Sunshine

**Sunshine the Plucky Switcher Tug** is one of the main characters in the Seventyverse's TUGS spinoff series and is the seventh member of the Star Fleet.

## Backstory

Sunshine was the newest tug in the Star Fleet. She lived and worked upriver from Bigg City Port. Billy Shoepack appears to be a friend from those days. Sadly, her owner was diagnosed with terminal cancer and there was a danger that Sunshine could be scrapped.

Captain Star charted Sunshine to help out with his fleet’s extra work, but she and Ten Cents were then tasked to bring in the Duchess when Big Mac was unavailable. During the docking, Zak nudged Sunshine out of the way so Zorran could swoop in and help and everyone thought it was Sunshine that almost caused an accident. Depressed and disliked by the Stars, Sunshine ran away from Bigg City and crashed into a mudbank. Luckily, Izzy Gomez happened to have seen everything and the Stars took Sunshine to Lucky’s Yard and Captain Star bought her, much to the switcher's delight.

Ever since Sunshine joined the Fleet, she and Ten Cents have been best friends. They have shared many adventures, almost to the extent that it is impossible to imagine one without the other. Ten Cents was the only one that didn’t/did not dismiss Sunshine after the accident and tried to find her until Izzy told him what happened.

## Relationships

### Ten Cents

Ten Cents and Sunshine instantly got along at first sight, and worked extremely well together in the harbour. Ten Cents stood by Sunshine when she was being accused of messing up the liner docking, and proved her innocent. Likewise, when Ten Cents was accused of stealing barges, Sunshine returned that loyalty, and stood by Ten Cents' side to rescue Sea Rogue and O'Malley. After Sunshine cut ties with Corona, she declared Ten Cents her *true* best friend.

### Big Mac

Big Mac has taken on the role of a mentor figure toward Sunshine, and educated her about the dangers of logging. He was very worried when Sunshine was trapped and could have burnt up when the logs got out of control.

### O.J.

Sunshine looks up to O.J. and highly respects him. She was very concerned when O.J. blew out his engine to stop Ten Cents from being quarantined.

### Top Hat

Sunshine often teases Top Hat when he gets pompous and cocky; this mostly came from Ten Cents. She was furious with Top Hat when he refused to help with the Munitions but happily forgave him after he led the charge to save O.J.. Like the rest of the Stars, Sunshine was horrified and heartbroken when Top Hat was killed saving Zip from an enemy bomber. Worst of all, she was there to watch it happen as she, Top Hat, Zebedee and Zip were paired together in looking for Zug at the time.

(Details regarding the TUGS Survival AU to be added)

### Warrior

Sunshine does occasionally get frustrated with Warrior's clumsiness. However, she is very proud of him when Warrior puts the munitions fire out.

### Hercules

Though Hercules is Ten Cents' big brother, he has started to be protective of Sunshine too. One example is when the two were marooned on the mudbanks and went to help.

### Grampus

Sunshine finds Grampus' cheeky side amusing, and appreciates Grampus' selflessness and bravery during the Sea Rogue incident. Because of this, Sunshine doesn't hesitate to help save him from being blown up by the Navy. She is very grateful when Grampus saves Ten Cents from the oil barge.

### Moonlight

Sunshine and Moonlight get along really well, despite being polar opposites. Moonlight is often there as a shoulder to cry on for Sunshine, while Sunshine keeps Moonlight looking on the bright side. Moonlight joins the Stars to help give Sunshine emotional support.

### Zorran

At first, Sunshine doesn't trust Zorran - it was his idea to get Zak to push Sunshine into the Duchess. She also laughs when Zorran gets commuppance, like being flooded onto the rocks. However, later on, Sunshine gets respect for Zorran. One such example is when Sunshine was kidnapped and he didn't hesitate to look for her. Sunshine, along with the others, is devesated when Zorran sacrifices himself to save Bigg City.

### Zebedee

Other than a few taunts, Sunshine didn't have much of an opinon on Zebedee at first. However, after Zebedee helps Sunshine (and Ten Cents) with Scuttlebutt Pete and he helped the Stars with the Princess Alice docking, Sunshine deeply respects Zebedee. She warmly accepts Zebedee into the Star Tugs after Zero Marine goes bankrupt.

### Zak

Sunshine has never forgiven Zak for ramming her into the Duchess, especially since he never once apologized. However, as time went by, Sunshine realized how dangerous he (and Zeus) were. She was relieved when Zak died in the explosion.

### Zip

Sunshine at first dismissed Zip as a troublemaker along with most of the Z-Stacks. This became worse when Zip and Zug lied about Sunshine needing to help Big Mac at the old dock. However, when Zip and Zug helped rescue Sunshine from Corona and the Posion Plant trio, she started to see them in another light. Zip and Sunshine became very close, being like "gal-pals". Both gave each other comfort after Zug's untimely death. Sunshine warmly accepts Zip into the Star Tugs after Zero Marine is bankrupt.

### Zeus

Sunshine laughed at Zeus for his failures, such as being quarintined on his first day. However, as time went by, Sunshine realized how dangerous he (and Zak) were. She was relieved when Zeus died in the explosion.

### Zob

Sunshine appreciated the professionalism that Zob had in his work, and was impressed when he helped with the fire. She also liked how Zob escorted Andrea Lucky to the wedding to Thomas Star. Sunshine warmly accepts Zob into the Star Tugs after Zero Marine goes bankrupt.

### Zilly

Sunshine didn't interact with Zilly too much, but she understood that he was a good submarine. She was devesated when Zilly gave his life to save O.J., but was grateful to him all the same.

### Sea Rogue and O'Malley

Sunshine was close friends with both tugs from Up River, and was worried when they ended up in the custody of Flotsam and Jetsam.

### Billy Shoepack

Billy Shoepack and Sunshine had a close friendship during Sunshine's pre-Star Fleet days. Sunshine did still worry about Billy Shoepack's use of dynamite, but trusted him as he's professional with his work. Sunshine was devastated when Billy was blown up by his own dynamite by the Nazi sympathizers. However, she still resolved to avenge his death, and face her fears of the Poison Plant trio.

### Pisces

When Sunshine was first built, Pisces took Sunshine under her wing and became a surrogate big sister to her. As such, Pisces was worried about Sunshine when her owner was diagnosed with terminal cancer, but was massively relieved when Captain Star bought Sunshine. She was also worried when Sunshine was kidnapped by Corona, Nightshade, Oleander and Foxglove and came up with a plan to stop them before they could kill her.

### Nantucket

Sunshine refused to tow in Nantucket when he was pretending not to be infected. She also called him "old Dirtbucket", much to Ten Cents' amusement.

### Corona

Sunshine used to be Corona's best friend, and it was her who offered Sunshine to be chartered to the Stars temporarily so she could find a home before Mr. Mitton dies of cancer. Unfortunately, after Sunshine was purchased, she all but forgot about Corona. Corona resented Sunshine and enlisted the Posion Plant trio to try and kill her. Unfortunately for Corona, this backfired. Corona was later made a goosehouse, much to Sunshine's relief and amusement.

## Romance

### Zug

Sunshine at first dismissed Zug as a troublemaker along with most of the Z-Stacks. This became worse when Zip and Zug lied about Sunshine needing to help Big Mac at the old dock. However, when Zip and Zug helped rescue Sunshine from Corona and the Posion plant trio, she started to see them in another light. Sunshine started to fall in love with Zug, and the other tugs were encouraging the relationship along (other than Zak and Zeus). Unfortunately, Zug was killed via a forced final firing, leaving Sunshine heartbroken.

In the TUGS Survival AU, Sunshine was among the most relieved that Zug was only under Green Water. She was proud of him for rescuing Zebedee (alongside Ten Cents). After the battle was over, Sunshine finally confessed her love for Zug, much to his delight.

## Personality

Sunshine can be occasionally cheeky at times, but she is very strong willed nevertheless. She is quick-witted and takes action swiftly without hesitation. She is generally levelheaded and cheerful, and takes on most jobs with little complaining.

Sunshine also can figure things out very quickly, as in *Jinxed* where she pointed out that each of jinxed tug Boomer's unfortunate mishaps occurs right after Ten Cents sounds his steam hooter, suggesting a cause-and-effect relationship. She's also more open-minded about unusual phenomena (such as ghosts) than Ten Cents is.

## Technical Details

### Basis

Sunshine is based on the Governor Irwin, a fireboat which operated in San Francisco, California from 1878 to 1909. She was steam powered. She participated in the recovery after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. She was owned by the State of California, she could only pump a modest 1000 gallons per minute.

Moonlight shares this basis.

### Livery

Sunshine is painted in the Star Fleet's corporate livery. This consists of a black hull, a yellow superstructure, white mast, and an American flag-styled red, white, and blue funnel. Her name is painted on the sides of his bow in white and she has the number "7" on her funnel. She was originally painted in the Salvage Fleet's white livery. She wears a red cap.

## Differences between the original series, Salty's Lighthouse and the SeventyVerse

* In the original series, Sunshine was male. In *Salty's Lighthouse* and the SeventyVerse, Sunshine is female.
	+ Sunshine's original gender is given to Moonlight.
* In the original series, Sunshine was hit by Zorran. In the SeventyVerse, it was Zak who hit Sunshine, but it was Zorran's idea.
* In the original series, it wasn't explained as to why Captain Star bought Sunshine. In the SeventyVerse, Sunshine's owner had terminal cancer and she was in danger of being scrapped.
* In the original series, Sunshine and Ten Cents are best friends. In *Salty's Lighthouse*, Sunshine was Ten Cents' little sister.
	+ Sunshine's big brother is Moonlight instead.
	+ This concept would be utilized for Penny.
* In the original series, Sunshine didn't know Sea Rogue or the Old Man. In this series, she has a pre-established friendship with Sea Rogue and O'Malley.

## Trivia

* Although Sunshine has canon voice actors in both *TUGS* and *Salty's Lighthouse*, her preferred voice actor is Michelle Creber, who voiced Apple Bloom in *My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic*.
	+ In the case of his TUGS actor, Shaun Prendergrast couldn't be used as Sunshine is female. Though it is used for Moonlight. Her *Salty's Lighthouse* voice actress went to Little Owl.
* Sunshine's worst nightmare is the possibility of being scrapped after being framed by Zak and Zorran about the Duchess, which never came to pass because of Ten Cents.