The Last Voyage Is Out!

Enemy of My Enemy is out!

Ha

*runs and hides behind desk*

In case anyone finds it helpful because mobility aids are horrifically expensive and inaccessible…

And for those people who have access to mobility devices but might benefit from a second chair they can abuse without risking expensive damage…

Erik Kondo has made a website, Open Source Innovations, that details plans for DIY wheelchairs. These wheelchairs can be made from common materials like wood, plastic, and pvc. They are lightweight and can be custom fit to the user allowing from the same degree of movement you would get from a custom chair. And they are durable and easily repairable. (he has been stress testing his latest design by dropping it down stairs, dropping it out of a car, launching it across a driveway, and throwing it off a deck). Its 12lbs and I think he said its was in the $200 ish range for parts.

He also is working on cheap, open source, accessible designs for beach chairs, off road chairs, motorized attachments (think smart drive), and so on. Plus he skateboards in his wheelchair. Cool dude, helpful info, pass it on.

Wait a minute.... The sole on Sonic's shoes is dirty and damaged here

But here it's brand new after he came back home

So my theory was correct. Ever since they adopted him, Tom and Maddie have a bunch of identical shoes for him in their house because they never want to see him injure his feet again. They care so much about their alien child, they never want to see him like this again

I want to talk about THIS scene from the episode "The Forgotten Element" in Season 4

This was the scene that spawned many Evil Kai AU fanfictions.

(And like... I get it)

As a kid, I was always jaw dropped by this scene, but I didn't understand this scene too much.

Like, what was the point of this Evil Kai AU if it was for a minute and it was resolved so quickly?

They were building this up the entire episode and even before it, so was that all for nothing? Did it not mean anything? What was the point of this anyway?

And then it clicked with me WHY that was.

The problem was that I was only focusing on what's present in the moment and not all around it.

In the moment itself, Kai is holding the staff, it holds too much power, it corrupts him and spills all of is bottled up negative emotions about destiny and the Green Ninja, how he feels about it all being wrong, that he was somehow 'not good enough' compared to a child, and how he should've been the one with all the power all the glory and all the abilities in is veins.

"You had all the power, now it's my turn!"

"Nothing that I don't already feel!"

"I should've been the Green Ninja!"

That's straight up TELLING.

And it makes sense. Kai wanted to be the Green Ninja more than anyone ever since he heard of that prophecy. Ever since he was told he was the Master of Fire by Wu he went from 'do everything for Nya and be a parent' to 'I can be special and worthy in a way I couldn't ever see in myself'. And then it all turned out to be for nothing, Kai being 'special' was all a lie, and the prophecy went to this bratty kid that Kai was tasked to babysit. Then Lloyd would proceed to be very well recognized and Kai was just... the forgotten member that nobody understands the motives of. 'You wanted to take the place of someone who did something sacrificially heroic? How dare you. SELFISH.'

BUT WE ALL KNOW THAT.

This all sounds like a villain origin story that would happen in the season, right?

The build up is all there. The bottled up emotions. Skylor's influence. Chen taunting him in this episode about it and getting into his head about his parents, something that is VERY PERSONAL to Kai.

So if it ended up being just ONE MOMENT and that's it, then this was all for nothing, right?

NO.

Why? Because that's not what this aspect of the episode is about at all.

This was all NOT build up to Kai becoming a villain.

This was about Kai REJECTING that villainous side of him.

He's been 'on the villain's side' at the start of the episode when Chen decided not to enslave him.

Another motif of this episode is what gets said over and over again in the B plot of the episode, that being the prison escape from the Noodle Factory. "The power of positive thinking"

Kai is learning this as well, but it's his own personal battle to come to that. Part of being positive is being positive about yourself.

He's been scolded for being selfish constantly. Again, how dare he want to take someone's place, someone who was better than him in every way and they all knew it. These people are oblivious, they can't read his mind, they're misinterpreting his words, and for some reason nobody apologizes for that.

We've seen him be insecure of his own abilities. When he feels like he can't do something, he goes 'If only I had this ability'. An example being the Digiverse.

Part of the lesson there was that he had to allow himself to have the power he needed to get out of a tight spot. As an old fashion and a devoted brother, makes sense why he'd struggle with this.

And then when Chen gets in his head Kai, it's the same thing again, he's selfish and he wants the power and that's all he cares about.

Everyone is saying you're selfish, therefore it must be true.

And this is the first time Kai ever actually CALLS THE PERSON OUT for accusing him of being one dimensionally selfish.

Yes he falters back when Chen mentions his parents, but that's still a notable step. (And he would continue to call out their accusations in Possession)

The episode consists of Kai being on the villain's side and playing the role of the deceiver. Him being smart by playing the emotions of Chen and Skylor rather than be a logical thinker. (WOW. An episode that doesn't make Kai dumb and instead makes him smart in a way that fits his character. That is sad how rare that's shown anymore.)

And to do that he had to convince everyone that he was on the villain's side and that he has turned.

So THIS moment is not build up to Kai becoming a villain truly, it's a test on this own side of him that he must acknowledge exists. How this way of thinking isn't healthy, it's petty, it's not worth it, and he shouldn't be lingering on something when he himself is capable of so much.

And then NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT HOW KAI WAS THE ONE WHO BROKE THE STAFF AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT.

He could just grab the staff again and be corrupted again, and that's it. But HERE, there is no one paying attention to him to tell him what to do.

Which means this is all Kai's choice.

This is Kai CHOOSING to REJECT that villain inside him, and instead proceed to a more positive outlook, one that would benefit everyone.

That's countering all the selfish accusations more than anything else.

As a kid I was confused as to why there wasn't a scene where Kai acknowledged what happened when he was corrupted and how you go from that to 'Kai wants to protect Lloyd'

Him breaking the staff IS that scene. (It's just so fast that it's hard to see on a first couple viewings) He NEVER wants to see himself as that corrupted figure again, and is willingly choosing what role he wants to play now. That's the transition there from that Kai to Possession Kai. (Possession Kai = Best Kai)

This is one of my favorite episodes of the show because of how much justice was done here in so many ways.

A little continuation, or, more like a prequel to this comic?

I've imagined this could be Donnie's first strategy. ... He just didn't expect that Casey would go further with questions.

sits like him

Alt Blog | YouTube | Bluesky

What happens to me and probably many artists

@raphala-389

It’s another parallel

'Draw the art you want to see' they said... (I don't know how to caption this, I don't even know what I'm doing anymore 😑)

Gave them all pants 'cause their little bare legs looked cold TvT

Guys why does Leo's head look so stupid from the front why does he look like that