I’ve Seen People Complaining Kai Being Too Goofy In DR, But, Honestly, After Seeing The Monstrosity

With the announcement of Ninjago Legends: Monstrosity, all I'm thinking of what they were doing post-merge is

Lloyd: *Is cleaning the monastery*

Nya: *is defending a bunch of rock people*

Jay: *doing paperwork*

Cole: *somehow started a family*

Zane: *is in stasis at the time*

Kai:

Kai's vision in the phantasm cave was simple. Very simple. All there was was a mirror, about the same height as him, with a black stand and body. It swayed a little in the wind, the wood creaking, maybe due to age or decay. At first, he was confused. Maybe he looked around and couldn't see anything. Maybe he just shrugged and cracked a joke about missing his reflection. Besides, what's so bad about a mirror?

Then the air changed.

Maybe it grew thicker or carried something more foreboding. Deadly. Maybe the ground felt slightly rougher, jagged rock digging into his soles more evidently, harder to ignore. Maybe his skin felt itchy, like something was crawling under it.

Maybe everything suddenly became familiar.

Then he looked back at the mirror.

And it was him.

No, not him. Him. Not the Kai, who was reliable and strong, the Kai who was everything a ninja and hero should be. It was the ugly, dirty part of him. The one who gave up their morals in order to survive. The one who he'd long thrown away and pretended never existed.

The real him.

Back in his leather robes and monster fur coat, the smell of dirt thick on his form, the katana he forged with his blood sweat and tears attached to his side. Like it always was. His face was covered, his hat planted firmly on him. It was like he never left. Or it never left him. Something wet coated his arms as his reflection stared back at him, unblinking.

And maybe Kai thought, painfully, that it was over.

Then, as suddenly as it started, everything was back again.

The whiplash was strong, but years of resilience made him good at hiding those things. He quietly looked around, maybe pinched his arm, making sure he was back. For real this time.

He could hear Nya behind him, telling Lloyd that she broke out because she knew it wasn't real. And she's right. She knew Jay could never forget her, and because of that she knew her vision wasn't real, just a fake scenario made to test her.

But Kai's vision was.

It was real.

His fear wasn't becoming a monster,

It was returning to being one.

Kai after he gets home, looking in the mirror and just. Practicing.

His smile. His laugh. His quips. Practicing how to seem like himself so Lloyd doesn’t worry.

Lonky (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠) and Popo (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Finally I'm back with my doodles !!

This is what happened I was the mergequake

@theyaremanycolors ......

What the shit is wrong with you. What could have possibly possessed you to write this. Why. I was fine a minute ago. My dude. This was extremely uncalled for and honestly I'm offended. All pos but im still really fucking upset you know. Ouchie. That hurt right there in my chest.

Thinking about Kai's fighting style in the realm of monsters, and how creative he had to get whenever he was (on the rare occasions) fighting without Rusty or Daidan to help him.

All of those monsters are impossibly bigger than him, and he needs to use something to hoist himself up in order to actually reach the head and neck. Him using his fire to heat his soles so it sticks to the skin in a mess of boiling flesh. Using daggers to anchor himself repeatedly to go upwards, then finishing it quickly with a slash to the back of the neck and hoping it falls forward instead of backward.

Then when other monsters gather around the new corpse, littered in a linear pattern of scars and burns, all in a line, same as the other few, a rumor spreads among the half sentient monsters.

A giant centipede of fire and steel, some say.

It finds a victim and coils around it, using its hundreds of legs to constrict it before finishing off in one strike, one says in awe.

It never eats it prey, leaving it to rot on the ground instead to show dominance, another says to its mate.

Even with its size, it's never been seen. It burrows underneath the ground, waiting for a chance to burst out and strike, a mother says to its young. Warning.

And the rumor grows, twisting into something more fantastical. Until one day, a lizard made of rotting wood and bone stumbles upon Kai, right on top of another monster, covered in black blood, catching his breath. The lizard scurries to its nest, and the rumor twists into something closer to the truth.

There is no centipede, it screeches. More gather around it.

It's small, and that's its way of trickery. It hides in plain sight, waiting for something to grow confident. To grow complacent and take its size for weakness.

It moves like no other. In flashes of red and orange and waves of blood and muscle. The fire and shadow are fond of this one, always hovering around it. Keeping it unseen.

Its eyes are as hollow as the abysmal ocean, devoid of mercy. Any it sees are guaranteed death, and those it spares are left mangled. Dying of their injuries. It never eats, never takes, only kills in slashes of flame and iron. It was never seen until now, no name it holds either.

After the rumor spreads further, more seeing the nameless monster in person, Kai develops a title. A warning for the ones who know it. There are many, some still calling it the fire centipede, another calling it the killer of giants, but there is one name that has gained popularity. That has made its way into the stories of every mother whispering to their young.

And now, when Kai pulls out his sword in a blaze of yellow and red, he finds that some scurry away. Screeching something he swore he could make out.

Fire Demon, they scream in fear, running off. Fire Demon, they cry out, warning others. Fire Demon, they think in horror, as none have survived it.

Fire Demon.

AND WHY IS HE SO FLUFFY give this guy his hairgel back right now

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

To be completely honest, I don't really think Kai will become a centipede monster. I knowww it's sad but my reason as to why is pretty agreeable I think.

Usually, whenever a character is transformed into a monster or just a non-human in general, it's always been about accepting and overcoming parts of yourself youd rather hide. When Zane was revealed to be a nindroid, he learned that the others would accept him as their brother no matter what, and soon enough, it became a strength for him. Literally, he gained his true potential shortly after. He no longer sees him being a nindroid separate to his identity. He went from Zane, a ninja, to Zane, the titanium ninja. He's still him, always will be, just shiny :)

When Jay was turned into a Venomari, it became a reflection of his insecurities, the parts of himself he tries to mask with flashy bravado and exaggerated stories, especially around Nya, who he had a massive crush on. It ended similarly to Zane, where Nya said he would accept him no matter what. Flaws and all. Knowing this, He was able to gain his true potential too. Realizing that being himself was far better than covering it up with glitter and foundation.

Then when Cole became a ghost, it was a tragedy. He no longer felt like himself, no longer saw himself as a person. Instead a living husk of his former glory. But, with the encouragement and unyielding support of his teammates, his family, he learned to accept this new body of his, as inhuman as it was. It symbolized trauma, and the strength it takes to see the good in every bad situation. It carries later into the show, where even though he's back to being a human, the scars are still there. They will never truly go away, but he learned to accept himself as himself, weird ghost scars and all.

Lloyd is the definition of grappling with identity. From being the son of Lord Garmadon, to becoming the legendary Green Ninja, then the ultimate Spinjitzu Master, then returning to simply being the Green Ninja, knowing hes half Oni half dragon, and ultimately just Lloyd? He carries many versions of himself, each with parts he struggles to accept. He’s the textbook case of change: from idolizing his father to fearing he’ll become him. It’s this internal conflict that makes it so hard for him to see himself as anything other than a ninja. While we see him begin to accept his identity later in the series, DR shows us that he still has some ways to go before he truly feels at home in his own skin.

Nya's transformation was also just.. unwanted, in my opinion. It was about doing everything you can to protect the ones you love, even if it hurts you. She's very similar to Kai in this regard, and it's very realistic that they share similar ideals when it comes to how they view their role in the team. Nya thought that merging with the sea was the only option, and faced with Jay unconscious after drowning, she had no choice. It was unwanted change, similar to Cole. This time, however, instead of Nya bringing herself back, it was the others who brought her back. It's a beautiful way to show that family will go through hell and beyond if it means protecting the ones you love.

What does this all mean, however? Why do these transformations matter?

Well, here's an answer. Despite everything, despite the hardships, they all came out of it better. They came out of it having learned something positive about themselves, even though it scarred them tremendously. Think of it like a caterpillar. In order to transform into butterfly, they have to break down and rebuild. In the end, the transformations ended up becoming a reminder to stay strong and steadfast. And it's nice that everyone had a moment like that.

Weeelllll.... not everyone.

Kai is the only one who hasn’t undergone a non-human arc, and that’s surprising, considering he’s probably one of the first characters you'd expect to experience one. With his personality and tendency to hide things from others in fear of being shamed or shunned, an arc like that would benefit him. Right?

This is where monstrosity comes in I fear. And not in a good way.

I think this series will be contradicting what those arcs symbolized. I think it will become the opposite to what the other ninja experienced. I dont think Kai will turn into a centipede creature or just any monster in general. No, not really. And that might be confusing, because In order to survive the land of the monsters, you need to become one yourself, right?

But i still think Kai will be the only one not to undergo a non-human transformation. Not because it wont happen, but because he doesn't need to. In fact, I think it matches the others perfectly. Everyone in the team became a monster physically, but they stayed the same. Same likes, same hates, just with different colored skin or lack thereof. They didn't change, their views didn't change, their morals didn't change.

But Kais did.

And Kai is.

He is a monster.

Maybe not physically, maybe not literally,

But mentally. But his actions were.

And that's enough, isn't it?

Kai's life in DR in a nutshell