So Ninjago Finally Ended. Had To Make A Quick Sketch To Celebrate Since I've Been Following The Show

Kai <3

lloyd <3

Something I’ve noticed is that Kai only puts on his egotistical persona when he’s with a stranger or someone he barely knows. He pretends he only cares about himself when he wants to make a first impression because that’s a personality that makes most people leave him alone. He acts like he’s a big shot around fans because that’s what they expect him to be. He pretends he’s the self centered one because it perfectly hides how much he hates himself. It makes him look less “weak”. He openly laments how he couldn’t protect anyone in season 11 because he’s at a low point and lets it slip through the cracks. He’s a genuinely kind and loving person but he assumes that if he shows that he’ll be ridiculed.

Ever since he was a kid and had to raise himself and Nya he’s been prickly and vicious because otherwise people will take advantage of him. It’s a coping mechanism derived from never having a stable parental figure that made him feel safe.

dearest ninjago fans I have an announcement

found this gem

Add Lloyd as their lil bro ( cause he is 🥹 )

…

Kai Version: Isn’t it so incredibly interesting how both smith siblings handled their trauma in drastically different ways?

Kai  has low self esteem/self worth (depends on people, powers, and statements to determine his value), constantly needs to prove himself, and is immensely dependent on external validation (his obsession social media is a prime example of this). He invalidates himself, dismissing his emotions/feelings, and needs regular reassurance (tendency to blame out-of-control situations on himself, likely derived from the mindset that his parents purposely left him because he wasn’t good enough, and i’ll bet my soul he stayed awake  nights wondering that if nya was firstborn, would his parents still leave?) .

His fear of being useless is also likely derived from that same mindset and as such he portrays himself through a cocky/prideful ‘persona’. This is false portrayal of himself, simply to appear stronger in the eyes of others, because if others think he’s of value they won’t leave him, because with or without this ‘mask’ not even he knows who is truly is.

He tends to dissociate during emotionally intense/overwhelming situations, or go into a state shock/confusion. He developed unhealthy coping mechanisms (violently self destructive) with situations regarding loss and grief. All of these things are results of and/or mechanisms he developed from his childhood trauma.

but. despite everything i’ve written above.  he loves nya. raised her. protects/supports her. took lloyd under his wing. he loves lloyd. throws heaps of physical affection towards cole. he loves cole. accepted jay as a brother in law, was so supportive of jaya and helped jay in proposing. he loves jay. makes things fun for zane, reassures him. he loves zane. showed master wu to believe in himself. he loves wu. he loves his entire team and expresses it in ways that value each of them individually. he makes friends with dragons. he loves dragons. he taught/worked with kids. he loves kids. despite what the disappearance of his parents did to him and nya, despite nya’s refusal to show her parents love (valid, btw) kai loved maya. he loved ray.  he loved his parents all over again, he loved his parents again so easily. he loved and loves and keeps loving.

trauma gave him self-destructive mechanisms. trauma instilled insecurity in him. trauma took away his sense of self worth. trauma emptied him of self-love. trauma stole his sense of identity. but kai held on to the ability to protect others, to care for others, to help others. he held them close to his chest. because like hell he’d let his trauma take that.

kai refused to let trauma strip his ability to love. his ability to love is unmatched.

Inspired by this post:

https://sugarglider-s.tumblr.com/post/692022087001473024/every-single-day-of-my-life-i-think-about-how-kai

LLOYD SAID THAT?? OH MY GOD LLOYD WHY. I need to rewatch that episode but it makes me sad :((

Anyone else ever think about that time in season 4 when Kai was talking about how he wished he had died instead of Zane and Lloyd responded with "do you ever think of anything but yourself >:("

Cause I do. A lot.

I think that probably the most realistic scene in Crystalized is the fight between Jay and Kai.

They're both stressed out. They're both grieving. They're both trying to cope, just in a different way, and sometimes, grief can get the best of us.

But I'm actually surprised that Kai hadn't snapped sooner. Because Nya, the reason he joined the ninja in the first place, Nya, his sister who he basically raised, his family – is dead.

And Jay has the audacity to act as if no one else cared that she was gone. As if he was the only one affected.

Kai is trying to hold it together. He's trying to move on, because he knows he can't change what Nya has done. And he knows that Jay is grieving too and he does his best to not blame him.

Yes, he accidentally knocked the glass of water, but he instantly apologized for that, knowing what it means to Jay.

In other words, I'm on Kai's side on this one. I think that he had every right to point out Jay's bullshit. He should have done it sooner.

Hi! Can you recommend blogs about Kai that you prefer to read, please.

Have a good day!

hey anon!! <333

I don’t have any specific blogs, I love a lot!! you can go through tags or check out my reblogs for specifics!!

he's not having a good time