#kai being a blacksmith

[froginninjago]

Day 123: sketch of Kai and Wyldfyre for the soul?

(NOT A SHIP)

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

Thinking about how Ninjago S2 is probably one of my favorite pieces of television I've ever watched. It flows so well off of season 1 and allows those arcs to spread and grow.

It gave us the Mega Weapon, the Stone Army, the Overlord, lore for the Destiny's Bounty, let us actually meet Zane's dad, Misako, cured Garmadon, gave Lloyd his best arc (which the movie pretty much pulled from and the show still does), still is the Overlord's best defeat,

The characters actually have interesting dynamics with each and every one of each other that allows them to truly feel like a found family with history (and both Jay AND Kai get to react to things that happen to Nya, not just her Yin),

We got one of my favorite 3D-animated fights of all time,

And let's be honest, the show peaked right here (in a positive way).

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

I love your wobbly hearts AU but the thought has been haunting me of Kai having dyscalcula in the show canon except he doesn't know so much, what's wrong about that. Because Nya and him would've been working together to run the blacksmith shop and she could've handled numbers.

Therefore I hand you the nice of him needing help and calling over Zane to ask if he can read something for him, or his friends reading aloud important letters relating to things they get up to in their ninja business.

Just... Him having friends and them casually supporting him because it didn't come up until AFTER they got Nya back and they had to read books for something or other. And then Jay Cole and Zane could ask her why Kai always goes to her about reading/writing things and she could tell them that he's "never been good at it" so she helps him with it and then they start helping too when they can and. well.

It's just a thought that makes me mushy inside and helps me cope with the extreme angst (like holy SHIT the latest chapters of Wobbly Hearts, OW) of your Fic. I am soft for characters helping eachother <3

tOTALLY FORGOT I GOT THIS ASK HI HELLO???

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS bITING ALL OF THIS SM ;-; its such a lovely thought to imagine Kai listening to Zane or the others read actually what the heck that's so sweet I will cry

[fruit-colored-ninja]

My hc for what Kai and Nya’s childhood looked like is that after their parents disappeared is that they kind of ended up being passed from family to family for a while, staying with whoever had room for a couple of months as long as they could support them. Which isn’t the most stable way to grow up but since the place they grew up was so small it also wasn’t like being passed from stranger to stranger just because the community there was already so strong. Everybody knew of their family and even if no one knew their parents suuuper well that didn’t mean they were going to throw their kids to the streets so it became a very literal “it takes a village” kind of situation with everyone pitching in to help house/support/raise them. And as a side note to this (and also the reason I have this entire headcanon, lol), I think that Kai and Nya stopped relying on this support so heavily just a bit before the beginning of the pilots, and that was when they started taking care of their parents’ blacksmith shop again. What this means is that when Kai finishes that terrible sword, it’s not because he’s just a terrible blacksmith but because he’s a beginner

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Kai, Nya and their Parents - The Difference between knowing and not knowing what you're missing - and the sacrifices made by a caring brother

The day Nya was brought home - the day Kai met Nya face to face for the first time; Kai is two (Hands of Time, episode 3, A Time of Traitors)

Three years later

Ray and Maya are kidnapped, thus forcing Kai to take on the responsibility of becoming a five year old Dad aka the death of Kai's babyhood and childhood so as to preserve Nya's babyhood and childhood (Hands of Time, episode 8, Pause and Effect)

Thirteen years later

Kai and Nya are reunited with their parents (Hands of Time, Episode 8, Pause and Effect)

Three years later (vid from Seabound, episode 2, The Call of the Deep)

Though Kai had pointed out that Nya and Maya did not get along (due to Nya's independence from having grown up without her parents); at Master Wu's insistence, Kai calls in his mother to help Nya with her power problem.

Nya, however, dislikes Maya's mothering (what she considers babying).

When Wu suggests that Nya should discuss her issues with Kai, Nya insists with scorn that Kai likely enjoys being waited on and loves to be treated like a baby.

(Note how Nya goes from the probability statement of "probably, likes, being waited on" to the presumption in her absolute statement of "I bet he loves being treated like a baby" -- Nya, please tell me if this is your thoughts on your brother who raised you and gave up everything for you then when has he ever previously behaved in such a way that would suggest your statements to be true.)

The difference here is that Kai remembers what it was like to have someone taking care of him only to have it ripped away - to go from being the baby boy to suddenly having to be the adult for his sister.

Nya, though, doesn't really remember what it was like to be cared for by her parents; but, she remembers what it was like to be cared for (by her brother).

Kai is, in a way, reveling in the joy of being able to play games with his father, eat food cooked by his mother, and learn once more from his parents.

All things he hoped for but never once thought he'd ever have again.

While growing up, Nya was likely allowed to play games, eat homemade food that she didn't have to cook, and learn from Kai the lessons that he remembers their parents teaching them.

Kai on the other hand, had to get straight to work, schedule time in a busy day to cook so that Nya could eat, and be the one to teach trusted lessons from his parents (while likely having to weed out good advice from bad, given to him by whichever random adult decided to give it to him).

Kai's sacrifices for Nya can even be seen in the clothes they wear in the pilot.

When we first see Nya it looks like she's dressed in silk clothes which we know didn't come from Maya's closet since she generally dresses in blue.

Kai on the other hand is introduced in his blacksmithing clothes and goes to train with Wu, in his blacksmithing clothes, which may indicate a limited closet - he may even be wearing his Father's clothes as a way to save money.

But, you might say, he has different clothes in the episode, The Royal Blacksmiths.

Yes, he does have different clothes, but these clothes, like his and the Ninja's matching pajamas (color coded but with the same golden dragon on the chest pocket) are likely the result of Kai now being able to lean on Wu, financially.

Note that Kai's clothes are the only ones that indicate his elemental power - the others likely already had these clothes on hand before they met Wu (except maybe Zane - IDK).

Another way Kai's sacrifices and generosity torwards his sister can be shown is by comparing the first pilot episode to the Season 2 episode 6, Wrong Place, Wrong Time.

In this episode it is shown that, were it not for Nya getting kidnapped by Garmadon, Kai would never had cared about becoming a ninja.

It was only the knowledge that becoming a ninja was the only way to save Nya that motivated Kai to become a ninja.

Yet in a timeline where Nya was never kidnapped, all Kai cared about was getting the blacksmith shop back on its feet after the Skulkin attack.

So how did Wu convince Kai to come to the Monastery, the answer, he didn't - Nya did.

Wu unintentionally convinced Nya to become a ninja and since Kai wasn't just going to let her go off on her own (this is his fourteen year old little sister who he raised after all) Kai went with her so they could become Ninja.

Kai gave up what he wanted in favor of what Nya wanted.

~~~~~

Kai's sacrifices, his giving nature, and everything he does for Nya is almost practically an automatic habit, because he and Nya lost their parents at a young age thus forcing Kai to give up being a child to be Nya's caretaker.

And yet throughout the series whenever the siblings bring up their parents, it becomes clear that Kai made sure that Nya never forgot them and that they were remembered well, that they were missed and not forgotten.

I really like Nya; and while Seabound is a great season it also points out that Nya may just be truly unaware of how much Kai sacrificed for her to the point where she doesn't understand exactly why Kai likes having their parents around; among other details that she and others misunderstand about Kai.

Believe me, I like the idea that Nya knows and helps her brother out where she can, and she definitely loves him, but it seems like Seabound has shown her to be unaware of Kai's trials and tribulations in raising her and keeping them both from landing in the grave of the fireflies.

[imliterallysnakejaguar]

thinking ab zane and kai's friendship fr fr,

how zane admires kai's strengths (and knowledge about people) and expresses it explicitly (straight up asking what certain things mean or why people are doing what they're doing) and he's completely genuine about it. like theres no pity or condescending nature towards it, zane just believes that the others on the team know more about life and people than he does. but kai would take that to heart more than the others.

his parents left without telling him why, he wasn't a very good blacksmith leaving nya's heavy lifting to provide for the both of them, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't become the green ninja. he was even the last of the core four to discover his true potential. kai has never been used to genuine praise. kai probably never truly thought that he was the best at something, or better than someone else. but when zane (a literal prodigal nindroid with a heart of gold) asks him for help and holds him at such a high regard? that hits HARD.

and zane, this assumedly perfect nindroid, never seeming to understand how to get people to like him, or how to understand the meaning behind peoples' words, and kai just understands all of that so effortlessly. and instead of being jealous, he just genuinely thinks 'wow, this guy's so smart!' ???

also the underlying idea of them both feeling responsible for everyone and judging themselves bc they feel like they should have prevented something bad from happening or at least taken the brunt of the attack to protect everyone else,, like ouch. the heavy-hitting guilt and grief, the fear of being the only one left in their family, THEY'RE SO AUGHHHH

[psychologicalwarclaire]

Ninjago Team Medic Headcanons

Wu gave them all basic first aid training, and later taught them some more advanced techniques, but I think everyone has their own specialties.

Kai - Kai treats the serious injuries. He’s the only one who can cauterize wounds, if needed. But other times, he can splint broken or sprained limbs with ease. Kai is the closest thing the ninja have to an official medic. His protectiveness led to many sleepless nights watching videos ranging from treating muscle soreness, to burns, to CPR, to live surgeries. 

Jay - Good at treating injuries during missions, but is prone to… unorthodox methods. If you need something dealt with fast, he is the guy. Accidents in the junkyard and his time on the Misfortune’s Keep taught him how to quickly patch up anything out of almost any material. His methods of sloppy stitches, makeshift bandaging, or increasingly strange ways to prevent infections are temporary solutions, but they’ll keep you alive long enough to get real help. He’s always got fun bandaids stashed somewhere. But in terms of moral support, he’s your guy. Jay is a master of distraction, keeping the others either chuckling or groaning with his jokes while he or someone else works. When he gets very stressed, however, he’ll be dead silent as he treats the wound, looking on with a clenched jaw.

Nya - Nya is the best of everyone at traditional first aid. Before she was a ninja, she did a lot of the patching up after missions, so she’s got lots of experience. Nya is also so good at treating burns that it’s like her second elemental power; back in the day, her inexperienced brother had many blacksmithing accidents in the forge. It’s been established that she can’t access water inside of people’s bodies (cough, water in Jay’s lungs, cough), but if the blood is outside of you… It’s not quite bloodbending, but she can keep her team from bleeding out. She is also helpful during times of rest and recovery, keeping everyone drinking plenty of fluids and threatening them to take it easy. She’s an expert in heatstroke and dehydration because her stupid ninja forget to drink water on a daily basis. 

Cole - Cole’s big hands and strength make it difficult for him to treat delicate injuries like stitching someone up, but if you need a joint popped back into place or a broken bone set, he is absolutely your guy. Most of what Cole provides to his team’s wellbeing is emotional. He gives the best hugs. Kai and Jay utilize his calming presence when dealing with more… tricky wounds. Also: as mud is nature’s sunblock, he’s always happy to provide some to prevent his team from getting burned when they inevitably forget sunblock. 

Lloyd - Lloyd still believes in the magic power of bandages. For himself, and for others. Over the years he’s gotten better at recognizing when to use them and when more serious medical attention is required, but he’d still prefer not to have to deal with his injured team. In a situation where someone gets badly injured, usually Lloyd has many different problems to deal with and the other ninja are happy to take things off his plate instead of making him deal with a downed teammate. When it is up to him, he’s no medical expert by any means, but he’ll try his best. Occasionally, he’ll have to use his powers to combat some sort of magical ailment. 

Zane - Do NOT try and get Zane’s help with an injury. You think his ability to access any and all medical knowledge would be useful? WRONG. The guy sees one of his friends injured and practically shuts down. Dislocated joints? Broken bones? Heck no, he needs to leave the room. Catches a glimpse of blood? He is gone. Poor guy once almost started crying when Lloyd got a bloody nose. The whole situation is a mix of him hating to see his loved ones injured, and also being queasy over blood because he doesn’t have any. All those body parts that he doesn’t have are GROSS. The only thing he’s able to help with is diagnosing illnesses and occasionally pointing out concussions. Even then, it gets out of hand (“You have a mild cough? MY SOURCES SAY YOU HAVE FIVE DAYS TO LIVE.”) After treatment, however, he’s always ready to provide an instant ice pack and physical therapy. 

Pixal - Pixal is eager to help. Do not let her help. Her solution to almost everything-- whether it be a skinned knee or fractured wrist-- is amputation. She has spent years building so many backup prosthetics and just wants to be useful (“please let me implement my prosthetics, Kai, please! Lloyd would look so good with a robot arm!’). She knows hundreds of different options but she feels more comfortable working on machines, so what’s her solution? Cut it off, install a machine. That she can work with. Luckily, the ninja deal with both of the nindroids by having Zane keep her away, successfully distracting both of them from bloody situations. 

[spinjitsuburst]

I just saw that art u rbed to here from ur main and like while its an amazing peice of art its in own right MY EYES ZOOMED ONTO ONE ARMED LLOYD im so curious where that hc comes from if u wanna ramble abt scar and injury hcs id love to hear genuinelylike. I love scar hcs yeah

I'M SO SORRY THIS ASK TOOK SO LONG BUT OH MY GOD I LOVE TALKING ABOUT DESIGN AND SCAR HEADCANONS SO LIKE GHDFSGHKJFDG

generally i draw the ninja in a pretty vague "around or after crystalized but before DR" timeline so that's what i'm operating under with these headcanons

also i didn't draw zane here cuz android bodies confuse me and i also got. lazy hgkfdsghkjf but i'll do his someday

lloyd's 20~ and the other ninja are mid 20s~

FIRST UP MY FAVS

starting with lloyd i give him a dragon tail and oni horns, as well as pointed ears. he's got a semi-grunge/goth style so i usually draw him with piercings and stuff. he lost his arm during the events of hunted to me but i dont really have a set event in mind for it. his back was SUPER damaged during the sons of garmadon fight and sometimes has to wear a back brace, and his ankle flares up from time to time

jay kept a lot of his scars hidden for a while because they came from skybound (some of his worst injuries lingered from the timeline). not sure whether he's come clean to the ninja yet or not. the marks on his wrist and ankle are from vengestone cuffs on the ship (blame hat because they gave jay vengestone cuffs in bbnb and it broke my brain so my jay has them now). the wound on his side is from skybound as well. ironically his face scar is NOT from skybound, but he was blind in that eye after skybound and hid it from the team. the current scar is from a fight where an enemy sliced a knife up the side of his face, and his lightning reacted badly and struck him while also striking the enemy. he almost died it was NOT a fun day for anybody. also he's a trans man so top scars!!

nya's scars are fun, she obviously has the tiger widow venom scar from skybound (kai finds out about that one after it gets infected cuz she wasn't taking proper care of it after the timeline reset, and he was NOT happy about it) but she also has lichtenberg scars on her hand from a time jay was holding it and accidentally shocked her badly with his powers. he starts wearing gloves after this incident. she also, of course, still has the markings from her time merged with the sea. they glow blue when she uses her powers, and her eyes are more glowy now as well (she kinda looks like a cryptid)

kai's deceptively scrawny. he has basic muscles but he's super skinny, so a lot of people think he isn't as strong as the rest of the ninja. however he's CRAZY strong and has a solid core. He also has a bunch of scars all over his hands from his time as a blacksmith. They're mostly little burns and nicks, but there's one that stretches across his hand from when he accidentally grabbed a hot blade. he also has a lot of body hair

cole is chubby but INSANELY strong, even without super strength. he has a bunch of scars, especially on his arms, from being tanky and blocking blows with his body. most of his scars are ninja related, but he does have one on his leg from a dance accident. nothing major, but the scar stuck around. he also has his ghost scar that goes over his eye somewhat, causing his pupil to be an unnatural green

also a height chart for comparison! one day i'll do zane too but i got lazy. hard to figure out scars for a nindroid, but i imagine that under his plating, the side of his face will ALWAYS have glowing gold scars from the overlord, no matter how many times he makes a new body or tries to fix them

[enavstars]

Time for Aus :D

(Poster/ desings are not final)

Details:

Eclipse:

Takes place after crystallized, the ninja have recovered their powers and got back to the status quo.

Rumors start spreading on the Internet that Kai is actually useless because he's never defeated a supervillain on his own. Kai gets insecure about his worth to the rest of the team, acting more and more rashly out of the need to prove himself. However, everyone else thinks he's overreacting for attention, so in a mission with Lloyd and Nya, after trying too hard and messing up, they snap at him, thinking he just wants to regain his popularity disregarding people's safety.

Much later, Kai is injured on a solo mission and is saved by a mysterious woman (the villain) who secretly aims to manipulate him to turn against the ninja and Ninjago as a whole, taking advantage on his past hardships as a child and his current mixed feelings towards them. She uses dark magic (sort of like Clause) to take and amplify what little is left of the corruption from Chen's elements staff into a mask, to slowly make his own thoughts turn against them all, eroding him from inside out.

At first she convinces him to become a kind of vigilante, killing criminals who might have used him in the past under said mask as Akatora ("Red Tiger"), steadily growing more corrupted.

Once the ninja discover Akatora's true identity, they believe he's being forced to betray them and try to "save" him, which only angers Kai further for not realizing how badly they've treated him.

But when they realize that they're at fault, the team splits in two: Cole, Jay and Pixal can't see a way of saving Kai on time before he self-destructs and takes the entire city down with him; while Lloyd, Nya and Zane try to get him back at all costs.

At first, the villain didn't care which elemental master to use to get the ninja to destroy the city. But upon finding out more about Kai's past, she decides the Ninja are no good for him and wants to "save" him, to get him out of that toxic environment. She even confronts them more than once after taking him under her wing. However, later on she changes her mind...

I have many more details but this is all I'll say for now. I want to make it a realistic and morally grey season where neither the ninja nor Kai are the villain, because the ninja do love Kai, they just have to show it. Also Kai's corruption is going to be slow where you don't really know how of it is Kai's true intentions.

On the road:

This AU is set years after Kai and Nya's parent's disappearence. Despite still living at the blacksmith off Kai's odd jobs, the siblings are fairly neglected by the townspeople of Ignacia. After getting seriously beat up in a fight with some kids who had been passive-agressively bullying Kai for years, they go a little too far by almost killing him and threatening to do the same to Nya. Kai is forced to abandon the hope of their parents ever returning and leaves for Ninjago City with Nya, hoping for a better life.

After travelling for a while they stumble across Ronin. They somehow convince him to take them in for a while in his rudimentary shed and to teach Kai how to hunt and be more self-sufficient for the journey. In the meantime, Nya shows off her handiwork, making toys off scraps for Ronin to sell as thanks. When they decide to part ways, Ronin gives them a map, setting them on the right direction (he's no babysitter, but hey, he actually cared).

Days later, Nya finds a hungry and weary Lloyd along the way, lost after escaping Darkleys and looking for his uncle Wu. After some convincing from Nya, they agree to take him in and start travelling together, eventually bonding and becoming a found family.

The Au is mostly about their (fun) little adventures and Kai being an overstressed mom trying to keep their younger siblings alive and relatively out of trouble (but don't worry, he's actually enjoying it).

In the end, after having taken their shot in Ninjago, they find Wu and are taken in at the monastery. Yes, Wu is actually a good uncle here. They deserve it. Especially Kai.

Kai is 13, Nya 11 and Lloyd 9 (older than canon, no tomorrow's tea)

Feel free to ask any questions about the aus.

[royonninjago]

The Ninja's Roles Within the Team

Something I think the various Ninjago shows do really well is the characterizations of each Ninja. If it was bad, then kids wouldn't wanna watch the show or buy the Lego sets to reenact their favorite moment and create new scenarios for the Ninja to go through.

However, for the past few years a problem I've had with the TV show is that some characters feel more... useful than others. Then there are moments when one character is missing, but the team seems to operate just fine without them, and I think that does a real disservice to the characters.

In contrast, take the ATLA episode "Sokka's Master". It's one of my favorites because it separates Sokka, the only non-bender in Team Avatar, from the rest of the team. The episode demonstrates to both us and the rest of Team Avatar why Sokka is essential to their team. Without him, they're bored, can't figure out where they are or where they're headed on a map, and are overall completely directionless. Its like the precursor to those dime a dozen fantasy mangas where the weak member of a dungeon divers gets fired and the rest of the party ends up deeply regretting it.

I want the Ninjago TV show to demonstrate to us why each member is essential to the Ninja Team, and why without one of them the Ninja Team is worse off or have to work twice as hard to compensate.

Dragons Rising had such a good opportunity to explore this, but unfortunately it seems like the biggest problem the Team faces from being separated across the merged realms is lack of manpower and not much else. In lieu of this, here are some of my ideas as to how each character could prove to be essential to the Ninja.

Lloyd - The Leader. This one is definitely the most obvious. He's had a very clear leadership role since he became the Green Ninja, and ever since Wu left this distinction has only gotten more pronounced. However, I do find myself wishing to see a bit more of a dark streak with him. He was originally introduced as an antagonist, and I don't know about y'all but I still find myself enjoying Three Days Grace ever since I played the Halo 3 campaign at a friend's house while listening to AMVs of their songs.

Kai - The Weapon Master. Although there was never anything to support this, I always thought that Kai made the weapons that the Ninja used in the pilots. He is a blacksmith, after all. I think it would be cool if this aspect was more leaned into and not only make him the guy that creates all the swords and throwing stars and whatever other simple weapons the Ninja use, but to also be the best one at using those weapons. A sword is obviously his go to, but put any kind of simple weapon in his hands and I think he'd be able to use it very well. Imagine how much cooler it would have been in season 11 if Kai managed to defeat Aspheera's sheer power with his incredible swordsmanship skills. It'd certainly tie into his arc that season much better than what we actually got.

Jay - The Scout. Remember that scene in the pilots where the Skulkin cars were trying to reach 88 mph or whatever and Jay was gaining on them just by running? The writers sure don't! Though in all seriousness, whenever the Ninja need to learn a new technique to do something, Jay always picks up on it really quickly. First to perform Spinjitzu and summon his Golden Weapon Vehicle, second to unlock his true potential, third to summon his Elemental Dragon, he managed to surprise Ronin when practicing Airjitzu, not to mention his laundry list of hobbies. If they really leaned into his speed, combining that with his skills as a Ninja would make him perfect for running ahead and reporting back on the enemy forces. In my own little world, I like to imagine him as a PG version of the Scout from TF2 (Jay even had a slight Boston accent in the pilots!).

Cole - The Muscle. This one is also fairly obvious due to Cole's signature Earth Punch, but I feel as though it should be noticed more when he's not around, especially in Master of the Mountain. If I'm remembering correctly, they don't fully acknowledge his absence until they're locked up in the Vengestone cage about to be executed. If I regularly hung out with a dude that could lift a car over his head, I'd be lamenting about his absence whenever I needed to lift a heavy box.

Zane - The Information Officer. Another obvious one, but in this case I feel as though they lean a bit too heavily into it. Yes, he's a robot and yes, it's his job to know things, but I want to see his more dorky and silly side from time to time. Give us more Zane following a bird because it danced and him just chilling (literally) in the fridge at midnight for no reason type of stuff. After all, his greatest fear is losing his humanity.

Nya - The Strategist. I feel as though on a 'don't judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree' level, Nya is just as smart as Zane. Due to his physiology, Zane can hold much more raw information many times over Nya, but I feel as though Nya is much better at putting that information to use. Going back to Master of the Mountain (I realize I'm referencing it a lot, its still fresh in my mind), when Kai and Zane were lost, they relied entirely on the raw data from Zane's internal compass, and because of that they got lost and had to rely on Geckles capturing them to reach their settlement. On the other hand, when Lloyd, Jay, and Nya were lost, Nya was able to determine the location of the Munce settlement by searching for signs of life and finding footprints. Also, I think this characterization fits the Master of Water really well considering water adapts to whatever environment it resides in.

The new Ninja from Dragons Rising are still very inexperienced and still haven't really found their grooves within the team, but I'm still gonna try and analyze them here.

Arin - ???. Right now, Arin's main skills are his unique Spinjitzu skills and his talent with a grappling hook. Its still so early in his Ninja training that he hasn't really carved out a distinct role for himself, though I hope this changes as time goes on. Not too long ago I proposed a cool idea for his future if any of y'all wanna take a look at that here.

Sora - The Technical Specialist. While I don't enjoy the idea of PIXAL being replaced as the Ninja's primary vehicle builder, with Sora being the Elemental Master of Tech it seems very possible that this is where things are headed. Instead of that, I think it better for her to either focus on using her skills in the field or to specialize in Mechs. Both of these ideas come from the Elemental Mech mini-series. I thought the idea of switching up parts on a mech in the middle of a battle to be a fun concept and one giving credence to her being a Field Tech, and whenever she uses her Elemental Powers its for the purpose of creating or altering or fixing a mech about half of the time.

Wyldfyre - The Dragon Expert. Even before the Merge, the Ninja encountered Dragons a lot. Now that there are dragons seemingly everywhere, Wyldfyre seems like the perfect liaison for communicating with these dragons, assuming she can learn to cool off when its needed. She also seems to know a good amount about dragons, considering that she was easily able to identify the Wasting Sickness and make a soup to help ease the pain it caused. There's still a lot she needs to learn before anyone can consider her an expert, but with her love of dragons and the belief that she is one, I think she'd be more than willing to learn.

And there you have it. If you have any ideas or head cannons or questions surrounding this topic, I'd love to hear them!

[linkhorrendouspotter]

One thing about the ninjago Fandom is that I, personally, think everyone sorely under-appreciates Kai. Like, you'll see posts about him being all "he's basically the hot dumbass" and "he has powers, yeah, but he's also just the comic relief" when he's so much more than that! Kai raised Nya, on his own, from when he was five and she was three. Master Wu found them by time Nya was around 14, so that is give or take ten years. For Ten Years, Kai had to teach himself how to cook, clean, dress, dress Nya, blacksmith and a variety of other things so the two of them could survive. A lot of people talk about how Nya didn't get much of a childhood, but she got the best she could. Kai didn't get anything of childhood at all. From day one, he had to be the responsible one. From day one, Kai understood that fun, for him, was no longer an option because his baby sister needs someone to take care of her and he's the only one she has now. Maybe that's why he's so good with Lloyd, or maybe why Wildfyre likes him so much. He's good with kids, and he can understand acting out/impulsive childish behavior from his time dealing with Nya. Maybe Kai is goofy and comic relief like because some part of him recognizes that, since the ninja are grown, his baby sister is grown, his little-brother figure is grown, he doesn't have to be so serious and so responsible.

[spicyicymeloncat]

Look Kai’s angst to me isn’t “he had to raise his sister bc his parents went missing”.

To me, Kai’s angst is: without his parents he felt unsupported and he “lost his way” to quote the show. Feeling resentful and internalising their disappearance as some act of spite against him, which is why he feels the need to prove himself (trying to be a better blacksmith than his dad in the pilots, wanting to be the green ninja), and boost his ego; he’s coping with the abandonment.

However this is very self focused meaning he doesn’t spend the amount care people think he does towards Nya. He doesn’t fucking raise her. And btw I’m not saying he neglects her bc I don’t think you can neglect someone if you don’t have to fulfil that duty in the first place. She’s not a little baby in need of fatherly love from her brother who is like 2 years older than her. And yeah I think Kai probably should’ve paid more attention to her a little bit but that’s it. And the fact that he didn’t is interesting for both of them.

It’s like people ignore Nya’s constant theming of being independent and being left out. She always feels that she’s falling behind in s1, which is why she eventually decides to do her own thing. Her own true potential is about trying to be perfect because she’s got her own high standards due to feeling like she’s not good enough because she was abandoned and then afterwards she was only seen as “the girl ninja”.

Also every time Kai and Nya talk about their relationship in their childhood they always mention how they were equals in raising eachother and that Nya was independent and that Nya helped and supported Kai.

[the-painted-siren]

I finally finished up my height and body headcanons for the cast!

Details beneath the cut!

Jay

- Narrow face. Has a sort of movie star look to him. The most conventionally attractive out of all the ninja. Short and a little boxy-looking. Slightly muscled shoulders (he’s an inventor) but otherwise stronger than he looks.

- Lots of freckles and fulguration scars. His body regularly conducts lightning through it and it shows. The smaller ones fade with time and return when he uses his powers.

Nya

- Square face and strong features, very grumpy resting expression. Moles on her cheek and the corner of her mouth and a couple on her neck. Dragon tattoo on her arm.

- Strong biceps and and thighs (she’s been an inventor, mechanic, samurai, and now a ninja). She can easily bench press a few of her teammates and her punches hit like a semi truck. She has swirling marks as well as fangs from her time merged as the ocean and a scar on her left side from fighting Dogshank (her body remembers the events of Skybound, even if nobody else—except for Jay—does.)

Lloyd

- Classic hero look: soft features, seems very approachable, most of his opponents don’t think he’s capable of great anger because of this. (They’re wrong). Puts effort into his appearance because he has strong feelings about what he thinks a hero should look like. He relaxes a little after the Merge and lets some of his less human traits become visible, such as his fangs and pointed ears. Unrecognizable outside of gi—literally looks like an average guy.

- He has a somewhat stocky, jock-like build. Has several visible scars and stretch marks but the most prominent are the claw marks on his shoulders from fighting his dad. Top surgery scars too (he is trans to me).

Kai

- Physically resembles his father quite a bit, has similar sharp features. Very handsome. Has a lot of very thick, coarse hair, so he uses a lot of hair jel for it. Has a scar over his right eye that he got while fighting a Serpentine.

- Jacked, very strong arms, biceps, and shoulders. Calloused hands from working the blacksmith forge. Same dragon tattoo as Nya on his left arm that he originally got to commemorate her sacrifice in Seabound. Top surgery scars (he is also trans to me)

Cole

- Has a soft, gentle-looking face. Probably the most relaxed out of everyone on the team. A couple moles on his nose.

- Tied with Zane for tallest height. Used to look very slender in s1/2 but has since put on a lot of weight. Large build with lots of functional muscle. Big arms, legs, hands, and feet. Big chest. You get the picture. Lots of body hair all over. Nearly invisible scar on his face from his time as a ghost.

Zane

- Tied with Cole for the tallest. Was originally shorter but was rebuilt taller after s3. Slender build with a strong, flexible core. Dr. Julien designed him to be light and fast to contrast the Juggernaut, which is slow yet tough. Can still tank a freight train. Powerful. Built to protect.

- Very human-looking despite his android body. (Dr. Julien was a damned genius) similar wiring to Pixal on his chest but with snowflakes instead of dots. Heart/core is comprised of chronosteel as given to him by the previous Master of Ice.

Pixal

- The shortest. Petite. Borg built her to look soft and amicable since she worked as an assistant at his company. Visible wiring since she is overflowing with every mechanism thought possible to make her as fully functional as a human being and more.

- Has an alternative Battle Mode body that is bigger than even Zane. She re-made the Samurai X persona to seem big, quiet, and terrifying to fight. She succeeded.

[omgjayaaa]

there’s a lot of debate of which ninja is the most traumatized and I honestly can’t decide, so I’m gonna list all the trauma I remember. Feel free to add anymore I missed.

Kai

Parentless

raised his sister by himself and had to run a blacksmith shop as a teen to make ends meet

his sister got kidnapped

Got hit with snake venom and was high for awhile

got stuck in a collapsing volcano

the whole birthday human piñata thing

saw his brother explode (rip Zane)

ends up falling in love with a villain

loses his powers

gets tricked by said villain and almost destroys Lloyd with the power staff

gf turned into a snake

got teased about what happened to his parents

(still parentless)

fails to protect his possessed brother

is forced to fight said possessed brother

nearly drowns

gets swarmed by psycho fangirls (s6)

finds out his parents may be traitors

truly believes his parents are traitors and tries to stab them

father gets hit my the time punch

is forced to go back in time and watches Master Wu be lost to time

watches his best friend fall off the bounty and “die” (and literally can’t do a thing)

loses his powers (again)

gets thrown into a bunch of walls

literally has to summon his fire or everyone will DIE

watches everyone get turned to ice sculptures

Loses powers and gets turned into a cube o7

gets pelted with rocks

sister turns into the sea

gets in a car crash

turns into a Crystal zombie

oh, and he gets hit by a giant blast and thrown into the distance, then nearly gets killed by dragons.

Jay

Turns into a snake man

Gets tied up and nearly hit by a train

has a pointless love triangle where he breaks up with his best friend

literally resents him the whole time but is secretly sad

said best friend sacrifices himself and Jay has to watch him be thrown into the pit below rip

is adopted

Bio dad is dead (dead as hell)

bio mom is gone (who knows where)

he’s just motherless

Spider tries to eat him

literally gets tortured by a bunch of pirates

loses his ex gf to a super hot djinn

watches Nya die

is traumatized by even the mention of time travel (s7)

adoptive mom gets kidnapped

is so traumatized that he just becomes emotionally depleted and is okay with a dragon eating him???

watches best friend literally fall into a cloud of darkness and can’t even do anything

almost falls into lava

watches his whole family and gf get cubed

gets sacrificed to a sea beast (which isn’t technically real but still)

almost drowns

literally almost dies because water in lungs

gf turns into the sea

is depressed for awhile

grows a beard

Gets turned into a Crystal zombie

‼️‼️SPOILER‼️‼️amnesia

Cole

Mother died when he was a child

Which lead to a bad relationship with his father

ran away and climbed a mountain in his grief

nearly got killed by a dragon

got mind controlled and was forced to fight his friends/ninja brothers

had a weird love triangle

lost powers

sacrificed himself for Jay

turned into a ghosty boi

got kidnapped by the sons of Garmadon

falls off the bounty and nearly gets frozen in the oni cloud

feels so responsible for losing the travelers tea that he literally climbs up a snowy mountain without sleeves-

gets cubed in a video game

is attacked by a creature wearing his moms locket

no one believes him

despite all the crazy things that have happened

gets thrown to the bottom of the mountain

Gets in a car crash

crystal Zombie time

Zane

Fatherless

wandered for like 10 years-

had amnesia

everyone calls him “weird”

is actually a nindroid

bird robot dies several times

btw his dad is actually alive

falls in love with a robot girl

literally gives her half of his heart

sacrifices himself to protect those he loves and all of ninjago

is rebuilt only to be kidnapped

gf is scrapped and now lives in his head

dies again because smartphones aren’t real (s7)

nearly dies from being thrown off the cliff by someone who was essentially supposed to be himself

Had visions about his literal banishment

gets banished to the never realm

loses memories and is manipulated

commits mass genocide

nearly assassinated

Gets electric shocked and hooked up to power a giant machine

turns off emotions because of Nya becoming a mermaid

crystal zombie

literally locked in a imperium temple for years (but doesn’t remember a thing???)

Nya

Lost both her parents at a young age

was kidnapped

becomes samurai X because she wanted to help and the others wouldn’t let her

im not even going to talk about s3

gets hunted down by Chen’ forces

is actually the water ninja

unlocks her true potential before everyone can die

is forced to deal with misogyny at every turn because she’s the “girl ninja”

gets possessed by the spirit of Delara

dies

someone steals her samurai suit

her parents are alive

she watches her family and bf die

has to deal with survivors guilt when Cole “dies”

is forced to confront her powers once again in s12

gets cubed

watches her bf get flirted with and he doesn’t do anything

Becomes a Queen despite not wanting to???

watches bf get sacrificed

Misses her mom but she’s been gone so long things have changed

sacrifices herself to save Jay

turns into the sea

amnesia

is alive again but is separated from Jay once again (merge)

Lloyd

Mom left him at a boarding school as a baby

dad is evil

Is mistreated and opens a serpentine tomb

gets gatekeeped, gaslight and girlbossed by a purple snake

kidnapped

nearly dies because he’s forced to retrieve a fang blade

almost dies in a volcano

Hes destined to defeat his father btw

and fight him

Son vs father

loses his childhood to save his friends

mother is alive

has to fight his father and destroy the overlord

friend group breaks up after Zane dies

Recently redeemed father dies because Lloyd has to banish him to the cursed realm

gets possessed by his cousin

gets thrown into a river and nearly drowns

says a final goodbye to his father

gets really old

isnt old anymore

is forced into a leadership role and no one cares

falls in love with this really pretty, nice girl

oops

shes evil

she beats him up and brings his father back from the dead (only the evil part)

his father beats him up and leaves him for dead

watches family be crushed

is forced top into leadership again and confronts loss

fights his father one last time and defeats him narrowly

Is forced to work with and babysit his evil dad

is so traumatized by Harumi that his trust issues are heightened

distrusts a Wolf girl but works with her

she kisses him and then he leaves (for good?)

Is forced to fight video game Harumi and they kill each other (poetic but cruel)

is cubed

sneaks into Cole’s bedroom just to tell him how much he distrusts the new princess

sister gets turned into the sea

works at Starbucks?

his ex gf is alive and pissed

dad loves a plant more than him

father plays dead and Lloyd turns into a demon goat man

Gets separated from his whole family in the merge

gets a vision of his family’s grave

gets high, beats the shit out of some bad guys and passes out

probably traumatized after that

[mx-julien]

ninjas' relationship with a home

Zane is used to moving on from places, as an amnesiac orphan he was used to getting up and carrying on, then his only temporary home, the Monastery, burns down (ref: s1 ep2 Home) and the others blame him for it. granted, he seems unaffected from these accusations and proceeds to find the Destiny's Bounty that day so all is forgiven

I wonder if some of this longing for a home was intensified after he regains his memories in Tik Tok (s1 ep7). because then he would be able to remember a time of prolonged safety and living with people you love

Kai and Nya lived at the blacksmith shop presumably since their parents got kidnapped by Krux and Acronix. Nya even had enough time to create a whole secret room of armor

the first years must've been especially hard given all the reminders of their parents being around. did they leave their bedroom untouched, save for the occasional cleaning?

did Kai have to pull up a stool to the stove to cook until he hit his growth spurt? are most of Nya's memories in that house of Kai making her lunches and tucking her in at night and sending her off to school?

who takes care of the shop while they're gone? and when they come back do they notice everything looks a little smaller- each corner thick with dust and the fingerprints of afternoons when they were 12 and only had each other?

Jay lived with Ed and Edna in the scrapyard since he was little and he can visit back there whenever he likes, but now he has another family to think about: the one he never had, the one that gave him away

however after Skybound he knows he has other parents as well. does he ever sit in the kitchen he grew up in and wonder if his biomom had any recipes she wanted to pass down? if she ever saw families or little kids and thought of him? if they have the same smile or same freckles or same laugh?

sure he can learn about Cliff all he wants and he loves his Mom and Dad dearly, but was there more? could he have learned to master lightning with his Mom? where was she when he was growing up? was she unable to see him or unwilling? is she even alive?

Cole's house is likely the same as when he was little, so he too can go visit, but I wonder if he went off to "boarding school" because after his Mom died he couldn't stand to be at home

what was a place to laugh and paint became gray when Lilly got ill. it turned into a place of hushed voices and packed bags for the hospital. after she died it was the home of yelling, of arguments, of tradition vs. passion. smiles became forced and doors only slammed shut.

with more time having passed, I wonder if Cole is glad that so many things of his are mostly untouched since his Mom died. he can find her neat handwriting on some notes in his desk, in books on the shelves, and point out decor she bought

Lloyd only had a complete home for a small part of his childhood before Misako left him at Darkley's. then, he must've lived somewhere close to the school. when he was doing Pythor's bidding, he seemed to be mostly homeless

after growing up deserted at a boarding school (that he clearly didn't like) and manipulated into long treks and homelessness to do the bidding of a snake, perhaps his misbehavior at the beginning of his stay on the Bounty was because he couldn't imagine it lasting. him? a place where he felt at home? better the devil you know than the devil you don't- just toss me back out on the streets I don't CARE!

when do you think he realized that the others weren't going to leave him like his Mom did or take advantage of him like Pythor? how many months in did it take him to realize that his uncle Wu wasn't the only one who wanted him there?

any particular ninja y'all want me to focus on drop in the tags or replies- I'm real interested about this now

[rinkunokoisuru]

Reiko (She/Her) Master of Fire

The youngest of the era's Elemental Masters. Eventual grandmother to Ray, great-grandmother to Kai and Nya. -She tends to be laid back, with a very devil-may-care sort of attitude. The other Masters often scold her for being too reckless and not taking things seriously enough.

Excels at making snap decisions in the heat of battle, but doesn't always remember to take her own safety into account (much to the dismay of her teammates). On the flip side, she is abysmal at any sort of strategizing ahead of time.

She is an extremely skilled markswoman, having been trained by her predecessor to use her fire in conjunction with her arrows from a very young age.

Frequently "butts heads" with Keto, the Master of Water. Which is to say that Keto gets upset and tries to start arguments while she brushes off the matter.

She is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful and desirable bachelorettes in all of Ninjago. Unfortunately for any would-be suitors, she is completely oblivious to their romantic advances.

She has been smitten with the blacksmith from her hometown for as long as she can remember, having grown up together. He is equally as oblivious to her attempts at flirtation.