#rust answers

this is also why I think he has a mug with the word “milf” on it and an arrow pointing up

I MADE AN EDIT OF THE “ITS HARD BEING A SINGLE MOM OF TWO WHEN YOURE A TEENAGER AND ALSO MALE” POST WITH HIM ON IT A WHILE BACK. So here’s that for you. Cuz I think it’s funny.

I think I posted about this a long time ago, like almost a year ago now, but I have said that I do share the hc that Kai gets bought stupid merch with dumb family sayings on it. They’re not even accurate half the time. Once Nya got him a hat that says “wine aunt” and he wears it all the time.

ALSO IF I MAY ADD ON TO THE MILF MUG—it’s funnier if Kai doesn’t know what it stands for. Idk how realistic that is, but I think it’s so funny if he only finds out after the fact. And after doing so you can pry that mug and his #1 dad mug and worlds best brother mug and his best grandpa mug from his cold dead hands. They are his prized possessions. Also a t-shirt that says not the step dad but the dad who stepped up. I LOVE THE HC THAT THEY BUY HIM STUPID SHIT LIKE THAT IT MAKES ME GIGGLE!!!!!!! In DR wyfy joins in, trust.

Hell, I think WU forgets sometimes.

Wdym this isn’t canon? Because it’s canon to me.

It’s even funnier if any of the RGB gang also forgets. Like Kai and Nya referring to Ray and Maya as Dad and Mom to Lloyd, not our/my dad and mom. Or just making off hand comments to him like “oh you’re just like Mom, she does [x] thing too.”

Or Jay, Cole, and Zane being so used to their sibling shenanigans they genuinely forget and have mini “oh holy shit yeah” moments every time they’re reminded that Lloyd is in fact not related to the sibs.

And it’s SO FUNNY IF ITS WU!!!!!!! Like Wu being like “Lloyd, go get your brother and sister I need their help” and Lloyd is just mentally like okay??? Validating I guess????? And then Wu short circuits a bit when all three of them are there, and Lloyd is calling him Uncle while Kai and Nya aren’t.

AGH THATS ACTUALLY SO COOL!! i was actually wondering about that but idk much about photo editing and wasn’t sure how to do it:

I think Monstrosity is really putting into perspective how good at hiding things he really is. Idk about anyone else, but I personally would’ve never known his behavior in DR was hiding this much beneath the surface. Occasionally things would seem a little “off” and the fact we didn’t see his fear vision should’ve really tipped me off, but he’s hidden things exceptionally well.

Hell, how much do you think Ray and Maya knew about how weird their family was? Any stories about their great grand father went missing?

So true. Everything’s messed up. What even is their family tree at this point? Like “oh yeah, we’ve got the ocean itself from our mom’s side of the family. And a smidge of centipede monster from our dad’s, yeah. Oh, you think that’s a lot? That’s nothing compared to our adoptive little brother who is part dragon, part oni, part human, and also descended from god.” LIKE WHAT IS THIS FAMILY

It’s been a while since I’ve watched Seabound, but I’m 90% sure they were at least aware of the Nyad stuff since Nya was named after her. But the “previous fire masters became centipedes” theory/idea? I don’t think Ray knew about that one… like idk what if the fire masters don’t know about it? Like Ray managed to turn out fine, never came into contact with whatever could lead to the centipede thing. And the fire masters who did are now other creatures who can’t communicate with any descendants. Idk, just yapping here but i think it would be neat if they didn’t know… Ray thinks back to his grandfather who he was close to when he was young and who he remembers disappearing but never gets closure. His parents tell him stories, but Ray realizes quickly they’re all speculation or lies… and he never finds out. He hears his parents speak in hushed tones of some kind of curse of fire masters, but he never learns more than that. Because he turns out okay, he dismisses these whisperings as nothing and feels no need to warn Kai…..

okay I’m just yapping sorry. I just like to think about them mwhehehe

Cappy why are u using ancient speak on me…. ?

hmmmmm…. I will try to conjure some for you…. Because they’re so fucking silly. Like actually the funniest Kai ship to me /pos. Like their episode in Rebooted will never not be funny to me.

I think it’d be silly if P.I.X.A.L. had to update herself when they first started dating because he was so warm he would overheat her systems. They cuddle and she’s got all sorts of error warnings because he’s too fucking warm.

I also think she worries a lot with his tendency to run headfirst into things, especially when they’re younger. So whenever they regroup after missions if they were separated for any reason she very thoroughly makes sure he’s unharmed and not hurt.

Also Kai absolutely adores her hair. It’s nothing like human hair. At all. And he loves playing with it because the texture and feel is unlike any other. Cuz I hc her “hair” to be very different from Zane’s, so he hasn’t felt anything like it before. So whenever she’s stressed he gives her a scalp massage and plays with it.

Also they’re ridiculously petty. She will not tolerate any of his bs and they will get into petty fake arguments lmao. Because it’s silly

And here’s some text posts that give me Hotwire vibes :)

Lava.... oh lava 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

DUDE WHAT WAS THAT EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!

"You're not my teacher, Kai!!!" lives in my head rent free, I never would've expected a scene like that.

And oughhhh the parallels with their dynamic in the pilots. Not just with the mentalities of breaking off from teams as you pointed out but also paralleling Cole taking the lead in the pilots. Like in the pilots, when lava duo first meets, Cole directly calls Kai "kid" and promises that he has his back. Whereas in DR s3p2, Kai is the one trying to guide Cole and help him not lash out or rush into things. Like he's playing a very similar role to how Cole initially introduced himself to Kai. It's really a flip on their dynamic, and I find the parallels fascinating.

I think Kai's characterization in DRs3p2 (and DR in general) really highlights his growth and emphasizes how Kai views himself. We can assume that he and Cole are approximately the same age, but Kai was still trying to take on this sense of helping and providing guidance. Which in my opinion I think could tie into the Monstrosity lake scene (yep, I'm bringing that up again). I personally don't think it was just Nya that Kai saw as a younger version of themself. I think it was the entire team excluding Jay, who I think only had his wavy hair to keep him visually distinct in the blurry lake image. And I think the fact that when Kai was shown something he's lost/ what he desires and what he sees is specifically the ninja younger signifies a yearning to still protect them all and what innocence they still have. So when Kai is trying to guide Cole, I wonder if that plays into it. He knows logically Cole can handle himself and always has been able to, but he still yearns to guide and protect in his own way.

But ohhhh they sicken me, Bie. Romantic, platonic, whatever I fucking adore lava. And it hurt to see Cole lash out and suffer for it, and Kai understanding what it's like to lose your family and lash out because of it.... oh it sickens me.

Kai has been shown to offer guidance since the early days of Ninjago with Lloyd, but DR really highlights his growth and how he wants to apply all the lessons he's learned the hard way over the years in order to help and guide others. We see it with Wyldfyre obviously, but it's so special and interesting to me that he's even doing it with his own original team, not just characters much younger than him.