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goldenavenger02 · 1 day

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forever winter

Lloyd’s plans were always made around the bigger picture, but the five of them had always looked to Kai to make split second decisions.

‘And now he’s gone.’

When they finally arrived back at the monastery, all Nya could feel was numbness.

Back in Cloud Kingdom, she hadn't been able to hold back her tears as she cried on Wyldfyre's shoulder, but now she just felt nothing; in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder if this was how Kai had felt when she merged with the ocean.

When she finally brought her vision away from the intricate stonework of the courtyard, she found herself swimming in a sea of somber faces but none of their questioning glances were fixated on her.

All of their eyes were silently pleading with Lloyd for answers, but he never turned around to rattle off some semblance of a plan as he silently opened the sliding door to his room and shut it behind him.

Lloyd's plans were always made around the bigger picture, but the five of them had always looked to Kai to make split second decisions.

'And now he's gone.'

"I'm gonna…" Cole's voice broke through the deafening silence, even if he was only speaking just above a whisper to keep his own tears from breaking free, "gonna go find Geo and tell him about Bonzle."

"I will accompany you." Nya watched as Zane reassuringly squeezed Cole's hand before the two of them made their way inside, leaving her alone with the others and their sadness filled glances making their way to her.

"Nya?"

"We were up all night," she finally forced her tongue to move and hoped that her voice didn't sound strangled before she focused in on Arin as she remembered how she and Lloyd had found him flat on his back after the Bounty crashed, "is anyone hurt?"

When they all shook their heads "no", she knew that there would be more extensive prodding later from both her as well as Zane, but for now, since no one was actively bleeding or showing concussion symptoms, she dropped it.

"Okay, then we all need to get some sleep. It has been a very long week," Nya explained even though she was fully aware that the likelihood of them actually going to sleep was non-existent even if they did go to their bedrooms.

"Hey, Nya?" Arin asked quietly after Sora, WyldFyre and Riyu disappeared inside the walls of the monastery.

"Yes?"

"I…I'm really sorry, about Kai. If I had just kept Bonzle safe-"

"Don't even start," she cut him off, resting her palms on his shoulders, "this was not your fault, or Lloyd's fault, or Riyu's fault, or Cole's fault. The only person to blame for this is Ras."

"But…" He turned away from her with a sniffle, her eyes stayed completely dry no matter how much she wanted to cry.

"Here, come sit," she insisted, letting go of his shoulders and leading him to the stone steps before sitting down and looking up at the clouds slowly rolling across the sky, "you know that Kai was the one who raised me?"

"No…" another sniffled as he rubbed his orange sleeve over his face, "the only ninja whose family is common knowledge is Lloyd."

"Well, you know about the elemental masters fighting in the serpentine wars, right?" She was met with a nod, "shortly after, they were betrayed by the elemental masters of time, so Master Wu came to our parents, who were members of the elemental alliance, to make four blades out of Chronosteel. It can absorb elemental powers."

"Kreel had some of that stuff a while back in her junkyard, Sora used it to make hers, Cole's and Kai's mechs."

"But when Master Wu and Garmadon threw the blades into a temporal vortex, the elemental masters of time went after them. One of them, Acronix, was lost for forty years and the other one, Krux, he captured our parents and forced them to equip their army of vermillion warriors. Kai and I were just kids, little kids. I couldn't have been older than four."

"But you two didn't join Master Wu until you were teenagers."

"There were some people in our village, who looked out for us at first, either by buying us food or buying the stock of weapons that our dad had in the back, but as soon as Kai was tall enough to start learning how to run the forge, he refused any financial help, dropped out of school and ran the shop. He refused to let me do the same no matter how much I begged, stuff about "mom and dad would want me to keep you safe"," Nya swallowed back a sob at the memories flooding her mind and looked back up at the sky, "he was such an idiot, but he always kept me safe. It's why, for the longest time, I viewed myself as invincible. That no one could lay a hand on me because Kai would stop them before they could even think about it."

She was caught a little off guard by the sudden pressure of tight arms around her, but she didn't push away and pulled Arin closer instead, her eyes starting to fill with salty tears that absorbed into his shirt.

Despite the tears, it never devolved into sobs; Jay had always been the one who was more open with his emotions, the one who begged her not to leave him as the call of the sea grew louder and louder in her ears.

Nya knew that the sobs would come as soon as she was alone; they would come after she called her parents to let them know what had happened and she made her way in his bedroom filled with warmth, reds and the scent of smoke lingering in the air.

Her chest would heave and the tears would spill onto his red bed sheets as she curled up in a ball with Jay's tattered stuffed zebra in her arms all while she tried so desperately not to feel like that terrified little girl who crawled into her big brother's bed at every minor inconvenience.

It was not the first time she had fallen into this routine; it had happened after Cole's fall, it had happened after Zane was transported into the Never Realm and it had happened that first night she had returned to the monastery after years of being separated from the others only to find out that Lloyd and Kai had also been unsuccessful in finding Jay.

It was as if her body refused to let her fully break until she was completely safe, far away from prying eyes and rhetorical questions.

When Arin finally pulled away and sat back down beside her, he brought his arm up and rested it on her shoulder blade, "I know Lloyd, and Master Wu, would tell you that "ninja never quit", but ninja are allowed to take a break."

"Well, you are the ninja expert," Nya chuckled as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, waiting until he finished yawning to continue, "a ninja expert who really needs to try and get some sleep."

"I get the hint," Arin nodded, making his way towards the door as Nya turned away and pulled in another deep breath, "Nya?"

"Yes?" She turned to see him nervously tapping a finger on his left hand as he lingered by the sliding door.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I don't…I don't know."

"Do you want me to stay?"

And no matter how nice his offer was, she shook her head "no".

She couldn't accept it because no matter how much she had grown to care for Arin and the rest of Lloyd's students, he wasn't Kai; and Kai was the only person that could make any of this feel somewhat okay.

"I guess I'll see you later, then." Arin spoke before the sliding door opened and closed with a soft 'thunk' against the wood, leaving Nya by herself in the courtyard as the clouds rolled across the sky lazily.

She wasn't sure how long she watched the bright blue and bright sun rays be broken up by clouds, but the warmth soaking through her clothes and coating her skin felt so wrong; if the sky understood what had taken place and just how much her brother had sacrificed for it, rain would be dampening her hair and drenching her clothes.

But instead, she was covered in sunlight while wondering, 'how can there be any warmth if Kai isn't here?'

"Hey."

Nya turned her head quickly at the noise, only to relax when she saw Lloyd with a mug clutched tightly in his right hand.

"Figured you would need something to drink, it's really hot out here."

"Thanks," Nya muttered softly, taking the mug from him and sipping at the cool water inside before taking in his disheveled appearance of messy hair and red-rimmed eyes, "I take it sleeping still isn't going well?" he shook his head, allowing her to prod more, "is it more visions?"

"I came out here to help you feel better," his chuckle was hollow in a way that made Nya feel sick as she came to the realization as to why he had sought her out, "but no, it's not visions…I just miss him."

"Yeah, me too."

"Kai's the one I always go to when this leader stuff gets really hard and I don't…I don't know what I'm going to do, how I'm going to do this, without him."

"Well, it may not be the same," she didn't expect it to be even close, "but you can always talk to me about it, okay?"

"Okay," Lloyd agreed after a beat of silence, catching her off guard for a brief moment by resting his head against her shoulder before asking, "Is this okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay," she insisted, pulling him closer to try and remind herself that she still had one of her brothers while the sun started to dip behind the monastery wall, "it's more than okay, Lloyd."

#ninjago #lego ninjago #my writing #fic #angst #dragons rising spoilers #ninjago nya #ninjago arin #lloyd garmadon #major character death but not really #everyone just thinks that Kai and Bonzle are gone #rgb siblings #grief

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rainofthetwilight · 1 day

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I'm all for villain (or at least corrupted) Arin and the cycle of fsm's family first student curse + the additional generational trauma

But imagine if Lloyd and Arin become the breaker of that cycle?

And only because of one reason

Open vulnerability.

What happens if in the tournament there was a moment where Arin and lloyd fight. Arin who is overwhelmed by failure after failure finally just snaps at lloyd, and lloyd is trying to diffuse his anger but that just makes Arin angry even more

And then he punched him just like in the vision and he is dwelled into a panic attack because oh god his vision is coming true, but thats not the ONLY thing he is having a panic attack over

Its the fact its happening again. Someone he cares about is hating him again hurting him betraying him and he is reminded of pythor harumi garmado-

He can still hear Arin shouting (probably about how much of a failure he is) but he can't hear it anymore, everything is buzzing out and he can only hear his racing heartbeat and be reminded of all these people who've hurt him and he can't possibly put Arin into those people. He can't. I t must be hi s fault. Hes n ot a go od teac h er. H fail ed. FAILED. FAILED

And then we look back to Arin.

And hes done shouting (especially after he got no response) and hes looking at lloyd. And stops.

He sees him having another panic attack.. but this one seems worse, this one... reminds him of.. him

When he was missing his parents.

The first week after the merge..

and then hes reminded of younger him (well younger-er) how when he was crying and struggling to breath no one seemed to care to help him, how lonely he was, how painful it was..

And before he knows it, his anger dissipated.

And felt shame and guilt pooled in

Suddenly he was at his younger– LLOYD's side.. and he doesn't know what to do, he'd seen Nya hold lloyd's hand to ground him, but...

Throwing away doubt he grabs lloyd's arm that is kinda gripping his hair a bit too tightly

And lloyd flinches. He flinches.. from HIM

He looks at lloyd and REALLY looks at him, without any lenses, without any hero worship, without anything.

He felt guilt twist in his stomach painfully

He sees the eyebags, the terror and far away gaze in his eyes. He doesn't even wanna KNOW what lloyd is thinking, he sees the tears pooling–

He doesn't wanna see anymore

He pulls lloyd's arm gently and puts his hand over his face, so lloyd will feel his breath. Hopefully following his breathing and feels the apology in his tears

Because hes reminded of how much stressful it has been; for HIM. He has been so focused on himself he never thought how stressful this whole situation is to the ninja

And hes digusted with himself because he still feels disappointed; in himself, in lloyd, in.. in everything

The hand on his face started moving, touching his tears.. and gently wiping it

He sees the broken look on lloyd's face, but there was a hint of relief

Hes relieved i didn't leave him

A door was opened for them and the embrace after they found an understanding was the greatest feeling

He didn't know what it was.. but he felt something shifted, a fate that has been changed. He was hopeful for whats to come

Unbeknownst to the both of them, a cycle has been broken and the watchful eyes of a grandfather has never been prouder

HDHHDHSNRHSNNAHADHDJSJW YEAHHH I DON'T THINK I'M OKAY ANYMORE THANKS 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

DHFHJDJFJSJRJAJJA DUDE THIS ACTUALLY SO GOOD I NEVER CONSIDERED THE CYCLE BEING BROKEN WAAHAHGHHFHDDHDHHD AND BY OPEN VULNERABILITY?????

ARIN PUNCHING HIM JUST LIKE IN THE VISION????? GODDAMNITNSHFHSJWJWJJEQHFHFHSHSH THE BROKEN TEXT AFTER LLOYD GOT HIT AGGHGH DUDEEE...

AND ARIN FEELING GUILT AND SHAME WHEN HE SEES LLOYD LIKE THAT AGHFDJEEJJEDJDJD THEIR HUG AT THE END.......

AND THE FSM WATCHING OVER THEM BYE I'M JUST GONNA JUMP INTO THE VOID SHSJDAKSKSAI

#SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO ANSWER THIS ASK #I WANNA RANT MORE BUT STUDYING HAS BEEN PUTTING A STOP TO MY THOUGHTS 😭#ninjago #ninjago dragons rising #ninjago spoilers #dragons rising spoilers #ninjago arin #ninjago lloyd #levi's asks #ty for the ask!#mai tag

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destinygoldenstar · 2 days

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Ninjago Dragons Rising Season 2 - Is It Good Or Nah?

So, I'm late to the party, aren't I?

Well I've had so much work that I think I'm having an existential crisis. So I had to wait till I had a free day to watch this season because I wanted to watch it with my GF.

We got to Episode 6, and then what did my boss do?

Slap me in the face with long work hours several days of the week.

I feel like I'm in a spiral of work after work after work with no purpose to life besides failure cause I can't trust myself to be capable at anything-

ANYWAY. We finished it now.

You know what the insane part about the season is? That it got the show trending on Tumblr.

That's an INSANE level of hype right there.

So I seriously had to ask myself "What the actual f**k happened in the show that caused THIS much hype?!"

So... here are my thoughts on the season.

SPOILER WARNING

Okay, so this may be a factor of my judgement, but due to my schedule, I was forced to watch only 6 Episodes one day, and then the last 4 Episodes today. Keep that in mind.

When it came to the first half of the season, was it good?

Yes. Obviously.

Was it living up to the insane level of hype?

Uh... not really for me??

Now, don't take that as a negative. This season is still REALLY good.

After the first season took awhile to get started as it needed to set up its characters and this new world, it makes sense for this season to throw the punches immediately.

The season gets started with its main plot right away with Ras immediately putting his plan into action, and by Episode 2, it's very clear the threat level he opposes and it's believable that we should be intimidated by what he wants.

Even though in Episode 2's fight, while AMAZINGLY choreographed, I was just screaming at the screen "HIT THE PERSON HOLDING THE GONG."

Like seriously, more than one of the characters in this fight can use projectiles with their powers AND they have a blaster in the Bounty, and the show never says that Ras has some sort of armor defense preventing him from getting blasted. He's literally standing out in the open. And the gong is clearly what's giving Cinder power. So HIT THE PERSON WITH THE GONG.

GOSH.

Anyway, that's not important. What's important is that this season's fight choreo is genuinely AMAZING. I am obsessed with the way the camera moves with the characters in these fights you have no idea. I was genuinely blown away by the last episode's fight in particular. But more on the ending later.

What also shocked me was how BRUTAL some of the stuff that happens here is, which caught me off guard.

I mean, Episode 2 has Euphrasia getting ambushed and crashed off the Cloud Kingdom with clear injuries, and Wyldfyre getting her leg SHATTERED. Like, WHAT?! HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN?!! (Even though the latter's healing was unrealistic. Like, it would realistically take months for an injury like that to heal. Not a critique, just saying.)

Ras body slams Jordanna at one point. He puts Arin in a CHOKEHOLD. And also beats him up so brutally... like OMG this guy does not mess around.

The Fear Cave Trial also REALLY got me tripping. Not only was it such a visually appealing moment, but it also, as the same suggests, showed several character psyches that were insane.

Except Kai for some reason. That's gonna drive me NUTS until I get an answer. WHAT DID HE SEE-?!

Then we get to the dragon mentors, and...

Yeah the season kinda loses me in the middle.

Don't get me wrong, I love the character bits here as much as anyone. But with how dyer they made the threat of Ras before, Ras and his forces take a backseat in the middle portion of the season and we're mostly just sitting at these training grounds talking. And for four episodes of it? It's a little grating, even if it is important.

The middle is mostly where most of my issues with the season stand. And here's where I get all my negatives out of the way:

Like I said, because this season is so long, there's an awkward pause in the conflict on the dragons plotline to learn this Rising Dragon Technique. Which I wouldn't mind if it wasn't FOUR EPISODES of it.

With the exception of the attack at the Land of Lost Things ONCE, Ras's army doesn't go after the ninja at all. I can kinda get the dragons group since they didn't have Bonzle, but he has to know that they ARE a threat, right? They're obviously trying to figure out how to stop you.

And even with the group that has Bonzle, what they NEED, the forces that go after that group is the Administration and the one off magician man villain, the former really didn't need to be in this season even if it was for a compelling Jay cameo, and the latter has overstayed his welcome at this point and I just rolled my eyes when he showed up on screen.

I'm all for Cole being a badass as much as the next guy, but WHY this magician man, who at this point, is so disconnected with the main antagonistic forces that he serves no purpose?

Why not, I don't know, use this screen time instead to explain what in the world happened with Cole when he left?

Seriously, the first season had this huge cliffhanger with Cole's character and him going after Wu's ghost. I wonder what's gonna happen to him and what he's gonna find out-

Oh. He's just back.

That to me is a huge disappointment. What was the point of him leaving the Lost Family in the first place if this journey was basically nothing? He doesn't even talk about it! COME ON NOW.

Also I think Zane should get slay pass on the Administration guy that called him equipment. What do y'all think?

I don't like Egot. Or whatever his name was. He's very condescending and cryptic and talks down to his only hope of the world being saved. But I think I'm supposed to dislike him for it, and there's gonna be more of his characterization revealed later, so don't take this one as a critique. The female one is great though.

The sorceress lady was... a choice in the narrative. My one critique for the ending was the potion shenanigans. Not because they were bad, but because they just felt so out of place among everything else. Like, "Oh, this finale is too dark and intense! We need to occasionally cut to wacky shenanigans with this sorceress's magic to prevent kids from feeling too much dread!"

I don't know, for me, I would've placed this stuff with the Administration instead, and instead have the group fight Jordanna, lose, and have her get away and flow that to Arin getting to her. Especially since the Administration posed such little threat to them and they even say such.

(I also have a theory that this sorceress is Wyldfyre's birth mom. I have no evidence to back this up besides "They both have red hair and similar facial structure")

With Cloud Kingdom getting taken over and Euphrasia captured, I thought she would have more of a role to play in this since this is, you know, her HOME and she's their guardian.

But nope. She does next to nothing up until the very end and plays prisoner and waits for the ninja to save her.

For gosh sake girl, you're the master of wind. FLY.

And finally, my last critique, Cinder.

Yeah I'm sorry, I'm not buying this character so far. Not that I don't think he'll have anything to do in the second part, but for how threatening he was in Episode 2, that threat level kinda vanishes in the middle and only comes back at the end. He does next to nothing and we learn nothing about him other than "He likes power". Jordanna is probably more unlikeable, but at least she has conflict going on with Ras and her magic, and she still serves more of a role in the plan besides being a foot soldier.

And... yep. That's all my critiques for this season. Which all seem pretty minor.

You know what this season is real good at? Characters.

As though that wasn't obvious already.

I did NOT expect Bonzle to play any major role at all, I thought she was just gonna be the dry and cynical side character. But no. She has a history. She has a life. She has emotions. All of which REALLY shine through at the end when you hear her voice have more range in it. The VA killed it. I ended up feeling so bad for her.

Especially considering what happens to her.

They're also not even hiding it anymore with Geo x Cole. They're just NOT. I love them and I hope we see more of their relationship in the future.

I genuinely don't understand the critique of "Geo is so selfish referring to him as Cole's family when it's obvious Cole has other people in his life."

Well no shit, you ever heard of a character flaw?

But it's also a completely understandable flaw. You guys aren't forgetting the part where Geo was abandoned for being a mixed race, right? Of course he's gonna cling to someone as compassionate and encouraging as Cole.

The Jay cameo was nice. I expect him to play no role in this season, but it's really compelling what they showed and I was satisfied with it.

Lloyd's conflict was handled very well in my opinion.

What's it called when it's PTSD, but it's about future events rather than past events? Foresight Traumatic Stress Disorder? FTSD? Yeah let's go with that.

For a kids show that glosses over trauma, (That's not a Ninjago problem, that's a kids show problem), it was really refreshing for them to not do that for once. It's actually explored and talked about and Lloyd is given advice on how to cope with it, and he freezes up in panic attacks when these visions happen and-THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR NOT IGNORING HOW HARD SOMETHING LIKE THIS IS.

Seriously, as someone who is going through stuff like this, minus the magic element, it spoke to me a lot. It really shows that this show grew up with me, and I both love and hate that.

I do think this sort of arc is going to hit hard for adults much more than kids.

Are kids constantly terrified of the future and getting paralyzed with these fears and finding it difficult to cope with the traumas that is time and human life?

No?

Kai is also a standout in this, especially towards the end. This is by far the best Kai has been in a long time in terms of quality. I love how one of his most significant flaws gets addressed here, that being his overreliance on himself and his own abilities over the others, who he feels responsible to protect.

And the way he grasps with that and learns to let loose like he did as a child back in the old days through what he loves the most, that being his family. And the flashbacks with him and his sister. And the whole sequence of him learning Rising Dragon - AUGH ITS SO GOOD.

How poetic is it that the character most devoted to family since childhood is only cocky and angry because of his own desire to be the one with power to keep them safe, gets power by letting that go, being a kid again, and joining the same roots as his own family?

AND THEN HE GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR THEM-

And finally, Arin.

Oh you poor sweet, sweet child.

First of all, yes, I am completely subscribed to the theory that the show is building up Arin turning on the ninja and becoming a villain. It's all there. It all fits. The amount of times they say how sweet he is as though that's gonna get lost. The dragons, the creators of the world, the gods basically, telling him he's not good enough. Ras confronting him. Sora's stunt even after she's been the most encouraging of him, like the BETRAYAL there. It's all there. And I will be posting my theory scenario on this don't you worry.

BUT, I don't think that's the route they're gonna go. Kids show and all of that. They wouldn't do that to one of their main characters. Unless you're Star Wars. At most I think Arin will be tempted by Ras's master's power in an episode and even do it, but then with the power of love and friendship, it'll get fixed.

So instead I'd rather say that Arin, by far, has the BEST power crisis arc of the entire show so far.

I LOVE that he doesn't get powers. That's something the original show would've done. I LOVE that he doesn't figure anything out in the end and his inner doubts get proven correct. That's something the original show would not have the guts to do.

I liked Arin in the first season, but he didn't interest me too much. Mostly because Sora had the lion share of focus in the first season. Here though? He might just take the crown for THE most relatable character. And I both love and hate it so much.

Like, seeing everyone else succeed in mastery while you can't even figure out your own thing. You get told you have a natural talent and a lot of potential and that you're good at a lot of things, only for that to be put to the test in the real world and you end up letting everyone down. Even when your loved ones encourage you that you are good enough and you're special in your own way, you can't get those voices out of your head and you mess up again and again and again to try and meet the world's expectations. Then those in charge tell you you're not good enough and wasted potential. Then you try everything out in the real world anyway and you FAIL, and those that doubt you and your own insecurities get proven correct as you're left a broken mess of a young child who doesn't know what the hell they're doing-

I'M IN THIS SHOW AND I DON'T LIKE IT.

I probably love Sora more as a character, but I will admit I grasp towards Arin more right now. Sora's a great trans allegory in a world that hates trans people. But I'm not trans so I relate to it a bit less. Arin's a great autistic allegory in a world that doesn't know how to help autistic people. And I am autistic so I relate to it more. That's just a me situation.

I am so invested in where Arin's story goes from here. Evil or not.

So yeah, the season was good, but didn't completely live up to the insane hype, which, to be fair, is a high bar.

UNTIL THE LAST FOUR EPISODES.

And then all of a sudden, I AM SHOCKED AND SHAKEN TO MY CORE.

These last four episodes are an absolute emotional roller coaster that left me shaking and screaming the whole time.

I actually SCREAMED at multiple occasions.

I actually screamed so many times watching this that I am now HOARSE.

THAT'S how hard it hit me.

The story goes from 0 to 100 the moment the Blood Moon shows up. Which was what the whole season was building up to. And it did NOT disappoint.

The race to try and protect Bonzle. The intense visions and paralysis Lloyd suffers from. Ras and the army coming back to the plot to be absolute powerhouses. The last episode of DREAD the entire time to desperately try to stop this ritual.

HUMAN SACRIFICES?! AM I WATCHING A KIDS SHOW RIGHT NOW?!?!

I was begging for Arin to succeed at getting Bonzle to safety, even though I knew he stood no chance against Ras. "Come on Arin! You got this!! YOU GOT THIS, SWEETIE!!"

And then Ras just goes to TOWN on the poor boy and taunts his utter failure, which HURTS SO BAD MAN.

The entire fight with the army, Cinder, and Ras. The destruction of the mechs which knocks them unconscious for a bit. Kai figuring out Rising Dragon again when his family gets put in danger. The way Nya avenges her brother afterwards.

When Bonzle was getting morphed back into spell form, BEGGING, I was begging too.

But they still do it!

And KAI?!?!

I couldn't even process what happened other than me screaming. From the moment Ras alluded to sacrificing Kai against his consent, I was screaming "NO. DON'T DO IT."

AND THEN THEY SACRIFICE HIM.

LIKE HOLY GOSH THIS FINALE DID NOT MESS AROUND.

I predicted a while back, in the first season actually, that Kai was gonna get sacrificed at some point. Who's laughing now? I DID NOT WANT TO BE RIGHT.

Like, usually in Ninjago the character would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. But here? This is without Kai's consent at all. Ras might as well have killed him right here.

It definitely felt that way with the way the others react and BEG for his safety. The way Nya avenges him.

And Kai giving up his shot at escape for the sake of his family? BRO. WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

It hurts even more when you realize that when the Merge happened, Lloyd was ALONE thinking only he survived. He only gained hope again because of his reunion with Kai. His beloved surrogate brother!

AND NOW HE'S GONE.

NYA AND LLOYD LOST THEIR BROTHER.

WYLDFYRE LOST HER SURROGATE FATHER.

THEY THINK HE'S BASICALLY DEAD.

BRO. THAT'S SOUL CRUSHING.

And then Sora?! Why you gotta betray Arin like that?!

The most encouraging friend towards Arin, the person who held onto hope and praises for him the most, betrays that hope and doesn't trust him enough to get the winning blow himself. Then LIES about it.

GIRL. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

That's going to be SO compelling once that gets outed. Like, morally, that was messed up and she was definitely in the wrong, BUT it led to the best possible outcome for them at the moment. They WON because she did NOT believe in Arin's abilities. Which only proves that the doubts about Arin's said abilities are correct.

And I have a gut feeling she's gonna learn Spinjitsu on top of that. And once that happens... double ouch.

Again, Evil Arin Theory.

I really hate to say it, but this reminds way too much of Arcane. If you know what I'm talking about.

I am totally imagining a situation similar to that in my head, that being a rescue mission for Kai, they decide to leave Arin out of it because of the lack of faith in him, he tags along anyway and he ruins their plan and Kai stays trapped there, Lloyd and Sora lash out on him for it, and before they can apologize they get thrusted back by something and Ras and Ras's master find Arin and take him in-

Again, I'll make a post about that.

The finale was by far the best part of this season. It has been a long time since Ninjago has made me HOARSE from being too invested.

That has not happened to me since Sons of Garmadon.

Because, yeah, I actually have NO IDEA where any of this is headed. How are they gonna save Kai and Bonzle? Why did some of Lloyd's visions not come true? What in the world is going on with Ras? Will the Administration help with that? Will the source dragons help with that?

What I probably do know is that Part 2 of this season is going to turn this into the best Ninjago Product since Tournament of Elements. Maybe even top it depending on my rewatches if my problems are still problems.

So... yeah. Good or Nah? Good. Obviously.

The hype is a little overblown to me, but it still deserves the hype.

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