apollo 2.0

accidentally deactivated my account apollo • they/them

[my-apollo-gies]

hey chat

this update sucks

[tornoleander]

HEY people happy spooky season! I Bring you the middle part of My Skybound project animation making it halfway completed! This part featuring about one of the creepiest scene in all of Ninjago so I figure tiz the season.

Tw: Predatory Behavior and Manipulation be ready. You will be uncomfortable if I did it right.

Art & Song

The words are

Now you say,

“I’m already the girl ninja”

Lover stay

“It’s because I’m from a junkyard isn’t it!”

“a poor boy from a junkyard wouldn’t understand”

Warm these bones my dear

Light my heart afire/“I can offer your hearts desire”

I picked changed some order of quotes and how scene went to work better and be clear. I showing jays resistance actually would take more time and less fun than making him attack >:).

This bit is all done frame by frame I use key frames and such other parts but this is the center point of my animation cause the lyrics match good. And it’s also where everything starts heading downhill. Trying to hit all day emotional beats necessary for part two of my Skybound project. Already feel like I could do what I already made better, but I’m not going to reanimate it because it would take forever and it’s good enough. It’s not as important to me as part two and I want to get there asap.

The scene

There is a lot to say about this scene It’s a majorly consequential point and gives really dark characterization to a villain that is… certainly a choice for a show aimed at kids. I’m spoiling my Animatic so might as well give I’ll also give some of My analysis video thoughts.

First, the conversation. Nya has a lot going on in Skybound, She’s struggling with her perception by the public and being defined by other people. She’s the new ninja, the girl ninja in a team that has already been established for a while trying to find her place. This is explicitly the reason why she doesn’t want to be dating Jay. She’s worried the people will think of her only has his girlfriend.

It’s not known if she’s in love with him still at this point she very well could be but she simply has bigger things overwhelming her to deal with. So she tries her best to be kind and stop him from pursuing her. It’s what she’s explaining now and later in the lighthouse scene. When Jay actually listens to her, when she feels heard and seen by him suddenly it matters less what others perceive her as. Her ark makes the most sense.

Second Jay… while, she’s pretty clear about her reasons to not date in this he simply does not hear her or believe her. He acts entitled to her and projects his insecurities onto her reasons to reject him. That he is poor and from a junkyard. This is what he thinks is wrong with him and the stalker djinn picks up on this weakness immediately.

And Last Nadakhan God where to start. His goal here is to convince a ninja to make their three wishes so he can steal them and use their power to make him stronger. Supposedly making them pay for the destruction of his realm.

But he sure as hell is not a normal Villain in the way he goes about it.

This is more than the fact he is targeting teenagers. And throws away most his revenge narrative to force one into marriage so he can gain infinite wishes.

(I know some like to argue on age but I’m sorry. They are said to always be teens by the hageman brothers as well as S9 mention and mentioned to be teen idols in skybound itself.)

He hears Jays vulnerability and waits till he’s alone to take advantage of him. Jay is resistant at first but eventually gives in to Nadakhan’s offer. He makes a wish tying to fix what he thinks is wrong with him.

Nadakhan is physically all over the person he wants to wish, It’s a fear strategy and a warning sign. It’s all deeply uncomfortable to watch

Though it’s not the worst we get from on screen torture, forced kiss and caresses unconscious girl character. But I’ll save it for later.

Thank you @mondothebombo for letting me show her each new bit I’m doing like Im excited kid. (And tormenting me with new Wytyaa developments)

And thanks my new moot @vyoleya for catching me drawing this on my bus to college and yapping with me about ninjago while I was a nervous mess. Here is is all done 😭

I should really get to answering my asks huh

[ella-mella-p-deactivated2026031]

skybound textposts part 19!!

[bebx]

[my-apollo-gies-old-acc]

WARNING: Gore (bruises and cuts) and Bite Marks

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

(skybound jay from @writing-hat’s fic ‘bending but never breaking’

close ups and tag list below

tag list-

@tornoleander @greenhoodiegremlin-blog

tell me if i need more warning tags for blocking

[writing-hat]

OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS INSANITY

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA I MIGHT ACTUALLY SOB WAAHAA T-T

your art is AMAZING!!! AAAAAAAA

[my-apollo-gies-old-acc]

‼️WARNING‼️

Wounds, Blood, Bruises, Bite marks

Don’t proceed if you dont think you can handle it

even more fanart for @writing-hat’s fic because i am OBSESSED

post wedding era jay is so sad and traumatising ngl but it made for a fire drawing. i was considering adding a ‘my canary’ in the text and/or canary images to the background … (let me know if anyone wants a version with that)

Tag List, Close Ups etc:

Tag List-

@tornoleander @greenhoodiegremlin-blog

ask to be added/removed

Close Ups-

Background and Text-

[writing-hat]

JEESUS HOWWWWWWWWWW AM I EVEN INSPIRING YOU TO DO THIS SICK ART /POS POS POS

[my-apollo-gies-old-acc]

‼️WARNING‼️

Wounds, Blood, Bruises, Bite marks

Don’t proceed if you dont think you can handle it

this template but its season 2 jay vs mid skybound jay

It’s you!

…

Despite everything, it’s still you.

i used @tornoleander ‘s wound references for the fic bbnb (Bending, but Never Breaking), its one of my favourite dead dove fics and its written by the lovely @writing-hat on ao3

this was so much fun and overall took me: 7hrs 18mins

[my-apollo-gies]

Happy 2nd birthday to @writing-hat’s fic: Bending, but never breaking

this fic is one of my absolute favourite ninjago fics

read with caution though, its a dead dove for a reason!

timelapse under the cut!!:

:3

[writing-hat]

WAAAAAAAAA OH MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD!!!

Thank you so much apollo <'3 I'm going to sob now augh

[my-apollo-gies]

“The sun is fun, the land is dandy I only talk to dogs because they don't understand me My teeth are yellow, hello world Would you like me a little better if they were white like yours? I need to purge my urges, shame, shame, shame I need an alibi to justify, somebody to blame It's a halibut, party bitch, give it a name and say, "Hey, hey"

- alien blues by vundabar

“‘So even if we win, we lose?’ What Kai had said couldn’t be more true. ‘How can everything turn out so right but so wrong at the same time?’”

- when you think you’re all alone

“Was this really over? Had they really defeated the djinn? He wanted to think so, to reassure his mind, but he couldn’t- not now, because thinking of it, meant thinking of absolutely everything that had happened, and too many emotions at the same time, and-”

- bending but never breaking

this was a really interesting drawing tbh, went through the 5 stges of greif when it came to jays face and head (wytyaa)

i love these 2 fics and yall should expect more art about them both very often, im doing rereads of both fics

thanks to @mondothebombo for writing wytyaa (when you think you’re all alone) and thanks to @writing-hat for writing bbnb (bending, but never breaking)

huge recommendation to read these awesome fics, but please be careful, they are very dark fics. theyre my favourite ninjago dead doves (possibly my favourite dead doves out of any fandom tbh) but they are dead dove for a reason!!!

also please let me know if any of you are liking my new posting style when it comes to my art (the song lyrics, fic quotes, etc!)

you can reply or reblog this to ask to join the taglist (on a separate reblog)

i yap too much istg

[my-apollo-gies]

‘My baby, my baby You're my baby, say it to me Baby, my baby Tell your baby that I'm your baby’

- ‘i bet on losing dogs’

‘Oh, what had happened to her son? She couldn’t help but linger her eyes on the messy bandages she hadn’t dared to touch when she had cleaned him a little. He seemed so thin, and fragile, about to break at any moment. And the way he shook- like he expected something horrible to happen in the next seconds.’

- (bending but never breaking)

this fanart is pretty vaguely inspired by @writing-hat ‘s fic: Bending, but Never Breaking

this is from chapter 10!!!

if you want to read their fic, beware of the tags, its my favourite dead dove fic, but its dead dove for a reason

i was listening to music earlier today and ‘i bet on losing dogs’ by mitski came on and i was inspired to draw this

(hope you liked this, im super proud of it)

[writing-hat]

O MY FUCKING GOD HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!

Ohhhh I'm gonna explode

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LOOK AT THEM!!! EDNA OMG IM GOING TO SOB I

I love Jay's parents so much god you broke my heart with the fanart this is absolutely beautiful RAAAAAAA

[grimbeak]

every other season of ninjago, classic funny lego show for children: haha yeah this character makes a bad decision and has to face the very mild consequences 🤭 don't worry because they have their best friends to help them through it! yeah zane got a little broken again but he'll be fine in under an episode don't worry !

every 6 seasons for some fucking reason: hey what if we killed everyone jay loves right in front of him. ok now let's beat the shit out of him for several episodes in a row. yeah his mom abandoned him and his father was a misogynist asshole. we know that he has abandonment issues already but y'know what would be really funny? if we gave him more of them.

[techtor]

the next season is technically every six seasons, let's see if they keep it up 🤷

[spinjitsuburst]

HAHAHAHAHA. IM SO SCARED OH MY GOD

[mondothebombo]

hypothetically.. if i were to start doing writing commissions, would anyone be interested??

[doliminuz]

so fucked that jay, who's element is in the sky, who got the bounty, a flying ship, up and running, was trapped and tortured on a flying ship in the sky with his element cut off from him

[tornoleander]

[grimbeak]

really like how in most skybound fics the rescue episode basically goes like this

[my-apollo-gies]

@tornoleander

[sketch-moved]

My one gripe with Ninjago Skybound is Jay's final wish (and a lot of the "final wishes" but Jay's makes me frustrated the most, shockingly! Puns always intended!)

Spoilers for Ninjago Skybound but also it's been like nine years so I don't feel super bad if you do get spoiled!

Back to my point. Jay's final wish is two wishes, really.

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack have an episode dedicated to this kind of thing, ya can't just keep adding "ands" into your wish to get more stuff, that's just cheating and it feels cheap.

I know they were trying to get the rewind to undo all the damaged done that season, but I think they had the set up to do it already put in place. They (the writers) would've just had to put a bit more care and attention into it, but the perfect wish was right there within their grasp!

Just change Jay's wish to only include the first part: "I wish you'd taken my hand that day". There. Simple, clean, concise.

Kids are smart. I know I was when I was first watching this season air. I had wanted Jay's wish to be something so simply yet so profound, and it almost was.

Consider this, if his wish only changed the fact that Nya had taken his hand that day, there could be a butterfly effect where the Ninja are able to evade the media swarm and reach Clouse in time to stop him from using the teapot, thus undoing the events of the season and making Jay's "final moments" with Nya in the original timeline focused solely on her while still fixing everything. Boom! Done!

It's a small thing to gripe about, but ARRRUGGHHH it could've been so beautifully simple. I still love Skybound the most (<- Jay Apologist/Defender till the end) and will love any season focused on him, but this one thing takes me out. I can excuse the other mistakes of the season and everyone else's "final wish" being to wish themselves away, but Jay's last wish should've been the best one.

[tornoleander]

(Reblog Cause I got so many words for this)

Hmm seems like you’re looking for a situation where the wish largely a grieving “I love Nya” wish with the accidental effect of saving her and defeating Nadakhan.

Which I can absolutely see the appeal of!

But “I wish you had taken my hand” doesn’t work for that.

The main problem is their’s no reason Clouse wouldn’t find and release Nadakhan. Narratively just wouldn’t work as the ending.

Her taking his hand at the start would NOT have stopped Nadakhan. If she took his hand and hides from the helicopters with them then what?! The team should just fly past the press to sticks i instead of hiding?! Ninja were never going to make it there in time to stop him. Like I cannot see Nya Joining in their bad decision to hide make them get to Sticks any faster. They would probably be in about the same spot. (Not to mention his hand seems out of reach from her without Airjizu lmao😭)

So they have to really have the actual stopping Nadakhan part of the wish.

Additionally Nya taking Jay’s hand solving the Nadakhan problem feels like blaming all the bad things on Nya not shelving her issues and doing that in the first place. And that feels icky to me.

I hate falting Nya for not talking Jays hand it makes me think of the misogynistic ass reddit post that comes up when searching Skybound Nya. Like yes, it would be easier for the ninja if Nya would just drop it, women are often expected to shelve their problems. But geez Jay talked about her like she belonged to him let her be angry. Them being spotted was not a big deal. Putting not being spotted by Darith over stopping Clouse when he arrives in sticks was always a bad decision.

About the other thing you said, Nadakhan definitely was on Jay’s mind Nadakhan talked about his wish dilemma and it was a part of the last conversation he had with Nya.

Nadakhan: “Only one wish, Jay! What a dilemma. Wish me mortal, and she dies. Wish her well...and there is no stopping me.”

Nya: “You have to make your last wish. You're the only one who can stop him.”

"I wish no one had found that teapot in the first place" makes more sense it can be Just as emotional

it’s actually related to the reason Nya is dead in his arms. At least makes more sense as a desperate thing to say then “Remember that time we were on that hospital rooftop and I said something that upset you but you didn’t just get over it, what if you just dropped it then?”

He defeats Nadakhan with the “butterfly effect” of bringing Nya back.

"I wish you'd taken my hand" does sound romantic I suppose but In practice only serves to take Nya’s agency.

I find Nya airjizuing getting up to take kiss Jay of her own accord cause SHE WOULD MAKE THAT CHOICE, much more impactful.

With the big bonus of choice and defining herself being the conclusion to her character ark.

I do think the original intention with the scene was “I don’t care what these people think anymore I define myself and my role in my team and I wanna kiss Jay”

Thank for talking about Skybound with me it’s my passion and you are actively helping me find how to phase things for rooftop scene in my video that is everything to me right now.

[tornoleander]

I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO NYAS complex ass emotional ark in skybound

It’s not perfect but I’ve been fighting my Nya notes for like a week please be proud of me. TT

I’ll finally be able to put to words the Nya characters ark

The three main themes of her struggle I overlap so much they were hard to find the words I settled on.

Belonging -main theme her new role/place on the team

Misogyny - the complex extra shit she’s having to deal with for existing a girl.

Perseption- how she is misunderstood and judged by others.

(Ramps up the other two problems.)

Over her character arc she’s out of the public eye, gets to really be a ninja in the team, learns Airjizu and most importantly finally feels understood and listened to by Jay in the lighthouse.

It no longer matters as much to her how the “world defines her” because of him. He sees her.

So she goes on to make choices to define herself.

Like confessing to Jay despite it making her “just Jays girlfriend” to some annoying people.

And choosing to save him by shoving him face first through the portal! >:)

(I do wish they let her do more with her new conviction to define herself)

[my-apollo-gies]

woahhhhhh thats so cool!! holy hell oli

[tornoleander]

Working on my skybound video, have some backgrounds✨