Finding Balance

Finding Balance

Chapter 3 : New People, New Places

(For @ninjago-fic-fest)

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 - Chapter 4

Summary: After he is retrieved from the lighthouse by his brother and new friends, Echo must adjust to his new life. Even though his new home and family are amazing, it's still so different from what he's used to. Maybe a walk in the city will help clear his mind.

Chapter 3

New People, New Places

Echo felt his pants pocket for about the tenth time since leaving the monastery. Yep, the communicator was still there.

He’d probably forget to check in as much as Zane wanted him to, but he promised himself he’d call his brother at least once on his outing.

At some point.

But not right now, there was too much to see!

And this place was like nothing Echo had ever seen before.

The streets bustled with cars and motorcycles of all shapes and colors. Tantalizing smells wafted from street vendors and out of restaurant doors. Bright signs advertising sales and 2 for 1 specials, sat outside of businesses, trying to bring in as many costumers as possible. People lined the sidewalks, arms full of the wares they had bought at the previous store, headed to the next vendor on their list.

It was so beautiful. The city was filled with more life and color than Echo thought possible.

And the buildings were all so tall! Sure, the lighthouse had been pretty sizable, but these buildings were ginormous!

Echo craned his neck to see the top of a particularly large building that looked to be near the center of the city. It’s shiny glass sides shone in the sun. The walls kept going up and up and up; crowned at the tippy top with a shimmering blue hologram that looked a bit like a stylized letter “C”. The hologram shimmered and warbled with static as a bird flew through the center of the digital image.

There were quite a lot of birds around, actually, Echo noticed. Pigeons strutted through the streets, larger black birds, probably crows or ravens, soared through the spaces between the many buildings. There were even some robins perched on some of the power lines that lined the roads.

Echo was looking at a particularly large black bird perched comic-ly on a rather small streetlight when a kid on a bike almost crashed into him.

“Wwhhhooooaaa!!!!” the kid yelled and swerved at the last second as Echo stumbled in the opposite direction. Both the bike and the kid fell to the pavement with a crash.

When he had recovered his balance, Echo rushed over to the kid sprawled out on his back and offered a hand to help him up.

“Are you okay?”, he asked urgently. He sincerely hoped the boy was alright; it had looked like a pretty nasty crash. But the kid suddenly jumped up from the street unaided, as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m fine!”, he exclaimed, “I’ve crashed my bike hundreds of times!”

The boy looked a little disheveled, but he didn’t seem to be hurt too bad.

“Hundreds of times?” Echo asked, flabbergasted.

“Well, maybe not that many times, but I do crash a lot,” the kid answered, “I’m Nelson by the way, what’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m Echo,” the android replied, and stuck out his hand for a handshake like his brother had taught him to.

Nelson accepted his hand and shook it enthusiastically, “Nice to meet you, Echo! And um, sorry I almost ran you over,”

“It’s okay. I am glad that you are fine as well,”

“Thanks!”, Nelson replied with a smile.

Then his smile broadened, and his eyes widened.

"Whoa…sorry - this is - I just have to say – I can’t believe I’m meeting a real life nindroid!”, Nelson stuttered out, “This is so cool! I’ve seen some nindroids around town, but I’ve never actually met one before,”

Echo smiled wide.

He didn’t think anyone had ever called him “cool” before. It felt good. And from the sounds of it there were other nindroids in the city as well. That was an encouraging thought.

Pausing their conversation, Nelson crouched down by his bike to examine it.

“Oh no…” he groaned, “my mom’s gonna kill me...”

Echo gave Nelson a concerned look.

“Oh! Not really. It’s just an expression,” Nelson added with a laugh, seeming to understand Echo’s confusion. “She keeps telling me to be more careful when I bike in the city. So, she’s not going to be happy when she sees this,” he gestured to the overturned bike.

Echo took a closer look at the bike and saw the reason for Nelson’s distress. Not only had the chain come off the gears, which in and of itself would have been an easy fix, but the gears themselves were missing entirely!

He looked around for the missing gears, and finally spotted them scattered on the sidewalk a few feet away. He quickly retrieved the bike gears and went to hand them to Nelson.

“Are these what you’re looking for?” he asked.

“Oh, you found them! Thanks Echo!” Nelson exclaimed excitedly. And then he paused, seemingly deep in thought, “Now, how do I reattach these…”

Echo squatted down next to Nelson to get a closer look at the problem.

If there was one thing he knew, it was mechanics. He had reattached his own arm multiple times and had kept Ty-Dee in tip top shape over the years in the lighthouse. Echo figured he could reattach the gears easily.

With the right tools.

Which he didn’t have on hand.

“Hmmm. I think I can fix it, but I don’t have the tools right now…”

“You’ll help me fix it? Aw man you’re a life saver Echo!”

Echo stood up and considered their options.

“If you would like, we can take your bike back to my house and I can fix it there,”

“That sounds great! But I’ll have to ask my mom first,” Nelson rolled his eyes, “She doesn’t like me going to other people’s houses without her permission,”

“Hm. That seems like a good rule for her to have” Echo replied.

“Yeah, I guess,” Nelson admitted, “I’ll ask her and maybe I can come over with the bike tomorrow,”

“Sounds like a plan,” Echo nodded his head in agreement, “I suppose I shall see you tomorrow. It was very nice meeting you Nelson.”

“It was nice to meet you too,” Nelson replied with a smile.

Echo waved a quick goodbye and was just turning to leave when Nelson interrupted.

“Hey, I was headed to the Dairy Dragon for some ice cream. Y’know, before I almost crashed into you and all. But it’s kinda boring eating ice-cream all by yourself. Do you want to come?”

Echo considered the offer. The whole reason he had wanted to explore the city was, ironically in a city this size, to get away from people. But honestly, after talking with him for a bit, Echo kinda wanted to hang out with Nelson some more. Who knows? It could be the start of a new adventure.

“I would love to accompany you. But, um, what is ice cream?”

“You’ve never had ice cream before?!”, Nelson blurted, flabbergasted.

Echo thought back to all the different meals he had tried with his new family. Ice cream. Like the cream cheese frosting on his welcome home cake?

“Um. Is it like cake?”, Echo offered in response to Nelson’s bewilderment.

“If you like cake, you’re going to love ice-cream!”, Nelson replied, “Be prepared for deliciousness my friend! It’s this way!”

Nelson gestured for Echo to follow him as he wheeled his bike down the sidewalk towards a row of small shops.

Echo didn’t move from his place on the concrete.

Friend. He had made a new friend.

Echo stood smiling for a moment longer before Nelson shouted back to him.

“Are you coming, Echo?!”

“Coming!”, Echo shouted back and ran to catch up with his new friend.

It wasn’t exactly the alone time he had planned for the day, but that was okay.

He was glad to have met someone as nice as Nelson.

Whoa girl! That's a lot of writing! Nice job!

Let's see I have,

● Finding Balance

● The Lighthouse (We Dance in the Rain)

● No One's Ever Really Gone

2 Ninjago and 1 Star Wars fic. Not a ton going on, but I'd love to answer any questions y'all have about them. 😊

WIP Challenge!

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.  Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it!  And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.  I have deemed that this isn’t just for writing either.  Sketch titles?  Comics?  DnD campaigns?  If you have an unfinished project, it counts!!  

Hi everyone! In honor of fanfic writer appreciation day, bringing this back!

My insane taglist under the cut, but if you see this in the wild feel free to jump on!!

tagging people from nwod and fic fest! ignore the ping if you didn't want it sorry dfkjlgh but i find these fun and thought some of you might, too :D

@only-lonely-stars @rosiehunterwolf @silvermags @starlightaxolotl @guplia @stars-brownies-n-metaphors @bananaplayzz @boba-pearl @caycubone @weekend-whip @pandemonium-kidz @aroninshonour @zebaji @kumoriwrites @spinbitchzu @tirednapentity @taddymason @psychologicalwarclaire @finn-m-corvex @knowledgequeenabc @tinywriterfairy @graceful-not @jays-supersonic-dynamo @artqueen02 @basicallyjaywalker @fruit-colored-ninja @summerf0x @nocturnal-nexu @riseleon @indigosky101 @miqotepotatoe @randomcrapstories @lightning-chicken @crikkit-kitterton @colesstar @lloydenthusiast @senseigrace @the-painted-siren @ataraxixx @parateuthis @curiositythecryptid @elemom @mikewheelerfan2022 @mcfanely @rainbow-flavoured-skittles @a-big-chicken-nerd @collectiveclams @stealingyourbones @abunnsburrow @survivalshipping @gravyhoney @officercooks @laziarteest @nin-jay-go @themilosquid @fandomsareforlife @goldenavenger02 @localguy2 @blu3cl0v3rs @ghostwalloper @cboffshore @bookworm-dork-fish @raven6229

HUGE BREATH HELLO

Is this why they started adding orange to his color scheme?

IS THIS WHY THEY STARTED ADDING ORANGE TO HIS COLOR SCHEME????!!!!!!!!!

Honestly, I kinda hope this is why they started adding the orange. It would just be so wholesome. 🥹

Look at them all!!!!! I love seeing people's different interpretations of fan kids! It totally looks like Lily's hair is glowing like Cole's lava arms! AndJulia looks like such a mischievous little child with that smile. I bet she gets herself and her brother into shenanigans.

Thanks so much for the tag @the-ninjago-historian!

Colnia Crusaders, let's go!!! 😎

Ninja Kids Dynamics with incorrect quotes and vines. @the-ninjago-historian mentioned wanting to see their dynamics

Julia and Colt

Soliel, at the slightest provocation: I came into this earth screaming and covered in someone else's blood and and I'm not afraid to leave the same way.

Ben: If Harper and I were drowning, who would you save? Lily: You two can’t swim? Ben: It’s a hypothetical question, Lily! Who would you save? Lily: My time and effort.

*The squad has just arrived in a new city. Colt looks around at the wanted posters to see if they’re on any of them.* Ben: Colt, are you a criminal? Colt: Not here, I’m not!

*Julia and Colt are planning to break in somewhere* Julia: We need to distract the guards. Colt: Right. Julia: What are we gonna do? Colt: I'm gonna break their elbows while you poke their eyes. Julia: Colt: Julia: Deal.

*Everyone is playing a board game together* Soliel: I will put 'A' down to make 'A'. Lily: I will add onto your 'A' to make 'AT'. Colt: I will add onto your 'AT' to make 'RAT'. Ezra: I will add onto your 'RAT' to make 'BIOSTRATAGRAPHIC'. Colt: *flips the board*

Lily: My aesthetic is "would be suspected of witchcraft by small town citizens."

Soliel: Where did you get that tomato soup? Lily: It’s actually a bowl of ketchup I just microwaved.

Ben: It's called cauliflower, not ghost broccoli. Harper, eyes wide: I know what I saw.

Ben: There's nothing worse than people using big words they don't understand. Julia: I photosynthesize with this.

Thank you so much! I can't wait to read "Orange is the New Black"! I've been so busy with work and my business that I haven't been able to read much lately. 😕 I've seen so many of your writing posts, and all your stories look so interesting! I'm really looking forward to just sitting down and reading through all the great Ninjago Fan Fics I've been watching from afar.

Have a wonderful day my friend!

God Bless!

-Nexu

I'd love to hear about your WIP "Finding Balance"!

Of course!

This one is for the Ninjago Fic Fest. I was so happy to find an Echo prompt so I could put my own spin on his story!

It's honesty kinda weird how the story developed. The prompt was just to have Echo explore Ninjago and learn more about himself along the way. But then I realized that to get to Ninjago, he had to get off the island first. So I had to write that bit, and then the middle went in a different direction than I had originally planned.

Like, the complete opposite direction.

The original idea was that Echo wanted some alone time after being rescued by his new family. (Imagine living alone for years, and then all of sudden, you're in a crowded monastery with people around every corner. You might want a break from it after a while.)

But time alone is not at all what I ended up writing for Echo.

I was about to rework the middle bit to better fit the theme I had originally intended when I realized that just because the themes I had going were completely opposite each other, didn't mean they couldn't exist together.

It's awfully interesting that the prompt involved Echo discovering more about himself on his adventures because that's what happened to me while writing.

I love to spend time alone. I feel like I can truly be myself. And a lot of my hobbies are single person activities.

But at the same time, I love spending time with other people! Going to get ice cream with friends, or seeing people at church, or talking and joking with my coworkers, I love it!

I didn't realize how much I loved it until I spent a little too much time alone and ended up feeling really sad and lonely.

And then, on the flipside, if I'm around people for too long, I get mentally drained.

I realized it was all about finding that balance. Hence, the title of the story.

Just like me, Echo is going to have to find that balance in this story.

Luckily, he has his big bro Zane to help him out with that. 😊

AAAAHHHJJHJJHDDJSJWJWJEJJD!!!!!!!!

YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!

That fits them so well!!!

Arin and Sora as the song Two Birds by Regina Spektor who’s listening to me