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fortunxa · 5 months ago

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Blue hair, blue eyes, blue lights

Jinx x fem!reader / modern AU

summary: The chances of a blue-haired girl being chased by the cops and hopping in my car, simply yelling “Drive!” are low, but never zero.

author’s note: It’s my first time publishing a Jinx one-shot of mine, I hope you enjoy! This is a relatively new blog, so if anyone wants to become mutuals I’m definitely open to the idea! :)

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Fourteen days.

A mere two weeks stand between me and move-in day for my freshman year of college. In other words, summer break is slowly coming to an end, and I’ve done fuck all to make it memorable.

I can feel life passing me by as I watch like a bystander. Usually, the clock is my enemy—a constant reminder of my youth running out, and, shit, I’m too young to feel that way. This time, it serves as a way to free me from the shackles of the evening shift as a front desk worker at our local gym.

The clock strikes midnight, and, like a modern-day Cinderella, I jump up from my seat and make a beeline for the exit, hurriedly clocking out. I simultaneously greet and say goodbye to the night shift going in, already halfway through the small yet relatively empty parking lot. The smell of sweaty ‘gym bros’ is long forgotten as the breeze engulfs me, my dirty sneakers thudding on the concrete. The rust on my beat-up jeep shines in the moonlight as I approach—so seductive, I snicker to myself. I toss my duffel bag in the trunk, hop behind the wheel, and start the engine. I take this moment to commence my connect-phone-to-car-or-die-trying mission and thank the universe for its successful outcome. I browse a bit through the plethora of playlists before settling on the usual one, the sound of Arctic Monkeys filling the space as I leave the parking lot.

I don’t want to go home—not yet, at least—so I settle for a late-night drive. The cookie-cutter, upper-class houses pass me by as I mindlessly cruise through the clean streets—a stark contrast to my neighborhood, where you either learn to stick up for yourself or go home crying to your mama. A place where there is more sewage sludge than trees. A place where I grew up and one I learned to love.

In the midst of it all, I don’t notice the particularly nasty bump on the road that makes my song abruptly cut off. I take a right, pulling over in an alley with an annoyed groan as I resort to phase two, also known as connect-phone-back-to-car-before-I-impulsively-crash, of my initial mission. As I fiddle with the settings, showing my inner cheek no mercy as my teeth dig into their feast, a hissing and spritzing sound comes through my open window.

I think I’m imagining things at first, that post-shift fatigue surely getting the best of me, but I spot the source of the sound rather quickly: a figure, hidden almost out of sight between the fancy houses, switching between various colors of spray paint as she defaces the picture-perfect facade with her graffiti. The sheer speed of her actions makes it look like she’s juggling.

How do I know it’s a girl? Well, although she is wearing a hat to shield her face from any surveillance cameras, a neck warmer up to her nose, and a black, oversized tracksuit already covered in pink paint splotches, her disguise was blown the moment she decided to leave her blue, ankle-length, twin braids out. I twist my neck and reach over the dashboard to try and get a better look at her work. I can barely make out the shape of a green monkey’s face before moving on to the next element. ‘Get ji-’

My reading is interrupted by the sound of sirens piercing the air and blue lights illuminating the area. Instinctively, I turn my headlights off and duck, watching the girl as she hastily packs the cans into her backpack. I swear I can see her eyes twinkle with excitement as she takes one last glance at her—presumably—finished artwork and takes off running through the gardens. Her faint giggle reaches my ears, and a bewildered smile graces my features. I wanted fun, and now it’s right in front of me. I definitely couldn’t get a clearer sign than this.

I observe as one of the cops chases after her as the other drives away, seemingly trying to cut her off. Lightbulb moment. I put the car into gear and waste no time following them from the comfort of the dark alleys, reaching the mysterious girl first through the shortcuts. I catch her contemplating her next move and, without hesitation, quickly flash my high beams at her twice. This seems to grab her attention, and I signal for her to get in with a simple nod, tapping the car door as confirmation.

To my surprise, she actually runs over and hops in the backseat, her back lying flat as she takes a swift peek through the window, and holy shit, I didn’t think that she actually would.

“Drive!” she yells through her panting, and I do. I feel my heart beating wildly against my ribcage as the blue lights appear once again in my rearview mirror. Don’t fuck this up, I think before taking a sharp left. I hear her elated squeals as I visualize the district’s roads and plan the perfect getaway.

Right.

Right, once again.

Left.

Straight down the street.

Sharp right.

I can hear the sirens getting closer as I speed through the familiar routes. It doesn’t matter that I know this area like the back of my hand; the cops probably do, too. There is only one thing left to try, and, albeit risky, it should work. They hadn’t spotted my car yet, and we were quickly approaching a busy intersection—the perfect distraction.

The tires squeak as I harshly pull into an empty driveway, turning the engine off in hopes of blending in.

“What the hell are you doing?!” the blue-haired girl grumbles with brooding eyes. I don’t reply. Instead, I shush her as I grab her waist and roll her off the seat, pushing her into the legroom before ducking underneath the steering wheel. We fall silent, holding our breaths in as the police car passes us by. I watch as they get lost in the dense traffic, a sigh of relief escaping me as I throw my head back. I climb into my seat again and take a peek at the tagger in the back, confusion crossing my features as I watch her stuff her face with candy. My candy. “Hefty stash you got back there.” Her mouth twists at the sour taste of a Warhead she picked. She seems completely unfazed by this whole situation.

I notice that she had discarded her hat and neck warmer and take the opportunity to get a better look at her: blue eyes matching her hair, light freckles splattered across her straight nose and rosy cheeks, pouty lips, her dark and expressive brows… She truly is breathtaking. I feel a blush creep up my face as she climbs over the console, wiggling her way into the passenger seat. She takes her hoodie off, revealing her black tank top, and fuck me, she has tattoos.

She faces me with a curious look herself, seemingly analyzing me too. Her gaze is difficult to decipher as her eyes trail over my figure, and I stiffen. She shoots me a knowing smile before throwing her hands around my neck and placing a kiss on my cheek. “You’re a lifesaver, toots,” she muses into my ear. The pleasant smell of paint and bubble gum hits my nose making me lick my lips. “Name’s Jinx, by the way. Stands for Jinx,” she cackles to herself, drawing her lower lip between her teeth awaiting my introduction.

I blink a couple of times, realizing how silent I’ve been throughout this whole ordeal. I can get awkward, sure, but I’m not timid, so I muster up the courage and consciously relax, trying to project a nonchalant attitude. “I’m Y/N.” I shoot her a smile of my own.

“Y/N. Hmm…” Jinx gives an approving hum as she repeats after me, my name rolling off her tongue like honey. “What made you help little ol’ me?” New observation: she’s a teaser.

“I need some excitement in my life,” I answer truthfully and she perks up with a spark in her eyes.

“Toots, you’ve just made friends with the perfect candidate to help you with that.” Her giddy attitude returns as she beams at me.

“We’re friends, huh?” I tease at her choice of words, my eyebrows raised in a cocky manner.

“Sure we are! I feel like running from the cops together is the perfect bonding experience, don’t ya?” She gives me a once-over before her mouth curves into a smirk. “Unless you want to be more than friends. That could work, too.” She winks. Her straightforwardness should make me turn crimson, but instead, it makes my confidence grow. I give a low chuckle as I shake my head in disbelief.

“Tell you what,” I begin, starting the engine and trying to connect my phone back to the car for the third time already, “let me get you home safely, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings to our friendship. Deal?” I extend my hand toward her, and she ponders my proposition. I can practically see the cogs turning in her head, her facial expressions jumping from sour to doubtful, as if she were battling her thoughts before settling on a satisfied grin.

Her soft hand reaches mine in a princess handshake, and I try not to look at her manicured nails for too long. “Deal.” The blue-haired girl snatches the phone out of my hands, adding her number to my contact list and sending a quick text to herself. Just when I think she’s giving it back, she picks a song, and I hear Arabella playing through the speakers. How fitting.

As I leave the stranger’s driveway, I sense her shuffling in the passenger seat, throwing her legs out the window. She puts her head on my lap freely, toying with the colorful charms on my keychain. In the spur of the moment, I gingerly brush her bangs behind her ear, revealing her side profile. Her gaze catches mine, and I see her eyes soften before I turn mine on the road again.

Jinx tells me her address, and I realize how close to me she lives—the perfect circumstances. I feel her lightly bobbing her head to the music as her left cheek strokes my thigh, her fingers tracing mine as they sit on the gear stick. Her demeanor feels different from the badass tagger who willingly hopped in a stranger’s car. She looks peaceful and content now.

My shoulders slump in disappointment as I park outside her house. She clicks her tongue and lazily lifts her head from the comfort of my lap. She looks around the empty streets of her neighborhood and hums, her curious eyes now shifting to mine. As we take each other in, I can’t help but gravitate toward her—her presence feels almost intoxicating, and I don’t want to part ways just yet. To my surprise, she copies my actions. She’s so close I can feel her minty breath mingle with mine. Instinctively, my gaze drops to her lips as she tentatively licks them. I let out a faint sigh, and she slowly closes the distance. I can hear my heartbeat as I wait for our lips to meet.

But they never do. “I don’t kiss on a first date,” she murmurs in my ear, and my face flushes. Jinx pulls away as she flashes me a toothy grin, and before I can even react, she’s already skipping to her front door, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Wha-? When did she grab her stuff? I stare in disbelief as she turns around, her braids flailing behind her. “Let’s see what tomorrow brings,” she teases and blows me a kiss before disappearing into the dark hallway of her home.

Fourteen days.

Give me two weeks to make her mine.

╰┈➤ sequel – ‘Fourteen days’

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superinklink · 9 months ago

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The nomads can’t be fall damaged. They have fallen off the alps mountains before (cause that place is a death trap), but they just bounce like a beach ball.

They are also likely fire/lavaproof, given their relaxed presence in the Lava Cake (and the mountains leading to it.) This heat is grrrreat, and it’s probably like a nice sauna to them.

On numerous occasions, an Express Owl has boarded the Owl Express to travel to their job, but then gets wrapped up in Conductor’s latest film, until they eventually get tired and accept their NEW job.

Captain has a gold star sticker system for the Seals, for on the blue moon where they actually do their jobs right. Despite his depression, he enjoys seeing them succeed at things.

Snatcher got left behind in his crate on the docks, and the entirety of Death Wish is him taking out his frustration on something. Hence why the Cruise DWs are usually considered the most brutal.

to a hat in time fans that see this please tell me your headcanons i want to see how diffrent people see those little shits and i wanna know how different they are

here ill go first

i headcanon that snatcher needs glasses but wont get them because my dad does the same thing

#a hat in time #arctic cruise #alpine skyline #subcon forest

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magicwhiskers29 · 1 year ago

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Alright, I was bickering with my sister and I told her I'd make a poll in an attempt to settle it, so...

#a hat in time #ahit #Whiskers does polls #Polls #My sister didn't want me to include the DLC levels because we were debating about the main game #But I thought it was only fair to #I've never personally played the game but it's her favourite thing ever. I just. Casually enjoy it and have opinions on my favourite chapter

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britishsass · 8 months ago

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Small A Hat in Time AU idea

You guys know how folks from previous chapters show up in Arctic Cruise? I've been playing Rush Hour on repeat and am thinking about that sort of idea with Nyakuza Metro.

It's mostly just the dads Hat Kid accumulates over the game, coming with her to try to keep her safe. Snatcher gets distracted by realizing that he can actually get a bacon cheeseburger here, Conductor and Grooves are petrified because these are cats and they are birds, etc.

I'm mostly thinking about them helping during Rush Hour, but I also want to give them different outfits while in Nyakuza Metro, since Hat Kid gets a lot of different outfits there too.

(if anyone has any thoughts, feel free to ask/reblog, I'm super hyped to see them!)

#a hat in time #ahit #ahit au #a hat in time au #nyakuza metro #the owl posts #just got some Thoughts there :3

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wjbs-aus · 7 months ago

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#poll #polls

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halloweengirl1031 · 5 months ago

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some AHIT/ASIT (a hood/stache/swap in time) stuff

mu's hoods are different then the hats but kinda the same abilities

normal hat - normal hood

ice hat - stone hood (crush things under your weight and become immune for like one hit but then you get knocked out of stone mode)

sprint hat - sprint hood (okay that ones the same)

brewing hat - poison hood (stun enemies for a short amount of time)

dwellers mask - lost hood (allows you to see the world through the eyes of a lost child)

time stop hat - ice hood (freezes up to 3 enemies at a time, bosses arent frozen as long.)

and shes not an alien ether! shes actually just living in a space station in orbit since the mafia took over (they're the final boss in this au)

the time pieces are now special types of pons that she kept in her space station bc they provide power and oxygen, but all of them fell out so she had to use the emergency stash. in this au, they're "power pons"

places she goes in order to get the energy pons back:

subcon forest/kingdom

alpine skyline

battle of the birds

nyakuza metro

arctic cruise

mafia town

grand finale

#ahit au #ahit #ahit mu #ahit mustache girl #ahit swap au #mu ahit

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majormeilani · 1 year ago

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What are your thoughts on the DLCs and Mafia Town? I know that you also think that Battle of the Birds is the best chapter and that you're not too fond of Alpine Skyline.

hattytime thoughts.... okay.

on mafia town:

i think it's an alright chapter? i mean, i think it's full of a lot of character and environmental storytelling that helps you put everything together about what happened on the island. it also leaves you to wonder a lot about it too. the only thing that kind of disappoints me about it is that we don't really learn that much about mafia boss and his intentions are left extremely vague as well. i also kinda wish the acts had a more cohesive purpose to being there and didn't seem all over the place and random. like the race one is just there for no reason it seems like lmao okay? i know that was probably a leftover from cut content tho (riding a rocket)

i know a lot of people think that mafia town is an 'ugly' level but personally i think it's rather nice looking and i think its kind of 'gummy' look really adds to the degradation of the island.

i do really kind of wish that we got more out of it or some resolution that was properly set for mu as well because i feel like there's so much more we need to know about her.

one underrated part of the level that is probably my favorite is heating up mafia town. not only is the concept really funny but it's actually a nice and light little challenge for the early-midpoint of the game. i love what it tells us about mu and her knowledge of the island as well, so again some rather nice environmental storytelling. i also thought the little feast that the mafia goons had made for her was kinda sweet, even if they were assholes to her and what they did to mu sucks 😔 but the statues that are there and them calling hat kid their "hero" really makes me think......................... like augh.

on the arctic cruise:

i liked this chapter but i wouldn't say it was one of my favorites. i wish it were a little bit longer but tbh i don't know what else i would have personally expected from it in terms of gameplay. it was rather challenging to do ship shape and i remember having such a hard time playing it the first time. i played that level for like over an hour before i got it. i think part of it is really nailing the layout of the level and knowing all of the shortcuts, which is really hard to do in your first time around.

i liked rock the boat however, even if that one was also really challenging. i mostly liked it though for what it told us about hat kid and her character. that instead of just abandoning everyone for how rotten that they treated her, she makes the effort to save everyone. and you could tell that hat kid really regret her decision and felt remorse like idk i love that a lot. esp bc some people took hat kid to be the type to not care about any of them but it goes to show that she did, at least a little bit.

i think walrus captain does deserve some more attention too but it's kind of sad that he doesn't play all that big of a role in the dlc. but he seems like a good guy just very depressed to the point that he can't really find the energy to be more involved in things. also his little backstory is really tragic and you can tell he used to care deeply about everything until he experienced loss. i think grief is one of the most interesting things to have a character endure and i'm kind of thankful that they had a character in ahit going through it. it's also really sad to me that he wanted to go down with his ship, like he didn't have anything else to live for at that point but hat kid still pulled him out of it and carried him to safety. even if that part is played off like a joke kind of, like everything else serious in the game really, it's still very. sad.

there's also the deep sea rift that was like the worst fucking thing ever, at least first time i tried to figure it out. that level genuienely made me turn on assist mode for the first time ever playing ahit it was that bad for me LMAOOOOOO. like aesthetically it's very pretty but augh. very unforgiving level for sure. HOWEVER i will say that i've gotten much better at that level and the trick for those who are struggling: collect as many pons as you can on the first levels and you should have enough to skip one of the really difficult ones.

deathwish itself since it's a part of the dlc i have many thoughts on it. i'm probably in the minority in that i actually think a lot of the deathwishes were lots of fun! my favorites were wound up windmill and killing two birds. wound-up windmill is just a lot of fun for how fast paced it is and i've always really liked a lot of the platforming for the windmill. and for killing two birds, y'know as a dead bird studio enthusiast that's kind of a given. but more because that deathwish actually makes me laugh hysterically to play, especially since dj grooves and conductor can actually damage each other with their attacks. and that deathwish is prone to the funniest glitches i've ever seen. i don't even mind dying a thousand times because i'm just laughing my ass off. also both of those deathwishes have the best osts too like i can unironically listen to both of those for hours.

though in general i think all the deathwishes are really cool. i like the bonus storybooks too they mean a lot to me tbh. the only deathwish i cannot for the life of me beat is the 'no jumps' candle for trainrush like i've tried so many times and i don't think i'll ever get that one...

we also can't forget that deathwish also brought us the peace and tranquility smug dance which is iconic LOLLL

on nyakuza metro:

ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS DLC. i think it's genuinely gfb's best work on ahit thus far. i think the animations are gorgeous, especially empress' animation like holy fuck? i love love love the environment design and i think they applied the concept they intended with the free exploration well and in a creative way, much better and less confusing than what they did with alpine. i just think everything about the environment and level designs were so good! and the ambience and character of the npcs also added so much life to the level. it's just. there's so much to praise.

i also love that the finale level instead of being a face off against empress is you escaping the metro with her chasing you. it broke away from the mold but in a good way to where it actually. it told you a lot about empress as a character too in that she usually has others handle her dirty work instead of acting on it herself and that when she has to she's rather ruthless about it, though even a little reckless because she ends up having some fallout to her own detriment in the end. empress also seems to know the metro like the back of her paw as well, seeing as she beats you to the elevator and confronts you which makes her really intimidating.

i also looooovvveeeee all the outfits and hat flairs that you can get from the metro cats and the buying food mechanic was cute and unique, i love the little voice acting with it too. i also love the stickers and the charm they add and how fun they are to collect. the badges are also lots of fun ever though they're cosmetic mostly. also it kind of gave end game players a way to spend their pons, which i think is really awesome because you always end up with so many of those lmao.

in regards to the storybook for the dlc i'm a little bit disappointed we don't learn all that much about empress or any of her background from it. but that timerift was really unique and fun to explore. i like to believe that the rift taking place in a rumbi factory tells us that empress used to work in one as a mechanic but that's just me.

by far my favorite dlc though!

on vanessa's curse:

this one was one i was very excited for when they made an announcement for it. it kind of was a little less story than i was expecting to come from it but it think despite that it was really impressive for a creator dlc.

when it first released it was so cool to explore all the corners of the manor and figure out the mechanics of it. even though it still can be glitchy at times, it does run rather well despite that and i play on a laptop LOL.

i think what they tried to do with it was a cool concept as well. it took the collect-a-thon aspect and built off the multiplayer concept that was implemented in an earlier addition to the game and made those work in a real time environment for challenging collaborative play.

i think that the level design is very pretty and well thought-out too, even though i often still get a little lost sometimes. i've especially a fan of the interior design and decor.

i think my favorite thing about the dlc though was all the cosmetics. i loveee how there's hat flairs that actually did unique things with hat kid's powers. like how the ice hats give you a different ice sculpture and the brewing flairs add unique splatter and explosion effects. i think my favorite flairs have to be the dweller mask glasses, the crown, the donut and the lampshade. the dyes were also really pretty and i loved that we got another unique weapon variant. i'm a sucker for the cosmetics they make me happy. ALSO i love hat kid's little pigtails for the punk dye. it's about time that she got another unique hairstyle.

overall i think vanessa's curse is fun but idk. sometimes i wish there were a little more? but i suppose what we have is good too.

thanks for asking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#not readmoring this bc i don't want to #i'm sure i have many more thoughts but these were brewing in my mind at the time of typing this #long post #🎩⏳#answered asks #crescentblossom66

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missyourflight · 1 year ago

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some stuff i read and watched in june:

taskmaster (s1-5): haven't done an early seasons rewatch in so long, s4 and 5 are basically perfect 2 me. incredible that mark watson manages to be both my favourite type of taskmaster guy (hopelessly despairing) and also nearly won the thing lol. nish forever obviously

silo: got well into this! probably at some point apple will stop throwing millions at sci-fi shows but i'm going to enjoy their folly in the meantime

mission: impossible ii: hadn't seen this one! the weakest of the lot but the john woo of it all is undeniable

mission: impossible iii: PSH outrageously good as the villain, hi keri russell

mission: impossible - ghost protocol: so much fun, especially the sequences where you can see brad bird's animation brain going

mission: impossible - rogue nation: ILSA my beloved, the opera sequence is so gorgeous, no notes!

mission: impossible - fallout: it's good when henry cavill reloads his arms, it's better when tom cruise is sprinting around london rooftops and breaking his ankle etc, my most basic trait is that i Love when they're in london like oooh tate modern. anyway i'm very ready for dead reckoning

asteroid city: the bits about making art really got to me! the vending machines were cool!

joint security area: crash landing on you prepared me for this, blank check weren't lying when they said it was homoerotic, song kang-ho forever etc

dodie smith, the town in bloom: the most delightful narrative voice i've read in Ages and v funny. easy to sell me on 1920s theatrical shenanigans

k patrick, mrs s: So hot and butch, i liked the butch friendship stuff almost more than the sex stuff. more sexy lesbian novels Please

kj charles, the secret lives of country gentlemen: another winner from KJC, my most reliable romantic comfort reads. this time it's smugglers!

alice slater, death of a bookseller: sticky little thriller about being poisoned by true crime, great sense of place, So many pints of dark fruits

laura kay, wild things: bisexual disaster in love with her best friend, tragically very me- and also george russell-coded, god i want to swim in a pond again

SOME STUFF I SAW AT ROCK WERCHTER

the dj on the first nigt who played a mash up of i'm gonna be (500 miles) into temperature and then the 1d cover of one way or another into little lion man (deeply cursed fandom flashbacks etc)

weyes blood with candelabras and glowing hearts and amazing adam curtis projections on the big screen behind her

king princess sending the gay girls of belgium absolutely wild - "you wanna hear a sad lesbian song?"

matty healy is a dickhead but he's very good at being the frontman of the 1975. like if ben whishaw was straight and kind of disgusting

stormzy!!! literally the rain was pouring during blinded by your grace pt 2

mumford and sons - this whole festival was like being borne back ceaseless into the past but the cave still fucks me up, marcus really in his ken marino era, face-wise

PUP - i do believe if this tour doesn't kill you, i will to be a wholly perfect song, they had a trans flag on stage, best vibes of the festival

sigur ros - sometimes you just want to be in a massive barn with thousands of people with your faces turned up in the dark feeling like you're inside the sound somehow

muse - fucking incredible live band still!! every time i'm see them i'm floored by how hot chris the bassist is and then i forget about it and then i see them again and i'm poleaxed etc. they had a tech meltdown during knights of cydonia at the encore so we got showbiz instead!!

christine and the queens - beautiful and terrible as the dawn

jacob collier - asked if we wanted to get funky then put on a special hat, bit george russell-coded in the face

arctic monkeys - sometimes you just want to be in a field with one of your oldest friends singing the songs of your youth!! i love the 70s act actually! there are so many sexy songs on AM!! the skies finally cleared for the beautiful full moon, thank you belgium, good night

#monthly media #sophposting

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arcadekitten · 2 years ago

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I was just about to replay A Hat in Time, so the timing of your post for it was perfect.

Anywho, do you have any favorite level in the game, or a favorite act in general?

Oh gosh they're all very good!! I also bought the DLC and have been playing Seal the Deal, so I have yet to play Nyakuza Metro and that might be a competitor for my fav...

I must admit I am quite fond of Battle of the Birds, I got really attached to The Conductor and DJ Grooves and I especially like Murder on The Owl Express for all the answers you can input and potential suspects you can choose from! (Though The Big Parade is one of the banes of my existence...)

And while I find the Arctic Cruise levels hard I must confess I'm a sucker for those little seals...

#ask

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thesopwithcamel · 1 year ago

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APswap au: Nyakuza Crew and Arctic Town.

youtube

Absolutely exhausted from their recent batch of adventures Jane and Laura find that they have been given a state mandated vacation by the Calcite authorities, their vacation? A cruise around some of the cat infested islands on the west coast, the ship they are on is called the SS Catnip which is one of the smaller vessels of the fleet. Little do the two girls know about the shady shit that will occur as the ship, quite plainly, is smuggling drugs for the Nyakuza. What makes it even worse their leader is on board and is not happy with two children running around causing problems.

A town in the arctic circle inhabited by seals and all sorts of arctic creatures, unfortunetally the town is full of timepieces and as such Jane and Laura have to collect them. Every timepiece they collect is confiscated by the mayor, a walrus, in order to pay off the Empress from coming to their town.

Characters of the Nyakuza crew:

The Empress: basically canon Empress except the whole on a cruise ship thing. Forcably recruits Jane and Laura in exchange for useless cash but isn't interested about the timepieces, she is more focused with drugs and human trafficing than anything else.

The Nyakuza crew: members of the Nyakuza who work on the ship and keep it running, they are also responseble for keeping the drugs and victims hidden.

Fish Dude: same as canon, just a fish dude.

Kraken: basically the thing which keeps the ship's powerplant running.

Acts:

Jane and Laura board the Catnip and while finding the front desk accidently uncover a massive drug shipment, when the Nykazua figures this out they force Jane and Laura to either work for them or they get thrown overboard. In exchange for cash the two have to run various errends on the ship of questionable legality, all the while smuggling the occasional found timepiece to Calcite.

Ship shape is a greuling, unforgiving mess and any failure warrents a death sentence, however Meowjima is on hand to help calm the Empress down for just a bit longer.

Knowing just how bad the ship is Jane and Laura decide to escape, unfortunetally during their attempt the ship suffers a collision with an iceburg. Feeling bad for them the girls rescue everyone on board and the Empress has no option but to thank them for the lives saved, she does warn them though to stay out of her way or face the consequences.

Characters of the Arctic Town:

The seals: cute baby seals which waddle around the place and run their little stalls

Nyakuza Swimmers: Seals affiliated with the Nyakuza

Seal Police: Seals which confiscate Jane and Laura's timepieces to pay off the Empress with.

The Mayor: a walrus who means well but uses less than okay methods to deal with dissedents, while most seals don't mind the nyakuza he is absolutely terrified of them and would do anything to pay them.

Meowjima: the Empress's second in command, Meowjima is loyal on the outside but secretly wishes to overthrow the Empress and put someone better in charge of the Arctic Town.

The Empress: here for her payment, cuts off Jane and Laura from their escape but dies via chainsaw

The nyakuza bodyguards: here for the payment, cuts off the girls from their escape but die via chainsaw.

Penny: here to collectively traumatize the entire town in only a few hours, saves Jane and Laura's arses in the last second.

Timmy: Tim's runaway son, for a while he was a trainee timekeeper just like Jane but unfortunetally due to circumstances outside of his control he got stranded at the town and has kinda been living there ever since. Has a timepiece but won't hand it over until the girls fight him for it. Later assists in their escape.

Acts:

freeroam: Jane and Laura run around the town for a while before convincing a seal to hand over the timepiece he is holding, several police arrive an force them to give up the timepice and takes them to the mayor who orders them to collect more of them. Jane protests but the mayor threatens jail, a very rigged court session and a one way trip to being sold at an auction by the Nyakuza. The two shut up and collect time pieces from around the town.

Timmy's bossfight: the girls find Timmy in an old fighting ring and he challenges them to a fight, after the fight he lets them go with the timepiece and distracts the police. Unfortunetally they catch Jane and Laura and they both end up in jail, the mayor tells them the the Empress is on their way and they will both suffer for their refusal to help them. Timmy however returns and helps break them out.

Arctic reinforcement: Jane and Laura break into the vault containing the timepieces, on their way out they are spotted and the alarm is sounded. What begins is the girls running all over the town trying to escape from police and Nyakuza affiliates, Timmy provides distractions and helps them in their escape route to a boat he owns. However they are cut off by the actual Nyakuza and have to take a route through an old tunnel system, the Empress finds the boat and prepares to scuttle it but Meowjima convinces her against it. When the three hit the docks the Empress and her bodyguards block their way but skillful determination from the trio, Meowjima's betrayal (taking three quarters of the Nyakuza with him) and finally her bodyguards being massacred by Penny. Angered, the Empress attempts to flee with the boat but gets a chainsaw violently wedged into her head. Meanwhile the captain is killed by Meowjima's followers who intend on finding a better candidate.

Following the empress's death Meowjima helps the trio (plus Penny) get the boat fixed and loaded. They then set sail back to Calcite, on the way back Penny admits to being an idiot and apologises to Jane and Laura who accept but tell her that Calcite won't be as forgiving...

#a hat in time #ahit hat kid #hat kid #bow kid #nyakuza metro #the empress #ahit empress #arctic cruise #ahit bow kid #Meowjima #ahit timmy #ahit au #fish dude #walrus captain #ahit nyakuza #ahit prototype #hat kid with a gun #Youtube #apswap au

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a-crash-in-time-collection · 2 years ago

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Chapter 30: Onto the Icey Blue

The middle of summer was the last time you would expect to see snow. The middle of summer was the last time you would expect to see huge chunks of ice. But that was what the clan found themselves seeing. That ghost from the woods nearby got them all pulled into some arctic cruise, and there wasn't any way to back out of it. It was a bit annoying, they all still had to get the orbital station fixed and off this planet after all.

They couldn't help but be a bit excited though, some more than others. The ship had enough room to hold all of them, even if a couple was going to have to be removed for a bit for it to work. And after the endless summer heat, they would enjoy the colder environment. Although when they got there some did regret it. It was colder than expected after all the heat, and it got some of them worried about if they were stuck on this planet during the winter months.

One of the few that didn't have a single worry in their head was Hat Girl. Even though she was only on the cruise in the past to get her timepieces, she still had fun and often wondered about what it would have been like if the cruise hadn't been cut short by her crashing the ship into an iceberg. She still felt a little guilty about that, but hey, they ended up getting a bigger ship in the end. So maybe it wasn't that bad of a thing?

Plus so many others from this planet were here! She didn't have much time to talk to them when they arrived, but she was excited to find them here. It was going to be a 'long cruise' Snatcher had said, so they meant she should have time to stop by and say hello. She wanted to hang out with some of them for the longest time and now was the perfect chance. She just had to get everything settled in her room first and she is golden.

She pushed her suitcase into the closet of her room with a smile. There! She dusted her hands off and gave a proud smile. She knew she would need to unpack eventually, but she could barely contain her excitement at the moment. She turned around a little too fast on her heel, and almost fell, catching herself with the wall. She gave herself a chuckle and left the room, walking into the living room of the area.

"You got everything to unpack, Hattie?" Reginald asked, looking over from Platinum's charger as she gave a quick nod. She didn't, he knew. But he wasn't going to get on her, that wasn't his job anyway. Hat Girl began to head to the door quickly, but Right Hand Man grabbed her hand before she could just race off. "Easy Righty, she's just excited," Reginald said. "This place has cameras and stuff, she can't do anything too dangerous... I still don't want you trying to walk on the railings, though."

"Come on, we're smart enough not to fall into the ocean." Platinum said, adjusting his sleeves as he sat up from the table. Hat Girl gave a nod and crossed her arms, and Right Hand Man just sighed. He loved these kids but why did they have to be like this? They were going to get themselves killed one of these days. "Like, there's some indoor railings and stuff. And even if I did fall in, I'm waterproof, aren't I?"

"Ya may be waterproof but ya still s'ouldn't jump into any body of water ya see." Right Hand Man said, rolling his eyes as Platinum just chuckled at the response. It was a miracle they hadn't gotten themselves hurt again, the last incident he could recall was the tower of sand. He still felt like something was odd. "Just... ya need to be careful alright. Ya may know t'e people on 'ere but some may still try to 'urt you. I can't drill t'at into yer 'eads enoug'."

"Trust me, Papa. I know who still counts as my enemies on this planet." Hat Girl said, quickly going to the package of water bottles they brought and grabbing one. The group heard a small crash outside their room and Hat Girl raced to the door. She opened it to see one of the seals with a knocked-down cart nearby, the captain letting out a side. "Oh, Hello Captain!" She said as she headed over to him, doing the same salute she used to when she was younger.

"Oh, hello Pup. Guess you didn't change too much." The Captain said, looking over at her with a small shrug. She just gave a smile and went to help the seal clean up, Platinum coming over to do as well. The Captain gave the robot an odd look, then seemed to glance at the camera. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Right Hand Man, who had glanced out the door. "You might want to be careful around the electrons here."

"You mean me?" Platinum asked, pointing to himself and getting a nod. "Nah, I'll be fine. I'm metal."

"I can see that. It's just now and again the electronics here can get an extra, surge of energy." The Captain explained, glancing at the camera once again, which then seemed to tilt away from the group. Right Hand Man gave that camera a glare, based on the others around it shouldn't have been on them that long. "Well, I know you would like me to stay and chat, Pup. But someone got to keep the ship from crashing... again."

"Oh, that's no issue!" Hat Girl said, the Captain raising a brow and the awkward chuckle and sheepish look she got on her face. He seemed to brush it off, however, as he just left. Hat Girl and Platinum finished setting up the cart and Hat Girl glanced at the seal, who gave a smile at her. These seals were still as cute as the day she saw them. "There you go, little fella. Try not to bump into anything else, alright now?"

"I wiww, thank u, miss!" The seal said, and carefully began to push the cart forward. The best they could without any proper arms. You think there will be some sort of cart made so the seals could push them around easier, but no. Hat Girl and Platinum glanced at each other for a moment. They both got a smile on their face and then raced off in different directions. Right Hand Man went to go grab them, but Reginald just put his hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, Righty, they'll be fine. If they get in trouble, someone will help." Reginald said, trying to shake off his husband's nerves. He knew he wasn't really happy they had to be here, and Reginald did wish they could work on the orbital station more. But then he noticed something off with his eyes as if they seemed a bit odd in a way. "Are you ok? You're having that look where you don't trust something but you don't know exactly what you don't trust again."

"Do I really just 'ave a look in my eyes? t'at's just t'at?" Right Hand Man asked, tilting his head. Reginald gave a nod and Right Hand Man blanked for a moment. He really shouldn't have been surprised, knowing him. He crossed his arms and went back to staring daggers at the camera, Reginald glancing at it as well. "T'e camera was actin' weird, 'nd that walrus told Platinum to stay away from t'e electrics 'ere."

"Righty, are you sure you're not just overlooking things a little?" Reginald asked, and Right Hand Man just gave a nod. Although he did glance to the side a bit, maybe he wasn't completely sure. But after what they've been through so far on this planet, what was there to trust? Reginald sighed and grabbed his husband's hands, looking at him. "Look, it's gonna be fine. Why don't we go sit by the pool or something, it's not too far away.."

"Alright, fine." Right Hand Man sighed. "I'm still keepin' an eye out though, somethin's up."

-------

It didn't take long to get to the pool once they got what they wanted, it wasn't far from their room. Right Hand Man's cybernetics were waterproof, they had to be, to work with a human body, but both agreed it’d be better to stay away from the pool itself and stay closer to the wall. Gave them more room just to relax and talk, which was what they came here to do. Hopefully, no one would notice, or if they did, they’d just leave them alone.

Right Hand Man still kept giving the nearby cameras daggers, much to Reginald's annoyance. His husband was always more on the protective side, which he loved. But it felt like it went a little too far at times, there wasn't anything in the cameras they needed to worry about. He took his hand and just sighed, Right Hand Man looking at him as Reginald's eyes gave a faint look of pleading. The cyborg soon just sighed and looked to the side.

"I'm sorry, I'm not tryin' to make ya worry, love." Right Hand Man said, looking at Reginald as he gave a nod. He couldn't help but give a slight smile. There were times when he still questioned how he got lucky enough to find Reginald in his life. He couldn't begin to think what life could be like without him. "It's just..." He let out a sigh and placed a hand on his head. "Dunno. Somet'in' just feels like it's comin'."

"Something bad, I'm guessing?" Reginald asked, getting a nod. Reginald knew what it was like. Leading the clan, you had to try and prepare for every possibility so you know what to do. Sometimes he felt if he considered the idea of the government breaking through the window of the airship, he would have had a better plan and Right Hand Man- He let out a small shout as Right Hand Man's cybernetics seemed to glitch a bit as there was a sudden shake. "Are you ok?!" He asked.

"I'me fin3, I t'ink one of those see1s just bumped somet'ing nearby, or s0methin'." Right Hand Man said, knocking the side of his head with his metal hand a few times, he could feel his eye was glitching and the movements in his metal limbs were a bit shakier. He closed his eyes and after another few seconds, they seemed to go back to normal. "Not the first time somethin' like that happened to me, Reginald."

"I know, but you shouldn't have gotten glitchy from a simple bump," Reginald said, pulling Right Hand Man closer to get a better look, his husband grumbling a bit. Reginald couldn't think of anything at first, but then he faintly recalled a crash-like sound at the station last night. He was half asleep, and just assumed it was distant thunder. "Were you trying to do some repairs last night and got your systems hurt?"

"Possibly?" Right Hand Man said. "One wall fell on me and may have messed with my wirein'."

"You could have waited until we got back... I'm going to have to check your wiring later." Reginald sighed, Right Hand Man glancing to the side a bit. He couldn't understand why he would even try that alone... this was his husband, of course, he would. Reginald glanced at the poolside nearby, then sighed and looked at his husband. "Want me to see if I can get a beer from the bar." He was meant with a look "What?"

"Yer not muc' of an alcoholic person Reg, I don't t'ink you drink more than eight s'otglasses in yer life." Right Hand Man said, Reginald, letting out a chuckle at the claim. Not that it was wrong, Reginald couldn't remember the last time he or his husband had some. He knew Righty used to sneak out for some when they first got together, but he seemed to let it go mostly after the kids came in. "..Ya know w'ot, one glass won't 'urt. Just make sure it's light, neither of us needs to get drunk."

"Alright, I'll be back then." He said, standing up and going to look for the bar he heard to be around here. He paused when he finally found it though. The counter was filled with empty glasses, but only the Conductor and Mr. Macbeth were sitting at the bar. Both were drinking quickly, which Reginald knew was unusual at least for Macbeth. He walked up to the train conductor. "Uhh... what's going on here?" He asked as another try of glasses was placed on the table.

"Macbeth thinks he can drink a pecking lot more than me, so I am putting him in his place!" The Conductor said, grabbing one of the glasses and just downing it. Drinking competition, somehow he shouldn't be surprised. Macbeth could already drink much more than an average man in one sitting when alive, and the Conductor just seemed like he got drunk a lot. "Ahh, your eyes are getting swirly, you can't last much longer."

"I'm dead." Macbeth simply replied. "I can go on for as long as I want, I haven't gotten drunk yet."

"Bein' dead does more harm to ye than bein' alive, my friend!" The conductor said, taking two of the glasses before Macbeth could grab one. Macbeth just rolled his eyes, he was destined to win. The Conductor would be drunkenly sleeping by the time he even started to feel off. It was almost a shame but it would work. "I can already see me at the finish line of this whole race of this stuff, ya hear me, Macbeth? Or ye too far gone to listen?"

"I'm pretty sure yo' accent keeps changin', but alright," Macbeth said with a sigh, garbing two of the beers before Conductor could, the Conductor letting out a mumble until some more came. Macbeth turned to Reginald and handed him the glasses. "Here chief, sorry ‘bout this." He said before turning back to the Conductor as he started rambling on some topic. "Sure sure." He said as he took another sip of his glass.

"Thank you, Java," Reginald said, only getting a glance from Macbeth at the acknowledgment of his first name before he turned to head back to his husband. Right Hand Man rose a brow when Reginald came back to the table, handing him one of the glasses as he sat down beside him. Whatever was in the glass didn't look very light. "Don't know how strong it is. Macbeth and Conductor had taken over the bar with a drinking competition."

"Huh, Macbeth finally found a competition game 'e likes then?" Right Hand Man said, getting an eye roll from his husband. He just chuckled and, hesitating at first, drank the alcohol he was given. It was strong and made him back up a bit. Reginald spat some out, letting out a cough as Right Hand Man looked at him. "Where you trin' to chuge it down or somethin'?" He asked, getting a glance from Reginald as he chuckled. "Hey, you know I'm jokin' Reginald... Reginald?"

"Yes, I know darling," Reginald said, rubbing his throat a bit. "You know I could have been choking there and you could have just been laughing."

"Ya think I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between you coughin' and chokin’?"

"Who knows," Reginald said, rolling his eyes a bit as he took a drink.

Right Hand Man just shook his head with a slight chuckle. Why were they both like this sometimes, he didn't know?

-------

Platinum had, of course, wanted to cause trouble. At first, he tried to find his sister when he realized they hadn't gone the same way, but now they were just far apart and he would have to deal with it. It was fine, he could handle himself. He could turn this whole ship into his field of chaos if he wanted to. If only this place had a tank, it's been too long since he tried to steal one of those, which made him kinda want to be home now.

He eventually found himself in some dining area or sort. Wouldn't matter much to him normally, he didn't need food. But he noticed the tables had to be secured to the floor to help them stay still, and that had quickly given him an idea. He went looking around for a group of empty tables, ones decently away from people, and then went under. He didn't know what he was doing, just messing with the system until the tables became loose.

He smirked once he got it free, quickly hopping out from under it and hopping on top, the movement of the ship making the table slide quickly to the side.

"Wooo!" He called as he threw his arms up. Sure it was simple entertainment compared to all the other stuff he did in his robotic life, but he was proud of the fact he could come up with it. Even if he knew he was likely getting some looks from any nearby tables. He just let out some laughter and adjusted his position when the table went a little faster than expected. "Is that all you got, you can try better than that?"

The ship must have made a sudden turn or something, because the table suddenly just slip out from under his legs, sending him tumbling to the floor. He let out a slight groan as he got up, shaking his head as his systems took a moment to adjust. He could hear some chuckling though and looked to one of the nearby tables to see Adyaln and Cooking Cat, the former behind the chuckling as he crossed his arms.

"What were you thinking?" Cooking Cat asked as he got up, tilting his head. "You are aware that tables aren't rides now, aren't you?"

"I mean, it does look fun," Adyaln said, leaning in the back of her chair a bit as Platinum gave a smile to them. He walked over to the table, dusting his clothing off a bit as he sat down. Pretending he didn't just do what he did in case it could get him in some sort of serious trouble, he doubted it would though. "Hey, have you seen Mu anywhere?" Adyaln asked as she leaned back forward, lowering her voice a bit. "We might've snuck her on."

"Without the captain's knowledge?" Platinum asked, his eyes widening in slight surprise as he got a nod. He could see Adyaln doing something like that, she was part of the lazy paw gang, but Cooking Cat? And Mu seemed like she would hate being snuck on. But at the same time, he wasn't sure if Mu would've been able to pay the price to get on... He shook his head. "No, but I'll be on the lookout. I mean, I'm sure she's fine."

"I know she is." Cooking Cat said. "I just can't help but be a little worried about her."

"This is Mu we're talking about, she can beat up a room full of people easily." Platinum said with a chuckle as he leaned his chair back, only to go too far back and fall off. He bumped into someone on the fall down and shook his head a bit as he stood up. He looked at who he knocked to the ground and paused for a moment. "V-Van!" He said as he bent down to them. "Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't notice you were there."

"It's fine. It's fine, Platinum." Van said as they stood up, dusting themselves off as Platinum stood back up. Platinum looked to the side awkwardly, he didn't know what to do. His wires and gears were acting all funny again. Van just looked at Platinum and gave a head tilt, a bit of worry in those pretty blue eyes of theirs. "Are you alright? Y-You, look like you saw something." Van said as they glanced around a bit. "Is it behind me?"

"No, nothing there. Just uh, looking?" Platinum said, tilting his head to the side a bit as he gave a smile. Why did he have to be so weird here? He just wanted to talk and sometimes he just couldn't. Come on talking is like, one of the main things he was programmed for. He just looked at Van's hat and reached for it. "Here, it's a bit crooked." Platinum said, getting it straightened out as Van took a small step back.

"Thank you, but it's fine," Van said, giving a smile when Platinum glanced at them. Was that a blush on their face-, no he was just miss-seeing things like he tended to. He gave a bit of a chuckle as he let go of the hat and backed up, rubbing the back of his head a bit. Van seemed to look down as they re-adjusted their sleeves. "You don't have to do that Platinum. I can take care of things myself, you know."

"R-Right, sorry." Platinum said, taking a step back as he glanced to the side. "I just wanted to help since I knocked you down, that's all."

"Yeah... I'm going to grab something to eat now. I'll see you later." Van said, giving a small wave before walking away. Platinum let out a sigh before looking over, seeing the table with the two cats who both had this weird, kinda cheeky look. He pulled the chair back to the table and sat down, adjusting the hat on his head a bit as he looked at the two, silently asking what was up with them. Adayln just shook her head.

"You realize you have a crush on that kid, right?" Cooking Cat asked, making Platinum pause for a moment as he processed what she said. Then he frowned and shook his head, crossing his arms. Sure, it might have been true, but he didn't need the whole world to know it. Adyaln had to hold back a laugh, and Cooking Cat smiled. "Hey, no need to feel bad. Almost everyone has these feelings in some way or another."

"I still don't know what you're talking about." Platinum said. "I'm a robot, that means I can't feel love in that way." He said, but they both just shook their heads. "I'm being serious! Why would I lie to you?"

"You just don't want to admit how you feel?" Adyaln suggested. "Come on, you're totally not the only one crushing on someone in your clan. Besides, did you see that blush they got when you helped them?"

"Almost looked as red as a strawberry." Cooking Cat added.

"I'm going to go. Lovely talking." Platinum said, standing up and walking a little too quickly to the elevator nearby. Why did people have to be like that? What were they even implying for him to do, ask Van out like Hat Girl kept telling him to do? Why couldn't people just let him handle these situations in peace?

-------

Fredrick couldn't see land anymore from the railings of the cruise, nothing but the ocean and icebergs around. It was cold, and he wasn't too sure how to feel about it. It was nice not to have the heat pouring down as it had been, but it felt too cold for this time of year. Guess that could just be him though. He was feeling a little worried about how far they were. What if the ship crashed? The water had to be freezing.

He shook his head and decided to head inside, where it was warmer. Would help him think more clearly. Not think about the ship they were on possibly sinking. He shook his head. He wished he could talk with Sammy but he hadn't found him yet. He looked around the area he was in the reception area. He smiled when he saw Burt nearby, sitting on one of the purple sofas and looking like he was staring out into space.

As he came over he noticed something odd. That group of penguins led by one, DJ Grooves if he recalled correctly, were doing something nearby, a smaller penguin kept in one of those baby gate things.

"Hey Burt, what's going on?" Fredrick asked, Burt, looking over and rolling his eyes a bit upon seeing him. He glanced back at the group, looking around a bit before settling into a certain position. Got a few looks from nearby but he either didn't notice or didn't care. Fredrick had to focus on something else before he said something. "Is that a baby Penguin?" He asked as he carefully pointed to the small penguin.

"Yea, that’s that one's daughter." Burt said, looking at Fredrick as he nodded, putting his hand down. It made sense, he supposed. She was the only other penguin who was blue. Burt soon let out a sigh and he just moved to the side a bit, letting Fredrick sit down beside him. Fredrick gave a smile as Burt rolled his eyes again. "The DJ something guy was planning on using this as a set for a movie eventually and is getting practice scenes in or something." He shrugged. "Having me toss stuff over."

"Huh, I guess it is placed nearby," Fredrick said, glancing at the boxes nearby the sofa. He wasn't sure why that made it Burt's job but Burt wasn't complaining either way. He just was confused about if they were even allowed to do this. Sure Fredrick and the clan were criminals but he had an understanding of the law. "Does the captain know about this? Not sure if he’s ok with a random practice shoot going on."

"Hey, you, bring some of the cameras in the box over." One of the penguins suddenly called, Burt rolling his eyes as he got up. Fredrick got up as well as he looked in the boxes. Why did they bring professional movie stuff here for a practice shoot? He shook his head and just started helping Burt get one out. "Hey, careful how you're lifting that!" The voice called again, and Fredrick had to hold back a comment.

"It's fine, Fredrick." Burt said as he began to head to them. "I can handle it."

"They can be a little kinder. We may be criminals but we haven't done anything to them." He mumbled as they came over, giving the cameras to the penguin to set up. Fredrick started heading back to the sofa while taking Burt's hand so he could get him out of this, but Burt let go and just sighed. Fredrick looked at the birds. "Can't they just use their phones to record?" Fredrick asked. "Do they even have phones?"

"Maybe they do, maybe they don't." Burt said with a shrug, going to the box of cameras again to grab another one. Before Fredrick had time to tell But not to, he seemed to pause and looked around, before mumbling a bit. "Dang it, where did mine go." He said, heading back to the sofa to look around. Fredrick went too close to the box with the cameras so that he could go help him, and Burt could take forever to find stuff.

"Oh, is everything ok?" Fredrick heard a voice, turning to see the one penguin.

"Yeah, DJ Grooves right? Everything's fine, Burt just lost his phone and I should go help look for it." Fredrick said, pulling out his phone to call Burt. It likely wouldn't do much as Burt often kept his phone on silent, but it would help if it happened to go off it for once. He gave a glance at the box full of cameras then turned back to the bird. "Did you really need a bunch of professional cameras for a simple trip?"

"It can never hurt, can it darling?" Grooves asked, pausing when he turned his attention to the little penguin nearby. One of the Conductors grandkids came by to see, at least that's how Fredrick saw it. Grooves smiled at the two, he must not be on bad terms with the kid like Fredrick assumed he was with Conductor. "And I'm sure your friend can find the phone on his own. It's just going to take a bit of time." Grooves said, waving a dismissive flipper.

"Sure he could, I guess... I just get worried sometimes, I don't know." Fredrick said, watching the bird tilt his head in confusion and interest. "I'm not about to get into it, it isn't my place," Fredrick said as he pressed the call button again once his screen showed it had gone to voicemail. He glanced to the side. "I just keep worrying because of, reasons I guess. Burt doesn't think much of himself and I'm sick of it."

"Found it!" Burt suddenly called, his voice going through the phone a bit before he hang up. Fredrick shook his head with a smile as he looked over at Burt, who started to come up over to the group, re-adjusting the hair on his face. Grooves seem to spot something but Fredrick pretended not to notice, watching as Burt looked at him. "You could have tried being a bit more of a help, you know." He said, "that's what you always act like you are.'

"Is there something wrong with your eye, Burt?" Grooves asked, and he was met with silence.

"No, you must be seeing things." Burt said a bit of a defensive tone to his voice as he looked to the side, pulling some more of the hair in front of his face. He looked at Fredrick who just gave a nod and then sighed, turning around with a small huff in his breath. "I'm heading out now." Burt said, beginning to walk away. "Don't bother trying to come after me Fredrick, I'll be somewhere you can't find me."

"Alright then..." Fredrick let out a sigh as he looked at Grooves, who just seemed more confused. He hadn't upset anyone, had he? Fredrick just shook his head and sat down on the sofa nearby, looking out the window at the large ocean they were going to be surrounded by for who knew how long. "Sorry about his attitude. He just... doesn't like things much." Fredrick said with a shrug. "He's a good guy when you get to know him."

"Must be hard for anyone to do that." DJ Grooves said, getting a chuckle as Fredrick shook his head. "I could have sworn something was wrong with his eye, but couldn't put a flipper on it."

"It's nothing like he said. Don't worry." Fredrick sighed as he turned back to the bird. The way he said it only made it more clear it wasn't nothing.

-------

Should Hat Girl and the other toppats maybe be avoiding the casino-like area of the cruise, probably? But was she going to miss Snatcher messing with the systems and seeing how far he can ring things before he got caught? Peak no. Even if it was wrong, it was fun to watch. It wasn't like he was gambling with souls here... at least not yet. Plus he made quite the show to the other players at the table.

She didn't understand how the game worked yet. She assumed she would eventually when she was the Chief and possibly doing this stuff. They all just kept hoping for a certain number or color or something of that sort. Shadow Kid was at the slot machine Hat Girl was next too. She wasn't gambling, Snatcher wouldn't allow that. She was just messing around with it, pretending like it was an arcade game if you will.

Hat Girl couldn't help but let out a chuckle as she saw Shadow Kid throw her hands in the air over pure joy for something that hadn't happened. It was just like how she was when she was a bit younger.

"I swear I'm doing nothing here, you all have rotten luck is all!" Snatcher said from the table, pointing to a group of players as he let out a laugh, Hat Girl let out a chuckle. Snatcher always seem able to pull off that laugh no matter what, and it always brought so much energy. And fear to those who never heard it before. "Now let's see... Maybe I have good luck as well. I just need to avoid something like a one..."

"You think that be the best number." Hat Girl said to Shadow Kid, who looked over and gave a nod in response. She then chuckled and glanced to the side, before she saw someone she didn't expect. Mu, she was just standing there nearby. With a smile, Hat Girl took Shadow Kid's hand and began to head over to her. "Mu!" She said with a smile, Mu jumping a bit before turning and seeing her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hey, I'm just doing some rounds here is all. Need to make sure no one is getting scammed, or something." Mu quickly said, looking around the place. "What are you doing here? Do your Dads let you gamble?"

"No, they're not like that." Hat Girl said, shaking her head. Even if they would've, which they never would, the seals would likely have stopped her. She just gave a smile as Mu gave a nod in return, glancing around. She eyed Snatcher suspiciously, so Hat Girl stepped to the side and let out a small chuckle. "So, how have things been in Mafia Town?" She asked. "Gotten into any trouble with the mafia again, Mu?"

"Not too much, thankfully," Mu said with a sigh, leaning against the wall as she adjusted the hood on her head slightly. Hat Girl chuckled at that, but she was a little worried. Something about Mu's tone seemed different from normal. Mu must have noticed that she noticed because she just put her hand to her head. "I don't know what it is, but I just can't turn like I used to. And I'm still young, I'm not an adult yet." She started with frustration. "How long will I be able to do this?"

"You'll figure something out, I'm sure of that." Hat Girl said, giving a smile as she turned over to where a bunch of laughter was, Snatcher, having a grin on his face. "Must be doing well." She commented to Mu when she turned back around, Mu giving a slight nod as she rose a brow. Mu let out a yawn as she glanced to the side. "He's going to come over any moment and proudly shared that he won. Just three, two-"

"And that's how you take home the gold, Shadow," Snatcher said as he floated over to the group, Shadow Kid let out a chuckle as she jumped into his arms, Snatcher rolling his eyes as he caught her. He noticed Mu and gave her an odd look, before looking at Hat Girl who gave him a thumbs up. He smiled as he floated above the teens. "Hey, me and Shadow are going to head by the pool to relax a bit. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yup, come on Mu!" Hat Girl said, taking Mu's hand before she had a chance to say no. "It'll be fun."

"Fine, I don't see a way out of your grip either way," Mu mumbled, before letting out a slight shout as Snatcher picked them up, beginning to head through the ship quickly. Mu pulled down the hood of her cloak a bit as she felt the air racing by, Hat Girl holding onto her hat for dear life. Eventually, it started to slow down as she shook her head. "Snatcher, was that necessary?" She asked, looking at him as he shrugged.

"It was the fastest way to get all of us here," Snatcher said. "Now, I wonder if Macbeth's around. That dude has a weird relationship with water." He said, placing the girls down and beginning to look around as Shadow Kid slid down from his back. Hat Girl let out a chuckle at that and Mu just rolled her eyes as she watch Hat Girl head to the water, but just barely stop before actually heading in. Right, she wasn't in her swimwear.

"Wooo!" Shadow Kid said as she jumped in the water, splashing Hat Girl and Mu. Hat Girl let out a bit of laughter as Mu mumbled. "Hey, Papa look!" Shadow Kid called.

"Yup, I'm here if you need anything!" Snatcher called as he looked over at her, glancing around the place until he paused. He finally found Macbeth at the bar, but the bar was a mess. Empty glass bottles and small puddles of beer all over. The Conductor was beside Macbeth, asleep with his head in one of those puddles. Macbeth was wearing a slightly-drunk smile on his face. "Do I need to ask what on earth happened here?" Snatcher asked.

"I won, that's what," Macbeth said, putting his hand against his head as he shook it with a smile. Snatcher looked at all the bottles around and felt some guinea horror. He wasn't sure he could go through this many bottles and not be in a coma. What kind of livers did these two have... at least Snatcher thought it was livers. "He thought he could outdrink me, I would've out drunk him even if I was still alive."

"I see..." Snatcher said as he picked the Conductor up and then threw him into the pool.

The Conductor was quickly awoken by the water and broke the surface. "What in the-," He asked, before growling when he heard Snatcher laughing nearby. "Oh ye pecking ghost, come down here and I'll tear yer peaking legs off, ye hear me ye mother-pecking pool noodle on birdseed!" More laughter was his only response. "Macbeth help me out!"

"Sorry, can't go swim, water is the demon Platinum is scared" Mr. Macbeth shrugged.

"Should we go help Conductor out?" Hat Girl asked, looking over at Mu. "I mean, he most likely suffering from a hangover right now."

"Hmm... no. I think he'll be just fine." Mu said, letting out a chuckle as Hat Girl rolled her eyes. Shadow Kid and Snatcher did eventually get him out of the water, leaving the Conductor drenched in the water. All in all, a good start to the cruise.

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