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zero-to-zero-to-zero-again · 1 year

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Intergalactic Abductees: Tubbo (2)

Tubbo (1) Here Tommy (1) Here

(You can read Tommy or Tubbo in either order)

Word Count: 1,764

TW's: Unintentional Fearplay, Violence, Injury, Mentions of Abduction, Fear of Death, Syringes and Drugging, Profanity, Mentions Of Vomit (like, a sentence)

Characters: C!Ranboo, C!Tubbo, C!Technoblade, C!Philza, C!Tommy (Mentioned)

Summary: Tubbo's is honestly not having the worst time with his alien roommate. But nothing ever lasts forever.

The whole floor quaked with deep rumbles. The familiar sound brought a smile to Tubbo's face. He continued to scrub his fingers through thin, matted fur.

There was telling how long he'd spent in that cell. All he knew was that he was living on a strict schedule of sleeping, hiding, and recreation in between. The pair had tried to communicate on more than one occasion but the language barrier was simply too thick. Tubbo couldn't even replicate most of the sounds that the giant alien produced.

The only information they managed to trade was their names and even then, his roommate seemed to have a considerable amount of trouble pronouncing "Toby" so they had to stick with his nickname.

Whatever species Ranboo was, he seemed just as clingy as humans, if not moreso. That was lucky for Tubbo considering the creature was practically a living radiator. The only thing that kept him from freezing his ass off during his stay.

He took a step back to get a good look at the massive being. Ranboo's pupils wholly filled his irises as they focused in on Tubbo. As much as the human hated to admit it, Ranboo was looking worse by the day.

He didn't have a good frame of reference for what Ranboo was meant to look like when he was healthy but he could see him deteriorating in other ways. A subtle twitch in his muscles, drooping eyelids, longer periods of rest.

The portions they'd given him were small. It had to be raw meat of some kind. He'd vomited up whatever portion Ranboo was nice enough to share the first couple days before his body had somehow grown used to it. His tastebuds...not so much. Whatever water they left to spite Ranboo was free game, at least.

The fact that the alien's diet was solely carnivorous didn't really inspire hope in Tubbo but this would be an awful long time spent sustaining a meal. He just had to pray that Tommy was doing better than him. No, of course he was. Tommy would kick alien ass before he ever let them lay a hand on him.

He was probably already back on Earth after coercing some unsuspecting creature into giving him a ride. If not, he could surely pass as a stowaway. That guy could sneak out of a minefield undetected.

"Tubbo?"

The accented pronunciation of his name snapped him from his thoughts. Ranboo evalutated him with concern-ridden eyes. Tubbo offered him a reassuring smile, brushing a hand through the coarse fur on the bridge of Ranboo's nose.

Tubbo was promptly nudged in retaliation, sent tumbling across the floor. He sighed, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. The overhead lights were eclipsed the the smug face of his intergalactic roommate. He'd debated on pretending to be injured by the gentle push but then he remembered who he was dealing with.

The alien's heart would probably explode out of guilt. Tubbo was an ass but he wasn't that much of an ass.

"You know, you've got a lot of gall for an aquaphobe in spitting range," Tubbo riposted.

There was no way Ranboo understood a word of what he'd said but the tone enough was to make him snicker. He mumbled something that Tubbo guessed was some extremely witty comeback. He made grabby hands at the creature until Ranboo reluctantly offered him a pinky.

He hoisted himself up off the ground.

"Thank you, kind gentleman," Tubbo gibed. That earned him a flick to the chest that sent him straight back down onto his rear. He scoffed. "You're such a bully."

Ranboo tried to pull an apologetic face but failed miserably. He chuckled cruelly before offering Tubbo another finger that he was quick to shove away.

"No. I don't even want your help anymore. I quite like the floor," Tubbo snapped.

Ranboo's face scrunched up in faux distress. He collapsed down beside the tiny being in a huff. The pair only laid there a moment, drowsily staring up at the ceiling.

It was bizarrely peaceful.

Familiar.

Domestic.

Short-Lived.

The mountain of an alien sat bolt upright. Tubbo followed in suit, studying his companion as his ears twitched this way and that. The human listened for a sound he knew full well he'd never be able to hear. His eyes slowly trailed up to the solid, silver door, darting back and forth with his eyebrows sewn together in concentration.

He reached a hand towards Tubbo. Slowly. Hesitantly.

Bright, red lights flashed like strobes through the slit beneath the door. Deafening alarms sounded from somewhere in the hall, accompanied by frantic chatter and shrieks. A hand scooped Tubbo up off the floor just as the door slammed open.

His stomach churned with the sudden ascension. Ranboo blurted something that Tubbo wouldn't be able to hear over the loud alert tone even if he could magically understand the alien's language. Ranboo's face was scrunched up in pain. Sensitive ears twitched and stuttered on either side of his head.

He held Tubbo close to his chest as he scrambled out into the hall. The scene that awaited them was nothing short of mayhem. Creatures of all shapes and sizes scurried about, each acutely aware that this may be their only chance of escape.

Tubbo wished he could help his larger friend navigate the chaos but all he could do was sit in the cupped palm like he burden he was so used to being.

Ranboo wove through the winding corridors. The hellish overseers were nowhere in sight. He just barely managed to break away from the onslaught of prisoner traffic, hurtling down an empty hall. It became immediately apparent why everyone had made a point of steering clear of that path as a guard came bustling down the way with a gas mask clinging to their deformed face.

Ranboo scampered backwards but ultimately failed to go anywhere. A glint of light against glass was all Tubbo saw before he found himself laying on the floor gasping for the air so cruelly wrenched from his body.

The tall boy laid limp beside him, stiff hand reaching for Tubbo even whilst he was unconscious. The guard haphazardly tossed the syringe to the floor. He grabbed another from his pocket before charging into the fray once more

Something was broken. Everything was blurry and something in Tubbo was broken. He could hardly breathe. There was no time to locate the source of the pain. The second the wind returned to his lungs, he lunged for his cellmate.

"Ranboo," he whispered. He gave the alien's face a push. Still breathing but there was no telling for how long. "Boo, we need to...go."

He leaned his weight against a wall as a dry cough ravaged his throat.

"Come. Come on!"

Tubbo kicked the center of his forehead with all the strength he could muster, nearly losing his balance in the process. The creature didn't so much as budge.

"Ranboo!" he shouted into the alien's ear.

This time, there was an echo.

He whirled around to face the direction of the new voice.

"Ranboo!" someone called again, sounding more desperate by the second. He knew that tone of voice. Memories of that night with Tommy flashed across his mind. The whole night spent charging through a thunderstorm crying out for his best friend. They were trying to find him. Not because they were guards but because they knew him.

Tubbo's eyes darted betweeen the unconscious figure on the floor and the rushing crowd. The door was open. There was no telling when it would be open again. His exit was right there. With a reluctant groan, he dashed in the opposite direction of his only chance at freedom.

He stumbled through the onslaught of rushing feet until he came upon the one pair heading in the one pair heading in the opposite direction.

One of the creatures was blonde. Great, golden wings protruded out of his back. He was probably the closest thing he'd seen to a human sans the feathers lining his face and utter lack of pupils. He was joined by a broad creature with pinkish skin and even pinker hair. This one had icy blue eyes scanning the crowd of prisoners in search of something.

In search of someone.

"Ranboo!" the blonde hollered once more.

"Oi!" Tubbo shouted up at them.

No response. They couldn't hear him. Of course they couldn't. His voice was lost in the ear-piercing alarms still screeching through the halls. There was no telling when those guards were coming back to drag Ranboo to his cell. Without another thought, he snatched a loose screw off the floor.

He pressed a kiss to the cool metal, praying his baseball skills hadn't eluded him during the time he'd spent behind bars before hurling it straight at the pinkette's head. It hit him square in the temple.

Bullseye.

Blue irises shifted to red as he glowered down at Tubbo. It was only then that the human noticed the two fangs protruding out from his bottom lip. No time to be scared now.

"Ranboo!" he called, pointing down the corridor. He still looked about ready to flat Tubbo until the blonde pressed a placating hand on the other's chest. He said something in his freakish language but Tubbo didn't catch a word.

"I don't know what you're saying but I know where Ranboo is!" he shouted. He waved them forward. The pair had a brief discussion before the pink haired one reluctantly nodded.

And then they were running.

Tubbo kept glancing over his shoulder to ensure he didn't lose them in the foot traffic. The journey felt longer the way back but that was probably because he was tripping over his own artificial leg most of the journey.

They trio rounded the corner to find the dual-toned alien still laying right where Tubbo had left him. The blonde gasped as his friend pushed past him to press his fingers to Ranboo's throat.

After a moment of crouching there, he said something to the blonde that made him slump in relief.

Good. That was all Tubbo could think as he watched the pink alien hoist Ranboo over his shoulder with ease. He may not have been able to save Tommy but at least he didn't fuck this one up.

Even as the black spots danced around the edges of his vision, he felt nothing but a sensation of fulfillment beneath the layer of pain previously concealed by adrenaline.

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

And then he was gone.

Siri, play "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin

#g/t #g/t writing #g/t angst #g/t fluff #mcyt #mcyt g/t #giant/tiny #g!ranboo #t!tubbo #winged!philza #g!philza #g!techno #intergalactic abductees au

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thegloriousninjaturtle · 2 years

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🧡🐰💙Bunny Fics💙🐰🧡

Hey y'all! I'm still alive and I'm still writing, but I wanted to share some bunny fics I've been enjoying! Please go show them some love and I hope one of them fills all your Bunny needs ❣

I Can't Believe It's Not Butters! - LozisLaw (Because of course Lozzie is going to create a fantastic Marjie fic. This fic is one of the inspirations that made me what to write my fic. It takes you right into Butters' psyche as he figures out who Marjie is to him and of course there is tons of angst between Kenny and Marjie. What's a Marjie fic if there is no angst? Please go read!)

don't know where i'm going (i promise it won't be boring) - Aquaphobe (I love the plot and the concept! I'm assuming it's a bittersweet ending since it takes place three days before the world ends, but it's a slow burn and a hurt/comfort with Kenny and Butters at the forefront)

you’re just seventeen and all you wanna do is disappear - deakcore (I don't like chat fics, but this one is an exception XD It mainly focuses on style, but I love how everyone vibes in this one. Just friends being friends XD)

Bad Times at the La Casa Bonita - Icandigelvis (The first chapter out of the second is up, and although no bunny has happened, I'm honestly invested because of the plot. It's based on "Bad Times at the El Royale", so if you've seen that, you'll know what might happen. I have not and I'm on the edge of my seat XD)

Take Us Alive - nekodairy (The fic is based on "It" and I really like how the author adapted it to fit the South Park atmosphere. I love the interaction between the characters and I also love how they take the concept of "It" and made it their own story.)

Bite Me - AHeckenGoodDeviant (Again, fantastic concept, and I love the depth and story behind each character. I'm highly invested in the plot and our bunny boys are met with immense hurt (idk if there is comfort) but there is a hell of a lot of angst. Takes place during a zombie apocalypse and the creativity with how the characters interact with their environment really helps paint a great picture of what conditions people live in now)

(NFSW) Saturday Waffles - LozisLaw (Another LozisLaw recommendation? Color everyone surprised XD She wrote this as a gift for me and it's beautiful. Angst, tension, fluff, hope, the whole nine yards. This one gets pretty dirty so...😏)

May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door - boy-thighs (sop) (This is the epitome of Bunny comfort fics. It's written so well that I honestly think this could be its own canon episode in the SP universe. Kenny tries to make amends with Butters for ruining his birthday and shenanigans ensue from there. Beautiful and absolutely hilarious story!)

(NFSW) Barbie - skr3ex (Butters goes to a male strip club and ends up getting more than he bargained for. It's filthy and smutty so if you need something steamy, here it is. Oh, and bonus: There is some plot to it and that's always a plus in my book XD)

(NFSW) Posessive, Passive & Pensive. - fanbandoms (Again, it's smutty, smutty, smutty, but the plot and the character interactions are really something to read. This is a porn with plot, with emphasis on the first P, and the drama that happens, especially in the first chapter was *chef's kiss*. I hope this one gets finished soon!)

Very Good Bad Thing - UniqueMemoria (A classic mysy/chaos fic and just makes me smile and feel good when I read it. The plot is quite intriguing and I love the addition of the OC the author adds! The author also draws super cute and amazing art so please check them out on insta and tumblr <3)

(NFSW) Twenty Dollars and a Stain on the Couch - Cheylouwho, valzilla (Before diving into this one, please read the tags and archive warnings as this does delve into sensitive topics. That said, I'm in love with this one and jump out of my seat when I see it updated. Every pairing and character has a plot of its own and is connected in an intricate web of crime drama that I look forward to when the characters' storylines intersect with one another. This fills my Law and Order heart with the plot of this fic and god damn do I freaking love all the drama that happens in it! Highly recommend this one!)

#sp bunny #bunnysp #south park #kenny mccormick #butters stotch #sp kenny #sp butters #butters x kenny #kenny x butters #south park bunny #bunny fics #There are more fics #but I'll hopefully make another post in the future!#please give these people some love!

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beelsbignaturals · 10 months

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Are requests open? I'd like to ask for Purgatory Hall (Simeon, Solomon and Luke) with a Diona!MC. Either GN or Female, I don't mind.

time to copy and paste Wikipedia info muehehe

Diona Kätzlein is a playable Cryo character in Genshin Impact.

Despite being a bartender at the Cat's Tail, she loathes alcohol and will stop at nothing to ruin Mondstadt's wine industry — a feat easier said than done when her patrons absolutely love her drinks. She is the daughter of Draff, a hunter in Springvale.

The incredibly popular bartender of the Cat's Tail tavern, rising star of Mondstadt's wine industry, and the greatest challenger to its traditional powerhouses.

A feisty feline young lady from Springvale, any drink mixed by Diona's hand tastes delicious beyond belief.

Yet given her extreme distaste for alcohol, is her talent a blessing or a curse?

According to her father Draff, Diona is in a bit of a rebellious phase. While Diona adores her father and idolized him in her youth, witnessing his change in personality while drunk shattered the pedestal she put him on — and started her vendetta against alcohol. She despises just about anyone who indulges in alcohol, apart from Lisa and Eula.

Although Diona has the option of literally destroying the industry, she chose not to, instead opting to do so by plummeting the industry's reputation by becoming a bartender and serving terrible drinks. Unfortunately for her, her long-forgotten childhood friend, the Spring Fairy, blessed her with a magic touch that makes all of her drinks delicious, regardless of how noxious the ingredients used are, and she herself is unaware of this.

In her voiceovers, Diona proves to be a classic tsundere and is very naïve. She worries over the Traveler's ability to get home safely without night vision and offers to escort them home until they remind her that street lamps exist, after which she quickly denies ever having offered escorting them. She blames Diluc for her father's problems, even though the Dawn Winery had existed well before him or his father, and fails to see why the fans she and Barbara gets are drastically different. She also appears to have attachment issues and craves companionship, implied to be a result of Draff neglecting her when he's in his drunken stupors. She genuinely enjoys the company of those who have earned her trust, such as Klee and the Traveler, finding comfort in the Traveler's touch even begs them not to leave her and "become another dream". Although she displays many cat-like mannerisms, such as her love for fish, naps, hatred of vegetables and water, and tendency to meow, purr, and bite when angry, she hates being referred to as a cat in this regard. Also true to her feline nature, she is implied to be astraphobic, as well as aquaphobic.

Diona's center bangs are pulled into a stiff, upwards pigtail at the front of her head.

Diona wears a large dark indigo cap, along with shorts of the same color with gold paw-print decorations. She also wears a dark midriff-baring sleeveless turtleneck shirt with an orange-yellow scarf, pale pink sleeves, a vest of the same color, and white gloves with light pink paw-like patterns on the undersides. In addition to this, she wears a cat collar with her initial written on the tag and an orange handkerchief tied around the base of her tail. Hanging from her waist is a cold drink canteen, attached to which is her Cryo Vision.

It's completely fine if you don't want to! (I'm so anxious because this is my first request ahahaha)

🐈🍷❄️

AN: Hi!! I love how your first time requesting is the first request I've gotten on this blog. It's like we are on a cute lil journey together! Sorry it's so short and that it took so long, I was really busy for the past month. Also, I wrote this as platonic because I'm pretty sure Diona is a child, and you didn't specify otherwise. Regardless, I hope you like it!

TW: alcohol mentions

🪽Simeon✒️

Simeon has basically adopted you. He thinks you are the cutest damn thing in the three realms.

Apparently your… attitude reminds him of how Mammon acted when he was an angel about the size of Luke.

You bring him drinks when he is writing and Simeon has begun to look forward to your little interruptions.

He's always willing to listen to you complain about your father. The advice he offers is usually pretty sound, if not a bit cryptic.

🪄Solomon🔮

First of all, you have saved many lives. Somehow your drinks are always the perfect cure for whatever the fuck Solomon has cooked.

He thinks you just like cooking with him. But no, you are on a goddamn mission.

Honestly he is really intrigued by this.. blessing of yours. Solomon wants to study you… he will try and replicate your strange power with… mixed results.

He tried to recreate your drink making abilities and… somehow ended up with cat ears instead. None of you let him live it down.

🍰Luke😇

Besties. You are 100% besties.

Tea parties where Luke bakes and you make drinks! Non alcoholic but still.

Your collective nickname is"the chihuahua and the cat". Neither of you are happy about this.

One time, you fell asleep in a pile of pillows, your tail wrapped around Luke's wrist. The two of you have stayed up past your bedtime to watch a new baking show, and it was only 20 minutes in when the pair of you dozed off. It took Simeon another 20 minutes to figure out how to take a picture of you guys. But with Solomon's help, this adorable moment is immortalized on Devilgram.

#om! shall we date #obey me mc #obey me x reader #obey me x platonic reader #shrimp writes #request #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me luke #obey me headcanons

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thesovereignsring-if · 8 months

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Just to ask if you meant that J was aquaphobic, not hydrophobic. Hydrophobia being a symptom when you have a severe rabies infection in its late stage, and aquaphobia being scared of large bodies of water

Um hello, dear Anon. Last I checked I don't have character named J so I think you might have went into the wrong inbox!

#answered asks

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allrandomfandoms · 3 months

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Genshin Impact: Diona —Aesthetic

Diona's Character & Personality

According to her father, Draff, Diona is in a bit of a rebellious phase. While she adores her father and idolized him in her youth, witnessing his change in personality while drunk shattered the pedestal she put him on. Thus, Diona started her vendetta against alcohol. She despises anyone who indulges in alcohol, apart from Lisa and Eula. In fact, Diona blames Diluc for her father's problems even though the Dawn Winery had existed well before him or his father. Although she has the option of literally destroying the industry, she doesn't. Instead, Diona opts to plummet the industry's reputation by becoming a bartender at the Cat's Tail and serving terrible drinks. Unfortunately, Diona is unaware of how her long-forgotten childhood friend, the Spring Fairy, blessed her with a magic touch. This makes all of her drinks delicious, regardless of how noxious the ingredients are. Diona is a classic tsundere who's quite naïve. She fails to see why the fans she and Barbara gets are drastically different. Due to Draff neglecting her in his drunken stupors, Diona has attachment issues and craves companionship. She genuinely enjoys the company of those who have earned her trust and finds comfort in the Traveler's touch. As a humanoid cat, Diona displays many cat-like mannerisms, like her love for fish, naps and hatred of vegetables. She has a tendency to meow, purr and bite when angry, but she hates being referred to as a cat. True to her feline nature, Diona is astraphobic and aquaphobic.

#diona #genshin impact #mondstadt #cryomancer #cat #anime #hoyoverse #art #aesthetic #moodboard #springcore #summercore #video game

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vox-fantasma · 2 years

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i’m still not over cr2’s character arcs that in many ways emphasized so much on the art of letting go:

because at it’s core, it is about characters finding the things that they needed - the ideas and ideals they’d clung on to in the early beginnings in order to survive, to keep pushing forward - finding those things, and letting them go. because somewhere along the way, they don’t need it anymore.

jester, whose ideal love was found between the pages of romance books and fantasy, whose endless hope and desperate optimism has been tempered by loss: she’s found something better than perfect. she’s found a family who has their flaws and quirks and ugly sides, but a family who supports each other, who believes in one another in spite of it. she’s found people that love her for who she is, even when that person doesn’t always have the strength to be happy all the time. she’s found fjord, who is as imperfect as they come, who knows the harsh realities of a life of survival and yet tries to give her romance book perfection anyway, because he cares. and in the end, it doesn’t matter that he’s kind of a dork and he has a floppy wrist and he isn’t quite like how she imagined. he’s better. and so it’s okay if her mom and the gentleman don’t immediately fall back together, and that there’s no wedding bells in the distance. they’re complicated, and so is she. and jester, finally, can be okay with that.

fjord in turn has had his entire arc be, in some ways, about letting power go and being all the better for it. he could have given in to the temptation of taking more and more from the sea, justifying his choices by being able to protect, claiming the title of the Chosen One that unlocked that last temple. instead he throws his sword away. he loses his powers. but he doesn’t lose his friends. he abandons the mask, drops the voice, the pretence, takes veth’s teasing and gives it right back, and he’s surprised. because instead of weakness, all he finds in vulnerability is strength. the strength to admit his limitations and the strength to let people he trusts help from time to time. he has a new patron, one that commands him to grow, not consume. and while he still keeps tabs on sabian, the goal isn’t revenge anymore. it hasn’t been for a long time.

as for veth, her appearance might be the least notable change throughout her journey. certainly her goal of returning to her own body was achieved, but it’s so much more than that. when we first meet her, she’s disgusted with herself. not only can she not bear to look at her own reflection, she chooses to continually highlight caleb’s strengths and achievements, justifying it to herself - because he’s my best friend, because i can’t do this without him - but also because it’s just that much easier to hide behind his strengths rather than try and acknowledge her own. after all, she’s made out of faults: an alcoholic, a kleptomaniac, aquaphobic - there’s nothing redeemable about her, so why even try? and yet she does. she tries, so very hard, for her friends and her family. she struggles with the responsibility of either and manages to keep both. she thanks wensworth. she gives away her flask. she admits to stealing from the nein. she floats, at peace, in the water. she lets go - and gets so much more in return.

#i wrote this a while back and never got around to actually. yknow. hitting the post button #gonna clear out my drafts to make way for new ones so here i guess!!!#have some campaign 2 meta in the year of our lord Bells Hells #critical role #cr2 spoilers #cr2 meta #jester lavorre #fjord stone #veth brenatto

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hitchell-mope · 11 months

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88. The main cast of Cabalibu

Barnaby Sullivan. Main character. High school freshman. Natural born half mage. Fancast is Winslow Fegley

Anastasia “Stacie” Romanov V. Barnaby’s dorm mate. High school sophomore. Natural born half mage. Second in line to the Imperial Russian throne. Fancast is Ever Anderson.

Ryan North. Barnaby’s designated buddy and dorm mate. High school junior. Natural born full mage. Fancast is McKenna Grace.

Jonathan “Jj” Dyson Junior. Barnaby’s dorm mate. High school senior. Natural born full mage. Ryan’s crush. Fancast is Isaac Ryan Brown.

Lauren Ortiz. Barnaby’s dorm mate. College freshman. Human. Burgeoning scientist. Fancast is Dafne Keen.

Beckett Palmer. Barnaby’s dorm mate. College sophomore. Air Elf. Fancast is Jaeden Martell.

Trevor Monsoon. Barnaby’s dorm mate. College junior. Aquaphobic merman who insists on staying in human form. Fancast is Louis Hynes.

Naomi Morris. Barnaby’s dorm mate. College senior. Sun fae. Lauren’s crush. Fantasy is Dara Renee

Rhoda North. The Diocese of Cabal. Rory and Ryan’s mother. Natural born full mage. Runs Cabalibu. Fancast is Cobie Smulders.

Richard North. The Deacon of Cabal. Rory and Ryan’s stepfather. Natural born full mage. Runs Cabalibu. Fancast is Michael B Jordan.

Rory North. The music teacher. Barnaby’s residency advisor. Ryan’s older brother. Rhoda’s son. Full born mage. Loves Elton John. Fancast is Ross Lynch.

Baby New Year. Part of the syndicate of childhood figures. The sex education teacher. Desperately clinging to his youth. Fancast is Dylan Sprouse.

Robert North. Rhoda’s father. Former principal of the academy. Secondary antagonist. Natural born full mage. Fancast is Tom Hanks

Rhiannon North. Rhoda’s stepmother and former dorm mate. Wants to turn the academy into a “proper school”. Primary antagonist. Fancast is Phillipa Soo.

#mine #copyright me #modern fantasy #winslow fegley #mckenna grace #ever anderson #isaac ryan brown #dafne keen #jaeden martell #louis hynes #dara renee #cobie smulders #michael b jordan #ross lynch #dylan sprouse #tom hanks #phillipa soo

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shioaoi · 1 year

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Is there anyone you think would be a good romantic match for Sun Wukong ? (preferably someone other than his aquaphobe best friend)

Hello anonanonanon!

Since Sun hasn't really interacted with many people in the cast outside of Blake and Neptune, not really.

His dynamic / relationship with Blake, and the focus on helping her accept her faunus identity and finding confidence after Adam's abuse meant he didn't really get a chance to have his own plotline.

Though the Before The Dawn novel does an excellent job of giving him his own character outside of Blake - highly recommend.

If I had to pick someone however, then probably Velvet. They get paired up together for a few chapters in the novel (from what I remember, it's been nearly three years), and I could see them having a cute relationship if explored and properly written.

#anonanonanon #rwby #sun wukong #velvet scarlatina

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i-like-turkey · 2 years

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Warning: slight Throw Pillows and Overnight Trains spoilers ahead.

One of the most difficult parts of writing fic for me is what I refer to as ‘rationally irrational’ character decisions. I think I defined this in tag vomit somewhere, but the idea is that humans are often irrational. We do dumb things because we’re tired, angry, jealous, or whatever. So it’s absolutely valid for your fic characters to act irrationally. But there needs to be a rational basis for their irrational decisions otherwise readers will be going 👀 and maybe bail on your fic.

Take for example my decision to have Kacy visit Venice for their honeymoon. One half of the couple is aquaphobic. If I’d written them as enjoying the hell out of the water, Lucy relishing every second of her time on the vaporettos, posing for endless pics by the water’s edge, how many of you would have clicked the back button and been like, “ewww that’s so ooc”?

If I’d written Lucy as being absolutely terrified of the water, doing her best to suck it up, but still freaking out, how many of you would have being going, “THEN WHY THE FUCK DID SHE GO TO VENICE?!!!” and then click the back button because it was a choice that made no sense?

But I took care when writing the Venice chapters to establish that yes she is aquaphobic, but she’s also sometimes too gay to function, and because of that agreed to something she probably shouldn’t have. Because the fic is in her POV, I could have her berate herself for being an idiot and explain why she made the dumb choice. Hence, she’s being ‘rationally irrational.’ Because it’s a crack fic, I do get some additional leeway for them to be dumbasses, but it’s not as much as you would think.

I’m word vomiting about this because I’ve been building toward a fucking hilarious scene in what will now be chapter 4. I’m really excited to write it. But there’s been a flaw in my plan since the beginning. Well, two flaws. One is that there is an easy solution to the predicament that I am going to put them in. The second is that they should be smart enough to immediately spot the easy solution. I’ve been stressing about this for a while. But I figured it out this morning. Just needed a slight tweak to the predicament so that the easy solution mostly disappears and if I take great care in how I write them during the lead up to the disastrous situation, then y’all shouldn’t think twice about how they respond when faced with [redacted].

Writing fic is hard. So many of you have expressed that it seems easy for me. I love that. Genuinely. I don’t want anyone to read my stuff and think, “wow, she really struggled to write this.” But the reality is that a lot of work goes into it. Work that I’m having a blast doing. Problem solving is fun! Planning is fun! I get a big rush when all my planning pays off!

The back half of this fic is gonna be something, y’all. I just gotta stick the landing 🤞🏼

This is very inside baseball. Posting it in case it resonates with other writers or if any of my readers enjoy knowing how the crack sausage gets made.

#fanfic writing #fanfic writer #inside baseball #slow 'verse #throw pillows and overnight trains

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cannondisabledcharacters · 1 year

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Today’s disabled character of the day is Emma Emmerich from the Metal Gear series, who has aquaphobia, entomophobia, and acrophobia

Requested by Anon

[Image Description: Drawing of a girl with long curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She is wearing a pink t-shirt with black sleeves and red glasses. Lastly she has brown eyes.]

#Aquaphobic character #entomophobia character #acrophobia character #Emma Emmerich #Metal Gear #Metal Gear Emma Emmerich #disabled character of the day

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painsandconfusion · 2 years

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Phobia Whumper

Yeahhhhhhh....they have a whole saga now. I'm done trying to fight them.

Click here for most recent update of the list (in case you're looking at an rb or something).

Phobia Whumper (they/them or he/him - they're gonna stay nameless though since they've been nameless this whole time) dedicates themself to discovering people's deepest fears. They love pushing buttons and using simple things to completely undo someone with the right phobia. It's very fun. They bounce from person to person, so here's their whumpees and their stories:

Arachnophobic Whumpee Fear of spiders

Part 1: Meet Bitsy! Part 2: First Aid Part 3: Save It For Later Part 4: Bouncy

Nyctophobic Whumpee Fear of the dark

Part 1: Meet the little coward Part 2: Failed Escape

Aquaphobic Whumpee Fear of water

Part 1: Coming soon...(lake one - needed this placeholder)

Part 2: The Trunk Part 3: Just Relax (not phobia, but same characters)

Somniphobic Whumpee Fear of sleep (dreams in their case)

Part 1: Taken Part 2: Hot Chocolate Part 3: Final Goodnight

Spectrophobic Whumpee Fear of Mirrors

Part 1: Origins (Not with PW - it's a previous yandere whumper) Part 2: Punished

Merinthophobic Whumpee Fear of being stuck/restrained

Part 1: Cellophane

Haphephobic Whumpee Fear of Being Touched

Part 1: Movie Night Part 2: No Pain, No Gain

Acrophobic Whumpee Fear of Heights

Part 1: On the Edge

Claustrophobic Whumpee Fear of Small Spaces

Part 1: A Little Louder Part 2: Close Quarters

Whumpees to come:

Yes these all have scenes in my head that I just need to write down - don't judge me, just tell me which you want first XD

Hemophobia (blood)(three ready) Haphephobic (being touched) Ophidiophobic (snakesss) Pyrophobic (fire)

Picrew of the bastard.

(tags: @prisonerwhump @whumpawink @mabledonut @heathenwhump @jadeocean46910 @paleassprince @distinctlywhumpthing @villainsvictim @wormwriting @rainbows-and-whumperflies @thecitythatdoesntsleep @bookish002 @whumpworld @bandages-andobsessions @deltaxxk @rose-pinkie @whumpasaurus101 @whumpsday @hold-back-on-the-comfort)

#comment below if you have an idea for another fun phobia that our Phobia Whumper would like to play with!#I'm always gathering ideas #phobia whumper

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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

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There's Sand Everywhere!

(quick shoutout to @fires-of-ninjago for the title idea and inspiration for this- you remember that ask game where people suggested titles for fics and you had to come up with a story to go along with it? Well, he sent in this title, and I came up with this, and liked it so much that I screenshotted it and- here we are!)

Prompts: Summer and Heist

Word Count: 7,922

Characters: The whole gang (including Pixal) :)

Timeline: Between seasons 12 and 13

Trigger Warnings: none (holy shit that's never happened before-)

Summary: It was just supposed to be a day off. A simple beach day. But when your family consists of six ninja and a samurai, including a nindroid convinced he’s a detective, his reluctant sidekick, an aquaphobe, a girl who can command the sea, an unassuming teen who seems to attract every animal he crosses paths with, and a bunch of argumentative idiots, nothing is ever that easy.

Read on FFN.net

Read on Ao3

Tumblr work under the cut

“We,” Kai proclaimed, surveying the room, “Need a day off.”

Lloyd shrieked at the fire ninja’s sudden outburst, falling out of his chair. Jay broke into snickers, and Lloyd shot him a glare.

“Kai,” Zane sighed, “get off the table.”

Kai stuck his tongue out at the nindroid, but hopped down, anyway. “Look at you guys!” Kai waved his hands at the group for emphasis. Papers fluttered to the ground where Lloyd had knocked them in his fall, Jay and Nya were sitting on the ground, surrounded by stacks of books tall enough to be mistaken for some kind of fort, Pixal was gathering some of the papers that had gone everywhere, while Cole and Zane had only just paused in their task of boxing up and carrying crates to the far side of the room. “Filing documents and organizing? Boooring.”

“Tasks which you’ve been a big help with, by the way,” Lloyd grumbled, as Cole offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet. He turned back to the desk, shuffling papers off of the keyboard of his laptop, the screen filled with lines of script and dozens of files that made Kai's brain hurt just to look at.

Nya pushed her reading glasses up her nose. “Jay and I technically aren’t working. We chose to do this of our own free will.”

Kai rolled his eyes at her. “What kind of psychopaths read for fun?”

Jay kicked his leg out, aiming for Kai’s ankle, but Cole quickly stepped between them, stopping the conflict before it could escalate into anything worse.

“We’re not reading them, we’re sorting them in order from most potentially useful to least so. They’re mechanics and engineering books. You never know when they might come in handy in a pinch.”

“Oh, because that’s so much more interesting. If you guys wanna spend all your free time geeking out, fine, what do I care. But what about the rest of you? C’mon, Lloydster. You don’t really wanna spend your entire day doing this,” he gestured at the laptop and paper-strewn desk- “do you?”

“It’s not about whether or not I want to. This stuff is important, Kai.”

“Lloyd’s right,” Zane agreed. “With all the crazy missions we’ve been on lately, we’ve neglected all our paperwork, and taking care of the Monastery.”

“It’s because we’ve been gone so long that we need a break!” Kai argued. “We just got done saving the entire city from an evil video game AI! If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.”

“Technically,” Nya remarked, not even glancing up from the book she was skimming, “That was Jay who did that.”

Kai spluttered, ignoring the smug look on Jay’s face. “Okay, yeah, but we helped! And what about Aspheera? Or the Never Realm? That was all of us. And we didn’t have time to properly recuperate from that before we got launched right into Prime Empire!”

Pixal’s brow furrowed. “Y’know, he has a point…”

A frown flitted across Zane’s face. “I suppose we have been working for a long time…”

“That’s what I’ve been saying! Come on, let’s do something fun.”

“Not video games,” Cole groaned. “Jay and I spent the last three days playing a Lava Zombies tournament, and I’m all gamed-out.”

“No, let’s actually go somewhere. Like the-”

“The library!” Jay pitched.

“Or the museum!” Zane suggested.

“No!” Kai snapped. “Man, you guys are so lame. I meant somewhere fun. We should go to-”

“The beach!” Nya cried suddenly, standing up so quickly that she sent a pile of books toppling over. “Brilliant idea, Kai!”

“Wait, no,” he yelped. “That’s not what I was going to-”

But no one heard him. They were already scrambling to their feet, murmuring excitedly to one another.

“Guys, wait!” he cried. “Why would you want to go to the beach? It’s all sandy, and wet, and-”

“Don’t worry, Kai,” Nya giggled, “we won’t let the ocean hurt you.”

“That’s not-” he felt himself turning red as the others laughed. “That’s not what I meant! I just thought… wouldn’t laser tag or something be a lot more fun?”

The others glanced at each other, uncertain. Zane stepped forward. “Let’s take a vote. All in favor of laser tag, raise your hands.”

Kai lifted his hand, but no one else did. He scowled at them.

“And all in favor of the beach?”

Six hands went up.

“Seems like we have a clear winner. Let’s get going, shall we?”

---

“Do you have the towels?”

“All here!”

“What about the sunscreen?”

“Hold on- Jay, did you grab the sunscreen?”

“What?”

Lloyd cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling louder. “Did you grab the sunscreen?”

“Oh yeah, it’s here! Wait, do you have my-”

“Your what?” Lloyd called, walking over to him, passing Pixal and Zane as they came out of the kitchen. The female nindroid sighed.

“Can’t anything get done around here without everyone making such a racket?”

“Nope,” Nya elbowed her playfully. “When you’ve been with these idiots as long as I have, you get used to it.”

Pixal’s eyes widened. “I can’t imagine ever being used to all this.”

Nya smiled. “Did I mention I’m slightly deaf?”

“We finished making the picnic,” Zane told her, holding out the basket he was carrying. “Is everyone ready to go?”

Nya eyed the guys, who were running around the Monastery, barely avoiding tripping over one another. “‘Ready’ is an overstatement.”

“Hold your horses, we’re almost done,” Cole grunted, heaving the large beach bag over to them. “Have a little faith in us, Nya.”

Nya put her hand on her hip, waiting- and a second later, there was a crashing sound followed by an angry chorus of yells from Kai, Lloyd, and Jay.

Cole grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. “Okay, maybe you’re right to not have any faith in us.”

---

After an intense, fifteen-minute argument about what mode of transportation they would take, they ended up deciding on the city bus, and finally, finally got out the door. The bus ride went off without a hitch, for once, (except for a brief panic about not having the proper change for the bus fare, but luckily Zane had a few extra dollars on him), and before Nya knew it, they were staking out an area on Ninjago City beach. She was beginning to think this could actually work out.

Maybe.

“Check out my abs, dude.”

“They’re the same as last time.”

“Are not! I’m way more shredded than last time we went swimming.”

“Okay, that’s just a straight-up lie. I saw you sneak that extra piece of pie last night.”

“You better not be disrespecting my muscles, Flat Stanley.”

“Hey! I’m way more muscly than I used to be.”

“Are you kidding? We call you ‘green bean’ for a reason, and it’s not just because you’re the green ninja. You’re a twig!”

“I’m a twig? Have you seen Jay?”

“Hey, don’t rope me into this, green machine, and, for your information, I weigh a whole fifteen pounds more than you!”

“Yeah, well, you’re also two years older than me!”

“I think the lesson we need to learn here is that neither of you have abs anywhere near as pronounced as mine-”

Zane sighed, rolling his eyes. “Here, guys,” he held out a pouch to the group, “this is a waterproof pouch, you can store all your valuables in here.”

They quickly filled the pouch with phones, watches, and wallets. However, as Lloyd pulled back, he tripped over Jay’s foot, and half the guys collapsed into a pile, groaning.

“Jay! Get your foot out of my face!”

“Right after you get your elbow out of my ribs!”

Nya turned away from them, shaking her head. Glancing at Pixal, she asked, “Wanna help me get set up?”

The nindroid nodded, and they pulled the large picnic blanket out of the bag, unfolding it to lay it across the sand.

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon,” Kai cried, “You get back here right this instant!”

Nya looked up from the blanket to see Kai running through the sand after Lloyd, his feet sinking into the sand with each step, making it difficult for him to retain his balance. He waved a bottle of sunscreen at the green ninja. “It’s sunny out today! And you know how easily you burn!”

“No way!” Lloyd whined. “You always make me stay out of the water for at least twenty minutes to let it set, and it’s way too hot for me to wait that long! I wanna go swimming now.”

Kai lunged for him, and Lloyd yelped, barely dodging out of the way.

“Over here, Lloyd!” Jay cried, already wading into the shallows of the ocean. “He won’t follow you into the water!”

Lloyd hurried after him, splashing up water as he went, accidentally splattering Kai and causing the red ninja to flinch back with a yelp. Sure enough, he froze at the water’s edge, glaring at Jay and Lloyd, where they stood, only about ten feet away, laughing at him.

Zane rubbed a hand over his face, sighing. “They’re both going to get skin cancer, aren’t they?”

“At the very least, they’re going to be bright red tomatoes,” Cole laughed. “Oh, it’s going to be a blast when they take showers.”

Zane stared at him, horrified. “Please don’t let Jay do that again. He had the worst blisters, last time-”

Cole held up his hands. “It was a joke, Zane! A joke!”

Zane narrowed his eyes and didn’t reply.

Nya laughed, grabbing Pixal’s hand. “Come on. Wanna go bodyboarding with me?”

Pixal glanced at her. “I don’t know how.”

“That’s fine.” Nya stepped on the board, flipping it up into her hand and handing it to Pixal, before grabbing a second one for herself. “I can teach you!”

“Thanks, Nya.”

As they walked down towards the shore, they passed Kai and Cole, who had finally managed to get Jay and Lloyd out of the water. Cole had his arms locked around Jay, preventing him from running away as Kai slathered sunscreen across his face. Lloyd was sitting in the sand beside him, pouting, his face already smeared in white.

Nya grinned at him. “Can you guys handle yourselves for twenty minutes if Pix and I go out bodyboarding?”

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at her, and Kai rolled his eyes. “We’ll be fine, Nya. I think you’re forgetting we save the city on a regular basis? We’re perfectly capable.”

Nya put a hand near Pixal’s ear, whispering loudly into it. “Betcha anything the beach will be on fire by the time we get back.”

The two ran off, giggling at the sight of Kai’s smoldering glare, before he could set them on fire.

---

To Kai’s credit, he did not set the beach on fire, or anything, for that matter, but when Nya and Pixal returned, they found him and Cole shoveling sand onto Zane, who was chest-deep by this point.

“Zane!” Pixal exclaimed. “Are you alright?”

“When Kai told me he had something fun to show me, this wasn’t quite what I had imagined.”

“Aww, come on Zane!” Kai grinned. “I’m having a great time.”

Pixal shook her head, and stepped forward, grabbing Zane’s hand and pulling him up, sending sand cascading down everywhere. Cole and Kai groaned.

“Aww, come on, Pix, that took forever!” Cole muttered.

“Yeah, we were gonna shape it into a mermaid tail. Don’t you know how funny that would’ve been?”

“Humor is subjective.” Zane rubbed at his wrists. “Augh, now I’m going to have sand in my gears for weeks.” Shooting a glare at Kai, he added, “I’ll remember this the next time you ditch your swimming lessons.”

“Hey!” Kai yelped. “That’s totally different! Sand is warm, and solid, and most importantly, not dangerous!”

“You could suffocate,” Zane pointed out.

Kai scowled. “You’re a nindroid, you wouldn’t have suffocated.”

“You’re related to an elemental master of water. You won’t drown.”

“Being related to a master of water and being a master of water are two very different things! I control fire, not water, I can’t do anything to protect myself.”

Cole rolled his eyes. “You’re so lame. Remind me again why we brought our friend with aquaphobia to the beach?”

“Technically,” Zane said, raising a finger, “the word you’re looking for is thalassophobia. Kai doesn’t fear water in general, only large bodies, such as-”

“It was his idea,” Nya interrupted. “If it weren’t for him, we’d still be at the Monastery, filing papers.”

“I never suggested the beach!” Kai snapped. “That was your idea!”

“Yeah, well, your suggestions were lame. The beach was the obvious choice.”

“Hey,” Pixal interjected, suddenly realizing they were missing a couple of people. “Where are Jay and Lloyd?”

Cole sighed, pointing up towards their stuff, where Jay and Lloyd were struggling with a large, yellow duck inflatable that was very much not inflated at the moment. Jay had his lips around the mouthpiece, his face red.

“Blow harder, Jay,” Lloyd insisted, hovering by his side. “You’re hardly doing anything!”

Jay pulled his head back, breathing out heavily as the redness faded from his cheeks. “I’d like to see you do better! You’d probably pass out after a minute.”

“Would not!” Lloyd snatched the floaty away from him, blowing hard into the mouthpiece, putting even less air into the floaty than Jay had. His face reddened as he huffed desperately, although he still wasn’t making much progress. After a few moments, Jay pulled it away from him.

“Okay, that’s enough. I don’t want you to actually pass out.”

Lloyd glared at him, panting. “I wasn’t… going to… pass out.”

Jay sighed, grabbing the inflatable and staring at what looked to be the eyes and a very flat, crumpled-looking beak. “At this rate, we’re never going to get Mr. Quackington blown up.”

Lloyd’s nose wrinkled. “Mr. Quackington?”

Jay blinked at him. “Yeah, that’s his name.”

“No, it’s not! His name is Mr. Waddles!”

“Mr. Waddles? What kind of juvenile name is that?”

“Oh, like Mr. Quackington is any better!”

“It is! It’s loads better!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Is so!”

“It’s not!” Lloyd snapped, green energy sparking between his fingers. Jay glanced down at them thoughtfully. “Hey, what if…”

Lloyd was evidently catching on to Jay’s train of thought, his eyes lighting up. “We can use my powers to inflate Mr. Waddles!”

Jay narrowed his eyes. “Quackington.”

Lloyd bared his teeth, the small fangs glinting. “Waddles.”

Jay sighed. “Okay, whatever. We can use your powers to inflate Mr. Waddles.”

Lloyd grinned widely, whether about the promise of getting his inflated duck or having won the name debate with Jay, Pixal couldn’t tell. He held up a hand and formed a basketball-sized sphere of green energy. Jay’s eyes widened, and he held the mouthpiece up to the energy. Lloyd channeled it inside, watching with glee as the duck puffed up, the yellow plastic slowly tinging green, making the duck look like he was about to be sick.

Zane took a step forward, holding his hand out. “Lloyd, wait-”

There was a sharp snapping noise as the floaty popped, and Lloyd and Jay cried out in horror as the yellow pieces of plastic fluttered to the ground. Lloyd fell to his knees, gripping the busted plastic and wailing, and Jay landed next to him, crying, “No! Mr. Waddles, you were so young!”

“I can’t believe he’s really gone,” Lloyd sniffed. “He was my best friend in the whole world.”

Kai threw up his hands. “Great. You spend the last several years of your life looking out for him only to get replaced by his inflatable plastic duck.”

“Oookay,” Nya said, walking over to Jay and Lloyd and ushering them towards the picnic blanket. “Someone’s obviously been out in the sun too long. Go sit under the umbrella and let’s have something to eat.”

“Good idea,” Zane agreed. “I’m sure we’re all getting hungry. Jay, could you grab the picnic basket? It’s right behind you.”

The lightning ninja grabbed the basket, peering inside briefly as he carried it towards them. “I hope you brought the Pringles. I could really go for some of those right now- augh!”

Before anyone could stop him, Jay was falling to the ground, the basket flying out of his hands and landing sideways in the sand.

“Jay!” Kai cried. “Look what you’ve done to our picnic!”

“Hey! That was totally your fault! Why did you leave your shoes right in the middle of the sand, perfectly positioned for someone to trip over?”

“Why were you clumsy enough to get in the way of my shoes?”

“Guys, guys, it’s okay,” Zane assured. Walking over, he carefully lifted the basket out of the sand. “I’m sure it’s still salvageable.”

“Yeah, but now all our food is going to taste like sand,” Lloyd moaned.

“Lloyd, the food barely touched the sand,” Nya pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter. Every time you go to the beach, if the food gets even remotely close to the sand, it always gets sand in it. Every time. It’s one of the great mysteries of the universe.”

“Well, I think you’ll survive,” she said, passing Lloyd a sandwich and a bag of pretzels. Lloyd took them, but narrowed his eyes.

“Brings a whole new meaning to the word ‘sandwich.’”

“Just eat your food, mister.”

Lloyd shot her a glare, but grudgingly obliged. As Pixal bit into her own sandwich, she realized Lloyd was right, she could feel granules of sand between her teeth as she chewed.

“Hey… at least it adds a little crunch, right?” Cole grinned.

Kai grimaced. “Next time, I elect we don’t let Jay anywhere near the picnic basket.”

Jay chucked a grape at him, but Kai turned at the last second, catching it in his mouth. “Ha!” His gleeful expression faded as he caught sight of something behind Jay. “Um, Lloyd, you have someone you wanna introduce us to?”

The group turned to see a seagull had approached them, tilting its head where it stood only a couple feet away from Lloyd. The green ninja was staring at the bird with wide eyes, an awed expression on his face.

“Lloyd,” Nya sighed, “please don’t tell me you fed it.”

“He’s not an it,” Lloyd snapped. “His name is Scully.”

“Great.” Nya rubbed her hands over her face. “We’re already into name territory.”

“Scully?” Kai’s nose wrinkled. “Isn’t that the name of the seagull from The Little Mermaid?”

“No, that’s Scuttle,” Lloyd sniffed. “They’re completely different.”

“Lloyd,” Pixal scolded, reaching for Lloyd’s wrist just as he tossed another chunk of his sandwich at the seagull, “Feeding wildlife is not a good idea, it can be dangerous-”

Lloyd shrieked suddenly as the bird launched itself at Lloyd’s face. He scrambled to his feet, screaming, and Kai lunged forward, pushing the others out of the way. “Move, move!”

“Get it off me, get it off me!” Lloyd shrieked as the bird’s wings flapped in his face, sending feathers everywhere.

“Blast it with your powers!” Kai called, looking worried but keeping a respectable distance.

“I can’t! He’s on my face!”

“Well, I can’t do it, I’ll set you on fire! Nya, you do it!”

“I’m trying, I’m trying,” the water ninja spat through gritted teeth, globes of water already forming in her hands. “I just need to get a clear shot! For the love of… Lloyd, stop moving so much!”

Lloyd hardly seemed to hear her. “He’s going to claw my eyes out,” he wailed, batting weakly at the creature.

“Nya!”

Nya quickly thrust her hands forward, sending a large ball of water at Lloyd’s head, drenching him and the seagull. The bird squawked angrily, falling to the ground.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Nya and Kai darted over to him, Nya taking his face in her hands as Kai peered over her shoulder. A small red scratch stretched across his left cheek, but apart from that, he appeared unharmed, just frazzled.

“Dude!” Kai cried. “You just got attacked. By a seagull!”

“It owned you!”

Lloyd shot Jay a glare. “Did not.”

“You should have seen your face!” Jay laughed. “Oh wait, you couldn’t- there was a bird in the way!”

Lloyd crossed his arms. “I’d like to remind you how you reacted that time when my uncle set that berserk chicken on us.”

“The chicken had lightning powers. Hardly comparable to a simple seafowl, bud.”

“Ugh, I hope this doesn’t get infected,” Nya muttered, running her finger along the scratch. “We should probably get you checked for rabies when we get home.”

“Nya, I’m fine,” Lloyd groaned, pushing her off. “A seagull isn’t going to give me rabies.”

Nya shrugged. “With your luck, I can never be sure.”

“This is why you don’t give food to wild animals, Lloyd, it makes them bolder-”

“Watch out, Lloyd!” Jay shrieked suddenly, and they whipped around to see the seagull had caught its second wind, squawking as it charged at Lloyd.

Lloyd shrieked, taking off down the beach with the seagull in pursuit. Nya sighed, putting a hand on her head. Kai grinned, walking over to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Do you think he’ll learn his lesson?”

“No,” Nya said without hesitation. “Absolutely not. That’s the sad part.”

“Hey,” Cole said, pointing a finger down the beach. “The volleyball court’s just opened up. You guys wanna play?”

“Sure. Tell Lloyd he can join us when he gets that seagull taken care of.”

Nya glanced towards the green ninja, who was currently lobbing balls of energy at the bird and missing by an embarrassingly wide berth. “Looks like it could be a while.”

---

“Great job, team!” Nya cheered, high-fiving Pixal and shooting a grin at Cole. “Although, if I’m being honest, the rest of you didn’t put up much of a competition.”

“Hey, don’t look at me!” Kai snapped. “I was carrying the team! Jay, Lloyd, were you planning on helping me anytime soon?”

“I was trying!” Jay insisted. “But you kept getting in my way!”

“Because every time I let you get the ball, you dropped it!”

“Hey! I never said I was good at volleyball, okay? Why are you attacking me, Lloyd sucked too!”

“It’s not like I ever had time to fit in volleyball practice between all my green ninja training! It wasn’t exactly a top priority!” “Are you telling me you’ve never played before?” Kai spluttered.

“I’ve played!” Lloyd insisted. “Uh… once or twice.”

Kai facepalmed. “Why did I let you come on my team?”

Lloyd grinned widely. “‘Cause you love me.”

Cole elbowed him. “It’s because he lost the coin toss and Nya got to pick first.”

“Hey!” Jay yelped. “Are you telling me you would have picked me last?”

“After I saw you play, yeah,” Cole snorted.

“I’m still not convinced on some of those calls, Zane,” Kai said, walking over to the nindriod. “I don’t think that one play near the third point was a foul.”

“Hey, the ref’s call is law,” Nya smirked. “Stop trying to cheat your way to victory, Kai.”

“I’m not cheating! Zane’s girlfriend is on your team! He’s obviously biased!”

“I’m a nindriod, Kai. I cannot be biased.”

“Stop being a sore loser, Kai.” Behind her, a wave swelled up. She raised her hand- then pointed it forward at Kai.

Her brother shrieked as the seawater drenched him.

“Nya! What’d you do that for?”

“You deserved it, with all the whining you were doing. Besides, you looked hot. I was just doing you a favor.”

“It’s alright,” Lloyd laughed. “You can share my towel, don’t worry.” As he handed Kai the towel, the fire ninja eyed it shrewdly.

“It’s got ducks on it. Of course it does.”

“Hey, you want the towel or not?”

“No, I’m taking the towel.” Kai wrapped the towel around himself, shivering, unfurling the ducks for all to see. Cole snickered, and Kai shot him a glare.

“Should we pack up, then?”

Zane nodded. “If we want to be back in time for dinner, probably.”

The team trudged back to their blanket, wet and sandy, but chatting amiably. They had nearly packed up all their things when Lloyd cried out suddenly.

“Where’s my wallet?”

Zane frowned. “Didn’t you put it in the valuables pouch?”

“I thought I did, but…” he paused. “Oh, wait. I tripped over Jay. I must’ve forgotten to put it in after that.”

“Well, then, it’s gotta be around here somewhere. What color is it, Lloyd?”

“What do you think? Green.”

They spent a good ten minutes searching through their entire bag and the surrounding sand, to no avail. It quickly became clear that if Lloyd’s wallet had ever fallen around here in the first place, it wasn’t here now.

Kai shrugged. “Oh well. It’s not that big of a deal. You don’t have any cards, and I don’t think you were carrying any of the cash. We can get you a new one.”

“No, but I had the things in there!”

Cole frowned. “The things?”

“You know.” Lloyd lowered his voice. “The things. That the mayor gave us?”

“What?!” Jay yelped. “Those were in there?” “You lost them?” Kai cried. “Lloyd, how could you?”

“It’s not like I did it on purpose!” Kai groaned, rubbing his face. “We should’ve never trusted you with them. Or at least split them up, so they weren’t all together.”

“I still do not understand.” Pixal frowned. “What are these things that are so important?”

“They’re a top-secret gift from the mayor,” Jay whispered. “We’re not supposed to tell anyone we have them. Not that telling anyone now would matter anyway, because we don’t have them anymore.”

“It’s not my fault!” Lloyd insisted. “It’s that stupid seagull’s, he’s the one who distracted me-” Lloyd paused, his eyes widening. “That’s it! The seagull must’ve swiped my wallet when it was chasing me!”

“Looks like we have a lead,” Kai growled.

“Wait a minute, does anyone else hear that mysterious music-”

“Oh no,” Pixal muttered, putting a hand on her forehead. “Zane, please don’t tell me you’re going to do this again.”

“It seemed that, after only a few weeks, it was time for me to crack yet another case.” The odd, deep voice rang out, and they turned to see Zane slipping on a fedora.

“Where did that even come from,” Pixal despaired. “I’m positive you didn’t bring that with you. Positive.”

“Again, I was to be accompanied by my trusty assistant, but this time, my highly trained ninja associates would also be coming along, all determined to reclaim what someone had stolen in the heist.”

Jay glanced between Pixal and Zane. “What is happening right now? Am I supposed to know what’s happening?”

Pixal shook her head. “It’s a long story. Just go with it.”

Zane tipped his hat down. “Already, we were off with a very promising lead. I suspected the culprit to be the feathered fiend that had been spotted lurking around at the scene of the crime only an hour prior.”

Kai snorted, placing a hand on Jay’s shoulder. “Oh, this is gold! Did you mess with his voice again, Jay?”

“No, I didn’t touch him! Pixal, you didn’t…”

She shook her head. “Believe me, I wouldn’t do this if you paid me. It was all him.”

Jay grinned. “What do we do next… detective Zane?” He and Kai simultaneously burst into laughter, leaning against each other for support.

Zane side-eyed them. “The primary suspect was as clear as a black bear in a snowstorm, yet the whereabouts of the creature were still unknown. It had vanished into thin air, without leaving so much as a trace in its stead.”

“Hey,” Lloyd said suddenly, leaning down to pick something up off of the sand, “What about this?”

“It appeared to be part of the plumage of a species of avian native to these shores. Could it belong to the specimen we were looking for?”

Kai plucked the feather from Lloyd’s fingers, examining it. “The feather was white with a dark tip, definitely having originated from a seagull- although the spiked, disturbed edges implied that this was from no ordinary gull- it was from one who had recently been in a fight.”

Jay grinned. “It seemed like we had hit the jackpot. Already, we were one step closer to tracking down this culprit.”

Pixal groaned. “Don’t you two start, too. It was bad enough with just Zane.”

Nya grimaced. “Yeah, this is already getting annoying.”

“How is a feather going to tell us where the seagull is now?” Cole asked.

“I could sense the wind was blowing in from the northwest,” Zane narrated. “If we wanted to find the culprit of the caper, we would have to walk upwind, hopefully leading us to the source of the feather.”

“Alright,” Pixal sighed, “let’s get this over with.”

“And so,” Zane grinned, “The Great Gull Caper began.”

The team trudged up the beach for about twenty minutes, to no avail. They passed many other beachgoers, pointing and staring as the ninja passed, but no seagulls were in sight.

“Are you sure about this, Zane?” Pixal asked.

“The feathered suspect had gained an hour’s head start in its escape from the scene, meaning we would have to hasten our pace if we ever hoped to catch up.”

“Oh, I am not walking an hour just to find this thing. Are we sure it’s that important?”

“Yes!” the guys yelped in unison.

“It’s a very important gift from the mayor! It would be rude to lose it,” Jay said. “We have to get it back!”

“Couldn’t you just ask for another… whatever they are?”

“No! They’re one of a kind!” “Well, can we at least hurry this up? Frankly, I’m getting quite tired of Zane’s shenanigans.”

Zane grinned at her. “Although she voiced her disapproval, my assistant knew the efficiency of my methods, as they had gotten us out of a pinch the last time things had been amok.”

“First of all, I was the one who successfully found Dyer last time. You just ended up getting caught.”

“Perhaps, but you used my techniques.”

Pixal huffed. “Second, I don’t appreciate that you keep calling me your assistant. If anything, we’re partners!”

Zane adjusted his fedora. “So it was a promotion she was after, eh? Well, if my assistant could prove her worth by properly complying with my techniques in this case, she may find herself with a loftier position in the future.”

Pixal sighed. “Whatever. Let’s just find the stupid bird, and go.”

The group trekked after Zane again, and Pixal wondered how long they would be here, when Zane suddenly stopped, causing half of the gang to crash into him.

“What?” Jay yelped. “What’s wrong? Why’d we stop?”

Zane pointed near his feet. “It seemed like the culprit had been careless enough to leave behind tracks in the sand.”

Pixal peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, the tracks of some avian species left a trail in the sand- and after consulting her database, it appeared to match the foot of a seagull.

“We’re getting closer!” Cole said. “It has to be around here somewhere.”

Nya’s eyes went wide, and she pointed towards something in the distance. “Look!”

Down the beach, a large group of seagulls was flocking around a half-eaten pretzel, flapping their wings and squawking as they tried to push past each other.

“It could be any of them,” Lloyd despaired. “How are we going to know which one was the one who stole my wallet?”

Jay smirked. “There’s only one way to find out.”

Lloyd eyed him nervously. “How?”

“One seagull, in particular, has come to associate you with food. One seagull has been known to chase you down.”

“Oh,” Lloyd paled, taking a step back and waving his hands. “Oh, no, I do not like where this is heading…”

“Come on, Lloyd, do it for the team,” Cole pleaded.

“You are the one who lost them in the first place,” Kai agreed. “It’s only fair.”

Lloyd groaned. “Why do I let you bully me into these things?”

“Go on,” Nya gave him a gentle shove. “We don’t have all day!”

Sticking his tongue out at her, Lloyd stepped forward, towards the seagulls. Several of them looked his way, a few flapping their wings anxiously and squawking in warning. Lloyd stopped, swallowing.

“Um. Hey. I don’t suppose any of you have seen a green wallet around here?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “They can’t understand you. Get closer!”

“Okay! I’m going, jeez-” he broke off with a yelp as a seagull darted in front of him, nearly tripping him as he stepped on its tail.

The seagull shrieked, and, in a flurry of feathers, the flock broke into a frenzied panic. Lloyd’s eyes widened, and he cried out, running away and frantically ducking swooping seagulls.

He darted behind Kai as a last nervy seagull hopped after him. Kai held up a fist, which burst into flame, scaring the bird off. Kai glanced back at Lloyd, amusement sparkling in his dark eyes. “You okay, bud?”

Lloyd glared. “Don’t look at me like that. These birds are vicious!”

“Look!” Pixal pointed at a gull that had remained behind. With the others out of the way, she could see the small, green wallet between its beak.

“That’s the one!” Cole cried. “After it!”

For ninja, the group was embarrassingly unstealthy as they clamored after the bird, shooting elemental powers at it and screaming as they narrowly avoided each other’s blasts, so that by the time the seagull reached the water, the beach was a mess of crystalized sand, crevices in the ground, and various burn marks from fire, lightning, and energy.

“It’s a seagull!” Nya cried. “We’ve faced giant snakes, lords of darkness, elemental masters, Oni, more criminals and gangsters than I can count, and an evil video game AI, yet we can’t catch one measly seagull? It shouldn’t be this hard, you guys!”

“It’s getting away,” Jay cried, pointing at the bird, who had finally taken flight and was heading out over the ocean.

“No!” Lloyd moaned. “Now we’re never going to get it back!”

“Not on my watch,” Nya growled, racing past them towards the docks. “Come on!” “Oh no,” Kai groaned. “Nya Smith, whatever you are thinking, stop it right now, because I’m not doing it.” “Come on, Kai,” Lloyd insisted, grabbing his wrist and yanking him along. “We have to hurry!”

They raced after Nya, who was running down the dock towards a man who was examining the boats. Kai followed them more slowly, taking careful steps.

“Sir, we need to use a boat, right away! We’ll pay for it, we promise!”

The man shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, but these are all private boats. The only one we have is that one,” he pointed to a small, worn-looking fishing boat, “and the motor’s broken, so it’s of no use to anyone.”

“It doesn’t matter, I can take care of that. Everyone, get in!”

“W-wait,” the man stuttered, looking flustered.

“We’ll bring it right back, I promise! Now, come on, we don’t have much time!”

“No!” Kai insisted, as everyone else piled in. “Nuh-uh. No way. Not in a million years. You are not bringing me out into the middle of the ocean in a tiny, crowded boat with a busted engine!”

“You don’t need an engine when you’ve got me!” Nya raised her hand, and the water swirled under the boat, rocking it slightly. “Now, come on, we don’t have time for this!” “Y’know what.” Kai took a couple of steps back from the boat. “I’m good. I’ll stay here. You guys have fun finding the wallet. I’ll cheer you on from the beach. The dry, dry beach.”

“Nope.” Cole reached forward, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him in. “This is your gift we’re saving, too. If you want to get part of it, you’re coming with.”

“Finally!” Nya huffed. The water rippled beneath them, and suddenly, it was propelling their boat, and they were off.

“Where’s the bird?” Nya asked. “Does anyone see it?” “Over there!” Cole pointed slightly towards their left, where the seagull was gliding away with surprising speed. Getting into the boat had slowed them down, and it had gotten a large head start.

Nya gritted her teeth. “Hold on.”

“Don’t go faster!” Kai yelped from where he huddled near the middle of the boat, protectively sandwiched between Lloyd and Cole. “If you tip this boat, I will never forgive you.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Nya growled, although the boat slowed slightly as they continued.

“Our team continued to chase the thief, determined to put an end to the Great Gull Caper and put the culprit to justice. Even when our path took us across the raging waters of the ocean, with nothing but a rusty, broken old boat, and deep, swirling waters around us, filled with the dark abyss and the creatures that lurked there…”

“You mean like sharks?” Lloyd perked, peering over the edge. “Did you see any? I wanna see one!”

“Nope,” Kai yelped, pulling himself into a ball as he sat down on the floor of the boat. “Nopety nope nope nope. I’m done. I’m outta here.”

“The prospect of sharks was a dire one, but one we were willing to take. We would get that wallet back, no matter the cost- even if it meant competition from this fierce predator of the sea.”

Kai screamed into his hands. “Just end me now!”

“What Zane means to say,” Pixal said, elbowing Zane sharply, “is that sharks are actually very off-put by the taste of human flesh, and do not go after humans on purpose.”

Kai stared at her. “Oh joy, now a shark can devour my flesh by accident, what a relief.”

“Do not worry, Kai,” she told him. “There is only one estimated death by shark per year in the greater Ninjago City area.”

“Knowing my luck,” Kai grumbled, “I’ll be that one.”

“Did anyone bring their phone with?” Lloyd asked. “I wanna get a good picture when the sharks come for Kai.”

“I call dibs on his katana,” Jay exclaimed. “Y’know, the super flashy one with the flaming dragon carved into the handle?”

Lloyd wrinkled his nose at him. “Why would you want a fire dragon on your katana? You’re the lightning ninja!”

“Hey, just because my element is lightning, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a super dope fire design when I see one-”

“Guys,” Cole sighed, pushing his way between the two arguing boys. “No one is getting eaten. We’re perfectly safe here, on this boat.”

“Cole’s right,” Pixal agreed. “The sharks around this area are smaller, reef dwellers, and won’t come after us. They may, however, come after our seagull friend if he gets too close to the water.”

Kai made a noise in the back of his throat, and Cole scowled at her. “Thanks for the help, Pix.”

“Nya,” Jay whined, “the seagull’s getting further away! We have to go faster!”

“Don’t!” Pixal cried. “This boat has not been manufactured to withstand a lot of weight. With seven people, especially when two of them are titanium, going too fast would be sure to capsize us.”

“I told you I should’ve stayed behind on the shore,” Kai wailed.

Lloyd leaned further over the edge, raising a hand to his forehead to keep the glare off of his face as he peered intently into the water. “Is… is that a shark?”

Kai stared at him. “Shut up. You’re just baiting.”

Lloyd shook his head, his eyes lighting up in a way that was not reassuring in the slightest. “I’m not! It’s a shark! It’s a real, live shark! I’ve never seen one this close before! Except at like, an aquarium!”

Kai closed his eyes, rocking himself gently. “You’re lying. You stupid liar, I hate you.”

Cole peered over, following Lloyd’s gaze, and promptly bit his lip. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“This is a dumb prank, you guys!” Kai was half-yelling by this point.

“Stop being so loud,” Lloyd hissed. “You’ll scare it!”

Kai blinked at him. “I’ll scare it?”

Lloyd crossed his arms. “A scared shark is an aggressive shark.”

Kai’s mouth snapped shut.

“I can’t believe this,” Cole muttered. “Did we really not bring any weapons?”

“No!” Lloyd yelped. “Cole, you wouldn’t!”

“I would if it kept us from being eaten.”

“For the last time, sharks don’t eat humans!”

Cole ignored him. “Well? Did we?”

Nya snorted. “Why would we bring weapons to the beach?”

“Hey, with how often this city gets attacked, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Nya rolled her eyes. “It was supposed to be our day off.”

“It’s fine,” Pixal reported, keeping a careful eye on the shark. “It’s swimming away now. As long as we leave it alone, we’re safe.”

Kai frowned. “Looks like the gull isn’t so convinced, though.”

Pixal glanced up. Sure enough, the seagull was eyeing the shark nervously, pumping its wings as it flew higher and higher above the surface of the water.

“Do something!” Jay shrieked. “If we don’t stop it now, it’s going to get away for good!”

“Lloyd!” Nya cried. “Is your wallet waterproof?”

“What?”

“Just answer the question!” “Yes! Yes, it is!”

Nya gritted her teeth. “Hold on, everyone!”

Suddenly, a vast wave rose out of the water, looming over the seagull.

Kai’s eyes widened. “Nya, be careful, you’ll hit us too-”

But it was already too late, the wave crashing down, downing the seagull, and soaking them in saltwater. The team cried out, and Kai screamed, throwing his arms over his head in a futile attempt to protect himself. As they all tried to lurch away from the spray, the boat rocked precariously, and, for a horrifying moment, they were suspended there, on the point between balance and capsize.

And then that moment was over, and they were all falling into the ocean.

Pixal’s world immediately dimmed as she plunged into the water, quietness enveloping her like a blanket. For a moment, she was too shocked to do anything, until a foot thrashed past her face, snapping her out of her trance as she swam towards the surface.

A couple of feet before she reached it, a metal hand snatched her wrist and pulled her the rest of the way up.

“Pixal!” Zane cried, his detective voice dropped. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. What about everyone else? Are we all here?”

Zane nodded his head behind her, and she turned to see the others all within a couple of feet. Cole had his hands on the now upside-down boat, trying to use his strength to push it over, but it was hard for him to get a good grip and stay afloat at the same time. Just behind him, Jay was spitting out a mouthful of seawater, sending ripples across the surface of the ocean as he treaded water. Lloyd was doing the same a couple of feet away, only the green ninja was struggling a lot more because of the arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Don’t let me go, Lloyd!” Kai yelped, although the feat would’ve been impossible even if Lloyd had wanted to- the fire ninja was clinging to him like a barnacle. “I can’t swim!”

Lloyd sighed. “I know that, Kai. It’s the only reason I’m letting you hold on to me like this.”

“I can’t believe this happened,” Kai cried. “We’re going to die out here. This is the worst day off ever.”

“Hey!” Lloyd snapped. “It’s not my fault this happened!”

Nya shot them all a sharp glare from where she was drifting alongside the boat. She didn’t even bother to tread water like the rest of them, instead using her powers to keep herself afloat. “It was going to work until you guys made such a big fuss about getting a little wet and tipped the boat.”

Cole sighed. “We’re not going to die. As soon as I get this right side up again, we’ll climb up and get out of here. Can you give me a hand, Zane?”

As the nindriod moved to help him, Kai suddenly went rigid.

“Lloyd,” he whispered.

“What, Kai?”

“Something just bumped my foot.”

“It’s probably just seaweed, Kai,” Lloyd sighed, looking down- and promptly froze.

“No one. Move.”

Jay squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh no, oh gosh, don’t tell me that’s what I think it is, this is not happening-”

“Jay, shut up,” Nya whispered, her face pale as she watched the dark shape lurking below them in the water.

“Everyone, stay calm,” Pixal murmured. “Don’t make any sudden movements and try to look it in the eyes.”

“Please, the last thing I’m gonna do is look at it,” Kai breathed, burying his face in Lloyd’s hair.

After a moment, the shark slowly swam past, losing interest.

“It doesn’t care about us,” Zane realized. “It wants the seagull.”

Several yards away, the gull was floating on the water, still trying to shake off the moisture from Nya’s wave. Suddenly realizing the danger it was in, the bird raised its wings- and launched itself into the air, just as fierce jaws snapped against empty air where the seagull had been less than a second ago.

Kai’s fingers dug tighter into Lloyd’s shoulders, and Pixal caught Jay biting his lip as he swallowed back a scream, but, its prey lost, the shark was already swimming away.

“Gotcha,” Nya murmured, reaching a hand out and snatching up the wallet, which the seagull had dropped in all the commotion, before it could sink to the bottom of the ocean.

“Okay. That’s great. We got it. Now can we get out of here?” Kai pleaded.

After a minute, they finally got the boat flipped over, and Cole hauled himself aboard before helping to lift the others. Ten minutes later, they were all safely out of the water and on their way back to the dock, and Pixal had never felt more relieved by the fact.

“So,” Jay asked, as the boat glided through the water, leaning closer to Nya. “Did they survive all that?”

“Let’s see,” Nya murmured, opening up Lloyd’s wallet. Pixal leaned forward, anxious to see what all the fuss had been about.

“Yes!” Jay cried, pulling out seven slips of paper. “They’re all here!”

“Wait.” Pixal snatched one from his hand, quickly scanning it. “A summer pass for free all-you-can-eat ice cream from the Dairy Dragon?”

“Yup,” Jay smiled, passing them out to the others. “The mayor gave them to us as a gift after we saved the city from Prime Empire. That’s what we were going to do today, after the beach, actually.”

“You’re telling me,” Pixal deadpanned. “That we just risked our lives. For free ice cream.”

“Free ice cream is free ice cream, Pix.”

“You’ll understand once you’ve tried their butter pecan,” Nya told her. “It’s to die for.”

“Butter pecan?” Jay spluttered. “No way, the Ninjapolitan is best.”

“You heathen, chocolate fudge is obviously the best flavor-”

“What are you guys talking about, mint chocolate chip is superior!”

“You just like it because it’s green.”

“Do not!”

“Do so!” Nya sighed, putting her head in her hands. “Here we go again.”

“Calm down, all of you,” Pixal said. “You can get whatever flavor of ice cream you want. Just do me a favor and try not to end up capsizing us in the middle of the ocean this time.”

Jay hummed. “No promises.”

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago kai #ninjago pixal #ninjago nya #ninjago zane #ninjago lloyd #ninjago jay #ninjago cole #i cant believe i actually wrote something that is 100% fluff #that's never happened before #it feels... weird #but it was a lot of fun #and yes Lloyd loves sharks and I will die on that hill #thanks for reading!#reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

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asheskies-writing · 2 years

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Casting A Line, a Happy Huntresses Pirate AU

So, I've been playing with the idea of this fic for some time, and I finally decided to make a little demo scene to see if anyone would be interested in reading it. I don't usually publish fics to tumblr, but since this is a sneak peek, I figured it'd fit better here than on Ao3.

(CW: Pre-transition Trans Character, implied abuse mention)

“I’m telling you, that’s not just any Mantle ship, that’s her ship,” Fiona chirped, leaning over the railing of The Happy Huntress.

The brig’s deck slowly lurched, as Robyn folded her arms against her chest, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. The occasional creaking of wood, the lapping of waves, and the melodic flap-flap of the sails echoed in Robyn’s ears, while she considered Fiona’s point. She could smell the fish-tinted aroma of the sea, accented ever-so-slightly by the powder barrel a deckhand was readying to stow below deck.

“It’s a Mantle Navy Frigate,” Robyn said. She leaned in motion against the ship, fortunate that her sea legs were a bit more intuitive than the poor aquaphobic chef a deck below. “The odds of it being The Avalanche are pretty slim.”

Fiona rolled her eyes, turning to face her captain indignantly.

“Willing to bet on it?” Fiona asked.

“With what coin?” Robyn scoffed.

Fiona sighed, passing Captain Hill a collapsed spyglass, drumming her fingers against the railing.

The glass expanded with a soft click-click, and Robyn held it to her right eye, shutting her left.

Her stomach tightened in a twinge of uncertainty as she took in the frigate’s nameplate running along its portside.

“Well… shit,” she sighed. “Still, we don’t know for sure what they’re here for. They’re not likely after us.”

She lowered the spyglass, turning her attention to her first mate as she approached from below deck.

“Captain, remind me,” Joanna said. “What did we pick up in port, earlier?”

“Ten crates of sugar, four more powder kegs, we restocked our rum, and we filled the round shot stores,” Robyn said.

Joanna nodded, chewing her cheek, just an ounce of sarcastic undertone when she next spoke.

“So, stowaways weren’t on the list?” Joanna asked.

“No, not that I-,” Robyn said, absentmindedly, before her eyes widened, her attention turning wholeheartedly to her first mate. “Wait, why?”

“Cause we’ve got one,” Joanna said.

Fiona let out a brief chuckle, blinking innocent disbelief from her eyes.

“We got a stowaway?” Fiona asked.

“Apparently,” Robyn said. “I’ve never had that happen before.”

“We’re really making it, aren’t we? That’s just another thing off the checklist,” Fiona hummed.

Robyn begun to follow Joanna below deck, as she reflected on her astonishment.

“I can’t believe it,” she muttered.

“Oh, if you can’t believe that, wait ‘til you see who it is,” Joanna grinned, as they continued.

____________________________________

May groaned, her head feeling like hell as she returned to consciousness. She could feel a splinter or two in her hands, likely the result of lying face-down against the wooden deck of this floor.

She rolled over, pulling herself up to a seated position against the near wall of the room, sighing in temporary defeat as she recognized the bars of the ship’s brig… well, not to be confused with the ship itself, which was also a brig.

She mulled over her memories, tracing back the steps that actually brought her here.

No, not just the beginning. Not the blowout with the rest of the Marigolds, not the storming away from the estate.

More recently.

Her semblance, usefully enough, had gotten her onto the ship unseen, and kept her shrouded until she hid behind a crate, with the ship’s cargo.

Her plan had been so foolproof.

Just… keep an aura reserve, to cloak from anyone who might pass by, and she’d be able to skip ship the next time they made port. Simple enough.

And it had worked, for the first eight or so hours.

Then, that damn cat had to pick up on her trail. Who knew cats weren’t held back by invisibility? Maybe it was a strong sense of smell, or maybe it was some degree of sixth sense that instinctively warned the glorified mousetrap of her hidden presence, but either way, she’d looked straight at May.

She’d been trying to figure out some means of outwitting said creature, when the most gorgeous woman May had ever seen had swung through, likely to double check the cargo.

Said woman had been remarkably tall, with an umber-brown skintone and short-cut green hair, kept spiky. She’d sported several tattoos, and kept a boarding axe on her belt, in the event of a skirmish. A V-necked grey shirt and pants brought her look together, dressed for relative comfort on the seas.

Much to May’s piss-poor luck, that had been the exact moment the ship’s hairless cat had decided to approach her, stepping inside of her invisibility field, and disappearing right before the other woman’s eyes.

The ensuing fight had been over rather quickly, as May had been unarmed, tired, and low on aura. One swing from the boarding axe, the flat, blunt edge knocking May unconscious.

In retrospect, she supposed it was a kindness she hadn’t been killed, and that alone affirmed to her that she could’ve picked far worse pirate crews to hide among.

She was called back to the present, as footsteps neared her. It had to have been only ten or so minutes since she’d been rendered unconscious, based on the angle of light filtering through the wooden planks behind her.

She stood, rubbing the back of her head with a sigh.

Coming into sight, three women organized themselves before her cell, the two May hadn’t seen before sharing a look of alarm.

The tallest of the three was the same woman that had found her.

The second tallest, just an inch taller than May, herself, was also in the running for the most beautiful woman May had-

Not now, you useless lesbian.

She had blonde hair, kept in a ponytail behind her. A long, dark coat was decorated with buckles aplenty, in classic pirate fashion. She had a tan palette, light makeup accenting her facial features. One hand rested on the hilt of a cutlass at her side, while the other hung loosely, inches away from the butt of a wheellock pistol.

The shortest of the three, by far, about half a foot shorter than May, had curly, platinum hair, and a beige skintone not unlike May’s. A blunderbuss was slung along her back, three flintlocks kept on a belt across her chest, while two more sat, one holstered to each hip. She had a pair of sheep ears, poking through her hair, as she regarded May with interest. And, true to the trio, she was absolutely stunning.

“Well,” the ponytailed woman said, her heart sinking. “That would explain who’s tailing us.”

The tallest woman turned, taking her own turn to be alarmed.

“We’re being tailed, captain?” she asked.

“Aye,” the captain said. “By none other than Schnee herself.”

“Shit,” the tallest said. “Want me to pass the crew any orders?”

So, she’s the first mate. Got it.

“Not just yet,” the captain said, with a heavy sigh. She finally turned, granting May her attention. “So, I’ve gotta say, I wasn’t expecting an honored guest when we set sail. Unfortunately, we aren’t exactly taking passengers at the moment.”

May rolled her eyes.

“Let’s just cut to the chase,” May said, leaning against the cell bars. “If you were gonna kill me, you’d have done it the moment you found me.”

“Oh, I’m not the type to execute a prisoner,” the captain said. “Listen, if you were anyone else, this would be where I’d offer you a deal to stick around. That being said, if I keep you aboard, I’ll have the whole Mantle Navy up my ass by the time I can even leave their waters. Given my less-than-legal exploits, I’m not exactly eager to see that happen.”

“You think there might be a bounty?” the shortest woman asked.

“It’s possible they thought it was a kidnapping,” the tallest theorized. “She might attack on sight.”

“Sounds like Winter,” May said, dejectedly.

They all blinked.

“So,” the captain said. “If you know who’s after us, you know why we can’t keep you aboard. We’re gonna leave you on a rowboat, and you’ll be back, on your way to Mantle in no time.”

May winced.

“I…” she said, discomfort stinging at her mind. “Look, if you’ve got even an ounce of mercy, or kindness… please, just… take me as far as the Sanus Northern coast. I can handle it from there.”

The captain’s eyes widened.

“Alone? You’d get eaten alive,” she said. “Literally. That whole area’s crawling with Grimm.”

May nodded, bitterly.

“Better odds than the alternative,” she said. “And I’ll take my chances.”

The captain and her first mate shared a look.

“Damn,” the first mate said. “Full sail?”

The captain nodded.

May blinked, surprised.

“Schnee won’t be happy to see us on the run, so we’ll have to give it our all,” the captain said.

“Aye, captain,” she said, before hurrying above deck to relay the orders.

The captain turned back, to face her.

“That bad, back in Mantle?” she asked. “I take it, the Marigolds aren’t-,”

May gritted her teeth, folding her arms against her chest.

“Yeah, it’s that bad,” she interrupted.

The captain nodded.

“We’re heading to Vale soon,” she said. “You can stay with us, until then. But, you’ll be earning your stay. No more hiding behind a sugar crate.”

“Thank you,” May said.

“I’m Robyn Hill,” the captain said. “This is Fiona, my lead gunner. You already met Joanna, she’s my first mate.”

May nodded, taking mental note, as Robyn unlocked her cell door.

“And, we know your name, of course,” Robyn said.

May faltered, dysphoria washing over her before anyone could continue.

“I…” she said, holding up a hand. “I’d rather be called literally anything else, if you don’t mind.”

Robyn raised an eyebrow.

“Got anything specific?” Robyn asked.

The name caught in May’s throat, as if uttering it would throw her into further turmoil. Hell, for all she knew, it could absolutely do so.

She thought around to the crew she’d seen.

They’d seemed a progressive crew, and if she was wrong… well, this was already a miserable experience, through and through.

She took a deep breath.

“May,” she said. “Just call me May.”

Robyn’s eyes widened in understanding, her hand leaving the sword hilt as she was hit with a wave of empathy for the stowaway.

“You’ve got it, May,” Robyn said, compassionately.

“If I might ask,” Fiona said. “She/her?”

It was May’s turn once again to stall in pleasant, yet emotional surprise.

“Yeah,” May said. “Thank you.”

“Welcome aboard, May,” Robyn said, leading her back up to the main deck. “I take it you’re unfamiliar with deckwork?”

“I know a little, but… for the most part, I’m inexperienced,” May admitted.

“Fiona, show her how to handle the basics,” Robyn said. “I’ll catch Joanna up to speed.”

“Aye, captain,” Fiona chirped.

May stepped onto the upper deck, gazing out towards the ship on the horizon, as if to attempt to glare it off course.

She’d always had piss-poor luck, but… it looked like, for once, it might be shaping up.

#rwby fanfic #rwby fanfiction #happy huntresses #robyn hill #may marigold #joanna greenleaf #fiona thyme #rwby pirate au

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