GUESS. WHO'S. BACK.
(Me. It's me, guys. I know, it's just really hard to know XD)
So… Yeah. I'm back. Sorta. Imma go on a sort of mini-rant here to explain what's been going on: See, since the last time I've updated, I had to drop auto-insurance because it was costing me $275 per month, wayyy too much, so I haven't driven in months. Then I had to move 260 miles away from home to go to college, which started with 6 classes, one swapped out for another, and then two dropped mid-semester, and then I ended up failing 3 of my 4 remaining classes after finals week last week, in spite of the fact that one of the classes I failed was the only one I got 100% on its final for (which I'm super proud of even though I failed the class…). So, failed ¾ of my classes, started college way far away from home, don't have a car to drive, I've been looking for a job for 3 months and haven't got one (although my old boss let's me pick up extra shifts when I visit home, which is nice), I don't have rent ready for next month, if I use my loan anymore I won't be able to start using my car NEXT year, and, speaking of my car, my car's brakes are broken and the vehicle is immobile no matter whether I have insurance or not, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.. Basically, I'm a hungry, failing, jobless, SUPER broke college student going through the hardest part of trying to double major and find a job all at once, so it's a bit icky.
But! And bear with me (is that even the proper spelling for that term, bear with me?), but, I want to be getting back into writing. As it is, one of my 4 weekly clubs is a poetry club, and I've gotten into writing a new poem every other week if not every week, and I honestly miss writing fanfiction. I have a passion for it, just a bit.
And this part is for any of you readers and people who have ever shown me interest or support. Every time I go back to read old reviews and comments, I get a bit choked up. Especially from The Mayor of Ninjago City, Loki God of Evil, and the guest calling him/herself "RandomPerson." I don't know any of you in real life, but I have seen all of you frequently throughout my Ninjago stories, and your support and kind words and excitement to do with everything I write in this fandom actually mean a crap ton to me. It inspires me to work harder and faster all over again. And same goes to everyone who reviews, comments, requests, suggest, favourites, follows, reads, views, etc., etc.. I couldn't thank you all enough for just the sheer kindness I've been shown. Really I can't. And heck, I don't even know if the three aforementioned readers are even active on anymore. It's been a long time, but I would be overjoyed to hear from you guys again.
So! I'm here with a sincere thank you, a sincere question for forgiveness, and a sincere hope that I will remain motivated enough to become once more a regular fanfiction writer. Not just a "twice a year when I feel like it" writer.
And because I've already talked foreverrrr on this all, I think I will leave it at that and, without further ado, present to you all the next installment to this surprisingly popular series of oneshots - Wu's Teas - The Aftermath - Episode 5 - Names!
-LizzyLucky
The Aftermath - Episode 5 - Names
Cole quickly resurfaced from the water and pulled himself up to the edge of the tank, giving a pointed glare to Lloyd. As the crowd's merry laughter began to die away, however, he shook his head and decided it wasn't a big deal. It was kind of funny. He'd have to get back at Lloyd for suggesting the whole ordeal to begin with, though, and then for being the one to mess up not just a customer's name, but a well-known friend's name. Honestly, who does that?
Pushing himself up and out of water, Cole hopped down to the floor with a grunt, noting how much heavier he felt when his dense clothing was soaked through.
"...you see that? On my first try, even, I actually hit the target!" Dareth was bragging.
"Oh, man, did you ever! I can't believe the look that was on Cole's face, how did I not get a picture?" Jay agreed quickly, still chuckling heartily.
Cole smirked and snuck up behind Jay. Kai noticed and sniggered behind his hand, turning to pat Nya's arm and point it out to her. They watched silently as Cole squatted over and, in one fluid movement, pounced on Jay, tackling him to the floor and laying down fully on top of the smaller ninja.
"AH!" Jay half-squealed in surprise, wriggling underneath Cole. "Cole! Get off! You're squishing me! I'M TOO CUTE TO BE SQUISHED!" Nearby customers still watching laughed as Jay continued to squirm and yelp.
"No you're not! Besides, I'm not trying to squish you." Cole said amusedly, leaning one elbow on the floor to the left of Jay's head and resting his chin on it.
"I KNOW YOU'RE NOT!" Jay grumbled, kicking his legs at thin air. "You're just trying to get me all WET! And it's really COLD!" He whined, to the great amusement of Kai, who barked out in laughter.
"What? No… Me? Never! How could you possibly imagine I would ever think to betray my own innocence simply to cause you annoyance?" Cole said, giving Jay his best innocent face and then blinking in rapid succession for effect.
"Yeah, Jay, what even made you say that?" Lloyd suddenly spoke up, having walked up from the register to stand beside Kai and Nya.
Without missing a beat, Cole leapt off of Jay and got to his feet, spun around and wrapped his arms around Lloyd before the green ninja could have even done anything about it. Cole silently thanked Wu for giving him so much training in speed...
Lloyd yelped and stumbled backward, only barely managing to keep from falling to the floor as Jay had done (who had picked himself up since and was pouting quite profusely).
"Cole! Let go! You're getting my clothes all wet! I don't have anything to change into!" He wailed, yanking one of his arms out from Cole's death grip and pushing against the earth ninja.
"Oh? Really? No extra clothes? What a shame... I'll just have to hold onto you for another minute, then. Actually, maybe YOU should go to the dunk tank next!" Cole exclaimed, lifting Lloyd entirely off his feet by way of his grip around the boy's torso.
"WHAT?" Lloyd shrilled, flailing around in a panic. "No, no, no! What did I do?" Cole simply chuckled and walked Lloyd over to the tank, the latter growing more frantic the closer they got. About 3 feet from the tank, however, Cole simply dropped Lloyd onto the ground with a breathy laugh.
"Chill out! I wasn't actually going to drop you in!" He laughed.
"You- What?" Lloyd blinked. Cole huffed amusedly.
"Nah. You owe me, though." He deadpanned. Lloyd didn't answer, just shook his head and inched nervously away from the tank whilst wringing out the front of his shirt, which had been soaked through.
"Wow. Am I really that drenched?" Cole wondered aloud, looking down at his clothing, which was sopping and still dripping heavily onto the floor. He turned around to look at Jay, who was speaking with Kai and Nya some feet behind him, also wringing out his now-wet clothing.
"Maybe you ought to change into something a little dryer. There is still work to be done before closing." Intruded Sensei Wu's voice, accompanied by a hand on Cole's shoulder.
Cole turned around and smiled a little at Wu, then sighed and shook his head.
"I dunno why I ever agreed to this... All our spare outfits are still in the back room with the cleaning supplies, right?" He said, pointing a thumb behind him, in the general direction of the cleaning closet.
"Yes." Wu answered. "I was not made to be unaware of this agreement, I assumed you would need an outfit and double checked that there were spares this morning." He explained. Cole nodded his head and turned. As he was walking away, he heard Wu add quietly, "Perhaps Lloyd would benefit from knowing he does indeed have other clothing to change into." Cole chuckled to himself and shivered, realizing just how cold he had begun to feel.
"Well, at least if I catch a cold later, I won't have to come in to work tomorrow…"
Ta-da! Not a bad way to reintroduce myself, I think. But we'll see. I think this one's a little weird, but when don't I? My opinion will change over time, I'm sure. I think it's kind of cute, actually! And I know Jay wasn't actually in this episode, but who of us is not a sucker for a bit of friendly banter between these two, amiright? I feel like I could have done more to tie a few loose ends here, but I guess that's kind of the point to these. They're not supposed to be super thorough, and even for being "the aftermath," they're much like the shorts themselves in that they are short and goofy and partly left up to the imagination of the reader. They're like… continuations to the shorts with a few suggestions to what may actually happen later on, such as the idea that Cole might catch a cold from being dunked and left to stand in his own sopping wet, cold clothing for too long.
Anyhow, I can't wait to hear what you guys think of it, and I really hope I remain motivated enough to work on the next one very soon. Thanks for reading, you guys!
-LizzyLucky