Zane is actually hilarious and we don't talk about it NEARLY enough. He literally BLEW HIMSELF UP to kill literal in-universe Satan and them what was the FIRST thing he did after killing himself and yeeting his soul into the computer? He flirted with Pixal. "Are we. . . Compatible now?" Like bro SHUT UP you literally killed yourself two weeks ago??? You're literally rebuilding your body right this second? Your funeral is going on like two blocks down the street and you're SHOOTING YOUR SHOT??? WHO IS THIS GUY
Where Kai doesn’t reunite with the rest of the ninja till the tournament of power.
Some major changes are:
Kai end up leaving the land of monsters with Daidan. So when they show up at the tournament of powers together.
Kai is also more centipede like. ( in this version it takes a little longer to rescue Daidan.
Nya is the one who makes her way back to monetary first. (She still ends up in the land of madness defending the Craglings, and since the bounty to Lloyd for help.)
The rest of the ninja believe that Kai died when they meet wildfire.
Zane and pixel wakes up earlier and Zane is the one who gets sacrificed.
During the tournament, Kai arrives late, (also doesn’t reveal himself right away for some plot point I can’t think of right away, so they don’t realize he’s alive until after the tournament)
Optional: identities revealed, and he is the one who wins the tournament.
Ninjago Characters As Mitski Songs (Album Nothing's About to Happen to Me)
No one asked for this but me. So I'm making it. (Before we start, just know this is my interpretation of these songs, which may not match your own.) (Also, I yap a lot, so it's kinda long)
If I Leave: This is very s2 Garmadon to Misako. "If I leave, somebody else will find you, but nobody else could see me quite as clearly as you." This song holds an intense sense of desperation to cling to someone who knows you better than anyone else. In s2, Garmadon's desperation to be seen and belong is the whole motivation behind making the world into his own image (as he says many, many times). This can also apply to other Garm ships, but that also depends on that dynamic.
Dead Women: This song is about women being preferred as the perfect victim(dead) instead of people with autonomy. Though the in-song relationship is different, my thoughts went to Pixel and Sora for similar reasons. For Pixel, she hesitated to reveal her identity as Samurai X because she worried her loved ones preferred her as a computer than a person with her own body. Thankfully, she is proved wrong:)
This theme also relates to Sora and her parents preferring her as a lost child than someone who disagrees with their now views. Not so happy ending for her.
Instead Of Here: Zane loses his mind, dies, and gets physically changed a lot. Like, every season at least, not to mention the SA implied scene from s6 where Mechanic and his crew hold Zane down for parts (literally tugging his clothes off too. That scene is upsetting). For a song all about retreating into yourself, to a mental place safer than here, Zane owns this song.
However! The line "(Death) said she wished I'd known that I'm still just a kid" is very Lloyd. Especially with the suicide implications.
Rules: This one was a little tricky, but an upbeat tune matched with lyrics about a stubborn, almost self-inflicted loneliness matches Jay. It's Jay. The only part I can't connect to him is the unwillingness to be vulnerable from the song, which Jay often is the opposite of. But maybe it reflects his resistance in recent DR seasons with the memory loss? Especially "I'm nobody's anyone anymore".
Charon's Obol: Wu and Lloyd share this song. The song is about choosing to care for a house (monastery) despite the remnants of grief that fill it. Wu in two cases (after FSM dies and Garm goes to train with chen; and after banishing Garm to the underworld) stays in the monastery. Lloyd does the same after the merge, despite his grief for Wu being a shadow of everything he does. The dogs (physical representation of these remnants) also could be symbolized as the first and new ninja that Wu and Lloyd train. Trying to make something new out of something filled with so many memories.
Lightning: Now, I know what you're thinking, but this song is Nya's; especially in s2-4 of DR. Throughout this song is a clear imagery of someone standing in the rain, calling back to the lightning as it strikes. The symbolism matches Jaya from Nya's perspective, as she's grieving over losing Jay while calling out for him to come back. (This was also the song that inspired this whole post! Can you tell I was suck in Jaya feels?) "-singing for the lightning to come, Calling to the thunder, 'polo'".
That White Cat: Kai! For a song about anger and the feeling of being wronged by someone else, this is perfect for Kai. In this song, we are angry at a white cat for taking over our house (the green ninja/Lloyd). "It's supposed to be my house, But I guess, according to cats, now it's his house". But at the end of the day, we work to pay for this cats house, so it may continue in it's system of life. Kai was the most obsessed with the prophecy, but he also dedicated himself to protecting Lloyd first.
...and now that I'm thinking about it, this could apply to Morro too.
In A Lake: This is my favorite song from the album, as it's about leaving the pressure of a small town and starting again in the city. The feeling of freedom when you leave. It only makes sense that it would also fit my favorite ninja, Cole! He leaves home, including the expectations his father put on him after his mother's death, to find something else: being a ninja. "-but in a big city you can start over, the lights all around you, the dark safe inside". Cole repressing his feelings, anyone?
I'll Change For you: I really don't know for sure about this one, honestly. I first thought Jay and him changing after his memories return in DR s4, but this song is very...not fitting of that specific situation. It's more about being stuck in poor habits that drive a wedge between lovers. The only one I've thought could be a choice is Ronin, but the romantic tone doesn't quite match why he changed for Nya and the ninja in s5, nor why he stayed that way. Maybe this is for whoever you might ship Ronin with? (Dareth?) "If you don't like me now, I'll change for you"
Where's My Phone?: This one also stumped me, but more severely. In a song all about escaping the things that make you feel bad, I really can't think of a ninjago character that reflects the obsessive level of escapism from the song. The guys like games, and they get lazy now and then, but it's not this. Zane did turn off his emotions at the start of s15, but that just feeds back into his own song instead of this. My answer? No idea.
Cats: Another one of my favored songs from this album, a soft but sorrowful melody about accepting someone falling out of love with you. And this one is Geo. Very much so. His fear of Cole leaving the finders once he reconnects with the other ninja, as well as having to accept that while Geo wants him to stay, it's really up to Cole (who chooses both of them at once, like a champ). "-I still love you, so I won't leave you. Guess it's up to you if you choose to go. In the meantime, rescues at my side. Our two cats both asleep by me tonight". Ugh! It's perfect.
