The Anniversary Thing I Forgot To Post-

Oh wow. Emotions.

The Mirror Effect.

It's fine, guys! He's only suffering from extreme mental and physical trauma!

"Floating...

But it feels like I'm dying..."

His Name.

@eternalglitch 's fanfic: "Like Father Like Son"

Storyboards from JJ Conway's Twitter.

His Eternal Flame.

Synopsis for the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie!

Not exactly emotionless...

~SPOILERS FOR NINJAGO'S CRYSTALLIZED. SCROLL PAST QUICKLY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE IT~

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So I found it incredibly interesting how each of the Ninja reacted to Zane's little... plight. Most of them were confused, upset, or in times so angry that they snapped at him, but then... then there was Kai.

Like, as much as the other Ninja were trying their best to be supportive, their lines often came off as quizzical and aggressive.

Cole: "Turning yourself into an emotionless drone is NOT the solution!"

Lloyd: "Do you even care?"

Jay: "How can you be so calm about this? Wouldn't it be nice to have a human reaction for once?"

Like, damn. It is completely understandable why they're bothered by their brother being painfully monotone and generally just unresponsive for the most part. But as unhealthy as Zane's coping mechanism is, getting yelled at wasn't doing him any good, and it probably made it worse by having Zane hesitant to face such strong emotions again.

But the thing that caught my attention the most was that...

Kai didn't have a single negative comment towards how Zane was acting. I mean, as far as I remember? Sure, I think it was Cole who had to remind everyone why Zane was simply unable to "care", but I'm pretty sure Kai had a similar line at some point.

And that brings up my point as to why I think Kai and Zane have such an understanding bond with each other.

Take Cole's Fall as an example. When that happened, Kai was desperate because he KNEW he could still do something, he could change it, he could save his brother, but in reality he just... couldn't. And Zane was there to remind him that. To put a hand on his shoulder and extinguish that uncontrollable flame and finally allow him to cool down and realize that... there was no possible way to get Cole back. (Of course we all know he did come back--)

BUT... Kai could only fall silent and quietly cry into his hand. Zane was able to comfort him enough for Kai to regain the strength to go talk to Nya.

Now, here, Zane is anything but that pillar, and he's cold and emotionless and not even flinching. Kai knows Zane is in desperate need of support, even if he isn't showing it, and Kai knows he has to be there, to be that warmth. That fire.

The Equilibrium Relationship.

Which is why when there were only four beds, Kai 100% no doubt stayed with Zane to keep him company and hopefully remind him of who he really is.