Chapter Twenty-Three: Fiiyaah69
Aaagh! This took way too long! I'm so sorry!
The past month has been insane for me. Not all bad, but just...crazy. Like, here are just a few examples:
- My cat shit all over her carrier as soon as we got on the plane (not her fault—my dumbass gave her wet food beforehand)
- My car needed a new transmission and as soon as I picked it up I noticed the wheel was misaligned and the rental company wouldn't rent to me because I'm under twenty-one (Too old to not drive, but too young to rent. When are they gonna make up their minds?)
- My stupid heart decided to make my life harder by falling in love with my freaking coworker and I have to overhear him talking about his girl problems.
- I learned that my father is a narcissist and our relationship is toxic and if he ever finds out I'm trans there's gonna be a remake of that scene from Episode 83 where Garmadon says "I have no son" and throws Lloyd through the walls.
- I told my mom I want to legally change my name (I want a gender-neutral name and I've always hated the name my dad gave me) and she's helping me pick a new one :)
- I'm obsessed with TikTok now (but just the Ninjago and LGBT communities—straight TikTok scares the shit out of me)
- And a lot of other crazy stuff.
I'm hoping things will get more chill real soon. But not with TikTok because I wanna be TikTok famous XD
I've been thinking a lot about where I want to go with my stories. I keep telling myself I have to finish Second Wind and I really want to, so I'm gonna keep trying, but it's not a huge priority. This story is a priority for me when it comes to fanfiction, and I just really really wanna write Greenflame (and Moss for some reason?) so I might start one of those. I feel like that has been such a big reason I've been having trouble writing—I always just want to write Greenflame, but I know a lot of people hate it, so I keep it out of stories like this one. But I need more of it in my life honestly, so I'm gonna do it for me. And finally, I'll write one-shots when I get inspired. I don't have a specific update schedule, but maybe I will when school starts. We'll see!
Have any of you ever taken the Myers-Briggs personality test? I flip-flop between judging (planning everything out to a tee) and prospecting (just going into something and making a plan as you go)—I usually make a detailed plan, but don't stick to it. According to the type I got when I took it last week (ENTP—I call B.S. as I am most definitely not an extrovert), I tend to come up with really great, creative ideas, but suck at actually planning and implementing them. This is exactly what I do with my stories, so that makes a ton of sense. Needless to say, I'm gonna take a break from making promises I can't keep. But I can promise you this: I will keep writing, even if updates are not as frequent as I would like them to be.
Thank you for your continued support. I love you all, and I hope you enjoy this long-overdue chapter :)
Lloyd stared out the window, taking absent-minded sips of his coffee. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he had become quite dependent on the stuff since the quarantine began. Before the lockdown, the green ninja hadn't had much free time in the mornings, but would always ask Cole or Kai for a cup when they made it—discreetly, of course, as they didn't want Jay overhearing and asking for some himself. Now that every day was spent entirely on the flying ship, he had all the time in the world to spend on little things like coffee. In fact, he had too much time. So much, in fact, that if he didn't have a calendar on his phone, he'd have no idea what day it was or how much time had passed.
"There had better not be alcohol in that."
Cole's voice snapped Lloyd out of his stupor. He turned around to see the master of earth pouring his own cup of coffee.
"Like you'd care," Lloyd teased. "You're the one who gave it to me in the first place."
Cole shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll own up to that." He walked over and stood next to the green ninja, taking a drink from his mug. He frowned, wrinkling his nose. "Vodka in coffee would probably taste nasty anyway."
"I'll let you know if it does." When Cole didn't respond, opting instead to give him a suspicious look, Lloyd continued. "I'm gonna try it when I'm twenty-one."
"Oh, yeah?" Cole said, raising an eyebrow. "I wouldn't put it past you. Hey, you're pretty close though, aren't you?"
The green ninja pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen, eyes widening in surprise when he saw the date. "Y-Yeah," he replied, visibly alarmed. "Wow. Shit, that's in, like, a month and a half!"
The master of earth chuckled. "I'm surprised you're not counting down the days!"
"I was. But then, with quarantine...damn, I can't even remember what day it is anymore."
Cole nodded in understanding. "Yeah, we've been in quarantine for over five months."
Lloyd spat out his coffee. "FIVE MONTHS?"
The noirette burst out laughing at the green ninja's reaction. "Yeah, almost half a year since the pandemic really took off. I can't believe it either."
The blond was silent for a few moments, staring out the window and watching the clouds once again. "I can hardly even remember what life was like before."
"Everything just did a complete one-eighty," Cole agreed. "I know things are starting to open up again, but I can't imagine what life's gonna be like trying to go back no normal." He chuckled. "What even is 'normal,' anyway?"
"Maybe this," the green ninja suggested, eyes still trained on the world outside.
Cole hit him playfully. "Don't say that! I refuse to believe that this is the new normal."
"Well, not being quarantined," Lloyd clarified. "More like everyone taking extra precautions. Y'know, social distancing and sanitizing and stuff."
"I suppose that's kind of a good thing," the black ninja conceded. "But First Spinjitzu Master, I hope this quarantine isn't the new normal."
"Me too. But it is 'normal' for the moment." Lloyd shook his head. "I don't like it though. As soon as Sensei lets me, I'm gonna try to get a job. Maybe work at a coffee shop or something. I just want to do something."
"Why does that not surprise me?" Cole laughed. "Just don't tell Sensei you're going to one of his competitors."
The blond gave a soft giggle in response. "Good point. But tell me, why would I work at a tea store anyway? Tea's gross. It's basically just weird-tasting water."
"Hey, it's not that bad! But coffee is better."
"True that!" Lloyd took another drink. "When it's made right, that is."
Cole elbowed him gently. "Look at you, turning into a little coffee snob!"
"Well, I just realized how much I like the stuff!" Lloyd said defensively. He sighed. "I never really had time to think about things like coffee before…"
The noirette nodded. "I guess that's one decent thing to come from quarantine."
"I still want it to be over."
"It will be," Cole reassured him.
Lloyd stared blankly at the clouds. "I hope you're right."
"Incoming!"
"Wha—" Kai's confused utterance was cut off as he felt an arm wrap around his waist and pull him to the ground. He threw his hands out in front of him to catch himself, rolling into a sitting position and glaring at the blue ninja lying on the floor next to him. "Jay! What the hell?"
The redhead burst into a fit of laughter, rolling over onto his back and clutching at his stomach.
Kai's frown deepened, and he kicked Jay's leg. "What was that for? Are you fucking high?"
Blue eyes fluttered open to meet angry brown ones. "I just wanted to see how you'd react," he explained innocently.
The red ninja blinked. "Are you off your meds?"
"No!" Jay spat, folding his arms. "Just bored."
"And you thought tackling me to the ground would be a good way to relieve that boredom?"
The master of lightning shrugged. "Well, it worked." He thought for a minute. "Oh, shit. I'm bored again."
"Dumbass," Kai muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. He stood up before leaning down and pulling Jay to his feet as well. "C'mon, let's find you something to do."
"Yay!" The redhead squealed in excitement.
Kai chuckled at his reaction. Thinking for a moment, he pulled his phone out and unlocked it before examining the apps on his home screen.
Jay peered over his shoulder, snickering as his gaze fell on one app in particular. "You have TikTok?" He teased, elbowing the brunet's arm playfully. "Weren't you the one who was talking about how cringey it is? Ha! I knew you'd cave eventually!"
"Shut up," Kai retorted, an embarrassed blush creeping across his cheeks.
"Why do you have so many notifications?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean!" Jay pointed to the app. "That red bubble there. It says you have four hundred and twenty alerts. Why do you have so many alerts for TikTok?"
The red ninja pulled his phone away. "I don't know," he lied.
"Give me your phone!" Jay swiped, but Kai yanked the device out of his reach. "Let me see it!"
"Hell no!"
Jay tilted his head, giving Kai a look of contempt. "Oh, what? Worried I'm gonna find something embarrassing? I won't look at your search history, I promise."
While the master of fire was distracted by his glaring at the blue ninja, Jay grabbed the phone and darted away, pulling up the app immediately. Kai yelped in protest but, fast as lightning, Jay was across the room, using the same tactics he had exploited when reading Lloyd's fanfiction.
"Your username is 'fiiiyaah69'? Why am I not surprised?" Jay's blue eyes widened as he inspected Kai's profile page. "Woah! You have thirty thousand followers? Dude, that's incredible!"
Kai's face went as red as his t-shirt. "Thanks," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "Just please don't watch my videos…"
The redhead's dropped jaw was enough to hint to Kai that he had spoken too late. Kai face-palmed as he heard the sound of his most recent video. First Spinjitzu Master, why did it have to be a thirst trap?
Jay covered his mouth as he watched the video, trying to hide his amused laughter from his friend. "Kai…" he breathed. "This is pure gold!"
The brunet snatched his phone back. "Don't tell anyone."
"I won't," Jay promised. "It'll be our little secret."
I have no doubt in my mind that Kai would make thirst traps on TikTok. And if the Lloyd in this story finds them...well, let's just say he's gonna feel like I do when I stalk my crush's Instagram (or, like, stand next to him at work)
Also, in case y'all didn't know, there is in fact a Ninjago community on TikTok, and it's great! And yes, I'm kinda part of it.
Have a great rest of your week! Also, please pray/send good vibes/etc for my car—I named him Zane because he's white and he breaks a lot XD