#wyldfyre worried for her father-figure

[painted-piethon]

Angsty lava, but happy lost

[keeperofthebox]

*puts on my clown makeup and nose in advance*

Now that I'm dressed for the occasion, let's talk about how Kailor can still win... Thanks for giving me the opportunity to unleash this rant HAHA. Sorry this turned out so long.

So one thing about me is that I am a Kailor stan. I knew their arc in Crystallized was coming just because I pay way too much attention to them lol. So obviously, I have a lot of thoughts on Dragons Rising through the Kailor lens...

Here's my theory: I think Wyldfyre is very much intended to be both of their kid, but I also think her being adopted is intentional.

Skylor's arc is that she's seeking stability. She had a father who completely robbed her of a normal childhood in pursuit of evil. He forced her into situations where she had to do wrong. As a result, now she desperately wants "normal". That's why she's working at the restaurant - it's a normal job. That's why she'll never be a permanent fixture on the team despite being an elemental master.

And Kai's life... isn't stable, or normal. He turns up out of the blue in a bad mood to talk to her because he found evidence that his parents are evil. He gets sucked into the Never Realm randomly, then a video game, then has to go to Shintaro. He disappears because his sister sacrificed herself by turning into the ocean and died. He's a ninja! He's a hero! He loves it!

But he also loves Skylor.

He really loves Skylor. I mean, when they first met he was acting like an idiot because he liked her so much he didn't know what to do with himself. Later he wants to make it official, even though he accidentally ghosted her for that long. He was thinking of her the whole time!

But you'd think that they're not really compatible, because their life goals are so different. Skylor is a smart girl. She wants a stable, secure family and can tell that Kai isn't prepared to give that to her, no matter how much he likes her.

Or is he?

In Crystallized, when they're about to leave the Paperkids hideout, Skylor gets distracted staring at Jake with his parents. She's looking at them because that's everything she's ever wanted, and she can't help but smile wistfully at them. How does Kai react to this, you ask?

With the fondest, loviest, most encouraging look they could possibly draw on a Lego.

What I took from this is that Kai knows. He knows what Skylor wants and he's supportive of it. IIRC the next thing he does in this scene is gently coax her that they have to leave in a kind voice.

Crystallized leaves us with this: Skylor wants stability, Kai hasn't proved that he can give it to her, but they like each other and they're going to talk about it. Skylor knows who Kai is, but Kai knows what Skylor wants. They're gonna try and make it work.

Then Quest for the Lost Powers (the book) has them at a point where they're in a stable relationship but still figuring things out. He leans on her when he's having problems and in fact, at the start of the book he spends SO MUCH time with her that she wants him to go do something else. HAHA. Things end on a really good note for them, too.

And then there's a time skip. And Skylor's not in Dragons Rising so far at all.

Presumably they got separated in the Merge, and Kai's been on his field trip looking for the other ninja for years, which is understandably a priority. The world's a mess and they need their heroes.

Kai hasn't mentioned Skylor in any dialogue, but he's also not the type to be open about that kind of thing anyway, and narratively Zane and PIXAL are taking the "lovers separated" spot, which I'm not mad at. Robo-love makes the world go 'round, etc.

But as I watched, my lil Kailor heart was starting to get worried. Will they address Skylor at all? Will they neglect writing Kailor again, and will they explain it with another explanation of "Kai ghosted her"? He's already done it once, he doesn't need to do it again! The whole point of Dragons Rising is that he's a real grown-up now, just like all the other ninja!

And then Wyldfyre happened, and I wasn't worried anymore.

Wyldfyre is brash, bold, and wild. She's like Kai if his confidence wasn't a coping mechanism, and was instead genuine. She's from the woods, her personal hygiene needs work, her only family is a dragon. She loves pranks and has trouble with social conventions. She's from another realm altogether!

Kai would have never had contact with her if he weren't a ninja, and a hero. He never would have taken her on as an apprentice either. His relationship with this weird, ridiculous girl is directly a product of him being a ninja.

But she's also his kid. He helps guide her through things, and gives her advice. She suffers through martial arts mindfulness techniques with him. They make jokes together. She hugs him so tight at the end of the season.

It's the perfect way for Kai and Skylor's life goals to meet in the middle. When Skylor inevitably gets introduced back into the narrative, she's going to meet this little girl with red hair and fire powers who's treating Kai like her father, and she's going to see that a stable, loving family is possible even when ninja stuff is involved. They wouldn't have this if not for Kai's job, if he was anyone else but the person he is. And he wants this, too.

It won't be white picket fence with a dog type stable, but it'll be stable, and both of them will get what they want. It'll be... ninja monastery with a dragon type stable. And it's just as good.

That's how Kailor can still win. :D

"Kai is a dad now" was not on my Dragons Rising bingo card but I couldn't be happier with that development