#ray jiang smith

[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.

[geoxstxrs]

NINJAGO HC’S PT 4 : ELEMENTAL MASTERS

[ninjagobrackets]

[kindaasrikal]

Kai except when/if he returns from the nether realm (which is probably soon if I’m being honest) he breaks down like a lil baby after he reads and listens to the voice notes and messages EVERYONE left for him. Full on sobbing as he listens to Wyldfire trying to find her place and move on whilst also feeling so insecure.

Five tissue boxes, gone after hearing Lloyd talk about how unsure and scared he rlly feels and how he honestly has no idea what he’s doing.

Rocking back and forth as he reads Cole’s texts about his life and how everything is going, as well as his insecurities and how down he feels sometimes with everything having changed.

He’s full on koala-hugging Zane as he listens to the detailed texts that have misspellings about everything he’s been bottling up and how much he just misses so many people.

WATERFALLS are what his eyes are as he listens to Nya’s strong but almost broken voice talk about how lost she feels and the pain she’s experiencing with Jay and him gone.

Big old baby eyes that are watery as he reads texts from Arin and Sora talking about their struggles and insecurities as well as updates on everything going on.

He sits late at night, texting Wu and Jay’s old numbers, sending voice notes to Skylor, Ray, and Maya, about his life and everything that he’s suffered through so far. He tells them stories, updates, and how much he misses all five of them. He sends Pixal’s number photos of them and Zane, giving her small notes of what’s going on.

Before all that though, the ninja all realise Kai is about to read and listen to everything they’ve sent him and they all collectively jump him and run like their lives depend on it with his phone. They refuse to have that loser find out how big of losers they were with him gone.

[p4r4no1danarchist]

I think the first person to calm Wu dad was Nya. And in my full opinion, Wu and Garmadon are both father figures to the smith siblings, Nya was closer with Wu, and Kai was closer to Garmadon.

Kai is closer to Garmadon for one sole reason; Garmadon knew how to talk Kai down from his rage better and was the first to get Kai to consider spending more time on ways of rerouting his anger.

Wu and Nya on the other hand accidently enable eachother but also help eachother. They both over work themselves while trying to help the other and it they just tire eachother out.

When Ray and Maya came around Ray only felt slight jealousy towards the spinjitzu brothers until he actually took a step back and noticed facts about his kids he didn't before, and tried to use that to create a closer bond with his kids.

Maya on the other hand butted heads with Wu and Misako alot because they seemed to over ride her authority on anything she did with her kids... To be fair, Nya took awhile to warm up to her, and the spinjitzu brothers + Misako saw how much she spoiled Kai and paid attention to him and wanted to keep it from affecting Kai as a ninja.

(I have nothing even against Maya, I just saw her in seabound and she gave me weird boy mom energy during the beginning of seabound.)

[destinygoldenstar]

What is it with the fire elementals and them being able to bond with dragons so well?

We got Wyldfyre, who was raised by one.

We got Ray, who has a dragon brooch on his design.

We got Kai, who was not only told stories about them, is always the first one to bond with a dragon of the team, but also raised someone who is part dragon.

Yeah I'm seeing a pattern here regarding Fire Elementals and their bonds with dragons being this prominent. I wonder if there's some lore reason behind that or if that's just a coincidence.

[penofwildfire]

Ray is a fucking dumbass and I need us to talk about him more. I love him.

(more from Kai: Ninja of Fire)

[the-ninjago-girl]

So yall remember the fan scenario of kai calling their family by the wrong last name?(as a way to give them a different one, Jiang) I always thought it was funny, but ya know whats funnier? If it wasn't wrong and that RAY was the one behind the last name smith

So In s6 kai was sent to the past and saw his dad trying to sell weapons, now idk if they ever talked or gave us a legitimate story as to why, but Ray was by himself. Possibly he had bad relationships with his parents bc he wanted to take the path of a blacksmith instead of whatever. So here's my hc for the name smith:

Due to ray having a bad relationship with his parents, possibly bc he wanted to become a blacksmith, decided to change his last name so as to remove himself from a family that was unsupportive of his dreams, decided to leave and change his last name to cut off and last ties to them. And chose 'smith' bc he wanted to work as a blacksmith/in a smithy. It does make sense since back then people used to be named after their profession/occupation. And for ray, in his village it was likely still very normal to do so, so he chose 'smith' as his new last name

[itsaboutbee]

I like to think first time Ray discovered his powers was bc someone said smth mean to Wu and he set them on fire

[crossroads-of-the-raven]

Rewatching Past Ninjago Episodes - Tournament of Elements, episode 6, Spellbound: Something to think about concerning the Serpentine War

Pretty sure this is the Master of Earth (and Lily's father) who just turned traitor.

This means that Cole's grandfather fought alongside Kai and Nya's parents before siding with the Serpentine (due to Chen's trickery).

(The above gif and picture are taken from Season 7, Hands of Time, episode 2, The Hatching)

Still, at least he returned to the Elemental Alliance as this picture takes place at the end of the Serpentine War.

(Also, if Cole's grandfather fought alongside Kai and Nya's parents then I wonder if that gives credibility to the idea that Kai is older than Cole - IDK)

~~~~~

Next thing to note from Spellbound:

These two gifs are of Maya and Ray (the parents of Kai and Nya), locking away the Venomari and Anacondri Tribes, respectively - including the fact that Pythor (last of the Anacondri to be locked away by Ray) presumably fought in the Serpentine War.

Kind of puts these two moments from Season 1 (the first from episode 5, Can of Worms - the second from episode 4, Never Trust a Snake) into a sort of perspective.

Imagine what could have been for these two moments had the writers known at the time that they would get more seasons.

[l1-b1]

Maya and Ray when they were Nya and Kai’s age!

And of course

I can’t leave this here without including a Maya and Nya comparison

Nya takes after from both Maya and Ray but Maya and Nya’s relationship is so precious to me so yeah

Nya’s hair comes from her mom! A part of why she let it grow that long after The merge, was that she started to see her Mother in herself. But this time with a sort of pride but also a feeling of familiarity. She felt a feeling of comfort, knowing that a part of her mondays always with her. I think that’s also why she embraced the blue colour in her outfits as much as she did in her DR suit. The blue represents Nya first and foremost, and then the water ninja, but it also represents the previous water master, her mother. She also started taking care of her curls more as that was what her mother did. Maya took care of her own hair well and focused on preserving her wavy pattern. So for Nya, her hair is a hige part of her identity. Maya didn’t have curly hair, Nya did. But she takes care of it with all the love that her mother did. Her hair also differentiates her from her mother. They are different, but similar. Different but with the same love. She is her mother’s daughter

[thepajamamen]

fire masters

[alastair-1205]

Thinking about how the person Kai was in season 7 is just a little bit different than the person we see by season 8. Thinking about how it kinda feels like (to me) that he's finally calmed down a little bit. That the 'hotheadedness' that led him around by the hear for most of the series seems to have finally let up a little bit and let him breathe.

Thinking about how it seems like finding his parents and finally being able to make peace with that past part of his life did him a lot of good. It didn't completely change him as a person becasue that's just who he is, but something that had been hurting finally healed enough that he feels less like its something he has to be defined by (like how that was probably a lot of what motivated him to want to be the green ninja originally). How, despite his initial reservations (trying to stab his dad) he's the one who ended up being able to be on good terms with his and Nya's parents again.

I just have a lot of thoughts about the Smith/Jiang/Jiang-Smith family

[aureallegories]

I keep forgetting to post this but my favorite headcanon is that Nya's name was actually Nyad but when Kai was little he couldn't say it right and despite Maya and Ray trying to correct him he didn't quite get there before they were taken so "Nyad" grew up as Nya which makes Maya and Ray confused af when they get reunited but they just go with it

[kindaasrikal]

Kai headcanons because I’m tired and cant think of anything else:

Kai both does and doesn’t have a concept of monetary value. Like imagine they go grocery shopping and they need to buy essentials like ingredients, veggies, hygiene stuff to stock up on. Like usually whenever the other ninja went with their families they were able to buy some extras like candy or toys, maybe some more clothes despite having many just cause they like it or smth. With Kai? This guy slaps it out of their hands and says it’s not worth the waste when they’re only here for essentials. Wu gave them money for that only, so they best budget and make sure they can buy everything they need and maybe some extras of those things or else. None of them realise how confused Wu is when a proud Kai returns believing he saved up money by being smart and responsible, when Wu actually gave them extras to use there as like an implied thing. But when it comes to things of value, this guys has no idea what to do, take for example with Ronin. He had no idea how much the thing could cost but knew they had to pay it or else. But he’s also horrible at negotiating because he can’t properly understand the worth of what they’re negotiating the deal on and can’t see when it might be worse or better.

Kai was a shockingly quiet kid. Like yes he was still ‘aggressive’ and rude, but like never spoke on his own. Nya was always the talker between the two, but even she doesn’t talk as much as often. So usually Kai would silently accept a lot of things as a child until he grew older and got a bit of an attitude so despite being often silent that one quiet kid in the back who does everything right will and probably has cussed you out if you step out of line.

Nya actually cut Kai’s hair when they were younger because she was bored and Kai fell for her trap and ended up thinking it wad a great idea since his hair had gotten too long. She messed it up however since, you know, she was like max 6, and Kai’s hair came out nothing like the picture they had of their dads. Kai almost cried at how it didn’t turn out like how he wanted when Nya giggled and said his hair looks like a “Really cool fireee!”. No, Nya does not remember that she’s the reason Kai keeps his hair like that.

Kai loves fish, he likes dragging Nya outside to summon some and makes her stay with him until he’s bored. Nya likes eating fish.

Kai likes jumping into his rlly bulky and tall mechs and then posing like a school girl or a cute model in them. Jay once managed to convince him to Jojo pose and they distracted an enemy because of it. Cole and Lloyd cussed them out, except Cole couldn’t stop laughing and Lloyd’s hair kept blowing in the wind dramatically every time he changed his position so it looked like he posing. He made them run up and down the monastery mountain steps five times each way. Cole too.

You know those really cute candle holders? So like Kai convinced Pixal to make him a fire proof bear suit, wore it outside in the dark, in the middle of the training ground, with everyone asleep. He lit himself on fire and he looked like a glowing monster bear with teeth and blood (shadows and ketchup, he was hungry). He thought it looked cute and cool. Zane screaming, malfunctioning, and then screeching “THY BEAST MUST BE SLAIN!” And shooting ice at him was not a part of the plan (Zane watched Macbeth the movie before sleeping). Both refuse to apologise to each other but after a day of ignoring one another Jay watches as Kai clings to a Zane full koala like when he’s doing chores.

Cole tries to teach Kai how to draw. Kai, for the life of him, cannot. Even stickmen look wonky and wrong.

Kai, surprisingly enough, has amazing handwriting. Everyone gets him to write stuff like letters for them because either theres is worse then a kid in nursery, or they wanna impress someone.

Kai really likes having something around his arms, like bandages, gloves, cloth, anything. For special events, he lets Cole tie silk ribbons around his arms like bandages.

Kai wishes he had soft hands. Everyone loves the feeling of his rough hands though. It comforts them.

Kai also loves cracking his knuckles. He loves doing it around Wu, who hates the noise and smacks Kai with his staff, who cackles and does it again.

At bad times in his life, Kai sits and lights a fire when the moon is at its highest point, out in the dark where it’s cold.

Kai loves stealing Jay’s action figures by accident. Jay was annoyed at first until he saw Nya giving Skylor an unintentional wide eyed look whilst holding a doll after Skylor said “oh, yeah i forget i had this old thing, don’t really like it tbh” disinterestedly. Jay put together whats what when Skylor blinked and said Nya could have it with a grin, who legit giggled. Nya. Giggling. Jay puts his action figures on a shelf and never touches them, giving an impression to someone who isn’t a collector (who couldn’t afford to be one) that they aren’t that important. Jay begins buying more action figures and other stuff he usually wouldn’t but knows Kai or Nya would love and leave it somewhere like it’s always been there. Says something under is breath just loud enough for a peeping ear to hear about how he might throw it away, and the next day its gone. Sometimes, he outright hands it to them saying he doesn’t like it but doesn’t wanna waste it. The other ninja, plus Pixal and Wu, pick up whats going on and do the same. Later in the years (after the re-design and sog) Kai and Nya long picked up on whats going on, they still love it regardless because it makes them feel less guilty (no no guys they definitely didn’t break down sobbing after Jay gave them a water themed colouring book for adults and Kai a mimic of Mitsuri Kanroji’s sword from demon slayer (a fake), definitely not.)

(Lowkey just realised this is very similar to a Morro fanfic of ao3, No i did not realise it when i wrote it but i do now, its where Morro likes collecting seemingly useless stuff left in places no one would leave smth special at. It’s because Morro was a homeless orphan, so he takes useless things in to give them importance. Love that head canon and fanfic it’s on ao3 guys omg. Imagine resurrected Morro doing that and Kai and Nya just realising in horror that THEY do that too. They get it, and dammit Morro is more similar to them than they would’ve liked.)

Kai totally likes wearing those happy birthday head bands even when it’s not his birthday and acts like he isn’t. If someone says happy birthday to him, he looks at them all judgy like and says “Its not my birthday? What gave you that impression?”

Kai actually easily gets sick, and hates it. The others have to time his down so he’ll actually get rest and not just push through it regardless. It takes summoning the duo of Wu AND Maya to get him to stop.

When the og four ninja met for the first time and right after they stopped Garmadon and got back to their realm, they still hadn’t actually gotten to know each other so Kai used to run away from them like the secret introvert he was groomed into being and it took Nya tackling him to get him to finally play those “super cringy bonding games”

Kai was subjected to Lloyd’s glowing green eyes staring at him constantly with no words exchanged. When the silence got too much and Lloyd just kept staring Kai asks what his problem is. Lloyd says “oh nothing, muchacho” and Kai realises Lloyd is still petty over what happened in the first episode.

Yeah thats all i got i think I’m sick shdgfv

[p4r4no1danarchist]

In honor of fathers day, here's what each of the ninja do on Father's Day.

Kai:

Kai decides awhile ago that he'd celebrate all the father figures in his life, namely Wu and Ray but also sensei Garmadon when he was still alive. He'd spend the day cooking up a nice family meal and getting them gifts. He'd really just turn this into a nice day where they all are treated nicely since none of them know when Wu or Rays birthdays are.

Nya:

She is similar to Kai but also focuses on making sure to have a nice conversation with both and just checking up on them mentally and emotionally. She helps Kai cook up the family meal but isn't allowed to help with making drinks. (Wu is still betrayed because Nya makes iced tea and coffee.)

Jay:

He heads out to visit Ed the night before father's day to have a nice home cooked meal with his family and then spends the nice day at the junkyard with Ed and Edna building random things and just bonding with his father.

Cole:

Much like Jay, he heads out the night before to see Lou and takes him out to a restaurant they both loved to eat at while Lily was alive. Then they'd head back home and listen to music together, not talking a whole lot but just being in each other's presence to celebrate the day calmly. The day of they go out to see a theater performance and go to a ballet show.

Zane:

He goes out to see the statue of doctor Julien and lights a candle, leaving a few flowers and sitting there during the early morning just as sun rise hits. Just talking to the statue about his life and how it's going before heading home and also celebrating father's day with Wu and Borg as well. Wanting to celebrate the father he lost but also the ones he had gained along the way.

Lloyd:

One of by far the toughest days out of the year for Lloyd emotionally, he goes to see sensei Garmadon's statue in the corridor of elders with Misako and leaves out dried tea leaves for him. Silently staying there with Misako for awhile to morn the man he lost and the man that was later ripped away from him permanently when Harumi brought him back. Back when sensei Garmadon was still alive, they used to spend time together and even go on a hike on Garmadon's mountain of choice as a family and they'd have a picnic there.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for dr! If you haven't watched dragons rising yet and don't want to be spoiled, don't read please.

Arin:

After the merge, Arin spent nearly every father's/mother's day in morning the loss of his parents until he got taken in by Lloyd, who then started to become like a father figure to Arin. That's when he finally started to get better and spent father's day with Ryu, Lloyd, and Sora, together enjoying the small family they made together.

Sora:

Growing up, she was taught that every day was a day to look up to and treat your parents like how you'd treat a king of queen. So once she got out, she hated the very idea of fathers or mothers day until Lloyd started to behave like a genuine father figure, showing Sora that in his eyes, the day is more about the family they made along the way and he's more than happy to skip the day if it'd make Sora more comfortable. So the year after they first meet, when father's day rolls around again, she and Arin work together to make the day nice for Lloyd: showing their appreciation for all he's done for them.