Omg Thank You Love

🌊🔥

Yes yes yes i know big great crystalized just dropped and everyone’s worked up about it but look at this

WHY DIDN’T FIRE CHAPTER GO LIKE THIS

THIS LOOKS SO COOL

Like imagine the ninja somehow losing Kai in the pyramid and thinking he’s dead

But him getting lucky and surviving, waking up, seeing all this chaos and kinda just assuming that the others are dead

And the main fire chapter plot being about Kai going on this solo adventure, living in his car, fighting Pyro Vipers all over Ninjago, mourning his friends’ “deaths” and being realllly depressed, kinda like Lloyd in S9

While the ninja are fighting Aspheera in Ninjago City and mourning Kai

There are a lot of details to figure out, but come on, this would’ve worked

Art by Matt Betteker

really hope ninjago united series is gonna be with our ninja

it cant be over...

gosh my anxiety is KILLING me

ninjago’s biggest flaw: death = development

ninjago has this consistent idea that the death of a character leads to the development of either said character, or the characters who grieve the death. while this concept can be written very well, ninjago can’t seem to get it right.

for example, nya’s sacrifice in seabound. i think her death could have been the BEST example in ninjago of how relationships can grow and strengthen over a shared loss. nyas ‘death’ could’ve been written as a wonderful way to deepen relationships between the characters, ESPECIALLY kai and jay. relationship development between those two would have been such a good concept, stabilizing eachother during times of grief, and so cole (who was, im sure we all agree, the most stable post seabound) would not have the burden of trying to help all members of the team, burying his own grief in order to aid the others, just as he had to do when his mother died.

furthermore, nya’s own death could have been a development strike for herself, but the show did not give her and nyad enough time  to show nya once again reestablishing her sense of self, and collecting her memories. this lack of time nya had, and the lack of attention brought to kai’s grieving methods, combined with loss of potential growth between kai and jay, simply proved that what the writers were aiming for (nyas death--> development) did not work out. and im sure u all can think of the other examples where this idea does not work out.

but i think while the death= development IS a problem, there are times where they got it right, and it did lead to development at some point. for example, when the monastery doors collapsed on lloyd, and so he ‘died’ and met with the first spinjitsu master (plot contribution). and, cole’s ‘fall/death’ showed us an extremely rare occasion of kai being vulnerable and scared, and then nya into a phase of blaming herself, which led to kai comforting nya, showing the strength of the bond between the two.

so, ultimately, i believe the true problem, is : ninjago’s inability to correctly and deeply portray grief,  because the entire idea of death= development  is based on how individuals deal with grief (coping mechanisms), how they carry on with it, and the relationships formed/strengthened by it. if grief is written poorly, then death can never lead to development.

Kai 🤝 Lloyd 🤝 Nya

Everything bad that’s ever happened is my fault

Grief: Kai and Jay

I chose to focus on those two because of one sole reason: the IMMENSE contrast between the ways Jay and Kai handle grief. Complete opposites.

before i Start i wanna say I don’t have anything against jay, I love him too guys

Jay, time and time again, shows self centeredness in times of grief (again, not saying it’s his fault that’s just how he copes) He leads himself to believe that only he ever loved this person, and that no on else feels the same way. jay is also very expressive- he cries, he mourns, he is verbal throughout his grief. for example, he talks to water in order to feel some grasp of nya close to him- it shows how expressive he his with his longing for her. furthermore, two more examples:

the widely known one: Kai and Jays fight. JAY is the one who suggested they shouldn’t be a team anymore, he is the one who started the fight, and he’s the one who said no one loved/missed nya BUT him.

now, one might say

“But Kai was inconsiderate! He knocked down Jay’s water glass!”

lemme tell you buddy. jay shouldn’t be talking to water glasses in the FIRST place. secondly, this was kai’s way of showing concern, and allow me to remind you that kai still bothered to show concern for jay, when even before the fight jay was saying things like “only I miss nya” “I love her” “we are nothing without her”

secondly, did u guys notice the immense regret and sadness when kai knocked his glass over?

LOOK AT KAI’S EXPRESSION. he is DEVASTATED. he didn’t MEAN to. and on top of that, he is closing his eyes. if you’re a total kai observer, like I am, you’ve noticed that he looks away or dissociates if situations are too emotionally overbearing for him (nyas death, both times, when chen tells him about the fact that his parents might be evil and left them on purpose, etc etc). kai even said sorry, in a heartbreaking tone. he UNDOUBTEDLY would have apologized more profusely if jay didn’t attack immediately.

the other example is Season four, episode two. The ninja were in chens place discussing Zane’s death. jay says “I moved on. I feel guilt. These are not good feelings!” again, kai feels like he is being indirectly attacked, due to jay subtly suggesting that only he feels guilt. kai then says, “You think you feel bad? Imagine how I feel!”

and you might think oh but Kai is being self centered now. no. He’s not. Because remember what Lloyd told him before? Lloyd said Kai was selfish, for wanting to die instead of Zane. Kai felt suppressed and used jays words as a chance in desperation to vocalize some of his pain because he had no other chance to. And every time kai stated ANYTHING related to Grief, it’s automatically considered selfish whereas when jay does it it’s totally fine. kai’s feelings are ALWAYS being dismissed.

Kai handles grief destructively. He drinks, blames himself, mentally tortures himself. He literally has never cried in front of the others and silences his grief because he is criticized for it, especially by jay. It’s not that he isn’t vocal, it’s the fact that he CANT be. He’s SCARED to be.

both were in immense pain, but, and I literally don’t even know how many times I’ve said this, but the show needs to properly address this problem. kai being portrayed as selfish during grief is UNFAIR, and does not make sense AT ALL, when everything he says or does contrasts ‘selfishness’.

yes ❤️❤️

and no I don’t know how many posts/reblogs I will make about kai and nya maybe I’ll stop when ninjago stops gatekeeping them

remember when they had couples suits 🥺

can you do an analysis on how each ninja fights??

YES!!! btw this isnt just from my head, this is from a person who binged ninjago 50+ times and has been watching it since she was 3. i have watched it enough to come up with an analysis i promise

Cole:

Although he’s decently skilled at it , Cole does not like far ranged combat - its not his strongest suit. Mainly because he doesn't like far ranged weapons. However, when this type of combat is needed, he simply chucks boulders at whoever needs to be taught a lesson.

 Cole is definitely the king when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. His strong body structure (awesome muscular build) enables him to throw harder punches, and on top of that he has his super strength that gives every hit he throws an added bonus (enemies really be flying all over the place when this kid fights). You can try to throw a punch at him but it would be like punching a brick wall. Cole is also a very powerful ‘kicker’, and has an excellent defense. Cole uses scythes/war hammers as his default weapons, and could use other weapons such as the ‘morning star'(yk, the big huge weapons with spikes on them, like the chain connected to a huge spiky ball. that would be so cool). Also, he could probably slay with gauntlets. Like cmon. Cole is able to use heavier weapons and hit harder because when it comes to physical strength, he surpasses all the ninja.

However, he is a tad little slow due to his size, but his skull breaking punches make up for it and more. He uses his elemental powers to his advantage, also throwing small but dangerous rocks at his enemies in between his punches, and sometimes finishing them off with a boulder punch ( a punch + a boulder. boulder punch. its super effective). Cole is normally extremely patient but on the battlefield he simply prefers facing enemies head on. He still observes them and make’s sure to know what he’s getting himself into. Not the most analytical in the team, but he certainly isn't lacking much in that department.

He works the best with all ninja, but especially well with Kai and Jay, since they compensate for his ‘slower’ attacks. Also, yk the small and tall fighting methods... (big uses hands and throws small in the air, small jumps of off big’s back, etc ) gotta love em. With jay, he’s more on defense to keep jay’s back covered. When cole is fighting with  kai its like Cole  trying to minimize a feral cats damage while also trying to maximize the feral cats damage ( hint: kai is the feral cat). 

Nya:

Nya is the Queen when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. She also has a strong body structure, similar to Cole, and so she also throws some nasty punches. Although she doesn’t have super strength like Cole, to make up for it she  fights in smooth yet harsh motions, using water to disrupt the enemies movements/slow them down so she can pinpoint their weak areas and break their noses. She is the queen after all.

Her default weapon is a spear, bc she likes to use pole-like weapons. Pole-like weapons such as spears and lances allow Nya to thrust forward with them, and have a long distance they can cover without having to actually stand far, unlike far-ranged weapons. This goes well with her water powers as water hits harder with increased pressure and is able to take any form. Nya could probably work well with whips too, or like form water whips. That would be cool.

She doesn’t like far ranged combat simply because its ‘boring’ for her.

Nya is a little faster than Cole, but she still isn't the fastest (more about that below). She tends to analyze enemies before attacking, or analyze them while attacking. Either works! She also tends to outsmart her enemies by  appearing weaker than she looks, or looking at their fighting style and then adapting a counter-style (water is adaptable, after all).

Nya also works well with all the ninja. However she works best with Kai, Jay, and Zane. With Kai and Jay its also the small-tall method (Nya’s taller than both). With Jay and Zane she has elemental reactions, since water and lighting are more effective together (shock shock shock + more shocks) also they have chemistry + nya helps zane freeze at larger capacities, also both are super smart and are good at strategies. With kai, nya just works well . yk. reading eachother with simple glances. when together enemies being devoured within seconds. destroying whoever hurt the other. fun!

Jay:

Jay is not the best at hand to hand combat, but as a ninja he is obviously still not someone to be taken lightly. He cant throw hard punches, but he can throw fast punches. Lightning is not a slow force, after all! Jay may not be excelling in physical strength but he is arguably the fastest ninja. 

His size also gives him an advantage, since he’s not heavy or tall, he’s able to double his speed  and rapidly attack his enemies. He tends to tire out his enemies first, using speed and swiftly strikes them with lightning to take them down. You think he’s teleporting? Nah he’s just hella fast dude

Jay isn't very ‘analytical’ but does very well with limited materials; he can invent/create something that can get them out of any sticky situation, not quite perfect yet very effective! This is a skill that is unique to him, as he invents best with scarce materials.

Jays' default weapon is nun chucks. He doesn't really like any other weapons. He loves metal nun chucks because remember, metal conducts electricity. He can simply use them as a weapon, and then use his powers and so the whoever he hits the nun chuck weapon with ( or any metal weapon really) would get a hard electric shock. Ouch. He would also do really well with Chakrams (if ur too lazy to google it, they are circular weapons- kinda like circular boomerangs with sharp edges. ).  Doesn't mind far range combat, and isn't bad at it either. He has no preference, as long as he gets to work with nya LOL

Jay works well with all ninja, especially with nya (reasons stated above) and works well with cole (also stated above). 

Zane:

Zane is good in hand-to-hand combat, and his punches hurt quite a lot ( he has metal hands, after all). He would be ranked second when it comes to hard punches, very close after Cole and Nya. His body structure... is... well... metal.  

His defense is the best out of all the ninja mainly because who would wanna punch a tin can (its certainly do able, but boy it hurts). Zane tends to do 100% analytical fighting, he estimates the enemies moves and studies how they fight. He is the most analytical fighter.

His moves are careful and calculated. He takes the next course of action based on statistics. However, this sometimes does not work when it comes to ambushes, or unexpected fights as there is no time to observe or estimate. That’s all right though, because Zane isn't entirely dependent on this, as he does have his powers to slow/freeze enemies down. 

You wanna know how many enemies are left? Ask Zane, he can scan the area. You wanna know an enemies weak point? Dw, Zane can scan it for you. Thanks Zane!!!

Zane  excels in mid/far ranged combat- he’s the best ninja for the job. His default weapons are shuriken's and bows, after all. He has the patience for it, and has excellent aim. If the ninja had guns, he would be a dangerous sniper.

Zane works well with every ninja, but has an advantage working with Nya (as stated before) and Pixal

Kai:

Kai is similar to Jay when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. He can throw punches, but cannot throw hard punches (he was trained to be a blacksmith though, so I’d say he’s a little behind zane). But he is extremely fast, closely second to only Jay. His biggest advantage in hand-to-hand combat is agility. Kai is the most agile ninja, and his immense flexibility (he is also most flexible)  gives him an upper hand in many situations. He also has the best reflexes ; his nimble moves make him a hard target. You wont see a ninja ur gonna see a gymnast. A gym-ja. 

Zane and Nya are the best logical planners, but logical plans need time and observation. Kai excels the most when faced with ambushes or fast-paced situations ; he’s always on his toes and his impulsivity becomes beneficial, since he takes quick action and takes advantage of  chances that the other’s would never have noticed. He’s also as astute as Nya and Zane, just in a less logical, and in a more of a crafty way. He isn’t a patient fighter though, so he sometimes gets himself into... situations.

His default weapons are sword/katanas, and he uses them as an extension of himself; the best swordsman on the team.  What’s that? You want kai to do far-ranged combat? Bestie, for kai, far ranged combat is just throwing fireballs from a distance. You might as well throw bombs at ur enemies. Kai doesn't do well with far-ranged weaponry. If Kai had short ranged-pistols, like one on each hand (like Jinx from Arcane or Kiana from Honkai Impact) he would also reign supreme.

Kai works well with all ninja, especially with Nya (stated above) , Cole (also stated above) , and Lloyd (lloyd works really well with every ninja, but he has patience and he helps kai think things through). 

thats it for now!  i’ll reblog and include lloyd in this after part two of s16 comes out, bc i wanna add his “oni-style”

Kai <3

lloyd <3

Cole: "you two are so short. what do you see down there?"

Kai: "your IQ"

Jay: "HA, good one"