyzed, poisoned, petrified, etc.)? (I'll leave the particulars of the scenario up to you~)

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍. tears of themis

— notes. tysm anon !! i'm having lots of fun writing this au ! the fbi agent watching me might turn up at my door after my research about poison for this LMAO

— characters. marius von hagen, luke pearce, artem wing, vyn richter + rosa (reader). slight angst.

metal clashing against each other, footsteps rumbling, arrows whizzing past, fire crackling and the sound of explosions filled the area.

some bandits had tried to use the darkness of the night as a cover for their surprise attack, and their bigger group was now surrounding yours.

you furrowed your brows, getting ready for the battle that would inevitably occur, and you could feel the others preparing their stances, getting ready to strike or defend at any second.

"what are you waiting for!?" one shouts, leading the rest of them to charge forward.

the five of you were already used to this kind of thing; you've come across lots of groups like this, both human and nonhuman, so you were ready for this.

most of the opposing group were quickly taken down within a few minutes. now there were around 3 left standing. they looked at each other and seemed to silently agree that with only them left, they'd never be able to win this fight.

so, as a last-ditch effort before running off into the shadows once more, they threw a glass bottle filled with some unknown liquid. realising its trajectory was heading towards one of your companions, you pushed them aside as you stepped forward in a panic.

making you get the full brunt of it.

"[NAME]!"

you looked down at your clothes which were now soaked in the dark purple liquid.

you felt a tingling sensation, followed by your body going numb. you dropped to your knees, legs not having the strength to hold you up anymore.

what the hell was that weird concoction...?

luke was the first to get to your side, already reaching forward to help you when marius grabbed his wrist. "wait. we don't know what she's covered in. it can potentially hurt us, too."

"but- but she's hurt!" luke reasons.

"i know what it is.." said artem. "that blend has an unmistakable scent and colour to it. it was made with a poisonous plant only found in tacitalle."

"that's a place near aerailin, isn't it? no wonder you'd be familiar with it." marius said.

"well, what do we do?!" luke panics.

"we'll have to treat it as soon as possible." vyn replies.

marius chucks a cloth to luke, who catches it and wipes off the remaining purply water off of you. then they get another cloth and wrap it around you like a cloak. luke picks you up now that you're all covered up, asking artem about the details of what this poison does.

"if i remember correctly, there's 4 parts that one will go through when poisoned by this plant. we've already seen the first: numbness. her magic will probably be affected as well, it'll weaken as time passes. then she'll start vomiting or have trouble breathing. the third stage is the most crucial, because if we don't act by that time, she'll go to the point of no return. the fourth stage is just a slow and painful death.." artem trails off. this clearly doesn't do anything to calm luke down.

"how... long does this take, exactly?"

"it happens over the span of a few days. 3 is the minimum, but others have experienced the stages more spread out, making it around a week or so."

you could feel your eyes getting heavier. it was harder to keep them open as each second passed.

"right, so.. how can we get onee-san the cure?"

"i'm afraid the cure is also only found in tacitalle..."

"isn't that... a whole mooncycle away?!"

[tastesoftamriel]

Okay, so we've heard the worst... what about the best (assuming you haven't stated this earlier and I've somehow overlooked it)? That food from each race which you could gladly imagine savoring for the rest of your life and never tire of it, your unquestioned favorite that you consider the most iconic example of each culture's style of cuisine.

I've written a list of my favourites before here, but I've got so many favourite foods that one list just simply is not enough. Here we go again! ~Talviel

Bosmer

Most people find wood elf cuisine to be rather bland, but for me there are a few standouts and traditional comfort food is one of them. My guilty pleasure is a good, old fashioned Valenwood-style stuffed meat roll, or "Y'ffre's roll". It's usually whatever the meat of the day is (often poultry or venison), which is then stuffed with cheese, wrapped in ham or bacon, and rolled in a buttery hoarvoar-carapace crust. Oh, it's also deep-fried in lard, and is normally about the size of a large skeever. Ingesting more than one of these annually is not recommended, especially for non-Bosmer.

Altmer

I'm going to get boxed for this back home in Skyrim, but I admit it. The Altmer are truly the pastry masters of Tamriel. My recent favourite has been an absolutely to-die-for sponge cake from Shimmerene. It's a wonderful tiered slice of soft sponge soaked in cherry blossom liqueur, delicate pistachio cream and fresh strawberries, and topped with a fresh, pitted lychee. I would swim all the way back to Summerset for another slice if I could.

Redguard

Could I ever get sick of Redguard cooking? No. My current obsession is braised goat-and-camel stew. I thought the camel thing was a little weird at the beginning too, but the meat is pulled to tender perfection, along with hearty boneless chunks of flame-roasted goat. It's served in a hot, garlic-based curry with okra, harissa and cumin, and is the perfect blend of fragrant and spicy. It's usually served with chickpea flatbread or couscous on the side, and is best washed down with a cold goat-milk lassi (or several).

Nord

Even though it's summer, I've been craving one of my favourite Nord winter dishes. I'm sorry to disappoint if you're expecting something fancy, but a big bowl of creamy rice porridge with a good dollop of butter, cinnamon, and sugar is one of the most satisfying foods on Nirn (doubly so if you have snowberry preserves). I'm not biased, you're biased!

Khajiit

Since I first went to Elsweyr, the people around me tend to comment that I eat a lot of pilau. It's not because it's the only food I like or anything, but just because it's so good. Pilau is a deliciously fluffy basmati rice dish, which is cooked with saffron, butter, moon sugar, and nuts. It's usually a side dish for the Khajiit, and while I'm happy to eat mine plain, it's customary to have with both meat and vegetable dishes.

Argonian

There are precisely two races on Nirn who consider frog to be a food: the Bretons and the Argonians. Why the other races don't want to join in is beyond me, because by Dibella's sweet milky melons, I think frog legs are delicious. In Black Marsh there are a few different ways of cooking them, my absolute favourite is stir-fried frog legs with swamp ginger, oyster sauce, fiery marsh peppercorns, and loads of garlic and onions. They're meant to be eaten with your hands in a group, with everyone sitting around a large bowl. The gravy at the bottom is served with hot steamed barley, and I absolutely recommend Argonian garlic frog legs to all non-picky eaters who aren't afraid of flavour!

Orc

Orcish cuisine is another of those off-putting areas even for Tamrielic food aficionados, but those who know where to look will find some true gems. While I'm not normally a fan of horker or chub loon, I have developed quite an appetite for Old Orsinium-style barbecue skewers. I don't even know what goes into most of these mystery skewers, but I've had stronghold chefs and Hearth-wives tell me that depending on what's available, any game is game from echatere to venison, horse and even wild mammoth. Meat chunks are stacked with peppers, turnips, potatoes, and other root vegetables. The entire skewer is basted with a secret frost mirriam-based barbecue sauce, which varies between clans and regions. The trick to getting these meat skewers so delicious lies in the sheer heat of the roasting fire, which is in this case actually in the forge!  Barbecue skewers are usually a staple when Hunt-, Forge-, and Hearthwives have a good relationship with each other and work together, and it's said that a stronghold with a good meat skewer is one that's ruled well.

Breton

I've been dreaming about the lovely pine-nut, cheese, and spinach giant tortelli from High Rock lately, and for good reason. Take your average tortellini, made with a fresh egg dough, and make it about the size of a palm. Stuff it with a fragrant blend of pine nuts, ricotta and pecorino cheeses, seasoned minced spinach, and serve with a rich browned butter sauce and more pine nuts. A timeless classic that's both simple yet satisfying.

Dunmer

It may be the influence of my friend @lisandrelovesyams , but I went from being rather skeptical to rather fanatical about ash yams. I have quite a fondness for the Grey Quarter staple: jacket ash yams. The biggest ash yams are baked to perfection, and filled with whatever the day's produce is. A typical jacket yam comes stuffed with stewed bantam guar or smoked seafood (usually salmon or crab), Eidar cheese, spicy saltrice mash, and if you're lucky, a good dollop of scuttle on top. It's a Skyrim-inspired take on Dunmeri cuisine and is an absolute delight on a cold day, washed down with a mug of shein.

Imperial

Ah, my beloved Cyrodiilic fare. Now that summer is here, I am very much enjoying cooking with all the lovely fresh vegetables currently in season! One of my absolute favourite dishes is a classic risotto with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, rocket, and a good measure of Surilie Brothers pinot grigio. Top it with a good amount of cave-aged West Weald parmesan and crispy pancetta, and you have an instant winner that even vegetable-haters will love!

[parachutingkitten]

Season 4 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challenged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Mood for the season: It's a SuPeR fUn HaPpY pLaCe!!!!!

You don’t need to, but if you are interested, and haven’t seen my analysis of past seasons, you can find those here:

Pilot

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Hey guys! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Season 4! We are here! I am SO biased with this season. It has problems man. It has ALL the problems! ALL the plot holes! ALL the stupid, stupid stuff, but I LOVE ALL OF IT! okay, let's back up. I'm about to drop some context on you. 

So, when you're a military brat you tend to make friends with whoever you can, and when I lived in Germany I had a friend who was fandom OBSESSED. She, at the time, was super into Homestuck, something I managed to avoid being sucked into, though I do know more about it than I would like. Anyway, this was the point at which I started getting sucked into Ninjago. So, I figured that if I could trust anyone with a strange obsession, it was her. I showed her the last episode of season 3, and she decided she was just going to dive head first into it with me. We watched season 4 together as it came out, we talked about it, had a bunch of inside jokes about it, I wrote some very short fanfiction about it, she made some OCs, one in particular that I remember was Stormy, a ditzy cloud master who wore pink, we shipped him with... one of my OCs, I don't remember. She hadn't watched the first two seasons, so I had to fill her in on a lot, but she was the first person I ever fandomed with, and it was over season 4. So I guess you could say season 3 was the grand beginning of my love for this show, and season 4 was the peak of my fangirl experience (at least for that phase of my life).

Plot

This season is a real mixed bag. Coming off the heels of the first season, nothing makes sense. Suddenly there are more elements, completely discrediting Lloyd's supposed power of four powers. And now it's genetic, which brings up the problem of Jay, who... if either Ed or Edna were masters, they would have slipped by now (but also like, how cool would it be if Edna just busted out with lightning powers) and then Zane who... doesn't have genes. It makes the world bigger, yes, but it also discredits the lore of the last two seasons, and brings up the question "Where the hell were the rest of the EMs when the Great Devour attacked? Or the stone warriors? Or the final battle?!" Anyway, it's a bit jarring and sudden to say the least. It definitely was not planned beforehand. There aren't even any hints in season 3. Like wouldn't it be cool if in season 3 we saw them go to the noodle shop, or Wu was really vague about elemental questions. It would make a lot more sense then. Idk. It opens the universe up to the plotlines of most of the future seasons, but it does sort of discredit the first two. This season is also kinda choppy feeling wise. You go from the mood the past season have had in the first episode to this sort of native tribal feel on the island, and then the factory and then back to Ninjago. It's kinda a mess. Overall it was just an excuse to put these characters in cool situations (which I have done before, I understand). Which I get, and it makes for some cool stuff, but I don't think any of it ends up meshing together super well in the end. When I think of this season I think of the tournament. I forget about the whole snake stuff at the end most of the time. I forget about the while Garmadon conflict. The fact that I forget that's there has to be a bad sign, right?

Characters

Character work this season is really pretty good for the most part! There are a lot of new characters. And they all are very distinct and fun, and even when two people you don't know especially well battle, you're still really invested. All of the Cole and Jay stuff is pretty good this season! Major upgrade from season 3. The whole fight scene is absolutely fantastic. Garmadon is freaking awesome this season. He keeps on trying to kill himself, and it's stupid, and the show sort of acknowledges that it's stupid, cuz Lloyd is just like 'dude, what the heck'. Kai's arch this season is pretty good, exploring his darker side and putting that intense conflict in front of him was good. I can tell you one thing, I like it a heck of a lot better than season 7, but we'll get to that when we get to that. So, yeah. Overall improvement in character! It doesn't dive super deep or anything, but it all works and is all interesting.

Skylor

So... she is one of the reasons I call this season the fanfiction season. We have a whole bunch of other elemental masters we've never heard of, and one of them their power is... all the powers. I can not tell you how much this ticked me off! And she hardly ever uses them! She has pretty much infinite power, and she doesn't think to use it, pretty much ever! There are no restrictions on her! This is what I hate Skylor for. And I do mean hate. BUT aside from that, strictly character wise she is done pretty well. She feels pretty fake and overly sassy at the beginning of the season, but there's a reason for that. It's an act. But it's not like she changed her personality to fool him, she intensified her personality to cover her intentions. Her arch feels pretty natural. That one scene where she does the evil laugh... that was weird. But aside from that, it feels okay. She was raised to think that lying and cheating is the norm, so when someone presents her with another option she begins to change. It makes sense. I love the scene where Kai and her look at each other through the prison bars and (even though their freaking legos) you can feel her realization that she's ashamed of what she's doing now. And after she makes the transition, she's just really chill. Like, I would like to hang out with her. I guess it is kinda sweet that even though she had all of the powers of... ever, at the end she's happy to just run her noodle shop. It's kinda poetic. Anyway, she may be a bit overpowered, and she feels like a bit of a Mary Sue, but overall her personality and interactions are enjoyable enough for me to mostly ignore that. I do agree that she is best used in moderation. She doesn't need to be part of the team. I wish we had a quick cameo each season, but whatever. What we have now in season 9 is nice, but she definitely needs to step back out of the spotlight in future seasons (knock on wood) in order to remain as likable as she's been.

Karlof

Love him. Freaking love him. Honestly, I probably relate to him the most. He's the first loser of the tournament, he avoids trouble, he sticks to what he knows, and he says it like it is. I love his interactions with everyone down in the noodle factory. He's like this perfect blend of optimism and pessimism. His interactions with Cole are beautiful. Their chemistry is really great. One of, I think everyone's favorite masters, and there's a reason why.

Shade

So... typical darkness character. Obviously selfish. But once the climax hits, I actually like him a lot. He kinda serves as an antagonist at first and then flips. It's kinda cool seeing a character with moral boundaries that far out. He's purposely suspicious to take attention away from Skylor, which I get. I think he has a lot of missed potential, but nonetheless, a decent character.

Neuro

I absolutely love his power! I love his manor, I love his voice. He may well be my favorite EM. I don't even know what else to say about this guy. If Karlof is who I am, Neuro is who I'd like to think I am. Calculated, calm, reasonable, and much like Karlof again, not too risky. I like him a lot. Cool guy. I like seeing how far he's willing to go for the ninja, and where certain lines are for him. It's kinda cool to watch. He could use a friend though. I HC he and Paleman hang out. Both quiet. Both reserved. Neuro could probably locate him in a room even if he's not visible. Idk. Anyway, I like him a lot! Great character.

Griffin Turner

Classic speedster. Good enough. Not much to say. He's fun. He's cool. He's what you'd expect. Decent screen time. None of it particularly character developing. For what he is, he's good at it.

Jacob

So, let's ignore the part where they made us think he was dead. He's a lot of fun. Good for them getting a blind character in there. Still confused on what his powers can... do? But I like his spunk. I think we all have a little soft spot for him.

Chamille

One of the only girls and she's pretty much evil. Why do girls have to be evil at one point to be interesting? Idk. Don't really care for her, don't really think much about her. Whatever. She's there. She serves her purpose. Fine. Okay. Moving on.

Paleman

Friggin love him. For the master of light to be invisible is a great move, and pretty creative. His voice is kinda obvious, but very distinct. It's a creative background character to have. I like him a lot. Again, I feel he could use some more love. See above Neuro HC. Like him a lot and... yay.

Bolobo

Kinda missed the "mother nature" pun... could have had at least one more female master... that's okay. He's cool enough. Kinda disappointing though. I mean, vines? Is that it?

Gravis

Gravity is a dang cool power. Idk what else to say. He doesn't get a ton of screen time, so it's hard to praise him too much, but yeah. I really like that. Actually had an FC (she was a villain but you know whateves) with the power, so seeing that be a real element they used is really cool.

Ash

I don't like him. He's very strange. He's just got that one laugh. He seems comically over the top a jerk. I like the way his mouth looks though. Unique and kinda cool. I was looking on his Wiki page, and it said he and Chamille kissed in the background at one point? Is that true? I am way curious now

Tox

Okay. She's nonexistent here, no personality. I guess she's kinda tough. Yeah, this gets confirmed later in season 9, when she speaks. But even there she's pretty nonexistent. Here's my idea. Instead of having all your females being 'tough' why not flip expectation on its head? I think it would be way funny and clever if the master of poison was super friendly, and bubbly, and genuinely a nice person. I'm thinking almost like Jay's (lightning... or I guess adopted) mom, levels of talkative and nice. Wouldn't that be kinda fun? Idk. Whatever. It is what it is.

Kapau and Chope

Best villains ever 10/10. 'Nuff said.

Romance

KAILOR

Okay, I freaking love them! They're not my favorite couple or anything, but they work really, really well… under certain conditions. There are a few bumps I can't ignore. Can we have a protagonist in the show who doesn't send googly eyes at their future love interest the first moment they see her? And remember when they made us think Kai and Skylor were related... yeah... why did we need to do that? That was... kinda uncomfortable. BUT other than that, Skylor is exactly what Kai needed. First, he needed a redhead. Duh. Second, he needed someone who would see right through his Kai shmoltz and be real with him. Third, she had to be fun. And finally, she needed to wear the pants in the relationship. And Skylor fills ALL of those requirements! I like that Kai falls for her right away, and I love that she doesn't think she likes him until... she totally does and it's like 'Oh SNAP!'. I love that weird scene where Chen walks around with Kai like he's already his son in law, that cracks me up! I guess I like them more in theory than in practice. It feels a touch forced, and it needed a bit more time. Point being, the beginnings of the relationship are extremely awkward and strange, but towards the end of the season, it gets good! I just wish we could see more :)

The... love... triangle

Alright, by now, you guys should know how I feel about these things. They suck. They're stupid. I hate them. They're pointless. And this season is... quite possibly the stupidest. So... the whole Garma-Wu-Sako... thing this season is that Wu wrote a letter to Misako a long time ago, and Garmadon stole it, and then... Misako *groan* used it to determine which of them she was going to marry... okay. Yeah, Garmadon, that was a crap thing to do. But you know what, he was evil. Wu should have just signed the thing when he wrote it. But also, Misako... WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' GIRL?! Why... would you let a letter... be the final deciding point? I don't get that. And my main problem is that she basically chose her husband based on his writing ability. The thoughts Wu had in the letter obviously directly express what Garmadon wanted to say. In the end, his feelings for her were still the same. The only thing different is that he didn't write it. He's not good with words the way Wu is. But the show treats it like he lied about his feelings, and didn't even like her. Like he was using her for personal gain or manipulation or something. Idk. The whole thing makes no sense. Now, maybe if he did something to make Wu directly look bad or disingenuous THAT would be understandable. But... idk. I don't get it. Misako sucks. Let's move on.

Villians

Chen

Chen is my favorite villain. Hands down. No competition. Any way you slice it. I friggin love the heck out of this dude. And here's why. First off, he's a very comedic villain that still remains extremely threatening, which is an extremely thin line to walk. I mean, think about it. With all the other villains, they were intimidating, and the henchmen provided the humor. Here, I guess you could say they flipped it cuz Clouse is pretty intimidating, but Chen is still crazy scary on his own. And here's how they do it: He's insane. Straight up, he has lost his mind. Nothing he does makes sense, but that's fine, cuz it probably makes total sense to him. You can laugh at the quirky things he does, but also live in fear knowing that he has trap doors installed EVERYWHERE. Why? Cuz he likes them! Is there a better reason than that when you're crazy! That was my problem with people with Pythor. He is so smart, why didn't he ever think that the devourer might eat him too?! There is no explanation. But with Chen, that doesn't matter! He wants to be a snake! Why? Why not?! No flaws in that thinking, right? This is also why I like Ultra Violet so much. She's the only one to rival his position, but because she's more of a side villain, I don't feel that's enough to dethrone him. With insane villains, you never have any idea what they're playing at, if it's smart, or how to counteract, cuz they're just insane. I mean, seriously,

"Chen, the ninja have figured out our plan, what should we do?"

"COOL! Let's tell EVERYONE our plan!"

And it works! I love his voice. Just the way he says things makes me so happy! He's having so much fun, and I have fun with him! 10/10 villain. Great work.

Clouse

I can't get past the voice. It sounds so over the top evil and... it's kinda annoying for me? He has a decent backstory and such, but whenever he's on screen I always find myself wishing it was Chen. He just sucks the fun out of everything and leaves nothing there, so most of his interactions aren't particularly interesting. I don't know. Never really thought much of him.

Humor

Needless to say everything with Chen works! Everything with the EMs works. Jay's whole Positive Thinking streak is amazing! There's not a lot that falls flat on its face. It's really pretty fantastic.

Favorite joke: too many to count. If I had to pick one...

Chen's: the reds, the purples, the super dark purples!

Drama

This season has some damn good drama. It has my personal most sad moment in all of Ninjago. I'm of course talking about Garmadon's death...  JK! XD I WAS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY THROUGH THAT SEQUENCE! But we’ll get to that later. Okay. But for real, my personal most heartbreaking moment is when we find out Pixal is scrapped (of course it's Pixal related) but seriously, watching this for the first time, it broke my heart hardcore. I audibly gasped. They have these conversations, and she realizes he doesn't remember her, and it hurts her because they were comPATABLE GOSH DANG IT! And then he starts remembering, and she knows she can't go with him, so she lies to him to give him the motivation to make it out, and then the reveal, and Zane's heart breaks, and your heart breaks. This whole scenario reminds me of my own writing, it has all these things I enjoy using. Distinctions between fantasy and reality, characters lying to each other to protect them, and an ending realization of total and complete emptiness. Of course, Pixal is added into his head, and all is fine and dandy. It works for this season but serves her worse in future seasons. Regardless, that moment when Pixal says 'scrapped' is the most depressing thing I've ever seen. All of the Zane drama this season works really well. Zane having an identity crisis is something I didn't think the show would handle. When Zane says he's just a clone if himself I was like 'oh, dang! They went there!'. It's almost like he's comparing himself to Cryptor, and it's some heavy stuff. Everything this season is shrouded in mystery. I love that. For the first half of the season or so, I really like the tournament stuff. But as we get Cole, and especially Jay in the noodle factory, that plotline gets much more interesting. I don't get into the Nya and Lloyd and Garmadon stuff that much. The stuff with Kai is okay. But overall, there's some good stuff.

Climax

Okay, so... I... I mean I like the build up. The thing with all the trucks is really good. Most of it was really pretty good with all the EMs doing stuff the ninja would usually do. But the whole ending thing, with getting mini Pythor involved, and you know. The whole Garmadon death thing. He died an honorable death and all that, but... idk, I can't get past Lloyd's voice. As he reads him off I just couldn't stop giggling! It's so overdramatic, they feel like they need to make Lloyd mad at his dad for whatever reason so he can come back at the last second, and it all feels so forced. And then the ending is super overly cheesy for how serious the show wants to take itself at that moment. Idk. I don't like it. One of my least favorite finales.

Spotlight episode

There are some good ones to choose from this season. Some real good ones. But the one I find myself watching the most is Ninja Roll. This episode doesn't have too high stakes, it doesn't make much sense, it's kind of pointless, but it perfectly encapsulates the reason I watch Ninjago. I don't know exactly why I watch Ninjago. I'm not into the action most of the time. The romance is cute, but not potent enough to warrant watching the show. The humor isn't revolutionary, the characters aren't especially deep. No, the reason I watch Ninjago is cuz it's fun. Ninjago is just a good time. It has just enough of all of those aspects to make for something I love. It makes me smile. With seasons 8, and especially 9, Ninjago has shifted into this darker action based, lore-driven thing, which I thought I would like, and I do, but I think it's lost a bit of that fun factor. In my opinion, Ninjago is it's best when it's self-aware, and doesn't take itself overly seriously. When you don't have to end the season on an ominous dark cliffhanger. I mean really. What is this? Chima? No. I just want to go hang out with the ninja and the gang, whatever it is their doing. This episode takes advantage of every situation a roller derby with the ninja provides. Of course Jay roller skates with his mom. Of course, Kai is incompetent at it. Of course, Chen cheats, of course, it all comes down to Lloyd. Of course, there's freaking buggies that Chen releases! This whole episode makes me smile and laugh and it has a good message. This is what I miss about Ninjago, and that's why it's my spotlight.

Misc

I know everyone always teases Jay about his TV show, but what about Kai and his wrestling career? I just feel like that would come up more often

I completely subscribe to the theory that Pixal was scrapped to fix Zane cuz they beat him up so badly when capturing. I'd kinda like to think Pixal even volunteered herself for it... ONE SHOT IDEA

I have to scratch... my face.

I need a number on the trap door to button ratio on the island

This season has my favorite intro of any season. Mainly cuz the remix is FIRE and I hate the fact that they don't have an extended version that sounds more like the opening itself. 

So all together, the word to sum up season 4 is fun. Definitely not technically the best, or the smartest, or the most well done, but it's my favorite because of nostalgia, my inner child, and because it makes me smile. I love this season.

- Maya (Parachutingkitten)