Hello, readers! I hope each of you are well.
This story is going to be a lot of fun for me; it is a series of one-shots that show some of the facets of Southern life that the ninja get to experience when they are forced to live in Alabama the Beautiful while gathering what they need to defeat a great evil. Each one will focus on a specific character's experience of Southern life.
These stories take place in the same canon as my series, War for Creation Chronicles, but I don't think it will be necessary to read those stories to enjoy these one-shots. That being said, there may be spoilers/confusion if you haven't read those, so it might be worth checking them out first.
Things from my series to remember for these stories:
1. All my writing takes place after the Possession season of the television show, so no content past that point in the show happened. I'm writing an alternate storyline in my series.
2. Morro has turned from his old ways and joined the ninja after escaping the Cursed Realm, which still exists. Garmadon also escaped with Morro's help.
3. Lloyd has returned to his status as Golden Ninja and Ultimate Spinjitzu Master, while it has been revealed that James (a new character) is the true Green Ninja.
4. Zee (new character, gray ninja, wind), Casey (new character, purple ninja, water), Cole, Kai, Darrell (new character, white ninja, ice), Jay, Lloyd, and James are the "Guardians" destined to defeat the Queen of Darkness. They, Morro, Nya, Garmadon, Misako, and Zane have come to Earth to prepare for the coming fight against the darkness while Sensei Wu has stayed behind at their house in Ninjago.
5. Everyone is staying at James's house in Billingsley, a tiny country community in Autauga County in central Alabama.
Now that those things are out of the way, I hope to, through the ninja and company, give y'all an insight into life in my homeland, Alabama the Beautiful! Please enjoy!
Heroes in the South
1. Jay, the grease monkey.
Takes place no specific time, but after Chapter 10 of THE GUARDIANS Part One: The Eight.
Ever since he first saw her on that hot summer's day, Jay knew she was a whole different kind of beautiful. That pearly complexion, that sultry shape, and the way she purred when the Green Ninja got behind the wheel.
James called his truck "Old Faithful," and she was without a doubt the most beautiful piece of machinery Jay had ever seen. It was intoxicating to hear her voice; he loved the sound of that V8 engine so much that it bordered on being unfaithful to his sweetheart, Nya.
It was also unbearable to see the gleaming white beauty that was Old Faithful every day without really ever getting to know her. Sure, he had ridden in the truck a few times, including when James shuttled him and Nya to their first date to the movie theater, but Jay desired to take things to the next level. But, of course, Old Faithful was called that for a reason. She and the Green Ninja had put on many country miles together, and he was very protective of her. It was what Jay imaged would happen when he felt the time was right to marry Nya: he would need her big brother's blessing (and her parents', if they were anywhere to be found). If Jay wanted to go to the next level with that beautiful machine, he would have to go through her charge…
"So let me get this straight…"
It was even more intimidating that Jay had imagined. He had intended to be eloquent in his request, even coming up with a very clever excuse to be alone with Old Faithful for a while, but he ended up more or less blurting it out at James in the kitchen instead. The Green Ninja now pondered Jay's very heavy request.
"You want to take my truck to the new car wash in Clanton, because 'we haven't spent enough time together?'"
"Well, yeah," Jay hesitated. "I thought it would be a good bonding opportunity for us."
"I see… you do realize that we live together, right?"
Jay realized that 'we' was not specific enough for this subject.
"OH! No, I didn't mean me and you. I meant me and… her."
The last word left Jay's throat in a dreamy tone as he looked out the window that overlooked where Old Faithful was parked.
"Okay," James said after a moment of realization. "I see. Well, normally I would say no. But, I know you of all people know how to take care of machinery, and she does need a good cleaning…"
After a few agonizing moments for Jay, the Green Ninja reached past Jay for the set of keys (why did he have so many keys?!) hanging beside one of the cabinets and smiled at the Blue Guardian.
"Not a scratch," he said, tossing the keys to Jay, who was surprised at the weight of the keys.
"Thanks! But, uh… why do you have so many keys on here?"
"Well, there's the truck keys, the keys to the house and the outside gate, my church keys, and the keys to the pipe organ at the other church down the road where I work," James explained, pointing to each key as he described them.
"On second thought," James said, causing Jay's stomach to drop in fear. "Here, let me just take off the truck keys for you so you don't have to worry about the rest."
Jay was relieved that James had not changed his mind about letting him drive Old Faithful. Indeed, the Green Ninja had so many keys that they were on four key rings held together by a large one and attached to an Alabama Crimson Tide-themed lanyard. James took off the ring with the truck ignition key, lock/unlock remote, and tailgate bed cover key (yes, Old Faithful had a bed cover) and gave that ring to Jay, who gleefully took it. He thanked James again and all but skipped out of the house.
"Lord have mercy," James declared, beginning to crack up when he heard the truck crank up followed by Jay cheering triumphantly.
When James heard Sweet Home Alabama playing from Old Faithful's speakers, he knew Jay would be gone far longer than the time it would take to get a car wash.
"Well, as long as it's got a full tank when he gets back, I ain't flyin' off the handle."
I hope that y'all enjoyed this chapter; I had a lot of fun writing it!
We love our pickup trucks here in the South, and it looks like Jay's love of machinery went to an all-new level being around those Southern folks.
I have several little stories planned for this, a few of which I know are going to be a blast, but if y'all have a specific request for something about Southern life you'd like to see someone react to, I'd be happy to take the request under consideration. Just leave it in the comments or send a PM! Also, feel free to let me know if I use a Southern slang that doesn't make sense... There will be a whole segment on Southern slang in here at some point, which I hope will be very entertaining.
If all goes according to current plans, the next segment will be focused on Cole being all about that lovely Southern cuisine.
God Bless y'all, hope to see each of you in the comments!