#even when watching LEGO NINJAGO

[sea-jello]

@nyaskitten tumblr ate your fucking ask uhh ignore how this is months later BUT i finally watched dr s2 AND

I GET IT NOW. I UNDERSTAND.

[razzledazzle247]

Sons of Garmadon au where when Harumi summons Lord Garmadon, she ends up summoning all of Garmadon, but because she was looking for specifically “Lord” Garmadon, it ends up splitting him in two, with Lord G having all the evilness and the arms, and Sensei G having basically everything else, including memories

So when Lord G breaks Harumi out of prison, Sensei G is looking for Lloyd and the Ninja confused about how he’s alive and where he is because Ninjago City didn’t used to look like that. When Harumi starts the broadcast in the prison, he sees it and hightails it to save Lloyd from his emo- sorry- Evil years personified.

When he gets there, there’s a lot of confusion going around because why is there two of them and why do they look so different???

Sensei G kicks Lord G’s ass no questions

[saxophoniannation]

DR Spoilers! Ahead!

[candles-and-rainy-skies]

Rewatching ninjago for nostalgia and boy did I forget how badly they treated Zane in the beginning.

[jinxed-ninjago]

PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THESE GUYS LOOK LIKE THEY WALKED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE MATRIX MOVIES????

[delusional-cryptid]

I’m just now getting back into Ninjago, so here’s my preliminary ref sheets for the boys!

(Kindly ignore Zane I’m thoroughly struggling- also haven’t done Lloyd’s or nya’s yet so gimme grace lmao)

[cookii-moon]

yeah hi so I would like to say that in my opinion the perfect ending for Skybound wouldn't be Jay and Nya kissing. It wouldn't be them getting married 50 fan seasons later. It wouldn't be the time reversal or the lack of time reversal.

You guys are SLEEPING on the ideal version for Skybound and that is the ninja firing Dareth, and Nya standing up for herself. Literally. Nya walks up to him and it's just a badass "YOU KNOW WHAT HOW ABOUT NO" and launches into a rant about all the ways he's being unfair/mistreating the ninja (and Nya!!) and then after that they all just fire him on the spot, then they get a super kind and supportive new agent who is so much better than Dareth. Bonus points if they also hook them up with a therapist.

[botslayer9000]

WHEN DID LEGO SETS GET SO EXPENSIVE⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️

[marlenesluv]

ello bby i was wondering if u could do a smau of oscar piastri x gf (@jazmynmakenna) and shes OBSESSED with the lego movie and lego ninjago (theyre straight up the funniest movies ive ever seen)

Legos and Laps. (OP)

hi lovee!! and omg yes, i love lego everything, so this was so fun to make. i hope you like it! (i need to watch lego ninjago!) also the title is supposed to be like, cute, but it’s not, but pretend it is, guys!

fc: jazmynmakenna

pairing: oscar piastri x fem!reader

warnings: slight suggestive pics i guess

masterlist here -> masterlist link

^ check my list for all posts! ^

liked by: oscarpiastri, lilymhe, and 95,018 others

y/n.user: get you a bf who takes your love for legos seriously🧡

view comments…

oscarpiastri: i love you and your lego obsession❤️

↳ y/n.user: i love youuuuu❤️

user2: ✍️get a bf who will support my obsessions✍️

piasstrifppp: you guys are genuinely the cutest ever wtf

landonorris: the lego obsession is out of this world

↳ oscarpiastri: so what?

↳ landonorris: 🙄

mclareneditss: AWWWW that’s way too cute

user7: the way he is happy to pay all the money to get her lego sets and make experiences for them to watch the movies 🥹

mclaren: hey, y/n!! are you fairy batman or regular batman? we could see oscar being either!

↳ y/n.user: hi! i’m regular batman, oscar’s is the fairy

↳ oscarpiastri: no its not. yours is the fairy😐

user4: LMAOOOO MCLAREN ADMIN STIRRING THE POT

f1wags: lego loving wag💗

carmenmmundt: the way you match regular batman🖤

↳ y/n.user: this is why i chose regular batman! oscar is just fairy batman coded

↳ carmenmmundt: fr!!!!

↳ oscarpiastri: @georgerussell63 make your gf stop making fun of me

↳ georgerussell63: no thank you. besides, your gf is doing it too

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

liked by: y/n.user, landonorris, and 205,148

oscarpiastri: she’s the nya to my jay❤️‍🔥

view comments…

y/n.user: 😭i’m😭not😭crying😭you😭are😭

↳ oscarpiastri: don’t cry🧻

↳ landonorris: toilet paper?

↳ oscarpiastri: they don’t have a tissue box??

↳ y/n.user: i’ll take the toilet paper

f1updates: WOW hearts = melted. me = single = sad

op81fp: the way the first pic of them matches jay and nya in the second

vroomedits3: they are sooo jay and nya coded

user3: the pic of y/n in her cowboys boots? LOL

↳ f1fp777: i think it’s from austin lolol

logansargeant: best f1 grid couple 😝

↳ y/n.user: thanks logan 😝

↳ logansargeant: you’re welcome 😝

user6: i love how y/n is j friends with half the grid now bc of oscar

↳ opy/n81: y/n met logan before f1! and she met a few other before oscar was in f1 when he was with alpine lol. but they are so cute

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

liked by: oscarpiastri, logansargeant, and 97,138 others

y/n.user: the middle pic is me and oscar if you even care

view comments…

oscarpiastri: it literally is

*liked by creator*

f1wags: y/n 🤝 lego franchise references

charlottesine: you guys are so cute, miss you!💗

↳ y/n.user: ty cha☹️🩷i miss you too!

logansargeant: im lego batman, if you even care

↳ oscarpiastri: right

user8: im never gonna get over how they are literally soulmates

lilymhe: y/n x lego collab when?

↳ y/n.user: 😫😫 literally

papayafampics: our papaya parents are top tier

mclaren: favorites!!🧡

y/nfp1: motherrrrrr

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

your instagram story:

seen by: oscarpiastri, charlottesine, and 73,230 others

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

liked by: oscarpiastri, landonorris, and 95,240 others

y/n.user: australian gp dump🇦🇺❤️

view comments…

oscarpiastri: i kinda look like that lego guy….

↳ y/n.user: EMMET

↳ oscarpiastri: sorry, i kinda look like emmet

↳ y/n.user: yeah

f1wags: THE FOURTH PIC😭☹️🥹

prattprattpratt: emmet!

↳ y/n.user: omg chris!!!!

charlottesine: cuteeee🔥💗

*liked by creator*

user4: our lego obsessed queen!!!!!!!!!!

op81editsss: i live for oscar and emmet looking like twins here

y/nsfp1og: naturally a stunner

legoquotes: our fav lego lover😋

logansargeant: not sure why i’m not in this dump but okay

↳ y/n.user: quit whining i’ll post you later, drama queen

↳ logansargeant: exCUSE ME

↳ landonorris: you’re excused….brah

↳ logansargeant: i’m not your “brah”

↳ oscarpiastri: iconic!

user8: is the second pic you or oscar? cuz it could rly be either

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

liked by: y/n.user, charles_leclerc, and 211,294 others

oscarpiastri: australian gp, legos, and … that’s it!

view comments…

y/n.user: 😳😳

↳ oscarpiastri: oooopppsssieee

papaya481edits: oh my gosshhhhhh

opy/n8: logan got his pic!

user3: HELLO?????? you can’t just show us two cute and innocent pics and then the THIRD ONE

f1wags: y/n’s lucky fr

logansargeant: i got posted….but with this selection?

↳ oscarpiastri: he grateful

ln4quadedit: okkkkk we see you oscar. shy driver is getting a little bold lately

f1editpage: i cant unsee that (i don’t want to tho)

user9: OH MAN

landonorris: im sure mclaren will LOVE that you posted that on your main instagram, you muppet

↳ oscarpiastri: idc

↳ landonorris: 🙄wtv

mclarenposts: sassy teammates

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

your instagram story:

seen by: oscarpiastri, lilymhe, and 79,164 others

oscars instagram story:

seen by: y/n.user, logansargeant, and 200,923 others

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

(reposts, comments, and likes are appreciated!^-^)

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Tis a niche of its own

Sorry there is only two female characters, I kinda pulled these off the top of my head and probably missed a ton of other candidates. Reblog with an addition if you have one!

Edit: I forgot to make this poll a week long! Once this poll ends I'll remake it with new additions depending on the results (the characters with the fewest results will be replaced with suggested characters from the notes so be sure to suggest some!) in the meantime tho plz reblog to increase sample size

This follows my own definition of what "Comic Relief" means: A character that is used as a conduit for comedy in a piece of media

Through character studies I have determined that there are 5 types of comic relief: the Character Relief, the Audience Relief, the Tone Shifter, the Butt of the Joke, and the Slapstick. Characters that identify as "Comic Relief" usually fall into one or more of these categories

Further explanation under the cut

The Character Relief refers to a character who actively makes jokes to be funny in-universe through conscious humor. Examples from this poll would be Sans and Rayla, who go out of their way to make their friends laugh

The Audience Relief refers to a character who makes the audience laugh regardless of their impact on the story. Examples from this poll would be Lapis and Gus, who are often involved in comedic bits meant for audience entertainment that aren't acknowledged by the narrative as anything unprecedented

The Tone Shifter refers to a character who makes jokes to relieve tension and shift the tone of a scene, either consciously or unconsciously. Examples from this poll would be Jay and Leo, as they both consciously make jokes about grim situations to help their friends or family feel better. Additionally, Jay would do this unconsciously before his trauma made him start doing it on purpose

The Butt of the Joke refers to a character who is made fun of by other characters in-universe, whether endearingly or not. Examples from this poll would be Dewey and Lance, who are often met with insults whenever they do something wrong or silly. The insults are usually meant to be endearing and comedic, but they can still feed into the character's possible inferiority complex. This also applies whenever a villain hits them with a sick burn*

The Slapstick refers to a character who is made fun of by the narrative and the audience like a punching bag. Examples from this poll would be Sokka and Yusuke, who are sometimes put in troubling and awkward situations as a gag for the audience's entertainment alone. These gags are not fun for the characters yet delightful to watch

Most comic relief characters can be characterized as multiples of these. For example, Jar-Jar from Star Wars is both Slapstick and Audience Relief, and even if you don't find his jokes funny that doesn't change the fact that they were written with your entertainment in mind

If you're curious how a "The Narrative's Favorite (derogatory)" character would fit into this chart, they're likely both a Butt of the Joke and a Slapstick character, making their life absolute hell. To be honest, MK from Monkie Kid is an example of a character who fits all 5 categories, but he isn't blue so he isn't in this poll

*Ok if you've ever seen Phineas and Ferb Mission Marvel let me just say MODOK is a total Butt of the Joke and my favorite line in that special is when a TV announcer calls him a "Giant Chicken Egg with a Face" and I just had to mention that omg

[esmedelacroix]

25 days til' Christmas

going toy shopping and running into singleparent!miguel o'hara ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆

----------------------------------------------------------------------

One more gift. You just had one more gift to get for your daughter. Two more minutes until you arrived at the only boutique in town that had it in stock. Three more sets and you are at the door. Then, there you saw it. The last Lego Ninjago set in the world. Four strides and you were in front of it. You quickly got your hands on it. But just as it was in your hands it was gone. Someone had snatched it away.

You whipped your head around to see the tallest and most handsome thief ever. Sorry good looking but that Lego set is mine, you thought to yourself as you swiftly tried to take it back from him.

That behemoth of a man dared to hold the toy above his head. "Hey, this isn't fair give that back!" you exclaimed, jumping as high as you could trying to snatch it. He even looked amused by your efforts.

"I took it first, so it's mine," he explained.

"No! I touched it first!" you said poking a finger into his chest naturally.

"You touched it with one hand, I touched it with two," he counted. Around you burn the flaming aura of two parents who love their kids more than anything and are determined to get them this toy for them.

"Listen jackass, my kid needs to have this toy," you said, finally giving up on taking it.

"Well my daughter wants it too, can't we make this work," he questioned.

"No, we can't 'make this work', that's the last one," you argued, raising your voice a bit.

"Why don't we just organize a playdate, and have our kids build and play with the set together," he proposed. You gave it thought before nodding.

"Okay, I could do that, but I'm buying it, and we're meeting at my house," you said sternly. Once he let his guard down you snatched the set and put it behind her back.

"Alright, alright, I can work with that, here hand me your phone," he said holding his hand out. You handed him your phone and put his number in it.

"Please shoot me a text anytime this week," he says as he bids you goodbye.

"Will do, Miguel O'Hara," you said, reading his name off of your phone.

. . .

Knock! Knock! Kno—you swung the door open and greeted Miguel and his daughter with a nod. You were on the phone, your hair still wet from the shower you had just taken.

"Mariana is in the living room, I'll join you all soon," you said before walking into the kitchen seemingly arguing with someone on the phone in a hushed tone.

Once you entered the living room the girls were already working on their Legos bonding over Cole being their favorite character from the show.

You set some snacks down for them and joined Miguel on the couch watching them play together in a comfortable silence. Once the girls were done building and started making their own stories you and Miguel started chatting a bit. Other than the grudge you had against him from what happened in the store, he was kind of funny. But effortlessly, he just speaks and then wonders why you're stifling laughter.

The four of you decided to play Candyland together over gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate. Gabriella and Mariana occasionally bumped the two of you together thinking that they were being slick with their matchmaking. The two of you knew that there was a lingering flirtatious tension between the two of you and that your daughters had caught on.

In saying goodbye hours after your daughters' play session, your bodies parted but your eyes stayed connected. That connection pulled your souls together and in that moment you felt as though you could hear his thoughts, and he could hear yours. "When can I see you again?" Miguel asked after getting Gabriella into the car.

You cocked your brow at his questions. "Our daughters can see each other for another playdate over the weekend," you teased.

With that you and Miguel said goodbye. Awaiting the next time you and your kids would meet.

. . .

next part → 14 days til' Christmas

----------------------------------------------------------------------

taglist:

@aripet22@to-the-endoftheline

[sea-jello]

long long time ago we were talking about the cursed realm being ninjagos version of hell and lil nas x call me by your name so here we are

[basicallyjaywalker]

Wanna ramble about a moment/character in ninjago you think people need to talk about more?

I don't know who you are anon, but I'm glad you asked!

I am desperate for people to character-analyze Wu. I'm desperate for a lot of character analysis including Nya but since I got a lot of my Nya feelings out with some lovely folks the other night (edit: the other night was a month ago dw about it. this took a minute) I'm going with Wu this time

Master Wu to me is such an interesting case of a character who it is so easy to ignore the bits of the show that hint at his wider issues and traumas. He is a man defined heavily by his family and by his past. A lot of criticism he gets, I think, is due in part to that.

I've mentioned before that I've been rewatching S1 with a friend of mine and intermittently pausing to infodump on them about interesting character things I notice from that season. A lot of that has been Wu-focused because despite having seen RotS dozens of times throughout my life (watching it on CN, watching it on Netflix when only it and Legacy were around, rewatching it with friends) I have only just started noticing the seeds of character written in.

I might also just be reading too much into things, but hear me out

In S1 (and by extension, the pilots), Wu is characterized as your typical old wise teacher. In the first few minutes of EP1: Rise of the Snakes, he is chewing out the Ninja for playing video games instead of training. The line he uses? "Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today."

It's a line that gets repeated throughout the series. In fact, it gets repeated that very episode when the ninja go (pun not intended) to fight the Hypnobrai and a literal pre-teen. At first, it seems to just be a piece of wisdom. Some old proverb Wu's picked up over the years, possibly one he even coined himself. However, in EP7: Tick Tock, Wu tells the story of who, possibly, first told him this.

(Source: Tick Tock/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added.)

It was Garmadon. Now, I'm not gonna dwell too long on Garmadon, if you spend five minutes talking to me you'll learn he was the first character whose story I obsessed over and I want this essay to be about Wu, but I think he plays a role in Wu's overall story, as does Wu's family as a whole.

Prior to this, Wu and Garmadon's relationship has been more of a sibling rivalry taken to a good vs. evil extreme. We didn't know why Garmadon was evil and we didn't know about Wu and his relationship as kids. However, this scene establishes the backstory. They were, as Wu puts it, "the best of friends." That is, until Garmadon gets bit by the Devourer going to get the katana Wu lost.

Now, I know the Devourer bite was destined to happen because of the Overlord or some shit, but Wu doesn't. As far as he's concerned, Garmadon getting bit was a direct consequence of both his mistake and his cowardice. He lost the katana. He was too scared to get it. Garmadon went over instead. Garmadon got bit.

The scene goes on to show the FSM tending to Garmadon in the aftermath. Wu is watching from behind the door, likely told to stay back, but concerned. And in his POV, we get this intense moment, where Garmadon turns, looks directly at him (his eyes turning bright red for the first time), and says "It's all Wu's fault!"

(This clip should begin at the start of Wu eavesdropping. If it doesn't, skip to 0:58. I highly recommend also paying attention to Wu's body language during this scene.)

The camerawork does a great job of showing how this probably felt for Wu. It zooms in, Garmadon's voice echoes, and the background blurs. We see in the flashback that this is a moment Wu has etched into his memory. Not to mention, he was likely a very young child when this happened. LEGO characters' ages are weird, but Wu in this scene has the Big Eyes, which always seem to be used for characters under 12. We don't know exactly how much older Garmadon is to my knowledge, but he doesn't have the Big Eyes, so he's probably closer to 12 and a few years older than Wu for sure.

Imagine that. Being in elementary school and your older siblings gets hurt. They're acting strange. They're lashing out at your father. Then, they blame it all on you. They're hurt because of you. Wouldn't you internalize that?

I could go on about Wu's relationship with Garmadon, but again, I think I've spent enough time on it and I don't want to only focus on that. It's an important part, but there are others.

Let's talk about Wu's relationship with his dad.

Now, I have not yet read the Spinjitzu Brothers series. I cannot speak to any development of Wu and the FSM's relationship in there. I have, however, read The Book of Spinjitzu and blogged some of my thoughts on it here, including some of what it says about Wu.

For those who haven't read it, first, there is a Google Drive folder floating around with all of the canon spinoff books/graphic novels in it. Here's the link if you wanna read them!

The FSM is an... intriguing figure. I mean, in the series he's basically god? He made the entire world. That's already a very high bar to live up to. Then, in Book of Spinjitzu, there's a few specific parts that, when I read them, signaled that Wu internalized a specific message when he was young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 3).

Wu does not want to disappoint his father. It is up to him (and Garmadon until he turns evil) to "uphold the legacy of Spinjitzu" and, by extension, his family. He says he was "very young" when this was explained to him. Considering he seems to already be training at an elementary age, "very young" means VERY young.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 16).

Here, we again see Wu being very aware that he has some large burden to carry. Something else interesting here is that the thought of the Green Ninja Prophecy is already weighing on him too. His considering if he might be the Green Ninja is of extra interest because of how the Green Ninja Prophecy and the--I wouldn't call it obsession, possibly fixation?--with who it is factors into his later actions, but we'll get to that later.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, Page 19).

This one in particular gets me because it comes after Wu mentions Garmadon becoming more evil. It is a statement of power. Wu knows that the legacy of Spinjitzu now rests in his hands alone. He cannot let himself fall the way Garmadon did. He cannot disappoint his father. Whether or not the FSM intended it, Wu always knew the fate of the world rested, at least in part, upon his shoulder. He knew this from the time he was a young boy and it remains in his mind to this day.

Now, these quotes are indirect, but they all point to one clear idea: As a child, Wu internalized the idea that he alone is responsible for keeping Ninjago safe. He will play a pivotal role in its history.

There's not evidence in this book that the FSM's was a bad father, per se. However, just because one doesn't set out to harm their children, doesn't mean they won't. I often say Wu has an "Atlas complex," which I have no idea if it is an actual concept but use it to refer to this idea. Wu feels as though he is responsible for holding up the world, much like Atlas. He must keep the balance, he must solve the Green Ninja prophecy, he must make his father proud.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 61).

I'm going to get further into what this means for Wu as a teacher to the current Ninja Team, but for now let's look at Wu's first foray into teaching.

Morro. Wu's Biggest Mistake.

That might seem like an overstatement, but it's not.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

Okay he says regret, not mistake, but I was paraphrasing.

Let's turn back to his quote about his destiny. Wu writes, "Is my life's mission to be the Green Ninja? Or maybe it will be to find the Green Ninja and protect him (or her)??"

From a very young age, Wu was not only aware of the Green Ninja but prophecy but also thinking about his place in it. We see this again when he takes Morro in and trains him.

(Source: Ghost Story/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom, highlight added)

A big thing Wu is criticized for here is making Morro believe he is meant to be more. That he is the Chosen One. And Morro, being a young homeless orphan just now given some semblance of power and protection, latches onto that. And I can see it, but when you take into account the above that he was trained from (likely) a younger age than Morro and given a similar level of responsibility, it becomes more understandable. Wu is just doing what he was taught. He doesn't believe that he is harming Morro until it is too late.

This is the entire story, but I'm specifically going to be discussing 1:36 onwards here. I also wanted to add that rewatching this scene made me lay down on the floor! What the fuck! But I digress.

There's a lot going on in this scene. For one, Wu washing his hands of Morro in some ways, but not others. He turns his back on Morro when he tells him that destiny has decided, but looks at him again when Morro storms out. He goes to save Morro from the Grundal, but decides that he cannot "teach those who would not listen." Most importantly, when Morro leaves to go find the Tomb of the FSM, Wu leaves the door open. He waits for Morro to return, but never goes after him. And Morro never comes back.

Wu gives Morro's fate a dismissive response at the end of his ghost story ("I am saddened he was banished to the Cursed Realm") but it's clear he still cares deeply about him in the finale of the season.

Wu's VA in this is phenomenal btw. That "Please Morro!" and "MORRO!" make my heart ache.

Morro believed Wu stopped caring, but he didn't. Even after all he's done, even after trying to destroy all of Ninjago--destroying what Wu had spent his life trying to protect--Wu tries to save him. He begs for Morro to come with him. Morro refuses, Wu watches him perish.

Someone else Wu is close to is gone. Wu again considers himself responsible. Everything is his fault.

And finally, we reach Wu today. A cautious, secretive man. He loves his students, this much is clear. Even as early as the pilots, he drops his wise teacher persona to joke around with them.

As with Morro, he trains them like his father did him. He even uses the same methods his father used when he trains them.

(Source: The Book of Spinjitzu, page 32)

While he is hard on the Ninja, wanting them to succeed and training them to help defend the Realm, he lets his guard down more than it seems he did with Morro. He also learned a valuable message from his experience with Morro when he hides the Green Ninja Prophecy from the Ninja, getting angry when they start to push themselves in the same way Morro did upon learning about it. It's clear he doesn't want a repeat.

Now, I can't speak for later seasons (I will eventually) but this fear of repeats, his students going down a dark path because they're tempted by power or greatness, losing someone else, likely drives Wu not telling them other important information. That is just a passing thought though.

Final notes:

I'm currently in the process of rewatching S7: Hands of Time. I actually got this ask right after finishing EP68: Scavengers, which opens with Wu having a nightmare. In it, he and Misako are walking outside of Yang's temple. While walking, Misako delivers this line in response to Wu reminiscing about the time they've spent together:

(Source: Scavengers/Transcript | Ninjago Wiki | Fandom)

This line, to me, is Wu's subconscious trying to tell him something he needs to hear. It's hinting at what might be his greatest flaw. Wu is haunted by his past, by his mistakes. He finds it difficult to tell others because of both his guilt and his desire to not put that worry upon them. In this very season, he makes the mistake of trying to face his past on his own, and he nearly dies for it.

In the same episode, you see Wu trying to make sure Lloyd doesn't make the same mistakes.

(Source: Prev)

Wu stresses the important of the team. It's as if he sees Lloyd blaming himself for what happened to Wu, sees him doing the same thing Wu has, and is trying to prevent him from doing the same thing. This is further emphasized when, after Wu falls asleep (well, fakes falling asleep), Lloyd says "Wu's mistake was going in alone. So was mine."

Master Wu is, like many characters in this show, someone who is more complex than meets the eye. He is not just a wise, old teacher. He is a man who, throughout his life, has made mistakes and carries the weight of each of them on his shoulders. He is a man who tasks himself with making up for those every day. He is a man who wants better for his students, his family.

Until the day he dies, he will guide and protect his students. And possibly? Even after death too.

[parachutingkitten]

Plastic Women: So, what is my point?

A note for those who somehow would like to hear more from me about the video

The mega video started out as a final essay assignment for a children's media college class. The prompt was ten pages on a topic related to children's media that tied into one of our weekly discussions. Being as obsessed with ninjago as I am, I was obviously going to write about it, and one of our weekly topics had to do with children's media's relationship to gender. I had a lot of thoughts on the female characters of the show, so I decided this essay would be a good opportunity to get those off my chest. Plastic Women: Female Representation in Lego Ninjago was the end result. It was a good essay- maybe I'll post it some time. The only problem was that my initial first draft was nearly a dozen pages long- and I had only just finished my thoughts on Nya. I decided that a paper analyzing the arc of the central female character would be perfectly adequate for the assignment, tightened things up a bit, and submitted it. I knew as soon as I did that the rest of my thoughts would have to come out- and that's what the four hours you've(presumably) watched is.

Being that the original point of the essay was to fulfill an assignment requirement, pinpointing the end goal of the video was a weirdly difficult struggle in the production process. I knew I had a lot of thoughts about the women, I knew it felt important that they get out into the world, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. Why is this so important? What's my point in making this? Why do I have this drive behind things? I offer up a couple explanations in my video. Part of it was to help improve consciousness of these issues, to stress that female representation is actually important in male targeted media. To help encourage better practices for the show's future, to get people think analytically about the media they consume. These explanations seemed to satisfy me, and I still think they're all very important and valid, but even as I sat down to record the outro, there was this nagging feeling that I hadn't quite gotten to the core of why I was making this. What was driving me to put in a year and a half of effort, scripting, refilms, and endless, endless editing in order to get this out? Because while I do care about all of those things, it doesn't ignite that same passion source of where this video is coming from.

Unfortunately, the realization only really hit me after posting the video- after reading the comments. Unfortunately, the negative ones. I don't want to overstate how much hate the video has gotten, it has been widely well received, but I have my fair share of suspected (or self described) children and pre teens calling me an idiot for overthinking things in the comments. Some of these are obviously only responding to the title and thumbnail, and it's quite fun to scroll through the comment section and point them out. But of the people who have the most plausible deniability for actually watching at least part of the video, the most common criticism was by far the run time. Why am I dedicating this much time to a show which is obviously not a raging hate letter towards women? I'm labeling this thing as sexist when there's a whole season of the lead female fighting sexism. There are so many worse things that might deserve this run time, but ninjago can not be that bad. This is obviously ridiculous.

Now there are a couple of responses I have to this sentiment. First of all, the series is insanely long. I have to not only analyze, but explain all 15 seasons for those who (understandably) haven't watched it all or aren't as obsessive as I am. That's gonna take some time regardless of what angle you're doing a deep dive on. Have you seen the length of some of the show recap videos alone? Second, the video as a whole is a retrospective, not purely a criticism. I spend quite a bit of the run time praising the things which I do like and shrugging at things I think are passable. Third, I state up front that I am purposely looking for all interpretations of the text, because they are all interpretations that a young audience could potentially take away. Even if it's not surface level, if it's one or two layers down, I'm still interested. That means it's not logical to blanketly call the show sexist, because it's not openly promoting these ideas, and that was never my goal, I think I made that clear. In many ways I believe that if this were a "Ninjago is sexist" video it would be a lot shorter. Part of why the runtime is so long is because there is a great deal of nuance to how this show treats its female characters, and nuance takes time. If it were as simple as "Ninjago is obviously misogynistic" I would point to the problem spots and we wouldn't need a discussion. I wouldn't have to analyze. It would just be a statement of fact. But that's why the video's title is much less specific and accusatory. "More misogynistic than you remember" is a lot more open ended. It has some misogyny in there, and it's more than your child brain likely noticed. That doesn't mean it's necessarily overwhelming or defining for the series, it just means that it's there- and that amount is going to differ depending on the viewer and their personal interpretations of the text. I for one thought that the Racer 7 plot line was an obvious dismissal of female struggle, but apparently it's not as clear a universal a reading as I thought. Maybe it's my life experience as a women in a male dominated field that put that front and center under a undeniable spotlight for me, but that doesn't mean that's the universal experience of the show, nor should it count against the show so strongly as I feel it.

But this criticism is finally what made it click for me. I'm not criticizing the show because it's obviously sexist. Quite the opposite. I'm criticizing it because it is trying to not be sexist. I'm criticizing the show because it wants to be progressive, it's trying to include female characters, it is including messages and plotlines specifically to try and uplift women- and it's failing.

I am past the point of feeling the need to point out that andrew tate is wrong for seeing women as lesser. That's not an interesting take, that's not a new idea, and if you need that told to you, you are likely beyond help from a youtube video. I am not here to dabate if female representation is valuable, I am taking that fact as a given because it is a conclusion which I feel is inherently correct. If you have not yet come to this same conclusion, the purpose of this video is not to convince you that it is. That can be someone else's job. This is not a 101 class, it's got some prerequisites, because without them, you aren't going to appreciate my points. I am interested in giving ideas to people who already know their basics. It's not my fault if you're a few decades behind in your ideas on film theory. The efficacy of what constitutes positive female representation has already been debated and outlined for decades by people much smarter than me. I am not here to make their points, I am here to make my own.

I'm not here to point out the problems of blatant sexism, because that has been litigated to death; I'm interested in the problems of sexism today- because yes, even when sexism isn't blatant, it's still a problem. I am interested in breaking down subtle sexism. Accidental sexism. Systemic sexism. Sexism from people who are trying to be inclusive, because they are the ones who will actually take feedback. The sexism that is baked into our media culture, so deeply ingrained that it seems rather acceptable to show sexual assault on a kid's show. I am interested in why a show which so obviously repeatedly tries to incorporate feminist ideas into its plot can so easily rid its female characters of agency. It's not that I made the video to say something about ninjago, it's that I made the video to say something about sexism in media, and used ninjago as my example. It. Is. Everywhere. And perhaps even worse, it is ridiculously easy to accidentally end up in your work.

I do hint at these ideas throughout the run of my video, but I really wish I had known this was where my drive was coming from at the outset, because if I had, this idea would be pressed constantly. Tropes older than the film medium seep into the most basic of plots and position females in passive roles by default, and if you don't know that, you are going to ingrain these ideas into your work. It might not be blatant, it might be quite subtle, but it may also snowball into something egregious, like happens in skybound. It was supposed to be a season (partially)about fighting sexism, but ends up framing our lead female as an object, removing all her agency, and turning our leading man into an extremely objectifying character who never grows out of his possessive behaviors. Like I say at the beginning, this is a cautionary tale. It's active proof that doing the bare minimum in not being offensive in female representation requires an amount of effort that many people don't realize is necessary. It is almost never that the show outright says something sexist, it's that the plot structure and character progression do not think to include its female characters. It is not the text, it's the subtext. And you might not think that subtext is influential, but the very fact that you think it's not is the most terrifying thing about it. Our brains absorb so much more than we know, and the fact that these patterns and stereotypes are seeping in subconsciously without our recognizing it, is perhaps even more dangerous than outwardly sexist media in some cases. Consistency in these patterns is bound to rewire your brain- and you won't even notice.

That's the point I think I failed to emphasize throughout the run. How easy it is. How ridiculously easy it is to fall into these problems. "it's like you see sexism everywhere!" well, yes. It is everywhere. That's the point. It's baked into our culture. It's a corner stone in our media. It's systemic. That's the problem- that it's near impossible to find something that doesn't have it because it's a founding principle of most of human culture. That's why reverse sexism is not nearly as big a deal btw. Sure, shows aimed at little girls have a lot of underdeveloped male love interests, but they also haven't been stuck in that position for centuries upon centuries of human storytelling.

I don't feel the need to prove that the label of misogynist or sexist is befitting of the whole series, because for one, it's not, and for two, that wouldn't do anything. Ninjago is a symptom of the problem. It is not the problem in and of itself. Blacklisting it for being bad doesn't help anything, and I think I made it abundantly clear that was never my intention or desire. My intention was to show you just how prevalent this casual sexism can be. How this subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) undercurrent can be found in something as unexpected as a children's show which actively brags about the strength of its female characters. The goal was to open your eyes to how consistent it is, even if it's not potent. It was to lay out how the patterns tend to present themselves, so that maybe you'll be able to better identify them elsewhere. Because they are elsewhere. They're everywhere. It may not be in as high a dosage as it used to, but collectively it is still a staggering, saturating amount. And if you are an artist looking to make something that doesn't have this subtext, I'm here to warn you that it is likely a steeper up hill battle than you initially presume.

Misogyny is everywhere. I just happen to know a lot about ninjago, so that's where I chose to go in depth in breaking it down. It's a case study- and I think a quite interesting one with a lot of nuance at that. It's what I felt I could contribute, and I have to believe that's enough to justify its existence.

[industrations]

The marauders (but especially James) would have loved Lego Ninjago and I feel this in my soul

This is the truest opinion i’ve ever read.

He would LOVE it. He’d sit there with his little blanket and snacks and he’d be giggling and kicking his feet.

And later on when he’s older he’d be like "harry wants to watch" when he’s the one giggling the hardest. Actually harry is not even home bc wolfstar are babysitting him

[bau-drabbles]

rossi asks are sending me 😭😭

so i’m sending in a cute aaron thought i have 🤭

imagine him being so happy that the reader and jack have these little things in between them. me personally, i enjoy some kids shows, they’re genuinely interesting (lego ninjago 💀) and i was thinking that what if there were some shows jack and the reader watched together and he refuses to watch them with his father “no dad i can’t watch it without (y/n) 😒” and aarons being slightly jealous but he’s joking ofc

he’s actually ecstatic that you have this special thing with his son but he can’t let you guys know 🙄

AND HIM WATCHING YOU GUYS TALK ABOUT IT SO ENTHUSIASTICALLY 🫠🫠

i feel like he’d just melt into a puddle literally smiling ear to ear that his two favourite people get along so well

ohh this is so heartwarming i love this nonnie :"))) 🤍🤍

and jack would definitely make sure your fav snacks are there. he gets so happy when you come around because you both are on the couch, eagerly watching the tv show. he makes his dad pause it and make sure all the snacks are on the table. hotch just looks at his son sipping his tea but he doesn't say a thing. jack honestly looks forwards to it and he waits by the window so he can see you which makes him jump up in joy and quickly running to you to bring you to the couch.

and you both definitely have inside jokes with each other 😌 little references you make at any weird times of the day and hotch is just looking at you both 🤨😐 and you and jack are just laughing, keeping everything quiet (you tell hotch what the jokes mean so he doesn't feel so left out)

esp when the show has this cliffhanger and hotch just watches the both of you gush about how good it was. you and jack wide eyes and laughing about the possible endings and hotch just glances at you both, nothing but love thumping in his heart. he smiles without even realising, the two most important people of his life getting along so well almost brings a tear to his eyes <3