boosmidnighthour

[boosmidnighthour]

Chapter 2 of Forgotten is up! It'll be a while before chapter 3, so have fun!

AO3 FFN

[boosmidnighthour]

Who's ready for another take on how Cole met the Finders? Here's chapter one, with it's terrible action scenes.

Title: Forgotten Rating: Teen Pairing: Cole/Geo (eventually)

AO3 FFN

[boosmidnighthour]

Hey hope youre doing okay ❗️i just wanted to ask about ü your plasma fics theyre one of my favorites 😭 and i wanted to reread it but its down i was wondering if youre gonna upload it again or continue and again i hope nothing is wrong and youre doing okay i really love the way u write them 😭🤍🤍

Hello! I am doing moderately okay. Personal stuff that I'm not going to get into, but just know I'm alright.

I took the fics down because I wasn't happy with them, and because I kept looking back on it and feeling... weird about even making them in the first place. I kept looking back on them and I didn't feel right for writing them or having them in my works. I can't really say why; I'm not entirely sure.

This is NOT because it was Plasma. While I don't enjoy it as much as my other ships (Glacier and Lostglacier are killing me here), they just don't inspire me as much. I may write more Plasma in the future, though. Maybe not a dedicated fic, but they'll probably be in the background of different fics. (I have ideas for them, but there's just no drive to write for them right now.)

What I do know is that the second plasma-shot - Commitment - was frustrating me to no end. I couldn't figure out how I wanted them to get together, and I had gotten myself stuck by saying they would "talk about it later," when they should've been talking about it at that moment (kind of - I know they had training, but they would have been able to take a break from that to focus on talking). Sure, I could've edited the first chapter to help my case and continue on, but I still didn't know how to word it. I'm not used to writing Kai or Jay, and Kai should've been the one to start that converstion.

I don't know. I was thinking too hard about it, and the negative feelings towards the fics were not helping, so I decided to scrap it entirely.

I'm sorry for deleting them. I usually wouldn't, but my personal life has also been dragging me down, so I felt better being able to just... delete a smaller problem. I hope I can write another story that you enjoy in the future.

Also, in case my tone isn't clear, I am not upset at this ask. I just wanted to answer as clearly as possible. I hope I didn't come off as rude or anything.

[boosmidnighthour]

As promised, here's the other Christmas one-shot I had been working on in it's entirety before I kinda just... didn't want to do it anymore. Happy New Year, by the way! Not really excited for 2025, but I hope writing will be something I can cope through it with.

Working Title: Merry Rating: General Audience Pairing: None (at least not one that I had come up with)

Divider by firefly-graphics

“You've never celebrated Christmas?!”

Zane winced at the sudden exclamation from Jay, who was still staring at him with his jaw dropped. He suddenly wished he had never said anything, all of his fellow ninja - including Wu and Lloyd - now looking at him. He was already strange enough; he didn't think that not having celebrated a holiday would make him that much stranger.

“Wh-What- What about Hanukkah? Kwanzaa?” Jay listed, looking near desperate.

“Uh… no?”

The lightning ninja stormed over and gripped his shoulders, a dark look in his mismatched eyes. “What the hell is wrong with your parents-”

“Dude, stop,” Cole finally stepped in, separating the two. “You're freaking him out.”

“Well… it is weird,” Kai admitted, Zane's heart sinking at the honesty. “Like, what kind of family doesn't celebrate the holidays? Even Nya and I managed every year, and we were flat broke!”

The ice ninja tapped his fingers awkwardly as the three argued for his sake, desperately trying to remember if maybe he had celebrated one of those holidays. It bugged him that he didn't know. Why couldn't he remember anything before a few months ago? He had an excellent memory!

After a few minutes, Jay finally sighed. “Okay, okay.” He looked over at the platinum blonde, a faint frown still on his face. “We're gonna make this the best first Christmas we can for you,” he started. “But first, let's watch a few Christmas movies; it'll getcha in the spirit of things!” A smile rose to his face, encouraging Zane's lips to mirror it.

Jay had quite the infectious smile, really.

So, with little Lloyd in tow, they headed to the living space. Cole and Kai went to grab  more seating, while Jay went off to grab some blankets and pillows, leaving Zane with Lloyd and… oh, Wu went off somewhere. It was just Zane and Lloyd.

The air felt stuffy between the two. It wasn't like they were the closest. Really, Zane should be more used to being the odd one out. But Lloyd made an effort to break the ice.

“Are you telling the truth?” he asked, eyeing the much taller student suspiciously.

“... Why would I lie about such a trivial subject?”

“Pity.” Lloyd looked him up and down for a moment before looking away. “But I guess your childhood could have sucked.”

Zane frowned at that, and didn't say much else, allowing the green ninja to suck at his candy cane.

Cole and Kai had managed to find a couple of beanbags, one of which Lloyd immediately jumped into. Nya would most likely take the other whenever she got back from her shopping trip. The folded chairs they had also grabbed were placed against the wall for now.

Jay was busy carefully taking his large pile of soft things down the hall, tapping his foot around in search of any tripping hazards. Zane took some from the pile, enough for the blue clad ninja to be able to see. With a quick thanks, he led the other over to the couch and plopped them down. Then he got busy working on making the seating arrangements more comfortable.

Cole gestured for Zane to follow him, and he was led to the kitchen. “Usually, we would have had more festive snacks to eat from, but this was kind of short notice,” he admitted sheepishly. He opened up a cabinet and pulled out a few popcorn packets. “Can you grab the M&M's? Ooh, and maybe a few candy canes, too?”

The ice ninja did as he was told, returning to his side with all of the requested candies when the microwave beeped. The earth ninja poured the first bag of popcorn into a bowl, then grabbed a handful of the M&M's, mixing it into the snack food. The candy cane he grabbed was crushed and sprinkled in, too.

“Won't the candy cane be a choking hazard?” Zane worried, though was quite pleased with the additions.

“Nah, it'll be fine.” That did little to soothe him. “Help me make a few more bowls, and we'll join the others.”

By the time they had finished and walked back to the living space, balancing a few bowls on their arms, Jay had finished comfy-ifying the couch, and Kai and Lloyd had picked out a few movies.

“What, needed supervision while you were in the kitchen?” Jay teased Cole, snickering at the embarrassment shown on his face.

“Can you seriously stop? I'm plenty capable of cooking on my own! I just wanted to show Zane a good snack.”

“Uh-huh…”

The two bickered while Zane set his bowls down on the coffee table that had been pushed in for just this occasion. Looking around, it was starting to feel a little home-y in here… it made him smile a little. It made him excited to see more of this holiday and its traditions.

As he was admiring the once shabby living space, Nya came in, arms full of paper bags. She grunted a bit with the effort of carrying them, but refused to put them down until she got to a table set aside for mostly decoration. She breathed out a sigh of relief as soon as she was done.

Though it was rather cold outside, she wasn't nearly as bundled up as Kai usually was. Her coat was unzipped, her scarf laying across her shoulders and down her torso instead of wrapped around her neck, and her hat was stuffed inside of one of her pockets. 

“Ooh, what didja get?” Kai started toward her until the end of a broomstick was jabbed towards his throat.

“Christmas presents,” Nya answered, more nonchalantly than her actions. “No peeking.” She proceeded to swing the broom at all of them. “That includes all of you.”

“Can I still help you?” Zane asked. “You looked to have been struggling with them, and there are many.”

She looked at all of the bags she had dropped on the table and she sighed. “Fine…”

“Ooh, good one, Zane!” Jay whispered with a gleeful smile. “You gotta tell us if you see anything good.”

That left him rather confused. Did Jay think he was trying to trick Nya? Or ignore her warning? He shook his head a little, incredulous, before making his way over to the ravenette and taking about half of the bags. He may not be as strong as Cole or even Nya, but he did know how to properly balance everything.

Zane followed Nya to her room, pushing her door open for her and allowing her to enter. Although the ninja all slept in the same quarters, Nya was the only one who had been allowed her own room. Wu had thought it necessary, not wanting to cause any trouble. Plus, he was set in his ways; unless married, men and women stayed in separate quarters.

“Where would you like me to set the bags?”

“Just in that corner is fine.” Nya took her scarf and coat off before she rustled around in the bags she had set down, pulling out a pair of plush socks. She noticed Zane's curious glance and chuckled. “They’re for Lloyd,” she explained, going through the bag again to bring out a bag of candy. “He's lucky he's getting anything, with how rude he's been all year. But I can't let the kid of a sucky Christmas, so I'm gonna stuff some candy into them for him to find.”

The ice student smiled. “That is incredibly thoughtful, Nya,” he complimented. “... Are presents a large part of this tradition?”

Nya's brow shot up in surprise, whipping her head over to look at Zane. Then she calmed down. “Right; Kai texted me. It's your first Christmas,” she breathed, weakly grinning. “Yeah- well, it's… It's not really what Christmas is supposed to be about, but… it makes the holiday more merry. The best gifts are the ones that tell you that people actually respect you or pay attention to you and your interests.”

He nodded, brow furrowing a little. The sense of panic he was beginning to feel… he hadn't gotten anyone anything yet, and it seemed like this holiday was very big. Stores would most certainly be busy, and might not have anything worthy of getting his friends. What if he wasn't able to get them anything? What if he didn't get them something that spoke to them? What if-

His train of thought was interrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Calm down,” Nya spoke, firm. “Don't worry about those gifts. You've still got a few weeks, and even if you don't get anyone anything, I'm sure everyone will understand. I mean, this is your first Christmas! You don't have to prepare gifts until you have a better grasp on this whole thing-”

“But I must!” Zane interrupted suddenly. “It would be rude not to. Plus, all of my friends mean a lot to me; I mustn't let them down.”

Nya stared at him for a long moment, before shrugging. “Alright… but don't get too up in your head about it, okay?”

“I won't.”

“Good. Now, let's go see if that movie is ready. I need a break.”

Zane led the way out, now more determined to understand Christmas than ever. It would be a good way of letting his friends know he understood. He was ready for this new challenge.

When the two entered the living room, everyone had settled down. Wu was say on a folding chair behind the couch, Jay and Cole were sitting on the couch, and Lloyd was still on the beanbag he had claimed earlier. Nya made her way over to the other beanbag, plopping down with a heavy sigh.

“Ready, Z?” Kai asked from beside him, holding a DVD case as he stared at the ice student expectantly. When he received a nod, he smirked and popped the DVD into the player.

Zane turned to the couch to see it was already packed - Kai having dove into the last available spot - and decided to sit on the floor in front of the couch.

So, obviously, this takes place before Zane finds out that he's a robot. We would've skipped over that at some point, after Zane understands what he likes about Christmas. Then a massive time skip to Dragons Rising, where he would help Geo, Bonzle, Fritz, and Spitz with their own Christmas. While they would have celebrated their own Christmas in the Land of Lost Things, or maybe even a whole other holiday (I'm sorry, this is the only holiday I have ever celebrated during December, and I'm not well-versed in the others), Zane wants to show them how special it can really be.

Zane's favorite thing about the holidays was just the fact that he got to be with his friends, and it's usually somewhat peaceful the day of the holiday. It's cheesy, but I truly don't think he would be all that into getting gifts. He enjoys giving them, yeah, but that's just not the best part about the holidays for him.

Instead, I wrote a Hallmark-esque Christmas one-shot. Because I have no self control lmao Maybe next year.

[boosmidnighthour]

Merry Christmas! I'm late... Happy New Year's Eve! Have a Christmas one-shot!

Title: White Christmas Rating: General Audience Pairings: Cole/Zane/Geo, Cole/Geo, Cole/Zane, Cole/Geo, Zane and Geo

AO3 FFN

Almost forgot: there are minor spoilers for season 2 part 2 of Dragons Rising, mostly alluding to the finale.

Sneak peak underneath!

Divider by firefly-graphics

Zane considered himself a kind person.

Rarely did he find himself upset or angry. A little stubborn and impatient, sure, but that was just human. If there was a mess someone else “forgot” to pick up, he would wordlessly clean it up for them. If someone backhandedly complimented him, or accidentally insulted him, he wouldn't say anything. Hell- there was even less of a chance that he'd actually spit back if someone was openly rude to him. He was no doormat, just quiet.

So - at first - he didn't understand why he felt the way he did whenever Cole and Geo were together. Especially if they were being overly affectionate with one another.

Cole and Geo gazing at one another with near heart eyes? A burning sensation in his chest. Cole and Geo holding hands? His metaphorical heart would drop into his metaphorical stomach. Cole and Geo kissing? He felt nauseous.

Of course, he had figured out he had had romantic feelings for Cole a long time ago. Who wouldn’t? He was strong, ambitious - if a little lazy at times, caring - especially towards children, sweet… He always seemed to understand how Zane was feeling and what to say to attempt making him feel better. 

But he had put those feelings to bed years ago, sometime around when everyone thought he liked Vania. He hadn't felt any of these feelings when he thought they were together. Nothing burned or ached when he had seen them being somewhat affectionate.

So, yeah… he had realized his feelings for Cole had maybe not been as put to rest as he thought they had… If anything, they seemed to be far stronger now. Even if he had been sleeping for five years, it still had felt like so long since he had seen Cole, and the immense relief and happiness he had felt when he got back was… well, there was no word strong enough to describe it.

Zane didn't know why he felt anything less than happy for him when he told him about Geo, about how much he… loved Geo.

Geo was nice. He was quiet at first, but had started to become as rambunctious as Cole. He was stubborn, based on how hard he tended to fight for his and Cole's family, being beside his partner every step of the way. He was supportive in that aspect, too. He clearly cared about Cole and his well-being, and had a good read on him. He and Cole had a shared interest in art, his interest being sculpting and land art while Cole focused on drawing and doodling. The two also seemed to share being physically affectionate with the ones they loved.

It was all a little heartbreaking, to know that the one he liked would never feel the same. He had silently shed tears a few times over the week he was told, during the night when no one would find out. But he should be over it by now. He rarely lingered on feelings for long, finding that it made working diligently far more difficult.

But the feelings just wouldn't leave.

Why should he feel jealous? He hadn't allowed Cole to know about these feelings, too scared to find out what would happen after, no matter how ridiculous every conclusion he came to felt. He should feel happy that Cole had found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with- he was one of his best friends!

The inner turmoil Zane felt was beginning to make his metaphorical skin itch. He felt close to bursting, and not in a good way. He had to take more breaks than he normally would have, and people were starting to notice, namely Nya. He didn't need to pile his problems onto hers; the poor woman was still trying to figure out how to get Jay back. And Zane was too focused on his own emotions to help her come up with anything.

How selfish could he be?

Zane needed to get over this. He had to help his friends and students with their problems and forget about his own. He hated how focused he was on himself. Why was this so hard for him to get over?

Yep, that's just the entire first section. Whoa, Vania mention for no reason lmao

I'll be real, I kinda rushed this one, so anything I could've done better was just forgotten, so sorry if it disappoints you. But I do have a WIP I'll be sharing soon of a different Christmas one-shot I was gonna do but got bored of. Stay tuned!

[boosmidnighthour]

Happy 1 year on Tumblr to me! I had much bigger plans when I started this account, but, uh... clearly those aren't going through. At least not right now. I've only published 8 fics, 1 of which is unfinished lol

Also, happy over a year anniversary to this fic that I'm only - maybe - about halfway done with.

I have nothing to show for the time I've been gone, so, uh... bye for now!

[boosmidnighthour]

As I think more about the Land of Lost Things, I start to wonder how the weather works there. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I can't help it I guess.

The Land of Lost Things is a desolate waste land. The massive amounts of fog are enough to confuse those within of what time it may be, and they can only estimate based on the vague brightness of the sky beyond. No one should be able to survive here, but somehow, they manage.

Does the weather work in reverse to the outside world? Does it work in a way where, if the outside world is mid-summer, they start getting the first snow, because a lot of people end up looking back on winter with rose-tinted glasses?

Or is it, in a way, a lack of weather? Maybe they get differing wind strengths. Or maybe just one constant wind sweep. Maybe they get a lot of rain. Maybe the temperature doesn't change, not being too hot nor too cold.

In a way, one seems more merciful, able to help one keep their sanity and hope.

I've seen a few fics of Cole's first days in the Land of Lost Things, and I eventually want to make a fic of my own, which leads me to wonder how things that would work in other realms would work here. Pointlessly? Yeah, probably. But it keeps my mind busy.

[boosmidnighthour]

Um... double post in September?? No way! A little snippet from my work, but you can just read the entire thing on AO3 and FFN. This was just an excuse to write more emotional Zane, and to try and write some of the Dragons Rising characters.

Title: His Rating: General Audiences Pairing: None

AO3 FFN

He hadn't even been gone that long.

Zane stared at the utterly destroyed kitchen, too shocked to say or do anything. He watched as Riyu - covered in flour - pranced around on the flour-covered floor. The sink was filled to the brim with dishes, the water still running and spilling all over said floor, making a disgusting muck of some sort that would surely be slippery. Arin and Sora chased after the baby dragon, trying to stop him from making any bigger of a mess, Arin knocking over a bowl of unmixed ingredients onto the counter.

Broken eggs, spilled milk, scattered pans, unfinished pie crust, open and spilled over cans of pie filling, sticky pie filling splattered everywhere… A feeling deep inside began to boil, one he rarely felt to such a degree. He gripped tightly onto the bags of groceries as his face started to morph into one of horrific rage. He could feel as it flowed through to his hands, making them clench and shake.

[boosmidnighthour]

Uh... nickname headcanon time? I guess?

For a while, I needed to have Ninjago nicknames ready in my brain whenever I wrote. Then I would have to remember the ones the fandoms made up. Then I decided "fuck it; just make a list so that it's ready to go."

So, here's random list that I have slowly gathered up. As you can see, I list the character, and then I'll put the nicknames that they'll call the others below that. Some nicknames I am well aware exist, but don't like (example: "Pebble" for Cole) or my creative juices die for characters I rarely write about (literally anybody that's not the OG 4), so this is not a comprehensive list of every nickname within the fandom. Just ones that I like and would like to use at some point.

If you have any other ideas, comment below. Have fun!

Divider created by drawloverlala!

Cole

Zane: Frost/Frosty, Frosted Flakes, Snowflake, Tin Can (rarely), Pinky, Snake Jaguar/Jaguar (occasionally), Frostbite, Ice Cube

Jay: Zaptrap, Motormouth, Zip/Zipper, Loud Mouth, Jaybird, Bluejay, Lightning Bug, Sparky, Bluebell (bruise), Chatterbox, Fruit Loops (paired with Kai), Jitterbug

Kai: Flicker (lava), Hot Head, Emerald (lava), Lover Boy, Firefly (lava), Sunshine (lava), Fireball, Fruit Loops (paired with Jay), Firework, Hair Gel

Zane

Not one to give nicknames unless in a relationship with them or as an inside joke.

Cole: Rocky (occasionally, Rocky Dangerbuff), Honey (glacier), Angel (glacier)

Pixal: Detective (occasionally)

Jay

Sometimes goes into a southern dialect thanks to his upbringing. (Ex: dearie, hun, etc.) (Zane may eventually start picking up on it himself. Nicknames may also be game references.

Cole: Rocky, Earthbound, Cake Pop (bruise)/Cake Pops (bruise, with child), Boulderbrain

Zane: Bucket o' Bolts (rarely), Mr. Mint (Candy Land), Vanilla Ice (rarely), Ice Bucket, McFlurry, Frostbite (techno), Icee, Gumdrop, Jack Frost

Kai: Air Head, Firefly (plasma), Fireball, Firestorm, Star/Shooting Star (plasma), Hot Shot, Sunshine

Nya: Stardew (jaya)

Lloyd: Goldilocks

Kai

Cole: Rocky, Big Guy/Big Lug/Big Boy, Sweetheart (lava), Fruit Basket, Magma, Boulder/Boulders, Beefcake, CoCo (lava), Dirt Clod

Zane: Sweetheart (opposite), Nitro (nitroglycerin), Z, Bird Brain

Jay: Lightning Bug (plasma), Baby/Babe (plasma), Glow Bug, Loud Mouth/Blabbermouth/Motormouth, Sparky, Sparkplug, Lover Boy, Thundercloud (plasma), JayJay, Bird Brain

Nya: Blastoise, Lapras

Nya

Pokemon nerd. Is slowly getting Kai in on it.

Zane: Glaceon

Jay: Jolteon, Thunderbolt

Kai: Blaziken, Flareon, Charizard, Torchic

Lloyd: Leafeon

Skylor

Nya: Dewdrop (amberphoenix)

How is it that I came up with more ideas for Nya and Skylor than Lloyd? I mention them even less than I do him. I might eventually add to this, but only if I get significantly more ideas.

I'm just gonna tag all the ships because they're mentioned. I don't even like a few them. Sorry!

[boosmidnighthour]

Hii! Just wanted to say that I love your plasma fanfic in Ao3 and was wondering if you were gonna continue it? Its ok if not! I’m just asking because you said a while back in the comments that you were writing the continuation but you were struggling. So now I’m wondering if your not gonna work on it anymore or if still planning on doing it!

I am still working on it. I kinda had to stop looking at it for a while because I was still stuck on how I wanted to continue it. I decided that this sequel will have either 2 or 3 parts, depending on what I want to do with it.

Part 1 has to do with Kai avoiding Jay (kinda) with like a bunch of random shit going on, because that's the type of fanfic author I am, lol. Very cliche. That's what I actually have done for the most part. Part 2 will be them actually talking about their relationship, what they want from it, and maybe some compromises. Of course, with some stupid shit going on in the middle, because I don't like things getting too too serious all the time. I need some joking and banter going on, too. I've started it, but that's what I'm stuck on currently. This stuff would be rated M for Mature, like Closeted was, even if I feel like I should update the rating to E (I might do that soon, tbh).

The potential part 3 that I might write will probably be readable separately, and would not be suitable for underage audiences to read. Rated E for Explicit.

I've been going through a creative funk in general, though, so I've been wanting to finish one of the many WIPs I have, but I just can't bring myself to work on anything. I'll try to work on this sequel again, soon, and maybe post a snippet from it at some point, but it'll probably be a while.

Thank you for showing interest! I'm glad people are enjoying my writing. I hope I continue to write well enough. Have a good one!

[boosmidnighthour]

Have another tiny bit of this fic. (I won't be putting it out onto AO3 or FFN until I've completely finished it, and I want to put at least 10 chapters into it. I haven't even finished chapter 4 yet.)

Fandom: Ninjago Main Pairing: Glaciershipping

Working Title: Ninjago Hotel

Divider made by drawloverlala

“So, let me get this straight,” Kai cut in, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We’re going to check out some sketchy hotel on the edge of the city… for no reason other than the fact that people are complaining about the staff.”

“Well… I guess that about sums it up, yeah,” Lloyd mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. “I mean, there have been way too many complaints from a place that opened up only a month or so ago. It seems out of the ordinary.”

“This entire city is out of the ordinary!”

“You have to admit that it’s suspicious-”

“Lloyd, if we went chasing after every complaint made by the citizens of this city, we would never catch a break,” Jay interrupted. He stood beside Kai, crossing his arms with an exasperated expression. “If there are so many complaints, then this is a job for the police, not for the ninja. We take out the extraterrestrial, the outright dangerous, not some building with a bad rep.”

“Yeah, it kinda just looks like you’re looking for trouble,” Cole hummed, leaning against the wall. “I know we haven’t had a mission in a while, but to go looking for trouble is a good way to lose our reputation as heroes. We’d look desperate and bored.”

“But it’s not just that,” Lloyd argued, looking a little embarrassed now as his team chastised him. “There’s just something wrong… I don’t know what yet, but my gut is telling me that there's something not right with this place…”

“That doesn’t-”

“Cole,” Zane jumped in, a gentle hand on his shoulder that made the other jump a little, but shut his mouth. Then he looked at the rest of his team, bringing his hands back together. “If the people are complaining about some place this much, and with such ferocity, then I believe we should step in.” He could tell that they wanted to argue, so he raised his brow a little before he continued. “We don’t have to step in as the ninja. It doesn’t have to be a full mission. All we have to do is go there and quietly investigate.”

“But what if something more important happens?” Kai huffed, not seeming convinced.

“Then we can leave. It’s not as if they’d be keeping us hostage.” He held back an amused laugh.

“Who knows? It could be like some sort of vacation,” Cole said more thoughtfully, scratching at his chin. Zane wasn’t entirely sure what made his opinion change so quickly, but it certainly made things easier, seeing as Jay and Kai looked a little more interested in the idea.

Jay sighed. “I still don’t know. If it really is that bad, I think it would probably be the best option to get the police involved…”

“They will be. We can tell the chief about the situation and have him as backup if need be,” Zane assured with a smile. “It would certainly be a good idea to tell him.”

Jay and Kai began to talk amongst themselves, seeming to be weighing the pros and cons. Lloyd looked as if he hadn’t wanted this conversation to go this way, but he would take it, only placing his hands on his hips and shaking his head. Zane did feel a little bad, but he, too, didn’t really think this would be all that serious. He had to agree with Cole; it had felt as if Lloyd had been looking for trouble. His focus was broken when Kai heavily sighed in defeat, arms hanging heavily by his sides. “Fine. What’s the plan?”

This is the beginning of chapter 1, which I happen to like, so it won't be changing much, if at all.

[boosmidnighthour]

Since I'm working on multiple fics at the same time, I have been having trouble deciding which thing would be better. So... poll time!

Fandom: Ninjago Main Pairing: Glaciershipping

Working Title: Ninjago Hotel (how original lol)

⚠️ For context, please read after the 'Keep Reading' line!

Divider made by drawloverlala

Zane and Jay

“Ugh- when did your files get so messy?” Jay grumbled, sitting in front of Zane's laptop.

Zane was hooked up to the laptop from nearly all ports. He honestly disliked having so many cords on him; it was a little overwhelming and it made him feel self conscious. Plus, if he was left in an open area, the cords were often made a tripping hazard, which would sometimes cause minor injuries and would make them have to restart the process when the cord was inevitably pulled out of one of his ports.

He scratched a little at one of his hands. “I haven't exactly had the time to go through and organize them,” he huffed. “It seems like a waste of time as it is; they always end up getting mucked about.”

The lightning master tapped away at the laptop as he deleted some useless files. “Definitely makes this easier… Oh, forget it. I can take care of this part later. Let's see why your scanner's being blocked.”

“Isn't that why we're here-”

“Hush you.”

The two sat in silence as Jay got to work. Zane wished he had a little more company here… Cole always made for such lovely company. It always felt like the time would go faster as he laughed at his stories or when he would draw silly doodles on some piece of scrap paper that was around. He would always ignore the wires, always look in his eyes when they talked, always had a little smile present. He always knew how to distract him, make him feel better about his situation.

He sighed quietly as the lightning master worked to figure out the problem.

Unfortunately, Jay was a little more perceptive during these times.

“Did I delete something I shouldn't have?” Jay worried, going back to the deleted files and rereading their file names just to be sure.

“No, no; nothing seems out of place,” Zane assured.

“... If you're feeling antsy about not continuing the mission, Kai and Cole have things under control. You usually have a little more faith in us.” Despite the teasing tone, the master of ice worried that he had genuinely offended the other.

“It is not that, either, I assure you.”

“Then, what's up? I can tell something's bothering you.”

He didn't really know what it was, though, did he? He felt it on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't manage to figure out how to word it. Was he just bored? He hated the idea of slowing down this already agonizingly slow process just because he needed some entertainment. So, since he didn't truly know, he just shrugged and pursed his lips.

Jay hummed, clearly unsatisfied with the answer. But he just turned back to the laptop and started looking through the files more deliberately. Zane wondered if he was still thinking about him, if he could multitask reading such boring spams of numbers and think of other things at the same time. He was always full of surprises, and with how he made these processes look - as if they were completely second nature to the mechanic - he wouldn't be surprised if he could.

“... So… I've noticed you've been acting differently towards Cole,” he brought up out of nowhere. Zane perked at that, and a sense of panic rose up in his chest… Why?

“What do you mean by that, exactly?”

Jay hummed as he continued to look through the files, opening some of them up to read the code to see if they were what he was looking for before closing them again. “You guys seem… a lot closer now. Like… closer than him and I are,” he continued, vague and pushing at Zane's nerves.

He tapped his fingers together. “... If you think I am trying to disrupt your friendship with him, I can assure you that I'm not-”

“No- that's not what I meant… Although, if you were trying to do that, I think my video game skills would come in handy. Especially since there's a video game coming out and Cole's pretty excited for it. You're not exactly a gamer.”

Zane laughed at that. Sometimes, his and Cole's friendship was a thing to behold. “Well, then, what did you mean?” he asked, a smile present in his voice.

“Okay… This is gonna sound a little crazy, but after thinking about it, it makes sense. And if I'm right, then I really need to talk to Cole about keeping things from his best friend-”

“Get on with it.”

“I think you guys like each other. Like… romantically.”

Zane felt utterly shocked at how blatantly Jay had said it, his jaw falling slack. His expression must have been weird, because the lightning master rushed to explain himself.

“Maybe I'm wrong. But, like, you guys share these glances, and… and spend a lot of spare time together, and Cole fuckin’... offered some cake to you one time, and he looked almost sad when you declined. Then, you were looking at him all longingly the other day when he went to help those parents - yes, I saw that - ‘n’ sometimes ya look at him with heart eyes - not literally - and you're always so protective o’ each other. Like- like when Cole - Cole - kept you from fallin’ in the elevator at the hotel, or- ‘n'- and-”

“Jay, breathe,” Zane reminded him as Jay continued to try and rattle off various things he had managed to notice. He could tell there were more that he was remembering, but he needed to stop before the nindroid's fans kicked into overdrive and caused him to pass out. He felt like he was hot to the touch, and it had only been maybe a minute. He felt all frazzled as he watched the other catch his breath. “I… I don't understand. Isn't that just what friends do for each other?”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Only, like… half of those things could also be done platonically. But you look at him differently than how you look at anyone else,” he explained, talking more slowly.

“But… I don't…” Was it a romantic feeling? He hadn't exactly felt it before, and it wasn't like he read romance novels in any context. He read bird encyclopedias, for the first master's sake! Sure, Cole made him feel… differently than anyone else. A good different. A wonderful different. But… what if it wasn't romance he was feeling? What if it was just a really nice platonic feeling? How long had Cole made him feel like this? What if the feeling went away?

He sighed heavily and covered his face with his hands, barely remembering not to accidentally hit the wires. “This is so confusing…”

“Yep. That's life,” Jay hummed, seeming to have returned to work while Zane had his crisis. “I think it'll be less confusing the more you try to figure it out… or - well - something will start to make more sense.”

Zane shook his head a little as he groaned. “I would rather not think about this right now…” They sat in silence again as the nindroid tried desperately to stop thinking about it… it was a lot harder than it should be.

“Hm… I think I figured out how to get your scanners working again, but you're gonna have to turn yourself off,” he finally concluded after what felt like hours.

“That is fine with me.”

Cole and Kai

“This is gonna take forever,” Kai groaned, unscrewing one of the vents on the ceiling as he balanced precariously on Cole's shoulders.

Cole grunted, trying to focus on keeping Kai up. “It'll take longer the more you complain,” he grumbled. He held his ankles to steady him. It was honestly killing his already strained shoulder; Zane's massages could only do so much… although one sounded amazing right about now.

He hoped Zane would be back soon.

“Well, you're welcome to switch spots with me.”

“Yeah, I am welcome to-”

“Shut up; you're distracting me.”

Cole rolled his eyes with a huffy chuckle. It wasn't worth a fight, he told himself. Just hold still and this'll be done faster. They just needed to take care of a couple vents in Kai and Jay's bedroom, and probably the bathroom, too-

Cole yelped and jerked away from the loud noise of the vent noisily coming off its position on the ceiling. Then he was wobbling, trying to regain his balance, but with Kai doing the same thing, they very quickly toppled onto the floor with shouts of pain.

“Ow- you did that on purpose, asshole!” Kai scowled as he rolled off of the earth master. He rubbed from his elbow to his wrist furiously, pain clearly written on his face.

“No, I didn't; you startled me!”

“Yeah, likely story.”

“You're unbelievable-”

“Says you; I'm plenty believable!”

He rolled his eyes again, a little harder this time, before rolling his shoulder. He winced as his shoulder blade pinched, jerking away from the sensation with a hiss. “This shit is never gonna relax,” he grumbled to himself, doing his best to massage the spot there. “Let's just… find something else to work on,” Cole huffed, massaging his shoulder as he glared at the camera in the vent above him. “We'll come back to this one when my shoulder has a second to recover.”

“Fine,” Kai agreed. “Let's take the showerhead. My hair is absolutely disgusting.”

“Says the guy who puts a shit ton of gel in it-” He barely dodged the fire master's kick as he laughed to himself. Kai grabbed Jay's toolbox and the two went over to the bathroom. “... You're sure there's one in there?”

“I saw a red blinking light in there yesterday, so if it's not a camera, then I think it should be taken out anyway.”

Cole sighed, ashamed at his lack of diligence.

“Hey, if they did record you taking a shower, it'll add to Zane's report,” Kai tried with a shrug.

“It's just gross,” the master of earth grumbled. “I don't want to imagine how many people they've already recorded… maybe we should've come sooner.”

“Well, if we had come here sooner, then we wouldn't have come in here thinking something was wrong right off the get go.” He climbed into the shower, balancing on the edges of the tub to reach the head. “The only reason we came here was, a) because Lloyd had a ‘gut feeling’, and b) because Zane was very convincing.”

Cole just sighed again, not seeing the point in telling Kai that he was right. It was always a pain in the ass to ever admit such things to the smug prick-

“What's up with you two, anyway?”

“Huh?”

“You and Zane.” After another beat of silence, Kai looked at him, only raising a brow sarcastically. “Oh, come on! There's no way you haven't noticed it.”

“... Noticed what?” he mumbled, only growing more annoyed as the other seemed to just want to make fun of him for whatever reason. “If it's so obvious, just say it-”

“Ugh! You're unbelievable,” the fire master laughed. “You seriously haven't noticed the tension between you and Zane?” He only got a blank expression in response, so he rolled his forest green eyes with a hefty sigh. “You guys look at each other like they've gifted you the moon. You tease each other constantly with near fuckin’ hearts in your eyes. Even Jay's noticed!”

Cole flushed a little before shaking his head. “I could understand if you were just seeing me look at him like that; I know I'm being obvious at this point,” he admitted quietly, as if the nindroid was still around. “But we look at each other like that? Tension? Zane's oblivious, and I really don't think he thinks of me like that.” He massaged his shoulder, trying to ease it as he became all the more tense during this discussion.

“Oh, you can't be serious. I can tell Zane really likes you-”

“Yeah, as a friend, and I would prefer it to stay like that. He's got enough on his plate already.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Well, uh… Well, right now his scanners aren't working properly, he's helping Pixal reach her full potential as a ninja samurai. We're both busy keeping the city safe all the time; there's just… no time for us to put into a romantic relationship.”

Kai scoffed as he started prying the showerhead open. “That's a load of bullshit and you know it,” he started. “If there was no time to put into a romantic relationship, then there would be no time to put into a platonic relationship. The city has been at peace for months, which you both have been using as an excuse to spar against each other more often than not. You've already been giving more attention to Zane than you have Jay, your best friend.” 

He looked at Cole pointedly, who shifted awkwardly under his gaze. “Plus, you know as well as I do that Pixal has been getting more help from Nya than Zane. As for his scanners, they'll be patched up in no time; Jay's an expert at that stuff at this point.”

The master of earth hummed a little in embarrassment, unable to hide behind any more excuses. Then he sighed. “Look, I just… I don't really want to tell him. I can already tell he doesn't feel the same, and I don't want things to get awkward between us.”

Kai rolled his eyes. “You are so dramatic. Nothing bad would happen… Zane's supposed to be the oblivious one.” He finally got the camera out of the showerhead, tossing it to the side before pushing the pieces back together.

I like them both equally, even my issues with both of them. So it would be appreciated to get some insight from potential readers, lol

For added context, this is gonna have chapters, and this is the fourth chapter. I might post another snippet, from chapter 1.

[boosmidnighthour]

Uh, happy pride month, by the way! I wish I was a faster writer or just planned things in advance; I don't have any fics that celebrate the month.

Instead, have another WIP before the month ends.

Fandom: Ninjago Working Title: Possession/Disbelief (definitely needs a different name whenever I actually post it) Rating: General

◇◇◇

Cole sighed as he made it over the last ledge. It felt good to be solid again. The gravel and dirt felt almost heavenly against his scraped palms. He had missed it all too much. He should really take up rock climbing again-

“Ugh, finally!” Jay started from where he was with his dragon. “Y'know, I was supposed to tag along with you, not the other way around…”

“What? I had to climb the mountain properly this time. It felt almost disrespectful not to,” he argued with a roll of his eyes, lifting himself up the rest of the way and dusting his hands off. “Plus, now that I'm no longer a ghost, I have to treat my body right.”

“You nearly ate an entire cake as soon as Zane pulled it out of the oven.”

“Treating my body right includes indulging in my ignored sweet tooth. And it smelled delicious; if Zane had brought anything else out, I would've eaten it just the same. His cooking is near godly.”

“Whatever you say, man,” he huffed. Then he clapped to get them both back on track. “Anyway, you're here to see into your future. Get to it. It's getting dark, and when it gets dark, it gets cold. I'd prefer to be in bed after a nice hot meal before that happens-”

“With the fire master.”

“What?”

“You'd ‘prefer to be in bed after a nice hot meal’... with the fire master,” Cole snickered, watching as Jay's cheeks turned bright red. “That's a pretty important detail to skip over-”

“Stop stalling and go look before I drag you back down this mountain,” he growled irritably, petting at Wisp's snout. If the dragon hadn't been there, it wouldn't have been as threatening.

“Okay, okay. I'm moving.” So what if he was still a bit of a wuss around dragons?

Cole made his way to the entrance, more hesitantly than he would have liked to admit. The crack in the earth was daunting, looming over him as if to scare him off. He wondered if he actually wanted to know the answer. How far into the future would this take him? What if it was the day before he died? What if it didn't show any future for him at all? What if-

Okay, he had to stop before he thought himself into a trap.

After having paused, he continued forward into the tunnel, feeling along the walls to keep himself steady and to push through his growing nerves. Maybe this was a waste of time, but… now that he was human again, he wanted to see if it had changed at all. As the walls turned to ice and his breath began to fog, he saw the light of the sky reflecting back to him.

The labyrinth, while absolutely freezing and without much else to look at, had beautifully smooth ice. Even with the people that have come and gone, it was still spotless. When the light shone on it at just the right angle, the ice looked like crystals, sparkling like glitter. He tried to remember if Zane had commented on it the first time they'd come here.

Before he looked at himself on any of the walls, he took a deep breath. “Okay, ice… show me something new,” he whispered in the quiet of the cavern. Then he steeled himself and looked towards his reflection.

For a moment, it didn't show him anything, and his heart sank. Maybe this had been a waste of a trip… Then there was a wavering image of… someone walking towards him. It seemed like the ice couldn't decide what to show him, the image wavering indecisively, and it only made it more clear to him that he should take whatever this thing told him with a huge grain of salt.

Finally, the image of this future Cole became clear, and it stood right before him. He looked… well, older, obviously. Maybe a good thirty or forty years ahead. He was nearly the spitting image of his father, which he didn't know how to feel about. A full beard had grown on his face, hair even longer in his bun than now, hairs growing gray with age. There were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, his eyebags much more prominent, some smile lines at the corners of his mouth and nose. He looked happier than he ever had been.

Surprisingly, though, he wasn't wearing the ninja gi. Everyone else's reflections had, from what he could remember, but… why wasn't his? Instead, he wore some comfortable attire, looking as if he was enjoying a day off from work. He seemed to have gained a few scars, but they all looked rather old. His fit yet pudgy torso had thickened up a bit, but he still looked quite strong… did he still have his super strength? He couldn't tell. His hands looked even more calloused than they do now, though. He squinted more at his fingers, seeing something glint on one of them. He froze.

Was that… No, there's just no way. Who the hell would-

The Cole in his reflection turned away from him and gestured for someone to join him, and he suddenly felt like this was all too much. It was lying to him. He couldn't look away.

Zane made his way over to stand beside him, holding a small child in his arms, a teen walking just behind him. The nindroid was sporting a new skin, one as aged as he was. It was similar to how he had looked when they had first met, skin just as dark as he remembered. He still wore his ninja garbs, but he was also wearing a ring on his finger. There's no way Zane would wear a ring while still being a ninja; it was too easy to lose, it would be uncomfortable to wear while fighting, and if the press saw it, forget living any semblance of a peaceful life.

He couldn't help but yearn for such a lie.

There was no way any of this was real, but he wanted it to be. Maybe add a cat or two, and that would be the dream… No. No, no, no- it wasn't real! It was just the reflection telling him his dream life; it was just his brain projecting his hopes into the ice- none of that was possible. Not for him.

He tore himself away from the walls of ice and rushed out, his mind screaming at him to forget such scarring images.

◇◇◇

Only a snippet for y'all. I've gotten much farther on it than just this, but still have a long way to go. Yes, this has to do with that one episode where they saw their future in the ice or whatever. I haven't watched that episode (or that season) in a very long time, and I don't feel like going back to watch it, so we're gonna deal with some flawed memory and inaccuracy.

Yes, I did look up the dragon's names and ended up finding some fan-made ones.

Happy Pride Month!

[boosmidnighthour]

Before I forget again:

Raj and Wayne story, where they make a deal that, if neither of them are married by the time they're 30, they'll marry each other. They make this deal when they're like 15. Then they enter themselves into the show, and yeah, Raj finds Bowie, so Wayne has to figure out what he wants to do.

This can lead to some angst, where he feels like he's falling behind in life due to not having a partner too, or he feels forgotten, or whatever. So he could go on this journey through dating and eventually finds someone he's interested in - before the age of 30, or he realizes that he doesn't want to be in a relationship and is just fine with being everyone's friend, or whatever.

Idk, I feel like that plot where the best friends make a marriage pact could work with them.

[boosmidnighthour]

Fandom: Ninjago

Happy Pride Month! It's been a little while. Have some Glacier! With a bit of Cole and Lou stuff! I am very good at summarizing!

Title: Daze Rating: General Audiences Summary: A night of dancing leads to a needed conversation.

AO3 FFN

[boosmidnighthour]

[WIP] Meet the Victims (Part 1) Screenplay

Here's what I have for the first episode of the rewrite. Mind you, I've been avoiding it for months, and at least half of it is just copied and edited from the actual episode. It's also not finished.

I decided to delete the scenes with the audition tapes, so if it feels more rushed than the actual episode's introduction scene, that might be why. I did this because I want the reader to get to know the characters and their goals, instead of having it spout out at you in 5 second intervals. Plus, a few of the characters didn't get an audition tape scene, so I just think it's only fair. Some of the lines are rewritten, though, so I do suggest you still read it.

I'm also fairly new to writing outside of like... regular fanfiction writing. So, yeah. Have fun!

Chris McLean: Back to the rundown cabins, hungry bears, hungrier bugs, the stinky outhouse where contestants confess their secrets, Chef’s disgusting food… What more could a teenager want? 15 years ago, this is where it all began, and I intend to bring back the good ol’ days. 

*Chris walks into the camera’s view*

Chris: Today’s 16 new contestants arrive, and battle to be the last one standing and win 1. Million. Dollars! But winning won’t be easy. This isn’t just a reboot, it’s a re-boot to the face! [Smug laugh]

*Camera pans to Chef, who looks unimpressed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes*

Chris: *Mutters* Someone doesn’t know a good joke when he hears one… *Clears his throat* Anyway… *Points to the camera with his signature smile* Crazier challenges and deadlier dares, all hosted on today’s show. I’m your host, Chris McLean, and welcome back to Total. Drama. Island!

☆☆☆

SCENE: Dock of Shame

Chris McLean: Unlike the first season of this show, this cast of… interesting characters knows what they’re getting into. This time, they’re willingly coming to this crummy camp. *Wrinkles his nose in disgust* Can you believe that?

Chris: Now, here comes the first victim- I mean… camper. First up-

*Chris points to the first to arrive and the camera sweeps in that direction, focusing on Millie*

Chris: Welcome, Millie! Just over here is fine. *Gestures to the dock*

Millie: *Steps off the boat once it has stopped at the dock*

Chris: Next up-

Chris: Axel!

Axel: *Throws gear onto dock*

Chris: Wow, you came prepared for… everything. Perfect~ *Smiles smugly* Over there please! Next up-

Chris: Priya.

Priya: Wow! I can’t believe I’m actually here! I can’t wait for my very first Total Drama challenge. I’ve always wondered what it would actually be like. I bet we’ll have to dive off the cliff like in the first Total Drama season and All Stars. It’s always some sort of physically challenging… *Gestures awkwardly* challenge the first episode-

Chris: All Total Drama challenges are physically demanding. It’s a bonus if it's mentally straining, too. *Chuckles ominously* Join your fellow campers.

Priya: *Walks over and stands by Millie*

Millie: … How long have you watched this show? You seem to know more about it than the average person, at least from my school.

Priya: Oh- uh, I’ve always watched this show. My parents love it to death.

Millie: Interesting…

Chris: Next up, all around fun dude-

Chris: Zee!

Zee: Chri-hi-hi-is, my man! Bring it in! *Walks towards Chris to give him hug*

Chris: *Stops him* Nope! Welcome to the island. *Gestures to the other campers* I hope you enjoy your stay. *Snickers to himself before collecting himself* Our next camper is-

Chris: Ripper.

Ripper: *Jumps off of his boat and onto the dock* Time for beast mode! *Rips shirt off and flexes his muscles*

Priya: *Looking disgusted* Oh- oh my…

Millie: *Looking disgusted and unimpressed* Ugh…

Axel: *One hundred mile glare*

Zee: *Takes a loud sip of his soda*

Ripper: *Makes his way over to the collected four* Take a long, dreamy gander, ladies, ‘cause once I win the million bucks, I’ll be outta your league.

Chris: I don’t see a suitcase. Was that your only shirt?

Ripper: Ah, man!

Chris: We’ll find you something. *Turns back to the camera* Next up-

Chris: Damien!

Damien: *Makes his way off the boat and onto the dock very carefully, before making his way over to Chris* Ay, wassup, man! I’m here for that million bucks. Where it at?

Chris: *Frowns* We don’t just give it to you. You- you have seen this show before, right?

Damien: Nope! How do I get the money?

Chris: *Smiles evilly* Oh-ho-ho, you are gonna be fun! Go meet your fellow campers; I’m sure they’ll happily inform you.

Chris: Speaking of fun-

Chris: Here comes Lauren!

Lauren: *Giggling evilly*

Chris: Welcome!

Lauren: You should stop looking at me.

Chris: *Covers his eyes* Well, then. Right over there, please! *Gestures vaguely where he thinks the other campers are before continuing* Let’s look at our next camper-

Chris: Bowie!

Bowie: *Cleaning his heart sunglasses as he walks down the dock with his bag* *Smiles at Chris confidently* Chris. *Continues over to the other campers*

Chris: *Rolls his eyes before continuing* Next up, Emma!

Emma: Chris, it’s so good to be here! I can’t wait to-

Chris: Oh! Here comes Chase!

Emma: *Eye twitches* What-

Chase: *Water-skiing from the boat bringing him in* WHOO-HOO-HOO-HOO! *Hops up off of the skis and onto the dock, throwing off his safety jacket*

Emma: *Fuming* What. Is he. Doing here?!

Chase: Babe?

Emma: Ugh! *Tries to attack him, but Chris catches her*

Bowie: Ooh. *Mutters to Ripper* I like this one… 

Chris: *Leading Emma away from Chase* Wow. Wow! In. Tense. *Looking at the camera smugly* You’d almost think we brought you both here on purpose! *Winks at the camera* Up next? Mary Kate.

Mary Kate: *Walks by with her bags, hands in her jacket pockets* It’s just MK.

Chris: *Shrugs* MK, just over there, please! And now *Sighs dreamily* Caleb…

Caleb: *Smirks to the camera*

Priya: Oh my…

Bowie: *Staring dreamily*

Emma: W-Woah…

Intern: *Staring at Caleb* *Accidentally crashes boat onto the beach* Wow. Sorry, I- I just… I’ve never seen anyone as handsome as you!

Caleb: No worries. Happens all the time.

Zee: Wow, it’s pretty clear who’s gonna win this thing. *Mutters to Priya* Twenty bucks on that guy.

Priya: Betting against yourself seems wrong…

Zee: Dis-oh-gree! If I win, I get the million. But if I don’t, and he does, I make twenty bucks.

Priya: *Just shakes her head in disbelief*

Chris: Our next two players came as a package deal. All the way from Northern Alberta, Wayne and Raj!

Raj: *Looks down towards the lake* Duuude; imagine winter time. This lake turning to ice…

Wayne: *Joins him on the edge of the boat* Biggest hockey rink ever, bro!

Raj and Wayne: *Laugh as they jump onto the dock*

Raj: ‘Sup, man; we’re here, eh!

Chris: *Gestures to the rest of the campers* Boys, go set your stuff down and meet your fellow campers. *Looks back to the camera* Our next camper is a bit of a big deal. Welcome… Nichelle Ladonna!

Nichelle: *Has somehow arrived unnoticed until now* Yes! *Swipes her hair back confidently* Hi; it’s me!

Bowie: *Gasps* Nichelle Ladonna?! Star of the hit TV show, Hot Team Ninja Detective Squad!

Emma: I loved her in Gorgeous People High.

Priya: *Whispering to herself* Be cool. Be cool. Be cool- *Starts waving her arms and hands around excitedly, nearly hitting Zee* O.M.G. I am literally the biggest fan ever!

Nichelle: *Checking her nails* … M-kay.

Priya: *Cringes, quietly playing with her fingers*

Chris: Now, here is our next arrival. Welcome, Julia! You can join the others-

Julia: *Wraps arm around Chris’s shoulders while holding her phone out* Sorry! Could youuuuu… *Takes selfie with him* Thanks. *Walks away texting* “Growing! #My journey begins!”

Chris: *Blocks her from joining the other campers* Um, remember the legal blah blah contract you signed? *Pulls out folder that probably holds that contract* There was that bit about no phones on the island?

Julia: *Looks around in confusion* But… how am I supposed to grow as a person if I’m not telling my followers I’m growing as a person?

Chris: That is a question for someone who cares about that question. *Chef walks up to them with a box* Give Chef your phone, please.

Julia: Fine. I’m stronger than you think!

Chris: Wonderful. *Smiles deviously* Now all your phones.

Julia: *Freezes before turning back to the box* *Drops two more phones into the box* That’s it. I swear on the planet.

Chris: *Pulls out a security metal detector* On the planet, huh? *Swipes the detector over Julia until it buzzes* Wow.

Julia: *Puts another phone into the box* Bye, babies! Don’t worry; mommy will be back for you.

Chris: Don’t fret! Your phones will be safe… at the bottom of this lake.

Chef: *Chucks the box of phones into the lake like a football, causing Julia to scream and Chase + Priya to cringe*

Chris: *Smiling* Now I think I have a pretty good idea of who will mesh well with who, so we’ll split you guys into your teams now! Chef, go grab the flags.

Chris: I think most of you know how the game works, but let’s go over the basics while we wait for Chef. Obviously, your teams will be competing against each other. Whichever team wins a challenge, you’ll all be safe. However, the losing team will attend a marshmallow ceremony at the campfire. There, you’ll vote off one of your teammates and send them home on the Drone of Despair.

Chef: *Returns with two flags, one red and the other green*

Chris: Finally!

Chef: Keep it up and you’ll be short a host.

Chris: Okay, okay. *Turns his attention back to the campers* Axel, Ripper, Priya, Millie, Chase, Lauren, Damien, Zee. You will all be known as… the Ferocious Trout!

Chef: *Gives Priya the red flag*

Priya: *Excitedly grips the flag and bounces foot to foot* Thanks, Chef!

Chris: Emma, Raj, Wayne, Caleb, MK, Bowie, Julia, Nichelle. Your team is called… the Deadly Frogs!

Chef: *Gives Emma the green flag*

Emma: Whatever, fine. At least I’m not stuck with him. *Glares at Chase*

Chase: *Doesn’t notice*

Wayne: *Laughs at the Ferocious Trout* Guess that makes that… the other team, then. *Smirks confidently* Whatcha think, Rajie?

Raj: *Snickers* I’d be more impressed with a clogged toilet.

Ripper: Oh, yeah, well… you two aren’t… you-you’re both… then- look out ‘cause-

Raj: Oh no! I think this half naked one’s broken! *Laughs*

Wayne: Oh, be nice, Rajie! Maybe it’s his first day with a new mouth hole! *Laughs with Raj*

Ripper: *Walks towards the two as he growls angrily*

Axel: *Looks unimpressed and stops Ripper* Save it for the game.

Ripper: *Points sharply at Axel* Don’t tell me what to do!

Axel: *Growls angrily at him*

Ripper: *Backs off* … I’m gonna save it for the game.

Chris: Excellent! *Sighs happily* I get such joy seeing you all accomplish nothing except hurting yourselves… for everyone’s entertainment.

Damien: *Laughs nervously* Sorry, uh… hurting ourselves? *Doesn’t notice Lauren smiling creepily behind him*

Chris: *Whispers to Chef* He’s never seen the show.

Chef: *Shakes his head with a heavy sigh* This kid’s gonna die…

Damien: WHAT-

Chris: There are two cabins just over there, which I’m sure you know of. Go hang your flags on the flag poles and settle in. We’ll meet back up at the campfire at noon for your first challenge. Were there any questions?

Ripper: *Suggestively* Are the cabins co-ed? *Laughs, before Axel drops her bag on his toes* Ow!

Axel: Can I vote now?

Millie: I assume challenges get postponed if it’s too hot-

Lauren: Can I switch to the team that has “deadly” in the name-

Zee: Ah- what if I don’t have a question?!

Damien: DIE?!-

Chris: *Blows air horn, wearing headphones* Time’s up! No more questions. *Snickers* Goodbye~

☆☆☆

SCENE: Outside Cabins

Emma: *In front of the Deadly Frogs’ cabin’s flag pole, looking at the flag in her hand* … How are we supposed to get the flag up there?

MK: *Sarcastically* All you gotta do is learn how to fly. *Walks past to get to the cabin*

Emma: *Rolls her eyes with a laugh* Gee, helpful. *Looks to Nichelle hopefully*

Nichelle: *Looks off to the side, pretending not to see her as she also makes her way to the cabin*

Emma: *Deflates* Ugh!

Chase: *Walks over* Aw, don’t worry, babe! I got it-

Emma: *Glares at him* No you don’t. We’re on different teams. Go put your flag up.

Chase: Well, I totally would, but…

Priya: *Has already parkoured up the flagpole and gotten it hung up with a victorious little cheer*

Emma: *In awe* Wow… if only we had a trained camper on our team…

Chase: *Smirks* We?

Emma: *Glares at him again* Yeah, we. As in me and my team. Not you! Go away!

Chase: Aw, c’mon, you know what you meant-

Bowie: *Has finally reached the flagpole* Oh, buzz off, Trout. Go get comfortable while you can.

Chase: *Scoffs before finally slinking away*

Emma: *Sighs in relief and looks up at Bowie with a grateful smile* Thank you.

Bowie: *Smiles* Don’t worry about it. We have other things to worry about.

Wayne: *Walks up with Raj, placing his bags down* Ah, we got it, eh?

Raj: *Takes the flag from Emma* Go high, Wayner!

Wayne: *Climbs the flagpole with ease and catches the thrown flag before hanging it up*

Bowie: Wow. I thought you guys were hockey jocks. Where’d you learn that?

Raj: *Laughs* Wayner and I used to hang the loser team’s underpants after a game. We’d gather them up before they got a chance to leave the ice, put them in a bag, and then find the highest place to put them, eh. Wayne learned how to climb so that it made it easier. You should see their faces when they find out their underpants have gone missing. They spend hours looking for them.

Wayne: If I had my phone, I’d totally show you pictures.

Bowie: *Snickers* Impressive.

Emma: You should totally teach me that. I could use it on Chase!

Bowie: What’s up with that, anyway?

Emma: Ugh- I don’t want to talk about it.

Wayne: C’mon- let’s go pick our bunks. First one there gets the top bunk! *Runs to the cabin with a laugh*

Raj: Hey! *Scoops up their bags* No fair! Stop cheating!

Bowie: *Sighs* I should go make sure they don’t die going up the stairs.

Emma: *Rolls her eyes with an amused huff* Have fun with that.

☆☆☆

SCENE: Inside Deadly Frogs’ Cabin [Boy’s Side]

Wayne: *Runs into the cabin with a victorious hoot* Ha! I win!

Raj: *Runs in after and throws their bags onto one of the beds* That’s because you cheated, cheater! *Tackles him to the floor with a laugh*

Bowie: *Walks in seeing the boys roughhousing on the wooden floor* *Rolls his eyes with a snicker* Boys… *Walks to the middle of the room with a hum*

Raj: *Pins Wayne to the floor before looking up* Oh, hey- uh…

Bowie: Bowie. Which one are you? Wayne or Raj?

Raj: Raj!

Bowie: Raj… okay. *Looks around the room again, before walking over to the bunk the other two’s bags are on* You boys mind if I take this bunk instead?

Wayne: Nah, go ahead, eh. *Takes advantage of Raj’s pause and flips them over with a triumphant laugh* I win again!

Raj: Oof- stop cheating, bro! *Struggles longer before huffing in defeat* Get off, eh! Lemme breathe!

Wayne: *Gets off of him before getting their bags off the bunk Bowie has claimed* Here, lemme get these for ya before my buddy here breaks his arm trying.

Raj: It was one time!

Bowie: *Shakes his head* You two sure are something. *Places his bag on the bunk*

☆☆☆

And that's all for now. 10 pages in, around 9 to 10 more to go. (The intro would count as a minute, and each episode is technically 20 minutes because of that, minus the credits.)

I'm liking it so far, minus the copy and pasted parts in the intro scene, but I'm so bad at introductions, so I can't really blame the writers for how awkward it feels. I'm having a hard time coming up with things for the characters to do after this stopping point (remember, this is the episode where the characters are going to interact before the challenge next episode). I feel like the scenes are a little rushed, but that's nothing a little narrative writing won't fix later on down the line.

Let me know what y'all think. Critiques and ideas are always welcome!

[boosmidnighthour]

With Total Drama Revival/Reboot/Island 2023 coming back up in my brain after my long break with Ninjago, I've started thinking about the rewrite again. (Shocker, I know.) Don't expect me to think about the rewrite for too long after this; it's a big project and I burnt myself out from Total Drama in general for months because I tend to overwhelm myself with these things.

Anyway, because I've started thinking about it again, I've decided to think about a smaller question.

What would they use the money for if they won?

The reason I bring this up is because we only really get to know two characters' reasons for entering this competition; Emma wants to (or at least wanted to) donate a portion of her money to the animal shelter that Chase made her crash into, and Priya wants to win to show her parents she's capable and to go to med school. (Correct me if I missed someone. These are the only two I can recall, and I am running on old memories.)

But anyone else is practically free reign, as long as it makes sense to the character.

Axel: She'd probably use the million to buy a bunker. She believes in zombies, and a bunker would be the best decision if the zombie apocalypse ever did happen. She has to be prepared after all.

Ripper: Based on his intro, his name, his concept... he'd use the money to buy hot wings, or really anything spicy. Y'know, to beat his life goal and maybe even go farther than that.

Chase: He entered the competition to get exposure for his stupid channel. No doubt. He's already successful, and probably already makes more than enough money. He certainly seems well off at least. But if he wins the million, he could use it on some good quality merch and practically earn the money back after. Or he could use the money to torture his friends still on the channel with him even more.

Millie: She would have used the money for her book. At least some of it. She's pretty sheltered, too, so that - too me - doesn't say her life is very difficult, and her living situation is already pretty good. She's bullied at school, but she doesn't seem to care too much about that, minus realizing how lonely she is outside of the series. If she had continued her book, she would've probably gotten her money's worth back to her, especially after already getting her exposure from the series. But since she didn't go on to make that book, I wonder if she would have continued to make a different book instead, or gone to college to study the human brain or whatever. Most of the money would probably go into a savings account, though. She just seems like the type to think long term over short term.

Damien: Since he entered the show for the money without having any clue what the show was about, I'm going to go ahead and say he's kind of a dumbass. He'd spend his money relatively quickly - not as quickly as characters like Zee, Ripper, or Raj and Wayne, but still. He's into science, so he'd use the money on things related to that, and most likely use it on more clothes. Like Millie, he seems pretty sheltered. He'd probably share the money with his friends back home; he has stated before that he can't hold a grudge for very long, especially if the person he's mad at apologizes truthfully, so if he is mad at his friends back home and they apologize in a way that actually means something, he'd totally share it.

Scary Girl: I kinda don't want to know what she'd use the money for. She's creepy, enjoys screams, and is scarily good at things that don't really make sense to her character. I don't have the imagination to figure out what she'd use it on, either, so... unsolved?

Zee: Soda, junk food, anything he can think of and he's got it in a second. If he thinks further out, or somebody suggests it, maybe extra prosthetic legs, especially after losing so many during the show. Subscriptions to streaming services and cable, too. His room looked well-lived in, so he's pretty comfortable with life, I would say.

Nichelle: I don't really know what she entered the competition. Maybe to prove to her stunt-double that she was more capable than the actress she is? That's more a season 2 thing, though, after humiliating herself on live TV. In season 1, she's already well off; she's rich, she's famous and nearly everyone already knows her, and before she's embarrasses herself, almost everyone loves her. Maybe it's a publicity stunt? To get even more people outside of her demographic to watch her movies more? Not sure. I'm also not sure what she would need the money for. Maybe just to be considered a millionaire? Maybe she'd spend it on better clothes.

Caleb: He looks like a supermodel, but he doesn't seem to be interested in becoming a supermodel. He's not famous, but he's portrayed to be the perfect person, minus the very many relationship mistakes he makes in season 2. He volunteers at places and probably donated the money he had before to some sort of charity. I think if he won the million, he'd continue doing all that stuff, but use even more money to donate to charities.

MK: She's a tech geek that leaves the house a less than normal amount, and she's a bit of a thief. She'd spend the money on the equipment, and then she'd run some sort of scam. All under an anonymous name and face. (As a side gig, she'd be Julia's co-host on their podcast, as was hinted in the second season.)

Julia: Phones. Lots of phones. Probably some professional cameras, too. She would get like... Photoshop or something and run beauty scams. She's not as good at photoshopping as MK is, though, so they kinda work together to make another scam. She'd make some ads to some shady website that MK made. The perfect team. Maybe they'd make a whole website that turned out to be some MLM scheme or something. Plus, she'd probably use the money on some makeup.

Bowie: I don't know. He seems pretty comfortable with his life. Maybe he'd get a phone or two, some new jewelry, some new clothes for Raj - maybe Wayne, too, if he can be convinced - and maybe some new electronics. I can see him getting a foosball or pool table. Maybe he'd use money to get an actual pool in the backyard. He can really be seen doing anything with it, including putting it in to savings.

Raj and Wayne: I'm putting these guys together since the show would do the same. They would use some of the money for the hockey team, obviously. Maybe they'd get ice hockey jackets. Bowie would help them pick out some different outfits (which would have shown up in the second season). Raj would use a little bit of the money on a couple of dates with Bowie. They'd probably spend their money on stupid things, too, like Zee, and Bowie would probably stop them from going too far.

I made this in only a couple of hours, so these opinions are likely to change. If anyone has other suggestions on what these guys would use the money for, let me know. It's interesting.