#pilot/season 1 kai

[crappyyuki]

More Lego Ninjago!

This man has me on a choke hold.

Like. I started this just after the other post and finished in 2 hours. 2 HOURS. Its a miracle. My average is around 5 hours XDDD

Spoilers!

Anyway. Its his time to shine. As a father mentor to his daughter a feral child. And be the badass ninja that he is.

But also he dumb because he is so dumb.

I love him so much. He is so my fav.

I love the sketch too. I couldn't capture its essence during the rendering stage so imma just—

Mwah. I love it so much. Idk how I pulled it off. It came outta nowhere omg.

I love Kai. Hope to see more content of him.

And his trauma on Nether Space omg gimme the details. SPILL THE TEA GOSH DAMMIT! Did he get depresso cuz he's told he's trapped there for eternity but no expresso cuz he has to keep the bravado for his amigo Bonzle?

(Idk where that came from.)

Pls share ideas my god. I might draw them. Or write. Or cry. Idk. Whatever comes first.

Give the fire big bro some love pls. He deserves it. He's been sidelined for so long oh my god you have no idea. Its so disheartening cuz he was the protagonist on the beginning and has been for a long time in my eyes. He deserves some screen time and main character energy.

Like he had such a main character energy when he came back. That entrance was FIRE and that line was COLD. He is so cool. Gosh.

(Let him collapse pls. Nether Space should not be good for a not shattered soul like him. Like, did his soul shatter when he was sucked into the portal? If so, what are the effects? I have so many questions.)

(Also also I'm so curious to what happens when you forcefully shatter someone's goodness with the gong of shattering. If that's a thing, PLS DO IT TO KAI PLS. HE DESERVES A VILLAIN ARC!

LET HIM FIGHT HIS FAMILY.

MAKE THEM SUFFER.)

I love Kai man. You have no idea.

[denkilightning]

i need yall to remember that baby jay did not care whatsoever about saving people, he just wanted to fly and go on adventures and have an interesting life.

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Kai, Nya and their Parents - The Difference between knowing and not knowing what you're missing - and the sacrifices made by a caring brother

The day Nya was brought home - the day Kai met Nya face to face for the first time; Kai is two (Hands of Time, episode 3, A Time of Traitors)

Three years later

Ray and Maya are kidnapped, thus forcing Kai to take on the responsibility of becoming a five year old Dad aka the death of Kai's babyhood and childhood so as to preserve Nya's babyhood and childhood (Hands of Time, episode 8, Pause and Effect)

Thirteen years later

Kai and Nya are reunited with their parents (Hands of Time, Episode 8, Pause and Effect)

Three years later (vid from Seabound, episode 2, The Call of the Deep)

Though Kai had pointed out that Nya and Maya did not get along (due to Nya's independence from having grown up without her parents); at Master Wu's insistence, Kai calls in his mother to help Nya with her power problem.

Nya, however, dislikes Maya's mothering (what she considers babying).

When Wu suggests that Nya should discuss her issues with Kai, Nya insists with scorn that Kai likely enjoys being waited on and loves to be treated like a baby.

(Note how Nya goes from the probability statement of "probably, likes, being waited on" to the presumption in her absolute statement of "I bet he loves being treated like a baby" -- Nya, please tell me if this is your thoughts on your brother who raised you and gave up everything for you then when has he ever previously behaved in such a way that would suggest your statements to be true.)

The difference here is that Kai remembers what it was like to have someone taking care of him only to have it ripped away - to go from being the baby boy to suddenly having to be the adult for his sister.

Nya, though, doesn't really remember what it was like to be cared for by her parents; but, she remembers what it was like to be cared for (by her brother).

Kai is, in a way, reveling in the joy of being able to play games with his father, eat food cooked by his mother, and learn once more from his parents.

All things he hoped for but never once thought he'd ever have again.

While growing up, Nya was likely allowed to play games, eat homemade food that she didn't have to cook, and learn from Kai the lessons that he remembers their parents teaching them.

Kai on the other hand, had to get straight to work, schedule time in a busy day to cook so that Nya could eat, and be the one to teach trusted lessons from his parents (while likely having to weed out good advice from bad, given to him by whichever random adult decided to give it to him).

Kai's sacrifices for Nya can even be seen in the clothes they wear in the pilot.

When we first see Nya it looks like she's dressed in silk clothes which we know didn't come from Maya's closet since she generally dresses in blue.

Kai on the other hand is introduced in his blacksmithing clothes and goes to train with Wu, in his blacksmithing clothes, which may indicate a limited closet - he may even be wearing his Father's clothes as a way to save money.

But, you might say, he has different clothes in the episode, The Royal Blacksmiths.

Yes, he does have different clothes, but these clothes, like his and the Ninja's matching pajamas (color coded but with the same golden dragon on the chest pocket) are likely the result of Kai now being able to lean on Wu, financially.

Note that Kai's clothes are the only ones that indicate his elemental power - the others likely already had these clothes on hand before they met Wu (except maybe Zane - IDK).

Another way Kai's sacrifices and generosity torwards his sister can be shown is by comparing the first pilot episode to the Season 2 episode 6, Wrong Place, Wrong Time.

In this episode it is shown that, were it not for Nya getting kidnapped by Garmadon, Kai would never had cared about becoming a ninja.

It was only the knowledge that becoming a ninja was the only way to save Nya that motivated Kai to become a ninja.

Yet in a timeline where Nya was never kidnapped, all Kai cared about was getting the blacksmith shop back on its feet after the Skulkin attack.

So how did Wu convince Kai to come to the Monastery, the answer, he didn't - Nya did.

Wu unintentionally convinced Nya to become a ninja and since Kai wasn't just going to let her go off on her own (this is his fourteen year old little sister who he raised after all) Kai went with her so they could become Ninja.

Kai gave up what he wanted in favor of what Nya wanted.

~~~~~

Kai's sacrifices, his giving nature, and everything he does for Nya is almost practically an automatic habit, because he and Nya lost their parents at a young age thus forcing Kai to give up being a child to be Nya's caretaker.

And yet throughout the series whenever the siblings bring up their parents, it becomes clear that Kai made sure that Nya never forgot them and that they were remembered well, that they were missed and not forgotten.

I really like Nya; and while Seabound is a great season it also points out that Nya may just be truly unaware of how much Kai sacrificed for her to the point where she doesn't understand exactly why Kai likes having their parents around; among other details that she and others misunderstand about Kai.

Believe me, I like the idea that Nya knows and helps her brother out where she can, and she definitely loves him, but it seems like Seabound has shown her to be unaware of Kai's trials and tribulations in raising her and keeping them both from landing in the grave of the fireflies.

[hiddensneker]

Your really telling me zane didn’t take his shirt off ONCE pre robot reveal?

[toastingpencils37]

It's actually crazy to think that even while excluding Jay (sorry Jay) we still haven't seen the remaining of the original ninja all together yet.

Because in Season 1 Part 1, Lloyd finally gets reunited with Nya, Kai, and Zane by the end, but not yet Cole.

And then when Cole is found, it's only Nya (with Sora), and Cole doesn't come with them.

And then with the Mech shorts, though it is pretty possible that Cole did interact with Zane, Zane doesn't pop up in the shorts at all. Plus none of the shorts have all of the other four together. (Kai and Cole for short 1; Nya, Kai, & Cole for short 2; then finally Lloyd, Kai, & Cole for short 3).

Then Cole finally actually gets reunited with Zane on screen in Season 2 Part 1, though the rest of the ninja aren't there.

THEN, at the end of Season 2 Part 1, we have all the ninja together (excluding Jay again), right? WRONG. Kai's gone. All of them are there, but now another ninja is missing and gone.

[tornoleander]

Started making the terrifying Ninjago but only when men are whimpering

This video has no right to be this funny.

Thought it would be at least a little uncomfortable, but I can’t stop laughing. Hands down the funniest thing I’ve ever made.

Place your bets

Lol you were wrong It’s Kai

[thestoryteller-thedreamer]

I completed my first ninjago fanfic on ao3 yesterday! It is so exciting to see my story come so far, and I am immensely grateful for all of the support and encouragement and comments I’ve received on it!

Here is the summary: 

Kai has spent the last five years protecting his younger sister, Nya, on his own. However, when she is endangered, he must accept the help of Cole, a natural leader grieving the death of his mom, Jay, an inventor and chronic people-pleaser, and Zane, a perfectionist with no memory of his past, to retrieve four weapons forged long before time had a name.

[blu3cl0v3rs]

Badly explained Ninjago Seasons

First up, Pilots and Season 1

Pilots: The Devil kidnaps Spiky's younger sister, Meow, and the guy gets taken in by Gandalf, the devil's brother, who teaches him how to make mini tornadoes. Gandalf then introduces Coal, a jaywalker, and an ice cube maker. For convenience, we'll call the jaywalker Bluejay, and the ice cube maker Freezy.

Spiky, Coal, Bluejay, and Freezy steal some gold super-powered weapons made by god. Meow gets freed by Spiky, and Gandalf goes to hell to fight the devil with one of the golden weapons. Spiky, Coal, Bluejay, and Freezy teleport using dragons, and the devil kills a skele by tricking it to hold all of the gold weapons, which kills anyone that holds all four. The skele turns into a multi-dimensional portal, and the devil goes through. Spiky, Coal, Bluejay, and Freezy become "the Ninja".

Season 1: The devil's emo son, who we will call Trauma Child, tries to take over a village, but "the Ninja" stops him, so he trips down a hole and controls the king of the bloo sneks. Spiky accidentally steals from Gandalf and finds a prophecy about the Green Ninja. Trauma Child gets kicked out by the bloo sneks and then the reb sneks, and the reb and bloo sneks team up, so Trauma Child releases porple snek. Porple snek ate all the other porple sneks, and sacrificed Trauma Child to his uncle, Gandalf. Big Fighter Mech enters the ring.

Porple Snek then decides he's gonna revive big snek who wants to om nom the entire world, and forces all of the bloo, reb, gren, and bleck sneks to gather some special knives that can free big snek. Trauma Child gets kidnapped by the sneks. Gandalf leaves to find the devil.

Freezy is actually a robot, Bluejay starts dating Meow and temporarily becomes a snake, and Coal has daddy issues and comes out as gay to his father. All three have magical girl moments. Spiky is jealous. Meow is Big Fighter Mech.

Gandalf and the devil are back to save Trauma Child, and Spiky is delusional and tries to fight the devil, thinking it'll give him his magical girl transformation. Gandalf, the devil, Big Fighter Mech, and "The Ninja" jump the sneks and Spiky saves Trauma Child from getting roasted in a volcano, which triggers his magical girl transformation. Trauma Child is the Green Ninja. Porple snek frees big snek, and he and Gandalf get eaten by big snek. "The Ninja" ties big snek into a city-wide knot, and the devil smacks it on the head with the gold weapons, then runs away. Gandalf lives, and "The Ninja" celebrate.

First | Previous | Next

[kyri45]

Family Portrait

oh boy I sure hope nothing traumatic will ever happen to poor little Kai

many of you already know, but the council (me and you guys) have decided that the canon fankid of Spicynoodle is Kai. Yes, Kai from Ninjago.

Kai was born decades after the current events of the SBP Second Star timeline. He mostly inherited the Demon Bull family traits, especially his human appearance from both Red Son and Princess Iron Fan. He has small fangs, a pair of horns that wont grow until he is of age, and a thin tail with a bigger tuff on the end of the same fur and color of his Baba Xiaotian.

As for powers, Kai developed pyrokinesis for a different kind of fire than his Father Red Son (of which none of the parents have yet figured out the kind, thus making training much harder), as well as the agility of his father, and the love for swordsmanship from his aunt Mei (although they agreed he's too young to use anything close to a real blade yet). Being born throught the "mortal way" he is thus not immortal like his parents, as Xiaotian wished they could give him the choice to become one once he reaches adulthood.

I wont go too much in deep here, but while the timeline pre-Ninjago pilot is slightly different for obvious reasons, most of the canon events of Ninjago Season 1-8 still happen.

Let's just say the events post-pillar of Season 5 had to do with how Kai ended up in the Ninjago realm after a certain age...

[eyecan02]

Alastor Analysis

Alastor's background regarding romance and sexuality goes all the way back to early drawings that depict Alastor crushing on Kay-cee.

The story then moves on from a crush on Kay-cee to a full on relationship with Mimzy.

It makes me wonder how Viv jumped from Alastor in a relationship to Alastor being ace. It feels like quite a wide leap. With Viv being the creator, I have nothing but respect for her but I feel like Alastor can still love/possibly do sexual acts while still keeping in character and looking out for #1.

I feel like while Alastor was alive, he leaned toward graysexual and this is why. I don't believe this man died a virgin. As we all know Alastor is from the 20s. He's in his late 30s/40s, meaning that it would've been uncommon for a man his age to still be unwed/unattached to someone. I'm sure he went on blind dates set up by his mom, and even occasionally slept with women in order to keep up appearances. He most likely did this in order to make his mother happy since any mother would've liked to have seen their child happily married.

And after Alastor became an overlord, the occasional sex probably didn't stop there, because Alastor is all about about keeping up appearances and deals. He definitely comes off as someone who would use sex as a means to and end. If a woman wanted to trade their soul in exchange for Alastor's protection and one night with him, I feel like Alastor wouldn't turn her down. It would be a decision that would end up leading to an increase in power for him. He just likely wouldn't kiss during the act.

Now finally onto Alastor's relationship with Charlie. From the beginning, we've all known that Alastor has his own agenda and reasons for involving himself with Charlie. He's a master of manipulation, knowing love is a powerful motivator (the way he manipulates Vaggie by making her feel bad about Charlie and the commercial) and also digging into Charlie's daddy issues.

It was clear that Alastor tried to play the boyfriend card to piss off Luci. It was only after Charlie introduced Vaggie that Alastor changed tactics and switched to the daddy card.

This means that Alastor would be willing to play any role to get what he wants from Charlie, whether the endgame is obtaining her soul or becoming her royal advisor or whatever. If Vaggie had been introduced in the pilot as a mere crush, Alastor would've caught onto the daddy issues quick and would've angled for a romantic role in Charlie's life since love and sex would be easy things for Alastor to manipulate (if my theory is right about him using sex as a means to an end).

I feel like this kind of materializes during the pilot with the way Alastor keeps pushing Vaggie out of the way, and how Vaggie seems jealous whenever Alastor impresses Charlie.

We don't know if this weird competition for Charlie's attention will persist between them as the series goes on considering that behavior was absent in season one. What's interesting is that the jealousy aspect switched from Vaggie to Alastor. The second Luci hugged Charlie, we're shown Alastor looking maliciously at Luci with his eye twitching in irritation.

What do we know about Alastor so far? He's an attention whore . He's used to being one of the strongest demon lords (at least from the pride ring) so suddenly not having attention, particularly Charlie's attention is making him act nuttier than usual.

Usually, it's hard for someone to be jealous without at least having some feelings toward the one they're feeling jealousy over. "Ah, an enjoyable collective to be around. I admit that one could get accustomed." This line is for the entire Hazbin gang, but also a real sign he cares for Charlie.

He can still have his own hidden agenda while caring about Charlie and being attracted to her. And he definitely is attracted to her. Calls her "charming and adorable". The constant touching.

Some might argue that that's just a part of Alastor's power play/dominance but he already knows that those types of moves don't intimidate Charlie. In fact, she never seems bothered at all when Alastor tries physically to get closer to her.

Also, the animators placing Alastor in Charlie's bed with both of them on a HEART pillow is insane. They know what they were doing. We see the way Alastor's hands possessively spider crawl up Charlie's shoulders and the way he grips her face.

And by the looks of it, Alastor seems to lust after Charlie's soul almost as much as his freedom. Viv has said that Alastor can't love anyone because he loves himself too much. Yet, she has also described Charlie as "Alastor's mirror".

The fact that they even made Charlie's color palette similar to Alastor's. Her hot pink jacket is almost a reddish color and they both wear bow ties. If Charlie is a reflection of Alastor then wouldn't that mean he does technically love himself by loving Charlie? He could be Charliesexual.

Not saying Viv will change her mind. She already chose her endgame. BUT what if Prime and Viv compromise and we get to have one sided Charlastor where Alastor admits to someone or even directly confesses his romantic love to Charlie herself (without actually trying to steal her from Vaggie)?

[chebyshevptera]

Yo, what’s ur favorite canonical fact about jay x kai and/or moment with them? Like when Kai kinda made Yin-Yang Promise, dude really out here proposing like it’s a rom-com, or the moment when Jay called him Kai baby yk, damn these r just examples to make my question clear

And here r a few little bugs for ya 🐞🐞🐞🪲🪲

EHEHWHAHEJAHAJADHA

i have a few favorite scenes… but i think this one from season 1 episode 5 is my favorite atm

it’s everything to me . jay’s little wink . the way he continues to hold kai’s hand after he’s helped kai up . the mild hesitance to summon his airplane until kai stops screaming to make sure that he doesn’t scare kai even more . ouuuuhhh they make me ill . plasma always at the scene of the crime it’s actually insane how obsessed they are with each other in the og seasons

i also like this scene a lot because it subtly establishes just how much jay cares about his loved ones and what he’s willing to do for them . leave it to season 1 jay to build a whole special defense system for his friends and then be too embarrassed to say he loves them

some honorable mentions though:

- yeah, the proposal scene. i will love u forever yin jay and yang kai

- that scene in hands of time where kai tells jay what the word temporal means while looking at him like he’s his entire world

- the scene in the pilots (?) where kai looks up at jay while they’re riding their dragons and just kind of admires him

- *THWACK* “what’s the matter with you?!” (first pilot ep, when jay hits kai on the head for being stupid)

[always---wrong]

Just watched season 2 part 1 of Dragons Rising and I love it!!

I think what would be so funny though is that when Jay finally does come back Nya will come up to him, tears in her eyes and he'll just be like, "who are you?"

And it'll be soul crushing but Jay then like sees Kai and it's like that scene from the pilot and instantly has a crush cause c'mon, he's definitely bisexual. I could just imagine him asking Kai what's his favorite color, like in the pilot and being a blushing mess while Nya is absolutely heartbroken and also in shock while Kai is completely disturbed and confused.

In the next episode or so while Jay is still an amnesiac, Nyas like "give him back" and Kais like, "you can have him??!!! In fact, take him away, please!"

I think it'd be so funny if he just kept trying to impress Kai or something and Kai is barely keeping himself from either killing himself or Jay. He only hasn't because he loves Nya too much.

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

When your Sibling doesn't like your Love Interest - Ninjago: Jiang Smiths Siblings

Kai about Jay liking Nya

You know how Kai looked ready to kill Jay when he first met him, just for showing an interest in Nya.

How Kai would mess with Jay in Season 1.

But he accepted the relationship in Season 6/7 (just so long as he doesn't have to see a Jaya kiss).

And even helped Jay practice his proposal in Season 10.

Yeah ...

Kai is not the only Jiang Smith Sibling who doesn't like the idea of someone dating their sibling.

First the slightly backhanded complement:

"Skylor's right, look at her, she could have inherited her father Chen's evil empire and ruled the world but instead dedicated her life to spending her day bent over a hot stove to provide low cost quality noodles to the people of Ninjago city."

There was definitely a nicer way to say that, Nya, especially when Skylor's response to that statement was the following:

Skylor had brought out two bowls of noodles, the type that always cheered her up, so as to cheer up the siblings but in hearing Nya, she then says,

"Gee, when you put it like that. *Sigh* Let me get some of those"

And then takes Nya's untouched bowl to cheer herself up

But also:

(And before you say, but maybe Nya just doesn't know because she and Kai didn't have their parents. First, a dedicated parent can get their kids properly using chopsticks by age five; but even if you say that they just don't know the rules on etiquette - your telling me that there wasn't at least one busybody old lady that would reprimand a small child for bad manners - not to mention Wu when the siblings start living with the Ninja)

Yeah, Nya's much more subtle but I don't think she's quite ready for the idea of her brother dating.

That or she just doesn't approve of Skylor being Kai significant other.

~

P.S.

To me Nya, sometimes, kinda comes off as that girl who was raised by her single father. She's moving out of the house, ready to have her own life away from her dad only to find out that he's started dating - and she is not happy about it.

She also, sometimes, kinda comes off like she knows that Kai, for her, was more than a brother, that he was her father - but she doesn't want to acknowledge it / is not ready to acknowledge it, because that would mean talking about the bad parts of their life, while growing up.

[hyperfixate-on-ninjas]

You know what? Screw it Arin and Sora are the same Age as the Ninja…

This Shuffle AU has messed with my timeline enough they’re the same age. So they’re all 18-19 somewhat. (Except for Nya and Jay obviously…and Lloyd)

Anyways here are the designs and information post because rewriting 16+ Seasons is hard, especially since the First one on the list gives me a headache.

Here ya go @jay-the-walker-36 and @totallynotabuckybarnessimp enjoy your food

Order of the Shuffle:

Legacy of the Green Ninja

Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitsu

DR Season 2

Master of the Mountain

Possession

Prime Empire

Rebooted

Rise of the Snakes

Seabound

Skybound

DR Season 1

Hands of Time

Crystallized

Island of the Keepers

Tournament of Elements

March of the Oni

Sons of Garmadon

Hunted

Kai Jiang-Smith

Kai’s background is a little different here. He loses his sister in the Merge. He doesn’t leave right away because the Village (or at least some of the adults that hadn’t gotten lost in the Merge.) advised against it and instead just wait for her to come back.

When Kai gets older and business doesn’t do so well and he’s getting frustrated, he heads out in search of his sister. He does this to get at least a bit of closure as to what happened to her instead of wondering if she’s dead or not. However things come to shove and soon he runs out of money to get him by.

He goes into a crime life and gets a few odd jobs here and there. To the point that he leads a double life.

(This is where Ninjago Monstrosity comes in. I decided to let Kai go there willingly himself because if young Kai just landed there with no fighting experience he would’ve died tbh.)

Kai gets to the Land of Monsters and takes down a few monsters basically becoming the early version of Rogue. (Except I like to think his demand is higher than Rogue or maybe even equal to Rogue, not because of his skill but because he’s known as ‘The Expert on Monsters’) but eventually he gets into some trouble and meets Cole who ends up helping him find Nya and yada yada just check out this post for the Rewritten version of the Pilots.

Cole Brookstone

Cole ends up in the Land of Lost Things like in canon and meets the Finders like in Canon. The only difference is that the Finders are more careful when they ‘Find’ things and learn to adapt and survive in an environment where they are constantly hunted for a while. (Considering Cole doesn’t have his powers anymore)

After Cole basically builds a life for himself, eventually he longs to return home to see what happened and even though he has a hard relationship with his Dad at the moment he still wonders if his Dad is even okay.

That’s when Wu appears to him and gives him a sign that he should leave. Cole says goodbye to the Finders and promises to come back one day so he heads out and ends up at the Monastery where he trains to be a Ninja. (Somehow, I haven’t actually…decided how he learns this?)

He ends up finding Kai and together they find the Golden Weapons and save Nya.

Nya Jiang-Smith

She ends up in the Realm of Madness like canon, except she doesn’t end up with the Craiglings. Instead she’s trying to survive on food. When Garmadon discovers that the Realm of Madness he instantly goes there to get his Four Arms, stumbling upon Nya in the process.

Due to the fact that Nya looks a lot like Maya he assumes she’s Maya and Ray’s kid (Million dollar guess for Garm right there) he ‘captures’ her and basically raises her as a captive. (Too dangerous to keep her close and too risky to let her go.)

(This actually causes Nya to sympathize more with Garm??? Like she actually gets to know him more than the evil dictator he claims himself to be.)

However due to the fact that there is a lack of food, and Skulkin barely need food and honestly they’d rather let Nya starve, she’s malnourished (Hence why the clothes look baggy on her) she gets saved the usual way the Pilots go because Garm finds out that Kai is her brother.

When they get saved, they decide that she might be the Blue Ninja much to Wu’s despair and they start training her because self-defense and stuff. Ultimately she replaces Jay as the inventor of the group. (Until…Jay joins them? I’m not really sure WHEN he joins them because I ultimately made DR Season 2 different and DR Season 3 part 1 isn’t even on this list and I decided not to add it because that’ll make things harder for myself, besides he joins them without DR S3 p1 so this is gonna be interesting)

Speaking of Jay….

Jay Walker

(My guy you look like a normal Joe why the heck did you decide that old hairstyle you look so normal it’s uncanny-)

Head of Realm Re-Assignment of course Jay ends up at the Administration. Which is probably…not a good thing.

He was raised in the Administration having been separated from his parents so it’s quite literally the only thing he knows until he becomes a fully-fledged Agent. Once he becomes Head of Realm Re-Assignment since that’s never changed.

The Ninja don’t really meet him until Prime Empire maybe. (Still trying to work out WHEN he leaves the Administration)

Jay doesn’t end up leaving with Ras because Jay isn’t an Elemental Master by the time DR S2 happens. Instead the EM fighting for Ras is Zane. But he does defect somewhere during Dr S2 p1. (Possibly had a self-reflection or whatever idk Maybe Wu fried his brain)

Zane (???)

Captain of the Claws of Imperium, Zane is in charge of the capture of dragons with Rapton being demoted to Second-In Command. (Rapton regains being captain when Zane ultimately leaves however)

Zane didn’t end up in a pod instead he ends up in Imperium where it was discovered he was a robot and he was violently reprogrammed to remain loyal to Imperium. (Sort of like a…Bucky Barnes situation)

However what they failed to realize that even with reprogramming Zane, he still has a will of his own. By the time DR S2 happens, Zane would have been discarded by Dr LaRow and work with Ras. Though eventually he will latch unto the Ninjas all because he’s been raised to perceive himself as ‘just a tool’ (Which sort of factors into his arc in Rebooted…goddamn I’m so mean to Zane)

Lloyd Garmadon

Lloyd was around 3 when the Merge happened, so poor baby had to see his uncle spiral to get his father back.

Garmadon visited him in shadow form up until the Merge. So Garm was partially aware of his brother’s suffering. After the Merge though, Garmadon stopped talking to Lloyd as things got hectic in The Underworld.

Lloyd ended up leaving the Monastery for food. And quickly he runs into Sora and Arin who take him in. By the time Cole arrives at the Monastery he’s fully living with Sora and Arin till he’s like… 8 Ig.

(So by that timeline…yeah it’s still 5 years since the Merge…but if he’s 9 in the canon show it’s probably like… 6???? This is why I’m frustrated about the Timeline, Lloyd is messing with my timeline holy moly.)

They meet the Ninja differently mostly because I placed DR S1 episode 1 as the first Episode of Legacy of the Green Ninja now. Yes I plan to add Riyu, but Idk how to draw a damn dragon okay?

Anyways they head back to the Monastery to keep Arin, Sora, Riyu and Lloyd safe and also help Sora get used to her powers. When Wu shows up Lloyd immediately recognizes and understands him and basically acts as a translator for the Ninja. (So…Wu isn’t fully silent the whole time but technically speaking he still can’t talk. And there’s only so much Lloyd can try to translate so Lloyd might summarize and say stuff out of context)

So they stay in the Monastery for a bit.

Lloyd’s Wings, Tail and Horns show up as a result of the Merge causing a huge spike in his powers causing him to realize his Dragon-Oni heritage (Thank god I didn’t add DR S3 yet because THAT would’ve been awkward and again, this story wouldn’t have made sense since err…Dr S2 spoilers)

He also learns Oni power…really early. Cause uhh…Angry child tantrums.

…Maybe a slice of learning he has the powers of Creation at his disposal…

Also his eyes are covered because people thought it looked too evil. So he asked Sora if he could hide it.

Sora

Her backstory is the same tbh, honestly not much of the show changes for her really, she’s really lucky she was born in Imperium cause I cannot change shit about her.

However, she and Lloyd have a much closer bond than in canon, she almost sees herself in Lloyd when they first meet. And seeing his insecurities on herself. So they bond very nicely. Ironically though, she is not Lloyd’s favorite person, that unfortunately goes to Arin.

Err…actually most of her arc is the same Ig???

So I don’t really have a change for her idk.

Arin Nived

The most changed character in this whole lineup. Mostly because the timeline now makes it so that Arin is not a fan of the Ninja. But is now a huge Crime Detective fan. (Not like Zane however but definitely somewhat like Dipper)

He still bakes pies and does his pie runs but on the side he helps solve mysteries and his top priority is finding his parents and finding Lloyd’s Dad.

He’s still a sweetheart who races with Sora every year and tries to win the pie competition but other than that he’s an active working investigator, trying to figure out why the Merge happened, where certain people are and the mysterious new worlds they have to explore.

He used to theorize what Lloyd was supposed to be before, Garmadon straight up tells them they were a mix of two powerful beings back in the day. But Arin had good theories. Like Lloyd being dragonian with a weird evolution or smth.

He’s the closest with Lloyd as he’s the only one able to calm him down when he has a tantrum. And mostly because Arin is a sweetheart that even Lloyd can’t bear to see upset or angry.

Changes in the Ninja’s Abilities:

Still working on whether or not I should add the Overlord, but ultimately his plan would flop since Rise of the Snakes happens like WAY after Legacy of the Green Ninja. So we have a problem with the Stone Army. Unless The Great Devourer somehow accidentally awakens in the Land of Monsters???? Idk how I’m gonna make the Overlord come back.

But anyways, here are some changes:

-Lloyd can now temporarily give the Elements to the Ninja. (Which is supposed to make it fair because I don’t think Master of the Mountain will go well without Cole’s Earth Powers, also everyone will be after Lloyd if he hoards the powers not to mention the Ninja will be way to dependent on him)

-Unless Lloyd does the ritual in the Temple of Light, the Ninja’s powers return to him if they have it for a prolonged period of time, having it for a long time will do damage to the body as the Element is currently being borrowed, not taken or transferred, borrowed. This will probably be showcased in DR S2 when Kai has his powers for an extended period of time.

-Lloyd probably also has Golden Power? But that depends on if I add the Overlord or not.

-Also he has better control of his Oni powers but is instructed not to use it unless absolutely necessary. Which to be fair he can follow that because he’s got 4 Elements at his disposal.

-Nya has Water Powers. At least very early on or Secrets of Forbidden Spinjitzu doesn’t make sense.

-By the end of Legacy of the Green Ninja, Arin can do the Wonky Spinjitzu. Which baffles Garmadon because usually people get it immediately. But Arin getting Wonky Spinjitzu is fine in this sense cause he doesn’t want to be a Ninja. Still he practices because he wants to protect Lloyd and Sora.

-Idk what else to say, they’re mostly the same though.

[makotoismyson]

Thoughts on Dragons Rising Season 3 (episodes 1-5)

I put a read more underneath because some of the notes are long and I don’t want to spoil anyone who hasn’t watched it yet.

-We’re still getting new lore even to this day, huh? Remember when the show was just “long before time had a name”

-Frak is so adorable and I love how he’s a bit of a know it all but at the same time it’s probably a result of his previous conditioning by Ras which is kind of sad honestly. Also I joked to myself about Sora x Frak being a thing but I didn’t THINK THE SHOW WOULD ACTUALLY HINT AT IT WHAT. Guys Sora and Frak are both T4T and autistic trust me bro

-Kai doing that lip smacking thing in the first episode totally proves he’s canonically ADHD for real

-Speaking of the first episode and Kai why did they MAKE FUN OF HIS VOICE LIKE THAT like bro what did Vincent even do to deserve that kind of shade.

-also I was kind of expecting Kai to be an overprotective dad towards Wyldfyre and her new relationship but I love how (so far) he’s been supportive of not teasing about it, it’s so cute.

-speaking of which I don’t really know how people feel about Roby but I think he’s…fine. Like yes, his gen-z slang is annoying, and “influencer” characters are annoying, but with Roby he at least genuinely CARES about Wyldfyre and the rest of the ninja team. Like, last season he seemed like he genuinely just wanted a good, fair tournament while making it as entertaining as possible in order to pull in new audiences, but not at the risk of anyone getting injured. He was genuinely concerned when he noticed the challenges were rigged and when Lloyd was put into a coma.

-Also Roby actually LIKES Wyldfyre back so like??? Guys this could’ve been so much worse they could’ve played it as Wyldfyre constantly making moves on Roby and Roby being disgusted by her affections because she isn’t “feminine” or “attractive” or whatever but they didn’t do that HE LIKES HER FOR HER AND I LOVE THAT!!!

-Arin sweetie I know you’re upset but PLEASE go back to the ninja you are not good at being a bad guy.

-Rogue (Jay) is finally here and omg I love how the mechanical wings he has is a callback to the invention he was working on in the pilot that’s such a great detail! Honestly I’m not super invested in the plot about Jaya reuniting but I am interested to see more of Rogue. Also it’s really funny how they’re disguising Rogue’s voice even though we ALL know it’s Jay lol.

-I cannot believe this show used the word “serpent-splain” like seriously what timeline are we living in.

-And for the most hyped part of this season, Morro’s return! It’s good to see him again, I really like how his character is being handled so far and the realm he resides in is pretty cool too. I hope we see more of him in the latter five episodes. I’m SO curious how he’ll react when he finds out that Arin’s former mentor was Lloyd.

-I really hope Zane gets some better character development this season because he’s kind of done nothing so far…

-also Pixal is back! I love Pixane so much and I’ve missed them it’s so refreshing to see them back together again. Also Zane calling Pixal the “smartest and most attractive member of the team” in the first episode was WILD like why is Zane so weirdly smooth sometimes?

-Good to see the superior couple (sorry Jaya stans) fighting side by side again, also I literally started cackling like a mad man when Zane sacrificed himself and they played his death music AGAIN like it’s a running gag at this point.

-I REALLY hope Zane’s mech form isn’t a permanent thing because it’s…not great.

-The reveal that Arin’s parents are (presumably) dead is SUCH a dark note to leave on like wow I wasn’t expecting that.

-I don’t really care that much about the Forbidden Five or the Thunderfang stuff going on but maybe it’ll be more interesting as time goes along but right now it just isn’t very compelling to me despite it being the main conflict of this season.

stay tuned for my thoughts on the latter episodes…whenever that’ll be. Idk I’m really busy this month and I barely want to post here anymore anyways so…

[akatsukiky]

some things i liked from dr season 3 part 1 and some stuff that disappointed me

spoilers down below

the animation was phenomenal! pixal and zane reuniting was lovely! stabbing me in the heart with That Part Of Zane's Theme was heartwrenching! sora and arin's bond being further fleshed out was heartwarming! jay was great in his appearances, i adored that they brought back his glider

also lowkey the way they defeated thunderwing reminded me of the end of the metru nui bionicles movie when the toa metru defeated makuta teridax. i also like that arin's whole mess with ras didn't get resolved, it keeps it realistic, and i like the sora is going too

however i do take some slight issue with how zane lowkey became helpless/dead weight after his remodel? like he did help here and there but he got brushed off so much in every fight. and the total lack of cole throughout the season; i kept asking myself- sooooo they're gonna get cole now right? did they just forget about him?? LMFAO

also jay's hair is totally ugly sorry (i say this with nothing but love for him in my heart, he's still my favorite ninja)

while i don't hate how they find out about the prismatic steel, i do feel like it's a slight waste to have THE BLACKSMITH SIBLINGS not use their own knowledge or go to their parents to learn through established methods and not with book ex machina (however i do understand that to new viewers who only know dr, roby's book might feel more reasonable/established? however it feels very irritating as someone who watched since the pilot because THAT is kai and nya's family's expertise)

i feel like elemental powers are still very under utilized in this season? just in general since they started relying on physical weapons (since around the post movie era started) it feels like they use their elemental powers as a plan b more often than not. i just wish they would go back to using them alongside physical combat in creative ways that aren't just 'blast of this guy's respective color'

and, while this isn't a particularly new thing, i once again am mourning the tornado of creation. they used it like twice and never again, rest in peace my funny rainbow master builder tornado

i am disappointed to see that morro didn't get to interact with any of the ninja who knew him and that he wasn't even mentioned by name? like lloyd was Right There, i wish some time could have been dedicated to that interaction. i'm also disappointed that morro just got slurped up by thunderwing- like ok. bye i guess. otherwise i do like how they portrayed and utilized him and extremely glad they didn't undo his redemption from day of the departed!

the season generally did fall back into the general ninjago formula: try to get the magic weapons/artifacts scattered across the world (golden weapons, fang blades, oni masks, prismatic blades), fail and the enemy obtains them to do what they want with them (escape the underworld, awaken the devourer, revive garmadon, free thunderwing), lloyd loses his powers temporarily (or permanently in the case of his golden power rip). i don't have anything against it and i don't see i as a positive nor a negative; maybe it's a little tired now after so many seasons??

however, all in all, good season, i enjoyed it greatly :)