Took me around 60 hours to finish this, actually finalized it last week but I got too lazy to post it lol.
If anyone's confused on the characters, the first half is the canon alien form of Devine, but at the end I decided to use my characterization of her alien form.
I got around to listening to the light panel reading of the Galactic Kids Next Door. Considering the detail revealed that pretty much Nigel got mistreated at GKND, I wanted to write something for that, and yeah, here we are
I'm not very confident on how to write these two, especially Devine since, again I wanted to try and write her without the 'persona' she might have developed back on Earth. Still though, I tried my best
Late Night Cup of Tea
-Numbuh Vine (Lizzie Devine) × Numbuh One (Nigel Uno)
-Warnings: None applies
Standing motionless, the headquarters of GKND fell nearly into silence, it's corridors empty and lifeless as it was time to rest. For a select few however... Sleep was far from their mind.
Along the lit hallways, the light pitter patter of sound followed Nigel as he walked. It's been an exhausting day. Well, one could say it's been an exhausting couple of months with how it's going so far. Nearly everyone here tended to look down on him due to his home planet being highly inhibited by adults. It seemed most member's of GKND abhor adults much more than he does.
Due to that, members often treat him more or less as a nuisance, or an assistant of some sort. He'd be sent on 'mission's' just like before, this time however it consisted more of tedious work regarding maintenance of the headquarters, less of the crime fighting he was used to back on Earth. Although he would like to ask for a better task to do, but everyone he talked to would pay him no mind.
He does wonder at times, why not just send him back to Earth? They all seemed to dislike him either way. Did they only need him to do their bidding? To finish their chores within the headquarters?
Sighing, a heavy weight starts to tug at Nigel's chest as he approached the dining area, it truly has been a rough couple of days. He'd like some chillidogs, but the kitchen closed around 3 hours ago. No matter, a good cup of tea sounds good right about now. He's actually been thinking in trying tea more often since it helped soothe his nerves.
Grabbing a cup, he approached a group of dispensers that could pour different types of drinks from all around the Galaxy. Amongst them is a classic brew of chamomile tea. Despite the struggle he experiences, one thing that he was glad about is the free food and drinks provided. No matter the amount, he could take as much as he pleased... Unless of course the kitchen is closed, if so then drinks are the only option.
Dispensing himself a warm cup, he took a moment to appreciate it's aroma before taking a sip. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath before exhaling, the quiet atmosphere almost lulling him to serenity.
. . .
Nearly a full minute passed by before a familiar voice suddenly greets him. "Rough day?"
Nigel quickly opens his eyes in surprise, and looks around expecting to see a familiar face. Liz-? His thought process quickly stops as he's met with a different figure, although he swears the voice sounded oddly similar to...
Shaking his head from the thought, he slightly smiles, feeling a little sheepish once their eyes meet, "Ah, sorry I thought you were..." his words trail before he could say her name. A slight pinch of pain nagged at his heart for a moment before he quickly picked himself up to answer the question, "A-anyways, yes," he sighed, trying to calm himself once more, "You could say that again."
The figure nods her head, "Same here," she answers before slowly getting a cup to fill as well. As she does so, Nigel then soon realizes that she must be Numbuh Vine, a highly respected member that was rarely to be seen outside of her quarters.
Best regarded for her great knowledge in technology, language, weaponry, and even aircrafts. Some say she possesses a myriad of skills that includes all that was mentioned, and more. Due to this, she was rumoured to be tasked a mission that led to her becoming a spy for GKND. And if what Nigel heard is true, then she was one of the spies on Earth, regarded to be a dangerous planet due to the large number of adults that inhibit it.
Knowing this, Nigel felt slightly intimidated by her presence. Doing his best to be respectful, he straightens his posture before quietly taking a sip from his drink. In the dark recesses of his mind however, he hopes she won't treat him as badly as the others have.
After Numbuh Vine got a cup of tea as well, Nigel expected her to head back to her quarters. Strangely however, she decides to stay.
Taking a sip from her own cup, the silence continues to make Nigel feel a little tense. But as he looks back at her, something tells him to be at ease. With her eyes closed at that moment, she appeared harmless, as her vines flowed majestically through the air, her face expressed the same exhaustion as he does. Noticing this, Nigel relaxed slightly.
Soon opening her eyes however, their gaze met for a second before Nigel quickly averts his own. As he took a sip from his drink, his cheeks slightly warms up in embarassment.
This seemed to earn an amused smile from Devine as she lets out a short sigh, trying not to chuckle. "I'm guessing you're Number 1?" Devine asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, ma'am," Nigel answers, still feeling a tad bit embarrassed.
Devine waves one of her vines before responding, "Oh please, do feel free to address me as Number Vine, I won't mind," she states, lightening the mood.
Nigel nods, a smile starting to sprout from his face. "Will do Numbuh Vine," he states, his posture softening.
As another moment soon passes by however, Devine's expression seems to shift to being a little upset. Noticing this, Nigel was about to question her before she spoke, "I'm sorry by the way... For the treatment you've been receiving these past few months."
Meeting her gaze, Nigel was taken aback by the sudden statement. He didn't know exactly what to say, "Ah, well thank you. Yeah, I try not to let it get to me," he states his gaze falling down to his nearly finished cup of tea.
"...Well if ever you do feel the need to. You're always welcome to come to my quarters," Devine responds back before finishing her cup of tea.
"Really?" Nigel asks, once more surprised. Numbuh Vine's quarters were located in the lower regions of the establishment. Rarely anyone but her was seen to enter the place.
"Of course, were all a little stressed these days and I could chat once in a while," she adds before placing down her cup on a tray, later to be washed.
"For now though, have a good night Number 1. I hope to see you soon," she states, one of her vines hovering closely to Nigel, before she stops it from caressing his face. Waving goodbye, she floats away from Nigel and head to the hallway.
Quickly responding this time however, Nigel smiles and waves back, "Same goes to you Numbuh Vine, good night!"
As Devine left the scene, Nigel stands there for a moment, now left alone once more. Feeling delighted however, the smile on his face continues to persist. He's glad to have met someone kind today.
Finishing his cup of tea, he places it right beside Numbuh Vine's used cup on the tray. He sighs, fixing his shades before thinking. He didn't exactly expect Numbuh Vine to be friendly, more so empathetic to the point she'd apologize. A surprise but a pleasant one nonetheless...
Soon proceeding to the hallway, he decides. Perhaps... He'll take her up on her offer and visit when the time comes, at the moment though, he'd like to get a good night's sleep.
__________
Andd thanks for reading! It was honestly pretty fun writing this. I do worry that maybe I wrote them talking a little too formal (?) or out of character, especially Devine since I was aiming to show the possibly more serious side of her we didn't get to see in the show.
Still basing off how she acted in the animatic though, my interpretation of her was more on actually being more knowledgeable than she seems. Like she's actually pretty clever, not really boisterous and highly respected since spies usually need a lot of skillset to be a spy.
Also in the rainbowmonkeys website (website used to supposedly show the GKND animatic) after revealing the secret of the website, there's three eyes right, and within one of them (the one placed on the right), if you look closely and enhance the photo, you can actually see a potted plant upside down. This most likely represents Numbuh Vine.
Here's a screenshot of what I'm talking about:
Basically, I took all that as kind of like a sign that she might have at least a little bit of authority at GKND.
So yea with all that, and considering that they're a little older here, I characterized her being quite different here. Although, now that I watched a few episodes of KND with Lizzie I might re-interpret her character later.
As for Nigel though, yeah I still tried to write him as close to canon as possible but still tried to account to the fact that he matured slightly because of the passage of time and the experiences he got overtime his stay in the GKND headquarters.
Anyways, if you've read this far, thanks again for reading lol. I didn't expect to write a mini analysis here. Do feel free to tell me your opinions in the comments below if ever you're up for it!
Bonus! I was supposed to add this, but felt like it didn't really fit so I took it out. I wrote this in the fics early form when it still didn't have an ending
This segment was supposed to be placed after this paragraph in the fic:
After Numbuh Vine got a cup of tea as well, Nigel expected her to head back to her quarters. Strangely however, she decides to stay.
(Here's the discarded segment:)
As the silence soon settles between them, Devine quickly took note of the shift in the atmosphere. Taking a breath, Devine takes a sip from her cup. She's usually shy to eat or drink in front of others due to her strange physiology, but oddly enough, she doesn't feel shy at all.
Truth be told, Devine is aware of the treatment Nigel frequently receives. Feeling sorry, she has tried to influence a few others to treat him better, she's not sure if it worked however.
She would have reached out to him sooner, however right after she returned a great amount of work and responsibilities had already been assigned. Adding to this, the leader of GKND was discouraging her to be in contact with Nigel. Stating that it could affect her loyalty to GKND itself as they have noticed her growing fondness of Earth, it's creatures, and especially Nigel.
Of course, Devine never intended on following their orders. She was planning to meet Nigel one way or another. Coincidentally though, she finally reunites with him tonight.
Now as Devine looks back at him, she feels more at fault and concerned. Even with his shades on, through it, Devine could clearly see that he looked quite tired and a little worn down. With a straight posture, he's doing his best to put up a front.
(Since Tumblr has a limit to the number of pictures you can place in a post, the last illustration for the tweening animation done had to be included in this reblog.)
Took me around a full day to finish this if we're not going to include the breaks I took.
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I am very much aware how... unique this ship looks like when considering Lizzie is not a human. But well, I think that's one of the things that makes the ship more interesting.
. . . INCOMING MESSAGE: . . . Hello, author here. I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but I actually do scan my illustrations so it's more high quality. I did my best editing this one but as you can see the scanning might have made the lines more darker than it's supposed to be. Either way, here's the illustration itself:
As for the blog itself, yes this will be a blog dedicated to this ship itself lol since I find the pairing quite interesting and cute. Maybe I'll post something else than this ship that's still KND/ G:KND related in the future, but we'll see.
