#ninjago dr text posts

[cosmothealien358]

[wyrmswears]

jay dump

[writer-room]

Obsessed with Lloyd never mentioning his grandfather is the First Spinjitsu Master, apparently to the point even Arin didn't seem to know, because "eh, it never came up". Cause like, yeah, sure, my grandfather is God, what of it? Normal day for me. Shit happens. My dad is also evil, you wanna talk about that? I sure don't.

It's also funny from a character arc perspective. Here's itty bitty baby first season Lloyd, loudly proclaiming he's the son of Garmadon, and probably also making sure everyone knows he's God part 3 electric boogaloo. And then one Tomorrow's Tea and a few more years later and he's doing everything physically possible to NOT care about his heritage. In fact he'd probably rather his parentage was literally anyone else. Dude could care so less he forgets about it most of the time. King behavior.

[goshdangitpaul]

ok so y’all know that one line in DR season 1 where Chancellor Gulch says to Zane “I don’t think anyone could live up to the legend of Zane. Maybe not even Zane himself” or something like that? Yeah I think it’s really important.

no spoilers for s2p2, just 3 paragraphs

Arin has high expectations for the ninja, especially the “Legendary Green Ninja”. But Lloyd can’t live up to the hype because at the end of the day he’s still just a guy. A young adult still struggling through life. And yet still Arin doesn’t see that and expects almost perfection (and Ras doesn’t exactly help with this- near the end of s2p1, he says that he’s still weak, despite training with the legends).

And Zane? He’s got a mixed record. The Ice Emperor, the Overlord-defeating nindroid, Murderer, the Titanium Ninja, etc. How could he ever live up to a Savior when he tortured a realm for decades? I like to think that Zane is stepping back from the limelight because they don’t need “Zane” anymore. They need answers, sure, they need an analytical perspective, sure, but they don’t need the cooking, kind, and emotional aspects of Zane anymore. His more “human” traits you could say. In fact, Zane tells Mr. Froghicky that he doesn’t experience heightened emotions, when he most certainly does. He needs to be the “Zane” that’s useful, the “Zane” that won battles.

Maybe the rest of Dragons Rising will give everyone a chance to distance themselves from their legends. A chance to find themselves again, without their past successes or failures haunting them, telling them what they should be.

(Edit: Thanks @/carlostck for the name correction)

[cable-salamder]

Do y’all think that Sora is the one who first decides to not go with a similar outfit as the other ninja (Doc said it’s because she dislikes the conformity of all the same looking outfits) and then Arin goes along with that because he loves his best friend, but Sora will continue standing out as unique in a good way while Arin is just gonna be left out? M’just thinking about the way that Arin always looks up to people and copies them instead doing things his own way while Sora is exactly the opposite, and actually goes out of her way to do everything in her own kinda way.

[fanfalc-616]

I once again come bearing Ninjago textposts because no one can stop me <3

Sources: tumblr, the onion, and screenshotsofdespair

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[s0ull3ss-p3rs0n]

This isn't even an "I can fix her" ahh moment, we are just straight up encouraging her to be even worse.

[teapot-of-tyrahn]

thinking about ninjago dragons rising... thinking about where cole woke up. he woke up in the land of lost things. thinking about cole canonically being afraid being forgotten, especially in season 5-6 when he was a ghost, and especially evident in day of the departed special - this fear was the literal catalyst for the entire special's events with the yin blade... concidence? i think NOT

[krispiblueberry]

i probably should have made this earlier but uh,,

Intro !! :D☆

☆ you can call me Juice or Krispi either is fine

♤ i use they/he and it/it's pronouns

☆ genderqueer lesbian ^_^

♤ not really good with interacting online cause of the expressive barrier but i try !! *thumbs up*

☆ i use a lot of emoticons and a mix of certain emojis💥💥🎉

okie so some fandom stuff :3☆

♡ undertale/deltarune ♡ sonic the hedgehog ♡ splatoon ♡ ninjago ♡ a hat in time ♡ vocaloid/utau ♡ lego friends ♡ lego elves ♡ pokemon ♡ ENA ♡ octonauts ♡ monster high ♡ lalaloopsy ♡ fnaf ♡ barbie movies/dreamhouse ♡ um jammer lammy/parrapa the rapper ♡ the amazing digital circus ♡ ever after high ♡ shopkins ♡ lego fandom ♡ space channel 5

my tags :D☆

#juice spillz - for personal text posts and just things i ever say on here

#juice drawz - my personally drawn art stash

#mmm blorbus - literally just a tag for art with Dr. Alphys in it lol doesn't get used alot anymore but sometimes i remember it xD

now just some stuff abt me :>☆

◇ i love cats, birds and butterflies

◇ i have a huge on-going interest in LEGO wether its sets, series, or general history

◇ i don't have a single favorite color but i do like yellow, blue and purple !!

◇ i enjoy making perler bead sprites and kandi in my free time

◇ im a self taught traditional/digital artist

◇ i cosplay on occasion !! currently have frisk, chara, alphys, and kris done :]

◇ i love lemonade and most fruit juices so much its a problem abdjjsjcjsjjxnsjd

◇ i love making collages and edits of images

Aaannnd that's about it ! If I forgot anything or ever need to update anything I'll edit this l8r :P

bye !! :DD🧃

[khizuo]

hi! this is my main blog :) call me khizuo on the internet, i'm a trans queer chinese 19 y/o. this is a personal blog and its target audience is me and selected mutuals.

my art blog is @khizuart. commissions are open on my ko-fi (but also feel free to toss me some dollars whenever, it all goes to mutual aid.)

I post about whatever i happen to be interested in at the moment, with subjects including but not limited to: punk/diy music + clothing, post-punk/post-rock and related genres, mcyt (qsmp/hermitcraft/some empires), vocaloid, alternative fashion, and lego ninjago. dr*am/dt*am supporters fuck off this blog.

important: i am an adult. all new followers must be 17+. all minors following me must block the tag "minors don't look" and confirm with me that you have the tag blocked by liking this post, otherwise i will block you.

some things to know abt me before u follow:

firm believer in full decolonization, dismantling whiteness and everything that encompasses, the end of global racial capitalism via revolution, radical queer/trans/disabled liberation

i'm loud about masking. covid-19 is not over and people are still being killed and disabled daily. if you're not being covid cautious you need to re-examine your liberatory politics.

beware the crit and negativity. I'm straightforward and I don't coddle white feelings on this blog.

shoot me a DM or ask if you need me to tag a trigger!

i'm vegan and i will talk about it. examine your speciesism and listen to marginalized vegans.

this blog is a place for me to engage in fandom, but I am critical of the cc's I watch and you should be too.

lego ninjago is orientalist and culturally appropriative. mcyt has a whiteness problem. unfollow me if you don't think this.

pr0shippers do not interact with my blog

tags!

my text — original posts

my answers — where I answer my asks!

my analysis — meta and analysis posts that I’ve made, usually related to either mcyt or lego ninjago

my art — art tag for both fanart and original art

about me — where I talk about anything somewhat personal

khizuo plays minecraft — my minecraft rambles tag

khizuo diys things — where I talk about diy and share my upcycling/diy work!

khizuo talks vocaloid — my vocaloid rambles tag

khizuo_irl — irl tag

khizuo vents — for personal vents. may include triggering topics (especially when my ocd gets involved) so block if you don’t want to see them. these posts will usually also be tagged with “don’t reblog”, so they’re not okay to reblog unless I specify with the tag “okay to reblog”.

i know i have a lot of ppl who follow me for mcyt who might not want to see ninjago content (and some that are vice versa) so block the tags for things u aren't interested in :)

please like this post if you have read it. do not reblog.

[i-willstealyourtoes]

All you need to know about me

Requests: OPEN

Status: Busy

Inbox: 1

Masterpost

(🔔) Progress post on my requests

Fandoms I write for:

Green means I'm confident, orange is semi-confident, red means not confident (I'll attempt all on the list though) + Franchises/Fandoms ranked in order of confidence + Feel free to ask about a character I haven't wrote down here :)

Main:

- PAYDAY 2 w/ ALL heisters (semi-excluding Ethan/Hila), Bain, specials (cops), Vlad, Twitch, Bile and Locke(?)

- TF2 w/ ALL the mercs, Miss Pauling, Zhanna, Saxton Hale

- Star Wars: Clone Wars w/ The 501st (as many as I can remember 💀), Domino Squad, Cody, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Fox (my interpretation), Ahsoka (platonic only bc she's a kid majority of the time(?)), Padme, Anakin, Obi-Wan

- Star Wars: Rebels w/ Ezra, Kanan, Zeb, Sabine, Hera, Rex, Ahsoka, Kallus

- The Bad Batch w/ Hunter, Crosshair, Tech, Wrecker, Echo, Omega (PLATONIC ONLY YOU FUCK), Phee, Gregor, Mayday, Howzer, Riyo Chuchi

- Republic Commando w/ Scorch, Sev, Boss, Fixer, Advisor (I will refer to him as Addy :) )

Others:

- Undertale (no AUs) w/ Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Toriel, Asgore, Mettaton (NEO), BurgerPants, Napstablook, (W.D) Gaster (my int.), Frisk + Chara + Asriel (all platonic + my int.), Grillby (my int.)

- HLVRAI w/ Gordon, Benrey, Tommy, Bubby, Dr Coomer, G-man

- Sleeping Dogs w/ Wei, Jackie, Winston, Conroy, Ricky

- Ghosts (BBC) w/ Thomas, Julian, Kitty, The Captain, Fanny

Others Pt.2:

(The ones I'm the least confident in/know less about)

- Sons of the Forest w/ Kelvin, Virginia

- (OG) Ninjago w/ ALL the (OG) ninjas

- Minecraft: Story Mode w/ Lukas, Jesse, Petra, Axel, Olivia, (old) Order of the Stone

- Henry Stickmin Collection w/ Charles, Henry, Ellie

- Detroit: Become Human w/ Connor, Ralph, Markus, Kara, Gavin, Simon and Daniel

- Faith: The Unholy Trinity w/ John Ward, Lisa

Rules/what I do(n't) do:

Green is yes, orange is yes (but I'm not too confident in it), red is no

- Canon x reader

- Angst, fluff, lime

- Romantic or platonic parings (please specify for platonic pairs)

- Suicide, SH, mentions of abuse/racism/homophobia/transphobia (NOT DEPICTED AS POSITIVE (ex of a good req: how would (character) defend against racism)), death, light gore

- Headcanons/bullet-points

- Monogamy, polyamory (please specify if you want a polyam relationship)

- Match-ups

- Pregnacy fics (I'm not a fan of them but I can try)

- Song/lyric fics (also not a fan but I could still do it)

- Oneshots/multiparters (very unlikely for me)

- Smut

- Canon x Canon (unless it's Canon x reader x Canon)

- Canon x OC / OC x Reader / OC x OC

- Abuse (sexual/domestic) from the character (I accept the situation in which the character accidentally hurts s/o)

- Non-con/Dub-con

- Pedophilia/MAP-behaviour

- Extreme gore (guts, organs)

- Emeto (other illnesses are fine)

My style of writing:

- I prefer to be quite informal with my writing, often including jokes and personal comments in the pieces I make

- I also like putting text colour, italics, bold and small letters since I feel like that adds more character to the piece

- If you don't indicate (in x reader fics) what stage of the relationship the reader is in with the character(s), I will automatically assume they are already dating

- There is currently no character limit, but don't go silly with it lol (10 is probably a good amount but it depends)

Extra:

- Send me '🌱' to send feedback on something (ex: '🌱 - I enjoyed this part, but I think next time you should...)

- Send me '💭' to ask a question (ex: '💭 - What's your favourite show?')

- Send me '🎵' to ask for a song that represents one of the characters in the list above (ex: '🎵 - Song for Dallas?')

This helps me recognise things faster and answer quicker!

Please respect the fact I am only one student with not a ton of free time to write all the time. I also experience blocks in creativity like everyone else, so don't be mad if your request takes a while to come out.

THE PUNISHMENT FOR SENDING IN A REQUEST AFTER I'VE CLOSED MY INBOX IS A SHORTER PIECE!!

Psst... here's a secret link hehe

[writer-room]

One among many things I love about Dragons Risings writing is that they're so unapologetic about making the original team very cool, but also absolute dorks.

It's just kinda refreshing to me? Like, yeah, sure, Lloyd's the super-awesome Green Ninja who's a descendant of God, Kai could set the world on fire if he wanted, Nya does not hesitate and was the ocean that one time, Zane will casually mention the most insane shit he did on a whim, Cole has a lava and rock monster form, etc, but like...they're also losers. Lloyd gets bullied constantly and tries to explain what a crab is, Kai has so much intelligence but so little wisdom at all given times, Nya has a 'shit happens' attitude as if she is not actively failing through this shit happening, Zane talks to a broom with Pixal's face on it, and Cole has it together the most by being a 9-to-5 dad with a boyfriend who he 100% believed was his power crux.

They're just people, y'know? Saving the world a hundred times over doesn't mean they're not still 20-something nerds who've been stuck doing this since they were teenagers. One cannot erase the time they had bad boy doppelgangers for like two minutes. Or had to raise their teacher. Or had the weirdest relationship drama. Or were huge video game and tech geeks.

And Dragons Rising isn't afraid to let them be that. To acknowledge, yeah, objectively, they're cool as hell, but to also admit that they're just kinda fucking around and finding out. It's a wonder what consistent and likeable characterization can do, who woulda thought?

[fires-of-ninjago]

Dr. Hybrid - Prologue

Okay, I’ve been working on this for a while. While I did want to post this as a complete chapter, I thought that it might be better to split this part up into a prologue.

Also, @dangerbuffed I’m tagging you because you asked... Enjoy part 1! ;)

Word Count: 1,315

TW: None

PART 01: The Old Office

“Wow, I can’t believe your dad actually used to teach here,” Jay said as they unlocked the old lab door. Zane was excited; he didn’t even know that his father had once been a professor of Electrical Engineering at the Imperial University of Ninjago.

“I know,” Zane replied. “He never mentioned what he did before he moved out to the woods. I wonder why he left?” It was kind of bizarre in a way; Dr. Julian had been a very private person, but Zane thought they knew everything about each other… Zane stepped into the old office; if it weren’t for the thick layer of dust covering everything, Zane could have mistaken the room for still being currently occupied. Then they turned on the light, and saw the mess that the room was in. 

“Huh...I guess your dad wasn’t really all that into organization,” Jay quipped as they looked around. Kai however, didn’t miss a beat with his own observations.

“Yeah, because it totally couldn’t be all of the giant monster battles that nearly destroyed the city multiple times!” Zane had to agree with Kai’s assessment; the university was close to the South Docks of the city; all of the seismic issues stemming from their battles, not to mention the general number of earthquakes this part of the continent experienced were more than enough to wreak havoc with a space like this.

“This is why the University wants us to clear it out; there’s some kind of liquid draining into the labs below.” Zane searched the room for anything that could be the culprit, but everything looked like it was in order.

“What I don’t get is why the school didn’t clear this place out when he left?” Kai asked as he looked at some of the old technical books on one of the shelves.

“According to my scan of the real estate deed, it would appear that Dr. Julian owned this building, and was leasing it to the University,” Pixal replied.

“Wait, what?!” Jay asked as he dropped one of the files he was looking through. Zane didn’t miss a beat as he too pulled a few files from one of the many cabinets.

“Yes, my father held several patents that are still quite lucrative. How do you think I have been able to afford the Bounty’s fuel all these years?” Zane put the file back, after reading through everything in there. All that he found were the answer keys to various tests that his father used to administer.

“So let me get this straight: Your father built an entire building for the University, claimed a floor of an ENTIRE WING for himself, and they just, what? Left, like, a quarter of the building, completely locked-up for 50-odd years?” Kai asked incredulously. The Nindroid understood where he was coming from, but he didn’t really have an answer that he knew his brother would like...Primarily because he didn’t like it either.

“Well, yes,” he began. “The University had no legal authority to break in, and my father was also paying for all of the building utilities. If they had, then, as per their leasing agreement, they stood to forfeit their usage of the rest of the building. Which would have cost the school a large amount of not only money, but prestige.”

“But...this is a public college; they haven’t charged tuition since the Royal Family of Ninjago became the sole sponsors!” Jay said in his own confusion.

“It still costs metric fuck-ton to relocate a bunch of classrooms and equipment to another building, Jay!” Kai chimed in. Zane nodded in agreement as he opened another filing cabinet.

“Wait, how do you know that?” Jay asked.

“Believe me Jay, I know…”

“Kai spent a lot of time looking at colleges with me before he became a ninja,” Nya replied as she checked-over some old computer terminals.

“Nya was doing pretty good in school...really good. But, our system out in Ignacia only went on until you hit the age of 13 or 14, and then you were done.” Jay took a seat as he thumbed through an old text book while he listened, but Zane could see that he didn’t like the possibilities of what could have happened if they’d never met.

“We were looking into a bunch of different programs for me when Sensei showed up.” Zane perked up at the 

“Wait, are you telling us that the only reason you two stuck around was because of me?” Nya chuckled as she leaned against one of the bookshelves in the back.

“We stayed because Lord Garmadon was still a threat,” she started. “And...because Kai knew better than to stand in the way of me making my own choices.”

“Well, I’m glad that both of you decided to stay,” Zane said as he tried to open one of the cabinets on the other side of the room. He struggled with the handle as he rattled the doors.

“What’s going on? Is the door stuck?” Kai asked as he came up beside him. Zane nodded as he let go of the handle.

“I believe that it’s rusted shut,” he said. “Perhaps you can use your fire to help loosen the lock?” Kai frowned as he grabbed the handle and gave it a quick jiggle to test it’s range.

“It’s pretty bad,” he said. “I can try, but we might still have to destroy the door.” Zane gave him an understanding nod as he stepped back. Kai grabbed the handle and began heating it up slowly. Zane could see the rising temperature from his thermal vision, but the handles didn’t appear to be budging. Just as he thought that Kai was about to give up, a loud ‘CRACK’ sounded from the other side of the door.

“Hey-hey, I think I got it!” He said triumphantly as he twisted the handle down freely. Kai pulled the cabinet doors open quickly to see what was inside.

“Well, what’s in there?” Nya asked as she and the others stepped over to see what they were looking at. They heard her gasp in surprise as she saw the interior. The back wall of the cabinet had been removed, and instead of containing files or old experiments, its doors hid an extra entrance to a whole other room.

“I think we found where that leak’s coming from,” Kai said as he took a step into the hidden room. Almost in a trance, Zane followed him inside; taking in the number of glass water tanks, and computers that lined them.

“What is this place?” Pixal asked as she picked up an old clipboard. Zane touched the glass pane of one of the empty tanks closest to the door; looking it up and down. Somewhere deep inside his mind, he started having flashes- Little blips and images of being inside of one of these tanks. After a couple of moments of silence, Zane finally responded.

“I think,” he began; “I think this is the lab where my father created me.” Zane stared at his own reflection in the glass, trying so hard to dredge more of those memories to the surface.

“Uh, guys? I don’t think we’re alone in here…” Jay said from further down the line of tanks. Zane shook himself out of his riviera to see what he was talking about.

“What do you mean? What’s-HOLY CRAP!!!” Kai yelped as he reached the tank Jay was staring at. Zane ran up to see what they were talking about, but nothing prepared him for what it was. He looked into the tank to see his own face staring back at him. Except...much much younger. Looking down the rest of the line, he could see that there were other versions of him in most of the tanks...along with a tag at the very top with read: ‘CLONE STATUES: DECEASED’.

[coleisunderrated]

Cooking with Cole

Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m actually not one for this holiday but if it’s an excuse to indulge in some glaciershipping, I’d say bring it! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it!

It’s the morning of Valentine’s Day and Cole was already panicking on this day of love. He was sure Zane already made him a cake because that’s how it’s been every year. A well-known fact to everyone in Ninjago was the buff guy’s love for cake and anything sweet. The even sweeter son of the famed inventor Dr. Julien was all too aware of this and whenever they got together, he would make a cake as gorgeous as it was delicious. Any cakes he make would put even the top patissiers to shame. Zane had done so much for Cole and what did he ever do in return?

A flashback of all the romantic moments he and Zane shared popped up. He loved seeing the way the wintry beauty smiled, how graceful he was when they danced together, and that voice. That velvety smooth voice that could put even the most talented singers to shame when they share a duet together. Zane did nothing but give yet Cole never really gave anything back.

Looking back on all this, Cole felt like a horrible boyfriend.

Maybe Zane deserves better than him...

‘No! I’ll make myself better! Someone he truly deserves!’ Cole couldn’t bear the thought of breaking up with his snow angel. Not only will he never find someone as amazing but Zane has done nothing to deserve the pain of heartbreak.

Then he realized the solution was in front of him the whole time. He looked back on all the cakes and other treats Zane made for him. He now wanted to return the favor and this was the perfect opportunity.

“That’s it! I’m gonna make a cake for Zane!” Cole’s declaration echoed in the otherwise empty house. With his father out of town, he had all the time in the world to brush up his culinary skills.

As if the timing wasn’t impeccable enough, he got a text message from Zane himself.

‘Cole, if it’s alright with you, I’m coming over to your house in the evening. I’m making something special for you and I hope you’ll like it.’

The muscular youth almost couldn’t handle how adorable his lover can get. He really wanted to surprise him and all he could text back was a simple ‘okay’ before prepping himself for the arduous task set before him. This was going to be a Valentine’s Day they’ll never forget...

...

Cole pretty much hit a brick wall the moment he entered the kitchen. He had a terrible track record when it comes to cooking. He can even turn the simple task of making toast into a bloodbath. He immediately worried and fretted over the terrible scenarios that could happen. He can see it now. The cake is a complete fail and Zane staring at it with sheer disgust then at him with pure hatred. And then his pale lips curl into a malicious smirk.

“Is that all you have to give?” The young man’s voice was as cruel as he was beautiful, “I don’t see why I should be stuck with someone as lowly as yourself. Because of that, I’m breaking up with you. I should be with someone who really treats me right and gives me nice things.”

“No! Zane! Don’t leave me!” Cole futilely begged.

But it was too late.

Zane already had his arms wrapped around Morro, who shot a cocky triumphant smirk at Cole. The muscular young man cried out to his traitorous lover but the couple already walked out of earshot.

“NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Cole found himself back at his house, relieved that Zane leaving him for Morro was nothing more than an elaborate fantasy. There’s no way he’s giving him up to some pretentious edgelord. He’s gonna bake the greatest cake ever and it’s all just for Zane.

...

Cole stared at the directions of a basic chocolate genoise recipe. Some of these phrases were confusing. How do eggs get white and fluffy? The recipe did recommend using a mixer and he luckily had one lying around in the kitchen. First, he had to get the eggs into the bowl. One would think having immense strength such as his would make it easy but maybe it was a little too much. By the time he had three eggs in the bowl, he already destroyed twice as many. He crushed most of the eggs in his hands and bits of shells mingled with the broken egg yolks in the bowl and egg whites ran down the sides from where he cracked them with too much force. It was surprisingly difficult to get the shell fragments out of the bowl with his large hands but in the end, he got them out for the most part. He added the sugar as the recipe said, and maybe a bit more so it can be just as sweet as Zane, and now it’s mixing time.

With the mixer plugged in, Cole looked at the dial, wondering if he should go on low or high. He wanted to get things done fast so might as well put it on high. The loud noise almost startled him but he watched and waited to see the eggs get ‘white and fluffy’. The eggs got paler and have thickened but Cole wasn’t sure if they can be considered as such. After watching the mixer go at it for what felt like forever, he gave up and decided to continue with what he got.

‘Dammit! I forgot to sift the dry ingredients whatever that means!’ Cole noticed he didn’t prepare the flour and cocoa powder beforehand, ‘But it’s not gonna change much. I can just dump them in right now.’ The dark-skinned novice chef added them in and put the mixer on high again. Flour and cocoa powder went everywhere. The flour-covered Cole had to switch the power to low and to his dismay, he could see lumps in the batter. He turned off the mixer and tried to fix it by hand. He stirred and stirred with a whisk but the lumps were still there. ‘Oh well. They’re really tiny. No harm in that.’

After that, he melted the butter and the directions said to mix a little bit of batter into it before adding it. It’s already gonna go into the cake so what’s the point in that? Cole shrugged and dumped it all in and whisked the batter. Now all that’s left is to actually bake the cake. Much to his dismay he also forgot to preheat the oven. The cake itself wasn’t even baked and it already felt like nothing was going right for him.

‘No! I’m not giving up! This is all for Zane!’ Cole already put so much effort into this cake and he won’t let it go to waste. He turned on the oven but while he was waiting, he made a disturbing discovery. The batter had separated for some reason.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’ Cole had no idea what he did wrong. He did just as the recipe said. Why is this happening? He tried stirring it and it seemed to do the trick. The oven finally reached the right temperature and after one final stir, Cole quickly poured the batter into the pan and left it in the oven to bake.

The cake was done once the latest episode of Hunted came to an end. Cole took the cake out of the oven and... was disappointed. The cake didn’t rise as much as it should have and was uneven. After it cooled, the strong guy had a hard time getting it out of the pan. In hindsight, he should’ve covered it with some parchment paper or greased it with cooking spray. The cake was stuck and he ran a knife along the sides and tried pulling it out by hand. It finally came out except chunks of the cake was still stuck to the pan. The cake looked really bad. Hopefully the ganache to frost the cake will hide its imperfections. All he had to do was melt the chocolate and cream together. Simple, right?

This is Cole who’s cooking. Of course it’s not gonna be as simple.

Cole wasn’t sure if the amount of cream the recipe called for will be enough. It seemed like so little compared to all the chocolate. ‘Some more wouldn’t hurt.’ Cole doubled the amount of cream and turned on the stove. He watched the cream warm up but it sure was taking its sweet time coming to a simmer, at least that’s what the recipe calls it.

‘Probably won’t hurt to check on my phone for a bit.’ Cole looked at his device to discover a new text from Kai.

The egomaniac bragged about all the things he’s doing with his boyfriend Jay and even posting a plethora of selfies. Cole felt a tinge of jealousy seeing how happy they were. He already had many happy moments with Zane but he felt like he was being left behind and when Kai’s sister Nya joined in with her two girlfriends Pixal and Skylor, it got even worse. He was almost jealous of Lloyd, who spends every Valentine’s Day buying a chocolate bar and eating it by himself. The green-eyed blonde seems to certainly enjoy being single. Cole was tempted to send some sort of reply but he didn’t want them to blab to Zane. The cake is supposed to be a surprise and nothing will stop him, not even the loud sizzling sounds and stench of something burning.

Burning...?

The cream was burning! Cole rushed in and almost got scalded by the bubbling liquid that almost touched his hand when he turned off the stove. After the bubbles died down, the burnt smell remained and the cream had almost evaporated. Luckily, he had more and just poured it in and the cold liquid made a scorching sound when it touched the pot. The intense heat could probably heat it up in an instant and he could save himself the work. He added it into the chocolate and then noticed the layer of burnt cream stuck to the bottom and cream in the bowl still carried a foul stench. Cole dismissed it as just the smell and the flavor won’t be affected.

Just as Cole feared, the hot cream alone wasn’t enough to melt the chocolate, even with twice the amount as the recipe said. No matter how much he stirred, there were still a bunch of lumps. He tried to fix it by heating it up in the microwave but nothing seems to be working out for him. He could hear something almost like an explosion go off in the microwave. With a speed that could match Jay’s, he took out the ganache (and almost burning himself again) and much to his horror, it was just as screwed as the cake. The recipe said the ganache was supposed to be smooth and shiny but the results of his attempt was dull, gritty, and sad. The chocolate kept separating and leaving ugly streaks in the mixture. Cole didn’t have enough ingredients to make another batch so he resigned himself to work with what he got.

Cole struggled to cut the cake in half but it was already so uneven. He couldn’t keep the knife straight and the cake kept crumbling. After getting two very sloppy layers, he finally noticed all the air pockets hidden within the cake. He grabbed some cake chunks that fell off and filled in the holes and tried spreading the ganache on the first layer. Something weird was going on with the chocolate. Thin liquid seeped from the grainy frosting and there was nothing he could do to remedy it. All he can do now is hope it won’t affect the cake too much and placed the next layer on top. Frosting a cake was clearly harder than it looks. He watched videos of cakes being frosted and he wished he had a turntable or an offset spatula. All he had was a plain kitchen knife and he struggled to frost all the sides and top.

Cole hoped frosting the cake will salvage it but somehow, it looked even worse. He looked through the recipe, hoping it could give him some hints to save it. All that was left was the final direction: decorate it however one likes. “Some help that turned out to be.” The buff man scoffed and looked at his sorry excuse for a cake, “I guess some decorations will make it a bit easier to look at...” Because the cake was for Zane, Cole wondered what kind of decorations Zane likes and what would suit him. The image of pure icy blue eyes stuck in his mind and he, more often than not, wore light colors. The first thing on his mind were something pastel-y. He looked through the cabinet for some pastel sprinkles or anything that says ‘Zane’. Unfortunately, the only kind of decorations he had was a pack of Halloween-themed sprinkles from a couple of years ago.

‘Should I even bother?’ Cole stared at the outdated sprinkles with dismay, ‘These stupid sprinkles don’t even match and the cake is too far gone...’ He looked at the disastrous confection again as if the pile of botched cake and ganache could provide any sort of answer to his dilemma. He wanted to quit while he still has some dignity left yet he his heart was telling him not to give up. He thought of the gifts he got in previous Valentine’s Days. He thought about Zane. He still feared his normally kind and patient boyfriend will dump him for Morro. He needed to make this cake look as good as it can possibly get. Without a second thought, he dumped the whole container of sprinkles onto the cake...

“Ah... The perfect cake for my Valentine...” Cole gazed at the beautiful finished cake...

...picture from the cookbook.

“Why doesn’t mine look like that!?” The dark-haired young man put down the book to gape at his hideous disaster of a homemade cake. The ganache was sloppy and separating and the sprinkles melted into the chocolate, creating a gross tie-dye effect and then there’s the messed up cake underneath it all. Cole wanted to do nothing more except cry over his failed efforts. He’ll surely lose Zane forever all because he wanted to return the love he had given him.

It’s too late to start over again. The sun was already starting to set and he could see a certain someone approaching the house from the window.

‘Crap!’ Cole didn’t even have time to wrap the cake or even put it in a box. He left it there and went to get changed. He scoured through his wardrobe to find the right outfit to impress Zane. He picked out yet another sleeveless shirt with a band logo and black pants. It wasn’t really formal but he was never one for those kind of clothes. He just wanted to wear something he really liked to make up for his awful time in the kitchen. The cheesy doorbell rang, notifying him that Zane was here. After a quick brush of his thick black locks, Cole went straight for the door. Taking a deep breath, Cole put on a debonair face and opened the door to welcome his lover.

Zane wore a simple yet elegant white shirt, khaki jeans, light blue vest and was holding something behind his back and Cole was pretty sure what it was. No matter what he wore or the circumstances, he always looked so breathtaking.

“Uh... Oh wow...” Cole was left tongue-tied at the sight of his beautiful boyfriend alone.

“I can tell you’re quite thrilled to see me.” Zane giggled at his lover’s flustered reaction. He couldn’t wait to show him what he made for this occasion.

“And I see you’ve got something for me.”

“Yes. I have made something special as promised to you.”

Zane took out the thing he hid behind his back and Cole was blown away just from the beautiful packaging. The heart-shaped container covered in pink wrapping with pretty heart patterns and a little Valentine card attached to it sat amidst a bed of white crinkle paper with a slight sheen in a clear plastic box that was tied up with a delicate red ribbon.

“Zane... I... Thank you...” Cole said out loud while he felt like he didn’t deserve such a lovely present and felt bad for even holding it. Then again, it’s been like this every year. He can keep his sorry attempt at baking a secret and things will go on as usual.

“I smell something coming from the kitchen...” Zane caught a whiff of a strange scent. His instincts to protect Cole went into overdrive and he sought to investigate.

‘Shit!’ Cole realized he completely forgot about the cake. There’s no way he’ll let Zane be a witness of something so unholy.

“Uh... n-no need to go in there! Hehe...” He blocked the entrance, slightly thankful for his musclebound build.

“Cole, is something wrong? You normally have no issue with me entering your kitchen.” Zane was still curious tried peeking over Cole’s shoulder.

“Nothing to see here! Why don’t we just go into the living room and watch some movies?” Cole still tried to distract him. As sweet as he is, Zane can be extremely persistent and unfortunately, now was one of those times.

“What is that?” Much to the larger man’s horror, his snow angel caught a glimpse of Ninjago’s cruelest mistake sitting on the kitchen table.

Cole saw the shocked and confused expression on his lover’s fair face. At that very second, the dam holding back the ugly truth broke down.

“Okay, fine! You want the truth?! I can’t cook!” Cole finally broke down, “I tried baking you a cake but no matter how hard I tried, it’s a disaster! If you’re gonna dump me right here and now, go ahead! Go out with Morro or whoever the hell you want! You deserve better!”

“What are you talking about...?” Zane didn’t expect his lover to react this way, especially not on this day dedicated to love.

Cole couldn’t bear to even look at Zane and curled up on the floor, hoping it would open up and swallow him whole. He truly wanted Zane to be happy and be with someone who can give treat him the way he should. Too bad that someone isn’t him.

“Cole, what happened? Please tell me.” Zane crouched down to his level. Again, he was being persistent. It would do him no good to argue back.

“You see... you’ve always made cakes and all kinds of good food for me and... I wanted to return the favor...” Cole sighed in defeat, still refusing to look at Zane.

“You made this... for me...?”

“I know what you’re thinking. You’re now wondering why you have to be stuck with a moron who can’t even bake a freakin’ cake. I won’t blame you if you break up with me. I’m just... I’m sorry I can’t be the person you deserve.”

“Cole...”

The buff man flinched when he felt a cool hand graze his cheek.

“Cole, look at me.” Zane’s voice was as smooth and calm as ever. Cole kept his earthy green eyes squeezed shut in fear of the disappointed look that is undoubtedly on his lover’s beautiful face. He jerked his head away but Zane caressed his chin. As scared as he was, Cole could never deny his lover whatever he wanted, even if it could put their relationship in jeopardy.

It was a struggle to open quivering eyelids and Cole was reward with not a scowl of disgust but a gentle serene face. Relief still hadn’t come to him and he had doubts it was genuine.

“Zane...?” A slight gasp escaped from Cole’s lips.

“I’m so grateful you wanted to do something special for me.” The slender beauty embraced his muscular boyfriend.

“Really? I mean, I... You don’t -”

“But...”

Cole should’ve known there was a catch. Even someone as kind and forgiving as Zane has his limits...

“Please don’t push yourself for my sake. You alone are the perfect gift.” Zane nuzzled the crook of his neck.

“Do you really mean that?”

“Yes. You are the one person who makes me feel like I can be me and allow me to experience feelings I’ve never felt with anyone else before. Being with you makes me feel... complete.”

“You... took the words right out of my mouth... because I feel the same with you. Even now, with you here, I don’t want to let you go. Zane, I love you.” Cole’s strong arms instinctively wrapped around Zane’s lithe frame despite his earlier fears.

“And I love you too. Nothing will ever change that.”

“Not even the cake?”

“Of course not.”

“So... wanna try it?”

“I think I’d prefer to live many more years with you.”

Cole let out a chuckle at one of the few instances his boyfriend’s sense of humor was on point.

“Would you like to see what I made for you?” Zane offered.

“Definitely. Now let’s go to the living so I can love you.” It was Zane’s turn to giggle at how affectionate the big guy can get and that’s what he loves about him.

No sooner had they sat on the couch did Cole carefully unwrap Zane’s gift. He was pleasantly surprised by a big chocolate heart decorated with cream, icing, and sprinkles with such detail and intricacy he wouldn’t be surprised if Zane took the time placing each little sprinkle onto the chocolate and with the icing, he even wrote ‘For My Love’ in fancy handwriting. Half of him wanted to dig right in while the other half didn’t want to mar such a lovely work of art.

“Go ahead. Please eat up.” Zane encouraged his first half that wanted to try it.

Cole didn’t hesitate to take a big bite out of the chocolate and was pleasantly surprised by what’s inside. The chocolate was filled with a mixture of soft chocolate cake and frosting like one giant cake pop and sandwiched in between was a layer of rich and smooth ganache that melted in his mouth. Even better was all the love and thought Zane put into it just like every other year. He almost gobbled up the whole thing had he not noticed Zane gazing at him the whole time with those mesmerizing crystalline eyes.

“Uh... why don’t you try some?” Cole offered what remained of his latest culinary masterpiece, “You made it yourself and as they say, you reap what you sow.”

“That’s quite alright. I made it just for you to enjoy. I’m simply happy that you like it.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make something for you in return?”

“After seeing the... results of your efforts... simply buying something will be nice. Like I said, I wouldn’t want you to push yourself. I love you too much to allow you to do that.”

“Oh, so now it’s become a contest on who loves who more?” Cole jested.

“If you think you love me more, prove it.” Zane teased back, motioning with his finger for Cole to come closer.

“With pleasure!” Cole swooped down and pressed his lips against Zane’s, who was just as eager to return the favor and kissed back.

The chocolate was already very sweet but sharing a kiss with Zane will always be a million times sweeter.

[vedj-f-bekuesu]

2019 in Retrospect

2019 has been fairly quiet, so I decided to start off this year by looking back on it. I’ll be dividing it by main fandoms/characters/ships because this year there were actually some new ones. That hasn’t been the case since, like, 2013. 

Sonic the Hedgehog

It was an...alright year for Sonic. TSR was fine but too light on content, Mario and Sonic Tokyo felt like a step down from Mario and Sonic Rio but was still alright, and I have not played SEGA Heroes (and haven’t bothered with the Chao in Space short). Lowest spot for me was the IDW comic; the Zombot arc has had one interesting story so far, but the rest has had either bad writing (primarily aimed at Shadow’s turn) or it’s just been wallowing in its bleakness in a way even Shadow the Game didn’t. Then again, I find zombie stories uninteresting to begin with, so no duh I’m not interested in a Sonic take on it. 

Chaotix kind of mirror that. Vector’s managed to get a good showing in, batting 3 for 3 on the game front, and having a key role in two of them. And like I said before, the Chaotix have genuinely had the most interesting stories within the Zombot arc, although with Vector and Charmy turned this may become more limited. Speaking of though, Espio and Charmy have had weaker presences. Espio managed to get into all three games in some form but to a lesser extent (one just by name), and Charmy was really left behind. 

As for Vecpio, it’s been pretty bare for canon material stuff. Espio got mentioned in TSR as contributing the report that reveals Dodon Pa’s true role (with him and Vector being the key to making everyone shut up about him being suspicious, proving they’re best as a team). And Mario and Sonic Tokyo has something if you headcanon some stuff; when Vector talks about the medals, Espio is the first person you’re directed to. Nothing is said by Vector about Espio in text, but you can implicate that Espio was chosen first because of his strong link to Vector, being the first one Vector would trust to compete at a gold level. Other than that? Dry. And with no announcements for Sonic games in 2020, this may just continue. 

Crash Bandicoot

On the reverse side, we have Crash Bandicoot having a really strong year. CTR:NF came out (which is a remake of my favourite Crash game) and has been doing gangbusters. On top of this, it has been going out of its way to revive pretty much every dead character in the franchise, to the point that we have RIlla Roo back in the fold (something I genuinely didn’t think would happen 19 years beforehand). 

Skipping straight to the shipping for this, I wouldn’t have imagined it for Crash ever, but there’s actually some in-game material for me to latch onto for DingodileXKomodo Joe! Dingodile has been pushed into a more jovial character since N-Sane Trilogy, being even more doubled down on in CTR:NF. However, for the past 20 years Komodo Joe has managed to avoid being given traits closer to Espio. This game finally catches up to him, and does it hard. Seriously, his character took a hard turn for the stoic badass Espio did after Heroes, and when did Joe ever use Martial Arts magic ever? Aside from making that dynamic naturally more matching, Slide Coliseum joins in the fun with the visual upgrade. It has holographic projections of a trophy girl repping a couple of racers dancing each, and guess who the devs felt could be paired up for how they go together rhythmically? That’s right, my reptile boys. Man. 

Super Mario Bros

What a weak year for Mario for me. What Mario got for new games this year were Luigi’s Mansion 3 (which I’ve not played), Mario Maker 2 (which isn’t new story content and doesn’t interest me in the slightest), Yoshi’s Crafted World (which I forgot was a thing) and Mario Kart Tour/Dr Mario World (which...um). 

Because of this set-up, Bowser hardly got anything to do so he’s really been on the backburner. Considering how he’s been pushed in the rest of the decade that’s saying something. In fact, the most character stuff he got was in Mario and Sonic Tokyo, and even that was mostly just alright (I think Bowser Jr got the best deal out of that).

Spyro the Dragon

Spyro was alright, but this one’s more understandable. With 2018 being the big year for Spyro’s return, 2019 was a rest for the little guy. That being said it wasn’t completely quiet; Spyro Reignited Trilogy finally got its port on the Switch, and to tie in with that Spyro got an appearance in CTR:NF. 

Because of the latter point, Gnasty Gnorc got a surprisingly strong year. Not only having more people learn about his glow-up in SRT, but bringing over that petty and angry character to CTR:NF. Seriously, his bit in the grand prix intro video is great, and he has more lines in his racing quips than any other game. 

OK KO

I don’t think I made a post about OK KO on Tumblr (or maybe I did one, I can’t remember). But I did manage to get into this just before it got cancelled so there’s that. 

I maintain that the Sonic crossover (aka the first thing I really knew about OK KO) didn’t give me a good impression of the show.It just seemed like “here’s the Sonic and Eggman dynamic but with more cartoon shenanigans*” and it spent more time making endless Sonic references. While some were deeper cuts which actually were impressive, most were references I could see in pretty much any Sonic-referencing material. It wasn’t until I decided to look up more info on Lord Boxman sometime after because I wanted to check if N.Gin was an influence that I found out the plot of the actual show (crossover notwithstanding) was pretty nuts and way more up my alley. 

Speaking of, there’s Voxman. Whereas other ships on here I have to dig through material to construct nuggets from them, this was literally in the text. And why not, they have a good dynamic and are usually the most fun to watch bounce off each other. And I still like the fact that if KO and Lord Boxman were the Sonic and Eggman parallel, the story ends with Eggman becoming Sonic’s stepfather. Let’s see IDW tell a story like that, it’d be better than the Zombot stuff. 

*I think that was the point but still. 

LEGO

Man I wouldn’t have thought they would have remade LEGO Racers but the one they made this year was gre--

Okay no, this year basically reignited another flame that I thought was snuffed out like 16 years ago. For a brief history of me and LEGO, when I was six I had a freestyle box which I used to make an elemental superhero persona. I played with this until I was 11. Before then, my sister got some LEGO Harry Potter sets (which we still have in the loft), I played LEGO Racers a lot (and wasn’t very good at it), and I owned two random other LEGO sets (the trike from Life on Mars and Lava from RoboRIders). 

After that, I only dabbled in LEGO when there was a Sonic set done for LEGO Dimensions. I did try to play more into it, but it was really prone to crashing in certain worlds so I eventually got frustrated enough to stop playing it. Sometime in the interim though my sister started enjoying LEGO films without me knowing, so when February came around I was dragged to see LEGO Movie 2 when all I wanted to see in 2019 was Toy Story 4. Dad insisted on it since we rarely have family outings. In retrospect; 

LEGO Movie 2 hit me in a way a piece of media hasn’t for years, or even decades. It’s shot up to be my third-favourite film of all time. And it’s revealed to me that LEGO is shockingly good at making endearing characters. So much so that breaking it down (pun not intended) has to be done by theme.

LEGO Movie: Part of the reason why I didn’t get into LEGO earlier was because I did see LEGO Movie back in 2014 when my sister was given it on DVD (she wasn’t into LEGO then) and I wasn’t impressed with it. In retrospect, I can appreciate what it did more, and I bring it up because it’s what makes Unikitty, Benny and Metalbeard so endearing when combined with what happened in TLM2. Lucy’s okay (moreso in the sequel), Emmet’s cute, President Business is fun but the MVP is definitely Rex Dangervest, who’s this feral monster but with Emmet buried away deep inside ready to flesh him out. When I make LEGO stories, I just have Rex change his mind on rescuing himself after getting the dinosaurs, and instead wreaking havoc in the present. This kills Emmet off in any story I do but it’s a worthy sacrifice. 

LEGO City Undercover: As a video game person I’m kicking myself for not getting into this before. Frank Honey is the best; he’s adorable and weird yet still feeling very much human and basically the Emmet of his city. Rex Fury has grown on me lots since my initial assessment of him,it’s infectious how much fun he has with being a criminal (while Vinnie is more fun when not doing criminal stuff and Chan seems to be more focused on doing criminal stuff as a job. I also think his calmer side is criminally (no pun intended again) overlooked). Also Ellie is underrated, she is the best straight man you could ask for. 

LEGO City Adventures: As I’ve said before, pretty much everyone in LCA is adorable, especially Duke and Harl. Still hoping for more Daisy time in the second season, she could be a riot if played properly and not just a Fendrich stooge. 

Ninjago: Coming in with the hot take here; I prefer the movie version of Ninjago to the series. I think the problem with the series is that it has so much baggage from before the series started to iron out some of its issues and cliches that it’s kinda hard to get into as a new person, whereas movie Ninjago is a lot more approachable and written better off the bat (although I do see why it wouldn’t go down well with existing Ninjago fans). This all just makes me think of that moment in series 11 where Nya sees her worst fear of being normal in an artefact and it shows her movie self, almost as a take that. It just makes me think the show writers are salty about movie Nya kicking show Nya’s ass in being a better character. Also shout outs to Kai, Cole, Zane and Lloyd for being great characters as well (Jay is cute in the movie, his show self can be punted off a cliff for all I care). And I am with the movement to have Cole come out as gay (or at least bi if they want to keep Tournament of Elements I guess). 

Nexo Knights: This show is regarded as another Ninjago wannabe, but it feels very different to Ninjago to me. So much so, there’s not a single one of the heroes I don’t like and they all need to be cherished. Macy gets props for being the best female character to me, Aaron is probably my favourite now and this is a house of Clance for future reference. 

So, with all that being said, what do I think of the prospects for 2020? I think it’s going to be quieter than 2019 to be honest, since there’s a lot winding down, and on the game side there’s been zero announcements. Crash and Spyro having a rest is understandable, Sonic’s going to have to get past the movie before gearing up for 2021 probably (for the record I have no interest in the movie) and Mario just needs to try harder. And with OK KO dead, only LCA is holding the fort for guaranteed new content I want to engage in right now. 

You know what would be fun though? Series 20 of the minifigures theme is due at the end of this year. Wouldn’t it be awesome to use the occasion to give some phsical minifigures to characters who never got them before? LIke, Rex Fury somehow still has enough demand to be a persistent feature in the customs market, give him an official figure (especially since he’s the only character from LCU that’s not Chase that’s even appeared in merch outside the game). Or let Sky Lane get her LEGO Universe look in physical form to go with her LIXS look. Or heck, finally give Rocket Racer his original look, that’s how I discovered the minifigure world in the first place!

[birchwoodswolf]

FYI: Ninjago Theories is dead and has been for a long time. It was simply too stressful for me to continue, so I stopped doing it. However, I still do theories and answer questions - I just do it on this blog instead, mostly because there's less pressure for professionalism, since this is more of a personal blog.

However, considering that I’ve gotten this question many, many times in the past, I’ve decided to take the time to answer it now, just in case if I haven’t done so before. And as for the answer, it's actually pretty simple - the spell never required all of the elements in the first place.

Lots of people who have been following this blog (as in the blog I’m posting this on, birchwoodswolf; not Ninjago Theories) for some long time will know that I'm the main person working on decoding the Ninjago "Kanji", aka all of the text-like characters that are frequently scattered throughout the show. (It's usually not very hard to spot them, even if you aren't looking for them - they appear in lots of very obvious places in S6 and especially S7, though they made their debut all the way back in E31 of S3, and they've been scattered throughout every season since.)

As it just so happens, one place - namely, Clouse's grimoire - shows the exact elements (and preparations) needed to perform the spell. The post I made decoding it is very silly (because as it turn out, all you need to turn yourself into a powerful Anacondrai is a few ingredients and about an hour of cooking time), but it's also about one and a half years old. Over that time we've made a lot of progress with decoding even more - at this point, we've found all of the lowercase symbols, and every capital symbol except for either three or four (namely K, V, Y, and H - but it's possible we already have capital H, because it appears that capital and lowercase H share the same symbol).

To get back to your question, though, the spell actually doesn't require all the elements - as a matter of fact, it only requires seven: Lightning, Speed, Earth, Metal, Gravity, Poison, and Form. Because of this, it's unknown why Chen decided to summon all of the Elemental Masters, but if I had to guess, it might've been to throw people who might have known about the spell (for instance, Garmadon) off the scent, and leave them with no idea of his true motives. It's also possible that it was (either primarily or additionally) a power-grab, as it's very obvious that Chen's element-absorbing staff made him pretty much unstoppable once he had most of the elements.

Most interestingly, though, a lot of the actions that Chen takes and the specific fights that he sets up throughout the season seem a lot less arbitrary when considered through the lens that not all of the elements are essential - most interestingly, it can explain a lot of the match-up choices for the various fights and competitions. For instance, consider the first round of arranged fights in the Tournament (i.e. not the competitions where the winner could be any arbitrary person, like the first challenge with the Jade Blades). For a quick refresher, these were the pairings in the order the fights occurred, with the winner listed first:

Turner vs Gravis

Neuro vs Bolobo

Kai vs Ash

Jay vs Cole

Skyl*r vs Jacob

Lloyd vs Chamille

Shade vs Tox

The pattern here is not initially obvious - until you notice that most of the fights, the essential elements were paired up against each other, while nonessential elements were paired with other nonessential ones. In the Turner vs Gravis fight, for instance, Chen gains a required element no matter who wins or loses - and it's the same way with Cole vs Jay. Similarly, it doesn't matter who wins out of Kai vs Ash, or Skyl*r vs Jacob, because neither of those elements are required. Further, there are only two exceptions to this pattern, and they can be easily explained by the fact that Tox barely had a role in the season, and she just wasn't as interesting as Chamille (so Chamille was paired with Lloyd instead).

When considering S4 in the context of this theory, a lot of the other seemingly-arbitrary details start to make sense, too. For instance, it makes more sense for why Chen had to kidnap Zane - Lightning and Earth are two of the essential elements, so if Jay and Cole didn't show up, Chen couldn’t perform the spell. If this is true, it's also potentially possible that Chen could have somehow given a ransom to the other essential Elemental Masters, though this is purely speculation.

From a more meta point of view, it also makes sense for the spell to not require all the powers - at the point S4 was being written, it might not have been quite decided that Nya was the Master of Water, or they might have decided to fit that detail into S5 instead (possibly because of pacing). Additionally, I really don't think that the Time Twins were even a vague idea back then - S4 was probably being written in 2013 or 2014, and Dr. Saunders/Krux was only introduced in Day of the Departed, which first aired two years later (and, additionally, neither DOTD nor S7 were written by the Hagemans - another writer, David Shayne, had/has taken over for those. However, the Hagemans are confirmed to have returned to write S8).

So, yeah, I'd say that just about covers it. Long story short, there's a lot of somewhat hidden information we can still figure out about the series, and I don't think it's going to stop coming any time soon.