#There is a scene in BCS that sums up Jay and Kaida pretty well

[taddymason]

hi :)

I've got a (long) ask about your Dad Jay AU

What are the top 3 of the worst crimes they have committed? What exactly is Jay and Kaidas kill count? How would the Ninja react if they found out about it?

I've always wondered this, since it was often brought up how many people they've already killed or what terrible crimes they did.

Tbh almost every thing they did (during the administration arc) was justified by the administration, killing was necessary. I think it's clear that for Jay and especially Kaida, killing is a norm, it's what they have to do to survive, either they die or you. If I remember correctly this was also encouraged by Christa, in EIhijSotR (😭 abbreviation of everything I hear is just static on the Radio), I don't remember the exact line, but I think my point is clear.

While they were trying to figure out what exactly Master Wus Ghost was, Kaida said that maybe it's one of the people they killed and forgot to burry, which of course indicates that they probably killed so many, that it would hard to pin point which individual the ghost was, and they were only talking about the ones they didn't burry.

Also in Home, Kaida says in the end , after Jay brutally killed hundreds of men, that she's seen worse and that they've done worse.

Jay and Kaida are very aware of what crimes they did and like they said they're trying to be better, but what I find interesting is, how Kaida doubts that that's even possible after what they did.

I've found it hilarious that the source dragon pointed out all the terrible crimes they did, while the Ninja were super confused and Jay didn't deny anything. We can often see how terrified the Ninja are, Everytime either Jay or Kaida mentions of the crimes they did. It's very often mentioned that Lloyds trying to teach Kaida to get rid of this mindset, bc of "all life is valuable" thing, so I'm wondering how well that'll go, as in will Kaida ever adapt to the fact that killing is bad?

(I'm sorry, i didn't even realize how long this became, i ramble too much :( )

oooo i love love this question, never apologize for a question this long because i love talking about this stuff.

Now their top three worst crimes is kind of complex lol, they've done so many things it's hard to say which one is worst. Leaving murder aside obviously, they've squatted in the cloud kingdom for months, destroyed one of the islands, and definitely in their time in the Administration they've had to do things like estorsion or blackmail. In fact in that one shot it's actually implied that Jay and Kaida know how to interrogate someone for information. If I had to give it an order mmm: murder, extortion/blackmail and vandalism (they have destroyed private property many other times before the Clound Kingdom thing)

Now, as for their kill count? Tbh I have no idea, but I know it's high. Think about it, when Kaida and Jay are escaping in Chapter 19, she implies that they've already taken out a group that big of enemies with their powers, and they've been working in the Administration for years. Of course, when Jay becomes a manager this wasn't as constant anymore, but whenever something went wrong, or there were problems, he really wasn't that opposed to getting his hands dirty. The worst part is that if Jay ever tried to keep score as a field agent, he definitely lost it at some point and by then he stopped caring because he had already gotten used to it.

And the interesting thing would be the ninjas' reaction. They know that Jay and Kaida have done bad things, even if they have a hard time gauging it and in their minds they would try to excuse it. I think it would always be a hard thing to accept as something that Jay would do willingly when with things like Zane being the Ice Emperor they could always turn around and say that he wasn't really their friend so they wouldn't have to deal with it. Like, I don't think they can fully process it even with what they know because I've left it intentionally ambiguous. Were all those murderers in self-defense? Were there things that could have been avoided or would it always have ended with them dying? How many cases like the one at the beginning of chapter 24 could Jay and Kaida have stopped if they wanted to? And that's why I think this quote from Jay sums it up pretty well:

So it's not about the things they could have done in those years, you can imagine how many people they could have killed etc, but the things they chose not to do when they had the ability to act.

You're right in what you say and that technically they were justified in the Administration arc. I mean, as far as Jay knew the ninjas were coming to hurt them and the Administrator specially tasked him that it was his job and Kaida to kill them, so it's not like they had any other options with what they knew. Because in the end, they are both victims of their environment for having powers. Kaida grew up there, conditioned to believe that no life is unthinkable and in LP she is a teenager who was seen for a long time as a weapon. And Jay was manipulated in a moment of vulnerability where he had no context or idea of what to do other than join the agents. At the end of the day, what sets them apart from characters like Cinder is that they never enjoy what they do, they have lines that they would not cross.

The problem is, of course, not that they do things out of cruelty, but because they are simply ordered to, because it is a job and they never gave themselves enough time to question whether they could do something else. And it was not even an easy alternative, because it would not have been entirely ideal for Jay to risk Kaida's life by opposing every single thing that seemed wrong to him in the Administration.

For them, there was never any other alternative so no matter if Jay felt guilty from time to time, there were never any consequences to these actions and he could go to sleep peacefully thinking that there was nothing he could do with the cards he had been dealt. With Kaida it is even more complicated, since of the two she is the one who sees murder as the most normal thing to the point that both of them are casually mentioning that they may or may not have someone wanting revenge on them.

So are they both far from redemption? Not really, but in order for them to change and decide to try to be better, it is important to understand that they are not exempt from absolution for what they did. Or at least, that is the catalyst for both of them to decide to change, to realize that their actions do have consequences and that they cannot walk away from it as if nothing happened. I think they will eventually be able to handle these problems, especially if they are going to be ninjas, without being so "trigger happy" so to speak.