A Legend of our Childhood: A Kirby Morrow Tribute

Still A Legend. Still Loved

And it's been yet another year we've been without him. Another year of life I've lived. Another year the Ninja have fought on.

It's been a really hard year for me if I'm honest. I've lost so much. Loss that's forced me to change. In a way, I've lost who I am. I've lost my way.

Or at least I would've.

But...

I still hold my cry, my motto: Ninjago Forever. This show has continued to be a home. A refuge for me. It's characters, family. And just like me, this show has lost a lot. And that loss has also forced it to change. But it's still Ninjago at heart, right?

With Dragons Rising, a new era has been made for our Ninja. A new world. A world Kirby never knew. But that doesn't mean we've forgotten him. We never have. He shaped this world before it grew into what it is now.

The show has reached new heights, gaining the popularity we haven't seen for years. Every new fan joining who refuses to watch the original seasons don't know Cole's original voice, and... That makes me sad. Not the Andrew Francis does a bad job, but he wasn't the start. And that's why this is still going. To remember.

Just as Cole still remembers Lily. That's why I chose to draw the picture I did. The caption says "Here lies Lily Steel. Friend. Hero. Performer. Legend." All things Kirby was. I chose to use the surname "Steel" because that's the one he liked for Cole. The son of Lily.

I met a son of Lily not long ago. He... taught me something about loss. He was a friend, funny, kind, a gentle giant. A training partner. He reminded me a lot of Cole. He even started watching Ninjago again because of me. He was the first guy I ever liked.

He's also the first person I've ever mourned.

I miss him. In a way, this is a tribute for him too. In fact, he also shared a name with a Ninjago character. Something I didn't realize 'til he was gone.

Anyways... Last year, I said I'd carry Kirby's memory with me every step of every day. I thought I'd say the same thing if I ever lost someone close, but when my friend was gone... A part of me died with him.

Think about it, everyone acts differently with any given person. Not in a dramatic way, but based off of their mutual experience and interests. When you lose that person, you never become who you were around them again.

So it's not my friend's memory I carry with me. I carry the absence. While he, wherever he is, carries me with him. And, in a way, I think I prefer that. Because that means whoever we lose, wherever they are, they're not alone. They haven't left us behind. They carry us with them. And we can find them and make ourselves whole one day.

As long as we remember.

We remember.

- Shades