Skybound Is Kind Of A Hit-or-miss Season Overall, But I Do Have To Give It Props For Absolutely Ripping

Skybound is kind of a hit-or-miss season overall, but I do have to give it props for absolutely ripping into Jay's characterization like this. Like. They actually went there.

A lot of times it's a popular headcanon/fanon for the comic relief to be using their humor to hide their pain, but apparently in Ninjago it's just straight up canon. So do with that information what you will

(Non-fanart) I just realised I never uploaded this bunch of refs anywhere after I finished this compilation of canon(?) costumes that the main Ninjago cast has used up till season 13 somewhere in the first quarter of the year. (I can't remember from exactly where all these images were taken from but most of them were from the ninjago fandom wiki as well as my own screenshots from the show that were uploaded onto youtube.)

I guess this is my present to the ninjago community? Merry Christmas!

felt like finally doing a lineup of the ninja in my current art style, bc I’ve never done that before. However I didn’t want to just draw them in their gi’s, so I decided to draw them in stuff they’d wear just hanging around the monastery on a mostly uneventful day. Kai and Nya are sparring, Zane’s cookin, Cole and Jay are working on chores, and Lloyd is “supervising” aka reading a book while not helping at all lol

foreshadow

Bruise doodles

I just read your playlist analyzes and all I can say is that this is simply a beautifully written piece of work, hats off. What can I say, I like to read well-written analyses. I also love the fact that all of their playlists are basically their entire development on the show, from start to finish (whenever that happens). In the end, I would like to ask, although you mentioned it in the analyses, but to summarize: what specific song from their playlists is each of the characters currently on?

First of all, thank you for your nice words! Glad to know my work is so appreciated <3

And thank you even more for the interesting question: ever since I listened to Janus’ playlist (i.e. the first playlist I’ve ever listened to), I’ve always had the feeling I was following a journey. The lyrics were referring to very specific moments of the series and the order of the songs wasn’t casual either.

Also because, if they were just random songs, why did Mr. Sanders chose these ones and not others? There are billions of different songs to choose from, so why these? And why putting them in this order and not a different one? If Mr. Sanders wasn’t trying to talk about something, he could’ve done something entirely different.

But he didn’t and I believe it’s because every playlist (metaphorically) talks about the growth of the corresponding character.

And so, coming back to your question: this is the point of their journey where I think each Side is now (and by “now” I mean before season 2 finale).

__________________________

Janus

He is on Devil in the details. I am absolutely sure about this one, because his playlist has been very clear  and straightforward from the start: the songs were all following a precise order and Change was the POF song. So, since we are now post-POF, Janus is post-POF as well. And the song that was post-POF is Devil in the details.

I still remember that, before that song, everything was pretty clear and easy to connect to canon. But when I reached this one, everything became more difficult. I had no idea what this song was referring to. I still don’t know.

And I love this, because that means the song refers to events we still have to see. Events related to season two finale or maybe even season three. And I can’t wait for the moment in which we will finally get what the song is about.

__________________________

Remus

His playlist doesn’t have a clear, organized path, so there isn’t a specific song that fits with his current situation.

Personally, I think he is somewhere in the central part of his playlist and definitely before Tranz. Why? Because that song showed a connection between Remus and Roman and we have not reached this moment yet. The two brothers are still unable to properly talk, let alone confront themselves or even find a common ground about how they feel.

Maybe we will see that moment in the near future, maybe in the far one. Right now, Remus is somewhere around the middle of his personal growth, chaotically everywhere just like he likes to be.

__________________________

Roman

In the wake of the most recent Asides and after Nico’s introduction, the central part of Roman’s playlist is now 10 times more interesting.

Every Boy is particularly fascinating: when I analyzed it, I though it was a general expression of how needy Roman is, when it comes to love. But after Nico, this song means so much more: it’s not just “Roman needs love” anymore, but “Roman needs love DESPERATELY and this need explains why he fell so hard for the guy”. I am very curious to see how the meaning of other songs will change after the season finale.

Speaking of that, I think that Roman is slowly approaching the song King. He has not reached it yet: right now, he is somewhere between Every Boy and Primadonna, but he is getting closer.

How can I be so sure? Because the third part of  Roman’s playlist was centered about his growth from the breaking point (which I identified with Cheap Queen). After that moment, Roman realizes things are not entirely black or white anymore - and so, he himself is not forced to be entirely good or bad anymore.

Hence why I think we will reach King during the season finale. And I can’t wait for it, because I still think King is (indirectly) referring to Patton’s influence during Roman’s life. And if I am right, that means we will see the two of them discuss it? Maybe about how Patton’s morals deeply shaped Roman? Maybe they will have a breaking point and Roman will grow up from this, by “leaving the nest” aka renouncing Patton’s influence to choose by himself who he wants to be? If they talk about even one of these topics, I will be immensely happy.

__________________________

Virgil

He is somewhere around Everything Is Alright and now that I think about it, this song is even more perfect now, considering the current situation!

When I talked about it, I thought Virgil was freaking out because he revealed Thomas he was a dark Side... but now this freaking out could also be due to the whole Nico thing/Janus being accepted/Patton being strict. And, who knows, maybe this could refer to the season finale as well.

__________________________

Logan

That’s another easy one: I believe Logan is at the beginning of Streaks, because things start to go downhill from here.

Streaks is the starting point, then we have What I Do For U (hubris), Erase Me (Passive-aggressiveness) and Art is Dead (Self-hatred) which mark the lowest point of Logan’s playlist. Hopefully, we will see all of them during his arc but for now the arc hasn’t started yet. However, we are very, VERY close.

__________________________

Patton

Again, I am pretty sure about this one: Patton is between What Makes The World and Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

The previous songs were centered around POF, while What Makes The World is about learning from his cooperation with Janus and finding out that love is and has always been the answer. I think Patton is slowly finding out this answer (if he hasn’t found it out yet) and he is slowly moving towards Somewhere Over The Rainbow - which was a song made of two songs, i.e. a metaphorical representation of a cooperation.

Also, there was the hope for the future, which I think we will see around season 2 finale/season 3.

__________________________

Character!Thomas

I am not sure where he exactly is, but he should be somewhere around 6/10 and Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes, because Thomas is not fully in crisis, but he also kinda is, considering WTIT.

Also, he cannot be after Both Sides Now, because this song comes after a better realization and understanding of himself and his Sides, a point Thomas has not reached yet. That’s something we will probably see in season three, also because Roman is involved and, for now, the prince is very far from an acceptance (let alone understanding) of other aspects of Thomas.