Isn't it so incredibly interesting how both smith siblings handled their trauma in drastically different ways? But isn't it also beautiful that everything they went through together simply made them love & support each other in bajillion different ways!?!!
Nya’s mindset of, ‘’I don't need anybody, I can do everything myself. I can rely on only myself,” just means that “My parents betrayed me and let me down when I needed them the most, which has damaged my ability to trust.’’
This is hyper-independence, and that is a result of trauma. It was likely one of her prime ways to protect herself from vulnerability, building walls to protect herself from feeling a pain similar to what she felt when her parents disappeared, making it hard for her to love. She shows signs of ‘self-sabotage’ because she refuses to ask for help, and does not show vulnerability. She declined any affection (except kai, bc he was the only person who had not betrayed her/only dependable & trustworthy person in her childhood) in the earlier seasons, and has trouble doing things if she cannot execute them perfectly. Kai undoubtably worked hard to support her, and so Nya pressured herself to meet certain objectives for Kai’s sake, to ensure Kai’s work didn't go to waste. This likely lead to her habit of perfectionism, which with time, became a bigger breeding ground for severe toxicity.
Despite Kai offering her unconditional support, Nya likely did not want to overburden him with her troubles so she kept a lot of things bottled up. Her independency also probably derives from her will to try and make things easier for Kai (and later the team) so she minimizes asking for help. Rarely asking for anything at all, insisting on dealing with issues herself. She dragged this habit with her throughout her life, likely in fear of rejection. When it comes to grief and loss, she has a very unhealthy habit of pushing it down, trying to not feel anything especially when others are around (ex. in Hunted when nya and lloyd thought the others were dead, she pushed the grief down/started hiding it and distracted herself by focusing on/helping lloyd). When it comes to grief and certain other things she puts herself below others, prioritizing their needs instead of hers. All of these things are results of and/or mechanisms she developed from her childhood trauma.
Nya requires a lot of verbal affirmation and physical touch to open up (kai is an exception). A lot. Remember, it took a long time until she actually told Jay she loved him. But what Nya needed is was patience, and Jay was displaying that, and never criticized her for not saying ily back.
She could have chosen to leave all the burden on Kai, but when she couldn’t remove it, she did everything she could to lighten it. Trauma gave nya so many reasons to be an untrustworthy person. Trauma made loving people hard for her. Trauma made love a battlefield for her. Trauma made future relationships difficult for her to ease in. But despite this, Nya chose to be trustworthy. Trauma didn’t make her brave. She made herself brave so she could accept Jay’s (and the teams) love, and in time, selflessly tore down her walls so she could love him back. She chose to be there in the times of need for others, just as her brother was there for her. Her trauma gave her opportunities and opportunities to be scared, but she chose to stand her ground. She chose to be brave.
Kai’s <3
https://theatlasrealm.tumblr.com/post/692060841958408192/isnt-it-so-incredibly-interesting-how-both-smith
I love to headcannon that butterflies remind Kai and Nya of each other bc of this memory
Like Kai or Nya would gaze at a butterfly and think about the other and that’s just so adorable
sometimes I wonder if I should tell my friends that I have a ‘blog’ about legoes
but then I remember that the average person would never understand the trauma of color coded ninjas
you all talk about buff-nya and not-buff-kai and I love that to death but let’s also talk about short kai and nya/ Lloyd being TALLER than him
because like imagine nya AND Lloyd being taller than him it would be so funny guys like kai would never forgive them for being taller and he’s def on the shorter side.. maybe even the shortest.. shhh…
nya grabbing things kai can’t reach? Ok it’s fine she’s nya she’s more buff than kai anyways she probably picks him up for workouts but LLOYD grabbing things kai can’t reach?? THE SAME KID WHO WAS LIKE NINE YEARS OLD LIKE BRO 😭😭😭 also THE OVER PROTECTIVENESS LIKE
anyone: the green ninja and that girl ninja suck
kai: take that back right now *fuming*
anyone: *has to look down at kai bc he doesn’t meet the eye level since he is short* someone get this angry gremlin a happy meal
AND like the ‘oh your so small where do you have all the space to keep that sass’ jokes 🥺🥺 SMALL AND SASSY … and…
no one:
kai: climbing cabinets and doing gymnastics on countertops to get to the ultimate boss cabinet aka the highest cabinet
nya or Lloyd: do you need-
kai: *airjitzu’s to the top of cabinet and probably sets something on fire* NO.
ALSO if any ninja is feeling cold it’s okay because kai fits perfectly in their arms and he’s a heating pad
Hey! What do you think are the ninja's love languages?
I’d love to share my thoughts on this! For those of you that do not know the five love languages, they are five ways people might show how they love (obvi not limited to romantic) someone, and speak the way they would like to feel cared for. People tend to love all five, but certain types are special to them. The five are: quality time, words of affirmation, gift giving, acts of service, and physical touch. I determined each character’s through how they interact with the others. So grab a snack, and get cozy because this is a lot.....
Cole
Cole's love language is definitely physical touch (both giving and receiving). Imagine being hugged by cole like it would be such a nice hug guys. Throughout the show, you can see him hugging, touching, or a simply arm on a shoulder as he smiles at them. For example,
+ when cole hugged zane when he found him in s4, when cole grabbed kai and danced with him, and there are too many to all list here
and, below are examples of how Cole not only gives affection like this, but also likes to be shown affection through physical touch
LOOK AT HOW HAPPY COLE LOOKS
anyways I also do believe Cole has a secondary love language (again, both receiving and giving) , it being words of affirmation. We see Cole as a comforting character throughout Ninjago, like when he tried to uplift kai when kai was upset abt his powers, or when he reassures Zane when he told them he was a robot, by calling him special and saying “you're still the same zane” and remember how happy he gets when someone verbally comforts him as well.
For example, when Kai and Nya comforted him when he was a ghost. When Cole lost the travelers tea in s11, he clearly needed someone to tell him it was alright and they would get it back. And when his father accepted him, he was so happy yk... like I always wanna see Cole happy pls
ok so Kai is.. complicated. I feel like we see him do all five of these but I'm pretty confident I've picked out the two most supported ones, in both giving and receiving ends Acts of Service, and Words of Affirmation (with a side of physical touch and quality time. ik. its basically all of them but bare with me).
First of all, let me explain Acts Of Service. This one is pretty self-explanatory ; when Nya was young, Kai undoubtably took care of her and supported them in ways Nya probably doesn’t even remember anymore since she was so young. This was surely his way of showing her he loved her, and showing that he wouldn’t leave her like their parents did.
Remember, Kai was attacked by skeletons, he attempted to fight them off for Nya’s sake, despite how scared he must’ve been. When he couldn’t , he become so desperate he joined a random stranger and followed him to an unknown place when this place, this house, was all he had ever known. Protection is definitely an act of service.
This brings me to my next point: Words of Affirmation. Kai is very vocal about how he loves Nya and the others. Whether it him be saying I love you directly, or complimenting/reassuring others. For example,
Over here, he reassures Lloyd by telling him how he himself felt, and then telling him he would look after him no matter what.
An example of how Kai is verbal with Nya is when she gives Kai a bike bc they needed to run away from Ronin. With this, Kai says,” I love my little sister,’’
Another example is when Kai reassures Nya in s10 when nya makes a ‘fatal’ mistake and cole falls off the bounty. He tells her shes the brains, and that she’s always building all the plans. This moment also stood out to me a lot because Kai knows exactly what Nya needed to hear. ( also when he entirely supported her when she told him she was samurai x, and more) + Kai reassured cole that he was still a part of their team even after being a ghost (words of affirmation) and helped Jay propose to Nya and entirely supported/cheered him on through the process (acts of service)
I said quality time bc remember how when his parents came back he was playing video games with his dad, etc - he was clearly having sm fun. Also, Kai does tend to hug/ lean against others quite a lot , as shown in images below Cole’s analysis (physical touch)
Nya isn’t as verbal or touchy as her brother, and so she’s definitely Acts of Service and Gift Giving. We see this throughout the seasons as Nya constantly helps the Ninja in the beginning by monitoring missions and aiding them through technology, making their missions smoother and easier. And in the later seasons, she could finally help them in person, since she became the water ninja
Now Nya always gifted the Ninja mechs, bikes, gadgets, you name it. I think this habit of hers could be considered both gift giving and acts of service. She tends to do it throughout the entire show, from giving them mechs to climb that mountain to get to the blinds man eye, to all sorts of other stuff the team required.
I do strongly believe the reason why both the smith siblings have acts of service as a love language is because when growing up they didn’t really have anyone else to do it for them. Nya most likely as a child probably made small gadgets for kai as to show him that she loves him, and that gradually continued to the other ninja as well.
However, when nya is on the receiving end, I think she loves physical touch and words of affirmation. This is proven since whenever kai and jay are verbal with her, she always has a positive reaction. Same when Kai and jay respond to her with physical touch- she doesn’t mind it, and happily responds to it as well.
Jay definitely has three love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, and physical touch (mostly revolving around nya)
Jay is extremely verbal when it comes to Nya, saying he loves her multiple times throughout Ninjago, similar to Kai. However, unlike Kai, who tends to do this to all the ninja, Jay usually focuses on Nya when it comes to verbal expression and words of affirmation. Telling her how they were meant for each other, regularly complimenting her, etc.
As shown above and below, Jay is also very physical with mainly Nya, kissing her on the cheek quite frequently and dancing with her on various occasions. He loves spending time with her, preferring to go on missions with her than anyone else (as shown in the show, and that's why his analysis is mainly jaya lol)
Jay, when on the receiving end, also loves the same things. He gets extremally happy when Nya responds back to with the same actions. The biggest proof of this is how jay unlocked his true potential: Nya states that she doesn’t need Jay to wear any clothes or pretend to be anything he’s not, because she liked him for being him then proceeded to kiss him on the cheek, which led to Jay turning back human. Afterwards, Nya tells him, “You are the best You,” and with this, Jay unlocks his true potential.
This tells us a lot about how heavily Jay takes Nya’s words, and how much words of affirmation can inspire/motivate him, so much to the point where he unlocked his true potential!
Zane’s love languages are probably: quality time and acts of service, with a side of words of affirmation. This applies to both when he shows affection, and how he likes when he receives affection.
Zane has shown multiple times to enjoy spending time with the team. Three examples of this are when he was escaping Chen with Cole (that was fun), when Zane had fun throwing rocks at Kai when Kai become chancellor (guys that was hilarious.) , and WHEN HE AND PIXAL BECAME ‘DETECTIVES’ GUYS THAT SCENE WAS THE BEST
(Also, Zane is sometimes shown to be physical too, as shown here. However the other love languages I stated seem to be more primary outlets of how he expresses affection, this scene still was too cute not to share)
Zane also cooks for the team on multiple occasions, and its stated/implied that everyone loves his cooking. He also bravely sacrificed himself for the Ninja , and as I stated before, protection is an act of service. He also is willing to do any favors the ninja ask him too, and never really turns them down, and that's very sweet. Zane has literally never been ‘rude’ to anyone.
Zane also tends to reassure others, however unlike Cole/Kai he does so in a more logical way. He states facts about his reassuring statements, and I think that’s an important part of who he is. His interactions with Pixal are also very cute, and I love their dynamic sm.
Lloyd montgomery garmadon. I strongly believe that our boy loves all sorts of affection, since he was deprived of any as a child ): However, throughout the show I believe his ‘giving’ love language is: words of affirmation, and acts of service.
We see Lloyd frequently uplifting the Ninja (he is the leader after all), when they ‘lost’ zane, he reunited the ninja that left, he tried to reassure kai that even without his powers he was important, and he warned cole abt vania (this is an act of service I think? Lloyd wanted to protect cole from being betrayed from a princess like he was and he had good intentions. I think what he did was sweet)+ and various more examples that im sure you are all aware of.
His words of affirmation is not limited to the ninja, for example: when they ‘lost’ zane, he reunited the ninja that left, he led the Elemental Masters + Serpentine against Chen in the Second Serpentine War and encouraged them all, led the resistance, etc etc. These actions can also be counted as acts of service too. After all, he leads them and creates plans for them too.
When receiving, I think Lloyd reacts positively to physical affection (like above) and also words of affirmation. He is definitely touch-starved and doesn't mind hugs at all (he loves them in fact). And, words of affirmation are great to Lloyd too, a prime example of this is Kai comforting Lloyd on multiple occasions and Nya doing the same. Kai and Nya both promised to protect Lloyd, and always be there for him, and said so verbally. You could see how it impacted Lloyd, reassuring him and helped him regain confidence.
I also think he loves quality time as well, since he loved spending time with his dad, talking with him, and training with him. I love their interactions and it really shows how much Lloyd values his dad, despite everything.
phew that was long.. thanks for sticking with me
“Never had it in public, late reaction
50K to cousins, post a caption
Pray none of my enemies hold me captive
I grieve different”
Anyone else got really pissed over seabound?
WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT THIS
“Kai singed his eyebrows off with the Sword of Fire once, but nobody noticed because he drew them back on with black marker.”
IT EVEN SAYS ON THE LEGO WEBSITE SBGUORHRIHR
you know those kid sections at Barnes and Nobles with the little stage and the kids books (or really any bookstore/library with a kid-centered area)
I like to think kai and kid!lloyd used to go there together and Kai would act out stories to Lloyd on the little stage and other kids would come to watch too and it’d be these little shows based on like those caterpillar kid books or something and kai’d be acting as multiple characters
but like if jay comes along with them then it’s like a broadway show bc jay and kai act super well together and tend to go overboard sometimes
yes the real life black panther released in the kids area was definitely not jay and kai’s too realistic jungle book play
lets all start a revolution so we get more kai and nya and lloyd let us all rise and conquer
may our goals awaken from beneath the everlasting darkness and reign for eternity
we want rgb grief. we want our dynamic. im so sick of romance focused troupes. IM SO SICK OF ALL THIS ROMANCE GARBAGE. I WANT SIBLINGS. GIVE US SIBLINGS. I WANTED TO SEE MORE OF THEM. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THEM. ONLY POTRAYING JAY AS THE MAJOR PERSON AFFECTED BY NYA’S DEATH IS NOT OKAY. HOW MANY TIMES AM I SUPPOSED TO SCREAM OUT,” KAI RAISED HER!! LLOYD AND KAI LOVED HER TOO!”
she/her || drowning in fandoms || certified ninjago enthusiast || firm believer in sibling dynamics || kai <33
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