#different colour

OKAY SO I ACTUALLY LOVE THIS ASK because I’ve been thinking about it forever but never had the energy to put it into words SO THANK U ANON!!!!! i think there's a lot of reasons for the change in colour and i’m sorry in advance coz this got long but i’m gonna use this ask to dump all the ideas and ops i have on this topic

OKAY. soooooo. So we know lightning is a dangerous element. it's alive and unpredictable and relatively unstable. unlike most other elements, like earth water etc etc, which can be shaped, held, and calmed, lightning demands surrender or dominance—there's no middle ground. its always moving it's always ON. and i think it took jay A LOT to get in under control. and that's where the blue comes in. we know what blue symbolises duh— control,, clarify, calmness in general (think the sky etc) and so when he's in full control, it's plain blue. Blue ALSO can symbolise loyalty which has always been a big part of jay,,, he's loyal to a fault to his family and his friends, and consistently chooses them over any greater good. so his element responded to that knowing and stability by staying steady, precise, and pure blue

and to get such an unpredictable element like lightning under control, it takes discipline and emotional stability and if there's one thing he's not right now it's stable lol. so his power is all over the place

YELLOW, on the other hand, is a color that wears two faces. yes, usually, it's the color of joy, brightness, and optimism. but there's a more volatile side to yellow that often gets overlooked. yellow is also a color of warning—think crosswalks, hazard signs, yellow traffic lights. it's not danger itself, but the presence of instability.

and So. so. the yellow that has infiltrated jay's familiar blue doesn't symbolise the first for yellow. it's loud, jagged, overexposed and urgent. And it's not here to light the way like the sun. it's here to warn

i think jay is so out of control and not at all in touch with his emotions that his element is actually trying to warn him. i think it's symbolising how much he's shifted and it's now a warning to himself (and others) of how unpredictable and chaotic his element is now

AND. AND AND AND. Yellow is THE most visible colour from a distance. that's why it's used for hazards and warnings. it's used for things that NEED to be seen. Jay wants needs to be seen. he's spent years in the administration all by himself and not being seen by ANYONE. he's been overlooked and ignored and he's been hiding his element at all costs. And now in particular he wants attention (esp after his humiliation at TOS) he wants people to KNOW him,, and not as jay necessarily but as someone powerful. which is why he chose to keep every part of his identity hidden (the mask, the hat, etc) EXCEPT his lightning. it's incorporated into his weapons. AND EVEN HIS VOICE. Which he does still disguise yes. but it's done so THROUGH his lightning (that's what I think anyway lol) . That's the only part he allows for people to see. and so it's the only part of him still yelling for people to see him

So yes it's a warning but it's also a cry for attention

Now. blue is stable and consistent and yellow is bright and overpowering and it's especially clear AFTER he joins ras and his gang compared to before when he accidentally sparked his lightning up and it was weak,,,

because the foundation behind learning to control his element isn't right (just like how arin learnt spinjiztu thru ras' teachings and now it has the shatterspin particles through it)

And we know that the way ras works in not through harmonising with the universe but with forcefully getting the universe to harmonise with u . and through anger and negative emotions in general. it's chaotic and Jay has no control over it and so his element shows that through colour

and maybe im crazy or reading into it or whatever but.

BUT. In the scene where he uses lightning for the first time in front of nya. the way he twists and turns as he generates,, it looks like it actually hurts him to use it. i think because of the methods he used to learn how to control his element (anger, violence, force) it's actually more painful to use. it’s showing him that his power comes at a cost when it’s learnt with the wrong motivation. he even stays hunched over for a few seconds right before he aims

AND IF U LOOK CAREFULLY (which I have because apparently I have nothing better to do) u can actually see his hand shaking right before he strikes

And yes this could be just from the pure fucking power of his element but if u take his body language into account I really do this it's just painful for him to use now